Conversion interest in Calgary congregations is booming

by Maxine Fischbein

(AJNews) – For Temple B’nai Tikvah Rabbi Mark Glickman, the recent conversion of nine adults and three children (see feature story in this issue of AJNews) constitutes the largest group of people he has ever welcomed to the Jewish people all at the same time.

There has been a similar uptick elsewhere within the Reform movement, Glickman confirmed, referencing an article several months back in Haaretz for which he was interviewed.

The impact of the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, the subsequent war in Gaza and on other fronts, and the sharp increase of antisemitism around the world were, perhaps counterintuitively, linked to the phenomenon that is seeing growing numbers of non-Jews seeking to cast their lot with the Jewish people.

Rabbi Cantor Russell G. Jayne at Beth Tzedec Congregation confirms that his Conservative-affiliated Shul has also seen a steep rise in inquiries toward conversion, especially since October 7.

Jayne is currently guiding one of Beth Tzedec’s largest-ever Keruv class cohorts (Keruv, in Hebrew, means “bringing close”). Some 25 students are already enrolled with several more queued up for interviews as these words are written.

“If they all make it through the class…we’re going to be keeping the mikvah here in Calgary busy,” said Rabbi Jayne, referring to the Jewish community’s ritual bath located at Congregation House of Jacob-Mikveh Israel.

Jayne’s personal journey from Catholicism to Judaism and then to the pulpit has been a source of inspiration for many individuals and families journeying toward Judaism.

“They are expressing a need and desire for community,” said Jayne.

“I think after October 7, a lot of people saw the increase in antisemitism and hate and intolerance in general, not only in Canada, but across the world. That really concerned and frightened a lot of people, especially those that in the past have not had community to anchor them and to keep them on solid and sure and hopeful footing, which is what community does for us.”

Others have told Rabbi Jayne that October 7 and its aftermath prompted them to think seriously about their spiritual journey, and they believe that Judaism can provide “the best connection to the divine.”

“I tell them quite blatantly that you don’t have to be Jewish to be a good person,” says Jayne. “You certainly don’t have to be Jewish to be right with God, because we teach in our tradition that the righteous of all nations have a place in the world to come.”

Rabbi Jayne asks potential converts whether they really want to take on a religion that could make life more challenging for them.

It turns out that most do. In fact, only one student in last year’s Keruv class “dropped out because they felt unprepared to face the reality of our present moment in history,” Jayne told AJNews.

“I’ve been quite overwhelmed…because it was a response I wasn’t expecting from the non-Jewish world.”

“I don’t mean to be glib about it, but it seems that post October 7, the world has been divided into two groups: those who want to kill us, and those who want to be us. There is either this immense and irrational intolerance and hatred toward our people or this desire to want to explore the precious jewels Judaism has to offer,” Jayne said.

The increased interest in Judaism expressed by non-Jews is part of a trend experienced by other North American Conservative Synagogues, Rabbi Jayne told AJNews.

“Many non-Jews are walking through Synagogue doors to take classes with rabbis and other Jewish educators and coming to services…. Maybe not all Synagogues are experiencing upticks in converts, but they are all experiencing upticks in non-Jewish people who actually want to learn about us and about our tradition.” – Rabbi Jayne

While Jayne says he deeply appreciates support for the Jewish community by allies, he wishes it translated into formal institutional support within the community at large.

“People are very happy to tell me one-on-one how they support our people, how they are not antisemitic, how they support the Synagogues and they are just appalled by what’s happening in the world. But are the professional institutions of the non-Jewish world standing up and saying something?  No. And so that’s been something that I and a lot of my colleagues have had to process,” Jayne said.

“My classes here at the Synagogue are filled with allies and I have a huge Keruv class that wants to be more than just allies. They want to be Jews and attach themselves to the history and the destiny of our people. That is very, very beautiful, and it helps me to get through some of the days when I’m feeling very isolated.”

