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Conversion to Judaism

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CONVERSION TO JUDAISM
by
Vernon (Bumie) Thompson
A Professional Project Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements of the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
JOURNALISM
(PRINT JOURNALISM)
May 2002
Copyright 2002 Vernon (Bumie)Thompson
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U M I Number: 1411811
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
T he G raduate School
U niversity Park
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90089-1695
T his th e sis, w r itte n b y
U nder th e d ire c tio n o f h .xS .. T h esis
C o m m ittee, a n d a p p ro ved b y a ll its m em bers,
h a s b een p re se n te d to a n d a c c e p te d b y T he
G raduate Sch o o l, in p a r tia l fu lfillm e n t o f
req u irem en ts fo r th e d eg ree o f
Dean o f Graduate Studies
D a te 4 / * / °
TH E SIS C O M M IT TE E
Chairperson
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Table of Contents
Conversion to Judaism............................................................................................... 1
Introduction................................................................................................................1
Proselytizing.............................................................................................................. 1
Motivation................................................................................................................. 2
Reaction of Friends and Family................................................................................3
What is Judaism?.......................................................................................................6
Inter-faith Marriage................................................................................................... 7
Encouraging Outreach............................................................................................... 8
Conversion Protocol.................................................................................................. 9
Orthodox and non-Orthodox Disagreement...........................................................10
Burdens of Modem Jewish L ife.............................................................................13
Conclusion................................................................................................................15
Bibliography................................................................................................................17
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Introduction
When Joseph Nimoy married Marizon, a non-Jewish, Filipino woman, in
1975, he thought he was abandoning his faith tradition. As an ethnic Jew more than a
religious one, he was unaware initially that interfaith marriages were not condoned in
Judaism. Finally, he found a Reform rabbi in Connecticut who performed the
ceremony.
Joseph did not imagine that after 14 years of marriage this “woman of valor”
would “lead me to my attic to find a treasure chest.” Marizon converted to Judaism,
took the Hebrew name Haviva bat Avraham v 'Sara, and became a religious Jew.
Like Ruth in the Bible, her husband’s people became her people and his God became
hers, and she brought Joseph back to the riches of his ancient religion.
Of the five-and-a-half million American Jews, about 200,000 are converts to
Judaism. And though the world’s original monotheistic religion is not a proselytizing
one, there is something many Jews don’t realize: Judaism cherishes gerim, or
converts.
Proselytizing
Many Jews oppose proselytism because they believe Jews have never been a
proselytizing people. Not true, wrote Ellen Jaffe McClain in Moment magazine. “It’s
true that Judaism discouraged conversion for hundreds of years, but that attitude
developed after centuries of increasing repression and anti-Semitism.”
Dennis Prager, co-author of two books on Judaism, wrote, “Jew-haters, not
Judaism, stopped Jewish convert-seeking. Those Jews who believe that Judaism
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should not seek converts have adopted the attitude of the Jews’ oppressors, not of
Judaism.”
Long before Elizabeth Taylor and Sammy Davis, Jr., embraced Judaism,
there were other noted converts. Abraham was the first, as he “raised his tent flaps
and invited strangers to have a nosh and hear about that revolutionary idea, ethical
monotheism,” as McClain put it. And Ruth, who joined Naomi’s Jewish people, is
King David’s grandmother, from whose lineage the Messiah is prophesied to come.
Motivation
Even though about half of the bom Jews in America are secular, converting
to Judaism requires a religious entrance. “There is an interesting incongruity: you
can only enter the Jewish people through the religious route,” explained Rabbi Susan
Laemmle, Dean of the Office of Religious Life at the University o f Southern
California. She says this infuses Judaism with converts who are religiously
observant.
Andre Ivory, a 22-year-old student at the University of Judaism in Los
