jewish tradition

for years, people have asked me if I am Jewish. the truth is, i do not know my mother's family's heritage. I am one quarter German Jew on my father's side. by religion I am Christian. My visit to Jerusalem this weekend centered around Jewish Tradition, as I was invited to stay with a couple (a friend from grad school here in Israel) and join them for a traditional shabbat (the sabbath) celebration and dinner. Friday night we went to synagogue and had a traditional meal, during which i learned A LOT about the religion and its culture. I grew up with the Bible, so the Old Testament was nothing new, and was quite refreshing to hear in a different way (with the singing of prayers and scriptures in Hebrew).

Saturday after a jaunt to the Old City for my Arab fix, I found myself back at the Kotel (Wailing Wall) to pray and reflect. After i was done I sat down and began to write in my journal. the woman sitting next to me said "dont write". It is tradition that during Shabbat, practicing Jews can not write, use electricity, or phones (among other things). I told her "I am not Jewish". she was surprised, and insisted that I looked Jewish. I explained my story, but she was not sold on it. She (and her friends) thought I needed to find out more about my roots. I was invited to stay with her friend, who lived in the Jewish Quarter in a beautiful home with deck overlooking Jerusalem. We had a wonderful Shabbat dinner and I made some new friends. the following day I headed out early to the Kinesset (main synagogue) and visited some offices there to start the process of tracing my lineage.