By Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn The question to convert or not, starts off when a person has interest in another religion. There can be a number of different reasons for this, one of them being for relationship purposes, where a person has the desire to convert the whole family, to people looking to get a spiritual boost and then start to study Judaism. There are many people who look into Jewish conversion, as it is a subject of great interests. An interest in this religion can come from literature, attending a religious ceremony with a friend, having interested family members, renting a video and also at times it can be heard at a lecture. The reason for interest in converting to a religion does not matter; it always starts with exploring the particular religion. It can at times start out as simple curiosity. Jews have a belief known as Judaism. Millions of people around the world are followers of this religion. The countries that are most known for a lot of Jewish citizens in there population are the United States, the Soviet Union and of course Israel, and these are only some of them. Jews believe in one God only, which in their religion is called Monotheism. Numerous religions known all over the world today came from Judaism. Natural Jews do not always appreciate the idea of converting, but if the person can prove their loyalty and stay true to the religion, they will consider it. The key part of Judaism is that God made an agreement which is known to as a covenant. This agreement was with Abraham, who is believed to be the ancestor of this religious community. This agreement indicated that followers will receive love and protection as long as they honor His laws and take responsibility for their actions. The Jews have a belief that a Messiah, meaning the anointed one, will come to earth and gather all the Jewish people so that they can be lead under a Kingdom of God on earth. Synagogues are congregations that mostly functions independent of others. Rabbis are spiritual leaders which many of theses religious congregations have, and they are responsible for their congregation's affairs. Judaism also does not have only one central spiritual leader. This religion has its own universities all over the world, which are there to inform, educate and help the rabbis. There are a lot of rules and laws that rabbis need to know and follow. Children can also undergo a Jewish conversion, as in some families where the mother is not of the religion but the father is, the child will be considered a Jew and will engage in activities that relate to Judaism, although some congregations will not redeem the child as legally Jewish. Depending on the rules and laws of the specific congregation, parents of these children can convert them if they wish to do so. Some can convert by having a rabbi perform a naming ceremony and others will have to go through more physical measures such as circumcision. About the Author: Check out our Conversion to Judaism page when you visit me on FB for an overview of the basic requirements for Jewish conversion, now. You can also get more information about Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn at http://www.facebook.com/peoplesrabbi today.
