Over a decade ago my husband became a Jew by Choice, which means he converted to Judaism. However, at the time, I vaguely remember someone-maybe the rabbi-telling me that non-Jews don’t really “convert” to Judaism. They actually just make an “affirmation of” Judaism.
My friend Reb Yitzi Miller told me basically the same thing the other day. He said he doesn’t ever refer to the act of converting as an actual conversion. He calls it an affirmation of Judaism. He doesn’t have conversion students, therefore, but affirmation students.
I suppose much like a b’nei mitzvah student (a teen studying for a bar or bat mitzvah), these people simply are learning what they need to learn about Judaism before saying, “Count me in as a Jew.”
If you think about it, a large difference exists between the two words “conversion” and “affirmation.” When someone converts, we assume that person is choosing to become a follower of one religion rather than another; they are becoming, for example, a Jew rather than a Christian. However, when we affirm something, we basically acknowledge it to be true. And therein lies the point.
When a person makes an affirmation of Judaism, they acknowledge that they were born with a Jewish soul to begin with. In other words, when they came into this world, their physical form may have been raised as a Christian, a Muslim or a Hindu, but the soul housed in that body actually was Jewish all along.
For this reason, at a deep, inner level, the person’s soul felt pulled towards Judaism, and, in the end, the physical form-the person-chose to covert to Judaism. In that process, the person makes an affirmation of Judaism. He or she affirms his or her Jewish nature.
Pretty cool, huh? Now you might dispute this as a bunch of Jewish malarkey. You might point out that many people who have affirmed Judaism (converted) have done so because, for instance, they married a Jewish partner. I’d argue that their soul drew them to that Jewish partner. It felt comfortable with another Jewish soul.
The other day, I found proof (not that I needed any) that Jewish souls exist in non-Jewish bodies. I met Dalana Castrell. She informed me that despite her non-Jewish upbringing and heritage, she dreams in Hebrew and paints Jewish symbols. She has a deep desire to learn about Judaism, and she calls God, Ha Shem, which means The Name. (Since observant Jews do not speak the name of God, this is the name they use.) If ever a Jewish soul existed, this she possesses one.
Dalana wasย born in South America and grew up in Queens, NY. There are a lot of Jews in Queens. Maybe her soul pushed her towards an area of the world with more Jews… She started dreaming in Hebrew, however, while on the Island of Bermuda. She told me, “I lived on estate called Southlands. This is where I started to paint my dreams; the symbols became the thread in the Image. The first series of work was called ‘Southlands the Passage.'”
Dalana’s art, which she callsย “Ionic Futurism,”ย feels and looks to me as if it flows out of a Jewish soul. I see Jewish stars, the Torah, a menorah, rebbes, and the like.
(For the life of me, I could not get a Jewish-themed piece to post here nor could I find examples of her Jewish-themed work, which I have seen, on line, since her website is down. However, you can see some of her other work here.)
When I speak to her, I get the sense that she is, indeed, Jewish, although she isn’t. We feel like kindred spirits.
If you see her in Great Bear Coffee in Los Gatos, which is where I met her, say, “Shalom.” She’ll say, “Shalom,” right back without batting an eye.
