Building a Jewish Life HomepageBuilding a Jewish Life

Becoming Jewish Without Questioning Your Sanity

You are here: Home / Posts for Conversion

“How Did You Know You Were Ready to Convert?”

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 Do You Congratulate a New Convert?

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 […]

Is a Circumcision Absolutely Required for Male Conversion?

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 […]

UPDATED: Menstrual Cycles and the Mikvah

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. […]

Management Update: The State of the Union

As most of you have figured out at this point, my conversion was finished a month ago. So what happens to the blog now?? My current plan is keep on doin’ what I’m already doin’. There is clearly a need for this kind of information and discussion. This isn’t going to turn into a “what […]

You’re Getting a Second Conversion! What About the Mezuzot?

Maybe you’re considering getting another conversion. But what about the mezuzahs you already have on your doors? In your new community (even if it’s within the same geographic area), you are not (or “might not” be) halachically a Jew. Mezuzot on your doors could confuse people, and technically, you aren’t obligated in the mitzvah. Of […]

Judge Favorably, But Don’t Ignore Red Flags

I have a big rallying point that I try to drive home in the born-Jewish community: Conversion candidates are the canaries in the mine of Judaism. If you don’t know the analogy, here’s what Wikipedia has to say: “Canaries were once regularly used in coal mining as an early warning system. Toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, methane […]

My Conversion Is Complete

I debated on if/when/how to write about this on the blog. My conversion was finalized on Jan 12, and I’m very happy with the conversion experience. It had its difficulties early on, but a new location and new rabbis gave me a conversion that was as respectful and as painless as a conversion can be.  […]