Okay folks, I am quite new to judaism but I do take it very seriously and would like to start attending a Synagogue as soon as I get my liscense (around February). I realize this is a while from now but I was just wondering if you could all share with me all of your shul experiences. Coming from Christian parents, you can imagine how supportive they are of this decision so I'd like all of the input I can get from unbiased sources. Thanks so much. Ashleigh
What form of Judaism do you want to convert to? Because there are a lot of great websites about Reform and Conservative Judaism. But the most unbiased source on any religion I know if is religioustolerance.org. It's a really good website. Here's the link to the Judaism page: http://www.religioustolerance.org/judaism.htm
If you want to hear about families and conversion, though, I can tell you about my family. I believe my parents converted when my mom was pregnant with my oldest brother Adam. So they would've been married for about a year. My dad's family is Catholic, my mom's family a whole bunch of different kinds Protestantism. They attended a very Fundamentalist church, however. It's not as bad as it sounds. My dad's father was pretty upset at first, he was a very involved Catholic and religion was very important to him. I don't think he really believed my dad would go to Hell, but I think he took it as a personal insult to himself and his faith. From what I saw, however, he warmed up to the idea as time went by. I was only 7 when he died, though, so I don't really know. What I do know is that he had a lot of nice things to say about our Rabbi at the time, and when he died, our Rabbi went to his funeral, which was really nice. I really don't know what my grandmother felt about Dad's conversion, but she has told me that she doesn't believe in pushing her religion on people if they don't want to convert (but if you show interest, she'll probably tell you everything she knows, give you one of her copies of the King James Bible and expect to see you at mass next Sunday), so I think she was all right with it. Grandma's kind of a liberal Catholic. Her younger brother Bill was gay, which caused some problems in the family, but Grandma always stood by him and supported him. And by a lot of her other opinions, I can tell that she interprets the bible a little differently than a lot of other Catholics do. Don't get me wrong, she's probably the most religious person I know, she just has different standards than a lot of people. So I don't think it was as much of a deal to her. She likes to come over during Chanukkah and Passover, too. His siblings didn't seem to care one way or another. My mom's family had a slightly different reaction. Her parents attended a Fundamentalist church, but they themselves weren't really Fundamentalist. Their biggest concern was whether or not my family would still go over to their house for Christmas. Since we were Reform Jews, we did until they moved down to Florida. The biggest problem was my mom's brother and sisters. My mom's oldest sister is a Fundamentalist. My mom says she's a bible thumper, she just doesn't show it around us "kids". She spent a lot of time trying to "save her soul". Her other sister is a Methodist, I think, which I believe is a more liberal sect of Protestantism, but she still seemed unhappy that Mom converted. My uncle, on the other hand, is an Atheist, which in this case, was almost as bad. He is one of those pushy Atheists who thinks that unless you see the world exactly the same way as he does, you're stupid, brainwashed and evil. He refused to go to my cousin's wedding because it was held in a church. Yeah, that bad. As you can probably guess, he wasn't happy that my mom wanted to be part of a religion at all. But like with my grandfather, things cooled down. My mom doesn't hide that her siblings, especially her oldest sister who she's close to, hurt her with their reaction, but they're still talking and whatnot. So all is well. So how my brothers and I turn out? All different. When my oldest brother Adam went to Binghamton, he went to a synagoge run by a Hasidic group whose name I can never remember. Their mission statement is to "keep Jews Jewish". And if they join their sect, they get brownie points, I guess. Adam didn't join their group, but he has since become a Modern Orthodox Jew. He's even thinking of becoming a Rabbi. My second oldest brother Erich takes a (much, much) more liberal approach. He's agnostic. Yeah, that's pretty liberal. But he said he doesn't want to stop being a Jew, so I guess I'd put him in the Reconstructionist catagory. My brothers find it best not to talk about it. I am someone who doesn't really know yet what I believe. I'm not agnostic like Erich, I definitely do believe in G-d, but I don't know if I'm going to be Jewish for the rest of my life. But it definitely was a good religion for me to be raised in, so I have no complaints.
Well, FeministHippy, your family's story is very interesting and I did infact enjoy reading it As for me, I think reform judaism is PROBABLY the one for me although I might even go for conservative (probably once I learn more about the transdenominational religion all together). It would be a sad thing to choose now with the very little knowledge I have. I'm sure I'll make a decision at some point (before I have kids) simply because, like you said, it seems like an excellent belief system to be brought up in. I am planning on doing Jewish studies in University because it seems the more I learn about Judaism the more I want to learn. Just everything about it rings so true to me. Must've been jewish in a past life.
Well, here are some reform websites: http://rj.org/ http://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/rsgb-artman/publish/rj_welcome.shtml http://reformjudaismmag.org/- my parents used to get this magazine, and it has some pretty interesting stuff in it. Here's a Conservitive website: http://www.uscj.org/index1.html- Among a lot of other things, this website has an index for locating a synagogue in your area, in case you still need that.
Where Adam went to, you mean? Chabad. I've been there twice. It's weird. Way too strict for me. But I liked the rabbi's wife.
Ok, basic conversion info is go for the most Orthodox conversion you an get... wait, you aren't Jews for jesus or anything, are you? because you will need to be straight up about that. You can attend any synagogue you wish (soulds like shul might be too orthodox for you) afterward, although it is a nice idea to stay for a year (you paid membership anyway) Orthodoxy doesn't accept Reform converts, and you as a mother MUST be accepted by most rabbis for your kids to really be Jewish. Matrilineal decent. We always know who mmom is, and in the days of plural marriage, Jewish women married to other tribes, the kids remained Jewish by our Law. But in the words of my Chabad Rabbi, know your own religion first. You must know all of it. Then you can make a decision. Lots of Reform congregations have a Jewish class. They are a good starting point.
Well, my "conversion" has taken a turn, or stop. After an excessive amount of research and personal contemplation I've decided that I don't need to be part of a religion to have a close relationship with God. I am still very interested in Judaism, but I do not see it as a necessary step toward being one with the Creator. Thank you all for the information though, it was a lovely read. With love and latkes Ashleigh
I'd visit them all and go from there. I'm married to a Gentile so I am unable to convert so I'm a bit envious. LOL! Where ever you start out, never say that's where you'll end up.
