Episode 388: Converting to Judaism -- But...You're Already Jewish - David A.M. Wilensky

If you say to David A.M. Wilensky that he "converted" to Judaism, he'll provide a gentle correction: "I underwent a conversion," he'll say. This may not seem like much of a distinction, but in this episode of Judaism Unbound, we explore a group of people who -- from some frames of reference -- converted to Judaism, but from other frames of reference, were Jewish from the second they were born. In short, Wilensky was born as a patrilineal Jew (his father was Jewish, and his mother was not), and he made the choice in adulthood to undergo a "conversion," even though he had lived his whole life in Jewish community. This episode explores his story, and a wide variety of inter-related topics! This episode is the third in an ongoing Judaism Unbound mini-series, exploring conversion to Judaism.