My Conversion Story Journal

August 15, 2023

It was crazy weather driving the two and half hours to visit my shul and meet my Rabbi. The rain was coming down so hard that I could hardly see the car (with light on) in front of me. I drove for two hours, and then I spent the night at my daughter A1 house and met my Rabbi in the morning. It was only an hour drive with part of the way being a rolling traffic jam. However, there were a lot of cars. Where the synagogue is located is in the city and I am very much a country girl. I can see that I will have difficulties with that part of my move next year.

My very American Rabbi was the same in person as he is during class on Zoom. He was cracking jokes and apologizing for everything that he didn't need to apologize for. It is obviously just part of his character. I was introduced to the adorable Rabbi and he is just as adorable in person. His beard was twisted at the end and I don't remember seeing that in our classes. There was a guy in his office that introduced himself as "just some random guy" and that made me laugh. I was also introduced to a Rabbi that I only had a couple of times. I don't have a good enough grasp on his character to give him a nickname, so I will just call him Rabbi S.

The synagogue was nice but not as decorative as I imagined or have seen in movies. I imagined the arc to be a box and not a bupboard in the wall. The three torahs that were in there were covered by beautiful coverings that were ornately decorated. He said he uses one on holidays only because it is heavier and the one in the middle he uses the most because it is the lightest. The partition between the men and women was down since it was the middle of the day on a Tuesday. There were separate entrances for the men's side and the women's side. There was a library which I have seen on Zoom and there were young men going in and out of it. My Rabbi kept saying that the community just hangs out there because it is their home.

There is a separate entrance for the women's mikvah as well. Men are not permitted to be at the building after a certain time because women will be using the mikvah either for conversion, or for after their period, or for after giving birth. There are also only female attendants at that time (which, in most cases, are wives of the Rabbis). The women's mikvah had two dressing rooms and a waiting room. There was a tub and a shower for prepping to get into the mikvah. The entire area was actually quite beautiful.

There was a giant playground with lots of fun play equipment and well maintained. They obviously cater to the children very well.

There was a wooden structure behind the synagogue but I forgot what he called it. I'll have to message him in the morning and ask. It is where they have gatherings outside and it spills into the parking lot. It will be used during the high holidays that are coming up except the wooden top will be covered with palm branches.

I didn't have a lot of questions because I wasn't sure what to ask. It was a lot to take in. There is a big difference between seeing pictures or even the rooms on zoom and being in there in person.

I will be going back down on Friday to spend the night at my daughter's again. Saturday I will drive to the synagogue and attend my first shabbat service.