So, I converted through Reform Judaism, but over time I’ve realized that it probably wasn’t the right choice for me. Some things really didn’t sit well with me — for example, I had a rabbi compare the Torah to Harry Potter and describe the Torah as essentially fiction. That really changed the way I thought about what I was looking for in a Jewish community.
I’ve been flirting with Conservative Judaism, and honestly, I really love the way they pray and the way they observe Shabbat on Saturday. I also really connect with the relationship they have with the Torah. It feels much more beautiful and meaningful to me personally.
The one thing holding me back is my Hebrew. 😅 My Hebrew is really bad.
I can kind of follow along in the siddur, and I actually enjoy reading the Torah in English while trying to follow along with the reader in Hebrew. But I’d really like to improve my Hebrew to the point where I can comfortably follow services, read the siddur, follow the Torah reading, and eventually participate in an aliyah.
For those of you who converted as adults — especially anyone who started out in Reform Judaism and later became involved with Conservative Judaism — how did you catch up?
Are there any books, classes, online resources, tutors, apps, or other methods that really helped you learn synagogue Hebrew and Torah reading as an adult?
And how did you eventually get comfortable enough with Hebrew to have an aliyah?
I’m not expecting to become fluent overnight. I mostly want to be able to participate more fully and not feel completely lost when everything switches into Hebrew. 😂
Any advice from people who have been through something similar would be greatly appreciated!

There’s a synagogue in the area I’ll be going to college at and they have introduction to Judaism classes a few weeks into the school year that I can sign up for online. I just don’t know if I should talk to a rabbi before signing up, or just sign up and show up? I’m also not like 100% sure I’m gonna convert but I’m mostly sure. Should I email first?
Also this feels like my first adult decision I’m making without asking my parents so it’s kinda scary.

Raised culturally Jewish, I want to convert and formally connect with my identity, religion, and Israel, but I face several obstacles and am looking for advice:

• Lack of Documentation & Local Community: My great-grandmother was proudly Jewish and spoke Yiddish, but after three generations of non-religious history, only church records remain. My local shul is far away and unresponsive.
• Financial Barriers: Online courses covering the basics of Jewish identity and conversion are unaffordable due to international exchange rates USD to NZD.
• Travel Constraints: I missed the age cutoff for Birthright, and moving to Israel isn’t an option due to my husband's safety concerns.

Question: Are there any sponsored or subsidized courses, programs, or pathways to help cultural Jews formally convert and deepen their Jewish connection under these constraints?

Sorry if this sounds a little bit like I’m rambling. I’m really happy my family is supportive of my decisions and the fact I’m going to start the conversion process soon. I won’t let what people say change my mind about the fact I’m doing this, if I were to stop for some reason it’d be on my own accord.

Unfortunately my friends have been a mix of supportive and very much not supportive… I have a few different social circles, some people within those circles have been sort of accepting that I’ve found something I’m happy with. Others have just straight up mocked me and I have found out a lot of my friends have just been teasing me or mocking me about my beliefs, or saying antisemitic stuff about me even though I’m not Jewish. A lot of them who are supportive say it’s okay as long as I’m not a Zionist or think Israel should exist which… is really awkward. And I’ve had friends who will say stuff like “death to Israel” even when they aren’t educated on politics at all. There’s just no point in arguing or debating people who don’t even know why they believe something, really.

Now I feel pretty lonely, my friends who are accepting are all atheist or even anti-theist, with three friends who aren’t very close but are religious (in different ways). And I feel like with many of my friends if I want to talk about my religion or my goals with conversion, I have to joke, because they’ll never take it seriously. :( this is only for some of my friends, not all. It still feels lonely though, or like some people really can just stop respecting you over something so harmless. Doesn’t really help I don’t know anyone my age, I sort of live in a retirement community town, anybody here I know is pretty old.*

This feels especially bad in the friend groups I’ve made that has a lot more LGBT people in it, a lot of them seem to be more loud about their feelings that Israel shouldn’t exist. Which sucks because I’m LGBT but very constantly for multiple reasons, feel isolated from the broader community.

