r/ConvertingtoJudaism

Hello everyone,

I would really like to ask for your advice about something that is very important to me.

I am a 23-year-old man from 🇹🇷 Turkey, and my girlfriend is a 34-year-old Israeli Jewish woman. We have been together for about a year and a half. We love each other deeply, and we both want to build a family together.

I was raised as a Muslim because of my family and the country I grew up in. However, for a long time I have not felt that this was the right path for me. Instead, I have always felt a strong connection and admiration for Judaism. Then, by chance, I met my Jewish girlfriend, and our relationship brought me to where I am today.

My girlfriend wants me to complete an Orthodox conversion before we get married. I want to do this not only because I want to marry her, but because I truly want to become Jewish with all my heart. This is a sincere decision, and I have no doubts about it.

Unfortunately, this is where our biggest challenge begins. She believes my conversion will take at least two years. She feels she no longer has time to wait because she wants to marry a Jewish man and start a family as soon as possible. I completely understand her feelings, but I don’t want to lose her. We love each other very much, yet I feel that with each passing day she is becoming more distant because of the uncertainty.

Has anyone here been through something similar? Has anyone completed an Orthodox conversion while in a relationship with an Israeli partner, or had to wait for marriage because of conversion? How did you handle it, and what advice would you give me?

I would be truly grateful for any advice or personal experiences you are willing to share. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my story.

So i wanna convert to Judaism so the thing is i Honestly don't know what to eat anymore Cause well nothing in my local stores has a kosher certification or is kosher labeled so i don't know anymore since where i live the Jewish community is so small we don't even have a synagogue within a 20km radius so i also don't have a rabbi but i have a app called Sefaria⁠ to read Torah and that stuff so if someone has any tips i would really appreciate it or maybe even some other tips or things i should know about i would be really happy to get any help

(also i hope it wasn't too noticeable English isn't my native language)

Hi,

I’ve been considering converting for almost a year now but can’t seem to pull the trigger since I find myself struggling to believe in G-d. I currently go to a conservative synagogue and I think this might be a problem for me in the long run if I do decide to convert. I also find myself having a hard time kosher…

I don’t feel like I have any good reasons for conversion other than a pull or feeling to the traditions like lighting candles on Shabbat and celebrating the different festivals. It just doesn’t feel like enough…

If you guys can share your stories on how you dealt with these feelings, I would greatly appreciate it.

Hello!! Update for everyone, I’m already in the conversion process, I found my sponsor rabbi, today was my first time in a service and I would like to know if I’m the only one who felt lost, I know this is new to me, but when I arrived there were women praying, I didn’t know what prayer to do, which on the other side were the men doing their prayers too, my rabbi told me to take two that was a Siddur and a Chumash, but I felt a little lost, everything was in Hebrew (which I already knew that it was going to be in hebrew), but It’s something a little new for me, since sometimes I didn’t know which page we were on, what prayer we were doing or what was happening, there were times when even people stood up.

I need everyone’s opinions!

By the way, I met two wonderful ladies today!!

Please tell me your stories. I am a convert in progress

Hey everyone! I've been drawn to Judaism since I was very young, and now that I'm finally gaining some independence, I'd really like to start exploring it more seriously.

The challenge is that I live in a very rural area in a small country, so the only realistic opportunity I'd have to attend the nearest (progressive) synagogue would be while I'm at University, starting next year, and throughout my degree which, given it's nature, I realise may be strenuous.

I completely understand that conversion is a long process requiring genuine commitment and dedication, which I'm more than willing to give, but my question is whether it would be more realistic to put conversion itself on hold until after university, while still spending those years learning, attending services when I can, and becoming involved in the community?

Ideally, I'd like to do both simultaneously, but I also don't want to jeopardise a future conversion or waste anyone's time if I can't commit as fully as the process requires.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or converted while at university or through similar periods/while juggling? I'd really appreciate hearing about any experiences or getting any advice at all (:

Honestly it just seems like the reform conversion would be easier and faster, just to catapult my start. It’s also much closer to my house. The Rabbi certainly did make a case for converting at the reform. The conservative rabbi, not so much. Are the requirements different for each? Will I be accepted and welcomed by the rabbi as a conservative member if I convert as a reform? 67F running out of time.
Will the reform rabbi be pissed off if I ditch them after conversion and resume attending conservative? What is protocol? I want to do the right thing! Classes at both start in October

Hi everyone!

