I don't mean to attack your recent revelation, but my understanding was that Judaism is matrilineal, so if your mother isn't Jewish and you don't practice then you're not Jewish (unless this has made you want to convert). It's also certainly possible I don't fully understand the situation or the custom.
That is true among the orthodox and some hardline conservatives, not reform or reconstructionists
Only reform Jews in America and they require jewish upbringing. I would recommend sillysaurusx going trough the conversion process at your reform Synagogue. (Reform is mostly about knowledge, basically classes). It’s there for a reason, you learn a lot if you didn‘t have an upbringing.
My situation was similar, matrilineal but my mum is baptized. I wasn’t required to, but I am glad to understand now what rabbinical judaism actually is.
Did you not have a culture before?
Congratulations! I would love to discover something like that. So your father knew but didn't tell you? Do you know why?
Re:Jewish Problems (2011) [pdf]
by mdturnerphys on Friday April 17, 2020 @02:39AM
(#22896775)
Thanks for sharing. Best wishes in exploring your newfound heritage.
I’m not sure how to feel. Reactions range from “So what?” to “I have a culture?”
I’ve been at least trying to study some history.
It’s still kind of amazing it never came up once. It was almost accidental that I found out at all. (Random census question my wife didn’t know the answer to, which led to my father’s brother mentioning it.)