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Conversion to Judaism

talking to parents

Telling Your Parents

How do you tell your parents that you're planning to convert to Judaism? Aim to reassure them that you're not trying to abandon your past, explain what the conversion will entail, and be prepared for a serious discussion about your relationship with your family and how you imagine it will change or remain the same.

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Basics and Rituals

Conversion 101

Learn the basics about the process of converting to Judaism.

Conversion Process

A penetrating process that may culminate in the adoption of a new identity.

Beit Din

The three-person "court" rules on a candidate's sincerity, knowledge, and potential for success as a Jew.

The Mikveh

What to expect at the ritual bath.

Circumcision

Male converts to Judaism undergo circumcision or, if already circumcised, a ritual removal of a single drop of blood.

How To

Dealing with Negative Attitudes

Jews-by-choice may experience inappropriate attitudes that they should understand and, if necessary, confront.

Preparing for Mikveh

Plan ahead to enhance the spirituality of the immersion experience.

Telling Parents

Empathy and emotional support can help most parents understand their child's decision to convert.

Choosing a Hebrew Name

It's easier than you may think.

Conversion Certificate

How do I make aliyah without my conversion certificate?

Denominational Differences

Orthodox and Conservative

Legal and pragmatic approaches to conversion.

A Reform Perspective

What it means to accept the commandments in a Reform context.

A Masorti Perspective

The Masorti (Conservative) movement in Israel states that a convert should not explicitly reject any Jewish law.

Denominational Differences

Differences between the movements grow out of more basic disagreements in philosophy and belief.

Leniency in Orthodoxy

Even if the motivation for conversion is marriage.

Controversial Issues

Token Conversions

Responding to assimilation, rather than intermarriage.

Conversion In Israel

An arduous process.

Converting Children

A child must be formally converted if adopted or born to a non-Jewish mother, except within Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism.

Proselytization

Liberal Jews who support outreach claim that active proselytism was once the Jewish tradition.

Room for Flexibility

Might it be possible to develop a formula for conversion acceptable to all the Jewish movements?

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