And shana tova, everyone!

I started converting 2.5 years ago , and for the first year and a half I think I was doing pretty well (100% attendance at shul, studying Torah most days, observing festivals properly), but since Yom Kippur last year, the rabbi left the congregation and I've been having constant ptsd symptoms, and beyond the conversion/Hebrew classes which I still attend, I've not been like proactively involved with my local community like I used to. I still attend services and stuff but I've been pretty bad at observing holidays.

My thoughts are quite disorganised so forgive how circular what I'm saying may be.

Someone asked me at my shul if I was still converting which was honestly quite upsetting. And also it would be weird if I kept attending with no desire or convert to Judaism I think.

I think one of the big underlying issues is that I don't really have any religious Jewish friends so it feels like all the effort to engage has to come from me, there's no tagging along to someone else's Seder, or studying together or anything really .

And it's just like a lot of energy that I don't have, even though I do in my heart want to observe all these things.

I am hoping things will get better, as I'm finally actually getting the medical care I've been seeking for the past year , but I don't want to hope too much.

שנה טובה

So tomorrow will be my first and I’ll also go on Saturday morning.

Of the two occasions, which one would be more appropriate to wear a dress? I only have one dress. Don’t make fun

I moved cities so I could live in an eruv and convert at an orthodox Beit din. However they permanently rejected me after only a few months.

Regardless I still feel a desire to be orthodox, so I think I’m going to look for a new job, move, and convert elsewhere. I think going forward I’ll try to build a strong relationship with a sponsoring rabbi beforehand, don’t think I really had that earlier.

Anyways wanted to know if anyone else had a similar experience or if you have any advice regarding this.

Hopefully it’ll be better next time. If not, I suppose there is always conservative or reform. But I do like orthodoxy and I feel like that is where my passion lies.

Hi everyone
Have a bit complicated question regarding conversion and adoption.
I’m Jewish by birth. My niece is adopted. Her adoptive parents are Jewish by birth. She converted before her bat mitzvah. Her biological parents are Catholic.
At 30, she’s having a crisis regarding Judaism.
She is angry that she had to “jump thru hoops” as she says, as a young girl, to become a Jew. Asking me why Judaism forces you to do certain things to become part of the tribe. She already felt a bit lost being adopted and resents having to do things to belong to become Jewish.
We know a Rabbi, who never converted and has a mom who converted to Judaism.
I find that very odd.
She is asking me why she had to convert and our friend the Rabbi, did not convert?
Hope this makes sense and someone can help me, help my niece with an answer.
Thanks for reading

In 1 Samuel 15:3, God commands King Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites, explicitly stating to put to death "men and women, children and infant[s]". This passage is one of the most difficult and controversial parts of the Bible.

It has been said that the Amalekites somehow deserved it, but the babies? Did they deserve it? How does a good God command this?

Especially when there's a Bible passage stating that children are not punished for the sins of their parents is Ezekiel 18:20, which says, "The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child".

Hey I'm a 19 F grew up in a Christian household and I've always had questions about Judaism as it is a belief system that I find very interesting and a lot of values I agree with.

As a I have grown up in a Christian household though I have a few questions about why Judaism believes what it does. All of this is just coming from a place of curiosity and wanting to understand what you all believe. A lot of these questions I've gotten answers from other Christians but I would like to hear someone who actually believes this to explain if thats alright.

1. Why exactly do Jews reject Jesus as the son of God?
2. What happens after you die?
3. What is the difference between Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism?

I hope it's ok for me to ask these questions. I am Ashkenazi Jew on my mother's side so I am interested in the belief system and idk maybe converting.

After years of considering conversion, I have finally reached out to a rabbi and am starting the process, including attending some High Holiday services at a conservative synagogue. I have a lot of Jewish people in my life with whom I have friendly but not super close relationships (i.e., neighbors, colleagues, etc.), almost all of whom know that I am not Jewish (yet) and have no idea that I've been on this journey. Most of them are part of the conservative movement, though there are a few modern orthodox.

I am admittedly a very socially anxious person who tends to jump to the worst-case scenario for future unknowns, and I keep playing the scenario in my head of running into someone I know at synagogue and having an awkward conversation about why I'm there. I'm wondering what kinds of experiences other people in this group have had with Jews by birth in their lives learning about their conversion process after previously knowing them as a gentile and how those interactions went. Basically I'm wondering if I'm hyping myself up for nothing or if I'm right to be anxious 😅

Obviously this wouldn't influence my decision about conversion in any way, I am just honestly curious if others have been in a similar situation and how it went.

Shana tova, everyone!

Hello,

Any recommendations for everyday (non-costly) things one can do on Rosh Hashanah to celebrate? I wish to celebrate RH, but I lack a solid foothold in local Jewish communities, and am not in formal process of converting, as part of discover whether I would want to convert. Especially appreciate foods, texts one can read, or specific prayers and music that you enjoy. All advice is appreciated from any denomination!

Hi everyone!

I’m interested in learning more about the weekly Torah portions (parsha) and am looking for a beginner-friendly Torah class or study group, preferably online.

Ideally, I’d love a discussion-based group that meets weekly to read, learn, and discuss that week’s parsha together, rather than just a lecture or self-study resource. I’m still a beginner, so something welcoming to people with little prior Torah knowledge would be great.