Angeles, understands what Rabbi Laemmle is talking about. In trying to find his
relationship with God, Ivory said, “Judaism really struck a chord with me.” So much
so that he converted, took the Hebrew name, Avichayil ben Avraham, and calls it
“the greatest decision I’ve made in my life so far.”
Ivory was on a spiritual quest. Other converts may have initially wanted to
learn more about Judaism because they were in a romantic relationship with a Jew.
Regardless of what prompts people to explore Judaism, Rabbi Stephen Einstein, who
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has taught an introduction to Judaism course in Orange County for 26 years, said, “If
the conversion is not a personal commitment, but is done for some external reason, it
is inauthentic and the person is likely not to feel really Jewish.”
Rabbi Aaron Parry, an Orthodox rabbi in Los Angeles, agrees. “By Jewish
law, a non-Jew should not convert merely for the convenience of conformity - let’s
say for the religion of one’s spouse.”
Even the Reform Central Conference of American Rabbis states in its
“Guidelines for Rabbis Working with Prospective Gerim” that “potential gerim
[converts] need to understand that only if they decide that they want to live their
lives as Jews regardless of their marital status is a decision to pursue gerut
[conversion] appropriate and valid.”
Reaction of Friends and Family
When Marizon’s two boys were nine and six, she decided they needed a
religious foundation. She had grown up Catholic and told her husband, who wasn’t
practicing Judaism, that she would check out the local churches. This motivated him
to attach his family to a Conservative synagogue. Marizon said that as she studied
books on Judaism, “Joe started reading over my shoulder, he got interested.”
Some of her friends, however, weren’t nearly as supportive. She said one
friend told her, “I don’t know if you’re going forward or going backward.” She has
lost these friends, but said, “I’ve gained a lot more.”
Andre Ivory, wearing a yarrmilke, or skullcap, and a navy blue t-shirt, said he
had an additional worry that most converts to Judaism don’t have to confront. “I was
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also worried about issues of ethnicity. How was L , as an African-American, going to
be perceived by the Jewish community?”
And many of Ivory’s friend’s weren’t thrilled with his decision to become
Jewish, either. “A lot o f my African-American friends really grew to dislike the idea
to the point where they stopped communicating with me.”
Julius Lester, author of LOVESONG: Becoming a Jew, discussed the identity
struggles he endured as a black man embracing Judaism. As a professor at Amherst
College in 1979, Lester felt the wrath of black activists when he questioned their
positions regarding Israel and Jews. “I sit in my office and it is as if a scarlet letter
‘ A’ has been sewed to the front of my shirt. Adultery no longer merits shunning in
our society like apostasy does,” Lester wrote.
Ivory, who speaks in a voice reminiscent of Sidney Poiter, remembered
losing some of his black friends. “As they kind of went away, I gained a new group
of Jewish and non-Jewish friends who kind of understood what I was going
through.”
Others continue to misunderstand. “The butcher at the grocery store that my
mother goes to has been convinced for the past five years that I’m a Muslim,” Ivory
said, laughing heartily. He said especially after September 11 some people think in
terms o f instant identification: “If it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, it’s got
to be a duck. At times I wear a larger kippa (skullcap) than other times, which makes
me look and walk like a Muslim, but this one quacks like a Jew.”
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Ivory is thankful that his mother, who is active in the Baptist church, showed
understanding and acceptance. Perhaps her many friendships with Jews helped her
accept his conversion, Ivory explained, “She feels that if the church didn’t do it for
me - educating me in a right way to live, educating me about the Bible - that if I
found it on my own through Judaism, then why not?”
Laura Weller, who converted to Orthodox Judaism seven years ago, said her
friends’ reactions were varied. After two years of study and preparation for
conversion, some of her newer friendships faded, and in a few cases, her friends
were “were pretty hostile to the entire idea.” Fortunately, she said her “oldest and
closest friends were taken aback at first, then accepted it, and now are totally into it.”
Laura, whose Hebrew name is Elisheva bat Avraham Avinu, grew up
Methodist but as an adult wasn’t attached to any religion. She says her parents’
reaction to her conversion was mostly “well at least she’s now something.” After
first wondering how their daughter would react to no longer celebrating Christmas,
Laura’s parents later became very supportive.
Foregoing Christmas is difficult for many people who have spent their lives
celebrating it. But Marizon, who was bom on December 25, said her children
