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Pesach, rather than being The Time of Our Freedom, is often The Time of Our Enslavement to Community Insanity and the Vacuum Cleaner.  But don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be this way. Realize that most people are insane, and that your house is perfectly kosher even if you don’t dryclean the drapes, remove your […]

The Dutch only wait one hour…so why wouldn’t everyone choose to hold by the Dutch when you have the choice? As a convert (and baal teshuva with no family tradition), you can generally choose how long you want to “wait” between eating meat and dairy. You’ll often hear that you have a choice of 3

How does one “prove” he or she is Jewish?  Most of the time, a simple conversation is all that’s necessary: “Is your mother Jewish? Is your grandmother Jewish?” “Yes.” “Excellent! Please marry my daughter!” I exaggerate, but you get the point. Often, a simple question is all that is needed to establish “qualifying” for something

In short: probably, but it’s unlikely you’ll find one or be able to afford it.  The two major “slurs” against converts are accusations that you “converted for marriage” or “bought your conversion.” You rarely hear the second one, but it does come up. Ironically, the only accusations I know of were in the chareidi world

Few orthodox institutions allow conversion candidates to become students. However, one organization in New York City has a history of being conversion-friendly: the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. It is not explicitly an orthodox institution, so admission is open to Jews and conversion candidates from any background. However, the teaching is “traditional” and in accordance

Lately, I haven’t blogged as much as I would like, for many reasons. However, I do have time that I want to use to help others. So I’m setting up shop as a tutor. I’m not the most knowledgable person you might find, but I know my limits and I’m patient. I’m not afraid to

My dirty secret is out: I hate dressing up in a costume on Purim. To be fair, I don’t care for dressing up at any time, whether that’s Halloween, a party, or ComiCon. I can’t explain it, but I know I can’t be the only one. However, most people love dressing up for Purim, and

(Just kidding, you’ll probably still embarass yourself! Remind yourself: builds character!) It’s that time of year again…when you try to avoid saying Ahashverosh despite all the talk about Purim. I often mispronounce Jewish words, and I’m generally okay with that, but the name Ahashverosh is so long that my failure is much harder to ignore.

I’m normally all doom and gloom (or so I’m perceived), but do you realize how amazing you are? Really. You. Well… Convert You and Conversion Candidate You. I’m sure the rest of you are amazing too, but we’ll discuss it some other time. Converts are such a great strength to our community, and it should

We’ve discussed briefly before how a rabbi, scary though he may seem, is a normal person with dreams, faults, anxieties, and other responsibilities. His job responsibilities may be less than clear: What is the Proper Role of a Congregational Rabbi? But what is he NOT? He’s not your friend, sadly. He might become your friend