tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post7719427249362625441..comments2023-11-12T20:59:55.490-05:00Comments on Building a Jewish Life: Book Review: Becoming Jewish by Rabbi Steven Carr ReubenKochavahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11841373131402987905noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-61925523686953790232018-12-29T23:29:03.355-05:002018-12-29T23:29:03.355-05:00To clarify, I was upset that he did not recognize ...To clarify, I was upset that he did not recognize paganism as a religion. Many of my close friends are pagan.Kochavahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11841373131402987905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-18512657533883409712013-10-30T03:31:29.032-04:002013-10-30T03:31:29.032-04:00I don't know why it offends you to say that pa...I don't know why it offends you to say that paganism is sometimes considered a religion. Are you not aware of Neo-Paganism? It's a family of religious groups including (neo-) Druidry, Wiccans, Asratu, and other modern revivals of ancient paganism. I can understand that you might disapprove of them, much as you would Christianity or Islam, but that's no reason to say that they're Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-18132187693153082662013-08-08T16:22:43.213-04:002013-08-08T16:22:43.213-04:00I feel robbed; I bought this on my Kindle last yea...I feel robbed; I bought this on my Kindle last year...I wish I knew all this before I bought it. But, on the bright side, I bought another book about How To Become Jewish (And Why Not To), which was quite suitable and helpful for me; being from the UK and all.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16667963766625861717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-18899043852844019662013-04-05T08:35:38.079-04:002013-04-05T08:35:38.079-04:00" He says nisuin is the "Jewish wedding ..." He says nisuin is the "Jewish wedding ceremony," but it's the betorthal ceremony."<br /><br />No, sorry, nisu'in is the consummation of marriage under the chupah. You're thinking of what can be called either "kiddushin" or "eirusin," which are basically synonymous terms for betrothal.orthodox laymannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-66053158598399008392013-04-05T08:21:30.007-04:002013-04-05T08:21:30.007-04:00"[Discussing the development of the modern Je..."[Discussing the development of the modern Jewish wedding ceremony] "A family would hold a simple betrothal ceremony where the bride and groom were legally pledged to one another in the presence of witnesses who would sign a ketubah. Then the families of the bride and groom would have about a year to prepare for the wedding."<br />As someone who says he has performed many Jewish orthodox laymannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-46297692732070373442012-12-23T10:07:43.008-05:002012-12-23T10:07:43.008-05:00I swear I'm done - my rabbi would not convene ...I swear I'm done - my rabbi would not convene the Beit Din until he felt I was ready to become Jewish. He is now, and that's why there's essentially a guarantee that I will pass (see previous comment about it taking place at the mikvah), but there's a reason he hasn't done it until now. To state otherwise is, as you point out, foolish and misleading. And a giant FU to the Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-83375642134477533682012-12-23T10:03:17.328-05:002012-12-23T10:03:17.328-05:00Also! Having read the rest of the comments now (:)...Also! Having read the rest of the comments now (:)) My intro class was helpfulish. My converting rabbi is a very knowledgable, devout man and encourages the same from the congregation and his conversion candidates. He gave us lots of nuts and bolts about Judaism and the concepts, etc. Then we switched rabbis. And the other rabbi, who's a much bigger name, was really, really flaky. In theMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-10707115511048350922012-12-23T09:54:35.162-05:002012-12-23T09:54:35.162-05:00Ah, I borrowed this from the library. It was...se...Ah, I borrowed this from the library. It was...semi-ish helpful? I'm converting Reform, so slightly more relevant, but I found myself disenchanted with it and with the Anita Diamant book that so many Reform rabbis seem to be beloved of. And the Saget introduction was like nails on a chalkboard. I appreciate their goal, and I wonder how much of what you have pointed out would leap out at meMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-2215869513554509172012-12-19T23:52:22.609-05:002012-12-19T23:52:22.609-05:00They are both derived from a root lamed-chet-mem, ...They are both derived from a root lamed-chet-mem, but they are derived from two different roots compiled of the same three letters (in the same order). The reason you can have two different roots that are seemingly the same is that the three h's of proto-Semitic collapsed into only two h's in Hebrew, so the Hebrew chet actually stands in for two separate letters. Originally, then, the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-86208616635551926332012-12-18T18:46:18.123-05:002012-12-18T18:46:18.123-05:00(including a young patrilineal Jew who cried when ...<i>(including a young patrilineal Jew who cried when we got to the "Who is a Jew?" question and she discovered most Jews don't think she's Jewish),</i><br /><br />That's so sad! ;_;<br /><br />That's pretty neat you had that experience though. I've been to Reform and Recon conversion classes, and they were pretty pointless. I went to a Conservative "walking withLaurahttp://crystaldecadenz.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-47201542070754900122012-12-17T14:00:44.396-05:002012-12-17T14:00:44.396-05:00Excellent review. I'd always heard that Recons...Excellent review. I'd always heard that Reconstructionist Jews were pretty observant by non-orthodox standards, (am I naive to think that "observant" means "knowledgeable about Judaism in general and halacha in particular"?), so I hope this rabbi either knows his stuff better than you would apparently think he does from reading this book, or that as a Reconstructionist Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11145089993778979583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-20275423710496221022012-12-16T22:41:12.747-05:002012-12-16T22:41:12.747-05:00Too many quality lines in this post to pick out my...Too many quality lines in this post to pick out my favorite. Thank you for doing a service to all those that may have been flummoxed by this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. I'm still kind of chuckling. Rivki Silverhttp://www.lifeinthemarriedlane.