adjusted easily to giving up the holiday. “My kids didn’t miss the little Christmas
tree; the hard transition was giving up cheeseburgers and observing Shabbat.”
Cheeseburgers are not kosher because of Judaism’s prohibition against eating meat
with dairy products. And her boys had to forego TV and video games one day a
week.
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What is Judaism?
Judaism is more than just a religion or a culture or a people; it is a
combination of all these, and more. Evelyn Gordon, a columnist for the Jerusalem
Post, wrote that Judaism has traditionally seen itself as a nation, not a religion. The
concept of "citizenship’ in the modem nation-state, she says, helps clarify who is a
Jew.
‘"There are only two ways to become a citizen of a modem nation: One can
either be bom a citizen, or undergo the naturalization process prescribed by law and
be formally awarded citizenship by an authorized court,” Gordon wrote. “It makes
no difference how deeply you feel yourself to be American (or French or German) or
how sincerely you desire to be part of that nation. Yet if you were bom a citizen, you
remain one even if you reject everything your country stands for.
“Similarly,” she continued, “it makes no difference how deeply you feel
yourself to be Jewish; you are not a Jew unless you were either bom Jewish, or
underwent the naturalization process prescribed by Jewish law (i.e. conversion) and
were declared a Jew by an authorized Jewish court (a rabbinical bet din). But if you
were bom a Jew, you remain one even if you eat pork on Yom Kippur.”
But perhaps the best description of Judaism came about 2000 years ago from
Rabbi Hillel. When challenged to explain its essence in the amount of time one is
able to “stand on one foot,” Hillel offered the Golden Rule: “What is hateful unto
you do not do unto your neighbor. The rest is commentary - now go and study.”
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Judaism does not hold that non-Jews must become Jewish. Instead, it teaches
that non-Jews are also God’s children who will receive a divine reward, provided
they live ethical lives according to His commandments. Indeed, according to Dennis
Prager, the extra religious requirements incumbent upon Jews actually “make it
harder for the individual to go to heaven.”
Inter-faith Marriage
Only about half of American Jewry say they are Jewish by religion,
according to the recent American Jewish Identity Survey. This might explain why a
1998 Los Angeles Times poll, “Snapshots of Jewish Life,” indicated that 57 percent
of unmarried Jewish respondents said they would consider marrying a non-Jew.
Even though many Jews marry non-Jews, Judaism opposes interfaith
marriages. Making light of this serious issue in Jewish life, while at the same time
demonstrating how good Jews have it in America, Dennis Prager, said, “It’s a
beautiful country. They love us. They love us so much they marry half of us.”
Rabbi Parry explained that where partners of interfaith marriages do not share
common spiritual values and goals, they potentially dilute Judaism's mission to
"repair the world.” This repair consists of spreading ethical monotheism, taking
personal responsibility for one's actions and affirmation of an omniscient God who is
aware of a Jew's need to uphold God’s milzvot [divine directives]. “Those who
understand the role of the Jewish person in serving the Creator in this fashion, do not
view the prohibition against intermarriage as a slap in the face of the other nations or
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religions of the world. This is not anti-Gentile legislation, it is a pro-Jewish one to
insure the perpetuity of Judaism and the Jewish people.”
Encouraging Outreach
Joining the Jewish people after birth is not easy. Jewish tradition urges rabbis
to gently rebuff prospective converts three times. Laura Weller remembered
searching for an Orthodox rabbi to answer her initial conversion questions, “Finding
a rabbi was frustrating, to say the least. A couple of rabbis whom I called were
downright rude. I definitely felt pushed away.”
Rabbi Parry said that most rabbis are not so abrupt. He explained, “Pushing
with the left hand as the right brings close is only used to ascertain the sincerity of
the potential convert.”
Dennis Prager advocates that Jews be more welcoming to potential converts.
“Part of the Jews’ mission is also to offer Judaism to those who do not already affirm
a religious tradition consonant with Judaism’s ethical monotheistic values. Even
though most Jews think otherwise, seeking converts is very Jewish,” he writes.
Prager claims adding more converts to the 13 - 14 million Jews across the globe
would make the world a better place by applying the values of ethical monotheism.
Rabbi emeritus Haim Asa, who began the introduction to Judaism courses in
Orange County in 1966, said he enjoys helping people who are sincerely seeking
Judaism. “I consider it as the highlight, or one of the highest mitzvot (divine
directives or good deeds) of my rabbinic duties,” he said. “To me it is almost like a
calling, and I don’t have too many callings.”
