A Trip to the Mikveh: Finally, Finally Jewish
The words have never been sweeter. After 14 years of waiting, searching, hoping and dreaming, I am finally, finally Jewish.
The words have never been sweeter. After 14 years of waiting, searching, hoping and dreaming, I am finally, finally Jewish.
I began my journey to Judaism nervously. Unlike the Charedim (ultra-Orthodox) who are anxious before the word of God, I was anxious in the uncertainty of the future.
I am sitting in a crowded Temple sanctuary as a chazzan (cantor) begins the first gentle
Originally posted on November 10, 2010 at Kim's Little Blog.
My mother died, and she wasn’t Jewish. I am, and sometime after I converted, it occurred to me to wonder, “Will I sit
when my mom passes away?" The word shiva comes from the Hebrew word forI once read an autobiography called Turbulent Souls, written by a man who grew up Catholic. It was only after he had become an adult that he learned that both of his parents had been born Jewish.
At my Bet Din, one of three Rabbis who interviewed me told me that Judaism has been described as a faith of "Pots and Pans." She further explained that Judaism was about doing and acting in everyday life, not just having a belief but carrying out actions and
Anyone who really, really knows me was not surprised to receive the announcement of my conversion to Judaism. When I very seriously told my two best friends from college about my decision last fall, they started to laugh.
When I decided to convert I wondered often, "Would I ever really feel Jewish?" I never could have anticipated that the death of my father, who was neither religious nor Jewish, would be the event that would take me there.
I had married a Jewish man several
I just had the privilege of representing the Reform movement on a panel "Conversion: Who Is the Gate Keeper of the Jewish Nation" at the Israeli President's Conference in Jerusalem, Facing Tomorrow. These are my opening remarks:
The time has come to finally
Originally published on Chicago Carless
Four months ago my rabbi said to me, "Unless you're the greatestfaker ever-and I don't think you are-how will you know when you'reready?" It was a segue into asking me whether I felt the time was rightto take the next