Conversion
Judaism has a long history of accepting the ger – the stranger – beginning with Ruth and her famous quote:
For wherever you go, I will go; … your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
We are reminded that we were all once Jews by Choice, that at the foot of Mt. Sinai the Israelites ‘chose’ to accept the Torah and all that came with it.
We welcome anyone who would like to pursue the path to becoming a Jew by Choice. Conversion typically involves a year long process of study, followed by a ritual purification in a moving body of water, a mikvah; and apperaing before a ritual court, a Bet Din. (For men, circumcision is optional in Reform Judaism, and should be discussed with the rabbi.)
A fully ordained rabbi must supervise your study and sit on the Bet Din to make your conversion official and therefore accepted in other congregations.
At TBI we accept converts as being as Jewish as those of us who were Jews by birth. Quite often Jews by choice are some of our more active members!
For more general information please check out the links below.
Why Should You Convert in the Reform Stream?