This question comes up a lot. It’s funny, since what the conversion candidate thinks about his or her readiness is often irrelevant. The beth din is the final decision on when a candidate converts, and their opinion on readiness is really the only one that matters. The beit din may ask the candidate whether he […]
“How Did You Know You Were Ready to Convert?” Read Post »
So much of conversion is about acquiring knowledge and then learning how to translate that to real life situations. Input followed by output. But what kinds of knowledge should you import into your poor, overworked brain in order to produce the right output? It’s not as simple as “learn halacha.” I would argue there are
The Types of Knowledge a Conversion Candidate Should Cultivate Read Post »
I have a well-documented enjoyment of the Groggers. They released a new song on Valentine’s Day, and I wasn’t planning to comment on it. It’s the first song off their upcoming (as yet unnamed, apparently) album: Jewcan Sam (A Nose Job Love Song). As always, power pop/punk combined with satire makes me happy. But I don’t
Shidduchim and Nose Jobs Read Post »
Claudius Templesmith has two announcements for you this morning! (Mandatory nerdy reference while re-reading the Hunger Games. Sorry.) 1. I’ve added several interesting blogs to the Blogroll page linked above. Peruse and enjoy. 2. For your statistical pleasure, I’ve added a pageview counter to the upper right-hand corner of the page.
Management Update: Page Updates Read Post »
This has been a surprisingly contentious issue. What do you say to someone upon finishing their conversion? Congratulations in English is a simple, easy way to do convey all the possible emotions. Out of the 200+ congratulations I’ve received in person and online, almost all people said “mazal tov!” to me, and I think that’s
How Do You Congratulate a New Convert? Read Post »
Born Jews are very quick to throw out the advice that a conversion candidate should “try being a Noachide!” They’re very enthusiastic about this, but I find that they rarely know what it entails, much less what it is really like to be a Noachide. Most can’t even name the seven laws. Yet they are
Why Not Be a Noachide? Read Post »
I’m reading an interesting book I plan to review on the blog soon. The book describes a halachic issue that never occurred to me before: Can a man convert if a medical condition prevents him from getting a circumcision? Apparently, according to most authorities, no. In fact, at least one great Rabbi (Rabbi Yehiel Yaakov
Is a Circumcision Absolutely Required for Male Conversion? Read Post »
Disclaimer: All names in this post are completely made up (and often from random name generators). If I happened to accidentally choose your name, I apologize. Well, except for the famous names. I just felt like using those. It’s very common for converts to take on a Hebrew name as their “everyday” name, even if
Should You Make Up a “Jew-y” Name for Yourself? Read Post »
You’re a smart cookie, so you already know that the laws of taharat hamishpacha require a married woman to go to the mikvah after a waiting period that comes after the period ends or a certain number of days. So that means you have to plan your conversion mikvah date equally carefully, right? Not necessarily.
UPDATED: Menstrual Cycles and the Mikvah Read Post »
So you’ve heard of the mikvah because a conversion requires it. But did you realize there are different kinds of mikvahs?? The women’s mikvah, of course. That’s where most conversions happen, female or male. It’s the nicest and usually also the cleanest. It’s made for single-person use and is primarily used for taharat hamishpacha reasons.