Wow, I've gotten 20 responses (so far!) on my Chabad article. It's very exciting.
This is what I wrote to them:
“Being different makes you fit in perfectly.” Thank you, Edith for reminding us that as people, as Jews, we’re all unique. I definitely feel, like many converts, that I have always had a Jewish soul, conversion just made the whole world aware of it. I am a Jew and a convert, both. I hope I never forget the journey that I took to become Jewish.
Good luck to all of those converting to Judaism. It’s a hard road but it is full of rewards. It can be hard for people to understand why someone would make such a decision. Often, it’s easier for people to think that you’re converting just for marriage. Maybe, it’s our jobs as converts to remind those people of the beauty we see in Judaism. I know that every day I am learning from my Jewish friends, they are learning from the person I am and the person I was as I become the person I will be.
Judaism is a people, a religion, a way of life and so much more. People forget that it’s much, much more than an ethnicity and a race. I hope that as “the face of the Jewish community” changes, certain outlooks will too. No one looks Jewish, as “Anonymous” points out, it’s in our souls. I challenge you, if you’re up to it, to change those misconceptions.
Good luck to all of those converting to Judaism. It’s a hard road but it is full of rewards. It can be hard for people to understand why someone would make such a decision. Often, it’s easier for people to think that you’re converting just for marriage. Maybe, it’s our jobs as converts to remind those people of the beauty we see in Judaism. I know that every day I am learning from my Jewish friends, they are learning from the person I am and the person I was as I become the person I will be.
Judaism is a people, a religion, a way of life and so much more. People forget that it’s much, much more than an ethnicity and a race. I hope that as “the face of the Jewish community” changes, certain outlooks will too. No one looks Jewish, as “Anonymous” points out, it’s in our souls. I challenge you, if you’re up to it, to change those misconceptions.
