NOTE: The Kvetching Editor wrote a response to this post here. I just want to point out that her situation is not what I’m describing. I’m talking about a single who enters the orthodox conversion process and then begins dating people who are already orthodox. However, for the record, I think dating is probably a bad idea […]
UPDATED: Why You Shouldn’t Date During Conversion Read Post »
Since I started blogging, I don’t get to keep up with reading other blogs as much as I would like. The overwhelming side-effect of blogging is that now I’ve discovered literally over 50 new blogs that I would love to read in addition to the 15ish I used to read religiously. School and work have
A Blogger Tries to Understand the Convert and Baal Teshuva Communities Read Post »
What is a minhag? “Custom.” Plural: minhagim. However, some minhagim have been practiced so widely and for so long that rabbis have declared them to be mandatory halacha. More generally, each large group of Judaism are considered to have a “minhag,” including Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, Yemenite, Indian (from India), etc. Further, some minhagim are how
How Do Converts Choose a Minhag? Read Post »
There is a Status War going on in the world. People who have become religious later in life (either as baalei teshuva or converts) are having a very difficult time proving that they are, in fact, Jewish. Personally, as painful as the conversion process can be, I think the baalei teshuva have it worse. Thanks
Status Wars: Not Nearly as Fun as Star Wars Read Post »
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 »
Didn’t you know there’s a shidduch crisis going on? Young women are turning 22 without finding a suitable husband! I’m not afraid of the big bad wolf known as the shidduch crisis. For the uninitiated, what’s a shidduch crisis? Shidduch means “a good match,” and today, people say that everyone over ___ age (depends on
Convert Confessions: Why I’m Not Afraid of the Shidduch Crisis Read Post »
Is there a stigma against converts? As you might guess from me starting this blog, I’m incredibly open about being a convert/conversion candidate. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been in the conversion closet! In my experience (over 6.5 years now), there is no stigma against converts today. Sure, there’s the odd duck every
Is There a Stigma Against Converts? Read Post »
One common problem for the newly-observant conversion candidate is when another “orthodox Jew” doesn’t do what you’ve been taught “the law” is. Or worse, the first time you see an “orthodox Jew” drive to synagogue on Shabbat. We get so upset – “How come that person can still call himself orthodox? And why am I
Rule #42 of Orthodox Conversion: There ARE Double Standards. Get Used to It. Read Post »
Reason #237 You Know You’re Crazy: You Have a Love/Hate Relationship with Jewish Geography. As for me, I have an unnatural love of Jewish Geography. I’m not athletic or competitive in general, but Jewish Geography gets my competitiveness going. I really get into it. I get really excited knowing that I know Jews all over
It seems like all converts wait for the day when they won’t stand out. I’ve always been a stand-out kind of person (and I generally like it), but I’m amazed that I get happy at the idea of blending in somewhere. Aka, being mistaken for a born Jew. Unfortunately, this goal is less likely for
You Know You’ve Made It When Someone Mistakes You for a Born Jew! Read Post »