tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77566572011-04-22T04:10:56.385+03:00<img src=http://www.aish.com/aishint/graphics/aerial_view.jpg> <big>From Jerusalem, the Centre of the Universe: Chronicles of an authentic Jewish Convert</big>Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-35907254357693402902007-09-16T20:37:00.000+02:002007-09-17T11:17:39.088+02:00

My 11 September posting (funny how it does not have such a zing to it when one writes the date correctly... Try talking about 11-9 and see how many heartfelt reactions you get) was not the best piece of teshuvah with which I could have gone into Rosh HaShanah. I did not think about the fact that it may have been a little bit too harsh until much later in the day after I had posted it.On the

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-25290498604905889762007-09-11T10:47:00.000+03:002007-09-11T16:17:45.793+03:00

We had a hint of autumn weather here in Jerusalem a few days ago, which for me is the revelation that God may preserve my soul yet. I am a hot-natured body, and take the months of oppressive heat as a personal reproach. But I will not complain about the weather in Israel.Instead, I will enjoy the fact that fall weather has the effect on me of madeleines dipped in tea, bringing me back clearly

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-84413614074851349002007-08-31T09:24:00.000+03:002007-08-31T10:59:53.436+03:00

I've heard the claim that there are some words that do not exist in Hebrew. What the persons who make this claim are trying to say is that the concept does not exist in lashon hakodesh, the Holy Tongue. Since lashon hakodesh is assumed to be perfect, every word signifies a true reality. So if there is no word for that concept, then the idea is not authentic, but rather a deception of some

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-8922509991170267812007-08-29T12:00:00.000+03:002007-08-29T12:30:36.814+03:00

In another place I once mentioned that I had undergone "a universally unquestionable Orthodox conversion". This was and is not a statement of arrogance, just my understanding how reliable my beth din is in the rabbinic world. As I mentioned before, the shtar that they wrote for me on that day has been accepted in every place I needed it to be: the kollelim, the Rabbanut, the sokhnut, and El-Al

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-35989494569494752662007-08-28T16:34:00.000+03:002007-08-29T12:33:33.323+03:00

I was recently interviewing for a job with a high-tech firm. They had an idea for an innovative project, which was to take a group of men out of yeshivah who were ready for full-time work, and to train them for a specialized career in a particular field of high-tech. (I don't want to give away any more than that, in case they would prefer to keep their project under wraps for the time being.)

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-17571925125515082152007-08-19T15:23:00.001+03:002007-08-20T11:55:06.388+03:00

While in university I received counseling for... something or other. I was in graduate school and had a good life, working on a doctorate in Comparative Literature with a dream girlfriend (non-Jewish, for the record). But something was getting me down, bad. The girlfriend shot up warning flares, and I said, you're right; I'm going to do something about it.I have never been afraid of counseling

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-1154880886382202742007-08-18T22:57:00.000+03:002007-08-20T18:29:29.236+03:00

First things first. There is a common misconception that the words "Ger Tsedek" mean in English, "Righteous Convert". Not so. This is a mistranslation.The word "Ger" in the Torah means (according to Jastrow):a dweller (see Shabbat 104a) anda stranger, especially a proselyte, a convert to Judaism (see Yevamot 46b; Berakhot 47b)The first definition allows for persons who have no interest in the

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-67848624169171361912007-08-17T10:14:00.001+03:002007-08-17T11:24:06.641+03:00

This past Monday the ever-entertaining Rav Gil brought up the subject of Jewish music. The specific question was whether Erev shel Shoshanim, an Israeli love song, should be used as the melody to which we sing Kedushah in Shabbat services.You cannot bring up a subject like this without a debate that follows certain predictable lines. And that is exactly what happened. By "predictable" I don't

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-18481921544800624242007-08-15T20:10:00.001+03:002007-08-15T21:58:24.673+03:00

For better or for worse, I do not actively publicize the fact that I'm a convert. I usually prefer to blend in, which I can due to the coincidence of my biological appearance, besides the way I dress and conduct myself. Not all geirim are able to do so, and I suppose they accept that early on.In most situations I am simply more comfortable being considered just like everyone else around me.

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-44070908152981166152007-08-14T13:34:00.001+03:002007-08-14T14:19:52.367+03:00

The start-up of this blog coincides with a major shift in my life's activities. It appears that I am basically moving from the world of full-time Torah study to full-time employment, with big responsibilities in my new position, should it prove to be a success. This blog may work as a pressure valve, an outlet for other things on my mind while I'm working.The idea for this blog has been in the

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-38928993389820650602007-08-14T10:41:00.001+03:002007-08-14T14:13:56.654+03:00

...and why doesn't it display correctly? I just see a square where the fourth letter should be."Answer: Well, it's a Hebrew name, obviously. Or rather, a Jewish name.Or, to be precise, it's the kind of name that a Jewish person has nowadays, since in the times of the Tanakh a person did not have a family name per se, but was identified according to his or her father, mother, or tribe. In my

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756657.post-17830303575506349872007-08-13T17:28:00.001+03:002007-08-13T17:28:41.138+03:00

Shalom, and thank you for visiting my blog, "Ger Tsedek: Chroniclesof an authentic Jewish Convert". There is not much to see here at themoment, save a couple of photos from my side of town.I hope to post some more interesting content in the coming days, socheck back soon.

Pinḥas Ivrinoreply@blogger.com1