ood evening. My name is Christel Kleitsch, Hebrew name Hannah, and I am a Jew. It feels great to make this announcement in front of all you people. As some of you already know, I recently converted to Judaism. The board of the Danforth Jewish Circle asked me to speak to you today about my conversion. It’s fitting that I talk about here in this room, because it’s here that I made my decision to convert two years ago. It’s been a long two years…because so much has happened to me “Jewishly” during that time.

If you were here on Rosh Hashanah, you heard me read from the Torah for the first time. It was a real thrill. It was like learning my portion for a kind of mini-Bat Mitzvah. For which I did not receive even one lousy fountain pen.

My conversion was through the Reform movement. It was a year-long course which involved studying Jewish history, tradition and ritual. I also had to learn to read Hebrew. At the end, there was a written exam. Then, I had to appear before a Bet Din, a court where three rabbis got to grill me at will about my reasons for converting and about the kind of Jewish life I planned to lead.

The final step was to wander to the wilderness of Thornhill go to a mikvah. It was a lovely experience. My sponsor, Rabbi Elysse Goldstein set out candles to light the room. The mikvah itself is a small, very clean, pool where you completely immerse yourself three times and say a few prayers. You’re totally naked right down to no conditioner in your hair, no fingernail polish, no jewelry. Naked as the moment of your birth, this ritual symbolizes spiritual purification and rebirth as a Jew.

At first I was shy about telling people that I was converting. I suppose because I knew that they would wonder why, and I didn’t really want to talk about it. One of the first people I told was my father-in-law Ben. He didn’t ask why. In all the years I’ve known Ben, he never once mentioned conversion. I knew that Ben would be happy about my decision, but I had no idea how happy. He just kept saying Thank you, thank you, thank you, over and over. It was so sweet. Then I said, “But it won’t be Kosher, Ben, it’ll be a Reform conversion.” Ben is Orthodox. “Never mind,” he enthused, “half a Jew is better than no Jew.”

Lots of people did ask me why I was converting. And I guess that’s one of the reasons I agreed to do this speech. To give them answers.

I was born a Christian, a Lutheran. Going to church wasn’t part of my family life, but when I was a teenager, my parents did send me to confirmation classes for two years. It was pretty boring, mostly rote learning, questions and answers out of a book. I was never a church goer after that because I had a lot of problems with Christianity. Specifically original sin — babies born sinful, ridiculous! — and the trinity which made no sense to me at all. This thing of three in one, it sounded more like a household cleaning product, rather than monotheism. Monotheism was really important to me back then. It still is.

In my late teens I started reading about Judaism and I thought it sounded really cool. I even went to a few services, as it turned out to an orthodox schul. All those men bobbing and mumbling, shaking hands with each other and chatting was a pretty exotic sight to a Christian girl from Oshawa I can tell you. I stopped going because there seemed no way to break in, to become part of this religion.

Years later, I met my partner Avrum and the rest is history. So after 25 years of living with a very secular Jew, why did I suddenly decide to convert?

One of the reasons is definitely this community, the people in the Danforth Jewish Circle. I have met so many wonderful people, made such great friendships, been made to feel so included and welcome. How could I resist? Judaism is about community and this community is the best! Thanks guys.

The High Holiday Services as we celebrate them here have become an important part of my year. The emphasis in Yom Kippur on introspection, reflection, repentance and renewal speak very deeply to me, and to you too I’m sure. These services have also given me the chance to experience na-aseh v’nishma. This is what the Israelites said when Moses presented God’s commandments to them. It means we will do and we will hear. Hear in the sense of obey and understand. It seems backwards, when you think about, first you do and then you understand. According to Talmudic legend, the angels were so impressed by this statement that they came down from heaven and placed two crowns on the head of each Israelite, one for doing (na-aseh) and one for seeking to understand (v’nishma). So participating in these services gave me the chance to do Jewish. And through this doing, I began to understand how much the Jewish part of my life it meant to me. And it made me want to make a commitment to it.

One thing I found interesting, was that when I told non-religious friends, Jews and non-Jews, that I was converting, I sometimes sensed disapproval. (One Jewish friend even offered to give me his membership.) My friends seemed disappointed that I was “getting religion.” Maybe that I was even, eek! starting to “believe in God.” They definitely didn’t like this. But what these friends perhaps didn’t know about is the Jewish God Shopping Mall. There are so many ideas about God in Judaism. And some of them don’t even start with a capital G. I thought today I’d share with you three great Jewish philosophers’ takes on God that I find particularly appealing. These are 20th century ideas by the way.

First, there’s Abraham Joshua Heschel. He emphasizes the presence of God in the human encounter with the world. He describes the sense of deep awareness and awe at the mystery of nature and beauty of the earth. His phrase is “radical amazement.” A tiny aphid lands on your hand. Its wings are the finest pale green transparent lace. Its busy feelers explore the world around it. It walks on legs as thin as spider web. This little being is born, learns to fly, to eat, to reproduce and its brain is smaller than a pin-prick. It’s hard not to be impressed.

Another inspiring Jewish thinker, is Leo Baeck, who sees Judaism as ethical monotheism. He says that the belief in one god is equivalent to the belief in a single source of moral law.

So two good ideas so far, God in the wonder of our encounter with the world and God as the source of ethical behaviour.

The third great Jewish idea about God for me is Martin Buber’s. Buber breaks down relationships into I – It relationships and I – Thou relationships. An I – It relationship is say between me and my car. It is a relationship of practicality and utility. Relationships between people can also fit this category. On the other hand, there is the I – Thou relationship. This is a relationship characterized by equality and openness. It is a genuine encounter. The encounter with God is the ultimate I – Thou relationship. But, and this is the best part, God is present in all I – Thou relationships that we have. So now we have God present in the relationships between people too. To me, that’s a beautiful idea.

Time for a quotation. Albert Einstein: The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, an almost fanatical love of justice and the desire for personal independence – these are the features of the Jewish tradition which make me thank my stars that I belong to it.

Over the last two years I have embarked on my own pursuit of Jewish knowledge in addition to the conversion course. I’ve been reading the Torah portion for the week and the commentaries for almost a whole year. I recommend it highly, that Torah is one heck of book. Also, I attended lots of lectures at Beth Tzedek and Holy Blossom. Four lectures by Rachel Turkenitz, a York professor, on the creation were particularly outstanding. These lectures are open to anyone and they’re free! I also took classes at Kolel, the Jewish learning institute. I took a course on Talmud and one on Jewish women writers with Rabbi Tina Gimberg from Daarchei Noam. One of the stories we studied had the brilliant title “If only I’d been born a Kosher Chicken.” I also participated in an all night Shavuot study session at Kolel that was fabulous. A little plug here for Kolel, there are flyers at the back. Their courses start next week and they are terrific. Sign up soon.

What I want to say with all this talk about God and lectures and courses, is that one of the main attractions of Judaism for me is the tradition of learning. Study is even considered worship, a definite bonus, since I’m not such a big prayer. This city is a goldmine of Jewish study opportunities. I encourage you to take advantage of some of them if you aren’t already.

The most important reason for my conversion was my family. My daughters, Delia and Maisie, are almost grown up now. But I still think that me being Jewish matters. That it will influence our family life and their view of themselves and the world. I hope that the Jewish traditions of learning, social justice, questioning, and an over-whelming passion for food will always matter to them. And … finally, my partner Avrum Jacobson. Avrum and I have been together for 25 years, but we’ve never married. My conversion is my way of saying to him, in the words of Ruth the very first convert, “Whither thou goest, I will go, where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people will be my people, thy God, my God.”

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