Conversion Help!

[Maitri]

I am thinking about converting to Judaism but I feel a little lost. I come from a catholic background and I am not sure I will ever really feel jewish. My husband is not jewish he is buddhist though he is supportive.

I have contacted a synagogue but I am just not sure I am fooling myself. Do I really deserve to be a jew? Can I really do this?

I have come to a point in my life where I desire a spiritual home. Are there any converts out there?

The main reason why I wanted to convert is because I think judaism is more straight forward and practical. It is so fully of beauty and life and hope. But who am I to darn to even ask to convert? Am I just destined to remain a hopeless, depressed, hardly catholic?

If anyone out there have any ideas please respond as I am a little confused to say the least.

Peace,


Maitri

[dauer]

Maitri,

Do I really deserve to be a jew?

I don't think that's such a good question to ask. It makes it sound like Judaism is something greater than all other religions. I think that you've placed Judaism on a pedastal for yourself and then told yourself you can't attain your own pedastal. But I think that whatever your path is, you can walk it.

But who am I to darn to even ask to convert?

I think you're making Judaism into a lot more than what it is. Judaism is what you make of it. Some will disagree with me, but that's what I say. I'd say the same about Catholicism too.

What specifically draws you to Judaism? What specifically pushes you away from Catholicism?

Dauer

[Maitri]

What specifically draws you to Judaism? What specifically pushes you away from Catholicism?

Judaism interests me and fascinated me. It is such a whole way of living. The rules are set out and it is also the community feeling that appeals to me.

Catholicism pushes me away with it's rules, they seem to think they know the mind of G-d. I don't like their rules about marriage and baptism. The rules frighten me and I feel confined. But on the other hand the history is interesting. The Irishness about it. The family history. The pride? I don't know really.

I do put Judaism on a pedal because it's theology doesn't seem as dogmatic. They don't require you to belief in exacting what they believe in. They seem more solid in their faith. With christianity it is like you are constantly defending jesus. It is like deep down inside no one can really believe in his messiah-ship(?). I think that is why christians strike out so much against other religions, it is because they are not confident in it.

With judaism one can be confident I suppose.


Peace,


Maitri

[Dondi]

Hi Maitri!

I, too, am currently going through a major shift in my personal beliefs. I have been a Christian with a Baptist background who is rather perturbed at the prospect of those who don't believe in Christ are destined for hell. I find too many people who experienced the love of G-d (i.e. through the forgiveness, mercy, and compassion of G-d) to think that Christians have cornered the market. Furthermore, in investigating the claimed prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament, I have had serious questions of their fulfillement in Christ. And there is compelling, intelligent reasons why the Jews do not believe that the Messiah was fulfilled in Jesus. I have been exploring Judaism for sometime, figuring that since Christianity proceeded from Judaism that perhaps a stable belief in G-d will be found there. Afterall, the Hebrew scriptures came first. It has not been an easy journey. At times I wonder if I'm doing the wrong thing. I liked very much the idea of Jesus being my Savior, as it gave me comfort to know someone died for me so that I could go to heaven. But I am learning some fascinating things from Judaism that suggests that the Messiah could not have come yet.

Anyway, my feeling is that if we are to believe the Bible, we must compare scripture (NT) with scripture (OT). In the book of Acts 17:10, the Bereans were commended for searching the OT scriptures to find out is these things were so. So in my mind, I need to get to the bottom of things when it comes to Jesus. I would encourage you to be a seeker in the same regard.

I would like to suggest something though, before commiting yourself to Judaism. Make sure this is what you want. Right now, I consider myself a Noahide, which is a term in Judaism that describes Non-Jewish (i.e. Gentiles) believers in the Hebrew G-d. The name Noahide comes from the covenant from G-d to Noah concerning all mankind and establishes a set of laws called the Seven Noahide Laws for all Non-Jews to follow. I suggest looking into this alternative until you are sure you wish to convert to Judaism.

Here is an excellent link about Judaism for starters:

http://www.jewfaq.org/

Here are some good Noahide references:

The Seven Noahide Laws:

http://www.noahide.com/7laws.htm

Some Noahide organizations and websites:

http://www.noahide.com/

http://www.noahide.org/

http://asknoah.org

Shalom and pleasant journey

Dondi

[bananabrain]

maitri,

judaism may seem preferable to catholicism to you but it is by no means an end to doubt, questions and heartache. it is tough to be jewish and, even without having to defend christianity, you'll end up with some far more complicated *practices* to defend - even if you find the theology unchallenging! moreover, conversion to judaism is not for the faint-hearted. nor is it something i would recommend to someone in your familial situation. no sensible (whether orthodox or not) beth din (religious court) would be likely to agree to convert one member of a couple, because it would put a severe strain on your relationship - particularly if there were children involved. either both you and your husband (and children) would have to convert together, or neither. judaism is a very community and family-oriented religion and we do not seek to proselytise, especially at the expense of existing relationships.

if you're serious about this, i'd recommend following dondi's advice and investigating the noahide laws - no conversion is required, as all non-jews are considered noahides by default.

if you have further questions, feel free to ask.

b'shalom

bananabrain

[WesleyWes]

Come to the one...

