Hello Rabbi, my name is Carter, I’m 14, and I’ve had something on my mind for years. I’ve kind of been skeptical of religion and currently say that I’m agnostic but recently I’ve felt that I may be Jewish. It’s a feeling I can’t really explain, like one day I woke up and felt connected to Judaism. But I’ve been reading the Torah and I have a couple of worries. Many people tell me different things, some say you have to take almost every word in the Torah as fact, and others say the Torah is merely stories and being a good Jew means more than taking the Torah literally. The only thing stopping me is that I just don’t believe some of the things said in the Torah. I believe most of it, at least of what I’ve read, but I get stuck on the very first verse of the Torah. I have always believed that the Earth was created in the ways discovered by scientists, and I don’t really think I can change that opinion. So my question to you is: can I be Jewish without believing in the way the Torah describes how G-d created Earth? My fundamental belief right now is that G-d exists, and foresaw and brought upon everything that made the Universe. But again, that’s not something the Torah describes. Could you help? Thank you for your time.

Hi. The most important thing here is to clarify that Judaism is not just a religion, but is firstly a nationality. In other words if your mother isn't Jewish, than you simply aren't Jewish and accordingly, it doesn't make that much of a difference whether you accept the Torah or not. Yes the Bible is for all of mankind and in fact, is the most read, studied, and translated book in history, but what is important, if you are a gentile is to observe the 7 Noachide commandments, and simply be a good moral person. On the other hand, if your mother is Jewish, than it's definitely worth your while to examine and clarify the Torah and 613 commandments for Jews, until you understand, see the beauty & identify with them and being part of the special Jewish people, and I'm more than happy to help. There's clearly no contradiction between modern science and the Torah's account of creation, which is not meant to be taken simplistically, so that's no problem. If you are gentile, and you do wish to become Jewish, than you can definitely convert, but it seems that at this stage you aren't that interested... All the best!!