For the past three hours, I’ve been texting with an online friend from Facebook. We’re both part of a Jewish Moms group and have been acquainted for about 2.5 years. Although I don’t know her well, we’ve kept in touch through the group and she always seemed nice, positive and very upbeat.

To my immense surprise, she quit the group, out-of-the-blue, and stopped talking to everyone (she was a daily poster, always.) After a few days, I was worried and messaged her. Her reply: “I quit because I’m not Jewish.” That made no sense to me since she’s constantly talking about Hebrew school, Shabbos recipes, High Holidays tickets—all manner of things connected to Jewish life.

Her bombshell: The test results from an Ancestry DNA kit revealed that she has no Jewish heritage. And I mean none, zero percent!

Because her father left the family when she was little and her mother has dementia, there is no way to unravel the mystery. She is not only shocked and confused, but in a terrible moral dilemma with regard to her own 3 kids.

“Should I tell them or should I not?” she asked me. Of course, I don’t have an easy answer. I feel so badly for her, for the lies she’s been told, for the pain she’s feeling, not knowing, at 43-years-old, who she is and where she comes from. That would be devastating to anyone and I am heartbroken for her.

Because I’m not a rabbi, I can’t—and don’t—dispense religious advice. Certainly, she should have a private meeting with her rabbi and ask him for advice/help/direction. The problem is fear; she’s afraid of being “outed” and losing friends and status. This is so, so sad because she has done nothing wrong.

I tried to reassure her, that from my point of view, she always was (and always will be) Jewish. There is Jewish heritage, of course, but there is also a wonderful group of folks that are Jewish by choice. When someone has lived Judaism from birth, married another Jew, given birth to 3 Jewish children, and observed all the customs and traditions of Judaism, they are Jewish! Despite all that, she is doubting herself.

I’m sure some hardliners out there would insist that this lady go through a formal conversion process because she’s “not one of us.” I disagree with them. We need to be warm and welcoming and encourage anyone who wants to be part of the Jewish community a place at the table. There should never be a divide between Jews by heritage and Jews by choice. We are all one people, one nation, and we all serve the same God.

If she chooses to reveal her test results on a public post, I will support her. If she prefers to stay silent, I’ll keep her identity anonymous. It’s not my place to judge and it’s not my place to decide. My role is to offer unconditional friendship, which is what I’d want her to offer me, if our positions were reversed.

Speaking of which, I have thought about how it would feel to be in her place. I don’t have any doubts about my own parents, grandparents, or heritage, but if I received totally crazy news, from a test, it wouldn’t change who I’ve been for 37 years. I’m Jewish by heritage, yes, but I also choose to keep practicing.

I think the moral of this story is to stay far away from DNA test kits. Nothing good will come of opening Pandora’s Box. Unless someone needs to know their genetics for a medical purpose, we’re better off leaving some things alone.

To all my prayer warriors: If you feel inclined, please say a special prayer for this lady and her family. She’s in a terrible place right now, emotionally and spiritually. We need to lift her up with love.

“In 1776, we went up with joy to Eretz Israel,” reads part of the inscription on a recently discovered plaque found in Lithuania that was buried beneath the Great Synagogue of Vilnius.

Archaeologists have been excavating the area extensively and were amazed to find something so significant. The plaque is believed to be a record made by Synagogue members that traveled to Israel.

Since my own family originally comes from Lithuania, it’s even more fascinating to me! To the best of my knowledge, from family history, my ancestors were in the country during the same time period. I’m not sure if my people were in Vilnius, however, but definitely in Lithuania.

It is so interesting to think that while America was going through a revolution, the Lithuania Jews were also struggling for independence, willing to make a long and difficult journey to Israel, in search of freedom.

Hopefully, all of the Israel haters who talk about Jews building “illegal settlements” and creating an “illegal State” will realize that Jews have been occupying Israel for thousands of years, not just in modern times. It is our homeland, our birthright, and should always be a place for worldwide Jewry to live in peace and harmony.

10 dogs—and their human friends and family—in Columbus, Ohio celebrated their “Bark Mitzvahs” in a local park. Pets were dressed up in their finest religious attire, which made it even more festive. The ceremony was followed by a “Pup-tail” snack hour and each dog received a goodie bag full of treats.

The idea, which is obviously mean to be funny, brought together an interesting mix of people that bonded over their love of animals. One couple admitted that they longed for Jewish community, but only attended the event because it was dog-friendly.

The article states: “The gathering provided a perfect, low-key entrance to the faith community in the city for the two Ohio State University graduate students who have lived here for about four years.”

Imagine that, they’ve lived there for years and still haven’t found a temple! That proves we need to do a lot more when it comes to outreach and making folks feel welcome.

I fully support events like these because it truly does attract people that are unaffiliated. The majority do want to participate. If we offer a variety of programs, some of which are not traditional, we can bring people back into the fold in a way that speaks to them.

And pets should be welcome too! Fur babies are part of the family and it’s meaningful to recognize them and have a special little event, even if does seems silly to some. It’s harmless fun and I like it.

Let’s hope the idea is picked up nationwide.

The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany says that the Berlin Jewish Museum is ‘out of control’ after a series of questionable incidents.

In addition to welcoming anti-Zionist speakers and Iranian officials, they’re now promoting BDS by linking to a pro-BDS story on Twitter.

BDS, of course, is a movement designed to bankrupt the State of Israel and limit trade abroad. It is a wickedly awful movement!

A Jewish museum should support Israel; that’s obvious. If the leadership of the Berlin museum doesn’t agree, they need to go.

After receiving tremendous criticism for the Tweet, they backtracked, claiming they “only wanted to call attention to the issue.” (Very pathetic and cowardly.)

If the German parliament recognizes that BDS is wrong, the Jewish museum should as well. It’s just absurd.

Update on 6/14: After massive pressure, the museum director was forced to resign. This is why it’s so important to make your voice heard. If it bothers you, speak up!