becoming Jewish

my journey to conversion

[studywithmariana]

u s e f u l   r e s o u r c e s

Hello everyone! Finally re-arranged and organized all of my playlists so I will leave you links to my videos arranged by topic so you can get motivated to study :) 

☀ l i f e s t y l e: https://goo.gl/cRnrTn 

☁ m o t i v a t i o n / p r o d u c t i v i t y: https://goo.gl/FHKF3u

☾ o r g a n i z a t i o n: https://goo.gl/nfKbvy 

☑ s t u d y: https://goo.gl/nwqot3 

◆ r o u t i n e s: https://goo.gl/PPoy3y 

✔ n o t e t a k i n g: https://goo.gl/9W4jkh 

✍ p l a n n i n g: https://goo.gl/rfk9fx 

✎ b u l l e t j o u r n a l: https://goo.gl/gzYCD3 

☛ d i g i t a l : https://goo.gl/KW9U5a

[studyquill]

Notetaking

Sound Note - take notes while you record audio

Evernote - notetaking that syncs across platforms

Paper 53 - minimal notetaking that syncs

Microsoft OneNote - collaboration and syncing, best for Office users

Google Keep - jot things down, best for Google suite users

Notability - take notes and annotate PDFs

Mindly - create mind maps

Day One - a digital journal

Flash Cards

Quizlet - the quintessential flash card app

StudyBlue - another commonly used app

Cram - best for its “cram mode”

Eidetic - uses spaced repetition for effective memorization

Planner 

My Study Life - schedules, tasks, reminders, and more

StudyCal - keeps track of tasks, exams, and grades

24me - automated reminders and event planning

iStudiez - schedule and prioritized task list

Google Calendar - a calendar, best for Google users

Glass Planner - a calendar and to do list with incredible functionality

To Do List

Clear - organized to-do and reminders

MinimaList - simple to-do and focus timer

Trello - collaborative project organizer

Todoist - clean and functional task manager

Default notes app on your phone

Time Management

Forest - plant trees by staying focused

Pomotodo - pomodoro timer with to-do list

Timeglass - custom timers

Tide - pomodoro with white noise

Alarmy - forces you out of bed 

Pillow - smart alarm that tracks sleep cycles

Productivity

Workflow - automate tasks

Habitica - turn your habits into an RPG

Continuo - simple, colorful activity tracking

Freedom - block distracting apps

Free Learning

Coursera - free MOOCs

TED - listen to Ted Talks

Duolingo - language learning

Memrise - spaced repetition language vocabulary

Khan Academy - free video lessons

Ambient Noise

8tracks - curated playlists

Spotify - online music streaming

Coffitivity - cafe ambience

Noisli - background sound generator

Rain Rain - rain sounds

Binaural - binaural beats

Health

Rockin Ramen - recipes based on ramen

MealBoard - meal planning

Lifesum - healthy eating

Stop Breath And Think - mindfulness meditation

Pacifica - mental health management

Sworkit - personalized video workouts

Waterlogged - hydration tracker

Reference

WolframAlpha - Google on steroids

Oxford Dictionary - all of English at your fingertips

RefMe - citation generator

PhotoMath - solve math problems by taking a photo

Mathway - step by step math help

Desmos - free graphing calculator

Wikipedia - not the best source, but it’s handy

Miscellaneous 

Companion - stay safe when walking alone

Mint - money management

Toshl - finance manager

Tiny Scanner - scan documents

[humanisticjew]

Incorporating Judaism into everyday life for liberal Jews

Liberal Jewish practice is notoriously lax outside of synagogue settings. Here are some tips for liberal Jews to incorporate more Jewish practices in their lives. Utilize as many or as few as you like. 

1. Say a blessing. Whether it’s some form of modeh ani when you wake up, the shema before going to bed, a blessing over your meal, or a simple “blessed are you Adonai”… when something strikes you as beautiful or worth marking. Pray one of the weekday prayer services like shacharit if you have time. Say the prayers in English if you don’t know the Hebrew, or make something up if you don’t know the traditional blessing for something. What’s important is the sanctification of life through noticing the little miracles of every day life, not reciting Hebrew sentences perfectly.

