Any recommendations on synagogues in Fauquier/PWC where I can learn more about Judaism?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chabad will be happy to support serious interest in conversion, though it would be a long process, and OP might want to speak to them to see if they "click".

There are other paths. OP, you probably won't be surprised to learn that the area you live in is not full of Jews. And the version of Judaism youre likely to find out there is minimally connected to traditional Judaism. You may not be interested in traditional Judaism, but then you shouldn't be surprised down the road that more invested Jewish communities will not accept the legitimacy of a nontraditional conversion. Welcome to our community, but know we are kind of engaged in a fight over its soul over here and are probably heading for a major schism ourselves.

Could you elaborate on some of the issues that you think might be causing a rift?

I hate to sound crass here, but beggars can't be choosers, and if there are people in this world who are interested in converting then I don't think it makes much sense to either turn them away or not accept people who have converted.

I thought I had read something that said Jews by birth or strictly forbidden from treating Jews by conversion any differently?

That rule doesn't apply to people who didn't validly convert. And valid is in the eyes of the beholder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Google Maps will show you synagogues.

But if you want to learn, read a book or watch a video.

Judaism isn't like Catholicism where there's official franchises everywhere all serving the same wafers.

I see there are a few Chabad synagogues in the general Northern VA area. Just didn't know if you were talking specifically about one in particular.

Yes, I have read that there seem to be quite a few different varieties, if you will - based on how strict different commu

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chabad will be happy to support serious interest in conversion, though it would be a long process, and OP might want to speak to them to see if they "click".

There are other paths. OP, you probably won't be surprised to learn that the area you live in is not full of Jews. And the version of Judaism youre likely to find out there is minimally connected to traditional Judaism. You may not be interested in traditional Judaism, but then you shouldn't be surprised down the road that more invested Jewish communities will not accept the legitimacy of a nontraditional conversion. Welcome to our community, but know we are kind of engaged in a fight over its soul over here and are probably heading for a major schism ourselves.

Could you elaborate on some of the issues that you think might be causing a rift?

I hate to sound crass here, but beggars can't be choosers, and if there are people in this world who are interested in converting then I don't think it makes much sense to either turn them away or not accept people who have converted.

I thought I had read something that said Jews by birth or strictly forbidden from treating Jews by conversion any differently?

That rule doesn't apply to people who didn't validly convert. And valid is in the eyes of the beholder.

I suppose there's that, ha

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chabad will be happy to support serious interest in conversion, though it would be a long process, and OP might want to speak to them to see if they "click".

There are other paths. OP, you probably won't be surprised to learn that the area you live in is not full of Jews. And the version of Judaism youre likely to find out there is minimally connected to traditional Judaism. You may not be interested in traditional Judaism, but then you shouldn't be surprised down the road that more invested Jewish communities will not accept the legitimacy of a nontraditional conversion. Welcome to our community, but know we are kind of engaged in a fight over its soul over here and are probably heading for a major schism ourselves.

You mean a schism within Chabad? Or something broader in addition to the existing division of Judaism into Orthodox, Conservative and Reform, with at least the Orthodox having various subsets, not to mention the groups professing “cultural” and “non-Theistic” Judaism?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chabad will be happy to support serious interest in conversion, though it would be a long process, and OP might want to speak to them to see if they "click".

There are other paths. OP, you probably won't be surprised to learn that the area you live in is not full of Jews. And the version of Judaism youre likely to find out there is minimally connected to traditional Judaism. You may not be interested in traditional Judaism, but then you shouldn't be surprised down the road that more invested Jewish communities will not accept the legitimacy of a nontraditional conversion. Welcome to our community, but know we are kind of engaged in a fight over its soul over here and are probably heading for a major schism ourselves.

Could you elaborate on some of the issues that you think might be causing a rift?

I hate to sound crass here, but beggars can't be choosers, and if there are people in this world who are interested in converting then I don't think it makes much sense to either turn them away or not accept people who have converted.

