Through the lens of the Netflix Series, "Nobody Wants This", a Journey of Conversion and Transformation

If a non-Jew (gentile) converted into Judaism, would they truly become a real, authentic Jew in the eyes of the Jewish people or would they be viewed as inauthentic?

The question above was posted on my Quora social media page.

Someone answered:

You’re Jewish. End of sentence. There will be people who will treat you differently. They are wrong and breaking Halacha. The official Jewish law in all Jewish movements is the Jews are Jews, whether by birth or by choice. All Jews are considered to have been at Mt Sinai when we received the Torah, including converts. There’s a school of thought that converts were Jewish in another life and have found their way home. And either way, the consensus is the ger (stranger, in an immigrant kind of way) has a Jewish Neshama (soul or life force or spirit). After the initial mazel tov, no one is supposed to ever mention that someone converted. And doing otherwise is super rude.

Of course, these rules are broken but please know that if you join us you become one of us. A conversion to Judaism is like an adoption or becoming a citizen of a new nation. Are there people who tell adopted children that their parents aren’t their “real” parents? Are there people who say new American citizens they aren’t “real Americans”? Absolutely yes to both questions and we all know that they are wrong to do so.

In the hit Netflix series *Nobody Wants This*, a story unfolds about a relationship between a rabbi and a gentile named Joanne. Joanne feels conflicted about converting to Judaism, but things take a turn when her mother receives a gift that makes her feel connected to the experience of being at Sinai for the giving of the Torah. Now, Joanne’s mother is deeply moved and feels strongly about converting to Judaism.

I answered the Quora question:

“Beautiful”-

My conversion to Judaism was more of a mystical journey. I didn’t do it for marriage, but to feel more in touch with my soul and, ultimately, closer to God.

There is a great saying, Jews who have converted, were Jewish in another life and found their way home. In the book, The Gate of Reincarnations, the great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria declared, "The souls of the Exodus generation shall again become incarnated."

I strongly feel that my soul is one of those from the Exodus generation! 

On Mount Sinai, Egypt ...

          

   XOXO, Serena Ahuva Jade

Uncover the journey beyond the ego and explore the soul

www.raising-the-sparks-publishing.com

Review: Israel: A Simple Guide To The Most Misunderstood Country On Earth by Noa Tishby

The Hand of God At The New Gate, Jerusalem 

Israel: A Simple Guide To The Most Misunderstood Country On Earth by Noa Tishby is a must-read for anyone who doesn't understand how Israel and Jews often stand as outcasts in the global context. This highlights how they represent a societal shadow—values that are essential yet often hidden or ignored.

You can see in history, “Blame the Jews, it’s their fault.” Look what’s happening right now, Israel is to be blamed for their misfortune. The world does not have empathy for Israel or the Jews.

The average person views Israel as the stronger entity compared to a terrorist group like Hamas governing Gaza or the Palestinian Authority managing the West Bank. As societal outcasts, Israel and Jews often develop greater resilience, which leads to a perception of strength. However, constantly being on guard for the next attack can have the opposite effect. 

Like Noa Tisby asks: How should Israel retaliate when Hamas fires thousands of rockets into southern Israeli towns? Why haven't the Palestinians made a final peace deal? Will the Palestinian Authority unite with Hamas, and if so, will Hamas denounce violence? 

Here are hot topics the layperson brings up such as:

Israel is a Colony: Noa Tishby states, "Israel is a refugee state, reestablished after the British left, as the Jewish homeland, after thousands of years of exile and persecution."

Israel is an Apartheid state: Apartheid came as South Africa's segregation of white and blacks. I've been to Israel twice and Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Druze live side by side. 

Ethnic Cleansing: That would mean Israel would have to wipe out all of the 22 countries in the Middle East.

Unequal Warfare: The IDF is organized and structured, where Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are not. 

