beit din - Building a Jewish Life

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When Gatekeeping Becomes Dangerous: Sexual Harassment in the Jewish Conversion Process

April 23, 2025

“Sexual harassment and abuse can and do happen during the Jewish conversion process – and we need to talk about it.” That’s the heart of this video. It’s not just a one-off scandal or a bad-apple rabbi. It’s a systemic vulnerability created by intense power imbalances, isolation, and a gatekeeping structure where one person’s word […]

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Sexual Harassment in the Jewish Conversion Process: What You Need to Know

April 23, 2025

This wasn’t easy to make. I’ve been part of the Jewish community for years now, but there are some things I still carry quietly. One of them is how vulnerable conversion candidates can be – and how rarely we talk about it. Sexual harassment and abuse do happen during the Jewish conversion process. Sometimes it’s

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How Long Does It Really Take to Convert to Judaism?

April 6, 2025

If you’re just starting your journey, or feeling stuck in the middle of it, you’ve probably wondered: how long is this going to take? In this quick video, I break down what most rabbis mean when they talk about timelines – and why anyone promising a shortcut might be a red flag. Real talk, no

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Can a Conversion Candidate Pray in English?

March 25, 2025

Can you daven in English? YES! In fact, sometimes maybe you should daven in English. Transcript available below. Transcript: Do you have to pray in Hebrew? No. You can pray in English or whatever language is most comfortable for you. You don’t have to be davening in Hebrew in order to be a real Jew

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Can Politics Ruin Your Jewish Conversion?

November 4, 2024

Do your politics matter while converting to Judaism? No! (Yes, of course they do.) Should you be open about your politics while converting? Only you can answer that, but let’s give you some useful information to make that decision. Disclaimers! Lawyers love disclaimers, and I’m no exception. I’ve been a part of and visited more

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Friendships When a Liberal Convert Goes Orthodox

January 9, 2019

I came across this question on social media again recently, and it has been a frequent concern over the years: “I converted in one Jewish movement and now want to convert orthodox. What will happen to my friendships and my relationship with my former rabbi(s)? Will they hate me? Am I betraying them?” First, I’ll

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The Rabbis Who Might Be Involved in Your Conversion

May 10, 2015

Rabbis, rabbis, rabbis, everywhere you look it feels like there’s another guy in a beard and a hat (well, maybe not in your community, but you get what I mean). Interacting with all of them and coordinating them doesn’t just feel like herding cats, it actually is harder than herding cats because cats have less

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What Does a Beit Din Do Besides Conversions?

April 4, 2012

Most of you are familiar with one thing batei din do in the modern world: convert people. But what else do they do? You’d be surprised. A beit din can do most of the things a secular court can, in addition to presiding over pure halachic issues. What doesn’t a beit din do? Hear criminal

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Can You Be an Orthodox Jew Who Happens to Be Vegetarian or Vegan?

March 5, 2012

YES! But uh…it depends on who you ask. There is a halachic basis for the rabbis who declare you must eat meat on Shabbat. (Though even they will admit there was a great rabbi-whose name I forget-who was vegetarian every day but Shabbat.) I find most of these rabbis tend to be far to the

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What If You Don’t Like One of the Mitzvot…Can You Still Convert Orthodox?

March 2, 2012

One of the biggest disagreements about conversion is kabbalot ol mitzvot, the acceptance of the yoke of the commandments. In case you don’t remember, yoke mean burden, not to be confused with a yolk. Fun fact: the “stock” from “being put in the stocks” is a human yoke. Criminals and slaves were put in stocks.

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