Seven Years

As I woke up from a nap this afternoon, I suddenly remembered that today marks the seventh anniversary of my conversion to Judaism. The memory made me smile, something that has been very rare in these past few weeks.

In the years since coming out of the mikvah, I’ve had the honor to be a witness at many other conversions. Besides Temple, I would say that the familiar halls of Tiferet Israel and the mikvah itself have become places of great comfort to me. Something about the trek through the quiet hallways leading to the mikvah always calms me.

I regularly go through crises of faith, yet I always come out never regretting my decision to convert. As difficult as my relationship with the community has been, I still regard them as my chosen family. One day, when my mother passes away, they will be the only family I have and I am grateful for the kindness and generosity I’ve experienced and witnessed. Even when I feel like an outsider, I know this is where I belong.

A Prayer for Finding Your Tribe

Our tribe contains tribes.

Tribes forged by circumstance and cemented by our own choosing.

Prophets who once bowed before idols.

And artists who rebuked even prophets.

Monarchs who kept guard over a land.

And a People made humble by the wilderness.

However you belong.

However you came to be.

Know that you, too, are numerous as the stars of heaven. 

And that whether you are hard as rock, soft as psalms

Or even as mysterious as a basket in the bulrushes

Your arc reveals our covenant.

Devon Spier