The decision to become Jewish dates back to the Book of Ruth, whose heroine made this same choice. We can put a modern twist on conversion by creating prayers, rituals, and blessings—adding our own voices to the ongoing story of the Jewish people.
Conversion
Design Your Own Ritual with a Little Help from a Ritual Guide
Ritual helps us pay attention. From the joy of a recovery to the grief of a funeral, ritual helps us inhabit the breadth of human experience.
Recently, I led a Sunday morning brunch at Woodstock...
Traditional Mikveh Blessings
Tags: abortion, birthdays, cancer, conversion, mikveh, miscarriage, name change, rape, same-sex wedding, sex
From Water to Water: A Conversion and a Taharah
It was a week filled with water—starting with my partner Ever’s conversion to Judaism by immersion in the mikveh, the womb of the universe that moves us from one state of being to the other....
Tags: mikveh, taharah, Hevra Kaddishah, LGBTIQ
Constant Reimagining: Using the Mikveh as an Opportunity for Renewal
She and I sat next to one another on a small wooden bench outside of the mikveh preparation room with a box of tissues and a cup of water between us. Our voices bounced off against the silent, tiled...
Tags: mikveh
On Being Jewish
If you ask any convert to Judaism, they will likely tell you that as daunting as the conversion process can sometimes be, actually being a Jew can be harder that becoming one....