Reinventing Conversion
"It's really f'ing hard to convert to Judaism" Is that something you've heard before? Here at Shel Maala - the digital-first queer yeshiva - we *definitely* have. But has joining the Jewish people always been a grueling, gatekeeping ordeal? Did we always need a beit din/rabbinical court to do so? Was the spiritual act of taking on the "yoke of Torah" originally as exclusive as a Met Gala VIP list? The answers might surprise you! Come learn about how conversion in the time of the Talmud was SHOCKINGLY, WILDLY different from conversion today! Let's see exactly how radically different it was and how the Rabbi’s making that sh*t up can empower us to make conversion more equitable, liberatory and beautiful in our own time. Together we’re going to dive into a Tannaitic source that exposes those deep differences and then as a community we’re gonna explore our creativity by reimagining conversion from the ground up. Let’s dream up a queer and beautiful future for conversion together!