Question: What is the status of the ‘extra’ conversion immersion [tevila leHumra] demanded by some Orthodox rabbis? You may know this as geirus l’chumrah. A geirus l’chumrah is when a convert (already converted) is required to undergo a “new” conversion because of doubt about a prior conversion. Sometimes this is necessary. That’s why it exists. You […]
Rabbi Speaks Out Against Geirus l’Chumrahs Read Post »
KvetchingEditor has written about a topic that should concern all converts/converts-in-training: Membership in the Community: Invading Your Territory. The “Problem”: Synagogue membership forms that ask whether a person requesting membership is a convert. Some forms go on to ask for the converting beit din information, etc. Enough information to verify the conversion. Just about everyone
Should Synagogue Membership Forms Ask If You Are a Convert? Read Post »
I don’t know how it happens, but the phrase “beged ish” pops up in the most random of contexts. Perhaps that says something about the people saying it, but I’ll leave that to you. Beged ish is Hebrew for “a man’s garment.” In short, men and women aren’t supposed to wear the clothing of the
Phrase of the Day: Beged Ish Read Post »
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
Revisiting the Double Standard Read Post »
Last Friday’s soapbox moment got a lot of attention. Worse, it got a lot of sympathy, proving that I’m not alone. However, I want to clarify what prompted me to write that post because of some of the reactions in the comments. As you should all know by now, I’m studying for two bar exams.
Revisiting Last Friday’s Post Read Post »
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
News: Rabbi Angel on Parsha Hukkat and Conversion Read Post »
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
(I’m not so bright, so I accidentally scheduled this for tomorrow’s date. Sorry!) A really nice story to start your day off right! I don’t think any story can really be classified as a “chassidic story” unless it involves a forest in The Old Country, a miraculous job offer, and someone who gets pregnant after
Lessons in Ahavas Yisrael: Tattoos in the Mikvah Read Post »
Here is Tuesday’s awesome and modest look! Calhoun decided to photobomb me, looking for lovin’. The skirt is a black, floor-length (because I’m short) polyester/rayon blend and comes from from Nordstrom’s kids’ section. The t-shirt is from my Birthright trip to Israel, so it has the easily-spotted Birthright logo on the pocket area and a
Dressing Awesomely and Modestly: The “Fresh off the Boat from Seminary” Look Read Post »
I apologize for today’s post being a bit late, but I always write my Friday posts on Thursdays instead of scheduling them ahead so that I can write something related to my week. Unfortunately, thanks to a dead car battery, I didn’t get back from my camp Shavuot experience until around 2:30am. But the three
Question of the Day: Women Shaving During the Omer Read Post »