Seeing Diverse Jewish Life Globally: Unity Needed

What’s a benefit that people converting to Judaism enjoy? In many cases, we are able to do some of our own exploring, finding our place within this wide religion due to not having any biological family being affiliated with any particular denomination. And lesson learned, I can have a sense of belonging within Orthodox, Reform and Conservative Judaism.

When I finally came to the conclusion like Ruth did thousands of years ago that the Jewish people were my people and their God was my God in February 2024, I knew being Jewish was what my heart wanted deeply, but unlike Jews born into Judaism, the question for people converting becomes, where do I convert within this wide religion? This is a deeply personal decision that most Jews globally never have to make. Whilst I definitely saw this as a difficult decision to navigate in my early days of exploring Judaism, what I have learned is that the Jewish people (despite numbering only approximately 16 million people globally) are an extremely diverse group of people and there is no one perfect way to be Jewish. In fact, the diversity I’ve seen is part of what makes Am Yisrael (the Jewish people) such a beautiful and incredible family to begin with.

My first Shabbat Dinner started at a Modern Orthodox Synagogue with my gay Jewish friend chatting with me the entire time. Something I learned during that incredibly fun night was that one should never assume that because a Jew has a certain identity, they necessarily only belong to a certain denomination. All denominations have diversity within them.

It was after that 1st incredible Shabbat that I began the process of completing my 1st readings assigned to me by a Rabbi to learn more about being Jewish and living a Jewish life. I quickly fell in love with this religion and the sense of belonging I felt with the Jewish people and the next step for me quickly became, where do I start regularly attending Shabbat meals and services?

As with the traditional assumptions of many Rabbis rejecting a person who wants to convert to Judaism to test their sincerity, I definitely experienced such rejection. Obviously that was not going to dissuade me, but what was a particularly fascinating observation I found about Judaism was the fact that it was a very observant Orthodox Hasidic Rabbi who was the first Rabbi that accepted me after speaking with me on the phone, telling me that if I was willing to learn, he would help me and that I could attend his Shabbat Dinner events on the discounted student rate just like any Jewish student going to university, despite myself having not even approached the local Beit Din yet.

It was time to add some beautiful long skirts to my wardrobe for Friday night fashion!

The thing that surprised me was that a prominent Modern Orthodox Rabbi in the city I was living in at the time (London England) staunchly rejected me multiple times, but a very Orthodox Hasidic Rabbi accepted me. If there was another lesson I learned from this, it was that one should never judge a person by traditional assumptions. The very frum Hasidic Orthodox Jewish man that is heavily devoted to observing a Torah lifestyle might actually be the most accepting person to an outsider.

Orthodoxy itself is very diverse and I’ve definitely seen this. I’ve heard a very frum Rabbanit describe to me her deep frustrations with the ideology of Modern Orthodoxy and also assert to me that Reform Jews are not Jews. To the contrary of a statement like hers, I’ve heard beautiful speeches from Chabad Rabbis describing to me their beliefs that Jewish souls globally should come together and be united rather than be divided by the disagreements of different denominations.

In my view, those kinds of Chabad speeches are very needed in the Jewish community in this day and age. Judaism is diverse and there is no perfect way to practice the religion, but if all of the community together realizes that Judaism is more than just a set of beliefs and importantly comprises a beautiful Jewish family of diverse people that should work together as much as possible, I believe it is then that Hashem will be at his happiest and the Jewish people will thrive.

Converting to Judaism isn’t just about reading books. When you convert, you are joining a family. In my time within the community, I’ve found the sense of belonging to a global loving family to be my favorite aspect of conversion. It may be because I travel a lot and often have been away from my biological family in Canada, but in any case, the fact that I can go anywhere in the world and feel instantaneously emotionally connected to a Jewish person I’ve never met before speaks volumes to the idea that Judaism is more than just a set of beliefs but really does comprise a beautiful loving family.

In my Jewish journey, I’ve also had the privilege of practicing with the Reform community and while there are differences between Reform and Orthodox Judaism, the experiences I had practicing with Reform Jews also led me to believe that there definitely needs to be a place within Judaism for progressive practice as well.

While the Reform Synagogue I attended may not have incorporated all the elements of traditional Orthodox practice that I enjoy, what I experienced was a beautiful, vibrant and very open minded community within Reform Judaism that especially gives LGBT Jews, Feminists and others a place within this religion to find belonging. I’ve always connected with Orthodox practice, but also have loved the idea of learning from female Rabbis as well and I definitely got to experience this within a Reform Synagogue. On Shavuot I was up late into the night doing Torah study and having meaningful deep conversations with a female Rabbi at a London Reform Synagogue, and that learning experience was something that gave a woman converting to Judaism (such as myself) inspiration to devote time to learning Torah more extensively and also provided me with female mentorship and leadership that I craved to experience.

I also loved how within Reform Judaism, LGBT pride is celebrated without any restriction, and being that I’ve always had gay friends, it was amazing to celebrate pride month in the Reform Synagogue during a fabulous Shabbat event. Jewish souls globally who are gay or who want to learn from a woman Rabbi should have a way to be fully connected to their Jewish identity through practice, and Reform Judaism has successfully given that to the world. While the movement might not be for everybody, with the globe becoming increasingly secular, I love that Reform Judaism can be a place for people to express their personal spiritual identity to the fullest and not drift away from Judaism, but rather find their own special place within it. Maintaining Jewish identity globally is something I hope every denomination within the Jewish community can celebrate.

