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Concept
Conversion to Judaism
Summary
Conversion to Judaism (גיור, giyur) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring denomination. Furthermore, a conversion done in accordance with one Jewish denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination. Normally, though not always, the conversions performed by more stringent denominations are recognized by less stringent ones, but not the other way around. A formal conversion is also sometimes undertaken by individuals whose Jewish ancestry is questioned or uncertain, even if they were raised Jewish, but may not actually be considered Jews according to traditional Jewish law.
There are some groups that have adopted Jewish customs and practices. For example, in Russia the Subbotniks have adopted most aspects of Judaism without formal conversion to Judaism. However, if Subbotniks, or anyone without a formal conversion, wish to marry into a traditional Jewish community or immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return, they must have a formal conversion.
According to Israel Bartal, then dean of the humanities faculty of the Hebrew University, "conversions to Judaism had a major impact on Jewish history in the ancient period and in the early Middle Ages".
The word ger comes from the Hebrew verb lagur () meaning "to reside" or "to sojourn [with]". In the Hebrew Bible ger is defined as a "foreigner", or "sojourner". Rabbi Marc Angel writes:
The Hebrew ger (in post-Biblical times translated as "proselyte") literally means "resident" and refers to a non-Israelite who lived among the Israelite community. When the Torah commands compassion and equal justice for the ger, it is referring to these "residents". Rabbinic tradition interpreted the word ger as referring to proselytes...
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