I thought I had read something that said Jews by birth or strictly forbidden from treating Jews by conversion any differently?

That rule doesn't apply to people who didn't validly convert. And valid is in the eyes of the beholder.

Especially if it's not clear OP even wants to convert. She writes that she has "a strong inkling to just study more about Christianity and Judaism as a whole."

[Anonymous]

I might start with this:
https://reformjudaism.org/learning/judaism-classes/introduction-judaism/introduction-judaism-northern-virginia-va-0#:~:text=This%2018%20week%20course%20will,and%20Israel%2C%20even%20Jewish%20food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I might start with this:
https://reformjudaism.org/learning/judaism-classes/introduction-judaism/introduction-judaism-northern-virginia-va-0#:~:text=This%2018%20week%20course%20will,and%20Israel%2C%20even%20Jewish%20food.

Sorry I hit send too quickly...it's a basic intro to Judaism class that is sponsored by the Reform movement, but will cover all aspects of the faith, history and culture at an introductory level. It might be a good way to see if things resonate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chabad has a wonderful website and a number of centers in the DMV. Amazing people!

I have read they are welcoming because they do a lot of outreach to Jews to get them to become more observant.

But would they be open to a non-Jew, is the question. Hmm..

Yes they would be open to a serious, highly-motivated, persistent and consistent potential convert. Their bar will be high but if their community appeals to OP she should explore this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chabad will be happy to support serious interest in conversion, though it would be a long process, and OP might want to speak to them to see if they "click".

There are other paths. OP, you probably won't be surprised to learn that the area you live in is not full of Jews. And the version of Judaism youre likely to find out there is minimally connected to traditional Judaism. You may not be interested in traditional Judaism, but then you shouldn't be surprised down the road that more invested Jewish communities will not accept the legitimacy of a nontraditional conversion. Welcome to our community, but know we are kind of engaged in a fight over its soul over here and are probably heading for a major schism ourselves.

Could you elaborate on some of the issues that you think might be causing a rift?

I hate to sound crass here, but beggars can't be choosers, and if there are people in this world who are interested in converting then I don't think it makes much sense to either turn them away or not accept people who have converted.

I thought I had read something that said cheese by birth or strictly forbidden from treating Jews by conversion any differently?

I'm the schism predictor and I think your question deserves a serious answer that I'm sorry I don't have time to give it now. Very briefly, I think the "progressive movements, " especially Reform and Reconstruction but also Conservative if they keep going as they have been over the last couple of decades, are growing too far in worldview and practice from traditional Judaism. They are beginning to discuss themselves as if they are a separate religion.

As far as beggars being choosers, we're not supposed to be beggars. Our numbers have dwindled to very, very small communities over the centuries because of both attrition and extinction events, but that is supposed to be preferable to changing the core of what we are and what we stand for in order to simply inflate our numbers.

Yes, a convert in a traditional community gets full community membership. The problem comes up when non-traditional conversions are selected because they're easier or more comfortable, because for one thing, we born Jews from different movements can barely talk to each other now. But also, if you are traditional and believe that we can absorb converts who become Jews, it doesnt follow that you are ok with converts who come in thinking they can change how we do things.

I'm going to float a potentially controversial analogy. Taco Bell may be the largest "Mexican" restaurant chain in the US. But does this measure of market share success mean it can legitimately represent authentic Mexican cuisine? Does a dish making it onto the menu at Taco Bell mean it has become authentically Mexican, or might chefs with a deeper background in Mexican cuisine reasonably object that Taco Bell is not an authority in the matter?

[Anonymous]

Hi OP! There is a synagogue in Fauquier called Fauquier Jewish Congregation: https://www.fauquierjewishcongregation.org/. You should feel free to check it out, but maybe wait a month at this point. Next week begins a month-long holiday season (including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah) and the rabbi will probably not have time for outside inquiries. But maybe mid-October, please call or email to set up a meeting with the rabbi or drop in on a Shabbat service to learn more.