Peace!

[Faustus]

Hey, Maitri,

I'm a Jew In Progress, so maybe I can try to address a few of your questions. To give a summary of my story, I was raised Episcopalian (aka Church of England, aka Catholic Lite, aka Henry VIII's divorce court); I was an acolyte in church, was confirmed and so on, but I never really felt the connection to Christianity that I started feeling to Judaism very on (maybe eight or nine years old). I knew by the time I was twelve or thirteen that I wanted to convert, but there are basically no rabbis who will convert people under the age of eighteen (and for good reason, I think).

During middle and high school, I settled for studying up, reading whatever I could about Judaism and just educating myself (in all denominations, not just the one in which I hoped to convert- at the time, that was Reform, now it will probably be Conservative). Upon going to college, I started attending services at Hillel and Chabad, kept reading and so on. I didn't pursue conversion with a rabbi at the time, because I felt that I wouldn't be able to devote sufficient time to my academic work and my conversion studies. Currently, I'm living in Japan about four hours from Tokyo (the only place that does conversions), so I'm out of luck until I leave next year.

Anyway, your questions. First of all, it isn't a question of "deserving" to be Jewish. If you have it in your heart to convert, and if that's really what you want- if you've been seeking something and Judaism is where you found a home, you have as much right to convert as anyone else. There is a question of having the discipline necessary to convert, especially if you want to be more observant, but that comes as you go. No one's expecting you to go from reading a few books to having a kosher kitchen overnight (no one rational, anyway). But to echo Dondi's advice, take your time and make sure this is what you want. Once you're dunked in the mikveh, you're a Jew and that's it. It's a big choice to make.

What's your current level? Have you just started exploring Judaism? Have you been reading for a while? Assuming that you haven't met a rabbi, my advice would be to synagogue shop a bit- look around, see if you find a community in which you feel comfortable. Attend services, get a feel for what they're like, maybe try an Intro to Judaism class. Bananabrain's right, though; it will be a tough row to hoe trying to convert while your partner isn't a Jew. The only rabbis likely to convert you would be Reform, and even then, your partner may be expected to attend classes with you to ensure that he knows what you're entering into. Judaism's a family religion, and going it alone can be difficult.

To second something else Bananabrain said, becoming a Jew doesn't mean that suddenly, everything's right with the world and makes perfect sense. If anything, things like the Talmud only introduce more questions- personally, that sort of discussion is what I like about Judaism (that thought and consideration are encouraged, as opposed to blind obedience), but if you're expecting a panacea to being Christian, you likely won't find it. Don't become a Jew because Judaism isn't Christianity- do it because you love Judaism (not that you don't, but don't expect it to solve all your problems- Jews aren't any more perfect than Christians are). One translation of "Israel" is "to wrestle with G-d." It's always a challenge to read and study and try to figure out what he wants from us; if it wasn't, there probably wouldn't be a commandment to study Torah every day.

Good luck with the conversion process, though; I've had almost universally good experiences with the Jewish communities I've joined over the last few years, and you'll never run out of new stuff to learn. It's an amazing religion.

[Faustus]

Oh, and to jump on the link train, you could also try the conversion forums at Beliefnet; there are people of all denominations there with a lot of good advice (though sometimes you get a bit of push-me pull-me about whether or not everyone should convert Orthodox). There's also a Livejournal community dedicated to converts and prospective converts (just search for "conversion to judaism" or something, and it should come up).

[ThePennyDrops]

Originally Posted by Faustus

To give a summary of my story, I was raised Episcopalian (aka Church of England, aka Catholic Lite, aka Henry VIII's divorce court);

Church of England is most definitely NOT Catholic lite. Given that brutal and bloody wars were fought on the major issues that divide the Protestant and Catholic faiths, such as the infallibility of he Pope and the transubstantiation, I wouldn't dream of using such a term to describe Protestantism. Thanks for telling me what Episcopalianism is though

[17th Angel]

Ok all point and laugh at me......

I thought you had to be born a Jew to be a Jew...

[dauer]

17th,

That's a fairly common misconception, actually. Truth is we just don't evangelize, nor do we see any theological need for everyone to become Jewish.

Dauer

[Karimarie]

As a slight addendum to Dauer's post, 1 out of 39 Jews in the US converted at some point or another.

[17th Angel]

Originally Posted by dauer

17th,

That's a fairly common misconception, actually. Truth is we just don't evangelize, nor do we see any theological need for everyone to become Jewish.

Dauer

Thanks for the post Dauer,

May I ask, (remembering I know naff all about Jewish ways.)

Do you still believe you are the only choosen people? And also, why do not think right to "evangelize"?

[bananabrain]

"chosen people" doesn't mean what you probably think it means. see my comments here:

Baha`i:Islam::Christianity:Judaism

why do not think right to "evangelize"?

the one goes with the other. if you don't think you are superior, there's no need to evangelise. if you do, you want to spread the "good news", or at least diss the inferior. we do neither - or at least shouldn't do.

b'shalom

bananabrain

[17th Angel]

Nice, my thanks.