2. Try to keep kosher-ish. You may not be able to be full on kosher, but try to avoid foods that are obviously treif such as pork, shellfish, and meat and dairy mixtures (like cheeseburgers and chicken parmesan). If you’re able, try to increase your observance of kashrut as you get more used to it. And if your health allows, try to give up meat altogether to fulfill the mitzvah of preventing tza'ar ba'alei chayim, the suffering of living creature. A vegetarian or vegan diet greatly simplifies kosher observance as it entirely eliminates the need to keep meat and dairy separate. 

3. Read a book about Judaism or Jewish history, or commit to reading one book of the Tanakh at regular intervals (e.g. one book per week/month/year), or read the entire parsha for the week to increase your knowledge of the foundational texts of Judaism. If possible, try to do this with other people so that you can discuss your reading material afterward.

4. Set aside a little money for tzedakah. No matter how much it is, it could be pocket change, set it aside in a tzedakah box (it doesn’t have to be fancy). Donate the money that accumulates to a worthy cause of your choice. 

5. Acknowledge Shabbat at home. Even if you can’t keep the entire Shabbat because you have to work, try to acknowledge it in some way. Go to a synagogue service or pray on your own, put on a tallit, light candles, have a glass of wine, eat some bread, or do havdalah. If you’re able, try to set aside time on Shabbat to spend time with your family and rest from everyday chores and duties, even if only for a few hours. 

6. Put a mezuzah on your door. You can get a cover and printed scroll for cheap on Amazon, although it isn’t technically kosher, and put them on the main door of your house. Even if you can’t afford to do every door or get a kosher handwritten scroll, it can be an effective reminder of your Jewish obligations as you come and go nonetheless. 

Jumblr, feel free to add to this list any other suggestions you might have for increasing liberal Jewish practices.

[sigalit-to-be]

An intro, if you will...

I'm converting to Judaism and want to document my journey in someway that helps me, but others as well, maybe.

*********************

I became Catholic (fully Catholic - I was baptized when I was a baby and raised secular) in college after being guilted by my grandmother that I should be.

Conversion was quick and no real time to stop and consider what I was doing and the reasons I was doing this.

So I did the only logical thing I could do after the Easter vigil Mass - dive in head first and fake it 'til I make it. I got so good at faking it, i even fooled myself, for years. I thought I would find my husband in college, have that beautiful Catholic ceremony and adopt several children since I can't physically have any of my own. All while ignoring my liberal upbringing (I said things like I didn't believe in abortion even though I did), a subtle yet life long attraction to women (which I later identified as bisexuality), and my persistent desire not to have children - physically or emotionally (I continued to tell myself I wanted at least 3 kids, picked out names and only dated "potential fathers"). Church became my whole life - I lived at church, worked at church, volunteered at church and even the dean of my Religious Studies degree was a priest at my church.

After college I slowly drifted away. Moved to a liberal city and slowly became a Christmas/Easter Catholic. The more conservative friends fell away and the more liberal stayed. When I finally identified my sexuality, I got shamed and it truly no longer felt like home. I can no longer align myself with a faith thats party line about LGBTQ+ as “love the sinner, hate the sin”. I hate the line because all it does is serve a heavy dose of shame and communicates "I love you, but I hate this huge part of your identity, so I don't actually love you".

I did some “faith tourism” when I moved back to my small college town. This place is so insular in its religious communities, I couldn't go back to Catholicism and other Christian faiths were too judgemental as well. I spent some time identifying as a Unitarian Universalist but I just missed the ritual aspect of religion - isn't that weird after years of faking it, only one thing stuck? So I wound up investigating a faith that is world's away from Catholicism - Reform Judaism.

The impetus for my conversion is no longer present, as my grandmother died 8 years ago. I was able to let go of this need to hang on to Catholicism in order to stay close to her and finally walk into a synagogue like I've always wanted to. It checks all my boxes so far - your conversion journey is your own and takes however long you want it to. There is a strong push towards the intellectual application of the faith and encourage the taking of various classes, writing essays, meeting with a rabbi one on one and presenting your desire before a committee - all before conversion is allowed. I could take one year or fifteen.

So this is where I'm at so far. More to come.

-- Siggy