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More Jews should share Rabbi Asa’s enthusiasm, suggests Prager, quoting
the Talmud, one of Judaism’s holy texts, “God exiled Israel among the nations in
order to increase their numbers with converts.”
Rabbi Einstein explains one reason Judaism doesn’t proselytize. “We don’t
have a verse in our scripture that says, ‘Go out and make the whole world Jewish.’
As a matter of fact, ours says, ‘Let each one follow his own way,’ so to speak.”
But Rabbi Einstein still encourages teaching Judaism to interested people
who haven’t yet found their way. He said that over the past couple of decades
Reform Judaism, especially, has led the way “to opening the doors and letting people
know, this is not a closed corporation, it’s not an exclusive country club.”
Conversion Protocol
Taking a course about Judaism is only the beginning. Andre Ivory converted
as a Conservative Jew two-and-a-half years ago at the age of 20, after completing the
introduction to Judaism course at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. “I was
really worried about getting to know everything.” He said the more he learned, the
more he realized he didn’t know. “And then you become afraid, ‘Oh, how am I ever
going to learn all that bom Jews do?”
But Rabbi Einstein said his students learn quickly. “By the time a person has
completed a rather basic intro to Judaism class, that person knows more about
Judaism than most bom Jews.”
Marizon agrees. After taking Rabbi Neil Weinberg’s introduction to Judaism
course with her husband at the University o f Judaism in 1989, Marizon remembered,
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“Some people [bom Jews] were uncomfortable around me because I was more
knowledgeable than they were.”
Rabbi Einstein said these students sometimes even inspire bom Jews to take
the course and learn more about their religious tradition. “Because of meeting with
people who have converted, all of a sudden they realize, ‘I’ve always been proud to
be Jewish, I love being Jewish, but I need to really recharge my batteries like these
people have’ .”
[fyou talk with converts and rabbis, they’ll tell you that Judaism enriches the
lives of converts, and converts enrich Judaism. “They see Judaism through new
eyes,” explained Rabbi Einstein. “And because of that everything is beautiful and
wonderful about Judaism. These people are excited about it.”
The conversion process requires several steps. Only after showing
perseverance and sincerity can one begin the conversion protocol: rigorous study of
the religion, culture and history (this typically takes at least two years for Orthodox);
an appearance before a bet din, a religious court of three rabbis; a ritual immersion in
natural water, called the mikveh; circumcision for males (only a ritual drop of blood
for males already circumcised); and a final ceremony that includes taking a Hebrew
name.
Orthodox and non-Orthodox Disagreement
There is disagreement, however, among Jewish movements about conversion
criteria. Orthodoxy only recognizes conversions done under strict Orthodox auspices.
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The other movements - Reform and Conservative - recognize non-Orthodox
conversions, provided the criteria required by halakah, or Jewish Law, are met.
But Orthodoxy holds that the conversion criteria can only meet halakic
standards under Orthodox auspices. Rabbi David Ordan explained, “Being Jewish by
identity is essentially a matter of having a Jewish soul. Jewish law states that a Jew
acquires a Jewish soul either by being bom of a Jewish mother, or by making the
decision to accept the rules of Torah as given by G-d. If the conversion process lacks
the full acceptance of our commandments and our beliefs, then it’s not a
conversion.”
Orthodox Judaism is a “divine revelation,” said Orthodox Rabbi Avraham
Union of, the Rabbinical Council of California. He explained that together with “the
written law and oral tradition,” Judaism is “not subject to change by people.” In
other words, the Orthodox believe it is the authentic and the sole domain of religious
Jewish life.
“Orthodox sees itself as, not Orthodox Judaism, but as Judaism ” said Rabbi
Einstein, of the Reform movement, which began about 200 years ago. “And, indeed,
all the other movements as something else; something that looks like Judaism, in
part, but isn’t really; that Orthodox Judaism is the only authentic Judaism, and that
everything else is just people who are picking practices out of the Jewish grab-bag.
Whereas, all o f the other movements see themselves as an approach to Judaism.”
“It’s a fundamental theological disagreement,” said Rabbi Union. At the root
of the debate is the very legitimacy of the non-Orthodox movements.
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The sometimes-heated question of “who is a Jew” was again ignited Feb. 20,
2002, as Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that Reform and Conservative converts are to
be given Israeli citizenship under its “Law of Return,” whereby Jews can make aliya,
or settle in Israel. Once there, however, these converts will have difficulties with the