If Zohran Mamdani Becomes The Next New York City Mayor, America is Doomed

As history tells us all empires crumble from within. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Party’s candidate for New York City Mayor, wants to “Globalize the Intifada,” “End the Occupation, and Apartheid.” And if you don’t know the Intifada is a violent uprising against Jews. And the occupation referrers to occupied Palestine to most Muslims. And most think Israel is an apartheid. But apartheid is total separation, in Israel, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Baha’i’s, and Druze live side by side.

And with these destructive antisemitic statements, America’s destruction is next, and most likely this is the start, if Zohran Mamdani is elected the next Mayor of NYC.

Let’s give one of the most powerful cities in the world, New York City, the power to defund the police, “White People” will have to pay more taxes, all housing will be rent controlled, give free bus transportation, possibly subways, have city-controlled grocery stores, universal childcare, and up the minimum wage.

Mamdani says, he wants financial equality for all, he says there is enough money for all people, he really wants the people to be dependent on the government (socialism and communism) as opposed to capitalism.

Thomas Sowell, an American economist states, “The greatest threat to freedom is not tyranny, but the illusion that government can deliver what only the individual can earn.” -

I am a working class native New Yorker; I would prefer a Sunni Sufi Muslim rather than a Shia Muslim for mayor!  I am not prejudiced against Muslims, and I am friends with some, and I think the Muslim call to prayer is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world. The Sunnis are more liberal in their beliefs. An example: In most Sunni countries women are not required to wear a Hijab nor a full burqa. Another example: Islam just celebrated the holiday of Ashura, where the Sunni’s celebrate the parting of the Red Sea and the liberation of the Israelites, on the other hand, Shia Muslims mourn the death of the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson on this day.

Mr.  Mamdani also disagrees with President Trump's stance on immigration:   

When I lived in Egypt, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, the police, often armed with machine guns (a common sight in the Middle East), would randomly visit the complex where I was staying to check everyone’s documents and ensure they were legally allowed to stay. I really didn’t want to imagine what might happen if someone wasn’t legal.

Here in the US, if you don’t have legal documents, you are illegal- period, end of story!

I was watching a podcast with New York Newscaster Bill Ritter, he asked Zohran Mamdani, “What do you think of the concept of Israel?”

Like most politicians Zohran answered in the politically correct way. However, the question struck me as odd, the concept of Israel. Do we think, Pakistan and Bangladesh as concepts?

Around the same time modern Israel was forming, Pakistan and Bangladesh were emerging as nations, once part of the Indian subcontinent. These areas became predominantly Muslim countries, leading to the deaths of millions of Hindus and Muslims and forcing many Hindus to become refugees in lower India.

And to this day, India and Pakistan are still fighting over Kashmir, that was once part of the Indus Valley of India!

I want to end my voice and give you the 12, 13th century Sunni Islamic Mystic, Ibn Arabi  …

"My heart can take on any form: A meadow for gazelles, A cloister for monks, For the idols, sacred ground, Ka'ba for the circling pilgrim, The tables of the Torah [the Jews], The scrolls of the Qur’an. My creed is Love (Love is the Lover, longing for her beloved): Wherever its caravan turns along the way, That is my belief, My faith."- Ibn Arabi

If You Are Not With Israel, You Are With Hamas

I am an American who lived in the Middle East: If you are not with Israel, you are with Hamas. After the 9/11 attacks American President George Bush invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. Attacks on Israel October 7, 2023. People in the surrounding areas of Israel, see the United States and Israel as one.

If you doubted the above statement I posted on April 6, 2024, then the events of April 8, 2024, should serve as confirmation… Chants of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” rang out, and not in the streets of Tehran but right here in the USA where Islamic extremism is being allowed to fester.

“Thousands march in support of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. Protesters, many with kaffiyehs covering their faces, shout ‘Intifada, intifada,’ ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ and ‘America is a terrorist state.’ Local imams give fiery antisemitic sermons. This isn’t the Middle East. It’s the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Mich,” wrote Steven Stalinsky who warned of the incendiary rhetoric spewed by local radical clerics after Israel retaliated against the Hamas savages who massacred over 1,200 of its citizens during the October 7, 2023 raid on civilian areas.- April 8, 2024-

https://www.bizpacreview.com/2024/04/08/michigan-muslims-chant-in-disturbing-video-death-to-america-death-to-israel-1450865/

Why Did I Convert To Judaism?

