Becoming Jewish is not passing an exam. In Spiritual Humanistic Judaism we speak of it as adoption: being welcomed into a family, a people and a civilisation that is still being written. The tradition itself reaches for this language. It calls the one who joins a ger, and says such a person is “like a new-born child”, entering the world afresh. It gives every Jew-by-choice the same second name — ben or bat Avraham v’Sarah, child of Abraham and Sarah — because the first Jews were themselves people who chose.

אל אשר תלכי אלך … עמך עמי

Where you go, I will go; your people shall be my people.

Ruth 1:16 — the words of every Jew who chose

Belonging before believing

Judaism is the evolving religious civilisation of the Jewish people — its history, languages, texts, festivals, food, ethics and ways of marking a life. It is not a creed you must sign. So the first question is not “what do you believe?” but “do you want to belong, and to take part?” Peoplehood comes first; belief follows, if it follows at all, and it need never be supernatural.

You do not need to believe in order to belong. You need only to begin.

Three commitments shape the way we welcome people:

• A Judaism without tribalism. Jewish peoplehood matters, but it is not a wall. Belonging is created by what people learn, practise and share, not by ancestry alone.
• Radical inclusion. People of every background, gender, sexuality, family shape and ability are welcome on this path, and so are their partners and families.
• Tikkun olam. Repairing the world is a human task, and joining the Jewish people means taking up a share of it.

The journey: ten stages

Our programme, Adopting Judaism, is modelled on the b’mitzvá journey a Jewish child makes, rebuilt for an adult mind that wants history as well as ritual, argument as well as belonging, and honesty about belief. Each stage has a short essay, sources to sit with, reading for going deeper, journal questions and a practice to try.

1. What is Judaism? Judaism as a civilisation, not a creed; mitzvot as folkways; Kaplan’s method of reconstruction; the Jews of Britain.
2. Why do I identify as Jewish? Belonging before believing, with Ruth as the model; naming your honest reasons and drafting a personal statement.
3. Shabbat. The shape of the day — candles, Kiddush, ḥalla, rest and Havdalá — read as rest and freedom, and a Shabbat to keep.
4. Kashrut. The food laws as a grammar of practice, eco-kashrut, and a kashrut of your own.
5. The Jewish year. The festivals as a wheel that turns human experience into ritual, and one festival to keep.
6. Five who thought it through. Maimonides, Spinoza, Kaplan, Schulweis and Sherwin Wine — and where you stand among them.
7. The Tanakh and the Talmud. The Hebrew Bible, the Mishnah and Talmud, Pirkei Avot, and studying with a partner.
8. Hebrew. The aleph-bet, the revival of spoken Hebrew, and choosing your Hebrew name.
9. Jewish food. Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, Persian and Ethiopian kitchens as diaspora history — and a dish to cook and share.
10. Writing your shiur. A short teaching on the Torah portion of your birthday, and putting the milestones together into a ceremony.

There is no fixed timetable. You can travel the stages on your own, but they are built to be shared — with a rabbi, a sponsor, a study partner, or a group of adult seekers.

The welcome

The journey ends with a ceremony in which the community receives you — not on the edge, but at its centre. No one prays for you; we pray with one another. A typical welcome includes:

• a song and the lighting of candles as people gather;
• the conferral of your Hebrew name, as a child of Abraham and Sarah;
• your personal statement, and your shiur on your birthday parashá;
• your affirmations of Shabbat, kashrut and the Jewish year;
• the community’s blessing;
• and a shared meal, including the dish you chose to cook.

Other paths, and recognition

Jewish movements approach conversion (giyur) differently, and our programme describes them all as fairly as it can:

• Orthodox: usually years of observance and study, acceptance of the commandments, a beit din (rabbinical court), immersion in a mikveh, and circumcision or a symbolic equivalent for men.
• Masorti: the same halakhic shape, applied more flexibly.
• Reform, Liberal and Progressive: around a year of study and Jewish living, a welcoming beit din, and immersion encouraged rather than strictly required.
• Humanistic: a conscious, educated adoption of Jewish identity, culture and ethics, through study and public affirmation.

A Spiritual Humanistic welcome can stand on its own, or alongside a formal conversion with another movement. Different movements, and the State of Israel, recognise conversions in different ways. If recognition by a particular movement matters to you — for marriage, for burial, or for aliyá — talk to a rabbi of that movement early on. Nothing here is offered as a ruling; it is offered as an education and an invitation.

The workbook

Adopting Judaism: Ten Stages for those who are choosing, and being chosen into, the Jewish people, by Martin Hasan Di Maggio. A thoughtful, personal and reusable guide for adults entering Jewish life through study, reflection and practice.

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Thinking about beginning? Get in touch through our Connect page → You may also find the Glossary helpful along the way.