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The people we carry in our hearts3/16/2023 --by Rabbi Shoshana
Last week, I had the chance to catch up with Margaret a little bit over Zoom. The reason for our conversation was to discuss the students who were scheduled to finalise their conversion process in London. Rabbi Rachel Benjamin joined us for the chat. Rachel was appointed to chair the beit din, or religious court, which is one of the final milestones in moving through the conversion process. Margaret briefed me not only on those students who were preparing to be interviewed by the beit din in March, but also about a few more who will be coming before the beit din in April and May. In the course of the discussions, we made a surprise discovery: both of us had brought with us gifts that had been made for us by our conversion students. Given how challenging it was for each of us to squeeze 5 months worth of clothing, shoes, and other personal items into the one suitcase each of us was allowed, it was all the more noteworthy that we had opted to bring along these special items. Mine is a cloth bag, lovingly embroidered by one of my students. It bears the words of Beit Shalom’s mission statement in Hebrew: welcoming guests, healing the world, righteous giving, kindness, welcoming guests, and Torah. I brought it in my carry-on bag to make sure it wouldn’t get lost. Margaret carried two little tags engraved for her based on the teaching of the Hassidic rabbi Simcha Bunem. He taught that each person should wear a coat with two pockets. In one pocket should be a note with the words, “I am but dust and ashes.” In the other pocket, the words, “For my sake the world was created.” And each person should ponder which note is appropriate to read at different times. I suspect that for both of us, these objects represent how much it means to us that we have the privilege of accompanying students on their journey towards becoming Jewish. I’ve done this with close to fifty students in Australia. I’ve also sat on batei din that have interviewed around one hundred men, women and teenagers in Indonesia. Now, as of Tuesday, I’ve shepherded two women through the last steps of becoming Jewish here in the UK. As I’ve discovered, the final process is handled very differently here than in Australia. I’ve convened batei din in Adelaide nearly every year since 2006. Each time, a rabbi has flown in from interstate. Now with Zoom, a third rabbi is able to join remotely, along with an honoured member of the congregation in person. But here in the UK, there is just one beit din organised by Liberal Judaism. It meets monthly in London, with different Liberal rabbis rotating through. This week’s beit din was headed by Rachel and also included Rabbi Aaron Goldstein as well as Rabbi Charley Baginsky, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Liberal Judaism. The sponsoring rabbi for each conversion candidate comes along as well to provide support to their students. This meant that I got to meet two more rabbis! In fact, even after my formal role was done I stayed around to chat with them and learn a bit more about the non-Orthodox Jewish world here. The two women who had come from Birmingham were both very excited and extremely nervous. One said that this meant so much to her, and then she wiped away some more tears. Both came away from their interviews feeling affirmed and strengthened by how the rabbis had received them. Their appearance before the beit din and immersion in a ritual bath (located, very inconveniently, a solid thirty minute drive away) are the last two steps in what for both of them has been a process of many years. I am very excited to be a part of the Liberal Jewish welcoming ceremony for both of them! Some conversion students move through the process with all deliberate speed, inhaling Jewish learning and experiences with enormous enthusiasm. Others take it a bit slower. Taking on a Jewish identity is a huge transition and involves thinking about questions like how public they wish to be and how they will adjust their personal and professional lives. Each journey, no matter how long it takes, is sacred. It has been one of my greatest joys to be a part of that journey. And now I’m meeting a whole new group of learners. What a blessing!
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Leave a Reply.Rabbi Shoshana Kaminsky has been the rabbi of Beit Shalom in Adelaide, South Australia for the last sixteen years. She's very happy to be serving Birmingham Progressive Synagogue for the next three months.
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