My Conversion Story Journal

August 18, 2024

I've been thinking a lot lately about the many times I was exposed to Jewish ideas before I ever even knew they were. One of my professors in college talked about tefillin and how the boxes got larger for show so it wasn't really proper to wear them since they are just for show. Being a woman, I don't have to worry about them, nor do I have an opinion about them.

I remember going on a field trip with my daughter D2 to a farm that made dairy products. Their ice cream was kosher certified. I had no idea at that time what that meant. They were very strict on where we could walk because they wanted to keep their kosher certification. There was a Rabbi in one of the barns and the kids were asking if we knew him (we wore skirts and culottes). In one of the barns, I watched him talking to a cow. I had never seen a Rabbi in person before that moment.

The last memory makes me a little bit sad. I was at a thrift store with my children. One of my children found a cup with two handles and asked me what it was for. The lady working at the thrift store said they had gotten a lot of things donated from an estate. At the time, I had no idea why there would be two handles on a cup. Maybe it was for a child learning how to drink, but it was rather big for that. I now know that it is a ritual cup for washing hands in the morning, after using the bathroom, and before eating bread. I understand that cup there wasn't very expensive (I actually have two of the exact same type), but it is still a bit sad that it was just donated to a thrift store.

Just memories.