MyJewishLearning (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/) is a great non-denominational resource for you to get started learning more about Judaism. You can livestream Shabbat services on Friday nights and/or Saturday mornings, depending on the synagogue. There's actually a streaming option through MyJewishLearning, or you can look into some of the big names in synagogues around the country. Try watching Rodef Shalom (Reform) in Falls Church for Friday night or Park Avenue Synagogue (Conservative) in NYC on Saturday morning. Heads up: Saturday morning services in the Conservative movement are long...like 2-2.5 hours.

There's also a moderated Facebook group called "A group where non-Jews can ask questions about Judaism and Jews can answer" that is a better source for answers to questions about Judaism than DCUM.

Online learning is a great place to start. Just be aware that there can be a lot of in-group language that is difficult to pickup on your own. Also, lots of conflicting information about Judaism from within Jewish circles, as you can already see from the comments here. Different "denominations" will tell you different things about what Judaism says or what their denomination believes vs. what other denominations believe. The comments from PPs about converting and then not being accepted if you didn't do it right are a mostly Orthodox thing, because you have to convert under Orthodox guidelines with an Orthodox rabbi to be considered a halachic (religiously legal) convert. They don't always identify themselves as Orthodox and just present it as a problem you might run into within Judaism as a whole. This is mostly because they believe the other denominations aren't doing Judaism correctly/halachically, so they feel it's ok to speak for the whole religion as the only ones who are doing it right. I'm sure there are similar theological disagreements within the Catholic Church and certainly within different Protestant denominations of Christianity.

For the starting point/learning you're interested in, I'd start by checking out MyJewishLearning now and reaching out to your local rabbi in Fauquier next month. Those two things should set you up with a good foundation to know what you're looking for and how to proceed. If you just want to learn and explore, maybe find a comparative religion class online. If you think you might be interested in converting sometime later, talk to the rabbi about what that entails and what kind of Jewish life you would want to lead, so that you can convert under the appropriate auspices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chabad will be happy to support serious interest in conversion, though it would be a long process, and OP might want to speak to them to see if they "click".

There are other paths. OP, you probably won't be surprised to learn that the area you live in is not full of Jews. And the version of Judaism youre likely to find out there is minimally connected to traditional Judaism. You may not be interested in traditional Judaism, but then you shouldn't be surprised down the road that more invested Jewish communities will not accept the legitimacy of a nontraditional conversion. Welcome to our community, but know we are kind of engaged in a fight over its soul over here and are probably heading for a major schism ourselves.

Could you elaborate on some of the issues that you think might be causing a rift?

I hate to sound crass here, but beggars can't be choosers, and if there are people in this world who are interested in converting then I don't think it makes much sense to either turn them away or not accept people who have converted.

I thought I had read something that said cheese by birth or strictly forbidden from treating Jews by conversion any differently?

I'm the schism predictor and I think your question deserves a serious answer that I'm sorry I don't have time to give it now. Very briefly, I think the "progressive movements, " especially Reform and Reconstruction but also Conservative if they keep going as they have been over the last couple of decades, are growing too far in worldview and practice from traditional Judaism. They are beginning to discuss themselves as if they are a separate religion.

As far as beggars being choosers, we're not supposed to be beggars. Our numbers have dwindled to very, very small communities over the centuries because of both attrition and extinction events, but that is supposed to be preferable to changing the core of what we are and what we stand for in order to simply inflate our numbers.

Yes, a convert in a traditional community gets full community membership. The problem comes up when non-traditional conversions are selected because they're easier or more comfortable, because for one thing, we born Jews from different movements can barely talk to each other now. But also, if you are traditional and believe that we can absorb converts who become Jews, it doesnt follow that you are ok with converts who come in thinking they can change how we do things.

I'm going to float a potentially controversial analogy. Taco Bell may be the largest "Mexican" restaurant chain in the US. But does this measure of market share success mean it can legitimately represent authentic Mexican cuisine? Does a dish making it onto the menu at Taco Bell mean it has become authentically Mexican, or might chefs with a deeper background in Mexican cuisine reasonably object that Taco Bell is not an authority in the matter?

