Conversion Process

A Year in the Jewish Community

Before beginning the conversion course, you will need to have intensive contact with a Jewish community for one year. It is recommended to strengthen your connection with the Jewish community by going regularly to the synagogue and taking weekly classes with the Rabbi and Rebbetzin.

• Prior to acceptance in our conversion program, any potential conversion candidate with a boyfriend must have their boyfriends fill out a short questionnaire and be interview by Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Siegelbaum (the director).
• Boyfriends are required to meet with our conversion Rabbi prior to when the student is called to interview with the beit din representative to open a conversion file.
• Over the course of the year, boyfriends are required to initiate four telephone meetings with Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Siegelbaum.
• For the couple’s benefit, B’erot students need to limit meetings with their boyfriend to once a month.  We believe every two months is the most appropriate.

Note: It is imperative to place your official Passport name and passport number written on the top of every letter. 

Two Letters from Orthodox Rabbis

Two Letters from orthodox rabbis, you know from your country of origin. (At the very least, one letter from an orthodox rabbi of your country may suffice.) These letters must testify that you have been involved in the Jewish community for at least one year, and that you are sincere in your intention to convert and live an observant Jewish life. Make sure these letters are on official letterhead, stamped, and signed. Have at least one of these letters written in Hebrew. If your rabbi is unable to do so, make sure to find a translator.

Additional Letters to Bring with You

It is beneficial to have as many letters of recommendation as possible attesting to your longstanding and continuous connection to Judaism and observance of a religious lifestyle. If, for example, you previously studied Jewish subjects, you should ask for a letter from your teacher. If you spend Shabbat with a religious family, you should ask the family members to write a letter on your behalf. As mentioned above, letters written in a foreign language are best translated into Hebrew. If you are married to a Jew or have a serious boyfriend who is Jewish, you need to bring similar letters of recommendation for him. Note: If you have a Jewish boyfriend, you must let us and the Beit Din know to be accepted for conversion.

Documents Needed to Open your File at the Beit Din of Conversion

• A photocopy of your present and all previous passports
• A certificate of criminal record of good conduct from your home country, with a notarized verification and translation (Apostille).
• Your CV/resume (if possible in Hebrew).
• A personal essay describing your Jewish journey and including an explanation of your motivation to convert. The letter should highlight Jewish family members, a connection to Jewish communities in your home country or in Israel, Jewish study, and relationship(s) with religious and/or traditional Jewish families. We recommend the letter be one page in length and include heartfelt feelings about your process.
• Information on previous conversion procedures/attempts in Israel or abroad, with relevant documentation.
• Two recent, clear passport-type photographs.
• Copies of birth certificate and parents’ passports.
• Copy of reform or conservative conversion certificate when applicable.
• Proof of your father’s Jewishness or any Jewish roots in your family when applicable.
• If presently in Israel – A copy of your visa; (Other documents may apply, please contact us directly at 029934945)

Visa Procedure for Conversion Candidates  

1. You arrive with all the required documents.
2. When you have been 2-3 weeks in our program, and we feel comfortable recommending you for conversion, then we open a file for conversion for you with the Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem online.
3. Immediately following our office will make an appointment for you and organize to take you to the interview with the Chief Rabbinate.
4. If the Chief Rabbinate approves your file and accepts you, you will become eligible for a conversion visa.
5. Our office will then make an appointment for you with the Ministry of Interior in Jerusalem to receive your conversion visa, which lasts as long as you are in the conversion process.
6. After conversion with Hashem’s help, you will be able to make Aliyah and become a citizen of Israel.
7. Alternatively, it may also be possible to receive a student visa from your country in advance, by bringing our acceptance letter to the Israeli embassy of your country, but this is not the general procedure.

At the end of your first year connecting to the Jewish community, you may begin the application process to get accepted at B’not Ruth. You can download the application and medical form, which includes a personal essay question of why you wish to convert. After we receive your application and the application fee, you will be invited to a telephone interview with the director, Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Siegelbaum. Within a week after your interview you will receive email notice regarding your status of acceptance into B’not Ruth conversion program.

1. You arrive with all the required documents.
2. When you have been 2-3 weeks in our program, and we feel comfortable recommending you for conversion then we open a file for conversion for you with the Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem online.
3. Immediately following our office will make an appointment for you and organize to take you to the interview with the Chief Rabbinate.
4. If the Chief Rabbinate approve your file and accepts you, you will become eligible for a conversion visa.
5. Our office will then make an appointment for you with the ministry of interior in Jerusalem to receive your conversion visa, which lasts as long as you are in the conversion process.
6. After conversion with Hashem’s help, you will be able to make Aliyah and become a citizen of Israel.
7. Alternatively, it may also be possible to receive a student visa from your country in advance, by bringing our acceptance letter to the Israeli embassy of your country, but this is not the general procedure.

