New Jew, The - An Unexpected Conversion

‘It really would be nice, dear, if you would join us for the High Holy Days’, Sally’s mother-in-law coaxed. A lapsed Catholic from the Midwest, married to a New York Jew, Sally and her husband rarely spoke of religion except to discuss where to place the Christmas tree and the menorah. Making gefilte fish would have seemed a more reasonable request than venturing into the foreign territory of a synagogue. Little did Sally know her first time in a temple would be a roller coaster ride of indifference, fascination, hope and antipathy, all in a span of two hours. It was to be a microcosm of her ten-year journey to becoming a Jew. The New Jew is the story of an unexpected road to conversion, from Sally’s first culture shock in temple, through encounters with rabbis that left her feeling angry and alienated, to the irresistible warmth of Jewish friends and family who drew her in with their exuberance.Woven into the story is Sally’s evolving relationship with Bernice, her upper middle class, Manhattanite Jewish mother-in-law, whose unexpected death offers a particular poignancy to her journey. For Jews interested in how others see them, for non-Jews wondering what Judaism is all about, for all those affected by intermarriage, for people living journeys of their own, The New Jew describes what drew Sally to Judaism, and how her return to religion brought self-discovery, joy and richness to her life.