A little over four years ago, I converted to Judaism. I made a very intentional choice of where I would begin my conversion process. I knew that some people had had difficult times being welcomed by Conservative communities, and I knew Orthodox Judaism wasn't for me predominantly based on gender equality and acceptance of LGBTQ individuals. My most positive experiences had been with Reform Jews which led to my attendance at services, and my later active participation at Temple Israel in Memphis, TN. After a lot of thought, I took the plunge and contacted a rabbi at Temple Israel.
I vividly recall my first meeting with the rabbi who would later agree to help me in my conversion process. He must have been very surprised by my dress. I was wearing a black dress, red light up earrings, and a red light up necklace; all in the spirit of V-Day and the V-Day performance I was to be in that afternoon. If nothing else I showed him what I was passionate about and gave him a good look into my vibrant personality. From that day forward, my rabbi and I forged a very positive relationship which provided me with comfort and support during my process. Additionally, I was very blessed to have the support of my family, friends, and my community in my decision to be a Jew by choice. I was and continue to be very blessed, however other women and men have not been so lucky.
Last week it came out that a very well known rabbi, who had been part of many Jew by choice's conversion processes, was accused and arrested for voyeurism. He stands accused of spying on women as they entered the mikvah by placing cameras in the mikvah so he could watch as women immersed. At such an intimate time as immersion, a convert expects the trust he or she has built with their rabbi to remain.
This scandal unfortunately just made me happy to have converted through the Reform movement, but the response of the Orthodox community was also encouraging. Rabbi Eliyahu Fink wrote in an article in Haaretz, "The Torah enjoins us not to oppress the convert and also commands us to
love the convert. American Orthodox conversion has now been rocked by
two massive scandals of rabbis abusing potential converts in the last
few years. Clearly we are not doing enough to prevent oppression and
demonstrate our love towards converts. That needs to change
immediately."
(http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/the-lighthouse/.premium-1.621147)
He is absolutely correct. There should under no circumstances in any branch of Judaism be such a breach of trust in which rabbis and community members do not speak out against an individual in power who took advantage of community members and converts. Mitzvot do not just require Jews to follow laws given by Moses or that are detailed in the Talmud or Shulchan Arukh, we are also commanded to be moral human beings.
As a Jew by Choice, this story was particularly poignant. Although this is not a situation taking place in the Reform or Conservative movements, I think there is a greater take away for all branches of Judaism. This week's parasha is Lech Lecha, when we read of God's command to Abram and Sarai to go forth from their homes and to become a great nation. Eventually we also read that Abram and Sarai are granted new names and are henceforth called Abraham and Sarah. In many ways Abraham and Sarah are Jews by Choice. They chose to follow God's command to follow on the journey he had planned for them. I charge all Jews to reflect on the journeys we are all called to. What is your journey, Jewish or otherwise? Each of us has a unique journey, and Jew by choice's journey should not be thought of as any less of a journey than that of a born Jew or vice versa. Not only in this case, but in general we need to
be aware that each of our journeys has value and relevance, and that respect and trust are of the utmost importance if we are to help each other in our own journeys. The courts will deal with this rabbi, but it is up to us to not continue to be bystanders and to uphold Jewish values of respect in all aspects of our lives.
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