By Trent Spoolstra
JCRC Director
Trent Spoolstra, Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council
For 2025, June 1 at sundown through June 3 at sunset marked Shavuot, the Jewish holiday that commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Shavuot has a special meaning for Jews by choice, because we read about Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David and arguably the most important convert in Jewish history. Of all the passages from Jewish texts, the Book of Ruth (Chapter 1:16-17) is by far my favorite. In the passage Ruth, at this point still a Moabite, declares her unwavering loyalty to her Hebrew mother-in-law Miriam and the Jewish people by saying, “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” This verse signifies the declaration that all Jews by choice make in becoming members of the House of Israel. In fact, when deciding on my Hebrew name at the end of my conversion process, I purposely chose ‘Liam’ — which means ‘my nation’ — to mark the beginning of kinship with my new Jewish brothers and sisters.
Those who choose to convert to Judaism do so for a variety of reasons. For some, it may be because their spouse is Jewish, and they want to build a Jewish home. For others, it may be that they took a DNA genealogy test and discovered they have long lost Jewish heritage and want to complete a formal process to solidify their Jewishness. I thought I would take this opportunity to share more about my decision, especially given that this summer marks 10 years since I became a Jew.
In the fall of 2013, I began a spiritual journey. That year, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah overlapped as I distinctly remember attending an interfaith ‘Thanksgivukkah’ service at a local synagogue in Indianapolis where I am originally from and was living at the time. Over the course of subsequent months, I continued learning about Judaism and my interest only increased. By June of the next year, I had made the decision to officially pursue the conversion process. One may say it was bashert (destiny) when I contacted a rabbi upon arriving back to South Bend, Indiana for a year and he told me that just the prior week, he started an ‘Introduction to Judaism’ class for congregants who wanted to learn more as well as for those who were considering conversion. For the next nine months, our group met at the synagogue almost every Monday night to learn about the key tenets of Judaism.
Perhaps the one lesson that resonated most with me (and still does) was that becoming Jewish is not just about joining a faith but also joining a peoplehood. I was further amazed to discover just how diverse our 16-million-member mishpacha (family) is as we represent a wide variety of races, religious observances, customs, political leanings, national origins, and even food preferences. My conversion ended on July 27, 2015, when I went before a beit din and into the mikvah at Congregation Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah in Wilmette, Illinois to officially become a member of the House of Israel.
As I look back on the ten years since converting to Judaism, I feel incredibly blessed to have had so many amazing experiences. From volunteering for various Jewish Federations, to taking part in Hillel and Chabad as a graduate student, to visiting Israel three times, to working for the Anti-Defamation League, I have already experienced so much in my Jewish journey.
I have now had the pleasure of being JCRC Director for nine months, with the job of advocating for our Jewish community across the greater Louisville area in key areas of education, government affairs, and coalition building. I find it particularly meaningful being a Jew by choice and having the opportunity to represent our people in building relationships with largely non-Jewish audiences. There is much I have learned since taking this position, particularly the quality and depth of community leadership. There is a long history in our community of strong volunteer leaders that have laid the path to the work being done today. Many of our current volunteer leaders are involved not only with our local community but proudly represent Louisville amongst many national Jewish organizations. With the JCRC restructuring process now complete, I feel very fortunate to be working with so many amazing volunteer leaders and have no doubt that our Jewish community is in good hands with the next generation leading it. In the days ahead, I look forward to continuing to partner with these remarkable members of the Jewish Community Relations Council to perform critical work such as standing up for those who have experienced antisemitism in their schools and workplaces, giving presentations to students and teachers about Judaism, advocating as a Jewish voice to elected officials, expanding access to Holocaust education, and continuing to build coalition with other key communities.
Many of those who are born Jewish may ask themselves that, with all the trials and tribulations of being a Jew — especially as of late with the recent rise in antisemitism — why anyone in their right mind would want to join this tribe. While certainly a valid question, we, as Jews of choice, believe that even with the challenges of the current environment, we still consider it both an honor and a blessing to be a part of such a remarkable people. It is said, we all stood “shoulder to shoulder” at Sinai to receive the Torah; a truth no matter how we arrived there. On this Shavuot, when we commemorate that gift, I feel especially fortunate to be a member of the Louisville Jewish community, and it is profoundly rewarding to be part of the work that we are doing.
Trent Spoolstra is the Jewish Communiy Relations Council Director at the Jewish Federation of Louisville and the Trager Family JCC. He welcomes you to contact him about community related issues at tspoolstra@jewishlouisville.org.