| Teen Diary Serial |

Vered’s Story: Chapter 2

By Chaya Rosen | November 8, 2022

There is a special mitzvah to convert zera Yisrael, children of a Jewish-from-birth father

father was born Jewish. He grew up in the US, on the East Coast. His family held a Pesach Seder every year, and they lit a menorah every Chanukah. They were also careful not to eat pork or shellfish. That was as far as their Jewish connection went.

My mother was born in a Christian country in the Far East and grew up during a stormy civil war. Her family was not Christian; they belonged to a small, secular community. The war made my mother’s childhood challenging in many ways. As a young adult, she had to deal with major disruptions. Bombs would fall as she walked to law school. Finally, knowing that the training she could get in her birth country could not compare to the training she would get in the USA, my mother made her way to the States to continue her education.

While in university, my mother met another student, a few years older than herself, who was working towards his law degree as well. She was a hardworking, determined young woman, and the other law student was impressed. That student, of course, was my father. When he brought my mother to meet his parents, they were also impressed by the unique combination of my mother’s kind manner, steely determination, and gentle humor. Four years later, my parents got married.

My mother gladly agreed to raise their family with my father’s Jewish traditions and culture. Like my grandparents, my parents held a Pesach Seder and lit a Chanukah menorah. My parents were delighted when I was born, and to honor my mother, my father let her choose my name. It was unusual, to be sure, but beautiful and unique. It meant “beautiful rose” in her native tongue.

When I was three years old, we moved to a different city, which was predominantly Christian. Soon after we moved, my little sister was born. At the hospital, my parents were asked if they’d like to contact a clergyman to inform him of their happy event. My father liked the idea, but he knew that he wanted to talk to a rabbi, not a priest. The hospital provided my parents with numbers for three synagogues: Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. When he called the first two, my father was informed that in order to reach the rabbi he needed to be a paying member of the synagogue, so he quickly gave up on those. The third synagogue was Orthodox and had no such requirements. The frum rabbi came to the hospital to visit my parents and newborn sister. Rabbi Samberg was friendly, warm and personable. He invited my parents to come to the shul, and when he found out that there was a big sister at home (me), he told my parents about the Sunday Hebrew school.

When I was five years old, I started going to the Hebrew school every Sunday. I learned how to read and write Hebrew, parshas hashavua (complete with all the songs every frum American kid learns!), all about the Yamim Tovim, and all the stuff frum kids learn at that age. There was only one significant difference: My family was not yet observant. And I wasn’t yet Jewish.

Sometimes people ask me why Rav Samberg would invite me to Hebrew school knowing I wasn’t Jewish. The answer is that there is a special mitzvah to convert zera Yisrael, children of a Jewish-from-birth father; in fact, some consider it a form of hashavas aveidah, returning a soul that had been lost to Am Yisrael.

to be continued…

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 935)

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There is a special mitzvah to convert zera Yisrael, children of a Jewish-from-birth father

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