Hello all,
I was curious if any of you have, or know someone who has, converted to Judaism while in the military? I am PCS’ing to Baltimore, MD in June, and am hoping to begin working with a rabbi there. I am just worried about the requirements to live in a Jewish community, when I may have to live on base, etc. Any tips would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks!

SSgt Josh Kauffman, USAF

I knew a guy who finished his conversion while we were in Quantico, but he had done most of his requirements before he showed up there.

You really need to work with your specific rabbi.  Most will be understanding of your military needs, but a lot depends on the type of conversion and the rabbi.  There’s not much you can do in regards to your military obligations, so you need to work within those restraints.  I know my friend spent a lot of his free time working on his conversion, but his rabbi planned out everything with his military duties in mind.

I hope this helps.

Thank you so much for the info. I have been doing my best on my own without a rabbi, so basically I have read a lot, but not adopted the practices. I am aiming for an Orthodox conversion. I have heard that many rabbis are more flexible in dealing with servicemembers, but I am so nervous! I am constantly praying that they will not say no to me just because I am in the military. I know, it may sound wierd, but it goes through my mind frequently. But I bet jitters before meeting a rabbi are normal.

Thank you again for the info!