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-21088550631245247862012-12-16T04:42:28.867-05:002012-12-16T04:42:28.867-05:00All: I wrote an Amazon review already. It was basi...All: I wrote an Amazon review already. It was basically the first draft of this post (and a much condensed version).Kochavahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11841373131402987905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-41048367454457472152012-12-15T19:47:17.594-05:002012-12-15T19:47:17.594-05:00Re: Israel and the conservative movement. Like the...Re: Israel and the conservative movement. Like the commenter below, my conservative conversion didn't cover Israel at all. The shul itself "supported Israel," but was careful not to advocate any political positions or "peace plans" because they knew there were great differences of opinion within the members. I think they generally handled it very diplomatically. Kochavahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11841373131402987905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-4023821406938489892012-12-15T19:44:36.452-05:002012-12-15T19:44:36.452-05:00I added my two cents about the intro to Judaism cl...I added my two cents about the intro to Judaism class in the post above yours!Kochavahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11841373131402987905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-64493098070455485512012-12-15T19:44:05.669-05:002012-12-15T19:44:05.669-05:00I was very lucky with my "intro to Judaism&qu...I was very lucky with my "intro to Judaism" class that my conservative conversion required. Yes, much of the material was pretty basic, but we discussed it very deeply and even hit a few specialty topics I'd never studied. (For example, it spurred my love of Mussar, not the fire-and-brimstone kind.) They were smart people who generally did know the basics, and were able to discuss Kochavahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11841373131402987905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-90132225144753866842012-12-15T19:12:37.288-05:002012-12-15T19:12:37.288-05:00I don't believe so. There are other words in t...I don't believe so. There are other words in the glossary that say, "See Entry X" when they are related. The Chabad and Lubavitch "definitions" don't refer to each other and are slightly different. Kochavahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11841373131402987905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-33703372518501191272012-12-15T19:09:47.052-05:002012-12-15T19:09:47.052-05:00If they did, I'd imagine that other rabbis wou...If they did, I'd imagine that other rabbis would have picked up on it by now. We've had some pretty good minds making linguistic connections over the millenia. One voice doesn't make it true.Kochavahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11841373131402987905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-30124301491617158212012-12-15T08:15:04.404-05:002012-12-15T08:15:04.404-05:00Lastly, relatedly, he is not kidding when he impli...<i>Lastly, relatedly, he is not kidding when he implies that politics may impact your conversion. The Conservative movement has been Zionist from it's beginning and does make it an important issue and i was asked at (in, actually) the mikvah if I promise to help build the Jewish State.</i><br /><br />Wow. That's very different from my Conservative experience. Israel did come up at my beitDiplogeekhttp://www.diplogeek.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-89659187158458218402012-12-15T04:45:28.456-05:002012-12-15T04:45:28.456-05:00Nice Article ..Thanks for sharing..Nice Article ..Thanks for sharing..Angry Birdshttp://www.parksonsgames.com/abtradingcards/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-84609053587667792342012-12-14T18:57:22.010-05:002012-12-14T18:57:22.010-05:00"Upon leaving the mikvah (and dressing), your...<i>"Upon leaving the mikvah (and dressing), your witness will accompany you to your conversion ceremony. This part is typically brief but is also the part friends and family can attend. Think of it like graduation. Once your ceremony ends, you are officially Jewish."<br />No. No no no. That is just wrong. You become "Jewish" when you are in the mikvah. You enter the mikvah notLaurahttp://crystaldecadenz.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-5451256537981765022012-12-14T12:00:50.545-05:002012-12-14T12:00:50.545-05:00I second Jennifer's suggestion of posting your...I second Jennifer's suggestion of posting your review to Amazon, and thank you for this review. <br /><br />I agree with Mikhal-Sarah that requiring more than one trip to the beit din is limited to Orthodox conversions. A possible cause of this difference may be in how often you meet with your rabbi. I met with mine weekly at first, and then every other week, as part of my Conservative rhiamomhttp://expattery.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-46411824711362542172012-12-12T22:03:45.521-05:002012-12-12T22:03:45.521-05:00Amazing review. I'm disgusted with this book.
...Amazing review. I'm disgusted with this book.<br /><br />One thing: to my understanding, Chabad was once a larger movement than just Lubavitch, though since Lubavitch is the only branch of Chabad still in existence, the words are now used interchangeably. Could that account for the Chabad/Lubavitch confusion in the glossary? Meggiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12251412502165572443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-84705939778351656632012-12-12T07:48:56.884-05:002012-12-12T07:48:56.884-05:00Seriously, thank you Kochava for that review. To m...Seriously, thank you Kochava for that review. To me, that was very funny. You had me laughing so much and I needed a good laugh. With such mistakes and superficiality, I'm shocked it was published. Why? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292734369805726323.post-62638206671883023282012-12-11T13:05:19.329-05:002012-12-11T13:05:19.329-05:00I believe that the 'lechem/milchama' conne...I believe that the 'lechem/milchama' connection originated with Rabbi S. R. Hirsch, although I think modern scholarship would see it as a fanciful idea.<br /><br />The bar mitzvah soul idea is just <i>weird</i>. I suppose it could be the next logical step in the bar mitzvah's change from being a legal term for 'adult' to one of the most important Jewish life-experiences.Daniel Saundershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07087956908558706584noreply@blogger.com