Halachic Conversion
תהליך הגיור — התאריך הקובע
- Beit Din of three; kabbalat ol mitzvot; tevilah (mikveh); milah / hatafat-dam.
- Place: Pueblo, Mexico
- Date: 19 Iyar 5778 — May 4, 2018 (Friday, daytime)
My Conversion Story — Straight
Logline: I converted to Judaism on 19 Iyar 5778 (May 4, 2018) in the daytime, in Pueblo, Mexico, before a qualified beit din, with kabbalat ol mitzvot, tevilah, and (as required) milah / hatafat-dam. First Shabbat as a Jew: 20 Iyar 5778 (May 5, 2018). Later certification was issued in Puebla (May 8, 2025). Name: Yehoshua Zalman Ben Avrohom.
Why I converted
I was raised in church settings where hard questions got, “just have faith.” That doesn’t work. You can tell someone that you’re green when you’re blue; having faith doesn’t make you blue.
I wanted a direct relationship with Hashem, not a human mediator, and I wanted answers with accountability to Torah and mitzvot.
What didn’t fit
“Once saved, always saved” as a blanket absolution is not how reality works. You still have to return to God — teshuvah. I looked at the Messianic movement and realized it’s Christianity repackaged: basically Christians in a different package, wearing kippah.
That’s not Judaism.
Deciding to convert
I was told the standard truth: better to remain a Bnei Noach than to convert and then violate. That wasn’t a brush‑off; it was clarity about responsibility — also on the sponsoring rabbi and the beit din. I kept going.
Learning and guidance
- Sponsoring/teaching rabbi: Rabbi Zalman Weiss (author of Adon Olam: The Search for Meaning), connected to the Bnei Brak beit din associated with R. Karelitz.
- Local rav: St. Louis Park, parallel guidance.
- Cadence: ~1.5 years learning with R. Weiss (twice‑weekly Zoom classes, tests, discussions); total journey to that point ~5 years.
The beit din and mikveh
Giyur: Friday May 4, 2018 (daytime), 19 Iyar 5778, in Pueblo, Mexico. Kabbalat ol mitzvot before a beit din of three; tevilah in a kosher mikveh; milah / hatafat‑dam as applicable. First Shabbat: the very next day — May 5, 2018 (Parashat Emor).
Later certificate
On May 8, 2018 (10 Iyar 5785), the Special Rabbinical Court in Puebla, Mexico issued a conversion certificate confirming I am a Jew in every respect. Dayanim: R. Yitzchak Dov Bernstein; R. Shlomo Avraham Perlman; R. Zalman Weiss.
Community work (Mexico)
In parallel, R. Weiss was guiding a community in Mexico with their own shul and mikveh. Authorities hesitated to authorize conversions there. About forty people ultimately went through; some needed retests. It reinforced for me that gates should be honest, not arbitrary.
How Hashem relates to a ger
- Direct love and protection: “He loves the ger… gives him bread and clothing” (Deut 10:18–19); “Hashem guards converts” (Ps 146:9). “My house is a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isa 56:7). Ruth is the model of belonging.
How Jews must treat a ger
- Double mitzvah of love: Rambam counts loving the ger as its own mitzvah, plus “love your fellow.”
- No oppression, no shaming: Torah warns again and again;
do not taunt about the past
. “You know the soul of the stranger.” - Full equality in law: “One law for the native and for the ger.” Practically: same mitzvot, same kedushah, same consequences.
Chronology (quick)
- 2017 → early 2018: Study, testing, commitment.
- May 4, 2018: Beit din + mikveh (Pueblo, Mexico).
- May 5, 2018: First Shabbat as a Jew — Emor.
- 2018 → current: Living as a Jew; continue learning.
- May 8, 2018: Puebla certificate (confirmation).
People & roles
- Rabbi Zalman Weiss: teacher/mentor; dayan on 2018 certificate.
- Local rav (St. Louis Park): local guidance.
- Dayanim (certificate): R. Bernstein · R. Perlman · R. Weiss.
Bottom line
- Sincere giyur = fully Jewish.
- Hashem’s posture: love + protection.
- Our job: love, protect, integrate; zero humiliation; follow halacha — don’t add gates that shut the door.
