Episode 1: Jewish Enough

Tales of the Unbound

Episode 1 - "Jewish Enough" follows the stories of Ari and Josh, two men pursuing Jewish conversion while incarcerated. Despite facing obstacles and judgments, they find belonging and community within Judaism. The episode explores themes of identity, conversion, and belonging, shedding light on the challenges and joys of practicing Judaism behind bars. Through their journey, listeners witness the power of faith, resilience, and the pursuit of personal transformation. Join us on this heartfelt exploration of Judaism and the human spirit.

[1] Miriam mentions that Jewish conversion is forbidden by traditional Jewish conversion practices.

[2] Miriam briefly mentions that the guys were meeting for Shabbat. This mostly involved using prayerbooks without transliteration, guiding themselves through the service, and lighting electric candles. Amy changes all that—she brings in challah and juice, teaches them how to sing, and helps them navigate the meanings behind the ritual. But in the beginning, it’s just 3-5 men working their way through the prayerbook as best as possible.

[3] You’ll hear a lot more from (and about) Ari in episode 3, but he’s amazing. The first language he learned while incarcerated was German, inspired by an employee in another correctional facility who would practice with him. He never painted before in his life, but a mentor in a different prison took him under his wing and taught Ari. One trend you’ll notice is that Ari is a voracious learner, a true embodiment of learning for learning's sake. He wants to be an attorney and is currently studying law.

[4] Ari learns Hebrew by tapes and CDs. If you’re interested in learning on your own, check out this great book for adult learners , Aleph Isn’t Tough, or try out prayer karaoke, you can practice with just about any liturgy, this one is for the Shema prayer, which you hear Josh say during the conversion ritual.

[5] Josh is featured in episode 4. He’s super into support animals. He makes beaded jewelry of Magen David stars, earrings, and bracelets. Here’s a tutorial, if you want to try and make some too! He also co-authored a few books, including this one: Incarcerated Individual’s Pathway to Restorative Justice.

[6] We briefly mention the COVID pandemic. It cannot be stated enough how difficult it was to be incarcerated during those initial 18 months of the pandemic, particularly in Washington State, where the first USA cases emerged. There are all kinds of studies around what happened in congregant living situations. Here’s one report from Washington State Institute for Public Policy. For the folks on this podcast, life meant restricted movement. Including confinement to pods if you were healthy, or if you contracted COVID you might be moved into an isolation unit, also used for solitary confinement, to reduce the spread. Yet, COVID spread quickly. There were mass deaths. It was an incredibly difficult time. One positive element, is that tablets were made available for every individual that included books, podcasts, access to video and email communication (through a restricted and monitored service). This made passing the time more manageable, reduced loneliness, and encouraged education. There are mixed experiences with the tablets, as you see here and here, but for Ari and Josh, the tablets were the gateway to the Jewish community and Jewish learning.

[7] We make a big point not to declare that a certain way of converting or being Jewish is THE only way to convert or be Jewish. But that statement in itself is a radical declaration. What Judaism Unbound took on in this case, is counter to many denominational requirements and processes around Jewish conversion. Huh… not a huge surprise that Judaism Unbound is counterculture! We will dig deeper into how the Judaism Unbound approach differs from many mainstream approaches. This great article on www.myjewishlearning.org breaks down some basics and denominational differences.

[8] We make a strong statement about how we don’t want to tell the story of the crimes that landed Ari and Josh in prison. This is because our story is focused on the piece of their lives that started after they began experiencing the consequences of those actions. There’s a whole road this story could take around prison reform, abolitionist theory, the Jewish response to incarceration, the death penalty… you name it. But, since this is about Ari and Josh’s story of spiritual affirmation, their Jewish identity formation, being shared as much as possible through their own voices and realities, we feel it is theirs to share.

[9] It is no secret there are powerful sources of protection and violence in prison. Some of those sources are gangs, primarily aligned along lines of race. If you are Caucasian, as Ari and Josh are, they might find protection within the white supremacist gangs. In fact, some of the men who are part of the Shabbat minyan at one time in their prison sentence did align with a gang at one point but then were able to escape for a healthier lifestyle. So, to choose to identify as Jewish and therefore become hated by one of the only gangs that might protect you now increases one’s vulnerability. Here’s a powerful story by David Arenberg of his experiences of antisemitism and gang culture while incarcerated.

[10] The free will thing! This is pretty nuanced. This podcast “Can I convert because I love someone?” by the Hadar Institute (or you can read the transcript) discusses some of the different ways people read into the requirement and definition of free will as it relates to the conversion process.

[11] The audio is tough on this part of the call with Josh. He’s agitated. He wants to convert, but folks keep telling him, “yes…BUT… only when you get out.” And Josh is a lifer. He may never get out and, therefore, never convert to Judaism. Josh is a lifer because he was convicted under Washington State “Persistent Offenders Accountability Act” more commonly known as the “3 Strikes Your Out Law,” as a young man.

[12] We briefly describe the three rituals for conversion affirmation. Here’s a little more information on the Beit din, Milah and Mikvah.

[13] Were you way into the early conversion story for Yevamot 47a? Yeah, us too. Nerd out on Talmud with Benay Lappe and Dan Libenson on the Oral Talmud episode 139 where they do a deep dive into this text.

[14] Interested in learning more about the Introduction to Judaism course, “Judaism inbound” that Dan Libenson and Miriam Terlinchamp co-authored? Great! Listen to the Judaism Unbound Episode 374 or go straight to the class sign up!

For information on how to reach out to connect with Jewish agencies who support folks who are incarcerated and their families, connect with a Jewish penpal, donate to help bring kosher meals and access to Jewish supplies, or give straight to Ari and Josh’s Jewish minyan in Monroe … connect with us at: www.judaismunbound.com/tales