Where to start becoming Jewish when family roots discovered

I also wanted to add, in case you are not aware, that judaism does not recognize conversions away from its faith, so it doesn’t matter what church your maternal grandmother/great-grandmother was affiliated with, or if anyone was baptized, confirmed etc.

Anybody born a Jew always remains a Jew according to Jewish law. And anyone born to a Jewish mother is Jewish ( again, even if said mother converted to Christianity, because Jewishness is forever).

Also, you may find it interesting to read about spanish Jews returning to their roots, but realize that they would have had to trace (and prove) their maternal roots back over 500 years to verify their Jewishness and not need to convert, your situation is a piece of cake comparitively.

Rebry, you have proven my point, and in the month of Elul no less. How rude! It’s the Orthodox Union, by the way, not the Modern Orthodox Union.

aurora77, according to traditional Jewish teachings, rabbis are supposed to discourage prospective converts by, among other things, asking them why they would want to assume the burdens of being Jewish.

As you can see from this brief exchange, there are many Orthodox Jews who believe that only their way is the “right” way. (As an obvious exaample, for those who believe it is “wrong” to have internet access, we are all in trouble.) As far as some posters are concerned, not only are those with whom they disagree not Orthodox, they might even consider them not Jewish. In my humble opinion, this is wrong according to Jewish Law.

For many people here, they were born into families that followed a particular Jewish philosophy and so they continue with what they learned at home or in school. You, however, are in a different situation as you can choose which rabbi you wish to consult who represents which group you might wish to join.

I understand what you mean when you speak of being an advocate as I am an attorney. Within my Orthodox congregation there are both men and women who are lawyers, physicians and all sorts of professions. There are also Orthodox (actually chareidi or chasidic) congregations where the rabbis and members believe that women should not attend college or law or medical school and not engage in occupations like this. If this way of thinking works for them, fine. Does it work for you?

FYI, here in New York, U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin keeps a shomer shabbos courtroom.

Former Attorney General and former federal judge Michael Mukasey is a member of the Orthodox congregation Kehilath Jeshurun and attended the Ramaz yeshiva. I could go on, but you get the picture.

Again, good luck.

How are things going for you, Aurora?

1. Sorry about any spelling or missing letter mistakes in the post above and/or in this one. I am using an ancient keyboard and its almost 6AM IST! Why I’m up, I don’t even know!

2. If you search Gooooogle “learn to read hebrew” you will find some very helpful, free stuff! Hatzlacha (not exactly Good Luck, but something like that!) and have FUN!!

(Who ever has fun learning?? Well , not me!!!)

SiDi™

OP

You mentioned that you would have to drive to an orthodox shul. While others discouraged it, I do not think they are correct on this.

I have occasionally when Ive been out of time been to chabad houses where the Rabbi knew very well that certain people who regulally came drove to the shul and I have definatly heard that some Big Rabbis have permitted driving to shul at least at the very begining especially in your case where you might not know anyone at the Shul.

Going to the Shul on Shabbos and introducing yourself to the Rabbi might be your best first step, (In person introductions are much better than on the phone) Perhaps he can help you with further Shabbos until you are able to move.

I hope that everything is going well with you? I always enjoy reading your posts on the various threads 🙂 “

Thank you, and thank you. I am sorry to hear about your mother’s health right now. May her recovery be speedy and complete, so she can have nachas from seeing her daughter’s life-changes and growth.

It would be better of course for you to call before shabbos, but in my general experience in life an in-person meeting is taken alot more seriously than a phone call.

Please do not let BP mensch scare you about your most worthy occupation. Even though college education is not encouraged in some very religious communities, nobody in the US will expect you to forget your training post-facto and switch careers.

Mammele, I am glad you consider law a “worthy occupation.” Nevertheless, you have told only part of the story.

aurora77, it may be true that a certain Jewish group would not ask you to give up the practice of law but would you like to belong to one where they say you are doing something that would be prohibited to them?

How would like to have your daughter come home from school and ask you if going to college is forbidden, why did you go to college?

I repeat what I said earlier; you have a choice in which group you choose to join. Ask and go into things with your eyes open.

OP,

This needs to be emphasied and I hope you dont get discouraged, this website is YESHIVA world news, not Jewish world news meaning many of the posters (but not all) represent the more right wing elements in the jewish community. and you might be getting a slightly distored view, (Read some of the threads and you might get it) They are probably very nice and very sincere people in real life and mean well

I am not sure if you have ever seen an orhtodox jew in person and Id really recommend trying to see some and maybe this might shed some light on the differences.

To see a more modern orhthodox community you might try Cherry Hill, NJ but a better option might be Teaneck, NJ (Near NYC)

To see a Yeshivish jewish community Your best best would be Lakewood, NJ (Its exit 89 on the Garden State Parkway, about 50 miles south of NYC and maybe 50-60 miles east of Philly)

To see a Chassidic community your best bet would be to visit Borough park in Brooklyn and especially walk down 13th ave.

Finally do not consider you degree an impediment, there is nothing wrong with it, no matter what anyone else says. Plenty of people have degrees (including myself, although I dont have a professional degree, just a regular BA)

I do want to add, while I think you should make contact with the Rabbi asap, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are probably not the best time to do it, not because they arent important, they are VERY important, but Because The Rabbi might be a little more busier than normal and might not be able to give you as much attention as you need and I would not want you to get turned off because the rabbi didnt give as much attention as you need because he was busy with lots of things during the high holy days and it might seem as if he was blowing you off, when he wasnt.

Didn’t read what everyone else said but when my family became orthodox the first thing we did was start to keep shabbos (and learn about it). And I’m glad we did it that way because any jew coming back should keep shabbos – the single most important mitzvah to prevent you from ending up in a lovely eternity of hell.

Take things at your own pace, Do not rush at anything. There is no need to jump in the water.

I dont think where to start other than reading or asking basic questions is best to take from an internet chat room.

You will need to figure out how to fit everything in your life, there are people who know better than me what should be done first as they have dealt with people before and know what works and what doesnt work.

I do know from my own lifes experience, that rushing things is a really bad idea, Its like building a building too fast. The building can collapse into a pile of ruble (I know people where that happend to and its not been pretty)

Since you have not experienced Shabbos, I would not recommend starting there until you have been to someone who knows how more than a few times . You are going to wind up staying in the house all day , be bored with no friends , in the dark with. and while this might work for a few weeks, it wont work in the end.

Better take it slowly to make of a chance for success

First of all, allow me to say I am heartbroken about your mother’s health issues and I wish her a complete recovery. I know words are empty when someone has serious problems, yet I care.

I think maybe you should ask someone in person and everything would be much easier. It’s not difficult to observe Shabbat for someone who wants to, while 200 years ago it was. But your situation is different, because you don’t know the rules and how to do. Also I would not discount the comment of zahavasdad, which asks you if you plan to get bored in the house for the whole day, possibly in the dark or in the cold. It is my opinion you have to think of the seemingly simple problems, because they are important in the long run, and make the difference in committment.

Are there other jews where you live? Consider that older people are likely to have had some sort of jewish education, also secular jews with secular parents used to; someone who is aware of the basic laws could give you suggestions. Take everything with a pinch (or a handful) of salt, it goes without saying; but you seem to be completely alone, which is tremendously difficult.

I have not understood why you are not asking a rabbi, and if it is your choice, or contingent problems (all of those can be easily solved).

The other thing I have not understood is what your mother thinks about all of this.