#jewish convert

[fromgoy2joy]

I sat next to the protest today.

I wrote fan-fiction about two gay jewish dads raising children to the play list of the chant- "No peace on stolen land!" on an American college campus. It isn't a name brand one either, nor does it have any legitimate ties to Israel. The anger is just there- it has rotten these future doctors, nurses, teachers, and members of society.

I don't even know what to call their demonstration- it was a tizzy of a Jew hatred affair. At points, there were empathetic statements about Gazans and their suffering. Then outright support of Hamas and violent resistance against all colonizers. Then this bizarre fixation on antisemitism while explaining the globalists are behind everything.

"Antisemitism doesn't exist. Not in the modern day," A professor gloated over a microphone in front of the library. "It's a weaponized concept, that's prevents us from getting actual places- ignore anyone who tells you otherwise."

"How can we be antisemitic?" A pasty white girl wearing a red Jordanian keffiyeh gloats five minutes later. "Palestinians are the actual semites."

"there is only one solution!" The crowd of over 50 students and faculty cried, over and over.

"Been there, done that," I thought, then added a reference to a mezuza in the fourth paragraph.

Two other Jewish students passed where I was parked out, hunching and trying to be as innocuous as possible. We laughed together at my predicament, where I am willingly hearing this bullshit and feeling so amused by this.

"Am I crazy? For sitting here?" I asked them. My friends shook their heads.

"We did the same last week- it's an amazing experience, isn't it?”

We all cackled hysterically again. They left to study for finals. Two minutes later, I learned from the current speaker that “Zionism” is behind everything bad in this world.

Forty-five minutes in, a boy I recognized joined me on my lonely bench. He came from a very secular Jewish family and had joined Hillel recently to learn more about his culture. His first Seder was two nights ago.

He sat next to me, heavy like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. There was just this despondent look on his face. I couldn’t describe it anyone else, but just sheer hopelessness personified.

“They hate us. I can’t believe how much they hate us.” He said in greeting.

And for the first time all day, I had no snarky response or glib. All I could do was stare out into the crowd, and sigh.

[charleezard]

This is mostly a vent so I might delete it later. Also like, this turned kind of dark and depressing so if you're not in the headspace, please skip this post entirely.

I look at my community, at all my Jewish friends, all the people I meet who are just visiting the country on vacation and want a synagogue to visit. I obviously have no idea how many Jewish people I've met. I also have no idea how many Jewish people any of you have met. I have no idea how someone can look at them and see some kind of ultimate evil being. Because every time I come online, that's how I see people talking about Jews. These horrible, evil, manipulating people. And I don't understand how. It is so opposite of everyone I've met. I try really hard to imagine them as evil, try to understand how others can see them this way. I just can't. I'm not saying there are no bad Jewish people, but in general that's just not who they are. They're people like any others. And most importantly they're people I deeply love.

I knew even before I started my conversion process that it wasn't going to be easy. I knew about antisemitism, I had done my research, and I knew that it would be even harder than I could ever expect. That still doesn't soften the pain. Don't think this makes me think about giving up. I know where I belong, I know where my heart and my soul are. I know that I love Judaism and the Jewish People more than I can ever express. And every time I'm just more sure, every time I love them more. It has been and will be an honor to live with them, to celebrate with them, to pray with them, to be a part of them if everything goes well. But more and more I think it would also be an honor to die with them, if it comes to it.

I am a pretty resilient and happy and cheerful person. I try to always be happy and make others happy. But sometimes it's hard. And right now it's hard.

I'm sorry if I'm being too depressing. But all of this suffering is depressing. I just needed somewhere to let this all out.

[avian-misdemeanors]

as someone who was born into Judaism, I always love hearing the stories of Jewish converts. They're always so passionate about their Judaism and it makes me smile inside and out. it takes so much heart and love for our culture to undertake such a long and challenging journey and see it through to its completion. it's truly beautiful.

any Jewish converts reading this, I hope this brings you a smile. and if you have a story to share about your journey home to the Tribe, I'd love to hear it.

[anotherfagontheinternet]

someone in a jewish converts group on fb shared this today and it made me snort-laugh

[soxiyy]

Every Jewish person is ethically jewish weather they are born from the waters of a womb or the waters of a mikvah

[nesyanast]

A young man studying for conversion turned to his teacher and said, "But, Rabbi Kushner, Fitzpatrick isn't a Jewish name." To which Kushner replied, "It will be."

-Choosing a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant

[babka-enjoyer]

I have a Daily Mitzvot app that tells me one new mitzvah every day at 9 a.m. and some of these are wild as hell to read first thing in the morning

[germiyahu]

Actually don't listen to me. I'm an impulse buyer with credit cards. You want a nice looking pitcher and basin to perform the hand washing mitzvot? That's an excellent opportunity to go thrifting! You might even find Judaica there, like a Chanukkiyya perhaps?

