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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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.
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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?[/quote]

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. [b]The problem comes up when non-traditional conversions are selected because they're easier or more comfortable[/b], 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?[/quote]
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.[/quote]

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