Ashley Boros-Rupp finally found what she was looking for.
She said she’s long had a relationship with God. Boros-Rupp was raised in a family that could be described as agnostic yet attended church, she said. She felt she could maintain her relationship with a higher power independent of organized religion.
That changed when Boros-Rupp, who grew up in Plainfield, Illinois and now works as a biomedical engineer, was a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. She began an earnest search to find the right spiritual home, visiting different churches with friends.
“To be honest, I felt kind of uncomfortable – not completely put off, but just something was not right,” Boros-Rupp said. “I didn’t really feel fully like I was fitting. And it’s a big decision, so I wasn’t like, ‘Oh, this is close enough.’”
It was at MSOE that Boros-Rupp met her now husband, Brian Rupp. He grew up in Missouri as part of a Jewish family, and their relationship inspired Boros-Rupp to learn more about the Jewish faith and culture.
She signed up for an introduction to Judaism course at Congregation Shalom, a Reform synagogue in Fox Point. There, she experienced people asking questions, making interpretations, disagreeing with each other and accepting those disagreements.
It was what Boros-Rupp had been seeking: a community of people, she said, who were not just talking but taking action.
“It was very much very slow and then all at once, it was kind of, ‘OK. This is comfortable. This is where I want to be,’” she said.
Boros-Rupp said she knew she could continue to participate in Congregation Shalom’s community as part of an interfaith couple – she and Rupp wed in 2022 – but she wanted to formally join the Jewish community.
“It’s kind of like this mental shift of appreciating Judaism and then deciding that I don’t just want to learn about it or kind of participate – I want to embody it and go further with it,” Boros-Rupp said.
She began the process of converting in June 2024. Boros-Rupp, now 29, studied Jewish history, the life cycle events, learned Hebrew and practiced trope.
This year, went to the mikvah on May 29. And on June 21, as part of a class of a dozen students, Boros-Rupp stood on the bimah and chanted her Torah portion – Numbers 13: 16-18.
“Very proud to say, I did a really good job. No mistakes,” she said.
She has selected a Hebrew name, Batya Shalev.
Since her bat mitzvah ceremony, Boros-Rupp said she has continued building a Jewish life and learning more about the faith.
She said she and her husband regularly attend Friday night Shabbat services, and they incorporate other Jewish traditions into their lives. As a member of Congregation Shalom’s choir, she also is rehearsing in preparation for the High Holy Days.
Her studies continue, too.
“I’ve spent the last year really digging. I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface,” Boros-Rupp said. “There’s still so much more that I don’t know, so many more traditions that I’m learning. The fun stuff, too, is that there is so much still for me to learn.”
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