You don't want to wait 8 years for Shabbat candles to arrive from Israel? Ask your rabbi! When I asked her if you can reuse a Havdalah candle, she sensed I was worried about the cost of buying all these candles and said her shul has tons of extras.

You absolutely do need a Chumash, a Tanakh, and probably a study Bible too... but Sefaria has all that and more! Especially the Talmud and other Rabbinic sources! It literally blows my mind that this site exists and is free.

But what about all the books on Jewish history and philosophy? What about textbooks for Modern and Biblical Hebrew? See if there are scanned versions online, or go to your local library. Invest in notecards, you're going to want to write down prayers and such, this will especially help if you don't own the books you're studying from.

It's a good idea to have a Siddur, but your shul will most definitely have their own, and as others have told me, you can ask your Rabbi if you can borrow one to take home (make sure to treat it with reverence).

If you want to start baking Challah and are living on your own, or maybe in a dorm room, see if there are community cooking spaces so you don't have to buy your own materials, or just ask your parents if they can gift you some kitchenware because "You want to get into baking."

You literally don't need anything other than a cup that you think is pretty and has meaning to you for the Kiddush. And don't splurge, I've seen hundreds of very attractive Kiddush sets and candle holders and all that for modest prices.

And take it slowly! Don't buy everything at once. We're nowhere near close to Chanukka right now, so don't even put that in your mind. If you want to acquire holiday items, focus on Pesach and worry about other festivals in their due time, let your wallet recover a little. This also goes for Shabbat! You don't need a pristine set of everything all at once, I'm just an idiot. You can slowly build up your perfect beautiful intricate table as the months go by.

[jewish-vents]

"I’m converting and my husband is Jewish. We live in a relatively good area for Jews in the US. (I mean my synagogue hasn’t been threatened yet but our friends in another part of the state got bomb threats soooo)

Last night we just laid in bed and he held me and we talked. Neither of us agree with the actions of the Israeli government. We don’t like Netanyahu and haven’t for a long time. We’d love a cease fire but we understand that wouldn’t mean anything to Hamas. And we’re scared the global support for Israel will eventually dwindle. And they’re surrounded by countries that eagerly want them dead. Finally I just said “I’m scared” and my husband paused and whispered “Me too.” And it was the first time since 10/7 he voiced how scared he really is.

But of course, we’re just worried over nothing. /s" - Anon submission

[is-the-fire-real]

Me when they bring up Haman

[your-soul-stood-at-sinai]

Your conversion story is fascinating, unique, precious, and holy. When you become a member of the Jewish people, your story enriches the heritage of the Jewish people [...] which will be forever changed by your presence.

 —Anita Diamant, Choosing a Jewish Life

[fromgoy2joy]

They’re singing about martyrs, resistance, the “one solution” and intifada in the Quad today. Normal college freshman experience!

[charleezard]

I'm so tired and sad. Everywhere I look I see Jewish people feeling lonely and isolated because they lost so many friends and they feel like they can't find anyone who actually cares and understands them. I wish I could just be everyone's friend.

If you're Jewish, or converting, and you need a friend, don't hesitate to DM me or get in contact in some way. I know it's not much, and I know most people won't even see this, but idk it's a start. Don't be shy, I won't judge you. Please reach out if you want to or need to

[spale-vosver]

After five years of beating around the bush, forcing myself into denial over and over again, I'm sick of ignoring what I've known I wanted since I first learned about it:

I'm beginning the Jewish conversion process.

This is a gigantic step for me, but I'm thrilled to take it, and I'm fully confident it's the right choice. I cried when I learned that converts are considered to have Jewish souls that were present at the Temple Mount, I feel unbelievably affirmed and at home when I'm at Jewish services and holidays, and I'm ready to make that official.

To that end, I'd also love to make some Jewish friends! I'm going to tag @vaspider to politely ask him to reblog this, and I'll tag this post up so it can be found naturally!

(note: my blog still has some old posts from when I considered myself Christian, and I'm still in the process of deleting them)

[gay-jewish-bucky]

To me, being trans is one of the most incredible blessings a human can receive from HaShem. From the moment we take our first breath, we are given the wondrous opportunity to mould ourselves b'tzelem Elohim–in the image of G-d. Every day we get to decide what b'tzelem Elohim means for us; we get to lovingly form ourselves like clay, every iteration a reflection of the Divine all on its own, into the image… the person that HaShem always knew we could become.

—G-J-B (Queer & Jewish Musings)

[jewishautism]

First ever time lighting a menorah