Penned by former board member, Rachel Malaga, hear her story of converting to Judaism with her mother, published by Hey Alma!
"In the years prior to our conversions, my mom and I did not get along. We had very different personalities and in my hormonal middle school brain, I was convinced that everything she did was to spite me (this was not true AT ALL). We began to get along more once I entered high school, but our relationship was not strong before we began this process.
We chose our Hebrew names together and made our conversions official on the same day. We each went in front of a beit din, a panel of rabbis that determined that we did genuinely want to be Jewish. We also each went into the mikveh and said the conversion prayers.
A few months later on a family trip to Israel, we did a conversion ceremony at the Robinson Arch in Jerusalem.
That was four years ago, and our relationship to Judaism — and each other — is stronger than ever."
We are so proud of Rachel and her journey!