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The second and main stage of the conversion process is the actual conversion ceremony in court. The Guide provides information about the documents that must be presented in court, questions you may wish to ask and information about converting through overseas religious courts. |
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| Conversion courts |
After completion of one year’s instruction at a conversion Ulpan, the Ulpan staff and the accompanying family escort the candidate to the conversion court. The courts designated specifically for conversion were established in 1995 by the Conversion Administration of the Chief Rabbinate, headed by Rabbi Israel Rosen. In 2001, responsibility for their management was transferred to the rabbinical courts, and today a number of courts around the country have jurisdiction in matters of conversion.
The main role of such courts is to declare agreement in principle that the person applying for conversion may be added to the body of the Jewish people.
Discussions in conversion courts usually take place near the secretariat where the conversion file was opened. Applicants are requested to dress modestly for a court appearance. It is also recommended to bring family members or close friends, as well as the religious or traditionally observant people who accompanied you during your instruction in Judaism and are able to describe the process you have undergone. |
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| What should you bring to court? |
Please be sure to arrive bearing the following documents:
 Identity card including current appendix, or passport
Letters of recommendation from the accompanying family, as well as additional recommendations from the rabbi of the synagogue you attend and from any religious or observant people with whom you are in contact. |
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| Addresses and phone numbers |
The website of the rabbinical courts provides addresses and telephone numbers of all the rabbinical courts in Israel, including the conversion courts. Further information about courts is available on the website of the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. |
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| The discussion at the conversion court |
The discussion that takes place in court is not meant as a test of your knowledge, but is conducted as a conversation with a potential convert and touches on family, personal, thought-related, historical and Halachic issues. After the discussion you will be asked to leave the room so that the dayanim may discuss your case among themselves. Occasionally the court may request a candidate to return to court a few weeks or months later, asking him to fulfill certain tasks during the interim. |
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| Court decision and potential convert’s declaration |
In the event that the court decides to accept the candidate’s application, a brief ceremony is conducted, in which the candidate expresses his desire to affiliate himself with the Jewish people throughout the generations by means of the following declaration:
“I undertake to be a loyal member of the Jewish people and uphold and fulfill all the mitzvot of the Torah and all the mitzvot of the sages and all of the customs of kashrut of the Jewish people and I believe in one God.”
The convert then recites aloud the most famous Jewish declaration of faith: Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheynu Adonai Echad (“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One”). The dayanim bless the new convert with the pronouncement: Baruch ha’ba, b’sha’a tova u’b’mazal tov (“Welcome, best wishes and congratulations”). |
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| Court attendance without Ulpan instruction |
If you have acquired Jewish and Halachic knowledge without attending a conversion Ulpan and you already lead a traditional Jewish lifestyle, you may apply to the court to undergo conversion without any preconditions, other than an interview with court representatives and recommendations. This procedure is conditional on written approval from the director of the conversion court. |
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| Overseas courts |
Some Jewish communities have their own rabbinical courts where full Jewish conversion is conducted, e.g. New York and the Ashkenazi community of London, UK. Each community has different criteria for conversion and the conversion procedure. For instance, the duration of instruction varies from one community to another. Only Orthodox conversions are acceptable to the Israeli rabbinical system for purposes of marriage, divorce and burial, provided the relevant court is included on the list of recognized rabbinical courts and on the website of Itim (the Jewish Life Information Center). |
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