How do you measure commitment? That’s the question I was left pondering after reading Elana Sztokman’s post on the double standard for Orthodox women. Some women’s tardiness for services has become a justification for shutting out the entire gender from a whole host of responsibilities, as late arrival to shul apparently signifies a lack of spiritual commitment.

Now, I converted to Judaism earlier this month, and as a Reform Jew-come-lately I don’t expect my two cents to count very much in this larger and very important debate about women’s roles in Orthodox Judaism.

But my thoughts immediately turned to a conversation I recently had with a fellow conversion student who, like me, is pregnant with her first child. As soon as we established that we’re both expecting boys, we exchanged a meaningful glance.

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Rebecca Dube is a staff writer at the Forward. The Forward's Sisterhood blog crossposts weekly with Jewesses with Attitude.