Simply Jewish

When those exploring conversion to Judaism walk into my office, my response is, “I would be delighted to accompany you on this journey.” I know the tradition is to turn away the seeker three times to ensure their sincerity. Yet to my mind, trust is not built by offering roadblocks to a person’s exploration of faith and tradition. My experience has been that the rabbi only really begins to know the inner thinking and spiritual wrestling of one wishing to become a Jew-by-choice by building trust that allows them to share their thoughts honestly.

The pathway to Judaism looks different for each candidate. Some have lived a Jewish life with other family members, others enter acquainted with Jewish ways through good friends, and there are some who always knew they were “different” and feel like they have a Jewish neshama (soul). A proportion come with curiosity sparked by reading books, or the internet or by taking a college course; and yes, among them are those who have fallen in love with a Jewish person or who wish to raise Jewish children and/or partake in the Jewish life their children will have.

Whatever the beginning spark, the journey ahead is always one of exploration.

Maimonides (1135-1204) wrote an answer to a question posed to him by Obadiah. Obadiah, a convert, wanted to know if he could refer to himself as a descendant of “Jacob” because he was a Jew-by-choice rather than a Jew-by-birth? Could he say special words reserved for Jews: “You have sanctified us through Your commandments” or “You have brought us out of the land of Egypt” or “You worked miracles for our ancestors”? Maimonides responded and taught: there is no difference between one born of Judaism and the one who comes to embrace Judaism as their own, we are all the spiritual descendants of Abraham.

While unable to speak for every rabbi nurturing a conversion candidate, I seek that embrace of Judaism, elements of Jewish understanding and connection, in the individuals who I accompany on this path towards becoming Jewish. Are they “Yisrael,” ones who wrestle with God? Have they experienced the yearly Jewish cycle of Shabbat and festivals? Have they found a place in Jewish community that they can call their own? Do they have a comprehension of Jewish peoplehood? Have they passion and curiosity for learning Torah in its widest sense and is making Jewish choices part of their life? Can they embrace Judaism as an exclusive path that speaks to them more strongly than any other religious path? In simple parlance: do they, will they, love Judaism and being Jewish?

Recently, a conversion student posted a picture post-immersion in mikveh (ritual bath). She titled it “Newly minted Jew!” Her hair wet, her eyes shone bright, she looked joyfully into the camera lens. My mind reflected on conversations we had together. What was God? Did she know definitively? Did I know definitively? I recall her grappling with a biblical passage and her pride when she recognized Hebrew words in the prayer book after attending Shabbat almost weekly. Her joy at putting together her first Passover seder with friends she had made in the Introduction to Judaism class … they had followed Jewish recipes from the internet and had read through the Haggadah. Her delight in discovering Jewish bluegrass was a “thing.” Her relief in finding out that religious questions are OK to ask and sometimes more important than the answers themselves.

In that photo, post-bet din (rabbinical court) and kikveh was homecoming. She is Jewish. Simply Jewish. Nothing else. And for her, just as it should be, and as I know it will be from our candid conversations, the process will not stop. The journey to embrace identity will morph into the embrace of a lifetime of study and exploration, building a meaningful Jewish life for her and for Judaism, just as the journey should ideally be for all Jews, the spiritual descendants of the journeyers, Abraham and Sarah.

Rabbi Linda Joseph is spiritual leader of Owings Mills’ Har Sinai Congregation.