BECOMING JEWISH
  • Welcome to Becoming Jewish!
  • What's New?
  • Reading Recommendations
  • About Our Rabbis
  • Jewish Places in the Bay Area
  • What Do I Have to Do to Become Jewish?
  • Why Be Jewish?
  • Online Jewish Resources
  • Our Conversion Stories
  • Judaism FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Blog: Into the Jewish Pool
  • Media Coverage
  • Converting Outside the USA
  • Conversion Videos

My Beit Din #4: I Arranged My Own Beit Din

4/30/2013

0 Comments

 
From Dawn: This is the only case I have heard of where the seeker assembled their own Beit Din. Your rabbi should do this, not you.  If you have any questions about this, please contact us.


This conversation began here.

For my conversion, I had to find and arrange the rabbis for my own beit din.  We all got comfortable with each other in advance; I knew each of them: one had been my Judaism 101 teacher, one had been my congregational rabbi for the previous 5 years, and one had led me specifically in my year-long study and approach to my conversion....  They had already asked me whatever questions they were concerned about, and I had already answered them.  I had already asked them if they would approve of my conversion, and each had said yes.  So, though I was still nervous for my beit din, I knew in my head that none of the three rabbis was possibly going to humiliate me on my big day.

The one question that was hard for me at my actual beit din was:  what about giving up christmas.  I shared, as I had planned to do, that we would continue the family tradition of visiting with grandma at christmastime and enjoying the festivities she would provide.  Then they asked:  what about when she passes away?  Tear sprang to my eyes at that thought....  But I answered that in her honor, we might continue to remember the loving events we had shared by having a small tree in my home, and I emphasized that the holiday was one of family togetherness and acceptance, not a religious event.

Now some 10 years on, I realize that absolutely no one is looking over my shoulder to see whether I still "deserve" my Jewish identity, so I could totally put up a tree or any other thing I cared to do or felt I needed to do.  but for now, we still spend christmas with grandma.

About "passing" your beit din, or possibly "flunking"...  think of how humiliating that would be for the rabbi you have been working with who was guiding you toward your conversion; if the others don't approve of you or your preparation, it is a total slap at that rabbi's judgment...they're not likely to do that to their fellow rabbi, even if you don't feel confident that they wouldn't humiliate you that way.

Also, since you have the questions in advance, write yourself some notes in answer to them.  You can read them at your beit din if you get flustered.

Best of luck, I imagine it will be just fine.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Thoughts from our Email List

    Hopefully our blog entries will concern issues that matter to YOU, the curious about Judaism.  Please let us know what you'd like to read about!

    Categories

    All
    After Conversion
    Anti Semitism
    Beit Din
    Blessings
    Child Conversion
    Christmas
    Circumcision
    Connecting
    Conservative Judaism
    Conversion Process
    Dating/relationships
    Death/Shiva
    Find A Rabbi
    God
    Hanukkah
    Hatafat Dam Brit
    Hebrew Name
    Hell
    History
    Holidays & Fast Days
    Interfaith
    Jewish Places
    Kashrut
    LGBT
    Mikvah
    Mitvot/Commandments
    Mourning
    Movements
    Non-Jewish Family
    Orthodox Judaism
    Parenting
    Passover
    Personal Stories
    Questions From Readers
    Reform Judaism
    Social Justice
    Spirituality
    Synagogues
    Torah
    Transgender
    Why Be Jewish?
    Yahrzeit

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    August 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    August 2011
    May 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010

BecomingJewish.net is a great resource for anyone who is thinking about converting to Judaism or has recently become Jewish.