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Reason #834 You Know You’re Crazy: Hebrew Jewelry

I’m really beginning to hate Hebrew language jewelry. I received a “chai” (Hebrew for “life”) necklace for Conversion 1.0, which is really nice and I enjoy it. However, my necklaces share a chain, and I inevitably forget how to put the chai charm on the chain so that it will face the correct direction. I […]

Reason #92 You Know You’re Crazy: The Only People Who Don’t Think You’re Crazy Are the Mormons

Reason #92 You Know You’re Crazy: I live in a very small Jewish community. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only observant Jew on my campus. And the only people who haven’t batted an eyelash at my lifestyle changes have been my Mormon classmates! In fact, they’ve been the most curious and supportive! I […]

Just wanted to share an article…

Here’s a really wonderful article by Rucheli: The Back of the Bus. For those of you who don’t know, there are some buses in Israel (and a couple in America) that segregate men and women. I knew that it had to do with tznius, but thought it had more to do with avoiding accidental touching […]

Chanukah: That Time of Year When Everyone Knows Something About Judaism

Dear non-Jewish friends and family, I know that Chanukah is that time of year when you’re so proud of yourself for knowing that Chanukah is coming up. Really, I’m proud of you too! But Chanukah is like the speedbump of Jewish holidays. I don’t even take off work. And you all very much noticed that […]

Convert Confessions: Why I’m Not Afraid of the Shidduch Crisis

Didn’t you know there’s a shidduch crisis going on? Young women are turning 22 without finding a suitable husband! I’m not afraid of the big bad wolf known as the shidduch crisis. For the uninitiated, what’s a shidduch crisis? Shidduch means “a good match,” and today, people say that everyone over ___ age (depends on […]

Convert Confessions: I Hate Jewish Self-Deprication

“It may sound like I’m whining, but I’m just Jewish. That’s how we communicate.” Le sigh, the things I don’t want to hear at a law school lecture. Do other religious/ethnic groups buy into the stereotypes about them? You know, other than us stupid Southerners 🙂 Jews certainly buy into the Jewish stereotypes. Self-deprication is […]

Male Converts Are Really the Crazy Ones

Personally, I think it’s much easier to become orthodox-observant as a female than a male. What the heck are those male converts thinking?? Quite frankly, I think the mitzvot for women is exactly what benefits me, and the mitzvot of men are things that I think would not benefit me. Of course, drawing any line […]

Shabbat Shalom! The Dating Convert Edition

I hope you all have a wonderful and peaceful Shabbat! I’m not feeling so well again, so my Shabbat is probably going to consist of a book and my bed! But now to my weekly ramble… (since that’s so different from what I normally post! Hah!) On the Aish website, there is a running series […]

Is There a Stigma Against Converts?

Is there a stigma against converts? As you might guess from me starting this blog, I’m incredibly open about being a convert/conversion candidate. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been in the conversion closet! In my experience (over 6.5 years now), there is no stigma against converts today. Sure, there’s the odd duck every […]

Adventures in Semantics: Observant v. Religious

I’ve noticed that people in the orthodox community tend to call themselves “religious Jews.” I really don’t like this phrase. I’m not happy with the phrase “observant Jews” either, but I haven’t found a better replacement. (I’m open to suggestions if you have any!) And if you’re thinking of using the term “orthodox Jews” instead, […]