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From “Non-Jewish Nanny” to Jewish Advocate: Adriana Fernandez’s Journey of Faith and Identity
Edited by: Fern Sidman
In a world often dominated by cynical headlines and cultural clashes, Adriana Fernandez’s remarkable spiritual journey offers a compelling narrative of conviction, courage, and identity. As reported by VIN News on Tuesday, the Floridian social media personality—once affectionately dubbed the “Non-Jewish Nanny”—has officially embraced Judaism, transforming not only her religious identity but also her public persona. Her decision, she says, was galvanized by the horrific events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists murdered over 1,200 Israelis in a brutal attack.
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Fernandez, now known in the Jewish world by her Hebrew name Adina Shoshana, first gained prominence for her lighthearted yet respectful social media content chronicling her experiences as a nanny in Orthodox Jewish households. VIN News reported that over the past four years, her cheerful and inquisitive posts—many of which went viral on TikTok and Instagram, where she has amassed over 100,000 followers—offered a window into the customs, values, and rhythms of observant Jewish life. What began as a professional role quickly became a spiritual calling.
Raised in a private Christian school with little to no exposure to Jewish thought or practice, Fernandez’s introduction to Judaism was organic and experiential. Through her young charges—children in Orthodox homes who eagerly taught her Hebrew phrases and the basics of Jewish observance—she encountered what she described as the “beauty” of the Jewish faith. According to the report at VIN News, that exposure planted the seeds of a religious transformation that would later blossom into full-fledged conversion.
Despite her initial unfamiliarity with Judaism, Fernandez demonstrated profound commitment to the rigorous, multi-year conversion process, which she completed last month. Now fully Jewish by halachic (Jewish legal) standards, she is preparing for her first Passover Seder as a Jew. “Officially chose my outfit for my first Seder as a Jew,” she wrote with pride on Instagram this week.
For Fernandez, the turning point in her spiritual journey wasn’t just her love for Jewish culture—it was the October 7th Hamas massacre. VIN News reported that while others might have been shaken or even dissuaded from associating with a people so viciously targeted, Fernandez’s response was exactly the opposite. She was in synagogue that day, still in the midst of her conversion, when someone asked if she was sure she wanted to continue on the path to Judaism in light of the atrocity.
“I wanted to cry,” she recalled. “It made me want it even more.”
As she explained to her followers, the attack intensified her sense of kinship with the Jewish people rather than undermining it. “My first thought on Oct. 7 wasn’t, ‘How do I get out of this?’ I felt an even stronger connection to G-d,” she wrote, according to the VIN News report. When others warned her, “The whole world hates us,” she thought, “These are my people too.”
Since completing her conversion, Fernandez has become a passionate voice for Jewish advocacy and pride online. She views her presence on social media as a platform to combat ignorance and promote the beauty of Jewish life in an age where antisemitism continues to surge. “October 7th was good versus evil,” she declared, as was noted in the VIN News report. “I knew I had to show the beauty of the Jewish community.”
Her goals are far-reaching: she has plans to produce Hebrew-language music covers, leveraging her background as a classically trained opera singer, and even dreams of writing a children’s book to reflect her newfound identity.
Interestingly, despite her visibility in the Jewish world, Fernandez has yet to visit Israel. The VIN News report said that she made a personal vow never to do so until she completed her conversion—explaining that she wanted to experience the Jewish homeland “with a true Jewish soul.” The same sentiment kept her from visiting the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe—known as the Ohel—until she was halachically Jewish. But once she did go, she described the experience as profoundly moving: “I left there with a peace I couldn’t explain,” she said. “A week later, I got an email with an update about my final meeting with the Beit Din. G-d took care of me.”
What makes Adina Shoshana’s story so powerful is not merely her personal faith but her willingness to embrace it openly in a climate of global hostility toward Jews and Israel. Many told her she was foolish, even “meshugana” (Yiddish for crazy), for wanting to become Jewish after such a dark moment for the Jewish people. But as the VIN News report emphasizes, her reaction was not fear—it was deeper commitment.
Today, Fernandez stands as far more than a social media influencer. She is a symbol of spiritual bravery, a living refutation of hate, and an emblem of the enduring allure of the Jewish faith. Her story reminds us that even in an era marred by antisemitism, the Jewish people continue to grow—not just by birth, but by choice.
Adina Shoshana chose to become Jewish not in spite of the danger, but because of the light she saw within the darkness. And in doing so, she chose to be a part of a nation that has survived every kind of persecution and still sings, still celebrates, still teaches its children to dream.
