Lox and L'Chaim

             Over a month ago, I started the year-long conversion process to Conservative Judaism. Let’s face it, it was bound to happen. But don’t worry, I’m not a Torah-beater yet.

            This November marks my two-year anniversary at the Levine Jewish Community Center (LJCC), and although I’ve transitioned to a new, full-time job, the Center is still a quintessential part of my life. Now, in addition to using the fitness facilities and spending time with the friends that I’ve met at the JCC, I’ve factored in the “mind” element of the popular mind, body, and soul ideology.

            My decision to convert came after a solid year of contemplation, and the guidance of my “second” family. The LJCC is one of the few campuses to house temples on its grounds. Temple Beth El is the Reformed institution of study while Temple Israel represents the Conservative Jewish practice. After gathering feedback from friends and other members of the temples, I decided to sit down with Rabbi Faith Cantor, the assistant rabbi at Temple Israel.

            Rabbi Cantor, the only female rabbi at Temple Israel, is a scholar and a leader, but more impressively, she is honest, grounded, and humorous. She is the kind of rabbi you feel at ease around because she eliminates any tension or discomfort the novice may have while learning about Conservative Judaism. There’s no pretension or – for lack of a better word – bullshit in her teachings. So for two hours each Tuesday evening, religion is both interactive and meaningful. Attending class is not a chore. Instead, it is something I look forward to each week. The group includes seven individuals from various religious upbringings and by thirty minutes in, it becomes a conversation about Judaism, a kind of Jewish Social Hour. And if we know how to chat for hours on end, it seems like the conversion is already in full force.

            This Tuesday’s lecture covered the upcoming High Holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The Jewish New Year reminds us of the importance of our relationship with God; it is the process of reconnection and reaffirmation. We atone for our sins. Once we recognize our sins, we apologize and we pledge to never commit them again. Unlike other sects of Christianity, we are instructed not to be God-fearing, but to trust that God will forgive us if we ask and promise not to repeat our sins. It is the idea that no one is perfect and that although “I am made in the image of God; I am not God.” Even God, like Sherman Burns, recognizes that perfectionism does not exist.

The rituals of Rosh Hashanah are ancient and beautiful. We eat apples dipped in honey to represent the “sweetness” of the New Year. The challah which is usually oblong is baked in a circular shape demonstrating the cycle of life. The wine, the ritual drink of choice, quite literally warms the body, sanctifying both time and joy. Everything has its place and its purpose, just like us.

The High Holidays reserve a time for self-reflection. We think about those we have hurt, but after we dwell, we ask for forgiveness and start anew. It is like the secular idea of starting each day with a clean slate, but with the pledge to not repeat the mistakes of the previous day, week or month.

I’m not sharing my conversion process to convert anyone or to demean other religions. This blog is simply another pathway or segment of my life, and just like the things that I’ve written about before – yoga, wine, and friendship – Judaism is another puzzle piece that fits into my life as a twenty-five-year-old. It is a chance to grow and to reflect. And it is a chance to realize although we aren’t perfect, we can recognize our mistakes and press on with the hope that we can improve and be forgiven.

L’Chaim.