Nancy’s Conversion Program: Ohel Sarah Imenu
Part III: The Hardliners in their Own Words
Before we go deeper into Nancy’s personal story, we should first take examine the organization that guided Nancy.
Ohel Sarah Imenu is a Rabbi Elyashiv approved conversion program. The following excerpts are from their own site. You decide if there is anyway in hell these people are normal.
Conversion is Estrangement From Friends and Family
Conversion to Judaism sometimes, but not always, alienates family and friends. At best, there can be temporarily-strained relationships. At worst, relationships can be totally severed permantly[sic], leaving the convert alone and without emotional or material support.
All Else Besides Haredism is Slavery and Oppression. Only Haredism is Freedom. Do not trust those Modern Orthodox cheaters!
Like the journey from Egypt to Sinai, the journey to authentic Torah Judaism is a long one.. Often it begins simply with discomfort in previously-familiar physical surroundings. The quest for freedom from physical enslavement and spiritual oppression leads through territory unfamiliar to the traveller[sic]. The path along the way is strewn with the litter of thoughtless individuals who offer short cuts and detours that lead nowhere.
Ohe Sarah Imenu doesn’t respect Reform Jews very much.
Soon afterward, Mary Ann moved to Illinois. For several years, she drove to Temple every Friday night and Saturday morning, learned to eat bagels, lox, and cream cheese; borsht; and blintzes. One Passover, for the seder, Mary Ann invited guests, and even ventured to make kreplach for the soup. She couldn’t understand why it was so hard to find flour in the stores.
Ohe Sarah Imenu will help you accept things. Like, say, why it was in your interest for your ex-husband to kidnap your children after he divorced you.
Faced with the prospect of finding a job and raising her children alone, she became easy prey for missionaries who convinced her that she should become a “completed Jew.” When her ex-husband heard about that, he kidnapped the twins and disappeared with them […]
“Strange as it may seem, I believe that, all things considered, my husband’s taking the children was the best thing that could have happened. They were raised in a stable family with a mother and father and other children. They were instilled with the strong Jewish values I could never have given them at that time. It was so hard for me then, but somehow, deep down inside, I knew that was best for them. I’m so grateful today that they were taken away before I could destroy their Jewish foundation.”
Everything you have read about this person may have been fabricated or twisted by Ohel Sarah Imenu.
NOTE: The account of this Personal Journey is essentially true. The unessential details may have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals. Any resemblance to any actual person, location, or situation is coincidental.
Why? Are there no real converts with real stories?
Or worse, did you really force a woman to claim that she is happy her children were kidnapped in order to recommend her for conversion?
The above passages were what they put on their website for public consumption. Nancy is telling us information that doesn’t make it on to their website.
23 comments
I read Nancy’s story with interest. You see I also came to Israel for the purpose of converting. Did I have problems?–way too many to go into, and I still have some legalities to clear up–but I knew it wouldn’t be a cakewalk. Even so, some of the things Nancy said bother me. For one, I live in Nachlaot, and am trying to figure out just where in the area she is talking about. I am not haredi (just plain old Orthodox) and I have never seen a haredi man touch a woman, much less rub up against her–they are so fanatical about their purity they would rather die–so I am wondering who these creeps are and why in the world she is having this problem. I know this community pretty well, and a man attacking a woman (any woman–even someone tagged as an outsider) would be kicked to the curb. In fact, this is the only country I’ve lived in where have not had to worry about men being crude. Mind you, I am only average looking (you know, no serious deformaties–and people say my age doesn’t show–yeah, well, it makes me feel good) I do not cover my hair (my rabbi said that my former marriage to a non-jew wasn’t recognized so I could be lenient) and while a few people in Mea Shearim have asked (curiously but not rudely) why that is, it has not been problematic. I wear long skirts because I like them–my tops tend to be light and cool in accordance with the temperature–you won’t find me wrapped up like a UPS package. I am by no means a defender of the ultra-orthodox/haredi lifestyle because I just cannot come to grips with their mindset, but I think Nancy has just gotten mixed up with some kind of freaks. Most converts can tell stories to make your hair fall out–conversion is a big deal for us–but it comes with the territory. I wish Nancy all the best.
