Susan Isaacs Quotes

When my children were born, I made the choice I wanted them to be raised as Jews and to have a Jewish education.

Chabad is very important because without Jewish education, Diaspora Jewry would disappear.

I am very proud of being Jewish. I went to a Jewish school all my life.

For years, Judaism has been a sort of product put on the religious shelf, and on holidays, we would take it off the shelf and let seculars play with it for a bit. Now, Judaism is going back to being something that more closely touches everyone.

I have a very strong sense of who I am as a Jew and a strong sense of belonging.

The Tambors were conservative Jews, and we attended Temple Beth Shalom at 14th Avenue and Clement Street in San Francisco. We were the only Jewish family for miles. To me, being Jewish meant 'otherness.'

Spiritually, I'm Jewish.

I went to Hebrew school but opted out of a bar mitzvah.

I grew up attending a Conservative day school, Solomon Schechter, until I was about 14, and going to a Reconstructionist synagogue.

Judaism is a big part of my background, obviously, and my reality.

I never paid much attention to being Jewish when I was a kid. In fact, I'd say my religion was more surfing than Judaism - that's what I spent most of my time doing.

My belief is that I wasn't born into Judaism by accident, and so I needed to find ways to honor that.

I had always known that I was Jewish - we celebrated the holidays, we went to a synagogue - but I had never known that I was supposed to feel ashamed about it.

I love being Jewish; I have no problem with it at all. But it did become like a scar, with all these people saying you don't look it.

Myself, first of all, I am a Jew. And that is the most important thing for me.

Though I am not religious in the least, I am very proud to be Jewish.

As a traditional Jew, I have benefited personally from the hospitality of Chabad Hasidim on many occasions, and I marvel at how many Jews Chabad has brought back to their primordial home.

Beyond being Jewish, I've always found myself to be very much in tune with spirituality.

I've liked being Jewish in America - there's a secular version of Jewishness there that's more about bagels and jokes than going to synagogues.

You know, I get much more Jewish in Israel because I like the way that religion is done there.

Being among my people is a delight. We Jews live among ourselves. I love it.

Most Jews, like most rational persons, know that their personal identity and their ethnic identity are not one and the same.

Since 1985, I have written about contemporary Jewish practice and the Jewish community.

I grew up in a reform Jewish family in St. Louis. Our idea of Judaism was no bar mitzvahs and a Christmas tree that had a skirt at the bottom embroidered with the names of my grandparents.

I cried to my mother that I wanted to go to Hebrew school; I wanted Jewish friends. But when my mother took me, the kids there all knew each other, and somehow I was even more of an outcast.