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Home > Learning > Adult Education > Conversion

Conversion

Conversion to Judaism

We at Congregation Beth Israel, and within the Reform Movement, welcome and support those who choose to explore Judaism. "Jews by Choice" are a gift to our people and to our community. 

While each person’s path into Jewish life is unique, there are some shared questions and experiences.  We hope to help you find answers to your questions. Read more about conversion in the Reform Jewish Community.

If you are considering conversion to Judaism…

We encourage you to schedule a meeting with a Rabbi!
Please reach out to Carrie Barrera in the Clergy Office to schedule an appointment.

Primary Texts for Conversion and General Jewish Knowledge

(with thanks to Rabbis Simone Schicker and Lori Levine)

  1. Honoring Tradition, Embracing Modernity: A Reader for the Union for Reform Judaism’s Introduction to Judaism Course
  2. Living a Jewish Life: Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today's Families by Anita Diamant. Revised and Updated Edition. Harper Collins, 2007.
  3. Choosing Judaism by Kukoff, Lydia. URJ Press, 2005
  4. Mishkan T’filah: A Reform Siddur. CCAR Press, 2007.
  5. Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Customs and Rituals by Robinson, George. Atria Paperback, 2016.
  6. The Jewish Home: A Guide for Jewish Living by Syme, Daniel B. Behrman House, 2017
  7. A Day Apart: Shabbat at Home by Zion/Fields---Meyer. Shalom Hartman Institute, 2004
  8. The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford Uni. Press, 2004.
  9. The JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (also great if you want the Hebrew text)
  10. Choosing a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant
  11. Becoming Jewish: The Challenges, Rewards, and Paths to Conversion by Steven Carr Reuben
  12. Conversion to Judaism: A Guidebook by Lawrence Epstein
  13. Your People, My People by Lena Romanoff
  14. Being a Jew by Maurice Lamm
  15. Embracing the Covenant: Converts of Judaism Talk About Why & How by Allan L. Berkowitz and Patti Moskovitz, eds.
  16. The Book of Jewish Values by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
  17. Lights in the Forest (CCAR Press)
  18. What is a Jew? By Lawrence A. Hoffman
  19. Why be Jewish? by David Wolpe
  20. Are We There Yet? By Shefa Gold

Additional Books for Your Jewish Library

  1. Lights in the Forest: Rabbis Respond to Twelve Essential Jewish Questions by Paul Citrin, ed. New York: CCAR Press, 2014. Also available in a PDF electronic version. An anthology of essays written by a wide cross-section of progressive rabbis, responding to a range of theological and philosophical questions.
  2. The Fragile Dialogue: New Voices of Liberal Zionism by Stanley M Davids and Lawrence A. Englander, eds. New York: CCAR Press, 2018. This book wrestles with and attempts to frame the very fragile dialogue surrounding Zionism and Israel in the 21st century Progressive Jewish community and offers a multiplicity of views.
  3. Mishkan Ga’avah, Where Pride Dwells by Rabbi Denise Eger, NY: CCAR Press. A celebration of LGBTQ Jewish Life and Ritual.
  4. The Torah: A Women’s’ Commentary by Tamara Cohn Eskanazi and Andrew L. Weiss, eds. New York: CCAR Press, 2008. A groundbreaking volume, with downloadable companion study guides also available.
  5. Honest Answers to Your Child’s Jewish Questions by Sharon Forman, URJ Press, 2006. (out-of-print but available through online used booksellers). Suggested responses for when your young child asks questions like, “What does God look like?” or “Why am I Jewish?”
  6. Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn by Daniel Gordis, Ecco/HarperCollins, 2016. A comprehensive yet accessible history of the state of Israel from its inception to present day.
  7. Judaism’s Ten Best Ideas: A Brief Guide for Seekers by Arthur Green, Jewish Lights Publishing, 2014. A collection of short essays on topics like Joy, Repairing the World, Getting off the Treadmill, and more.
  8. Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life--in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There) by Sarah Hurwitz, Spiegel and Grau, 2019. Amazing memoir by Michelle Obama’s speechwriter about her journey to rediscover Judaism and make new connections.
  9. The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel, Farrar Straus Giroux, 1951. A classic work; republished many times.
  10. Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts by Barry Holtz, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992. Essays analyze the major traditional texts of Judaism from literary, historical, philosophical, and religious points of view.
  11. Like Dreamers by Yossi Kelin-Halevi, New York: Harpers, 2013. Traces the history of Israel and the divergent ideologies shaping it from the Six-Day War in 1967 to the present.
  12. Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor by Yossi Kelin-Halevi New York: HarperCollins, 2018. A heart-felt and beautifully written exploration of Israeli identity and Jewish peoplehood.
  13. Mishkan Moeid: A Guide to the Jewish Seasons, by Peter Knobel, ed, New York: CCAR Press, 2013. Also available in a PDF electronic version. A survey of the sacred days of the Jewish yearly cycle.
     
