Part of my story is a complete mystery. I was adopted from the Philippines when I was 4 y.o. I am obviously not fully Filipino, and quite honestly, I don't know what I am--interestingly, my birth name is Maria Chavez (which is related to the Hebrew word, Shabbos), which is more Spanish than Filippino. I only know that Judaism resonates with my soul and my hunger for Torah and truth about G-d. It is as if I feel Jewish more than anything else.

When I went to Boston this past fall, I met a Filipino lady that was the secretary to Rabbi Naftali Horowitz, an Hasidic Rabbi with whom I met to ask more about converting. She told me there are many Filipino Jews in Israel. I decided to do some research about Jewish Filipinos. I found this blog. Please watch the video about B'nei Menashe. I feel like it gives me some clue to my past.

Shabbat Shalom!