When she was 12, Kylie Ora Lobell decided she no longer believed in God. Bullied at school, shuffled between her divorced parents’ homes and upset about her unanswered prayers, she embraced atheism. It didn’t help with her anxiety or make her feel better about herself — or anything else in her life — but it was better than deluding herself that God exists and that he cares.
It took another 10 years until she found faith again.
In her debut book, Choosing to be Chosen, she recounts that first Shabbat dinner: “I looked around at all the faces in the room. I felt a warmth inside of me that started in my chest and washed over my entire body. I didn’t know if it was the challah, the speech or the sense of community, but I felt euphoric.”