Naive.

I live in New Zealand and hope everyone is surviving Covid 19. My country is coming out of lockdown now. I have a strong interest in Judaism and give it fascinating. I think the cultural heritage is beautiful and love how the religion appears to be the fabric of society. I have been intrigued by the Baal Shem Tov and Hasidic community , how clothing for orthodox and non orthodox is a reminder of ones devotion, but is also about identity. Where I live we have minimal Jewish people and I could count maybe in my life in New Zealand, meeting maybe 10 Jewish people in NZ. Ten. I’m 43. I went to New York and met the second person in my life who was from Israel. She sold me jeans. I saw Hasidic Jews in New York, and in my naivety thought they were priests in the religion based on their clothes. They were regular Hasidic people! I asked a Rabbi if I could wear a Star of David necklace and apparently it was ok. It is beautiful how the dispersed from Judah are gathered from the four corners of the earth. You are lucky to have that cultural heritage that follows you. Our society is based on it.