
About six months ago, I came across a blog that fascinated me more than most. The writer was a young Swedish man who was about to convert to Judaism. I don’t know who the man is in real life, but reading his blog made me feel like I did. Corny, I know; but that is an effect some well-written blogs have on me.
When I turned on the feed aggregator today, I found a new entry in which the soon-to-be-Jewish blogger announces that he, after standing before a Bet Din (religious court), is now a Jew. I know it’s silly being happy for someone you don’t know, but I am.
Although I’m a very secular man and a fierce critic of religious superstition, I have always defended the right of anyone to be religious. I think there is something particularly attractive about conversion because it is a choice.
As regular readers of this blog know, I am very fond of the Jewish people and its culture. Some might think this is odd considering my somewhat hostile attitude towards religion. But there are three reasons for this. First, I had many Jewish friends growing up. Second, as a gay man I see that our enemies are often the same and use similar prejudiced arguments against us (“the Jewish/gay lobby controls politics”, “media is controlled by Jews/gays”, “Jews/gays threaten the majority culture”, etcetera). I know many feel uncomfortable about this comparison, but this is how I see it. And third, I seriously think Judaism is the sanest of the three Abrahamic religions. When I discuss ethical questions and theological matters with people of faith, I always get the friendliest response from the Jews. With Judaism’s long tradition of Talmudic commentary on the Torah, I find that even Orthodox rabbis are more open-minded than most contemporary Christians and Muslims.
I congratulate my anonymous Jewish friend on his conversion. You picked the right religion.
Postscript: Here’s a link to his new, post-conversion blog.
Update at 18:29: By the way, if I was to become a Jew, I would pick this society.