Wanted: Stories of Jews who didn't know

[Yankel Nosson]

I work with a woman who was raised in a non-Jewish religion with a non-Jewish last name and a non-Jewish father. But her mother was Jewish. Ergo, she's a Jew.

She is interested in her family heritage, but her mother refuses to speak on the subject.

This woman and has a natural warmth towards Yiddishkeit, and I would like to give her personal stories of people who didn't know they were Jewish and discovered it in a meaningful way. It might inspire her.

If you know of any, especially if available on the web, please post here.

Thanks.

[Daniel]

My first outreach job

I was on a Dutch youth forum about a year ago. At the time, my avatar (the personal picture under your forum name) was an Israeli flag. In my profile was my email-adress. So, some day, a young man from Amsterdam added me on MSN Messenger. We were both 17 then (and 18 now). He was Jewish.

That's all he knew. He added me because of my Israeli avatar, and was wondering whether I was also a Jew. Well, halachically I'm not; I'm a convert from a Jewish background.
Anyway, I gave him a lot of websites to look at, he found a lot by himself also. Then he got in contact with a Jewish girl I knew through the internet also; she took him to a rabbi. They're pretty much engaged now; he's shomer shabbat, wearing a tallis kattan and davening a lot. He is learning at a kollel regularly and will probably go to the Aish yeshiva in Jerusalem soon.

[Yankel Nosson]

Yashar koach!

But actually, I'm looking for stories for people who did not know they were Jews and then discovered that they were halachically Jewish.

[stwill]

1. My friend was looking for a non-Jewish woman to help at home on Shabbos. However, the woman she accepted for the job seemed to have some scanty knowledge of Jewish customs. When my friend asked her how she knows these things, she said her mother was Jewish.

2. I know a woman who became interested in conversion, and then was once talking to her great-uncle (her mother's uncle), and in the course of conversation he mentioned that his mother (her great-grandmother!) had once been Jewish, but converted to Xtianity. Like in your story, this woman's mother totally denies any connection to Judaism and considers herself Xtian.

3. There's the story about the girl in Australia who became obssessed with the Holocaust, and the Rebbe wrote a letter refering to her as a Jewish girl, and then she found out it was true. I don't quite remember the details, maybe somebody else can fill you in.

[n'eNow770]

The story in Australia is amazing, but ill have to type in later bcuz its really long and ur missing a loooot out of it! lol

Durring a Pesach "getaway" bcuz of a confusion, a group of ppl hadn't sold their chometz and it was getting close to the begining of Pesach, so the rav there went to find a mexican guy to sell it to, and he found one, and he kept saying how happy he was to help them, so they asked y, and he said cuz his mother was a Jew!! well, they then sold it to s/o else, and had him join them!

[Daniel]

Nothing is a coincidence. :)

[Torah613]

The story in Australia is amazing, but ill have to type in later bcuz its really long and ur missing a loooot out of it! lol

Durring a Pesach "getaway" bcuz of a confusion, a group of ppl hadn't sold their chometz and it was getting close to the begining of Pesach, so the rav there went to find a mexican guy to sell it to, and he found one, and he kept saying how happy he was to help them, so they asked y, and he said cuz his mother was a Jew!! well, they then sold it to s/o else, and had him join them!How "close to the beggining of Pesach" did this happen?

[Smiley]

Check out Playing With Fire/To Play With Fire (diff editions) by Tova Mordechai

[shmush]

she always knew she was jewish though.

[Smiley]

Sorta, but wasn't she a little confused cuz according to her father she was ******ian or something like that. I could be wrong- haven't read it in a while.

[n'eNow770]

How "close to the beggining of Pesach" did this happen?

Like an hour before all Chometz had to be sold.

[hubdirenbud]

the former secutery of state allbright i think that is her name she was under clinton was raised as a non jew and found out the she was realy jewish

[BrookAve]

Allbright is "parve" on this subject when interviewed. It is an embarrasement to her, and her daughters.

[Smiley]

"Suddenly Jewish" by Barbara Kessel.
It has some interesting stories, but it's written in a boring way.
It's also a little mixed up as to what defines a Jew.