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Conversion – what constitutes it?

The Rav Name: Rabbi Yitzchak Arad

I am a convert to Judaiisim Would I be acccepted by chabad?



Conversion – what constitutes it?

Shalom and thank you for your question. You ask whether or not your conversion would be accepted by Chabad. This depends on what kind of conversion it was.


Chabad Lubavitch is a Chassidic group of orthodox Jews. Some customs may be slightly different from other groups of orthodox Jews but they do not have different laws.


The Torah is considered G-d’s blueprint for creating the world. It states in the holy Zohar section 2 161:1 that G-d “looked into the Torah and created the world.” What this is teaching us is that the world was designed to be a place in which humanity does its best to keep G-d’s laws, despite internal obstacles such as one’s own personal foibles and the darker side of one’s own nature, or external obstacles such as trials and tribulations coming from the evil that other humans perpetrate, or ‘natural’ disasters, disease etc. G-d forbid. By doing our best to carry out G-d’s commandments despite adversity, we reveal sparks of G-dliness that became entrapped in physicality from the beginning of creation. This process throughout the ages has brought us much closer to the ideal rectified state of the world, the Messianic era.


In the proffessional world today, whether we are talking about some type of business consultation or some type of physical or psychological therapy or coaching, the initial meeting will be about  – what is/are your goal/s in embarking on this project? First we need to see if we are on the same page… indeed this is the case with Judaism. The Torah contains six hundred and thirteen commandments (which you could consider as six hundred and thirteen channels of connection to G-d,) for Jewish people, and the Seven Noahide Laws for non-Jews, which of course are also channels of connection and a means of revealing G-dliness in the world. If a person wants to become Jewish because of a sense of calling, a feeling that this way he/she will find spiritual fulfillment, then ‘we are on the same page’ and the project of conversion can begin. If there is another reason like wanting to marry a Jew or some matter where it serves a technical purpose to be Jewish, this is not a valid reason for conversion, but an orthodox Rabbi should be consulted.


A conversion needs to be something based on true Torah law, otherwise it does not achieve the G-dly intent. There are many groups of Jews. By definition conversion has to be based on Torah law because if a person is not born to a Jewish mother, what can make him or her Jewish other than a commitment to the ways of Judaism? A form of Judaism which does not involve such commitment but rather views some of the precepts as ‘outdated’, is not a genuine approach. The word Torah comes from the Hebrew root Hora’ah, meaning teaching or instruction. What is it teaching us and instructing us? The Torah is G-d’s will and wisdom and is therefore Divine. G-d, the author of the Torah, is infinite. We humans are finite and thus cannot presume to know better than Him. There are certain laws that apply to certain eras, but to know this takes serious study. In the book of Joshua 1:8 it says “and you shall speak in them (G-d’s words – the words of Torah) day and night,” meaning that we should be studying Torah constantly. The Torah is comprised of the Oral Law- Talmud,  Mishna and Halacha, as well as the Five Books of Moses,  the books of the Prophets, the Midrashic commentaries and more. All of the principles of interpretation were handed down at Sinai. Thus we cannot pick and choose as I mentioned above.


For the above-mentioned reasons, only orthodox conversion is valid, and an orthodox Rabbi who deals with conversion should be consulted. A Jew who leads his/her life according to the Torah needs to have an ongoing connection with a Rabbi and a spiritual mentor.


Wishing you much success in your journey.


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