Like Calgary’s liberal Rabbis, Rabbi Nisan Andrews at House of Jacob-Mikveh Israel (HOJMI)—which is a modern Orthodox Synagogue—says he has been hearing from “quite a number of people”  interested in conversion.

The majority of requests are coming from already-married couples whose union consists of one Jew and one non-Jew, explained Rabbi Andrews. He declined to comment on how many potential converts he is currently guiding but offered insight into how conversions are navigated at HOJMI.

“I kind of discourage conversion for the purposes of marriage,” said Rabbi Andrews, adding, “That’s a place I don’t like to go.”

Instead of group classes, HOJMI offers “an individualized course of study.”

“We work in collaboration with Batei Din [plural for Beit Din, or Rabbinic court] in larger centres of Jewish population,” Andrews said.

While those seeking conversion at HOJMI prepare locally, their conversions are completed, says Rabbi Andrews, in “larger, more robust Jewish communities,” a process that typically takes a day or two.

HOJMI currently works with Batei Din in New York and Chicago, explained Andrews, who has strong ties in Chicago, where he attended Yeshiva.

Rabbi Andrews agrees that October 7 has had a profound and galvanizing effect that has led to more interest in conversion.

“We’ve been forced in a much more intense way to encounter our Jewish identity. This creates a new awareness, perhaps, and a desire for more meaningful connection with the broader Jewish community.”

“Very often, when one member of the couple is driven in that direction, the other member also finds themselves pulled in that direction,” Andrews added.

“There’s a much more global phenomenon that’s playing out, where it’s not just conversion…people who are Jewish but perhaps more on the periphery are attending services much more frequently now.  People who have not stepped foot in a Synagogue for years are coming now to classes. There seems to be some kind of an awakening that is within the Jewish community even outside of the sphere of conversion.” – Rabbi Andrews

Rabbi Andrews said. “More people are coming to shul. More people are engaged.”

“Our Simchas Torah celebrations were the best attended in years,” Andrews said.

Rabbi Leonard Cohen, spiritual leader at Kehilat Shalom—which describes itself as traditional and egalitarian—told AJNews that he refers potential converts to other Rabbis and Synagogues.

“Because I am not affiliated officially with any denomination, I do not know whether a conversion I perform would be recognized by the State of Israel, let alone other rabbinic authorities,” explained Cohen.

Given that, and the smaller size of the congregation, Rabbi Cohen said he could not speak to current local trends in Jewish conversion, but he did say that Kehilat Shalom recognizes converts from any Jewish denomination.

“I am always deeply impressed by the courage and heartfelt commitment (and foolhardiness? LOL) of those who decide to join our Jewish people.” – Rabbi Cohen

Rabbi Matusof, who heads Chabad Lubavitch of Alberta, told AJNews that he does not perform conversions, notwithstanding one or two exceptions over the past 30+ years when he agreed, because of very specific circumstances, to participate in a Beit Din. The other Rabbis serving at Chabad Lubavitch of Alberta do not perform conversions either, Matusof said.

“If people are serious and they get involved and they are ready to convert, we will help them…by teaching them Judaism and helping them get where they want to get.” – Rabbi Matusof

Local individuals, once ready, are referred to Batei Din in other cities, he explained.

“Since October 7, there is a huge interest, especially among youth who are interested in Judaism and not hiding Judaism but, on the contrary, demonstrating Am Yisroel Chai and that they are strong,” Matusof told AJNews.

“Simchas Torah we had over 500 people. I would say 70 or 80 percent were 40 and younger and 50 percent 25 and under. They stayed for hours…they were there [until] midnight.”

“We don’t look for conversions, we don’t encourage conversions, so we don’t have a program for it,” said Matusof, “but if someone is interested, then they’re getting involved and we are seeing what will be happening…. We are serving to the extent that we can.”

“If we would have a conversion program and factory, every other organization would go out of business,” Rabbi Matusof concluded with a chuckle.

At the moment, other local synagogues are holding their own, especially in Calgary’s more liberal synagogues, where the conversion “business” is booming.

Maxine Fischbein is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter