From a female Reform convert:
As you probably know, I love this question! Because I think each of us has our own journey. It's not quite the same for any of us.
I knew I wanted to look into conversion with a rabbi. I took a couple of classes, and met some fabulous rabbis through the Taste and Intro classes. One rabbi, who is local to the Bay Area, was part of the Intro process, and I really liked her style. She was so intelligent and knowledgeable, and welcomed questions during classes. So I emailed her. But after one week of not hearing anything, I emailed her again, using the email address I found on the synagogue website. When she didn't respond to that, I phoned the office and left a message. I didn't hear back from that, either.
I thought to myself, maybe this is the "you have to ask the rabbi three times so they can make sure you're serious," but when asking around, I found that reform rabbis don't do that. So I gave up on that rabbi, and continued my search.
I consider myself lucky that I didn't take that first leap, because I found the perfect rabbi for me just a month later, also in Intro class. She had a warmth about her that was really genuine, and seemed concerned about me personally. Once I got into the study process, I liked the fact that she actually had lesson plans and vocabulary lists -- ask any of my friends, and they'll tell you I like structure -- and it wasn't just about reading a book and report back once a month, which I had heard how some rabbis work. So, this style of study was perfect for me. I really couldn't have made a better choice, and I feel lucky to have found Rabbi Mates-Muchin, and that she was willing to study with me.
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