Adopting Judaism – Paths to Conversion

Editor’s Note: This page will soon include information for people who are on the path of adopting Judaism (aka conversion) or who are considering it.

Here’s a little more about why this page is being added: I will be frank — a major goal of this website is to encourage people who want to be Jewish to become Jewish.

I believe that there is too much gatekeeping in Judaism today and that the modern fixation on making conversion as difficult as possible is not in line with what conversion looked like in past Jewish generations (for more discussion on this, listen to this episode of Judaism Unbound). I also have seen many people practice Judaism for years (or even decades) but not converting, because they think, “I’m not Jewish enough yet.” Something about that makes me think we (as the Jewish community) are not doing all that we should be doing to empower seekers of Judaism to claim this tradition as their own.

That said, I do want to clarify that I respect the historic Jewish tradition of not proselytizing people who do not already want to be Jewish. Many spiritual/philosophical traditions can be meaningful and helpful. Judaism is just one of them.

Lastly — while this website as a whole focuses on Humanistic Judaism, much of the content on this page about Jewish conversion would be helpful to folks in other movements who are on a path of conversion.

Continue to: Comparison of different pathways into Judaism or Conversion Support Groups/Communities