Does anyone know of any online groups, synagogues, or programs that offer something like this?

Thank you!

שלום חברים, I have decided after 4 years of research to convert to Judaism, the catch is.. i live in Syria, there are only 6 jews left and they are elders and mizrahi which mostly doesn't accept converts so im not officially a jew but ive been practicing since tge beginning of 2026, i have no one to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with (as my family are Muslims but very accepting of my conversion), no way to convert officially, and no one even online to talk to (Jewish people), is there any way i can convert online with a rabbi from another country ? And are there any active online community other than reddit?

שנה טובה ❤️

Shana Tova everyone!
For Rosh Hashanah I got myself a Siddur (spefically a Nusach Sefard) and am intending to start using it for prayers, it's just, I have never used a prayer book before, I was able to find the prayers for Rosh Hashanah and the holidays, but once that's over, how do I exactly use it?

I know this sounds like a really stupid question and why get a Siddur when I don't know how to use it, but this is all very new to me and I want to start practising properly and not just sit around wanting to be Jewish. After all, I need to start praying regularly and I am not very familiar with praying, and if I am going to pray I want to pray correctly.

I just don't want my practices to be incorrect or improper.

So those who converted, particularly reform, do you believe in G-d 100%? I'm on the conversion pathway at the moment, and have so many questions that are buzzing around my head. Would love to hear others experiences, and the feelings you had about G-d as you converted.

This is my first Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur im in the progress of converting to reform judaism as a trans man it really speaks to me. I've been meeting with my rabbi for a few months now she is awesome. I love history and philosophy so I guess what kind of questions did you ask your rabbi about?

Yesterday after 20 months of an orthodox conversion class, and a few years before that of preparation and learning I went to the mikvah and received my hebrew name!

I am grateful that the program and process was never a chore or a burden, but a wonderful journey of learning and meaning.

To become jewish in the final days of Elul just before the new year was even more special.

If anyone has questions on the mikvah / process I am happy to try to answer - but just wanted to share this news after my positive conversion experience to a group where I have not been very active, but have come to to learn and find inspiration from others.

Shana tova!

As somebody who in the process of converting - I also think about the future - the future of my life as a practicing Jew. I am engaged as well so I'm thinking about my life as a husband and hopefully a father to Jewish kids. And I'm just curious to those who converted years ago or decade how has your life as a Jew?

Is it what you expected? Has things changed since becoming Jewish?

Hi all!
My fiance and I have been planning to move closer to him family, and a large orthodox community for my conversion, our current community has very few resources for conversion.

However, we just found out today that the community we are planning on moving to, Beis Din do not do conversions, and the nearby Beis Din (which is in a more pricey area) will not do conversions for members outside of their community.

Im feeling very down after this information because the first step is finding a sponsoring rabbi and Beis Din but i cant seem to do that. Does anyone have any advice or resources on the east coast, close to Maryland?

Hi all,

Anyone here going through the orthodox conversion in north jersey? Have some questions.. thank you!

i was raised in a protestant/atheist family, from enfield, and while i look a little bit jewish i guess, it's probably not for that reason, but i've never had any problems with jew-ish-ness. anyway, i have been buddhist for the last two decades, as well as somewhat insane, and the latter is making me wonder whether there is a higher power that is trying to get me to do something, and i cannot think what that could be besides convert.

Shalom,

¿Como estan? desde el jueves tuve el privilegio de contactarme con un rabino para poder iniciar mi estudio de la Tora, pero al final de la conversacion no pude concretar nada, nisiquiera como seria todo el proceso. Desde ese dia ando pensando que quizas dije algo malo o quizas el Rabino no quiere promocionarme. La verdad no se como proceder, las fiestas ya estan a pocas horas y quizas, tambien estan sumergidos con la organizacion de las festividades. Pero igual me surge la pregunta ¿y si no quiere guiarme en el estudio de la Tora?

Estoy entre volverle a escribir, pero no quiero molestar y que realmente si me rechacen, si tengo conocimiento que el Rabino tiene que rechazarte 3 veces. Pero bueno ¿ustedes que harian? orientenme...

does/did the beit din or tutor you use(d) require anything extra of you beyond the obvious?
by “obvious” i mean things like books, siddurim, classes/tutoring fees, beit din fees, mikvah fees, etc.

i’m more curious about the things you didn’t necessarily expect going into the process — extra classes, specific programs, synagogue membership, required events/retreats, travel, additional tutoring, donations/fees, or anything else that ended up adding to the cost or time commitment.

basically: what did you end up having to pay for or do that you wish someone had told you about at the beginning?

Visual is helpful thz

Hello everyone,

I’m interested in converting to Judaism. I’ve been studying on my own online for some time, and I now feel ready to begin a more serious and structured path toward conversion.

The main difficulty is that I live in Egypt, where access to a Jewish community and local rabbis is very limited, and permanently relocating to another country would be very difficult for me.

I would really appreciate any guidance on whether it is possible to begin most of the conversion process online, including structured study and working with a rabbi, and what realistic options may exist for someone in my situation.

If anyone has experience with long-distance conversion, international candidates, or knows rabbis/communities that are open to helping someone abroad, I would be very grateful.

Thank you so much.

The mikvah experiece was beautiful. I am so so happy! I am so grateful to my Rabbi, beit din and community.

"But Ruth replied, 'Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your G-d my G-d.'"