I discovered the book when I typed in "Jewish" into the search book box in the Kindle Store and I was intrigued.
I also wondered if I could perhaps relate to this author and, of course, books that tell people's individual stories always attract my attention these days since I recently published the story of my skating life. I have recently wondered if the manuscript draft I've written about my crazy and mixed up spiritual journey should also be published, but a friend suggested I hold off since that story seems to not have an ending quite yet.
Anyway, back to Jenny Berg Chandler's story:
Jenny grew up in a reform Jewish home in Philadelphia, but her family was torn apart when her parents divorced after her mother suddenly became a believer in Jesus.
After the divorce, and from the time she was eight to fourteen, Jenny's family (mother and siblings and grandparents) lived in a Jewish neighborhood in Philadelphia, but also attended a Messianic Jewish congregation, and seemed to only have messianic Jewish friends. Messianic Judaism was their entire world it seemed. They were totally absorbed in it, and to outsiders their involvement could have seemed a bit cult-like. The family did all the Jewish holidays and from their point of view, they were Jews who believed in Yeshua (Jesus). In other words, they did not fit in with the regular Jewish community, but were not really "standard Christians" either.
All was good until at the age of fourteen, very suddenly, Jenny's family was thrown out of the messianic Jewish world. Jenny does not really know what happened, but she did know that the people that had been part of Jenny's and her family's close knit messianic world would no longer associate with her or her family. It must have been a horrible time for Jenny and her family, but life went on.
Instead of just going the "plain Jewish route" and giving up believing in Jesus, Jenny's family did what most believers in Jesus would do: the went to church and became very involved and Jenny also went to a Christian school. The family made new friends and became part of mainline evangelical Christianity, but together, at home and isolated from other Jews, maintained some Jewish traditions. Their messianic Jewish past, and their reformed Jewish past was still part of her family's life, but after Jenny got married, Jenny sometimes felt that those memories were buried or tucked away.
Jenny grew up and married a Baptist. She and her husband became involved at church and were very involved and part of the church going world, but Jenny realized as time went on that she missed being Jewish. How much she missed being Jewish didn't take over her thoughts and being until her family moved to Florida when her children were pre-teens.
"Jew in the Pew" tells Jenny's story of how she decided to bring being a Jew and Judaism back into her life and into her family's life. The book is told in an entertaining style and in a journal-like form, and is so open that the reader feels he or she IS Jenny since the reader is taken into Jenny's home, her thoughts, and into her personal life.
The reader gets a chance to celebrate and learn about every Jewish holiday with Jenny and her family. I felt like I was really there during Purim, Sukkot, Shabbat, Passover, and other holidays. I traveled with Jenny to a synagogue and to other Jewish gatherings. I was in the kitchen cooking Jewish foods and baking challah. That was fun!
It is obvious from reading the book that Jenny has an incredibly close family and that although many of her family members are messianic Jews, that Jenny is very much Jewish and that she is also Christian because she believes that Jesus is the Jewish messiah. Like a chameleon, Jenny can become either, but is the most comfortable with other messianic Jews.
I found myself relating to Jenny since my desire to give my children a Jewish identity is so very strong and my desire to seek God as a Jew and be part of the Jewish community is also so very strong. Also, Jenny's feeling that she really does not belong inside a gentile church is so true for me. Home for me is with the Jewish community. I will never feel comfortable in a church setting.
For Jenny, home is with Messianic Jews or with the regular Jewish community, but she can fit into a church too.
I did not know until I read Jenny's story, how very Jewish messianic Jews are. That world almost seems like another branch of Judaism in fact! Getting thrown out of that community was almost like a divorce for Jenny's family and it was refreshing to read about Jenny's reconnection to that community and her connection with the Jewish community in Florida and also about the healing relationships in her own family that seemed to be helped by Jenny's desire to connect with "all things Jewish"
Whatever a Jewish person believes does not change the fact that he or she is Jewish; that line of thinking is made very clear in Berg Chandler's book. Jenny Berg Chandler's book shows how strong Jewish identity can be in a very gentile world. It made me grateful that I've been able to worship G-d the way that works for me (for me I just can't do it in that "other world"), but I see that Jenny figured out how to worship God and be a part of two worlds at the same time.
I learned too that every Jewish person must find his or her own way to worship God. Jenny found a good balance, and I believe I may have found what works for me. I recommend Jenny's book to any Jewish person who may struggle with Jewish and/or Christian issues, those who are inter-married, and to anyone interested in understanding what it may be like to be Jewish in America. It's an easy read.
Note: I was intrigued that Jenny enjoyed connecting with a group called "Jewish Java" in Florida. I wish such a group was in Colorado where I live! I also thought it was neat to read how Jenny's daughter went on a Birthright Israel trip since my son, Joel, got to go on one early last summer. I can see that Jenny was able to pass on a sense of Jewish identity on to her children, and I've been so glad I've been able to do that with my family too.