Another special aspect that makes Am Yisrael diverse, is that practice and communities differ globally, and due to my extensive worldwide travels, this diversity is something I have been able to experience first hand.

In my time practicing with both Reform and Orthodox communities in the United Kingdom, I found there to not be much of a centrist movement or community. Most Jews would either be at the Synagogue with very progressive values and usually casual clothing or in very modest clothing at a fully home cooked and very traditionally structured shabbat meal after Shabbat services in an Orthodox Synagogue. Whilst I did find lots of beauty in both of those ways of practice, what I did end up appreciating about practicing Judaism with the American community once I arrived in Miami Florida was that it appears that there are more American Jews associated with centrist practices such as Conservative Judaism, Open Orthodoxy or Modern Orthodoxy.

Due to my own personal way of Jewish practice and even my own political beliefs often falling somewhere within centrism, the American Jewish community I really ended up connecting with. What I’ve found within the Floridian community is that whilst the food served at the overwhelming number of Shabbat meals is always fully kosher, certain things like the dress codes are usually a little bit more relaxed. Whilst my Orthodox beginnings within Judaism definitely make me more of a modest (but still fashionable) dresser at Shabbat meals, knowing that there usually isn’t quite as strict of a dress code often serves as a bit of a sigh of relief. Although I still recognize that fully frum Orthodox modest clothing is a beautiful way to show respect during religious practice for many Jews. I also have found the American Jewish community to be a bit less insular overall by witnessing things like groups of Jewish men on the streets actively wanting to find fellow Jews to engage in Sukkot activities.

During summertime 2024 prior to arriving in Miami, I had the privilege of spending approximately 3 weeks in Israel and this experience showed me that practicing Judaism inside Israel is a very fun, and interesting way of practice unto itself! Orthodoxy definitely dominates inside Israel with even a large amount of secular Jews deciding to attend Orthodox services if they do engage in practice. There’s so much Jewish life all around you and so many Jews surrounding you that love you that it really does feel like constant joy being an adherent to the Jewish faith inside Israel. My first Shabbat Dinner party in Tel Aviv consisted of the most fun and vibrant singing, table banging, and dancing that I have ever experienced. The Rabbis in Israel really know how to make Jewish practice very fun for young people visiting. Being that Jewish life in Israel is so happy and vibrant due to the majority of the population being Jewish, I’ve found young Jews in Israel to gravitate especially towards Jewish and Israeli community service and volunteering more than in any other country I’ve been in.

Gender separation is also more prominent in Israel than anywhere else in the world I found. Some Shabbat meals are separated by gender which I didn’t expect, and lots of learning sessions are separated by the sexes. Whilst I do love the company of men, I found that this gave me an opportunity to connect with more Rabbanits who were eager to seek out traveling girls such as myself to attend ladies learning sessions.

Jewish life inside Israel really does thrive even if there are still some moments of tension and division which was experienced by myself and other ladies when we attended Women of the Wall events with female Rabbis and had to endure some backlash. To an extent I can see why Orthodoxy dominates in Israel being that keeping kosher fully is easy within Israel and overall it’s less hard to live a fully observant Torah lifestyle. Even saying this however, within Israel I think it’s important for unity to still be thought about and adhered to as there are many people practicing Judaism in Israel who want to observe certain non-traditional practices such as women engaging in Women of the Wall events at the Kotel. Being that having a united Jewish population inside Israel working together is so important to maintaining Israel’s strength in the Middle East, I hope that unity can be something that everybody of the Jewish faith inside Israel can hope for.

These unique experiences witnessing Jewish life globally and among different denominations have given me a greater sense of empathy and ability to understand the values and lifestyles of nearly every Jew I speak with. I truly hope that with the adherents of Judaism only numbering approximately 16 million people worldwide, every single person practicing in Jewish communities within cities and countries across the planet can realize that the Jewish people are one big happy family today and everyday.

The ability to have a fierce debate has always been a crucial part of the Jewish faith and importantly, the ability to agree to disagree and still respect the person you are disagreeing with about a certain aspect of Jewish practice should be something that all of us practicing the Jewish faith adhere to.

Just like there is no one perfect way to practice Judaism, I believe that there is no one perfect way to convert to Judaism. An observation I’ve gathered from witnessing diverse Jewish life globally is that the mitzvah of loving the convert can never be fully fulfilled by all of Am Yisrael if every single different community has a different set of requirements to be met before a conversion is considered authentic to them.

One people, and one family is what I envision Judaism to be today and everyday, and with rising acts of hatred against Jews occurring globally, I know that in this day and age it is extremely important for Jewish communities across denominations to work together as much as possible and spread love. I truly have respected and loved every single Jew that I’ve met from every single location and denomination that I’ve had the privilege of experiencing around the world so far. I know that if every adherent to Judaism globally keeps our love for each other very strong and unwavering, very bright days for Jewish life are ahead for generations to come.