Shalom and thank you for your question. You have been studying about Judaism and wish to know how to take steps towards actual conversion.
I do not know where you live, but wherever you live there is likely to be a Chabad House somewhere in the region, or at least accessible by phone. You simply do a search on the internet.The Chabad emissary (Shaliach) should be able to help you by referring you to a Rabbinical court that specializes in conversion. Conversion is a very specific and delicate topic because it requires great expertise, and thus must be handled by Rabbis who are well versed in the relevant laws.
Who is Jewish? A Jew is either someone who was born to a Jewish mother, or who converted strictly according to Jewish law. It is believed that a true convert has a Jewish soul that received the Torah from G-d at Mount Sinai along with the rest of the Jewish souls, but got lost and absorbed into the nations of the world through assimilation.
The Torah contains six hundred and thirteen commandments for Jews, and the Seven Noahide Laws for non-Jews. The word Torah means teaching or instruction. On the first verse in the Torah, Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth…” the classic commentator Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) explains that G-d created the world “for the Torah which is called (Proverbs 8:22) the beginning of His path, and for Israel, who are called (Jeremiah 2:3) the beginning of His produce…”
This is not meant to be racist, it is a matter of designating a special and different role to the Jewish people. The Hebrew word ‘mitzvah’ which is normally translated as ‘commandment,’ comes also from the root ‘tzavta’ which means to join. When we perform a commandment of G-d we connect with Him. The role of the Jew is more complex because there are many more miztvot to perform. These mitzvot are oriented towards elevating the physical and material aspects of the world to become spiritual and thus bring the world to its Messianic rectification. A non-Jew fulfills his/her role by laying the foundation for a just society as defined by the Noahide Laws, (which are truly the basis for morality in the world,) and by maintaining worldly life as the backdrop for the six hundred and thirteen mitzvah rectification and elevation of the material world that the Jew must perform.
A conversion which is not carried out by a specially trained Rabbinical court of Rabbis is not a genuine conversion. Good intentions are a key factor but without the correct Halachic (Jewish legal) framework it is like a body without a soul – no indeed – a soul without a body. A soul without a body cannot do any gardening or shopping, nor can it perform religious precepts, just as a body without a soul cannot do those things either.
Willingness to undergo difficulty and rise to various challenges in order to be Jewish and keep the commandments is a good sign of the appropriate spiritual DNA. So as mentioned above, a qualified orthodox Rabbinical court must be the guide to the conversion process. It is also very worthwhile to have a mentor, someone who has perhaps been through the process himself and can thus give you the benefit of their experience. The idea of a spiritual mentor dates way back to Jethro, the first righteous convert, who upon hearing about the G-dly revelation at Mount Sinai decided to join the Jewish people. It was he who suggested to Moses to set up a system of delegation so that the spiritual needs of the congregation might be tended to in a more efficient manner than Moses dealing with it all himself.
A potential convert must hopefully be a sincere individual who is truly searching for meaning and will willingly commit to keeping the Mitzvot and thus help elevate the physical to connect with the G-dly and thus reveal its inherent spirituality.
We wish you much success in your spiritual search!”
