{"id":31601,"date":"2011-04-05T07:01:27","date_gmt":"2011-04-05T15:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=31601"},"modified":"2011-04-05T07:01:27","modified_gmt":"2011-04-05T15:01:27","slug":"educating-converts-to-orthodox-judaism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=31601","title":{"rendered":"Educating Converts To Orthodox Judaism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Gil Student writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n

They have to understand that a community that strives for closeness and closed-ness, a tight-knit society that builds a wall to the secular world (of varying heights, depending on each community), will present obstacles to joining. We will ask personal questions about your upbringing; we will play Jewish geography; we will treat you like family.<\/p>\n

You may find this invasive, especially when some people are overly nosy. You may feel uncomfortable because you don\u2019t have what you think are the \u201cright\u201d answers. You may not want to reveal your life\u2019s story to strangers or at every Shabbos meal you attend. Just remember that this is not a unique experience for converts. Ba\u2019alei teshuvah and people with unusual backgrounds \u2014 foreign accents, small town upbringing \u2014 face the same challenge.<\/p>\n

You have to learn two skills. The first is blending in. Even those whose racial characteristics preclude fitting entirely into the American Orthodox community can blend in with their behavior. If you dress, speak and act like a member of the community, you will find you are treated much more like a member. You also have to learn how to deflect questions you don\u2019t want to answer. In a perfect world, no one will ask you rude questions. Until then, have answers ready like \u201cSomeday I\u2019ll give you the whole story\u201d or \u201cIt\u2019s a long and private story.\u201d You can prepare joke answers or change the subject.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Gil Student writes: They have to understand that a community that strives for closeness and closed-ness, a tight-knit society that builds a wall to the secular world (of varying heights, depending on each community), will present obstacles to joining. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[228,18],"tags":[18757,26022,945,26021,1132,26023],"class_list":["post-31601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conversion","category-orthodoxy","tag-alei-teshuvah","tag-foreign-accents","tag-gil-student","tag-jewish-geography","tag-orthodox-judaism","tag-rude-questions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t