Convert to Judaism

the tefillin are in good shape. the are made from sheep’s hide. (dakos) the straps are thin and worn and will need to be replaced soon. the boxes themselves are in (what seems to me) great condition. the tefillin are what is considered “rashi” tefillin. this is based on how the order that the scrolls are written and inserted into the arm and head tefillin and can be identified by where the sinew used to seal the boxes protrudes from the base. on another note my union decided to hold the lateral transfer posting early and told no one about it. so now i am fucked and have to continue to drive 200 miles a day to and from work until next january. i’m not feeling very happy or prayerful or spiritual at the moment.

the tefillin i bought supposedly belonged to an IDF rabbi who acted as a field doctor during the 1950’s and 1960’s. if this is the case, i think it is quite interesting but since i can’t verify this, i can take the word of the person i bought them from or make the assumption that they are lying for whatever reason they see fit.

i borrowed 3 books from temple when i was there last week. a conservative siddur, judaism in theory and practice and what is a jew. (i have read the last one a few times before) my wife bought me the hebrew/english tanakh as few weeks back. i have also just ordered a set of tefillin. (made a best offer on ebay that was accepted) waiting to see if i can get any history on them and the kosher status. other than that, i’m just strolling right along.

i have purchased two siddur and volume one of the shulchan aruch. the temple closest to me is reform and, as such, so is the rabbi who i will be working with. the only place to really get any material is either online or at a shop called pinskers. (located in pittsburgh and they operate judaism.com) it seems to me, and i may be incorrect, that it is geared more towards the orthodx branch of judaism. both siddur are orthodox. i guess to me it is really irrelevant about the debate between the orthodox and reform (or any others for that matter) opinion on whose conversion is acceptable and whose isn’t. ultimately it is i who must decide my level of observance. it harms nothing to convert with a reform rabbi but still undertake the study of orthodox practice and theory. the only outcome would be that i would gain more knowledge and, perhaps, more understanding of the whole process. i like the process of learning. i am interested in really getting into this and seeing the outcome. i may even suprise myself.

i took a short drive today and spoke with the rabbi and the synagogue nearby. we spoke for an hour and a half. i have started a journey. it was interesting to walk through the small library that they have. completely updated encyclopedia of judaism. decent sized reference section. the thing that really amazed me was one bookshelf. i walk to this book shelf where there are about five shelves total, with room for eight volumes. (at about the size of a standard high school physics book) i open volume eight and looked at the page. it was dated (if i remember the exact year correctly) 1628. written entirely in hebrew and there were a good 20 to 30 volumes. amazing. the building itself isn’t very large, but they have a fantastic selection of items. they have 4 torah scrolls. very interesting. i checked out 3 books. what is a jew (i have had this and read it before) theory and practice of judaism (currently on page 29) and a conservative siddur. (i just purchased an artscroll pocket hardback orthodox siddur for weekdays) i am ready to see where this goes and how it turns out.