About Still Proofing

In baking, proofing is the step when yeast bread is shaped into a loaf and allowed to rise a final time before baking. It's a transitional stage—the dough is in a recognizable loaf shape, but it still hasn't taken on its final form.

My conversion to Judaism wasn't like toggling a switch from "non-Jewish" to "Jewish." Even though the formalities are complete, I still have a lot of stuff to figure out. What kind of a Jew do I want to be, in my religious community and the broader world? How do I want to observe rituals, celebrate holidays, and incorporate Judaism into my life?

Still Proofing celebrates the complex journey of becoming a Jew-by-choice with essays about identity, ritual, spirituality, and finding your place in the world. Although the details may be specific to my experience, I hope that my writing resonates with readers from a variety of backgrounds—Jewish or not.

About Stacy Brooks

I'm a Minneapolis-based freelance journalist and avid challah baker.

A note about terminology

I use the terms "convert" and "Jew-by-choice" interchangeably since both resonate with me. Some people have a preferred way to identify—if you're not sure how to describe someone, just ask them.

This article from My Jewish Learning is a helpful resource about the do's and don'ts of talking to Jewish converts.

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