I've been around Jews my whole life. I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood on Long Island, New York. My best friend in school was Jewish, and her family invited me to Passover Seders and Rosh Hashanah dinners to celebrate with them. 

Even a Rabbi from my neighborhood, had a part in the movie "Rocky 3."

https://www.liherald.com/stories/rockys-rabbi-remembered,4578

It was when my father died years later, that I had a spiritual turning point in my life. The Sufi Master, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee would say, "one day, you will wake up and say, there is more to life than this. And the mystery of the soul...begins." 

That day is when my father died, I didn't have a belief that this unknown thing called the soul goes to heaven, nor did I have the belief that we just die, and that is it. 

I grew up Roman Catholic, but my family was not religious. So, I questioned, why is there only one son of God, and why not all of us be the sons and daughters of God? I didn't believe in this one man, to be God. And knowing, he was a devout Jewish man to boot. 

But I never thought of converting to Judaism until my first trip to Egypt, a few years after my father died. On my journey through the sands of time, I inwardly connected to something bigger than my ego. That inward something is my eternal essence, better known as the soul. As I journeyed through the eternal sands of time, I felt an intense energy all around me. 

The timeless desert also connected me with the legendary, most revered leader in Judaism, Moses. Moses and God are the two dominate figures in the Torah.

A few weeks later, I went to my local synagogue and inquired about converting. The Conservative Rabbi asked me some questions. I do remember him saying, Judaism is not going to save you. But I was not looking to be saved. I was looking for a connection outwardly that would bring me closer to my soul, and the energy all around me.

That connection would be Judaism, Moses, and God. 

Praying at the Western Wall

My Journey As A Solo Traveler Crossing Into Israel ViaThe West Bank

 It's a snowy January day in Madaba, Jordan in the year 2022. I have been on a journey since the beginning of December 2021 to change the paradigm of my life. I have spent five weeks in Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt. My second time in Sharm. And now I am finishing up my journey in Jordan, after spending three weeks exploring, Madaba, Wadi Rum and Petra. (Yes, I climbed all over Petra.) However, the highlight of Petra was experiencing Petra at night. As I walked through the candlelit, Siq, (a narrow rock canyon) I was transported into a magical realm. The Siq leads you to the Nabatean city of Petra. Candles are lit up on the desert floor as you are greeted by the famous treasury building of the Nabateans. 

The Treasury At Petra, Jordan

Right now, I am staying at a VRBO apartment in Madaba. The family who owns the apartment are delightful. If you don't know Madaba is the home to Mount Nebo. Mt. Nebo is where the Israelites settled before entering Canaan, modern day Israel. Moses has said to have died on this mountain. After Moses's death, Joshua became the leader of the Israelites, and brought them into the land of Canaan in 1200 B.C.E.

Fast forward to the year 2022, it is cloudy, dreary and cold. It's around 7:00 in the morning and a taxi driver, a friend of the family from the apartment is picking me up to enter Israel through the West Bank. I originally wanted to fly out of Amman, Jordan to Tel Aviv. However, the cost was astronomical because instead of flying directly to Tel Aviv, the Jordanian government has the airlines fly from Amman, Jordan and go all the way west to Istanbul, Turkey, only to come back to the Middle East to Tel Aviv.

So, here I am in the car going to the Israeli border and crossing the river Jordan as a solo traveler. This will be my second time in Israel.

As I am getter closer to the border, I see billboards with men with machine guns, with masks and turbines on their heads ready to fight. The words on the billboard were in Arabic, and I didn't want to ask the driver, what did the words mean? I am thinking to myself, oh my God this is Hamas or Hezbollah, wanting to recruit people into their cause. But at the same time, there is beautiful sunlight streaming down from the heavens overlooking Israel. 