I'm about a year into my conversion journey and, if I'm honest, it's been one of the most meaningful but also one of the loneliest experiences of my life.

I don't live in a city with a large Jewish community, so most of my learning and growth has been something I've had to do on my own. I attend a Conservative shul because it's within walking distance, but I'm also exploring Orthodoxy and hope to eventually move to a larger Jewish community to continue my journey.

One thing I've realized is that I'd really love to have friends who are going through something similar. It can be hard to explain this process to people who haven't experienced it. There are so many exciting moments, confusing moments, and days where you just wish you had someone to talk to who understands.

A little about me: I'm from Canada. I work in a very social job, love reading, cooking, games, and long conversations about faith, history, and life. Despite my job, I'm actually pretty shy and have always found it difficult to make close friends.

If anyone else is converting (or has converted) and would like a friend to chat with, I'd love to get to know you. Even if we're at different stages of the journey, I think it would be nice to have people to encourage each other along the way.

Shavua tov! ❤️

After a couple years of starting and stopping and getting nervous and starting etc etc I finally got up the courage to talk to my local Rabbi about conversion! I grew up in a weird sort of mishmash of catholic and evangelical churches, and only found out after I went out on my own that my grandparents on my father's side were ethnically Jewish and that my grandpa was raised religious as well. He stopped practicing after ww2 and my grandmother was never really aware of her roots because her family was part of the many groups that were forced to convert to catholicism in southern Italy. It was just kind of a big family secret no one knew what to do with, and I happened to be the first in a long time to have an interest in untangling the thread and decide to follow it.

I'm in my 30s, and married to a very nice guy- he's not Jewish and not converting with me, but he's very supportive of me in this and he's cheering me on. I spent the majority of my life (ironically) studying Egyptology and archaeology, until I had to leave Cairo when covid hit and I ended up leaving my career behind when my health got worse. So, I guess what they say about plagues in Egypt was true! I grew up around a lot of family friends who were conservative Jewish, so I'm pretty familiar with cultural stuff, but much less familiar with the religious side of it. I'm a huge nerd when it comes to academics and one of my favorite activities is to just read on a topic until I run out of material, so I've been assured that I'm in good company.

I am friends with the Rabbi at our local reform synagogue, and I recently got in contact with a coordinator for community events, so once said Rabbi is back from his family vacation with his grandkids we'll begin meeting and studying! I am kind of unsure where exactly to start, but I am happy to be beginning this journey and I'm excited to learn. Nice to meet you all!

I probably didn’t say that the best way. I haven’t talked about this with any of the rabbis or the people because I thought it was understood already, that we are all here for at least that reason. One of my main drives is that I wanted to honor the religion and people by engaging in all of the traditions, which includes learning everything I can and having more conversations about eveuthing. I have my ideas about God, which apparently most Jews agree with. But I will never worship God thats what christiqns do. The fact that they incessantly talk about it all and contemplate god is literally the most thrilling experience. It is something I have always done, at least in my own mind (because nobody would ever talk to me about it). In college i majored in early modern European history specifically because I wanted the dirt on Christianity. But now I realize I should’ve major in theology.

I can’t believe I got to my age and I am now just doing this. I feel like I’ve been Jewish my entire life. But for 2 1/2 decades I’ve been pushed away from Judaism. All I wanted was to get my foot in the door. I didn’t know what was on the other side, but I wanted it.. some unexplainable motivation. It’s been two months since I attended my first Shabbat evening service. To say it was enlightening would be an understatement. But that’s a different story. For two months I have been so scared that I was going to get rejected. I wanted this so bad and I feel like my life would be over if somebody rejected me again.
Today I talked to my third Rabbi. I flat out told her, I’m afraid you’re going to reject me. She said, no I’m not! I cried. I told her I’ve already been rejected six times in the many years before now and I told her a couple of those instances. She said it should never have happened. Of course I cried again. She said it’s OK, lots of people cry in my office ❤️
- Soon to be Jewish

Hi, I’m new to posting so I hope this is the right place for this.

