Converting to Judaism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed that Judaism is the only Abrahamic faith that doesn't proselytize. I think that's cool. Why is it that Judaism doesn't proselytize though?

Because Jews are not a "faith" they are a people. In fact a family. The descendants of Abraham. To whom (according to traditional Judaism) God gave a particular set of laws to follow. So they are obligated to keep those laws, and others are not (non Jews are instead obligated to follow the commandments given to Noah, the father of all mankind). But (again traditionally ) some people have souls that are part of the Jewish people, but got born into the wrong bodies. Conversion is for them. You know if you are one of them by the way Judaism appeals to you.

Note, historically, Jews did sometimes proselytize. But this was banned by Christian and Muslim authorities, and Jews internalized this. A few years ago a leader of the Reform movement called for Jews to proselytize again, but that was controversial, even within Reform.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Can non-Jewish people attend services?

Yes, all are welcome at services (including Orthodox services) Synagogues other than Reform will have limits on how much a non-Jew can participate in parts of the service - but as a curious visitor that won't impact you. It becomes an issue for intermarried people wanting to participate in life cycle rituals. You should be fine responding "amen" along with the congregation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think at most congregations (or nearly all non-Orthodox congregations) no one would mind if you attended quietly. Some congregations make a point in welcoming people so you can tell them you are just visiting. Also there will be kippas/yarmulkes outside the main sanctuary and at least men should wear one to cover their head.

The expectation that non Jewish visitors should cover their heads is a silly one, as there is no halachic requirement for them to do so, but its almost universal custom by now, so yeah.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed that Judaism is the only Abrahamic faith that doesn't proselytize. I think that's cool. Why is it that Judaism doesn't proselytize though?

Because Jews are not a "faith" they are a people. In fact a family. The descendants of Abraham. To whom (according to traditional Judaism) God gave a particular set of laws to follow. So they are obligated to keep those laws, and others are not (non Jews are instead obligated to follow the commandments given to Noah, the father of all mankind). But (again traditionally ) some people have souls that are part of the Jewish people, but got born into the wrong bodies. Conversion is for them. You know if you are one of them by the way Judaism appeals to you.

Note, historically, Jews did sometimes proselytize. But this was banned by Christian and Muslim authorities, and Jews internalized this. A few years ago a leader of the Reform movement called for Jews to proselytize again, but that was controversial, even within Reform.

Jews have also been subjected to a lot of proselytizing and even forced conversions over the centuries, which leaves a bad taste about proselytizing.

Some sects do proselytize to other Jews -- to get them to become stricter.

[Anonymous]

I converted Orthodox with absolutely no Jewish background or ancestry and have never had any issue being accepted as fully Jewish. For the Orthodox, what matters is that you went through a process supervised by accepted Orthodox rabbis and that you keep the mitzvos as required by the Torah, not what you were 20 years ago. It is actually totally forbidden to remind a convert of their non-Jewish past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Can non-Jewish people attend services?

Sure. You may not understand a lot of it, depending on how much is conducted in Hebrew, but they aren't checking your jew card at the temple doors or anything. Just stand when everyone stands, and sit when everyone sits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Can non-Jewish people attend services?

Sure. You may not understand a lot of it, depending on how much is conducted in Hebrew, but they aren't checking your jew card at the temple doors or anything. Just stand when everyone stands, and sit when everyone sits.

except of course in my shul we don't all have the same custom for standing/sitting during the readers kaddish. Most sit, but some have a family minhag to stand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed that Judaism is the only Abrahamic faith that doesn't proselytize. I think that's cool. Why is it that Judaism doesn't proselytize though?

Because Jews are not a "faith" they are a people. In fact a family. The descendants of Abraham. To whom (according to traditional Judaism) God gave a particular set of laws to follow. So they are obligated to keep those laws, and others are not (non Jews are instead obligated to follow the commandments given to Noah, the father of all mankind). But (again traditionally ) some people have souls that are part of the Jewish people, but got born into the wrong bodies. Conversion is for them. You know if you are one of them by the way Judaism appeals to you.

Note, historically, Jews did sometimes proselytize. But this was banned by Christian and Muslim authorities, and Jews internalized this. A few years ago a leader of the Reform movement called for Jews to proselytize again, but that was controversial, even within Reform.

Does the bolded mean that Jews believe in reincarnation?

[Anonymous]

I converted to Judaism with a Reform rabbi after I married.
I took classes at the JCC and through other groups for several years before I made the decision.
(Side note: our rabbi told me my conversion certificate might not be valid in Israel. That's ok, not planning to move there.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed that Judaism is the only Abrahamic faith that doesn't proselytize. I think that's cool. Why is it that Judaism doesn't proselytize though?

Because Jews are not a "faith" they are a people. In fact a family. The descendants of Abraham. To whom (according to traditional Judaism) God gave a particular set of laws to follow. So they are obligated to keep those laws, and others are not (non Jews are instead obligated to follow the commandments given to Noah, the father of all mankind). But (again traditionally ) some people have souls that are part of the Jewish people, but got born into the wrong bodies. Conversion is for them. You know if you are one of them by the way Judaism appeals to you.

Note, historically, Jews did sometimes proselytize. But this was banned by Christian and Muslim authorities, and Jews internalized this. A few years ago a leader of the Reform movement called for Jews to proselytize again, but that was controversial, even within Reform.

Does the bolded mean that Jews believe in reincarnation?

Jews believed in reincarnation during the time of Alexander the Great, but no longer discuss the issue.

[Anonymous]

I am the son of a Jewish father and a Protestant mother. We attended a Reform synagogue. At that time, Reform still held to the belief that one must have a Jewish mother to be Jewish, but our congregation accepted me anyways. Reform has since changed its rules about this and it remains a hotly debated issue among the Conservatives. When I went to college, many would not accept me as Jewish, so I converted under Orthodox auspices. They had to draw blood from my already circumcised penis, and I had to dunk myself in the Mikveh of Manhattan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've noticed that Judaism is the only Abrahamic faith that doesn't proselytize. I think that's cool. Why is it that Judaism doesn't proselytize though?

There are probably a lot of reasons for this but a big one is that Jews were persecuted for centuries and proselytizing would have been asking for trouble. Jews were just hoping for live and let live.

An Orthodox temple will accept converts (assuming you are sincere) (although they may not accept conversion performed by a non-Orthodox rabbi).

There are no Orthodox "temples." A temple is a holy place. There have only been three Orthodox temples, the first and the second temples in Jerusalem and the temple in Elephantine. The Reform reject this idea and say that any building devoted to Jewish prayer is a temple.

[Anonymous]

Traditionally, if someone wanted to convert, the rabbi was supposed to shut the door in the person's face three times. Many Orthodox rabbis still do this but it's only for show. The potential convert is told about it before hand.

[Anonymous]

The Orthodox don't recognize Reform or Conservative conversions so Israel will not accept one converted by a Reform or Conservative rabbi to be eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Orthodox don't recognize Reform or Conservative conversions so Israel will not accept one converted by a Reform or Conservative rabbi to be eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.

I don't think this is true. The Law of Return is based on the Nuremberg Laws of the Nazis, not on halacha. Basically the goal was to give a place of refuge to those who might be persecuted for a Jewish affiliation. So as of right now (there is a proposal to change it to what you say), it includes non-Jewish spouses, Reform converts, etc. So they would be allowed by the Interior Ministry to move to Israel and get Israeli citizenship. However, they would not be recognized as Jews by the Rabbanut, which controls marriage and divorce.