I have to say that it is kind of all that all these things are happening in Nachlaot. It’s such a mixed crowd. There is even a small neighborhood watch. It’s a very warm and welcoming place to just about everybody. I just don’t buy that all of this is happening because Nancy had blond hair- and we haven’t yet heard any other possible reason.
kind of odd that all of these things are happening*
Miriam’s story at the link provided brought one thought to mind immediately and that was the continued theme of relying on a rabbi first, last, and always. MUST have a rabbi, rav, rebbe, whatever.
1. If this is to be, then those who hold the post must be ever careful and vigilant to be the best possible people they can. They have not only their own wife and children to look after, the spiritual needs of every one of their congregants/followers is on the line. The stringencies must be on themselves first and foremost. Not emanating from them to be placed upon their congregants/followers, but on their own heads.
2. The more important the purity/whatever becomes to them, the more the fear of failure or lack of results grows in them, the more they are going to tend towards less stringency on themselves and rote stringency on everyone else as a back-up at first for any of their own possible failings, then later on as the default way of doing things, then it becomes a joke as it descends to “do as I say, not as I do”.
Looking at the proliferation of rabbis, I get the same bad vibe as the proliferation of Christian ministers. Spiritual guidance is not something to be left to people whose hearts aren’t in it, and whose character doesn’t lend itself. Televangelism was not the sickness, it was the symptom. This conversion/deconversion nonsense is a symptom of the actual sickness which is self-deception out of fear. Fear that one isn’t as holy and righteous as one wants to be, because it isn’t being internalized that people are holy and righteous in and of themselves by their actions and ways, not because they strive to be.
Sometimes you cannot be a thing by trying to be a thing, but only by not trying.
B”H
@DK
I don’t understand how you can go for such a story as Nancy’s.
Maybe you should know that some months ago, she appeared in a certain Rabbi’s home on Shabbat and announced in front of at least 60 people, incl. the rabbi, that she IS JEWISH !!!!!
No mentioning of a conversion course, no nothing. She said that she IS JEWISH.
Well, most of us knew that this was a lie, as she presented a crazy story about having visions and things. Too far off Christian.
She lived in the Old City (Arab Quarter ?) and then moved to Nachlaot. I know Nachlaot very well and unless you don’t provoke the few living Haredim with Christian contexts, no one is doing anything to you. NO ONE is threatening anyone and it is a very open minded Shlomo Carlebach neighbourhood !!!!
Maybe you should check if Nancy wasn’t telling any of her visions again. And even if, the Haredim wouldn’t care about her anyway. Instead of gossiping through the Net, Nancy should finally decide which of her visions is valid. Is she Jewish, not Jewish or just a nut who wants to live in Israel.
“…unless you don’t provoke the few living Haredim with Christian contexts, no one is doing anything to you.”
Would those circumstances then justify a physical attack? Self-righteous vigilantes who will physically attack you because of a divergent ideology are nothing better than violent nut jobs. They don’t get morality points for only having a record of attacking X-tians.
Dear Miriam,
Visions? What? Perhaps you are talking about a conversion experience, a spiritual experience in which I saw the events of my life, like a review or a film….all orchestrated by Divine Providence. That is what I talked about. It was quite profound to me, and that experience together with other realizations brought me out of idolatry. That should be a good thing. The rabbi and his wife, whom I have known since 2006, have always been interested in this journey I have been on and have encouraged me and welcomed me. As a matter of fact, Miriam, visions are normal in Judaism as far as I have gathered. Many Jews have profound religious experiences…. life changing events.
I am really hurt that a religious…. I guess….woman would insult and twist that moment this way. Everyone in that group gathers around me and is fascinated by the story. However, there is always a jealous female, a hater in the group. It goes to show that people who hide behind religion usually have something to hide. I know now that people who are religious are often also hateful.
This reminds that if a woman goes before a jury on a rape trial, it is always the other women who convict her. They are the ones who hurl ugly statements, such as, “what did you do to cause the rape?” It is heinous to me that women convict each other instead of supporting each other. Of course, we have to be objective but I find that women are more swayed by competitive jealousy than any other factor.