The bolded is not happening. People convert in liberal (Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist) communities, because that is the Judaism they want to practice. Your lack of understanding of liberal Jewish theology doesn't mean it's just watered-down Judaism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP! There is a synagogue in Fauquier called Fauquier Jewish Congregation: https://www.fauquierjewishcongregation.org/. You should feel free to check it out, but maybe wait a month at this point. Next week begins a month-long holiday season (including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah) and the rabbi will probably not have time for outside inquiries. But maybe mid-October, please call or email to set up a meeting with the rabbi or drop in on a Shabbat service to learn more.

MyJewishLearning (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/) is a great non-denominational resource for you to get started learning more about Judaism. You can livestream Shabbat services on Friday nights and/or Saturday mornings, depending on the synagogue. There's actually a streaming option through MyJewishLearning, or you can look into some of the big names in synagogues around the country. Try watching Rodef Shalom (Reform) in Falls Church for Friday night or Park Avenue Synagogue (Conservative) in NYC on Saturday morning. Heads up: Saturday morning services in the Conservative movement are long...like 2-2.5 hours.

There's also a moderated Facebook group called "A group where non-Jews can ask questions about Judaism and Jews can answer" that is a better source for answers to questions about Judaism than DCUM.

Online learning is a great place to start. Just be aware that there can be a lot of in-group language that is difficult to pickup on your own. Also, lots of conflicting information about Judaism from within Jewish circles, as you can already see from the comments here. Different "denominations" will tell you different things about what Judaism says or what their denomination believes vs. what other denominations believe. The comments from PPs about converting and then not being accepted if you didn't do it right are a mostly Orthodox thing, because you have to convert under Orthodox guidelines with an Orthodox rabbi to be considered a halachic (religiously legal) convert. They don't always identify themselves as Orthodox and just present it as a problem you might run into within Judaism as a whole. This is mostly because they believe the other denominations aren't doing Judaism correctly/halachically, so they feel it's ok to speak for the whole religion as the only ones who are doing it right. I'm sure there are similar theological disagreements within the Catholic Church and certainly within different Protestant denominations of Christianity.

For the starting point/learning you're interested in, I'd start by checking out MyJewishLearning now and reaching out to your local rabbi in Fauquier next month. Those two things should set you up with a good foundation to know what you're looking for and how to proceed. If you just want to learn and explore, maybe find a comparative religion class online. If you think you might be interested in converting sometime later, talk to the rabbi about what that entails and what kind of Jewish life you would want to lead, so that you can convert under the appropriate auspices.

Excellent response, thanks so much!! I will definitely check everything out 🙂

[Anonymous]

I'd also add this book as an interesting read:
https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Jews-American-Politics-Identities/
But basically, there are a ton of ways to engage Jewishly, so you need to figure out what might suit you. You could also reach out to a JCC and check for any programs or classes of interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chabad has a wonderful website and a number of centers in the DMV. Amazing people!

Chabad is friendly if you were born a Jew and want to become more religious. Doubt they are what OP is looking for.

I'm not so sure....I was born Jewish and my husband is not Jewish at all, but they were very welcoming to him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chabad has a wonderful website and a number of centers in the DMV. Amazing people!

Chabad is friendly if you were born a Jew and want to become more religious. Doubt they are what OP is looking for.

Not my experience at all. I’ve seen non-Jews treated very well there. In fact Chabad has a belief there are some non-Jews born with Jewish souls. Perhaps that is the pull OP is feeling?

Has this been your experience at a local synagogue? If so, would you mind sharing the name?

Not PP, but Chabad doesn't have synagogues or memberships. I haven't heard of that particular belief in Chabad about Jewish souls, though, and I'm skeptical. I do love Chabad, though. It is the least judgy and most welcoming of anything Jewish I've experienced. If anyplace is likely to be open to anyone, that's the place.