JewsByChoice.Org

There has been an interesting series posted on the Hirhurim Musings blog about Why People Become Orthodox, and I thought it would be useful to share here simply because the perspectives of many Conservative rabbis are shared. Essentially a question was posed to a number of rabbis across the spectrum of Judaism, and as far [...]

I recently received an e-mail from the fine people at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Israel asking me if we could add them to our list of resources. A) I was totally impressed that we are even on their radar and B) while going through the links they sent me, I stumbled across this great [...]

I’m sure that most of our reader by now have already heard about the latest in the fiasco in Israel regarding converts and the “Who is a Jew” question. But in case you haven’t here is a snippet from a recent Jerusalem Post article covering the story.
The Jewishness of thousands of converts was cast [...]

It was two years ago, nearly to the day, that I became Chaviva bat Avraham v’Sarah. I say became, but it’s true that I didn’t really become anything other than the person I was meant to be and had always been, the person hidden and seeking, finally come home to Torah and her people Israel. [...]

This post is cross-posted on my personal blog. This is the second part of a two-part blog, but since it’s pretty darn long, you can read the first installment of my Pesach, which includes my first-ever experience at an Orthodox shul, by clicking HERE. And if you don’t want to read it? Well, let’s just [...]

A friend just e-mailed this to me, and I wanted to pop it up really quick to share. I have to admit that my knowledge of U.S. rabbis is pretty weak. I concern myself so much with the great dead teachers (Rashi, Maimonides, etc.) that I seem to forget to look in my own backyard [...]

I just spotted this story and had to share. It’s about the Jewish rapper Y-Love — a black, Orthodox Jew who actually tried to convert at the age of 14!
His curiosity grew into faith, and at age 14 he began attending synagogue at Johns Hopkins University. Much against his Roman Catholic mother’s will, at the [...]

On my long journey to Judaism, I’ve heard and met several very inspiring teachers. Most have no real Internet presence, but here are three of my favorites who are available to the general public, and also happen to be converts. Yes, they’re all Orthodox, but it’s who they are rather than where they ended up [...]

I came across an abundance of interesting articles this morning, and I thought I’d share a couple with the mass. Feel free to comment, especially about item number 1, which I think is absolutely, well, fascinating and a minor bit frustrating (i.e. I think it’s inappropriate for people to convert Orthodox, then walk out of [...]

The New York Times published a story today — How Do You Prove You’re a Jew? I’ve had some problems with the website loading, so be patient. It’s worth the read.
Just when you thought it was difficult as a Jew by Choice (a convert, that is, by any conversion necessary) to make aliyah, you [...]