I grew up in Montreal and had a fairly typical Jewish background. Because I never really understood how Judaism could apply to my life in a meaningful way, after my Bat Mitzvah, I decided that I’d had enough of Jewish learning.
I looked forward to attending university and the experience of real independence. However, the novelty of partying soon wore off and everything began to feel so empty. I sensed that there had to be more to life, something more meaningful worthy of my total devotion.
One day, a friend from school invited me to his birthday party. I didn’t know at the time that he was a practicing Christian. I met several of his church friends and was very impressed with their sincerity and genuineness. They were all very committed to applying their religious beliefs to their daily lives and I felt magnetically drawn to them.
I had never met any Jewish peers who took their faith as seriously, and after a while, I began attending church with this new crowd every week. I began to see positive changes in my life, and the sense of meaning I discovered was so different from the superficiality I experienced among other students on campus. Six months later, I decided to convert to Christianity.
Telling my parents about my conversion was certainly not easy, and my grandparents strongly urged me to first find meaning in my own religion before abandoning it. While continuing to attend church, I also went to the Hillel House at my university to find out about Judaism. While there, I noticed a newsletter published by Jews for Judaism. That night, I casually went on the Jews for Judaism website and, to my surprise, stayed up all night reading their fascinating information.
I finally got the courage to email the Jews for Judaism office in Toronto. Rabbi Michael Skobac contacted me immediately, and we began corresponding. Because I felt totally accepted, just as I was, it was very comfortable communicating with him. His long emails in response to my questions about Judaism were always very clear and convincing.
When Rabbi Skobac told me about an upcoming all-day Jews for Judaism seminar, I came to Toronto for that weekend and met with him at his home over Shabbat. He spent over four hours with me, answering my questions about Christianity and encouraging me to slowly explore Judaism. The seminar I attended the next day was a real eye-opener and provided me with a deeper appreciation of the Jewish perspective on Christianity. I was also able to meet with Julius Ciss, Executive Director of Jews for Judaism. We spent an inspiring hour together as he shared the amazing story of his five-year journey from a Jew for Jesus activist back to Judaism.
When I returned home to Montreal, I knew I could never go back to the church, and instead, decided to spend a year studying Judaism at a religious seminary in Israel. I returned to New York to pursue a career in social work and wound up meeting my soul mate and getting married. I feel so blessed, now, in my new life and will be eternally grateful to Jews for Judaism for helping me
become the person I am today.
