hi.. i have some worries. i want to convert but i live in the middle of nowhere. is it ok to contact a rabbi when i can't easily get to shul, its a few hours in the car? should i try to move closer first, even if it takes years? also.. i'm a lesbian, and there is only really orthodox presence in my country. im worried that they will reject me, or that ill have to keep my life a secret. i feel more drawn to judaism than anything else in my life, but im really scared. thanks so so much. shalom
I prettymuch always encourage people to reach out to rabbis if at all possible – like,generally speaking, most rabbis are good people who like to help and will atleast point you in the right direction even if they can’t personally assist youor answer your question. So, even though it might not be a realistic option foryou to convert for a bit, there’s no way of knowing until you ask, and theremay be resources available that you don’t yet know about. If nothing else, theymay be able to connect you with individuals nearby.
Withoutknowing which country you’re from, this is going to be a bit of a shot in thedark, but I would encourage you to look into the different communities and tryto get a sense of what their observance style is. “Orthodox” means a lot ofdifferent things to different people, and there are a lot of subcategorieswithin orthodoxy. It definitely varies based on nusach as well, so withoutknowing more, I’m afraid I’m not sure what to tell you about how LGBTQ+friendly they’d be. It also might be worthwhile to see if there are resourcesspecifically for LGBTQ+ Jews in your country, and to reach out to thoseorganizations. I know that Eshel is an American group for Orthodox LGBTQ+folks; there may be a similar organization where you live. Failing that, youmay want to just reach out to Eshel or another similar group and see if theycan connect you with anyone in your country.
Please feelfree to follow up if you’d like, and I wish you all the best in your search!
