Jewish learning “Introduction to Conversion” or “Introduction to Judaism”?
I served as a congregational rabbi for many years and every year my synagogue held an annual event: a panel of members who converted to Judaism would talk about their journeys to becoming Jewish. One year, a congregant whom I had asked to join the panel told me they were honored to be asked but said they wanted to beg off because we had already honored them so much for their conversion, they did not need another honor in being invited to the panel. I should ask another person who might like the honor.
I responded by saying they misunderstood. Speaking on the panel was not to honor those who converted, although it was great if they felt honored. The panel was not for the converts, it was for congregants who were born into Judaism. Every year, born Jews were so inspired and moved by the story of those who converted that they invariably walked out of the panel reaffirmed in their own commitments. “Best thing we do all year,” they would say. Born Jews were reminded that Judaism was indeed something well worth journeying and sacrificing for.
I was thinking about my congregation’s conversion panel because Hebrew College, where I serve as Provost, is about to launch a significant new class. Supported by Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the National Center to Encourage Judaism, and many local congregations, we are offering a nondenominational course, with online and in-person options, for those interested in converting. While working with local rabbis, a disagreement broke out about how Hebrew College should think about this course. A number of rabbis encouraged us to call the class an Introduction to Judaism, that the class would serve not only as a vehicle for people converting to Judaism to learn about Jewish tradition, but would also be a place for Jews who felt they needed a “beginner’s” class, or non-Jewish partners to learn about Judaism, or the growing number of people who are Jew-ish, meaning that they are not Jewish by accepted definitions, but feel themselves Jewish because they have a grandparent who they found out was Jewish. Another group of rabbis fundamentally disagreed (as rabbis are wont to do). They thought the class should be framed explicitly and exclusively as an Introduction to Conversion. Folks considering conversion, they reasoned, have particular concerns, questions, and needs that they would want addressed which are significantly different than someone who wants to learn more about Judaism because, say, their daughter is marrying someone Jewish.
Should those folks who are choosing a Jewish life have a class just for them? Yes they should, but no they should not (the classic Jewish answer). There are thoughtful arguments on either side.
After some deliberation, we have determined to keep the Introduction to Judaism title and frame the class as being open to those converting and to the many other people who might benefit from it. While having a space particular to those converting would no doubt be a benefit, conversion is inherently a communal act. The joining into community is precisely why one undertakes the journey. The class will mirror that joining.
I also reflect on that conversion panel at my old congregation and think that the process is too rich to not share with others. It is remarkable that in this day and age, when so much would suggest not to convert, that individuals, for a variety of reasons, still undertake the journey.
There was a young women in my congregation who converted with me and married an observant Rabbi. I performed the wedding for the couple, and I will always remember the Rabbi saying he knew from a young age he was going to marry someone who converted. He knew it because he thought that almost everyone he knew growing up in an observant Orthodox community did not share his sincere passion for Judaism. Yes, he lived with a community devoted to a rich life of observance and study, but he had a unique passion for Judaism. He knew that only someone who had embraced Judaism as an adult could share that. “The Jewish world needs converts to inspire us with their passion,” he told me.
In some respects, it is surprising that anyone other than the supremely motivated person converts to Judaism. Much of the Jewish community has become so wonderfully and radically accepting of non-Jewish partners that it may not be as necessary as it was to feel part of the Jewish community. Not to mention our contemporary culture is so open to people having fluid and various identities that the formality of a years-long process–not to mention a potential operation–might not feel necessary. Add in growing antisemitism and nonstop controversy over Israel, its truly a wonder that people still want to convert to Judaism at all. And yet they do. There is no single source that gathers data on how many people convert to Judaism every year, but anecdotally at least from the local liberal mikvah in Boston, all signs suggest that “business” is still brisk in becoming Jewish.
But conversion is still not the only reason someone might want to learn about Judaism from the ground up. Like a tent with openings on all sides, at Hebrew College we aspire to hold an entry point for anyone who seeks to engage in Jewish study. Our Introduction to Judaism course (offered in-person or online) reflects this aspiration.
Rabbi Dan Judson, Ph.D. is the Provost of Hebrew College. He received his doctorate in Jewish history from Brandeis University and his book, Pennies for Heaven: A History of American Synagogues and Money was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. He is presently researching and writing a book on American Zionism in the 1920’s.