Choosing their religious path

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This article was published 15/03/2025 (554 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For Miriam Taylor-Pirogov, the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was an awakening.

Raised in the Jewish community — the Kelvin High School student’s mother had converted to Judaism when she was three years old — Taylor-Pirogov, 18, had always appreciated being part of Congregation Shaarey Zedek.

“I was never shy about being part of the Jewish community,” she said, noting her father is Christian. “The Jewish community was a gift to me. But I had never converted.”

The attack made her think it was time to go all-in.

“I decided it was time to seize the day. It seemed the best time to become truly Jewish,” she said.

Taylor-Pirogov gave herself some time to think about it before approaching Rabbi Kliel Rose of Congregation Etz Chayim last September.

“We talked openly about what it means to be Jewish,” she said, adding that included frank discussions about antisemitism.

“We talked about how Jews have been persecuted in the past, and how it is still happening today.”

Although Taylor-Pirogov understood the implications of becoming fully Jewish, she wasn’t swayed.

“There was no doubt,” she said. “I feel in my bones that I truly want to belong to the Jewish community, even if times are horrible. In fact, it draws me in closer.”

Since fall she has been attending weekly classes with Rose about Judaism, learning about Jewish law, rituals, holidays and life.

“I am learning a lot about the most beautiful things,” she said, adding that by converting now she wants to show her solidarity with the Jewish community at this troubling time.

“I’m not just learning about God, but about how being part of the community is a way to have an enriched life. I’ve fallen in love with Judaism.”

The course with Rose will end in April. After that, Taylor-Pirogov will appear before a beit din, a religious court of at least three Jews, including a rabbi, to answer questions about her decision.

Then comes a mikveh, an immersion in a ritual bath, followed by receiving a Shtar geirut, or certificate of conversion.

Looking back, Taylor-Pirogov sees steps along the way leading to her decision.

“I don’t think I chose Judaism, I think it chose me,” she said, adding there was no pressure from her mother or anyone else to convert, and that her father and siblings are all supportive.

“I’m proud of my story, and the person I am becoming. The Jewish community has been very good to me. Now I want to give back as well.”

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Amanda Stillie is a high school teacher in Thompson. For her, the decision to convert to Judaism has been a long journey.

Stillie, 44, was raised in the United Church of Canada. She became interested in Judaism as a high school student when she studied the Holocaust. That included reading Night, by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

She wrote to Wiesel, a Nobel laureate, in 1995 to learn more. “He wrote back to me,” she said. “I still have that letter. It made me more interested in learning more about Judaism.”

As for most people, university, marriage, starting a career and having children took all her time for many years. But last year she started researching Judaism again, registering for an online course in the religion.

Wanting someone closer to talk to, the U.S.-based instructor of the course put her in touch with Rabbi Allan Finkel of Temple Shalom in Winnipeg. Stillie started meeting regularly with him to talk about Judaism.

“I had never seen myself as a religious person, but Judaism clicked for me,” she said, adding her desire to convert isn’t a statement about the United Church.

“I felt the power of the Jewish community. It’s so beautiful and positive.”

The events of Oct. 7 happened while she was learning more about Judaism, but didn’t deter her. “It’s always in the background of my decision,” she said of how she’s felt since that attack.

She’s also aware of antisemitism. Finkel made sure of that, reminding her of what Jews face around the world today. And she had a chance to experience it up close when she heard a woman say “disgusting things” about Jews in public.

“The experience was horrible and eye-opening,” Stillie said, adding she “froze” when she heard the comments.

“I didn’t know what to do. It made me aware of what could come my way. But I decided I’m OK with that.”

Stillie doesn’t have a date for when she will complete her conversion process. “I’d do it tomorrow, if I could,” she said, adding she will be talking with Finkel soon about when she should come to Winnipeg for her beit din and mikveh.

“I’m just waiting on the final steps,” Stillie said.

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For Rabbi Rose, the attack on Oct. 7 comes up frequently in conversation with people wanting to convert.

“One man said he had thought for a long time about converting, then Oct. 7 pushed him into it,” he said, noting that about six to seven people come to him each year to convert.

It was similar for a woman who is married to a Jewish man. “There was no pressure on her to convert, but she decided she had to do it after Oct. 7,” he said, adding a third person mentioned that date as an impetus for converting.

The conversion process involves an 18-session course on Judaism, covering topics such as Jewish history, theology, holidays and prayer. During those sessions, Rose cautions people about what it can mean to be a Jew.

“I try not to overemphasize antisemitism, but I want people to know, I want them to be cognizant of that,” he said, adding it’s like “reading the terms and conditions” before signing a contract.

“I tell them that people could hate you and dislike you, they could say terrible things about you. After Oct. 7, it can be even more so.”

At the same time, he emphasizes “the joy of being Jewish, becoming part of a people,” he said.

It’s similar for Rabbi Finkel. “Before Oct. 7, antisemitism was real. But the attack was like an accelerant,” he said. “Now it’s even more real. It’s harder to be Jewish now than it was before.”

In his classes, which have 11 people this year — the largest he’s ever had — Finkel also brings up the increase in antisemitism, along with the history of pogroms and the Holocaust.

Nobody has quit his classes because of that. “Nobody has backed out,” he said. “Interest in converting since Oct. 7 has never slowed.”

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