Marranos are Jews. Rabbi Eisenstein and Ohel Sarah Imenu believed my documents but due to a “break” in the actual practice of Orthodox Judaism, Rabbi Eisenstein insisted on a “Corrective Conversion”, which is not a regular conversion as a Christian or goy would go through. I was only to go through the mikveh, but at the end he even denied me that right because he was angry at me for complaining about not wanting to pay Ohel Sarah Imenu $50. per hour for “life coaching classes” before conversion; a “Corrective Conversion”. He should not have even required all those classes. Yes, I understand that they want to make sure you will live by the mitzvot and know how to live as a Jew, but their mitzvot are nothing without kindness. They can throw all their yeshiva education out the window and all their mitzvot for it means nothing without kindness. They forgot the mitzvah to Love Your Fellow Jew! The Rambam says to welcome a Returning Jew with open arms but instead they scoff. Disgusting!
I think, Miriam, you may also be confused about the different kinds and categories of conversions that the Haraedim, Rabbi Eisenstein have come up with. There is much debate and confusion about the Halacha in regards to Marrano Jews. Many rabbis say they should not have to convert. I have been told they cannot convert because they are already Jews. All they seem to do is fuss and no one has come up with a proper solution. It is time a real expert looks into the matter of the Marrano Jew for we are in the times when the Jews are returning…..more Marranos will come.
B”H
@Halfsour
No, it doesn’t justify anything. This is also not what I meant.
I am just saying that if people coming her and claiming to want to convert should have honest intentions. If there really was such an incident, why is no one else complaining about it. Haaretz or anyone else would love to jump on the subject.
@Nancy
I don’t believe one word you were posting here so far.
By the way, do Ohel Sarah and Rabbi Eisenstein know about your complains ? Why don’t you talk to them, if anything is really true ?
so, miriam, u all knew that it was a lie. did u happen to see the pictures that nancy has of her family’s gravestones? u know, the ones that show the name Levy on BOTH sides of her family? u live up to ur name, as it was miriam who came against her own brother in the desert and held up the entire nation for a whole week when HaShem afflicted her with tzora’at because she spoke ill of her brother.
u obviously know nothing about the marranos and the spanish inquisition. she lived in the old city’s arab quarter. so what? she didn’t know at that time that she was jewish. who the hell are u to judge her? let me guess. ur family came from eastern europe. maybe poland. so, perhaps ur a practicing polish catholic and we’re only supposed to believe that ur jewish. what the hell planet are u living on? u think it’s not jewish to have dreams and visions? u think it’s christian? where the hell do u think christianity came from in the first place?
got something else that’ll put ur undies in a bunch - half of hevron is jewish. but u wouldn’t know about that would u because u live in ur little bubble. there are jews in almost every corner of G-d’s green earth and they’re coming home. one can only hope that the jewish people will start to open their eyes, as well as their minds, and start accepting lost jews back into the fold.
nancy, unfortunately, became involved with the wrong group of people. she’s had money stolen from her and she’s been physcially attacked. this organization purports to convert people, yet they have no problem taking money from potential converts, as well as keeping information from them. marranos DON’T have to convert. they need to learn, but they don’t need to convert. how dare u make them feel ashamed!
If Nancy has papers saying she is Jewish why doesn’t she go to the interior ministry and make aliyah like everyone else?
If Nancy has a group group that “gathers around me and is fascinated by the story” why isn’t she spending her time with them?
If if Nancy has been attacked and stolen from why isn’t she prosecuting?
If the conversion people are extorting money and making sexual overtures, why isn’t she going to the head of the government conversion authority with her complaints?
B”H
And I am still waiting for an answer ?
What do Rabbi Nachum Eisenstein and Ohel Sarah say about her complaints on the Internet ?
if u knew anything about misrad hapnim, u would know that they require many documents from people who want to make aliya. she doesn’t have all of those documents. this is why she’s fighting to get her documents recognized by a real bet din. she has no ketubot to present to them, which makes it next to impossible to prove ur jewish identity. perhaps if our gov’t agencies were run by true jews, we wouldn’t have this problem, as well as being stuck with thousands of russians who are not halachically jewish. nancy is halachically jewish.
the police did nothing to the man who attacked her. they brought him to the police station, had a lovely conversation with him, and sent him on his merry way. we all know here that the police are as corrupt as judicial system and the rabbinate. she had no physical evidence, such as fingerprints, to prove that someone took her money. only one other person had the key to where she was staying, and there was no sign of forced entry. go figure.
fear is a powerful motivator. i suggest u check out jewcy.com and the blog 5 worst haredi rabbis, to see the comments posted by females there.
nuff said.
so wait til the cows come home. ur question is irrelevant.
we could care less about what they have to say. they will only lie to protect themselves. they should stand before a court of law and answer for their actions. oh, wait, the judicial system and rabbinate are corrupt and everyone covers everyone else’s ass. guess that idea is nixed.