The Jordan Valley Overlooking Israel

So now, I am at the Jordanian border with the West Bank. A Jordanian man helps me with all my paperwork to get across the Jordan river. They take my passport, and I am concerned if I will get it back. They give me my passport 10 minutes later. And then I get on a bus, as I am the only one on the bus besides the driver. We have to go through a check point, show my passport and then we cross what looked like a footbridge over the Jordan river. 

I am now on the other side, the West Bank. I get off the bus and right away my luggage is thrown into a conveyer belt along with my purse. I pick up my luggage and I get to an agent, and she says, you have to wait for the time on your card which is 11.00, it is now 9:00 in the morning. 

So I wait, I go back to the agent at 11:00, and there is a problem. She said, my covid test is not valid then she said, it is valid. Then she said, you have to reapply for entry online. So, I go back online and there is a problem with the website. Now, I am being interrogated, the agent is asking me where were my parents were born? What are their names? She kept asking me over and over again. They wanted proof where I was staying in East Jerusalem. I had to provide proof. Now, I don't have my phone and computer lined up and this is a problem now. 

For five hours, I am being interrogated, the Israelis were not going to let me in. They had suspicions I had a Jordanian passport, because 99.99% of tourists are not entering Israel through this border. Finally, they let me enter Israel through the West Bank.

In this time period one had to take a covid test, as you left a country and then when you enter another country. So, I took the test, had to get a taxi from the station. The Taxi driver drove me to Jerusalem. I am staying at an Airbnb, a five-minute walk to the old city with the Damascus Gate and the New Gate right at my fingertips. 

My entry through the West Bank was an invaluable experience. Israel has control over this border as well as Gaza. I feel that is part of the conflict, the Palestinians don't have control over their borders. However, if the Palestinians had control over the borders, would they be as tough as the Israelis? Probably not. And that puts Israel in a very vulnerable position. 

My first trip to Israel, I wasn't aware that 28 countries in the world DO NOT recognize Israel. It was an eye-opening experience, to realize Israel is not recognized. I left Israel asking myself, how long does the state of Israel, have left? 

The Israel-Hamas war started on Simchat Torah, for those of you who don't know, this holiday ends a cycle and starts a new one. All services start reading from the beginning of the Torah (the Old Testament) from the Book of Genesis and onward, through all the books and completes next year at the same holiday. 

Israel has a right to exist. Just like the Palestinians have a right to exist, but without terrorists' groups controlling them. 

Israel and Jews are the scapegoats for our society. In her book, The Scapegoat Complex, Jungian Analyst Sylvia Perera says, "In the Western World the scapegoat role has fallen onto Jews and other minorities. These groups have often carried values needed by society as a whole, but values the culture prefers to keep in the shadow."

You can see in history, “Blame the Jews, it’s their fault.” Look what’s happening right now, Israel is to be blamed for their misfortune. The world does not have empathy for Israel or the Jews.

As a scapegoat myself, I recognize the blame people put on Israel and the Jews. Since I was three years old, I grew up in a Jewish Neighbor on Long Island. And my Personal Training business attracted all Jewish people. 

I am Jewish by choice. There is a great saying, Jews who have converted, were Jewish in another life and found their way home. The great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria declared, "In our present Aquarian Age, the souls of the Exodus generation shall again become incarnated."

Can you step back and learn about the conflict with an open mind, and about the history of Canaan, Israel, Judah, and Palestine?

The Soul Mate Prep Blog#73: Are you in the mood to pray for a spiritual connection to come into your life?

Galilee, Israel

 

"Israel is celebrating a holiday, equivalent to St. Valentine’s Day.The people from the Kabbalah Center and I make a spiritual journey to an ancient rabbi’s tomb to pray. I’ve heard it said that the energies from his resting place can connect a person to a soul mate within the year."-Excerpt from Charismatic Connection

Click here for an authentic spiritual view on Soul Mates www.facebook.com/KabbalahGalileeStore!

 

The night of August 10th, 2014 is the Super full moon and the start of Judaism's day of love!

 

Will you participate in an act of awe on August 10th, 2014?

 

"Self-Knowledge is the Jewel."-Serena Jade

Bringing on unconscious wisdom to the world...

www.serenajade.co