Orthodox Jewish establishment that controls weddings, funerals and burials in Israel.
Somewhere between 7 and 10 percent of American Jewry is Orthodox,
prompting Rabbi Einstein to tell his introduction to Judaism class that only 93
percent of the American Jewish community will accept their non-Orthodox
conversions. He tells prospective converts that they might want to consider Orthodox
conversions, “so then you know you’ve got 100 percent covered.” The challenge, he
said, becomes living an Orthodox lifestyle.
How difficult is an Orthodox conversion?
“Very,” says Orthodox Rabbi Avraham Union, in Los Angeles, in a letter to
prospective converts. “Conversion to Judaism is the most significant decision in your
life. It requires real changes in your lifestyle, such as eating habits and work
schedule.”
This might explain why most converts in America are choosing to convert
within the Reform movement. Dru Greenwood, director of outreach for Reform
Judaism for the American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), said about 4,000 people
convert to Reform Judaism each year. She estimated that an additional 1,000 to
2,000 convert each year to other branches of Judaism.
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Burdens of Modern Jewish Life
To outsiders, the numerous rituals and laws of Orthodox Jewry can appear
onerous. Keeping kosher is only one part of Jewish religious life. And traditional
observance of Shabbat, or Sabbath, requires an entire day of avoiding work and
many modern conveniences, even driving.
Marizon said that keeping kosher is a challenge for religious Jews today.
Being around her non-Jewish friends and family, as well as her secular Jewish
friends, makes following Judaism’s dietary laws difficult. Upon first discovering
Marizon would begin keeping kosher, her mother exclaimed, “You mean you’re not
going to eat shrimp?”
Jenna Ziman, a 29-year-old graduate student from Beverly Hills, who
converted to Judaism after two-and-a-half years of study and preparation, explained
why she embraces the Orthodox lifestyle. “It’s a freedom, not a limitation. Or the
freedom is experienced within the limitation.
“A way to create relationships with people in your own community is to eat
in a very different way,” Jenna said, as she discussed keeping kosher. “So, by going
to kosher restaurants, that’s an opportunity for me to reaffirm relationships with
other people who are observant Jews. And there is a joy in that, there is a pride in
that.”
In these modern times, religious observance can seem strange or unnecessary,
even for some Jews. Andre Ivory said a secular Jewish friend doesn’t understand
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why Ivory won’t play hockey on Sabbath. Ivory said his friend sees Judaism as “an
old-time religion,” insisting, “Andre, you’re doing what my grandfather does.”
“He says I’m too Jewish,” said Ivory — whose e-mail address begins
“toojew.”
Ivory thinks his friend may have a point, though, about Judaism being old-
fashioned. “We are living with a set of old metaphors: old stories that have a lot of
meaning,” Ivory said. “It’s time to update the meaning of Judaism.” Passover is the
story of escape from Egyptian bondage, he said, but “it may also mean the release of
Afghani women from the tyranny of the Taliban.”
While Jews are happy to see women liberated from oppressive regimes, the
idea of modernizing Judaism makes some religious Jews uncomfortable. Judaism is
rooted in tradition. As Tevye, the father in “Fiddler on the Roof,” said, “Because of
our tradition everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do.” And
tampering with tradition is, well, untraditional in Judaism.
One such tradition that makes many people uncomfortable is the separation
of men and women in Orthodox synagogues. But Jenna, a hip and attractive
committed Jew with long, thick, red hair that she sometimes plays with while
talking, accepts this tradition.
"Men and women can be distractions to each other in synagogue," she says.
"In a time when you want to daven [pray] and connect with G-d — to be grounded in
prayer and thought — you don't want to find your attention veering from your
meditation.” Moreover, Jenna said the partition doesn't bother her because, "It
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allows me reconnect to the women in my community and strengthen our collective
energy — an energy that is fundamentally different from men's. The partition does
not subordinate women, it allows us the freedom to connect with G-d without being
interrupted by the attentions of men, and vice versa."
Other women in the Orthodox community also understand and appreciate that
Orthodox women have many domestic obligations that keep them busy and away
from synagogue. As Passover approached, Laura, who lives in Boston, spent days
“panicked” and “frantic” as she prepared her house and kitchen for the first seder,
which is the evening meal and ritual that begins Passover.
“My sisters-in-law and I will talk on the telephone at 4 a.m. on Erev [eve of]
Passover about how it never matters how much we plan, we are always up all night