To quote the endlessly clever Pythons, “You see it’s all a show, keep on laughing as you go…”
The inconsistencies and gaps in logic are striking. Just take the Sefard with the Ashkenazic name (which refers to an iron caster; not a profession Jews could pursue during the Middle Ages, hence an indicator of mixed lineage) trying to flourish in their Orthodox Ashkenazic heritage… BTW, Chasidim may not keep pets; got to ask one of my friends again when exactly that came about and by who, but it was decreed in the Middle Ages. Oh, Church records till 1965 were still kept in Latin exclusively, no matter how you twist it. Also, women that have suffered sexual abuse either will sue the offender or act in denial, but they won’t “keep forgetting” pressing charges. That’s utter shtuss. And I don’t need my psychology studies to know that. Also, with a military ID, if you’re stranded anywhere, the very least you do is see your embassy instantly; you’re even eligible not only to free help but also free board and accomodation from any military unit in UN and NATO states. That’s a thing any member of the armed forces knows. The only other way to get a US military ID is to be the spouse of a redeployed US military person abroad as well (asked my friends in the US military).
Just mentioning.
Psychologically, this seems to be an interesting case, but if I were in DK’s position, I’d be wary of publishing matters that may constitute as libel without double-checking the situation, particularly since the “witnesses” here appear to be more than less potty-mouthed individuals (if they are more than one person anyway) whose evidence constitutes out of believing a person.
ur psychology studies… nuff said.
The Interior Ministry can be a real misery as everyone in the country knows–but, if you have a legitimate claim and papers you can make headway.
I find the police story odd, but in all cases of injustice you have to keep complaining if you want results, and that includes going to a watchdog agency.
There are also agencies (who work at no charge) that help people stuck in the conversion quicksand.
No phsycology is needed, if one is legit what is needed is a lot of hard work and common sense and I doubt that Nancy is capable of either. Enough said…
if nancy was incapable of hard work and common sense, she would have left israel a long time ago. it appears that the people on this message board are incapable of seeing the reality of the way things are run among our gov’t agencies. how unfortunate for u that u can’t see fit to encourage a fellow jew who has returned to her roots. what a sad welcome from u, supposed jews. thankfully, she is now surrounded by warm, friendly, and caring jews who are working for her, and not against. they’re working on her behalf for her to get her documents recognized by the rabbinate so that she can go to misrad hapnim with a seal of approval from them. what a busha, all of u are.
when it comes right down to it, it’s not ur opinions that count (Baruch HaShem). u can psychoanalyze down to the last detail, but in the end, it’s all from HaShem. nancy came here to warn people about what was going on with this so-called conversion program and its false bet din. u can believe it, or not. we all make choices. but u have chosen to ridicule another jew on the basis of her “wild type stories”, which, in this case, happen to be true. she has the pictures of the gravestones. she has the inquisition list with her family names on it. SHE is not to be blamed for the inadequacies and corruption of the israeli gov’t and the rabbinate. THEY are responsible for their disgusting behavior, just as all of u are responsible for ur disgusting behavior toward a fellow jew in a difficult situation.
Let me clear something up. There are two “Nachlaots”. One is charedi — exclusively and one is new agey/Carlebach/artistic. The two neighborhoods are side by side. The charedim live in a part called Batei Braude or Knesses. And yes, there are some extremists there, although there are plenty of normal ones as well.
Dear Sarah,
The regulation you lack: DoD 4515.13-R.
People, take my word for it. Stay the heck away from Sarah Vorst and Ohel Sarah Imenu. To this day, I’m still emotionally, and mentally screwed up, thanks to these people. Hold on to your sanity, stay away from Ohel Sarah Imenu.
Oh, and by the way. The minute you meet Vorst in her run down, funky, cluttered, shack in Nachlaot, you’ll definately know that something is up. Follow your instincts people.
Schmuel
Who calls Broides Heiser nachlaot?
I have been silently reading these comments for quite some time now. I’ve decided to have my voice heard. I’ve started my own blog about this whole thing.
http://ohelsarahimenu.blogspot.com/
Leave a Comment