need advice from Jewish people please. I plan to convert to Judaism from christianity, I am engaged to be?

Question

married to a reformed jewish man, this will be my second marriage and his third. He is much older than I am and we do not intend to have any children. He has 3 grown children from his first marriage, first wife converted to Judaism b/c back then he did not believe in inter faith marriags, they had five children and raised them all Jewish, four are married only three to Jewish spouses. His second mariage he did not plan to have kids so conversion was not as big of an issue, but she did become pregnant and their daughter is not being raised Jewish which upsets him. We DEFINATELY WILL NOT HAVE KIDS, BOTH UNABLE TO. He has not aske dme to convert but I have chosen to do so on my own. I was raised in an inter faith family, my father is jewish, orthodox, my mom christian but not religious at all, we have nine children none of whom are jewish. As a child I attended hebrew schoool and Sunday School but it never went any further than that. I have always felt strongly about the Jewish faith no

I have always felt stongly about the jewish faith and i want to convert not only for the man i love but becasue after years of independent studies I feel that it is my religion, my culture and heritage. I love the strong sense of morals and family committment and community and family involvement, I relsih the jewish prayers and the celebrations of the holy days and of weddings, and i hold dear the sanctity of how the jewish faith pull together , how they respect the Torrah, how the customs and tradistiosn are always followed. I want to teach my children this way of life and of course give them the freedom to choose , I may not have been literally born a jew b/c of my mother's religion but i feel honored to be able to have chosen judasim MY PROBLEM, HOW DO I BEGIN THE CONVERSION PROCESS. THERE ARE NO RABBIS IN MY SMALL SOUTHERN BAPTIST COMMUNITY . Is there an on-line course I can take. I would appreciate any avice anyone can offer

Answer 1

I converted to Judaism and I also wrote a doctoral dissertation on the conversion process. I interviewed 10 people who had converted and looked at their stories from the viewpoint of family dynamics, identity formation, and adult psychological developmental stages. I proposed a six-step process that the people who converted all seemed to have in common. A copy can be purchased from http://wwwlib.umi.com/dxweb/ ("Souls in Transition" - # 3022458) or borrowed from the Ohio State University libraries (if you are anywhere near Columbus, Ohio). Or you could write to me at [e-mail]

Answer 2

It is customary for many reasons to discourage potential converts. Being a Jew isn't a matter of signing up to a program and then hanging out at the synagogue Friday nights and Saturday mornings. Also, many Jews will not recognize a Reform conversion. So, for example, if you converted reform and later met a Jewish women and wanted to marry her it is entirely possible her family, community, etc. will not have much, if any, regard for your Reform conversion. Second, there is definitely no conversion through an online website, I really hope you are joking about that. If anyone tells you otherwise they are lying. Note: disregard what Ben said above about conversion never being allowed prior to reform. That is definitely not true. There is abundant mention of conversion in the Torah, Talmud and also by Maimonides and even the Shulchan Aruch. Any valid conversion process will likely take years. This isn't something you try out like a new sport or hobby and decide you don't like it later.

Answer 3

As your father's background was Orthodox, you likely know that a Reform conversion would not be recognized by the Torah. As someone else answered, Reform standards are lax. That's because their standards are made by concensus and come from Man, while the Torah and Mitzvos come from G-d Who needs no help from anyone to get things right.

If you truly want to convert, you should seek out a competent Orthodox Rabbi (you can try www.chabad.org or www.ou.org to find someone close to you) and commit to learning the laws and keeping them. If you are able to influence your husband to become more observant as well, you will have a life of bliss and happiness, and the rest of your life will be lived with purpose and meaning.

Answer 4

The previous answer is not correct as far as I know. A couple of things: if he is a Reform Jew, and is still in the Reform movement, you are considered Jewish since your father was Jewish. Otherwise you will have to convert. The easiest thing to do is to go to your fiance's synagogue and speak to the rabbi there. He or she will be very glad to help you. The process involves study and learning but, owing to your background, it may not take as long as usual. Good luck!

Answer 5

There are no online conversion classes, but you can contact the nearest reform temple. The reform are very lax, and will convert you instantly. It should not take more than a day or a week.
A reform rabbi would have no objection marrying you and your fiance even if you have not converted.

Answer 6

Formally changing ones religious beliefs for any reason is a serious decision. Seek the advice of a rabbi. Perhaps your finance's rabbi could provide you with the appropriate religious counseling.

Good Luck and Mazel-Tov.

Answer 7

You don't have to convert. I don't know if my aunt did (Lutheran marrying...unknown variety of Jew) but she just never got much respect from her in-law sisters (don't know if she had brothers in law, they probably didn't care). Judaic tradition dictates that a man convert to his wife's religion.