Jewish Identity Crisis
Question
I come from Jewish and German heritage, and I’ve always found myself to be lost when it comes to talking about my family’s culture. On my dad’s side of the family, my great-great grandfather is descended from Jews. He was not a practicing Jew and neither were his children or grandchildren, but was descended from and was related to other Jewish people. I feel like I don’t have the right to say that I’m Jewish, despite having that heritage. I have thought about converting as an adult but I don’t know how to go about it. I would like advice as to what to do and how I should go about converting and celebrating my heritage.
Answers
The first step is to discuss your desires with a qualified local Orthodox Rabbi, and, if you wish to start the process of conversion, to have him oversee, in a personal way, the entire conversion process from beginning to end. It is very difficult to know how long the process will last as every Jewish Court has its own criteria for conversions. I think that the best thing to do is to contact an Orthodox community close to you and ask the Rabbi if he can give you some guidance and advice.
To take refuge under the wings of the Almighty is a process which has far reaching significance to one’s spiritual soul both in this world and in the hereafter. It has both spiritual advantages, and spiritual obligations which if not fulfilled can end up in a net loss. More importantly, if the conversion is not done with the proper preparation on the part of the potential convert, it just doesn’t work.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team