The Mora d'Asra is my favorite rabbi of ones I know. who is only a few years older than me, is my go-to for questions/how I'm feeling with things. After telling him about Shabbos, he feels that this whole thing could get bad, since no one knows my status except for my room mate (and I asked her not to say anything to anyone). However, she thinks that people finding out in May about my status would be weird.
The Mora d'Asra said to call the Gadol Hador and ask him about this sponsoring rabbi business, and I'm waiting to hear about it, too.
Yes, this could get bad, but it might not.
Pretend for a second I work for the CIA or MOSSAD's Kidon. Who I work for is no one's business. I'm not obligated to tell anyone, and why should they want to know. My Jewish background, and current status, is no one's business except mine, and those select few directly involved, or who I choose to tell about it. Converting should be the same way.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Moved In and Settling
I'm all moved in and am settling in, and this past Shabbos was not without its merits.
Let's start with Friday night. Friends of my roommate who also live in my building invited me for dinner. I heard that a family was coming as well. After a knock on the door, the family comes in. I recognized one of the girls from 3 years ago, and didn't know she was in the area. We were a bit shocked to see each other. I later found out that she, like everyone else in the room, goes to the Liberal Orthodox shul. I found this out after dinner when saying good-bye. She said she would see me tomorrow in shul, but I just smiled and said, "Oh, I'm going to [Yeshivish shul].'
DEAD SILENCE FOR 3 SECONDS.
Great.
I hung around a bit more, before walking downstairs to my place.
The next morning, I get up, have some cholent for breakfast since I stirred it, and then went off to shul.
Each week, I meet more and more of the ladies. Which is fine. I'm sorta' glad about my status, because this is the 2nd week that one of the men tells me he's single.
o_O
Nevermind that he's in his 40s, AND had his girlfriend? or just a close female friend? right next to us when he said it.
So, he introduces me to this rocket scientist ( I kid you not), and then to this couple who invite me to lunch. I'm really torn at this point, since all I want to do is to go home, hang out in my pjs, and read all afternoon while noshing on the cholent that I made for the first time in 3 years, which came out pretty good, if I do say so myself.
But no, I was polite and accepted the couple's lunch invitation. Their lunch was fantastic. I'm glad I went. Except for one thing: someone asked me my Hebrew name and I said I didn't have one.
DEAD SILENCE for 3 seconds.
sigh
After lunch, Guy-who-told-me-he's-single offered to walk me back towards Shul so I could figure out how to get home. On the way, what does do? Re-asks me, or confirms? my lack of having a Jewish name. I tell him that's true, because I was raised in an unobservant household. He seemed satisfied with this, and doesn't any more questions.
However, he uses us walking to tell me about himself. As in, more information that I would have liked to know after meeting someone 2 hours ago. Like the fact that he apologized for kinda' pushing the lunch invite, even though I made lunch for myself. His reasoning for my wanting to have lunch alone, was that I must have just come out of a 2 year relationship with a non-Jew (which was his reasoning for eating alone for more than a few weeks, and recently from what I could tell). He said that many in the community shunned them, or were only comfortable going to a few houses. The girl had no intention of converting, and they broke up.
I have no idea what is going to happen over the coming weeks. At shul, the rabbi and his wife invited me over for lunch at some point, and I already have plans to go to someone's for lunch this week, so I have no idea when I'll get over to the Rabbi's house. I kinda' feel obligated to tell him, but then again I don't.
Let's start with Friday night. Friends of my roommate who also live in my building invited me for dinner. I heard that a family was coming as well. After a knock on the door, the family comes in. I recognized one of the girls from 3 years ago, and didn't know she was in the area. We were a bit shocked to see each other. I later found out that she, like everyone else in the room, goes to the Liberal Orthodox shul. I found this out after dinner when saying good-bye. She said she would see me tomorrow in shul, but I just smiled and said, "Oh, I'm going to [Yeshivish shul].'
DEAD SILENCE FOR 3 SECONDS.
Great.
I hung around a bit more, before walking downstairs to my place.
The next morning, I get up, have some cholent for breakfast since I stirred it, and then went off to shul.
Each week, I meet more and more of the ladies. Which is fine. I'm sorta' glad about my status, because this is the 2nd week that one of the men tells me he's single.
o_O
Nevermind that he's in his 40s, AND had his girlfriend? or just a close female friend? right next to us when he said it.
So, he introduces me to this rocket scientist ( I kid you not), and then to this couple who invite me to lunch. I'm really torn at this point, since all I want to do is to go home, hang out in my pjs, and read all afternoon while noshing on the cholent that I made for the first time in 3 years, which came out pretty good, if I do say so myself.
But no, I was polite and accepted the couple's lunch invitation. Their lunch was fantastic. I'm glad I went. Except for one thing: someone asked me my Hebrew name and I said I didn't have one.
DEAD SILENCE for 3 seconds.
sigh
After lunch, Guy-who-told-me-he's-single offered to walk me back towards Shul so I could figure out how to get home. On the way, what does do? Re-asks me, or confirms? my lack of having a Jewish name. I tell him that's true, because I was raised in an unobservant household. He seemed satisfied with this, and doesn't any more questions.
However, he uses us walking to tell me about himself. As in, more information that I would have liked to know after meeting someone 2 hours ago. Like the fact that he apologized for kinda' pushing the lunch invite, even though I made lunch for myself. His reasoning for my wanting to have lunch alone, was that I must have just come out of a 2 year relationship with a non-Jew (which was his reasoning for eating alone for more than a few weeks, and recently from what I could tell). He said that many in the community shunned them, or were only comfortable going to a few houses. The girl had no intention of converting, and they broke up.
I have no idea what is going to happen over the coming weeks. At shul, the rabbi and his wife invited me over for lunch at some point, and I already have plans to go to someone's for lunch this week, so I have no idea when I'll get over to the Rabbi's house. I kinda' feel obligated to tell him, but then again I don't.
Shabbos #1 at New Shul
Note: As I write this, I'm all moved into my apartment. This post goes back a few weeks, to the first time I went to my new shul.
After exchanging pleasantries with an older man, who's a native speaker of an uncommon language I've studied for 4 1/2 years, he introduces me to his male friend who's older than he is.
This friend starts his conversation with me as follows (I kid you not):
"Hi. I'm single. Would you want to meet up sometime?"
o_O
To clarify even further, this man is older than my father, and has white hair.
I'm shocked, and don't even know how to begin my response. But I vaguely remember looking down, and softly saying no.
I admit, I could have been a bit more polite, I was just shocked. I mean, what 27 year old expects to be asked out by a man older than her father? And at shul, no less?
After exchanging pleasantries with an older man, who's a native speaker of an uncommon language I've studied for 4 1/2 years, he introduces me to his male friend who's older than he is.
This friend starts his conversation with me as follows (I kid you not):
"Hi. I'm single. Would you want to meet up sometime?"
o_O
To clarify even further, this man is older than my father, and has white hair.
I'm shocked, and don't even know how to begin my response. But I vaguely remember looking down, and softly saying no.
I admit, I could have been a bit more polite, I was just shocked. I mean, what 27 year old expects to be asked out by a man older than her father? And at shul, no less?
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