I Converted - I Am Now an American Jewish Convert

I Converted! 

May 21, 2013 was the day I realized how big of a deal my conversion actually was. Not that I didn't take it seriously; I just tried to stay calm, let it happen naturally, and not worry about what to expect.

It wasn't until we started talking that I realized I had not taken enough time to think about why I was doing this and answer the tough questions before that day. The Bet Din was tough - it was not comfortable for me. It was emotionally draining, but worth it - of course.

It was as if I had been waiting for that release for TOO long. The best way I can explain it is that I had such a hard time connecting to the spiritual and emotional part of my brain because I had shut it off to religion for so long.

My Jewish Journey

I had my husband and my Rabbi by my side while the 3 AJU Rabbis asked me about my Jewish Journey. I went in hoping I would not cry, but still knowing it was a strong possibility. I began to explain my feelings for teshuvah and Yom Kippur, and they knew there was something deeper happening inside me for that so they asked me to elaborate.

I couldn't help but try to hold back the tears when I took a few seconds to think about it. Then it just  all came out, and I spewed about my past distaste for religion (which I talk about on my about page). I've always known I don't like being told what to do and I finally realized how big of a hold my family's past religious history had on me. It was so powerful that it finally came out.

My mother was told what to do so that she could be "a good Christian woman". These religious people of authority had no regard for her own well being and how much it might screw up her own family's life. She stayed with an addicted partner when it was not healthy, just because Christianity told her that staying with her husband is what "good people do".

Since then all I've seen are people who tell other people what to do, argue about who's better, what's right and what's wrong; and all of this is based on their religious beliefs. Since when is it okay to tell someone else how to live their life and make moral judgements? But that doesn't matter now, all I want to do is take the next step for myself.

Next Step in My Jewish Journey
One of the most beautiful moments of the day was when I read a portion from the book of Ruth. Up until then I had completely forgot about the story of Ruth. When I read, "where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God".

That was very powerful, and I took one step closer to feeling part of the Jewish people. My next step is to do more Torah study, keep my mind engaged in the spiritual, and continue reading and speaking Hebrew!

Keeping Kosher Makes People Krazy

Kosher Makes People Krazy

What is it about food that makes people so crazy? Maybe it’s all the fad diets we hear about, the new hot way to workout and get the body you want, or because what we learn as a kid is instilled in us through adulthood. Today we talked about what kosher means, keeping kosher and how to find kosher foods in stores. The kosher concept is pretty easy for me to relate to since I made a decision in 2006 to not eat beef, chicken, pork, or milk several years ago. Recently, I’ve also had to give up soy, gluten and certain nuts due to allergies. I do, however, eat eggs and fish which are big favorites of mine.

The Laws of Keeping Kosher

Kosher comes from the word kashrut. Kashrut are the dietary laws of keeping kosher. Kashrut regulates the consumption of meat, the prohibited and non-prohibited meats, the separation of milk and meat, and the slaughter of meat. Some of the little dietary rules that drive people crazy are actually not ever specifically outlined in the Torah, but they are part of the Talmud—the rabbi’s interpretation of the Torah. A lot of people like me wonder what the torah and Judaism say about keeping kosher.

The Torah says: “you shall not eat anything abhorrent…” and specifically states to eat: “the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, the mountain sheep, and any other animal that has true hoofs which are cleft in two and brings up the cud…”

Then says you may not eat animals “which do bring up the cud or have true hoofs which are cleft through…the camel, the hare, the daman, for although they bring up the cud they have no true hoofs, they are unclean for you. Also the swine, for although it has true hoofs it does not bring up the cud...”

Regarding fish you may eat all that live in water that has fins and scales, “but you may not eat anything that has no fins and scales…”

Regarding birds, you may eat any clean bird, but may not eat “the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the falcon, and the buzzard of any variety; every variety of raven; the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, and the hawk of any variety; the little owl, the great owl, and the white owl; the pelican, the bustard, and the cormorant; the stork, any variety of the heron, the hoopoe and the bat…”

Regarding insects, you may not eat winged swarming things that are unclean for you.

Other very important stipulations set in the Torah were that “you shall not eat anything that has died a natural death…” and that “you shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk”.

Kosher slaughter is defined in the Talmud. One common theme here is predatory species. Keeping kosher may mean to not eat predatory animals such as sharks and hawks. The reason could be that eating an animal that has preyed on another animal is unclean for us to eat, or it just means that we should do it because the Torah says so.

Why Keep Kosher?

The short Jewish answer is simply: because the Torah says so. It is said that keeping kosher is done for dietary and ethical reasons. I can relate to both reasons. I did my own research and decided milk and cheese should never be in my diet because it is fattening and too hard for the human body to digest cow’s protein; thus easier to keep me fat. I let cheese slip in every now and then only because I like the taste, but never do I drink milk and do a pretty good job of staying away from things with milk in the recipe.

The other reason for keeping kosher comes down to ethics, such as animal rights. Some (like me) believe there should be a certain amount of respect you give to other living animals. The laws for mixing dairy and meat is a good example. Some believe there to be a problem and oddly cruel about using a life-giving substance (milk) to kill an animal (boiling a baby goat in its mother’s milk). Call me krazy, but I’d rather not eat meat or drink it’s milk knowing how slaughter farms work -- that’s just me.