I sometimes find it difficult to define exactly how I've made such a transition. It's something I can't quite put my finger on, yet I do have a few inklings as to why becoming a Jew has been for me so full of meaning. A sacrifice by fire, as you might imagine, marks a significant transition, especially if you are the animal being sacrificed . Sacrifice is about being totally consumed, making a total change. Now, it's not as if I feel like I'm being sacrificed , but I do see my conversion as a process of profound change, one that I hope will bring me closer to G-d.
Today is also the spring solstice.
This is clearly a time of rebirth, which echoes the feeling I had leaving the mikveh last Tuesday. Though I can't put my finger on it exactly, the ceremony has given me a new and different sense of being. Having a wife and two kids who are Jewish was a major reason for my turning to Judaism. At the same time, I wanted to find some very good reasons of my own. When Maya and Eli came into being, the world shook, all my perspectives suddenly shifted.