  1. Navigating the Journey: The Essential Guide to the Jewish Life Cycle by Peter Knobel, ed New York: CCAR Press, 2018. An introduction to the Jewish life cycle.
  2. The Story of the Jews: A 4,000-Year Adventure―A Graphic History Book by Stan Mack, Jewish Lights, 2001. A pictorial journey through the millennia of ups and downs faced by the Jewish people.
  3. The Complete How-to Handbook for Jewish Living by Kerry M. Olitzky and Ronald H. Isaacs, Ktav Publishing, 2004. How to practice Jewish rituals, presented in a step-by-step format.
  4. Moral Resistance and Spiritual Authority: Our Jewish Obligation to Social Justice by Seth Limmer and Jonah Dov Pesner, New York: CCAR Press, 2018.
  5. Voices of Torah: A Treasury of Rabbinic Gleanings on the Weekly Portions, Holidays and Special Shabbatot by Hara Person, ed. New York: CCAR Press, 2012. Also available in a PDF. electronic version. Multiple perspectives on every Torah portion, written by Reform rabbis.
  6. The Torah: A Modern Commentary by Gunther W. Plaut, ed. Revised Edition, New York: CCAR Press, 2005. Available as an e-book. Updated edition of North America’s most popular Torah commentary.
  7. My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew by Abigail Pogrebin, Fig Tree Books LLC, 2017. Jewish holidays through the eyes of a wondering Jew, with brief reflections from prominent rabbis and Jewish thinkers.
  8. Divrei Mishkan T’filah: Delving into the Siddur by Richard Sarason, New York; CCAR Press, 2018. Essays on the liturgy of the Reform prayer book. Also available as an e-book.
  9. Gates of Shabbat, A Guide for Observing Shabbat by Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro, ed. 25th anniversary edition, CCAR Press, 2016. A practical and inspiring volume for a liberal approach to Shabbat observance. Please check that you are purchasing the latest edition.
  10. Finding God: Selected Responses by Rifat Sonsino and Daniel Syme, Revised edition. Behrman House, 2002. Essays on significant Jewish thinkers’ responses to the questions: Is there more than one way to perceive of God? How can we know God? What does God “want” from us? Please check that you are purchasing the latest edition.
  11. As a Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberg, Behrman House, 1939. A classic novel republished many times. Tells the tale of renegade Talmudic sage Elisha ben Abuyah’s struggle to reconcile his faith with the allure of Hellenistic culture.
  12. A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice by Michael Strassfeld Jewish Lights, 2006. Traditional Jewish teachings presented as a guide to behavior and values for all the cycles of life.
  13. Jewish Literacy by Joseph Telushkin, Revised edition: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History. William Morrow, 2008. Helps answer the question of what it means to be a Jew, in the largest sense.
  14. Jewish Living: Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice by Mark Washofsky, revised. URJ Press, 2010. The definitive guide for Reform Jewish practice.
  15. Night: A Memoir by Elie Wiesel, New York: Hill & Wang, 1960. A memoir of the author’s experiences during the Holocaust. Republished many times. Available as an audio book and in many languages.

Documentary Films

  1. Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000). 2 h 2 min. Documentary. The Kindertransport rescued over 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia by bringing them to England. Includes extensive interviews of those children and their families.
  2. The Last Laugh (2016). 1 h 28 min, Documentary. World famous comedians explore whether jokes about the Holocaust can ever be funny.
  3. Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII (2002). 1 h 30 min. Documentary. Interviews with people who risked their lives to hide Jewish children during the Holocaust, the children, and their family members.

Podcasts of Jewish Interest

Whether you tune-in during your morning commute, during your workout, or while prepping dinner, here are six podcasts of Jewish interest we hope you’ll enjoy. We’ve carefully selected these out of hundreds of options because we think they’ll be of interest to people who are new to Judaism, Jewish community, or Jewish learning.

  1. On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, offers something to think about from the weekly Torah portion, in ten minutes or less.
  2. Stories We Tell. Each episode gives you a new story from Jewish tradition to reflect on and discuss with the people in your life.
  3. Unorthodox. A smart, fresh, fun take on Jewish news and culture, each weekly episode includes a friend from another faith or cultural background with a question they’ve always wanted to ask about some aspect of Judaism.
  4. Israel Story. Modeled after This American Life, Israel Story brilliantly shares everyday stories, told by and about regular Israelis.
  5. Streetwise Hebrew. A bite-size podcast that discusses Modern Hebrew language gems. From slang to etymology, textual graffiti, Biblical idioms that are still around, influences from other languages, and other linguistic phenomena – host Guy Sharett shows us what we can learn about the Israeli psyche, society, and culture through its language.
  6. The Kibitz. A monthly podcast on everything Jewish-ish. Part conversation, part Q & A, part audience call-in, this podcast is about asking interesting questions, some big, many little and exploring all you’ve ever wanted to know about Judaism through a cultural and of course funny lens. “Kibitz” is a Yiddish word that means “to chat.”
  7. Tent Weavers
  8. Judaism Unbound
  9. Wholly Jewish
Tue, July 29 2025 4 Av 5785