Judaism

I am Jewish, this page talks about my Jewish experiences and thoughts

I am a convert to Judaism, before I was Jewish I was what I would classify as a non denominational non practicing Christian. Several people have asked my why I converted so I will go into a little explanation.

Although I identified myself as a Christian I never felt comfortable in church or with Christian ideals, I always felt awkward and out of place. While I was growing up I actually believed that you were supposed to feel uncomfortable in church and that it was by design.

I knew nothing about Judaism, my very first exposure was when I started dating my wife, we went through pre-marriage counseling with a Rabbi but the first time I set foot in a temple was on our wedding day. I had never intended to convert, Tove and I had discusses the situation and had agreed to be supportive and tolerant of each others religions. We went to services a few times after we were married and I found that I was actually pretty comfortable, all this despite the fact that I had no idea what they were talking about when they were speaking hebrew. As I became more involved and started learning more it became pretty clear that Judaism was right for me.

I effectively lived as a Jew for well over a year before I formally converted, I felt it was important to take my time to make sure I was making the right decision.

Since I converted I continually strive to increase my knowledge and to become a better jew, I studied hebrew and got my Bar Mitzvah, I stopped eating pork about 2 years ago (I do miss sausage and ham) and for about a year I have been wearing my Kipa on Fridays and Jewish holidays

Since we moved, we have been looking for a new temple to join, we are concentrating our efforts on Conservative temples.

My B'Nai Mitzvah Class	Me Reading from Torah