I’m not Jewish, nor do I have any Jewish connections in the community. I’ve just been learning and observing from a distance over the past while (reading, watching services online, and trying to understand more about the traditions and community).

I keep finding myself really drawn in emotionally, especially to things like Shabbat, communal prayer, and the idea of learning and discussion being part of religious life.

For context, I grew up in a Catholic family, and in my teenage years really drifted apart from the idea of organized religion. When I moved away from home though, I found I missed it, but Catholicism never felt right. I researched a few religions, and landed on Judaism. I know it's more closed than most, especially out of the Abrahamic religions, but it resonated with me more than any of the others I looked into. I've been just casually learning on my own for a while now, and I keep coming back to it rather frequently.

My question is: for people who have explored Judaism seriously (whether they ended up converting or not), how did you tell the difference between:

• “this is really interesting and meaningful to me” vs
• “this is something I want to actually pursue more deeply and formally”?

Did it feel like a clear shift, or more gradual over time?

I’d really appreciate hearing people’s experiences and perspectives. Thank you!

So I've been a convert for 5 years, going on six now. My family had all been extremely supportive but a few lately have been pushy in a disrespectful way. Which doesn't make sense, because I've been openly Jewish for 5 years and converted for 2 years before that.

Lately some family have been making comments like "why would you ignore Jesus when he's right there?" And things like "what about your eternal soul?" And even things like "I just don't understand how you could not believe in Jesus when he's the right way"

I don't want to bash on their religion, because I respect their Christianity, but I'm getting tired of the comments. I want to do this respectfully, but I'm at a loss of what to do.

Any advice from others who have dealt with this type of thing? Thank you!

Hello everyone,
I know Judaism is both ethnicity and religion. So someone that’s a Jew(ethnically) can be non religious and still be “fully” Jew.
Now my question is, what if you are not a Jew but converted to Judaism, how would you identify, what would you call yourself? Lets assume in this case you look drastically different(redhead or something if that makes any difference)

Thank you for clarifying this!

Hello everyone I’m Jordan

I’ve got a few questions about converting process so then I have a huge problem with my country like there is no synagogues around where I live. I just feel like I’m trapped inside this place

I got a question for that like can I convert through online process like meeting a rabbi on online and something staff like that

The second thing is I’m actually learning Torah by my self and then if I finish the whole Torah a specific period of time and then could I just go for Beit din or something

Judaism is all about asking questions, but sometimes it might feel a bit much to make a whole post just for one question. Please keep it about Judaism and generally stick to the rules, but otherwise, no question is too small or silly here!

My Jewish grandmother is in poor health. Her wish to me was to convert to Judaism, or reconvert as my mother was adopted into Judaism. This is very important to me, as I am a Yiddish speaker, I flirted with the Haredi world for some time through Kiruv programs as a freshman and sophomore in high school, but my mother had become a Christian since I was 9, I was never bar mitzvah, and I was given a millah, not a bris millah by a hospital, not a Mohel. I have spent the last years since going off the derech contemplating whether I should rejoin Yiddishkeit and become a proud Jew again. Christianity and Catholicism, and every time my mother says she loves me seem to near me towards Christianity, as that is the religion I was taught as a long child. I believe that I can only return to my innocence as a Christian, but my soul is a Jew. So this hurts. Also my mother’s lack of understanding religious boundaries whatsoever poses a challenge too.

Does anyone have any good arguments against Christianity that aren’t Isaiah 53 based?

Всем привет!
Я еврей по отцу, я слышал что это типо «не считается».
Но чувствую, что меня тянет к вам, к вашему лайфстайлу и образу жизни.
Хочу спросит, какая вообще реакция на таких людей?

The one my conservative shul uses costs $114. Just wondering if Jews or converting Jews would want to keep one on hand to continue learning on a regular basis.

Hi there fellow converts

I am so happy to be in the process. However I am struggling as a woman with dressing modestly. I love fashion, so of course I have been trying my best to find cute but modest looks but of course when I go to see my non-Jewish friends I am met with lots of questions, critique from my family, and I feel like I am struggling with my identity. I don’t feel comfortable wearing revealing clothing but at the same time I’m being told that I’m changing in a negative way and it hurts. Please share your stories below… or any tips on how to not struggle with tznuis? Bad enough that it’s summer time.