Why would someone convert to Judaism twice? It’s a question I get a lot—and honestly, it’s a fair one. But it’s also very common. The first time I converted, I thought I had found my middle path. But deep down, I knew I wasn’t done. What followed was years of wrestling, recommitting, and rebuilding. My
7 Years, 3 Batei Din, 1 Jewish Soul Read Post »
Calling someone “off the derech” can mean many things, depending on who the speaker is. There are apparently many ways of categorizing someone as off the derech. But at the end of the day, it’s a judgment about someone else, which you should probably avoid when you can. It may matter to know whether someone
Phrase of the Day: Off the Derech Read Post »
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.
What If You Don’t Like One of the Mitzvot…Can You Still Convert Orthodox? Read Post »
You’re in the mikvah. You have your dips in the water and officially cross over into the obligation in mitzvot. What happens once you get dressed? First mitzvah/bracha. This should not happen in the mikvah because you shouldn’t say a bracha while nude. I think some people hear about the “here, have a candy!” bracha
Immediately After Conversion, What Needs to Be Done? Read Post »
If you’re going to convert, you need to understand a key distinction. There’s a lot of talk since 2006 about nullifying conversions. While a few nullifications have occurred, the general problem is questioned conversions. Nullified conversion: the conversion is void. It was invalid at the time the conversion was performed. The person was never halachically
Nullifying Conversions vs. Questioning Conversions Read Post »
Born Jews are very quick to throw out the advice that a conversion candidate should “try being a Noachide!” They’re very enthusiastic about this, but I find that they rarely know what it entails, much less what it is really like to be a Noachide. Most can’t even name the seven laws. Yet they are
Why Not Be a Noachide? Read Post »
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
Is a Circumcision Absolutely Required for Male Conversion? Read Post »
If you’re young enough, every conversion candidate thinks about the possibility of going on Birthright. I went on Birthright after my conservative conversion, but I was on a trip organized by an orthodox organization and the specific trip was actually labeled as “modern orthodox.” I think that effectively just meant that the trip was shomer
Converts and Birthright Read Post »
Just as there are many baalei teshuva who read this blog, there are many conversion candidates reading Beyond Teshuva, a blog created for BTs. [Grammar note: notice that the plural of BTs is not BT’s. That’s your dose of my crazy for the day.] Last week, Beyond Teshuva had a great breakdown of the kinds
Do You Have an Adequate Support System? Read Post »
I’m a few days late, but last motzei Shabbos, Ben Stiller did a Yom Kippur-themed Saturday Night Live opening monologue. I’d say it’s about average quality for what SNL is putting out these days, but it certainly could have been worse. …Meh. But there was a pretty good Borsht-Belt joke at the beginning: “My father’s
Ben Stiller Does a Yom Kippur-themed Saturday Night Live Monologue Read Post »