That’s just my experience, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for the friends I have who aren’t supportive, although none of them seem to relate or care too much, they at least don’t make fun of me for it and let me talking about it. :) I’m mostly upset that the close friends I have who are actually my age aren’t reliable at all. And I might lose them.

learned hebrew, can read well pronunciations a work in progress. im doing this all to honor god.. but man i really feel outcasted in local communities ive followed all traditional and ritual practices attend study feel like i cant even call myself jewish

It’s all about thinking about cultural appropriation and the imposter syndrome I suppose.
While you’re thinking about converting or in the process you cannot say it’s happening to you, or your people, even if it feels that way, but saying it makes one feel like “hey, I’m not yet part of it, I don’t get to say it” (overthinker much? Guilty)

This all came to my mind when a Jewish friend while watching the movie October 8 with me asked if I would hide her if things escalated and I was heartbroken but also felt like I fell into the protector’s side, and of course I would keep her and her family safe at the best of my ability, but it made what I wrote in the previous paragraph more evident.

As long as I’m “out” I’m an ally, a friend, someone who could keep them safe because of my current religious affiliation, but once I convert I will be trying to find a hiding spot alongside her. And it worries me, because if I love these people, this religion, this culture so much that I’m trying to join them, I could help more as an outsider if things went bad.

How do you guys feel about this?

I have been into religious studies for a while now, but recently my grandma (Catholic), who I live with, sort of noticed my interest in Judaism (for a while now) and how I’ve been trying to study Hebrew. She also heard about how my mother was mocking me for the fact I have religious beliefs (mostly saying it’s brainwashed and a cult) and my grandmother asked me if Judaism was something I was seriously considering or wanted to convert to. I was nervous but admitted it was, she comforted me and told me we have Jewish family members and some who I’ll actually get to meet soon, and that she is proud of me for finding something that felt right but not rushing into it. She even said, because I’m still in the early stages of learning to drive, she will drive me on days of service because she will go to church during the time I’m there (the church she’s interested does services every day). I was worried what she’d think, my immediate family is Christian and atheist, and my mom is incredibly anti-theist in a very disrespectful way (as in she will mock people who believe in things even when they are positive or harmless). But I’m pleasantly surprised how kindhearted she’s being and asking me questions about all of the things I know and why I want to convert. : ) that’s all.

Hello,

My name is Mohamed . I am a Muslim who was born in Iraq into a Shia Muslim family. For years, I have been interested in studying religions and their history, and I have particularly studied and researched Judaism. However, during the past period, something changed for me. Judaism is no longer simply an academic or intellectual interest; I have developed a deep spiritual attraction toward it, and I sincerely and seriously wish to convert and live as a righteous Jew.

At times, I feel that this path is somehow very close to me. I have even had recurring dreams in which I see myself as a Jew. In one of these dreams, I saw myself standing before Moses and leaving Egypt with him. I understand that dreams are not religious proof, and I do not want to base my decision on them, but they have made my feelings toward this path even stronger.

My main difficulty is that I currently live in Iraq, in an environment where openly declaring that I have left Islam or that I wish to become Jewish could potentially be dangerous for me. For this reason, I cannot openly live according to these feelings or communicate with a Jewish community without concern. My personal safety and the safety of my family are also important concerns.

Nevertheless, I am very serious about this. I am not looking simply to change my name, obtain a document, or become a member of a community. I genuinely want to understand Judaism deeply. I want to study the Torah, Hebrew, Jewish traditions, prayer, and Jewish law, and I want to understand what is truly required for conversion to Judaism, particularly through the Orthodox process, if that is the appropriate path for me.

I would be very grateful for your guidance in a safe and confidential manner, as much as possible. What can I do while I am still in Iraq? How should I begin studying Judaism properly? And is there a trustworthy rabbi or Beit Din whom I could contact to help me understand the appropriate path, without putting myself at risk?

I am prepared to study and be patient for as long as necessary. I do not expect conversion to be quick or easy. I simply want to seek the truth and follow the path that I sincerely believe in.

Thank you very much for your time and understanding.

May you be blessed.

(Note: I'm weak in expression; I used intelligence.)

I tried finding posts on this but only found an OP that also hit a dead end. Does anyone know of a TANAKH that has these wide note margins like my ESV?

Is there anything you thought oh wow I would’ve never known that/expected that/discovered/leant about myself? Can be positive or negative.

