Q&A with Chaviva of kvetchingeditor.com

[Alecto]

Chaviva has agreed to do a Q&A with us, however due to time zone issues, the questions will be submitted beforehand and emailed to her, then she will answer them, and I will post them.

So, post your questions. I'll pick the best 20-25 and send them to her.

[MamaJunebug]

Just saw this, and just looked at Chaviva's site for the first time. INteresting!

My questions are pretty banal: What attracted her to Judaism, and what was she before?

Thanks, Alecto! You make this site about the best thing on teh interwebz, srsly.

[Guest Anonymous]

Isn't Chaviva a forum member already? Someone called "yupitsme" seems to have identified as Chaviva on two existing threads - is that a different person? If not, why don't we just give her a dedicated thread on the forum and she can answer questions in her own time, like other members?

I do really appreciate all of the features and work that is put into FreeJinger and don't want to sound ungrateful, but I feel uneasy with the idea of some members being given "celebrity" status and having the full range of questions that might be directed at them edited and whittled down to the 'best 25'.

Edit: I've caught up now and can see the Q & A came about as a result of this thread, in which Chaviva seems to have been posting in the last week or so: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=13724

[Guest Anonymous]

I agree with anniec's first point. When I first read about this Q&A, I thought: "But Chaviva's a member here, and she was here just the other day...". I think it's Chaviva who accords herself celebrity status, the username 'yupitsme' is evidence of that.

That said, I would love to ask Chaviva about this comment she made about FJ on her twitter:

I love that there are web forums that talk about me … so falsely, at that.

What was false? Why slag us off and then deign to grace us with your presence?

[FaustianSlip]

Both Chaviva and Chavi (from You're Not Crazy) have posted here before.

Also, just because it was started a while ago, and there may be interested people who aren't aware that it's there, there's a thread in the Ask Me Anything forum to "Ask a Convert to Judaism." I think all of us convert-types there are heterodox (i.e. non-Orthodox) folks, but there you go, for anyone looking to ask about conversion to Judaism in general rather than Chaviva's situation specifically (not that she's not qualified to answer general conversion questions, obviously, but just another place for information on that stuff).

[pomology]

I'm curious what her family and friends from before her conversion think about her having made aliyah. And if she would ever consider coming back to the United States.

[SamuraiKatz]

Did Chaviva have to change her name when she converted? How does your family feel about the change in faith, name and country?

[Peas n carrots]

Her and I have a lot in common...I'm from Lincoln NE and now live in Chicago. Though no plans to move to Israel anytime :-p

I'm curious...how did Chaviva get interested in Judaism in Lincoln? It's a pretty Catholic/Mainstream Protestant town. Did you go to the South Street Temple?

[SamuraiKatz]

What is the correct pronunciation of Chaviva

[Curious]

Under the circumstances and given the member concerns regarding this event, I'm sure you will understand that we are putting it on hold for now, but likely cancelling.

Since Chaviva is a member here, we will be happy to give her a thread to answer questions in her own time, if she would like to do that.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

[Sicily]

On 1/10/2013 at 3:19 PM, SamuraiKatz said:

What is the correct pronunciation of Chaviva

I know how to pronounce it (being of Jewish origin), but it's impossible to correctly transliterate it into English, as it begins with the Hebrew letter Chet, which has no equivalent sound in this language.

It's written in English as "ch" but has a guttural kind of pronunciation, not at all the way "ch" is usually pronounced. Think "H" with a hawking phlegm kind of sound. That's the closest I can come up with.