Three American women recount what led them to convert to Judaism

One is a gay activist, the other fell in love, and another hails from the Bible Belt; unlikely stories of finding Judaism in one’s own image.

By Judy Maltz for Haaretz
Tera Greene had always felt at home among Jews. Her closest friends growing up were Jewish. Her colleagues later in life were Jewish. A formative figure in her life was her grandfather, who developed an affinity for all things Jewish while working at a kosher deli in Brooklyn. And most of her childhood summers were spent at overnight camps, where she learned to value one of the ultimate Jewish-American experiences.

Others might wonder why a 28-year-old disc jockey, who also happens to be black and openly gay, would want to convert to Judaism, but for Greene, it was the perfectly natural thing to do.

"Whatever I was searching for from a very young age, I found in Judaism," she says. "It was a perfect fit for me."

Greene, who lives in Los Angeles, underwent a Conservative conversion almost two years ago. Currently a fellow at Bend the Arc, a Jewish social justice organization based in California, she was a participant in a leadership and networking conference last year in Jerusalem, fellow in a Birthright Israel leadership program, and she took part in a program for educators organized by the grassroots Keshet organization in America, which promotes inclusion for the LGBT community in Jewish life. In her spare time she writes for the Jewish Journal Online's Oy Gay blog and for Challah Back, the NextGenJews blog of the Jewish Federations of North America.

For 35-year-old Leah Jones, it all began with a crush she developed on a Jewish acquaintance. "I decided that if I was going to make a move on him, I'd need to find out what this whole Jewish thing was about, so I bought myself a copy of 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Judaism' [by Rabbi Benjamin Blech, 1999]."

Jones never ended up marrying the object of her crush. In fact, she never even dated him. But she did eventually become a Jew, undergoing a Reform conversion eight years ago.

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Catholics Warn of 'Poison' Atmosphere of Hate as Visit of Pope Francis Nears

Anti-Christian Extremists Spread 'Price Tag' Vandalism

Two weeks ahead of Pope Francis’s trip to the Holy Land, the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem said vandal attacks by suspected Jewish extremists “poison the atmosphere” of the papal visit.

Patriarch Fouad Twal, the Church’s senior cleric in the Holy Land, described the so-called “price tag” attacks as acts of “terror” and called on Israel to crack down on the perpetrators.

Twal made his call at a news conference on Sunday in Haifa, ahead of the annual Our Lady of Mount Carmel procession.

Israel has seen a spate of incidents where mainly Christian and Muslim sites have been spray painted with threats and racist insults. These have been dubbed “price tag” attacks, referring to threats by ultra-nationalist Jews that the government would “pay the price” for curbing Jewish settlement in Palestinian areas.

“This wave of extremist actions of terror is surely of grave concern to all reasonable persons,” Twal said. “The government of Israel must be concerned, because it is very bad for the State of Israel’s image abroad.”

“It is also a blight on the democracy that Israel ascribes to itself,” he added, “At this point, the unrestrained acts of vandalism poison the atmosphere, the atmosphere of coexistence and the atmosphere of collaboration, especially in these two weeks prior to the visit of Pope Francis.”

The pope is scheduled to visit Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority May 24- May 26.

Twal acknowledged that the Israeli government is attempting to deal with the issue but said so far it is not doing enough.

“The actions are only drawing condemnation by Israeli leaders but few arrests,” he said. But he said he was “encouraged” that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni held an emergency meeting last week with senior security officials “to combat this senseless vandalism.”

From the Jewish Daily Forward

Should I Tell My Parents About Non-Jewish Boyfriend?

by Rabbi Scott Perlo For The Seesaw from The Jewish Daily Forward

I fell for a non-Jewish guy during my first year of college

I am about to finish my freshman year at college during which I have started date, and perhaps have even fallen in love with, a non-Jewish guy. I really don’t think I will marry this guy, but for now I am pretty into him and have no plans to break it off. The question is, do I bother telling my rather traditional parents about this? I know it will upset them. Also, he is off to South America all summer so I won’t be sneaking around or anything. —Dating Out

There are Times When It’s Appropriate to Lie

SCOTT PERLO: It depends. It may sound strange for a rabbi to say this, but there are times when it’s appropriate to lie, especially by omission. Most of these instances are to protect another’s feelings or to preserve peace between two parties.

More than a century ago, the shining light of Baghdadi Jewry, the rabbi known as the Ben Ish Chai, was asked to explain exactly under what circumstances the Torah permits lying, and when we must tell the truth. He refused to answer; instead, he gave the questioner a list of all the examples of lying and truth-telling in the Talmud. The message was clear: there is no hard and fast rule. Each situation requires a unique judgment call.

If you were a few years younger, I would have said that there was no question that you should tell your parents. But you are an adult, and with that comes both the ability and responsibility for determining what you will share with your folks.

For a little market research, I called my own mom and asked her what she would have wanted had I been in your position. She claims that she would have wanted to me to tell her. Now, if that’s not Monday morning quarterbacking, I don’t know what is, but the way she explained it made me take notice. She said that my grandfather always took honesty, even the hard truths, as a measure of respect. He would have been more hurt had she not been straight with him than had she acted against his wishes. She feels the same way about me.

The point is that only you know your family, and you should do what will be best for your long-term relationship with your parents.

Your question isn’t really about interfaith relationships, but there is an important interfaith question to be asked. You say you may love this man. Even should the relationship end, if you think this will be the last time you have feelings for someone who’s not Jewish, think again. How will you approach seriously dating someone who is not Jewish?

My Complicated Relationship with My Jewishness–And What it Means for My Son

By Zsofia McMullin for Raising Kvell

I recently made a new friend at my son’s preschool. We just moved to a new town and I was excited and anxious to meet new people, find our groove, and get into a new routine. In the first days of our acquaintance, my friend–who was also new to the area–e-mailed me to say that she was excited to find someone with the same worldview and the same sense of Jewishness.

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