Choosing a Jewish Life, Revised and Updated: A Handbook for People Converting to Judaism and for Their Family and Friends

The definitive guide to the conversion process—for a new generation of Jews-by-choice.

However you choose to fashion your personal journey to Judaism, Anita Diamant is the perfect guide. In this comprehensive, wide-ranging book you will learn how to choose a rabbi, a synagogue, a denomination, and a Hebrew name; how to discuss your decision with your birth family; what happens at the mikveh (ritual bath) and at the hatafat dam brit (circumcision ritual for those already circumcised); how to find your footing in a new spiritual family and create a new Jewish identity; and how you and your children can maintain bonds to your family of origin. Also included are suggestions for readings, prayers, and poems that can personalize conversion rituals; a glossary of terms; and a short history of conversion in Judaism. This revised edition contains a completely updated chapter on how the mikveh is used in the conversion process and an updated list of online resources and books for further reading.

Whether you are just beginning to consider converting or have already started down the path to Judaism, here is everything you will need to make the process joyous, sacred, and meaningful.

ANITA DIAMANT is the best-selling author of The Red Tent and The Boston Girl, among many works of fiction and nonfiction on contemporary Jewish practices. Her nonfiction books include How to Raise a Jewish Child and Saying Kaddish. She is the founding president of Mayyim Hayyim/Living Waters Community Mikveh and the Paula Brody & Family Education Center in Newton, Massachusetts.