1. Complete our 16-week Introduction to Judaism Class.

2. Complete or commit to a reading Hebrew class.

3. Write an essay.

4. Faithfully attend Shabat services.

5. Meet 3 times with Rebbezten Gail and once with Rabbi Jonathan prior to the religious tribunal Bet Din.

6. Meet with Bet Din. The Religious Court, or Bet Din, consists of three people, usually Rabbi’s or Cantor’s. The Bet Din officially oversees the formal conversion. Individual rabbis will provide guidance about how the Bet Din works. Because it takes place after learning, one part of the appearance will be to determine the Jewish knowledge of the conversion candidate. There might, for example be a question about the meaning of the Jewish Sabbath or about the Jewish belief in one God. These questions are not meant to trap candidates. Obviously, candidates are nervous during such questioning, but in almost all cases the questions are simply meant to assess the sincerity of the candidate and to make sure the conversion was entered into freely. Often an oath of allegiance to the Jewish people is made.

7. Mikveh immersion. We require both male and female conversion candidates to immerse themselves in a ritual bath called a mikveh. This ceremony is called tevillah. The mikveh can be any body of natural water, though the term usually refers to a specific pool that is built for the purposes of ritual purification. The immersion ceremony starts with cleaning the body as by a shower. The person is covered and the covering removed as the person enters the warm mikveh waters, which are usually about four feet deep. (When the ceremony is done in a public place such as a lake the candidate wears a loose-fitting garment). Blessings are recited after the person dunks twice. When there are male members of the Beit Din and the candidate is female, the witnesses wait outside the mikveh room and are told by a female attendant that the immersion has been completed and the blessings recited.

8. For males: circumcision, or a ritual circumcision-hatafat dam brit if previously circumcised. The specific requirements for conversion and their order need to be discussed with a rabbi. One requirement for males who wish to be converted is circumcision, or brit milah. If a circumcision has already been performed, the Orthodox and Conservative movements require that a drop of blood be drawn as a symbolic circumcision. This ceremony is called Hatafat Dam Brit. The Reform and Reconstructionist movements generally do not require a circumcision as part of the conversion process

9. Choosing a Name.
At some point, you will be asked to pick a Hebrew name. Some male converts choose the Hebrew name Avraham as their new Hebrew first name and some female candidates choose Sarah or Ruth. Since the use of Hebrew names includes mention of the parents' Hebrew names, and the convert has no Jewish parents, it is common to add "ben Avraham," or son of Abraham. Therefore if a male chooses the Hebrew name Avraham, that male's full Hebrew name would be Avraham ben Avraham. For women, the addition is "bat Sarah," daughter of Sarah. The naming ceremony includes a blessing.