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intro - hello!
#1
intro - hello!
Hello!

I'm excited to join this community.

A little about me:
single guy in my early 30's, I was raised Modern Orthodox Jewish from birth went to orthodox jewish day schools and high school, studied in a Jewish religious all-male seminary in Israel, and started college at Yeshiva University. I finally decided in my early 20's that i was going to stop living for other people and try to actually do what I wanted. I transferred to Rutgers, slowly found my way to atheism and secular humanism, and had my first bacon cheese burger at 25 and never looked back.

When you're taught all your life that God doesn't want you to eat a bacon cheeseburger, when you eat your first one, well, words fail me.

Anyway, I'm now in my early 30's, of which I am thoroughly enjoying. I'm 3 years into my actual career, i have a few friends who, thankfully, stopped drinking the cool aid and support each other through our journey of self-acceptance despite our religious upbringing.

Now that I've settled down in a location and a career, i've been searching for something that I couldn't put my finger on until recently; a community. The orthodox community is pretty tightly knit and my family and family friends within the community constantly shared meals, family celebrations, and mourned the losses of relatives together. Since renouncing my faith, i've struggled to find a community of like minded people that i can call "extended family". Perhaps I'm coming here hoping i'll find an online version of this.

In the mean time, I'm looking into different events hosted by secular humanist and atheist groups in my area (NY/ north Jersey) but look forward to contributing to the online community that I see flourishing here.
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#2
RE: intro - hello!
Quote:and had my first bacon cheese burger at 25 and never looked back.

That's so sad. 24 years wasted.

Shalom, friend.
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#3
RE: intro - hello!
(January 24, 2015 at 8:04 pm)Minimalist Wrote:
Quote:and had my first bacon cheese burger at 25 and never looked back.

That's so sad. 24 years wasted.

Shalom, friend.

Thanks for the welcome!

Yea, I actually recently started going to therapy to deal with my letting go of all the experiences I missed out on as a result of my parents decisions of how to raise me and my lack of strength to rebel.

I wish I had more strength and I wish my parents hadn't drunk the cool-aid, but we both tried the best we could. Things could have been worse, and thankfully, I got to the point where I am right now. Letting go of my past and trying to cram as many wonderful experiences into my life now are my top priorities. I've recently taken up guitar lessons and yoga, am planning a vacation overseas, and, well, i'm here, aren't I Smile
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#4
RE: intro - hello!
Welcome from the UK, new friend! Even though now you made me want a bacon cheeseburger...
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist.  This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair.  Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second.  That means there's a situation vacant.'
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#5
RE: intro - hello!
Welcome aboard. Mad cool name, btw.

Quote:When you're taught all your life that God doesn't want you to eat a bacon cheeseburger, when you eat your first one, well, words fail me.

Puts me in mind of the joke about a priest and a rabbi who meet up on a train and get to talking about their respective faiths.

At one point, the priest says, 'Now, I'm going to ask you to be honest with me. I know that Jews are forbidden to eat pork, but have you ever slipped up on that?'

The rabbi hems and haws a bit, and then admits that out of overpowering curiosity, he once tasted a small piece of baked ham and 'God forgive me, but I loved it!'

The rabbi continues, 'Now you, my new Catholic friend, it is your turn to be honest. We both know that priests are celibate, but are also human and fallible. Have you ever broken your celibacy vow? Have you never, since you became a priest, had a woman?'

Blushing to the ear, the priest admits that several years ago he had an brief torrid affair with one of his parishioners.

Satisfied, the rabbi sits back, smiles, and says, 'Beats the living hell out of a ham sandwich, doesn't it?'

Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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#6
RE: intro - hello!
Hello Welcome
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you

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#7
RE: intro - hello!
Welcome dreamsofpotato.

Are you from Potatohoe by any chance? Cool Shades


You make people miserable and there's nothing they can do about it, just like god.
-- Homer Simpson

God has no place within these walls, just as facts have no place within organized religion.
-- Superintendent Chalmers

Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things.
-- Ned Flanders

Once something's been approved by the government, it's no longer immoral.
-- The Rev Lovejoy
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#8
RE: intro - hello!
Welcome! Your username made me want some funeral potatoes, a common mormon side dish. Your story is reminding me it's dinner time. Leftover beef, onion and jalapeno pizza.
"For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan
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#9
RE: intro - hello!
Welcome Smile
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#10
RE: intro - hello!
Welcome
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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