Beyond Orthodox Conversion to Judaism

"Rabbi Nehorai said: 'Go as a voluntary exile to a place of Torah, and do not say that the Torah will seek after you, for it is your fellow students who will make it your permanent possession; and do not rely on your own understanding.'"

The Mishna explains that if there are no rabbinic scholars or proper Torah institutions where you live then you have to put yourself in "exile" and go to a place where there are. The reason for this is because if one wants to truly keep the Torah and its mitzvos, you have to be in a place that is conducive for that.

The Rambam in the laws of repentance tells us that one of the things that stops a person from proper repentance is if they separate themselves from the community. A person cannot live on their own island so-to-speak and think that they can keep Torah by themselves.

This is why it is so important for proper converts to Judaism to live in a thriving Jewish community.
This means that there have to be Jewish schools for children to go to and orthodox synagogues for one to pray in. If a person lived in a small community with just one orthodox synagogue and no schools, under most circumstances they would have to move to a bigger Jewish community to be able to convert.

The reason is that the potential convert will see how Jews who adhere to Torah live their lives and put into practice what they learn. Although a person can learn a lot on their own, there is nothing like seeing it in action. Not only that but no matter how learned a person may be, unless that person lives in the Jewish community, no beis din (rabbinical court) will convert you.

 The last part of the Mishna explains that a person cannot rely on their own understanding. This means that a person shouldn't rely on their own logic or how they seem to understand things unless they get the advice from other rabbinical authorities. This is extremely important in having a proper mentor that can guide a person and give them proper advice in their growth in spirituality.

The Talmud tells us a spiritual mentor is someone whom we look at as an angel; if we don't see them that way, then we can't learn Torah from them. This does not mean that people are perfect; far from it but we want to learn from people that exemplify the Torah and its eternal message.

Getting their much needed advice and strength changes and transforms a person's life for them and their family. They have to be willing though to nullify themselves to someone greater than them in learning which will lead to tremendous growth and inspiration,

I have had the good fortune to be around such people for the last 20 years and the influence that they have had on me and my family is priceless. I certainly wouldn't be half the person I am without that and the most important thing is that when they gave me advice I listened (usually).

Adherence to Jewish law and its myriad of customs is not an easy thing but it is a way of life that has tremendous meaning if we do what we are supposed to do. Sometimes we get caught up in the details and miss the beauty of what we are trying to accomplish. May we all merit to live a Torah life and make G-d proud of all our actions!