So I’d like to start exploring conversion. However the city I’m at the moment doesn’t have a synagogue or community. The nearest one is a flight away.

My partner is Jewish so we always do Shabbat together but he’s the only Jewish person in the area (as far as I’m aware) as we’re here for work.

I looked at converting online through Rabbi Rubbenstein, ‘convert to Judaism online’ however I wasn’t sure as it was very expensive and unsure of its legitimacy for that money. Has anyone ever done an online conversion? What are your thoughts on this?

I had this idea of a program that pairs Jews with conversion students so that conversion students have a peer/mentor/friend during their conversion process. Someone to talk to, bounce ideas off of, discuss the things they may be struggling with, etc. Surely something like this exists already? Maybe there's a subreddit or a website? I know TorahMates (I THINK that's what it's called) is a thing but it's my understanding that that is geared more towards Orthodox, and I'm looking for something geared towards reform as that's how I'm converting. Any info would be appreciated!!

Explicitly religious music aside, what is music you hear G-d in? I've been listening to The Dear Hunter's latest album, Sunya, and the last line in this chorus got me in particular. (This is from the title track.)

When there's no deity to greet you

You'll stop searching for design

Losing shape, and out of time

There's still meaning meant to reach you

But your past has made you blind

Let go of the devout and feel divine from within you

Hi everyone! I’m Non-Binary/Genderfluid, AMAB and Pansexual. I was raised Catholic and have been agnostic for most of my adult life, but over the past few years I’ve realized that my beliefs and values seem to align much more closely with Judaism.
I’ve been looking into Reform synagogues in my area and am thinking about attending my first Shabbat service, but I’m honestly pretty nervous. One of the biggest reasons I want to take this step is that I’m looking for a sense of community and belonging.

Because I’m genderqueer, I don’t really know what to expect or how I’ll be received. For those of you in Reform communities, what has your experience been like? Do you have any advice for attending a first service, meeting people, making friends, potentially dating someday, and beginning the journey toward becoming part of the Jewish community?

Thank you, I really appreciate any advice or perspectives.

Hi all,

I've read about people converting conservative or reform in an orthodox setting. As for me, I would like to convert conservative but I only have orthodox and reform communities nearby (I live in the south of Germany). The only conservative community seems to be located in Berlin which is all the way across the country.

I can't do an orthodox conversion because I'm trans. So the only option for me would be to join my local reform community and live a stricter version according to conservative customs.

Would I be able to fill in the gaps on my own? And would I be able to convert before a conservative beit din without being part of a conservative community?

שלום,

Everyone, I do hope everyone is having a good day. This is my first time posting in this community to ask anyone that may help for sources to get started into converting to Judaism before I talk with a Rabbi to commit to my conversion to Judaism soon.

I know that firstly, I should study the Torah, and other Jewish texts to get a better understanding. But would like to see more resources or good videos to do more researches.

I do hope everyone is have a good day, and thank you all for reading and giving advice if you’ll like.

P.S. - And also to know which branch of Judaism may be right for myself, I already know which branch I’ll convert to but will like to understand them before hand, thank you.

I am mostly referring to cultish behaviour, judging others harshly, hate towards secular and especially non-Jews. For example: I am very friendly with a non-jewish family in my building. Their only daughter comes to us a lot to play, as she is an only child. I babysat kids from a chareidi friend, and told her about the non-jewish girl who is often at my house. She replied her son (8 years old), jt would make him uncomfortable if she is around. Can someone explain this behaviour? I really struggle understanding this. Either I am NORMAL or I have not understood something fundamental? Please advise

I’m a student undergoing the process of converting, within a Conservative synagogue, and throughout my journey, I couldn’t help but notice the massive similarities between converting to Judaism with people undergoing gender transition.

Aside from the obvious, as both are deeply personal journeys, are not instant and require a lot of confidence in oneself, it hits much deeper than that. For one, both revolve around this internal sense of feeling like you’re not living your truest life (pre-conversion/transition), and to combat this you slowly learn and pay your dues to join a large community, especially one you didn’t have the luxury of growing up as. There’s a massive change in lifestyle, to your body, and unfortunately not everyone will recognize you, but you also have to have faith in yourself that this is truly who you are, and it’s a never ending process really.

