20 ways to tell you aren’t a BT anymore

BT’s a strange breed, if there was a graph documenting the progress, it would have a very steep starting line followed by a pretty far drop, then a raise and then leveling off. At the point where BT’s (sometimes this can take years) become regular old frum people, they begin to do certain things that their former selves would have cringed at – but they are no longer labeled as baalei teshuva, they have officially become regular old frum folks.

20 ways to you tell you have finally abandoned your BT status:

You start talking in shul (you can always spot the few FFB’s in northern California by looking for folks talking in shul)

You stop wearing techeles in your tzitzis

You stop wearing your tzitzis yeshivish style

You start listening to non-Jewish music again and regret that time you threw out all of you secular music

You start showing your elbows (girls)

You join facebook again

You start becoming a little cynical about Judaism

You don’t go to shul every day

You stop kissing your hand after you shake other people’s hands

You don’t bow for modiim like a madman

You admit to people that you weren’t always frum

You start to admit that you miss certain treife foods (bring up bacon with BT’s if you want to take part in an interesting conversation)

You reminisce with other BT’s about your former life

You aren’t the last person saying shemona esrei anymore

You stop being so machmir and start looking for heterim

You stop going nuts to get a little flame on your hands by havdallah (I have noticed that BT’s are all about getting the hands in the flame during the aish portion of havadallah)

You stop shuckeling like a maniac

You start to develop the clammy dead fish handshake a little more

You begin to knowingly break halacha

Your yarmulke actually looks normal (BT’s always try to wear the yarmulke the rabbi or organization being mekarev them wears – it usually makes them look dumb)

You begin to openly admit that you miss wearing pants – specifically jeans (girls)