Your People Shall Be My People

Your People Shall Be My People

By Rabbi Bill S. Tepper, Lead Teacher, Introduction to Jewish Life/Reform Conversion to Judaism Program

For the past three years, I have been fortunate to serve as Lead Teacher of our Greater Toronto Area-based Introduction to Jewish Life [henceforth, ‘IJL’] program. In this role, I partner with my Reform rabbinic colleagues and their congregations in teaching, supporting, and shepherding adults who have made the remarkable decision to become Jews; remarkable in that such a commitment implies adopting a Jewish view and understanding of the world, as well as the devotion, determination, and full-hearted willingness to link arms with our people’s inspiring past, present and future.

The IJL is a year-long course of study [holidays and summer months excepting] involving weekly learning via Zoom and – going by current enrolment numbers – in the company of seventy or more classmates. Students are introduced to Jewish history, prayer, sacred texts, music, holidays, lifecycle moments, values, and issues pertaining to our Jewish homeland of Israel. This past year, we also learned about the Ontario Jewish Archives and Jewish comic book superheroes! Students submit essays, complete a written exam and engage in Hebrew language learning.

There are also dynamic in-person events: exploring Toronto’s Kensington Market, touring older downtown synagogues, a lecture at Benjamin’s Funeral Home, visiting the Holocaust Museum, and a Friday night Shabbat service and dinner at Holy Blossom Temple.

The IJL requires each student to acquire the sponsorship of a GTA-based Reform rabbi and develop an enduring relationship with this rabbi’s congregation. The rabbi provides mentorship and guidance. The congregation provides community and belonging. If students have a spouse or partner, she/must also enroll, even if she/he does not intend to convert. This requirement is vital for accompaniment on the Jewish journey.

Following their successful completion of the IJL course of study, students are brought by their rabbi to the Reform Beit Din – a panel of three rabbis – for a conversation focusing on their decision to become Jews. The Conversion process culminates in a visit to the mikveh and ritual immersion in a body of water.

After three years I remain in awe of my students, witnessing their embrace of our precious Jewish rituals, traditions, ceremonies and stories. I am in awe of persons – in particular, during these alarming days and nights of rising antisemitism – who choose to align their lives with those of the Jewish people. No two persons convert for the same reason. Each brings her or his unique back story. Each brings intellectual, emotional, and spiritual gifts to the table. And each will – in the best of possible worlds – be a blessing to Am Yisrael, the people Israel.

When Ruth, in the Biblical book that bears her name… spoke the extraordinary words – for where you go, I shall go; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God… [Ruth 1:16] she opened the door for all who have since followed her path. How grateful we are to her – our Jewish ancestress; and how thankful we are to all who add richness to Jewish life.

And in the artwork that accompanies this article, American Jewish painter Archie Rand’s [b. 1949] To Love Converts: Mitzvah 14 from his epic project ‘The 613,’ how fitting that the artist employs the image of a woman with a baby carriage. Such a rendering suggests a new life, a new way of engaging God and faith, and a new way of loving our universe and all with whom one is blessed to share it.