Maybe I'm not Jewish enough.

[elshiva]

Sometimes I feel that I let the Jewish people down for not deciding to be Jewish like my dad. My dad is a great man and Judaism is a great religion, but... I'm so sorry.

:shrug:

And then there are people who say your mom has to be Jewish for you to be Jewish, when my mom's Christian.

[Lyric]

1. It's complicated.

"Being Jewish" means different things to different people, but it is generally accepted that if your biological mother was Jewish (even if she doesn't practice the religion) then you are also Jewish. There are lots of Jews that aren't religious, but they still participate in and identify with the "Jewish culture". The Reform church will accept you as Jewish if your father was, though, I think.

One notable exception to this is when determining eligibility for Israeli citizenship based on Jewishness. They reasoned out that since the Nazis didn't limit the killing to people who were Jewish via the matrilineal line, they weren't going to restrict citizenship in that manner either. Which means that while my son is not considered Jewish by birth, he's Jewish enough to qualify for Israeli citizenship if he wants it someday. It's kinda funny, actually--I'm half-Jewish through my Dad's side, and my son's father was Jewish, which makes Brendan 3/4 Jewish--and yet he wouldn't automatically be considered a Jew. But my best friend Nicole is only 1/4 Jewish (her mother's mother was Jewish) and she qualifies.

[elshiva]

2. Thank you! I do consider myself to be Jewish.

We celebrate Passover, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and Hannukah.