Conversion Requirements
Brit Milah/Hatafat: Recommended (let’s discuss — I would need to be on the premises but do not need to supervise)
Mikvah: Yes (Libi Eir, Beth Meyer Synagogue, Raleigh, NC)
Bet Din: Recommended (rabbis and cantors from local synagogues and universities)
Conversion Location: Libi Eir, Beth Meyer Synagogue, Raleigh, NC
Students Accepted: Chai, Mitzvah
I work with candidates who are:
– Families: Tell me your story, including all about your family. I’d love to meet them and work with them in a welcoming way, whether that means their conversion or other means of inclusion in your journey. Together we can determine the best way to teach your child as a team.
– LGBTQ+
– In interfaith or dual-faith relationships: If you are part of a family that is interfaith, or that will be interfaith as a result of your conversion, let’s talk. Share your story; nothing is simple. The experience must be positive for all concerned.
Personal Statement
There’s always been a strange dance within me: Judaism and music. I resonate with their respective and braided rhythms. You could probably say I’m Jewsical, and I see the world through Jewish eyes. How do I know this, since I’ve never had any other kind of life-lens? Well, I consistently search for goodness in people and in situations. As I go along, I’m reminded that life is difficult and life is sweet…. people are both sick and well, angry and gentle, and that we consistently strive for balance. In this way, Judaism has the nice round shape of life itself, and the pull of dichotomy that gives us wheels and energy.
I also believe that Shalom, peace, is much more than the absence of war or strife: Shalom is wholeness. Music (and food!) can bring people together even through our differences. Once we start to dialogue, we can keep the beauty within disagreement. You can also reach wholeness by giving yourself a break – so much seems to be expected of us in this crazy 21st century that we often feel we can’t keep up. It’s ok. You are enough.
In my spare time (hah!) I enjoy my two old teenagers; three cats; books (mostly non-fiction or historical fiction), movies, food and cooking (mostly pescatarian), and my treasured friends. I also love to laugh. Every relationship must include laughter, no matter who you are.
Education: Ordained Cantor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion School of Sacred Music with a Master of Sacred Music, and hold a Master of Music in Opera from the Boston Conservatory. Rabbinical student at Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary; projected rabbinical ordination is December 2022.
