If building a Jewish life has left you feeling tired, behind, or unsure whether anything you’re doing “counts,” pause for a moment.
That feeling might not be a character flaw.
A lot of people try to piece together Judaism alone – late-night searches, scattered podcasts, half-understood halacha, constant self-evaluation. You become the curriculum designer, the halachic authority, the accountability partner, and the reassurance system all at once.
That is a lot of cognitive weight to carry.
Judaism was not designed as a solo research project. It was built as a lived, communal system with rhythms, feedback, and shared responsibility. When you try to reconstruct it by yourself, the structure disappears and the pressure increases.
If Jewish life feels heavier than it should, it may not be about effort or sincerity. It may just be about scaffolding.
And if you want to know what to do about it, check out my next blog post/video.
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Transcript below.
Transcript:
If trying to do Judaism on your own has resulted in exhaustion, that’s not a personal failure.
DIY Judaism asks you to do something that Judaism was never designed for. Judaism isn’t meant to be figured out alone from Google at 2:00 AM with no context and no feedback. It’s a lived system, built on systems, community, and shared responsibility.
When you DIY it, three things happen.
First, you carry all the cognitive load. If you’re deciding what matters, what’s required, what can wait, and what you’re doing wrong every single day.
Second, there’s no pacing. Without structure, people either do too much and burnout, or they do too little and feel guilty.
And third, there’s no reassurance. No one to say, “yes, this counts.” ” Yes, this is enough.”
” Yes, you’re on track.”
That combination of factors burns people out real fast.
Judaism isn’t meant to be a solo project.
If Jewish life feels heavy instead of sustaining, it’s probably a systems problem, not a you problem.
And if you wanna know what to do about that, see my reel tomorrow.
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