Thursday, November 1, 2007





Dear Rabbi Ginsburg,



I hope this email finds you, your family, and congregation doing well.



My name is vvv and I am best friends with mm you students.. I have also decided to

become a Jew and have been watching your video series regarding Judaism. Tim said that he had

mentioned me in a recent email, but I wanted to personally write you to introduce myself.



I am a Ph.D. student studying psychology, but also have degrees in history and political science.

I love people and am interested in using my knowledge of human behavior (past, present, & future)

to help others and to contribute to making this a better world. There are so many challenges

facing us in the 21st century and I'm trying to acquire the expertise to make a difference in this

world (noting that we can all make a difference each day in the lives of those we have contact

with). My dissertation is entitled, "Understanding Conflict & Violence Through the Application of

Behavioral Analysis" and I hope to use this eclectic model I am developing to help identify the

potential for conflict/violence at its earliest stages so that (hopefully) proactive measures can

be taken to prevent bad things from happening or at least to mitigate their negative consequences.

In situations where conflict/violence is already occurring, this model can be applied to help

identify what is driving the conflict and, hopefully, help provide remedies to end the cycle of

violence. There's a lot more to this, but this gives you a basic idea of what I'm working on

right now. In addition to enjoying being with people, I love to go backpacking, hiking, cave

exploring, golfing, play tennis, and other outdoor activities. Music is also a passion of mine.



We, and I have all decided to begin the process of converting to Judaism and have greatly

enjoyed watching your videos. You'll be happy to know that we have been meeting several times a

week to watch the videos on Judaism and take notes and discuss the topics in the videos, just as

though we were sitting in an actual class. We've learned a lot and feel like we have gotten close

to you and your wife (and we've gotten a kick out of seeing different parts of your home and

synagogue). Just as important, we have also been growing closer in our relationship with G-d. We

are also trying to do our best to live Jewishly, celebrate Shabbat each week, and are learning

Hebrew. I speak several languages so learning Hebrew is fairly straight-forward, but his wife, seems to have an even better gift for learning languages and her progress is quite

impressive ( Their 3-year-old son, , is also picking

up Hebrew and it is cute to hear him say, "Shalom, Abba!" and "Boker tov, Eemah!" When people

come over to the house, he alsoo greets them with, Shalom!" We can say the Shema

and some other prayers in Hebrew and are also learning various Hebrew phrases. Heand I also

wear our kippahs around town (which gets us some interesting looks) and are trying to live as

Kosher as possible. It's interesting that eating Kosher is eating healthy and a good way to

perhaps avoid or delay several ailments such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer. He

also bought his wife a silver Star of David necklace (which she wears all the time) and I think it's

sweet that he calls her his "Jewish princess" as they now feel more Jewish than the past with the

actual conversion process.



After watching your videos, I think one of the things I like most about Judaism is the concept of

"Live, Love, and Learn." I believe G-d wants us to enjoy the life He has given us, love Him and

one another (and demonstrate it by our lives), and learn all we can about His will for our lives

and this magnificent universe He has created. The best way to do this, of course, is by studying

the Tanach, Torah, Talmud and making what we learn relevant to our lives. This would be a much

better world if we all did this. We have much to learn, but I believe we are off to a good start

and appreciate your interest and all of your help!



Rabbi Ginsburg, although we haven't met, yet, in person, We I feel like we know you

through your videos and consider you to be our Rabbi and your synagogue to be our congregation.

It's too bad that we live out in the middle of nowhere, but we do the best we can and the Internet

helps. We are all looking forward to studying the various books we just ordered from you

regarding conversion to Judaism and will continue to hold our classes several times a week, takes

notes, discuss, etc. as with the videos. We are also looking forward to making the journey up

there to the Chicago area to meet you and your congregation in person and to complete the

conversion process, hopefully by March 2008 or thereabouts. We realize, however, that completing

the conversion process is merely the beginning of a life-long pursuit of knowing G-d and His will

for our lives and of enjoying the relationships and life He has blessed us with.



At any rate, I thought I would send you this little greeting and look forward to corresponding

with you. Have a GREAT day and keep up the good work!