by Paul Sizemore This was my first visit to Rabbi Lippe in Austin at CBI from my Louisville home. I was in conversion classes at CBI with her a year prior, and then moved back to Louisville. To date, I feel a strong pull towards her and CBI, more so than any other Rabbi and ...
by Paul Sizemore There were a few months of my life where I had no idea what to spiritually do. I was stuck between going back to the religion of my childhood or pushing forward to the unknown of Judaism. Maybe it was that I didn’t have the courage to move, maybe I now realize ...
by Paul Sizemore During the time between Baptism and planning to convert, I noticed a few key trends in the lives of the people around me. I had key gaps and deficiencies in my life, and looking to friends that modeled strength in the domains that were weak in my life lead me to recognize ...
by Paul Sizemore People shift because of fear or desire. For the most part, fear prompts rapid transformations, and desire prompts gradual and enduring changes. My journey to Judaism can be broken into two parts, leaving the familiar, and finding the new. The shift from my theological past was due to a fear – the ...
by Paul Sizemore I’m not a new Jew, nor an old Jew. Right now, I’m not a Jew at all. I went to a rabbi about four years ago with the thoughts of conversion. I knew conversion was a life change, and wanted to know exactly what conversion would entail. Before ‘the meeting’ I was ...
New Jew Voices welcomes our first contributor Paul Sizemore. Paul will be sharing the story of how he first came to Judaism, his spiritual journey and the conversion path that he is on. Look for his first post next week. My name is Paul Sizemore. I’m an amateur Reform Jew in Louisville, Kentucky. I see ...