This past week I had the great honor of attending a conversion ceremony at the Jewish courthouse in Jerusalem. It was something I had never experienced, and an event worth sharing. I live in a neighborhood where many women from all over the world come, seeking a true Jewish way of life. From across the globe I have met so many wonderful women. From China to France, Mexico, Brazil, Chili, and Canada. These special women left everything they had in their homeland far away to come and join the Jewish people. These ladies came out of love, connection, and a sense of belonging with a great desire to be one with Hashem and His people. As we know in Jewish law conversion is a long process, it is not something easy or welcoming.
I will explain. In Jewish law when the person expresses the desire to come and join the Jewish nation we are taught that we are to push them away. We are to explain to them how difficult it is and how it is not necessary for them to come and join us. Very different from missionaries who try desperately to grab people into their web and attract them to their religion at any cost. In Judaism we do not want people to join our nation that is so full of laws and structure if it is not something they are doing from the heart and for the right reason. We would not want someone to come into our nation for reasons that are not sincere and then pull away innocent souls from within the nation, into their own religion and faith. The girls that I see are all very sincere and go through an extremely hard couple of years until they are trusted and welcomed in with open arms.
This woman that I went to the Jewish courthouse with this past week, is a girl that I have been following and guiding somewhat for the last two years. She came from Brazil, and left her family and everything she had on a journey to the unknown. The first time I met her I asked her how she got to Israel and she said, “I went to a synagogue in Brazil and told him I wanted to convert, they looked at me and said not here, if you want to convert you must go to Israel.” Not knowing anyone this did not stop her. She boarded the next plane, said goodbye to her family, and was off to Israel. She figured when she got off the plane she would find lots of Jews who would want to help her, after all the land of the Jews has lots of Jewish people and she probably would find somebody who wants to help.
When she got off the plane she approached a Jew with a white beard just like in the pictures, and said to him, “Hello, I came to convert, where should I go?” Thank goodness, it is Hashem who is running the world and He sees into the hearts and souls of each individual and sends the right people at the right time, especially for those who trust him 100%. This man happened to speak Portuguese and directed her to a Midrasha for girls who are looking to convert up in the city of Haifa. When she got to Haifa she was lost, trying to find this seminar.
Once again Hashem sent her someone to help. He approached her and asked if she needed help with directions. She said she needed help and wanted to know if there was a place close by that you can pray before heading in that direction. The man turned around and pointed to a mountain nearby and said over there is the gravesite of Eliyahu HaNavi the prophet, perhaps you can go there and pray for a few minutes before you go on your way. She gladly went in the direction and as she reached the site she looked up at the heavens and began to cry. She prayed to the One Above, she said, “Dear Hashem I’ve come so long and from so far away to join the Jewish people. I always dreamed of coming to Jerusalem where the Holy Temple rested and where all the forefathers prayed and lived. Please G-d let me reach that destination as well, help me find the seminar in Jerusalem where I can become close to the Jewish nation and become one with you Hashem.” Once again Hashem heard her innocent prayer and her desire to be close to the Jewish nation in the holy city of Jerusalem. Perhaps it was Eliyahu HaNavi with a white beard who happened to walk by and who spoke Portuguese. He asked her why she was crying. She expressed her desire to be in Jerusalem in a seminary that teaches women how to come close to Judaism. This man had a number of exactly what she was looking for in Jerusalem and gave it to her. Once again she was on her way but this time in the right direction straight to Jerusalem. She came to the seminary which was close to my house and right near the synagogue that I pray in. We connected from the beginning, it was an instant attraction and she spent many weekends at my house. She went through a long process of teachers and rabbis and rebbitzens who taught her and showed her the way. She would call me her Jewish mom since her mom was so far away. The question at the Shabbos table was always when are you going to get your court date so you can complete your conversion? And the date was always pushed off for obvious reasons since it was part of a long process. At my Shabbat table she always knew that she could not touch the bottle of wine and would wait patiently for somebody to pour her a glass. This past Shabbat as we sat around the table knowing that her court date was the coming up Sunday we all smiled and said, “Hopefully next week you will pour the wine for everybody around the table.” A big smile came to her face as she said Amen.
The courtroom for the conversion in Jerusalem is in a separate division and a separate building from the regular Jewish courtroom that deals with divorce and many difficult and hurtful issues that occur in a Jewish person’s life. This courtroom did not have a sense of pain or difficulty, here the waiting room was filled with almost-Jewish people waiting for their turn to be called and to be granted the great pass to enter into the chosen nation. It was a waiting room filled with souls that worked so hard with challenges with obstacles with never ending hope that one day they will be Jewish as well. It was something beautiful that I had never felt. It was pure, there were no strings attached. It was just these souls and Hashem, the one who sees into the hearts of people and knows who’s doing what for what reasons and why. As I entered the courtroom they asked me to say a few words about this young lady that I had been acquainted with for the last few years. I spoke for a few minutes of my connection with her and my opinion of how honest I felt she really was in joining the Jewish people. And then I said something that I felt was the most important information that I could give over to the rabbis. I said to them that many people do things from their head, from things they were taught and from things that make sense, or that they are obligated to do from the laws of the Torah. I said this young lady worships Hashem from her heart. She wants to come close to the Jewish people because she loves Him and she loves the Torah. I said if somebody does something from their head because it makes sense or because it’s the right thing to do, then some day it might not seem like it makes sense anymore and then it won’t be the right thing to do. But if somebody does something from their heart because they feel close or they feel the love for Hashem, the Torah and the Jewish people, then no matter what ups and downs they will face throughout the challenges of life they will stay strong with the Almighty since they are connecting to Him from their heart and not from their head. I said this to me is stronger than all the laws that she learned for the last two years and knows them inside out. I told them if I had a son of age I would be proud to give her to my son.
The rabbis thought for a moment and went over all the documents and papers that they gathered over the past few years regarding this lady and they announced with a big smile, “We hereby welcome you into the Jewish Nation into the chosen people, you can now go to the mikvah the holy waters and join all the Jewish mothers of Israel.”
There was silence in the room, as she opened her mouth and recited,; “Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokainu Hashem Echad.” There wasn’t an eye in the room that was left dry. To recite that phrase for the first time as a Jewish soul is the most incredible feeling one can ever imagine.
When a baby is born and they just join the world they cannot say this sentence, they cannot speak. But when a person converts and joins the Jewish nation at that moment they are born again. They are new, and at that moment they can say the Shema. This is a moment that’s so extraordinary I can barely put it into words.
I hugged her dearly and said with a smile, this week the wine is on you.
At times we take for granted the simple blessing of just being Jewish. Of just being able to perform the commandments that Hashem said just because we are Jewish. Watching this conversion take place reminded me how special the Jewish people are and how wonderful it is to have the Almighty looking out for us at every given moment. Thank you Hashem for creating me Jewish, and thank you Hashem for having me experience the wonderful mercy you have for letting others join the Jewish nation in the right way. Welcome home Jewish soul we are so happy you came back.
May we merit to see the full redemption with all the nations of Israel in our time, in great mercy. Amen.
