This ancient Jewish tradition brings me closer to my faith and invites me to imagine a better world

‘The Shema is the basis for a Jewish declaration of faith. It gets into the essence of what Jews actually sense about God.’ Composite: Guardian design/Getty Images

After growing up in a home of atheists and agnostics, it took decades of spiritual searching for me to discover that there are deep teachings in Judaism, the faith of my people, that can both ground and inspire me.

Judaism is deeply rooted in the idea that everything on this Earth is connected. This gives me great comfort and perspective during tumultuous and cataclysmic times.