It seems that many conversion candidates discover Judaism while in school, whether high school, college, grad school, professional school, whatever. When you already feel overwhelmed (hopefully) by your studies, how on earth could you become shomer Shabbat? In my case, I fell victim to that kind of thought process in college. Just like I thought I couldn’t […]
UPDATED: Schoolwork v. Shabbat Read Post »
I won’t pretend this is an exhaustive list; it won’t be. However, it will certainly be more than enough to get you started! (In the future, I’ll do a post for men too, but that requires a bit more research on my part!) This post also does not discuss the halachic issue of how much hair
Types of Headcoverings for Women Read Post »
Every single conversion syllabus and potential beit din question list asks about Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith. Rambam’s list attempts to distill the key ideas of Judaism. If you can not accept these principles, you cannot convert orthodox. I don’t know how the other movements stand on these principles, but I was required to know
Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith Read Post »
Just about everyone in the Western world knows that Jerusalem is a city that is holy to Jews. However, there are four holy cities in Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel)! The Four Holy Cities are Jerusalem, Tzfat (also known as Safed), Tiberius, and Hebron. Jerusalem: Jerusalem is the center of the Jewish world. We
The Four Holy Cities of Israel Read Post »
In short, “chas v’shalom” is a Hebrew phrase that means “G-d forbid.” The Aruch HaShulchan says that it should be literally translated as “completely disgraced.” (“Shalom,” peace, literally means complete or whole.) You will hear it peppered throughout normal speech. Here is an example: “If I fail the bar exam, chas v’shalom, at least I get to
Phrase of the Day: Chas v’Shalom Read Post »
Lag B’Omer is the 33rd day of the Omer. (My understanding is that Sephardic Jews say Lag LaOmer, which is just a different literal translation of the preposition.) Forgive me for not giving you a detailed explanation of the Omer here. This year, Lag B’Omer is Saturday, May 22, 2011, at sundown until Sunday, May
Sunday is Lag B’Omer! Read Post »
You’ll hear this Hebrew phrase a lot. You may also see/hear it as “yishar koah.” It literally wishes the person strength. “May you have strength!” In short, it means something along the lines of “Good job!” It congratulates someone who has had the merit of performing a mitzvah or some other good Jewish task. Most often,
Phrase of the Day: Yasher Koach Read Post »
The existence of synagogue membership fees always seems to be a major shock to the new conversion candidate. Coming from mainstream American society, voluntary donations during a religious service are the expected way for the average person to donate money to a religious organization (whether the candidate was involved in Christianity or not). Now, as
Convert Questions: What’s Up with Synagogue Membership Fees?? Read Post »
After several days of Blogger being broken, it seems to be working again! But not after unpublishing a post, not publishing the scheduled post (blank because Blogger was broken for 3 days), and then posted a blank future-scheduled post. UGH. I apologize for any inconvenience! I think I’ve corrected everything, and last Friday’s post is
Awkward Shabbat Moment #4,281 Read Post »
I get this question a lot, as I imagine many of you do. I’ve finally hit on an answer that I like to use on friends. I have yet to try this on someone I don’t know as well, but I would try it out. Question: What are you not allowed to do on Shabbat?
Common Question: What Can’t You Do on Shabbat? Read Post »