conversion

Converting An Adopted Child

The Book Of Ruth — A Story Close To This Convert’s Heart

My Rabbi Outed My Conversion On Facebook

Why I Am Choosing To Convert My Preschool Son

When I Converted, I Never Expected It Would Come To This

I Came Late To The Jewish Party–But I’m So Glad I’m Here

So You’re Thinking Of Converting Your Child

anti-semitism

Neo-Nazis Marched In My Hometown. That Doesn’t Surprise Me At All.

Michelle Anne Schingler

1024px-Charlottesville__Unite_the_Right__Rally_(35780274914).jpg

Oh, Newnan. No one wants to see their hometown in the news for unsavory reasons. But I was not shocked when I learned that my hometown, Newnan, Georgia — a small city near Atlanta — would… host a neo-Nazi rally. Instead, I was shocked that so many Newnan folks were shocked. As the white supremacists — mostly from out-of-town — prepared to gather in Newnan last weekend, there were public declarations from the city’s residents and leaders that the hatred exemplified by the neo-Nazis was not welcome. And yet, as the two… >> Read More

high holidays

When I Fainted in Synagogue During My First Yom Kippur as a Jew

Tara Worthey Segal

My first real exposure to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur was when I was dating Matt, my future husband. I didn’t really know what observing these holidays entailed. He wasn’t flying home to visit… family during that time, and as he was working and living in my small Northern California hometown, he reached out to a synagogue in Sacramento (the nearest “big city”) to find services and a group of people to join for Rosh Hashanah dinner. The following week he fasted, and I met up with him briefly… >> Read More

jewish identity

All the Jewish Infighting Is Killing Me

Debra Lynn Shelton

Years ago, my Catholic husband decided he wanted to convert to Judaism. At the time, we’d only been married a few years, and my family belonged to a reform synagogue. My husband signed up for and… attended the conversion classes, and over a six-month period he studied history, holidays, religious teachings, and even a little Hebrew. It was an involved process that he was deeply committed to completing. The final piece was his appearance before a panel of rabbis. They asked him questions designed to determine whether or not he would… >> Read More

cooking

I Promised Myself I Would Never Cook Jewish Food for My Kids

Rachel Wainer

A couple of months ago we were seated around a friend’s Shabbat dinner table when my 4-year-old pointed to platter of kugel and asked, “What is that?” I grinned, and laughed at the other… guests’ amusement that my Jewish child did not know what kugel was. To me, it was actually a point of pride. Around ten years ago when I converted to Judaism, I made a promise to myself not to cook “Jewish” food. You see, along with my decision to convert came the decision to keep kosher.… >> Read More

conversion

I’m a Proud Convert, But My Son Has Given Up on God

Melissa Cohen

I'm a Jewish convert. My path to conversion was long and complicated, and I've struggled with fitting into Jewish culture, and balancing my childhood traditions with a chosen religious tradition… that's very, very different. But one thing I've never struggled with is my belief in God. I didn't convert specifically because I was married to a Jewish man, but the fact that I was raising Jewish children was a different story. I wanted them to have a strong spiritual foundation. I wanted them to own their… >> Read More

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