Opening Your File at the Beit Din of Conversion

If you become accepted as a conversion candidate into B’not Ruth, you will need to learn full time in our program for one year. When you arrive, we will help you fill out and submit the necessary paperwork to the Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem Conversion Court (Beit Din) in order begin the process of opening a file to convert.  Thereafter, you will receive a letter informing you that you will be contacted to set up an appointment to meet with a representative of the Beit Din.  Our Rabbi overseeing the conversion program will accompany you to this meeting. When you meet with the representative of the Beit Din, you will need to bring all of the above listed documents with you.   The representative of the Beit Din will ask you a few basic questions; most often about your family background and the reason why you are interested in converting, and your connection to the Jewish community. He may also ask you a few elementary questions in Judaism, and he will look carefully at your passport and your letters of recommendations and make copies for your file with the Beit Din.  Once this office approves your request to convert, your request to open a file to convert will be forwarded to the Ministry of the Interior (Va’adat Charegim).

Once the Ministry of the Interior approves your file, it is at this point that your file is considered “open” and your year of learning in a conversion program will begin.  At this time, you will be eligible for a visa extension. Please note that we will make every effort to help you open your file but we cannot guarantee the file will be approved.  Final approval of your file is determined only by the Chief Rabbinate and the Ministry of the Interior.  If for some reason you file is not approved, there are additional conversion options that are listed below.

Approving Your File by the Israeli Ministry of Interior

Throughout this time, your visa must be valid.  Our rabbi overseeing the conversion program will follow up with the Beit Din until your conversion file has received this final approval.

Once your file has been approved by the Ministry of Interior (Va’adat Charegim) you will be able to obtain a conversion visa that is valid for six months. This visa is renewable until you are able to complete your conversion. Currently it is taking a minimum of four to six months for files to be approved. This means that your original three-month tourist visa will most likely expire before your conversion file receives the final approval.

You must maintain a valid visa during your stay in Israel, as you never quite know when your file will move to the desk at the Interior Ministry. It is possible to renew the three month tourist visa by leaving the country briefly, until your file is approved by the Interior Ministry.

Once your file has been approved, then you can officially begin the year long learning period before you are invited to your Beit Din appointment for your final conversion.

In case your file at the Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem has not yet cleared for conversion, we will arrange for you to convert through one of our additional conversion options. You will meet with a Rabbi from the Beit Din of Conversion who will ask you questions in Judaism to see if you are progressing in your learning, and ready to convert. If the Rabbi finds you ready for conversion, you will receive a date for your final conversion when you will be tested by a panel of three Rabbis from the Beit Din.

About one year after your file has been approved; the panel of Rabbis from the Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem Conversion Court and representatives from the interior ministry will meet again to approve your file for final conversion. If everything goes smoothly, you will be invited again to meet with the secretary of the Beit Din. He will ask you questions in Halacha, in the Jewish Faith and about your personal Mitzvah observance. If the Rabbi finds you ready for conversion, you will receive a date for your final conversion when you will be tested by a panel of three Rabbis from the Beit Din of the Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem. With this conversion you will finally be eligible for making Aliyah and settle in Israel.

Documents Needed for your Final Beit Din of Conversion

You will need a letter of recommendation from our institution and from Rabbis and teachers who know you, testifying that they believe you are ready to convert and take on all the mitzvoth of a Jewish woman. It is recommended to bring as many letters as you can to this meeting, including letters from women in the community with whom you have developed a relationship.

Becoming Jewish at Last

The conversion Rabbi of B’not Ruth, will accompany you to your final Beit Din. It is also recommended to bring one of the members of your adoptive family and a close friend. Each of them may be asked to testify about you at the Beit Din. The Beit Din will then test your knowledge and commitment to Judaism, if the Rabbis find you ready to convert, they will ask you to recite the declaration of faith to the Jewish religion and recite the Shema Yisrael prayer in front of the Beit Din. At the Beit Din you will receive your date for your mikvah appointment. You will finalize your conversions with immersion in the mikvah on the set date and become a full-fledged Jew.

Now your real journey begins, and we at Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin welcome you to remain in our learning community for at least 3-6 months for a discounted fee. During this time, you will receive personal guidance in the dating process, while taking part time classes and establishing yourself in Israel. We hope to lead you all the way to the Chuppah (marriage canopy) and beyond, as you establish your own Jewish home!