I've read through some of your bio and blog, and find you intriguing. I'm a secular American Ashkenazi Jew, Brooklyn born and raised - still live here too. :) I was Bar Mitzvah'ed at age 13 in a Reformed shuel, and the family never kept Kosher - but I always strongly identified culturally as a Jew despite being so ignorant of our faith. I'm over 50 years old, and some time in my late 40's I started doing lots of reading about our faith, especially about our heritage (Google led me to your Khazar page). The reason I'm adding this to your comments page is because I'm wondering if you've thought of practicing and following the Karaite Jewish tradition? When I consider your strong identification with our faith and the devotion to the faith that you've already demonstrated it would seem that your ONLY "beef" is with the EXACT same "people" that caused a schism in the faith generations ago. The more I read about the seeds of Karaite Judaism and the struggles they had with Rabbinites, it reads very similar to your own plight. While many would ascribe Karaite Judaism to something akin to the Reform Judaism movement, Karaites were in fact strict adherents to the faith, and it was only their contention that each generation must interpret Tenach for themselves WITHOUT the burden of thousands of years of previous rabbinic interpretation - interpretations that have distorted our understanding and practice of the faith as the Karaites knew it. I'm quite interested in your opinion on this matter, and was surprised that you didn't pursue a modern day American Karaite approach to the faith following your excommunication - it would seem a natural fit.