I wanted to add that given that Jewishness is matrilineal, why did the first commentator suggest I should have automatically considered Judaism my home? As I note in the article, my mother and maternal grandmother were the biggest influence on my religious feelings. Why would the Mennonites, Schwenkfelders, Moravian Brethren, or any number of other Reformation sects not have provided me a home? I am often struck by the extraordinary similarities between the Chasidic communities from Eastern Europe, the small Protestant sects, and the Sufi orders in the Balkans, all emerging at the same time. Is it necessary me to choose between apple crumb cake, blintzes, and baklava? I like them all, as long as they are made without lard.

Stephen Schwartz