Sometimes conversion candidates can get so frustrated by Jews who are “bad Jews” in their mind. You have to go through hell and back and basically get a seminary/yeshiva education, but people who just happened to be born Jewish can and will drive to synagogue on Shabbat. Women can and will dress tznius in synagogue […]
News: Rabbi Angel on Parsha Hukkat and Conversion
Rabbi Angel, former President of the Rabbinical Council of America and author of Choosing to Be Jewish: The Orthodox Road to Conversion, has written a pretty scathing commentary on this week’s parsha and conversion. Here is an excerpt. The full version is located here. Some years ago I attended a meeting of Orthodox rabbis to discuss policies […]
Are Conversion Rabbis Capable of Understanding the Conversion Candidate’s Emotional State?
Can conversion rabbis ever really understand the emotional issues that face conversion candidates? Worse, maybe even our friends and family can’t understand? I don’t mean to downplay the suffering that other people face. We all have our own challenges, but orthodox conversion candidates face an outside restriction on the most intimate areas of life. Given […]
Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith
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 […]
Social Strategies for the Isolated Conversion Candidate
Some of you may be considering orthodox conversion, but you don’t live in an orthodox community. You know that you will be required to move if you want to pursue this. (See Convert Issues: the Community Requirement.) However, because of school, a lease, saving money, owning a home, or a million other reasons, you’re stuck […]
News: Religious Services Minister Calls for Bill to Outlaw Non-Orthodox Judaism in Israel
Here’s a news story for you: Margi Calls for Law Against Non-Orthodox Movements. Just to be clear, no bill exists at this time. To give you the general idea, “To strengthen its status, Margi called for legislation making the Chief Rabbinate the supreme rabbinical institution in Israel and the world, and wants to move the rabbinate […]
Convert Questions: What Is the Deal with Tattoos?
Piercings were covered here. Tattoos are a huge concern for converts and baalei teshuva. Before becoming observant, they may have gotten tattoos, and now Jews have filled them with all kinds of unfounded fears. You will not be denied burial in a Jewish cemetery. You may use the mikvah. You might not have to get […]
UPDATED: Why You Shouldn’t Date During Conversion
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 […]
Shabbat Shalom! The Good News Edition :)
I’ve been a bit of a negative Nancy lately, so here is some good conversion news for you: North American Rabbis Protest Conversion Policy. Sure, the rabbis have rallied to protect all orthodox converts’ rights to make aliyah, but I’m more skeptical that such a rabbinic “uprising” would happen as a way to pressure the […]
Other Bloggers’ Take on the Current Orthodox Conversion Hullabaloo and Kochava’s Proposed Solution
Frequent commenter Elle at On Becoming Devoted has written a post called The Reality of Conversion. I suggest that you all read it for another convert’s perspective on today’s orthodox conversion process! However, she focuses more on the after-conversion concerns, which can be just as painful (if not more so) than the initial conversion. I […]