Finally it happened - the first meeting with the local Beth Din! This wasn't one of the three meetings that the Beth Din requires for conversion, but rather an initial meeting to assess my viability as a candidate. Because of COVID-19, the Beth Din still isn't hosting meetings in person, so the meeting took place…
On Hold… Indefinitely
Waiting to hear back from your rabbi, who's waiting to hear back from the sponsoring rabbinical court, who are busy dealing with their own congregations and coronavirus, is like sitting on hold with the IRS. You have to provide very specific information, and you have to remember it because the outcomes hinges on you having…
Passover At A Distance
Although the Jewish calendar is full of important holidays, Passover is arguably the most important. The Jewish exodus from Egypt to freedom in Israel is the seminal event in Jewish history, and as Jews re-enact their ancestors' oppression, living through the plagues, and eventually reaching their freedom in this climatic story, they reiterate the importance…
My First Shabbat
This week, I did a really special thing: I brought in Shabbat by myself for the first time! I've been preparing for - and bringing in - Shabbat for many years with the various Jewish families I've worked for, but doing it by myself was different. There were no little kids running around making noise.…
Conversion in the time of Covid, and Making a Home Jewish (kind of)
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of weirdness. Since I last wrote, the entire United States has essentially shut down to try to slow the spread of Covid-19. Putting all political and social analysis of the virus and its impacts aside, the process of my conversion seems to have been little affected thus…
Getting Familiar with Religious Anti-Zionsim and other Opinions on the Land of Israel
I'm a few days late because I went home to Utah to visit my family over the weekend! I had a fantastic trip. I don't get to see all my brothers at the same time very often, and this was the second time in less than a year that we were all together. Mike, who…
First Week in a New Shul, Learning to Bring in Shabbat – Plus! – Considering “A Lonely Man of Faith”
I had such a great week! I was crazy lucky to bring in Shabbat with M and her daughters (M is the mother of the family I currently nanny for, and she is a true goddess of a human). For the foreseeable future, I'll be with M and her family on Friday evenings, in addition…
Visiting Israel and watching Israeli Geopolitics Unfold in Real-Time
Last Sunday evening, I got back from visiting Udi in Israel. The trip back and forth is always exhausting, but I got lucky and the second flight from Lisbon to Chicago was only about half full. I was able to lay down and actually slept for about five hours, which might be a record. Usually…
How I Met My Fiancé – Part Two
Udi, according to his JSwipe profile, was 37, very tall, and a graphic designer. His profile had several photos of a man with thick black hair, big, dark eyes, and a cleft chin - and not much else in the way of information. He was quite handsome, and looked substantially younger than his age. We…
How I Met My Fiancé – Part One
In January of 2019, I was invited to visit Israel by the mother of the Jewish family for whom I used to nanny. In exchange for a plane ticket there and back, I would provide childcare hours equivalent to the price of the ticket - most importantly, childcare on the flights. There was no question…
