Orthodox Conversions

Many people come to Israel and many people want to stay. For the most part you must be Jewish to live permanently in Israel, which leads me to the topic of conversions. There are many people trying to convert for as many reasons. Some wish to marry a Jew, or feel they should be living in Israel for one reason for another, others read the story of Ruth and dream of finding their "Boaz", and then there are those who believe Judaism is the only truth.

Mikvah for Immersion

Whatever the reasons, the process seems to have become a nightmarish experience. The news often carries articles on the problems

The internet is full of sites that have "conversion stories" but as with everything on the net you must be careful. The state of Israel has very strict laws, and the conversion process is carefully governed. In this current year alone there have been and continue to be changes in the requirements. It is important that anyone considering this life-altering process do you with full knowledge. Any other approach will ultimately lead to extreme stress, frustration, and most likely a negative view of the very goal you wish to achieve.

Over the next period of time I will be looking at the topic of conversions from the point of view of converts who have succeeded, failed, and are currently in the process of trying to convert. As I am in Jerusalem, the case histories will of course be primarily from people who have tried to convert here, in Israel.

First of all one must consider--who, or what is a Jew by definition? A Jew is any person whose mother is a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism. If your father was Jewish it may give weight to your case, but unfortunately Jewishness is passed through the mother only.

To understand this clearly you should read the article at this link:
http://www.jewfaq.org/whoisjew.htm

Another good site to visit for information is Machon ITIM, The Jewish Life Information Center--as their home page states:

ITIM: The Jewish Life Information Center, is an independent, non-profit organization, dedicated to making Jewish life accessible to all.

http://www.itim.org.il/bin/en.jsp?enPage=HomePage_E

I strongly suggest that anyone interested in conversions should start with the above sites. Next post I will share some stories from people who have gone through (or tried to) the conversion process in Israel.