I’m taking off on a cross-country road-trip today, which makes me feel like a real 1950s beatnik! For your pleasure, here is a short video from my Birthright trip, as taken by Rivka. It was taken on a small jutting-out area on the top of Masada. If you listen carefully, you can hear the amazing […]
A very interesting question came up on Twitter: When is a convert’s “Jewish birthday”? The actual Hebrew date of his/her birth or the date of going to the mikvah and reemerging as a new Jewish soul? I’d never thought about that before, but that’s a very deep question! As converts, when is our “birth”? My
When Do You Celebrate Your Hebrew Birthday? Read Post »
I was reading Halichos Bas Yisrael and came across an interesting point: “Bright red clothing is considered immodest.” It was then grouped with tight clothing (which is an interesting line in itself!). I had heard that “bright red” (as distinguished from shades like “burgundy red”) is considered an immodest color before, but primarily from people
Halachic Discussion: Is Red an Immodest Color for Women? Read Post »
Since this blog is, in theory, about conversion, let’s talk about some converts! On a practical level, this is very useful knowledge because it’s inevitably going to come into a conversation: “Oh, you’re a convert?? Did you read the New York Times piece about Shyne??” Rap star Shyne has taken the Jewish and non-Jewish media
Taking a Shyne to Judaism! [Cue rimshot] Read Post »
Original story: DiCaprio May Convert to Judaism for Love. Beside the fact that converting to a religion simply to marry a person sounds like a recipe for disaster, what do you think about this? My initial response was “DIBS!” but then I remembered that I’m not a DiCaprio fan. It was my automatic female response.
Dear creators of resources that teach people to pray in Hebrew: I have some problems with your products, and I would like to discuss them. Let’s begin at the beginning. If I am coming to your CD/book or website to get help learning to pray in Hebrew, it’s very likely that I either a) Do
How NOT to teach a convert or BT to pray in Hebrew Read Post »
My biggest hurdle in becoming orthodox has been going back to the basics. Most converts who’ve already gone through one conversion feel like we know stuff. We’re not newbies, so why are we back at the beginning?? It can be incredibly frustrating and ego-busting. Even new converts can be incredibly frustrated by suddenly feeling like
Convert Issues: Going Back to the Basics Read Post »
I’d like to write today about this article: “Green” Hanukkah Sparks Criticism. You don’t really need to read the article, but the link is there for your convenience. The (very short and poorly edited) article is talking about a proposal in Israel to encourage people to have a more environmentally-friendly Chanukah by burning one less
Who Doesn’t Want to Celebrate Chanukah in a More Environmentally-Friendly Way? Read Post »
I apologize if you read this yesterday, but the management had a finals-induced FAIL. I have a weird minhag that no one else around me has: I don’t place religious books where people sit. I hear this isn’t an uncommon minhag in chareidi circles. However, modern orthodox Jews generally seem to think I’m crazy with
Reason #301 You Know You’re Crazy: You’ve Got a Crazy Minhag Read Post »
It seems that most orthodox converts you meet are also liberal Jewish converts. When we liberal converts begin an orthodox conversion, we all seem to think we’re crazy to be going from a liberal movement to orthodoxy. But no, you’re certainly not alone. I had the great pleasure to meet with an amazing rabbi who
Liberal Conversion: The Gateway Drug Read Post »