By the end of 1989, I determined to convert to Judaism, but I was not sure which denomination to choose.<\/p>\n
My hero Dennis Prager was non-denominational. He went to all types of synagogues. I decided to be like that.<\/p>\n
As I kept studying Judaism, I often felt most comfortable with the theoretical underpinnings of Conservative Judaism.<\/p>\n
In 1991, I began awkwardly reaching out to synagogues in Sacramento. A few hours before Rosh Hashanah, I called the Conservative synagogue Mosaic Law<\/a> at 2300 Sierra Boulevard in downtown Sacramento. Rabbi Moses picked up.<\/p>\n “I want to convert to Judaism and I have a moral dilemma,” I said. “I know the Torah says that if you take a woman’s virginity, you must marry her. Anyway, I had this girlfriend at UCLA and now I’m too sick to be in school and I feel guilty for staying in touch with this girl because I know I don’t want to marry her.”<\/p>\n “You have to let her go,” said the rabbi.<\/p>\n I thanked him. I repeated that I wanted to convert to Judaism but I was too sick to leave the house. “I don’t have the time to drive up to instruct you,” said the rabbi.<\/p>\n I thanked him again and hung up. Then I cut off all relations with my ex-girlfriend for about two years until I found out that she had another boyfriend. That made me feel like it was OK to talk to her occasionally. <\/p>\n In August of 1993, I moved to Orlando, where my live-in girlfriend took me to her psychiatrist who got me on the medication Nardil which brought me a two-thirds recovery to normal life.<\/p>\n I met Dennis Prager in Tampa Bay on Super Bowl weekend in 1994 and he said if I was in LA, he might have work for me.<\/p>\n I flew back to Sacramento on March 24, 1994, to stay with my step-mother. My dad was gone a speaking trip. <\/p>\n On Shabbos morning, March 26, I caught a ride to the Mosaic Law Congregation with my friend Noel, a goy and former Seventh-Day Adventist pastor.<\/p>\n A few years before when I’d told Noel that I was becoming Jewish, he said, “Whoa, there are many different types of Judaism.”<\/p>\n Noel had never been to a shul.<\/p>\n I found Jewish services difficult to get through. I was able to do it at my Conservative shul in Orlando, Ohev Shalom<\/a>, because I loved the rabbi, the cantor and many people in the temple.<\/p>\n Now I was on strange turf and the three hour service was a chore. My friend Noel was struggling too. <\/p>\n After the service, however, I got to talk to Rabbi Moses. He remembered me as the intense and confused young man from more than two years past. <\/p>\n He smiled at me. He didn’t hold my extremism against me.<\/p>\n I found people in the shul friendly. There was a kiddush lunch, where I started chatting with a tall attractive brunette about 18 years of age. I felt her beauty and youth and intelligence were promises of great things ahead for me. Despite our age difference, we were at a similar place in life, about to begin a major transition to adulthood far from home.<\/p>\n I got her contact info and wrote to her once or twice. She mailed me back, including a photo.<\/p>\n Unlike many of my friends, I’ve never had a problem finding Jewish women attractive. I don’t find them sexually cold and I don’t find them overly materialistic. After all, if they’re going out with me, they’re not obsessed with money. <\/p>\n When I moved in 2011, I went through my stuff and found the picture of this Mosaic Law girl. After a few seconds of remembering, I threw it away. She could be a grandma by now. <\/p>\n I was so excited to restart my life that sunny Shabbos March 26, 1994. I felt a part of the Jewish people. I’d walked into a strange shul and people had welcomed me. Most importantly, a beautiful woman had shown an interest in me. <\/p>\n Five days later, I moved permanently to Los Angeles. <\/p>\n The first synagogue service I went to down south was at the Conservative Adat Shalom shul in Westwood.<\/p>\n Even though I’m now Orthodox, I can look back and see that Conservative Judaism was very very good to me.<\/p>\n A few years ago on a Friday night, I ran into an Orthodox friend on Pico and Sherbourne. He said he was going to dinner at Beth Am (Conservative). I raised my eyebrows.<\/p>\n “You know what they say about Conservative Jews, don’t you?” he said.<\/p>\n I shook my head.<\/p>\n “They do it before marriage.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By the end of 1989, I determined to convert to Judaism, but I was not sure which denomination to choose. My hero Dennis Prager was non-denominational. He went to all types of synagogues. I decided to be like that. As … Continue reading