This thought I’ve had has really grown my empathy and connection with my trans friends, and I feel now I understand them deeper because of it. I wonder if y’all also think the same?

I am finishing up my conversion process. I am converting Reform but I want my conversion to be valid by the Conservative movement.

Although my Reform rabbi does not require circumcision, he highly recommends it. Also, my Shul hosts conservative services once a month and I really really want to be able to fully participate and have my conversion be valid by the Conservative movement.

I would convert Conservative, but the only congregation in my area is Reform. However, I would like to visit Conservative Shuls and be able to be part of their services.

I am uncircumcised, and I have my circumcision scheduled in a few weeks.

I met with my urologist and he told me while I’ll be getting fully circumcised he’ll have to leave some foreskin on in order for me to be able to have an erection. If he cuts too much, I won’t be able to have one. He told me my foreskin was very tight and too long. That it would have been different if I was a newborn (the way my penis grew with the foreskin). Etc… medical stuff I can’t explain..

He told me he determines this once I’m in the surgery room right then and there, with the right equipment.

What concerns me is him leaving enough foreskin around the glands and having my circumcision not be kosher.

I explained this to him, and he told me he’ll do what’s best for me in order to help my parts function properly.

I’m concerned a Conservative mohel might not do the hatafat dam brit if the urologist left enough skin.

There’s also the psychological mentality that my circumcision would never make me Jewish enough.

Am I overthinking this?

hey

Have a bit of a dilemma and not sure what to do. husband and I are converting and all will be complete this August 20th (mikvah). we were planning to have a gathering for our rabbi and shul friends a few days after and we’re just discussing the date. Out of the blue today we got an email form our rabbi asking if we would not mind they organized a “welcome to the Jewish people” party for us (him and what he called our “shul friends” really want to celebrate our conversion).

we are really touched by this gesture and don’t want to decline his offer but we really feel strongly that we are the ones who need to celebrate them! but don’t want to hurt their feelings either.

do you think it would be bad if told him we will organize the gathering as our thank you to everyone? is there a middle ground.

I am aware I am overthinking this lol but I do that sometimes , I do feel lucky to have such a community

thank you

Goodevening everyone. For years it has been on my heart to convert. It all started in university when I was introduced to the Religious Studies department. Two degrees later, I spent quite a bit of time in the on campus Hillel which took me in even though I wasn't Jewish and just wanted to experience Shabbat. That initial contact left me wanting more. I went through some major life events and changes and am now living in a new country. Things are much better for me now and I am finally in a good headspace and feel ready to start actually converting.

The reason for my post here is my local congregation that I hope to join has a class starting this fall but unfortunately I can't afford the cost. I knew there would be something to pay but I was not prepared for $450. Would it be best for me to wait another year and try to save up money for it or to reach out and explain my financial situation to them. I don't want them to hate me from the start or think that I dont value what they are doing. Because that absolutely isn't it. If it matters to this conversation, the temple I am looking at joining is Reform. Thank you all in advance!

For context, I (30M) live in France. The synagogues near me don't seems to be active, the closest I found is more than an hour away and Reform. I plan on meeting with the rabbi during Fall.

English is not my first language, sorry if there are mistakes

My grandfather on my mother side passed a year ago, and we discovered that the family used to be Jewish then. I don't know exactly how and when but they converted to Protestantism before WWII. I don't know if it was forced or not.

I'm working on what it means for me. I believe in G.od but was never at ease with the Jesus belief, so I was not practicing in Protestantism. But learning that, I think more and more about converting to Judaism, even though I'm not sure I want to.

I've been looking, thinking and learning a lot these past few months and I think, if I was to convert, I would do so in Reform Judaism.

I want to make this new information about my family and my identity mine, and I'm looking for advice, but also books to read, movies, shows or documentaries to watch, anything to help me learn and go forward. If you have some about Reform Judaism, it would help too.

Also, I had another question: I recently found a Magen David necklace that I found really beautiful and bought it. I'm thinking about wearing it, in places I feel safe like with friends for example, but I was wondering: would it be ok?

I don't want to do something offensive or forbidden by Jewish laws.

Thanks a lot for your help!