the night before.” Each year, when the first seder finally arrives, Laura said she feels
“part of something huge and enduring, and all the hard work just fades away.”
Conclusion
Many converts say that Judaism is where they belonged all along. At her
conversion mikveh, Jenna Ziman told the bet din [rabbinic court], “This path had
already been determined for me. It was just a question of when, through the
exercising and expression of my own free will, I would unlock the reality of this path
for myself. It was my free choice, but it had already been decided."
Julius Lester wrote that while he was visiting a monastery in 1974, one of the
monks told him, “When you know the name by which God knows you, you will
know who you are.” Lester said he searched for that name as a father, writer and a
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teacher, but to no avail. “Now I know the name by which God calls me. I am Yaakov
Daniel ben Avraham v 'Sara. I have become who I am. I am who I always was.”
“I am a Jew.”
But, before Lester became Jewish, he wrote that he had a sense of emptiness,
a pain so deep that it must have been there before he was bom.
It may have been, explained Rabbi Shraga Simmons, of Aish HaTorah in
Jerusalem. “Judaism believes that all Jews were present the moment that Moses
presented the tablets. According to the Talmud, the souls o f all converts were
actually present at Mount Sinai when the Torah was given.”
These converts, Rabbi Parry said, “are being reunited with a soul they always
had, but has been lost.”
Reuniting their adult children to Jewish observance is something Joseph and
Marizon hope to do. Their 22-year-old son is no longer religious and their 19-year-
old son only keeps kosher; neither goes to synagogue. As parents, they believe it is
important to keep Judaism close to their boys’ hearts, something Joseph’s family did
not do for him.
So, every Friday before Shabbat, Joseph e-mails the traditional Hebrew
blessing that parents say over their sons, which in English reads, “May G-d make
you like Ephraim and Menashe. May G-d bless you and safeguard you. May G-d
illuminate His countenance for you and be gracious to you. May G-d turn His
countenance to you and establish piece for you.
Shabbat shalom. Love, Mom and Dad.”
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Bibliography
Appel, Yoav, “Israel High Court Rules on Converts,” The Los Angeles Times, Feb.
20, 2002
Asa, Haim Rabbi, Temple beth Tikvah, Fullerton, CA, (714) 871-3535, Personal
interview on Jan. 13, 2002
Central Conference of American Rabbis, “Guidelines for Rabbis Working with
Prospective Gerim,” Draft #6, Adopted by the Committee on
Conversion in Greensboro, NC on March 29, 2000
Cohen, Heidi Rabbi, Temple Beth Sholom, Santa Ana, CA, (714) 628-4600,
Personal interview on Jan. 28, 2002
Einstein, Stephen Rabbi, Congregation B’nai Tzedek, Fountain Valley, CA (714)
963-4611, Personal interview on Jan. 30, 2002
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Ivory, Andre, student at University of Judaism, Personal interview on Feb. 9, 2002
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Touchstone Edition, 1996, New York
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on Jan. 23, 2002
Lamm, Maurice, Becoming a Jew, 1991 [I will get publisher’s information]
Lester, Julius, Lovesong: Becoming a Jew, 1988 [I will get publisher’s information]
Los Angeles Times, “Snapshots o f Jewish Life,” poll, April 20, 21, 22, 1998
McClain, Ellen Jaffe, “Conversion,” Moment Magazine, August 1996
Nussbaum-Cohen, Debra, “Jews Turning from Judaism,” The Jewish Week, Nov. 2,
2001,
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=5301
Ordan, David Rabbi, Aish Hatorah, Los Angeles, CA, (310) 247-7483, e-mail
interview: David@aishla.com
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Parry, Aaron Rabbi, Jews for Judaism, Los Angeles, CA, (310) 854-3381, Personal
interview on Feb. 8, 2002
Prager, Dennis, “Jews Must Seek Converts - for Their Sake and for the World’s,”
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Weller, Laura, Brookline, MA, email interview: laurai326@earthlink.net
Wouk, Herman, This is my God, 1987, Back Bay Books, Boston, New York, London
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18
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Asset Metadata

Creator Thompson, Vernon (Burnie) Orvis, Jr. (author)

Core Title Conversion to Judaism

School Graduate School

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Print Journalism

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Education, Religious,OAI-PMH Harvest,religion, general

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Bryce, Nelson (committee chair), [illegible] (committee member), Cray, Edward (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-296448

Unique identifier UC11341164

Identifier 1411811.pdf (filename),usctheses-c16-296448 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 1411811.pdf

Dmrecord 296448

Document Type Thesis

Rights Thompson, Vernon (Burnie) Orvis, Jr.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA