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List of converts to Judaism

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Since Judaism is not an actively proselytizing religion - with the exception of Reform Judaism, which actively invites and encourages conversion - conversion is now a relatively uncommon occurrence. This article endeavours to list some notable people who have converted, or are believed to have converted, to Judaism. The article does not differentiate between the different branches of Judaism, but doesn't list people who married a Jewish spouse without converting. Also, most of these conversions (apart from the Biblical ones) are not recognized by Orthodox Judaism because the converted did not convert under Orthodox auspices, or by Orthodox and Conservative authorities because the conversions were not done in accord with halakha. In 2005, five present and former Chief Rabbis of Israel declared: Any such conversion, under its various names such as `Reform' or `Conservative,' has no validity, and anyone who undergoes such conversion is still a gentile in every respect."

(A number of prominent figures, such as Madonna, have recently become followers of Kabbalah, a body of Jewish mystical teaching, but do not consider themselves – and are not considered – Jewish.)

List of converts to Judaism from Christianity

Former Christian Clergy and Christian Theologians

  • Bishop Bodo, confessor to Louis the Pious
  • John David Scalamonti (former Roman Catholic priest)
  • Shlomo Ben Avraham "Ole" Brunell, former Lutheran minister from Finland and Australia. Along with him, his wife Ruth (formerly Runa), two adult daughters, two teenage daughters, and a former son-in-law also converted.
  • Johann Peter Spaeth, German theologian "Johann Peter Spaeth (about 1642-1701), author of an attack on Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-politicus, finally became a Jewish convert, called himself "Moses Germanus," and was even circumcised a few years before his death in 1697"
  • Obadiah the Proselyte (né Johannes), priest and composer
  • Aharon Calderon (former monk of a Catholic monastery in South America)
  • Aleksei (former archpriest)
  • Dionis (former priest)
  • John Hove (former Lutheran pastor)
  • Robert Reddinge English preaching friar, of the Dominican order; converted to Judaism about 1275
  • Juan Carrasco
  • Nicolas Antoine

Christian Proselyte Communities

From Christianity

List of converts to Judaism not from Christianity

File:Christian B Anfinsen.jpg
Christian B. Anfinsen, convert and Nobel Laureate

From Atheism or Agnosticism

From Islam

From Paganism

See also

References

  1. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/Spotlight+on+Israel/About+the+Jewish+Religion.htm
  2. Jewish Encyclopedia
  3. and
  4. Jerusalem Post
  5. Commentary Magazine
  10. http://www.derechemet.org/english/cgi-bin/show.cgi?27&luth
  17. Noble Soul: The Life and Legend of the Vilna Ger Tzedek, Count Walenty Potocki review here
  18. Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, art. Aquila of Sinope
  19. IMDB
  20. Arc Poetry review of "Jacob's Dream" which states "Brewster is fascinated with her newly-adopted faith of Judaism—poems about Jewish holy days and heritage are sprinkled throughout"
  21. "May Britt Joins Jewish Faith", The New York Times, 18 October 1960, p. 46
  22. Q&A with Sarah Brown "Judaism, for me, is more a spiritual thing than a religion, but I feel that I have a Jewish soul. I didn't convert because of my marriage; I just always felt like there was a Jewish soul inside of me just dying to get out."
  23. New York Times
  24. Chicago Sun Times via "Find Articles.": Said of her conversion "I needed to know where God was, and I went back to the basics."
  25. Interview with Croce's Cousin http://www.netporch.com/sa/
  26. Jewish Virtual Library
  27. Shanks, Hershel. "Losing Faith: How Scholarship Affects Scholars". Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 2007.
  28. A Publishers Weekly review of Jacqueline Du Pre: A Biography by Carol Easton states she was "the daughter of anti-Semitic parents who herself converted to Judaism and at age 21 married Jewish pianist-conductor Daniel Barenboim."
  29. Gensler, Howard (2006-11-27). "'Borat' to wed Aussie actress Isla Fisher". Retrieved 2006-11-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  30. Luke Ford, XXX-Communicated: A Rebel Without a Shul. iUniverse, Inc., 2004. ISBN 0-595-66441-5
  31. Aaron Freeman's website
  32. Jewish Encyclopedia
  33. Hart - "Thought there are no Jewish Republicans in show biz? Well, Bush contributors include... host Mary Hart, who’s a convert to Judaism..."
  34. IMDB
  35. El Mundo
  36. Times Online interview: She says in the interview "I converted to Judaism in 1983. I am not a deeply religious person but it is a vital part of my life. It shapes my beliefs, and how I look at the world."
  37. Natan Gamedze's website
  38. The movie Shalom y'all
  39. Her website
  40. Seattle Times
  41. Beth Israel
  42. Julis Lester's Home Page
  43. Encyclopædia Britannica
  44. Baseball Almanac.com
  45. O'Toole, Lesley (2006-12-22). "Ben Stiller : 'Doing comedy is scary'". The Independent. Retrieved 2006-12-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  46. Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco states of her marriage, "Adah was not at all interested in home or family; in fact, the only thing she shared sincerely with him was his religion–she adopted the Jewish faith and remained steadfast in it until her death."
  47. "BBC On this Day"
  48. The Independent Feb 7, 2005; online here Findarticles accessed 11 Dec 2006
  49. The Nation
  51. Interview at Book Browse "I am a Jew by choice and Italian by heritage. Shortly after I converted to Judaism, I came across a book by Alexander Stille called Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism."
  52. Fox 23 News
  53. New York Times book review
  54. Stilley - "...the former model, raised a Christian in Conway, S.C., recently announced that she is converting to Judaism. Even her rabbi is befuddled.... "The first thing that attracted me to Judaism was the undeniable family strength that has held Jewish people and culture together for 3,000 years. . . Jews, whether religious or not, know where they have come from and what they would wish for their future, and this certainty is based on fact, not faith.... "I will not be a perfect Jew, nor will Judaism make me perfect. But I know that Judaism will give me faith, support, knowledge, and history. I am not Jewish because I choose to be. I am Jewish because there is no other choice for me.""
  55. In her book Elizabeth Takes Off, Taylor writes, " had absolutely nothing to do with my past marriage to Mike or my upcoming marriage to Eddie Fisher, both of whom were Jewish. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time."
  56. Profile at Jewishsports.com
  57. Jewish Bulletin of Northern California:On being asked about Christmas, because of the Santa Claus related The Polar Express, he stated "We have a Jewish household. I converted when I married Lisa."
  58. Magazine article from 1995 Commentary Magazine: Quote "Paula Buber in 1905 converted to Judaism in the Orthodox way, including a dip in the ritual bath. 'I grow in your cause,' she wrote her betrothed, like Ruth in the Bible. 'It will be mine and that of our children.' A Jewish wedding followed."
  59. Jewish Bulletin of Northern California: "After Winningham observed her first Yom Kippur that year, she knew she had to convert, and did so March 3, 2003, accompanied by an entourage of friends and relatives."
  60. Entertainment Weekly
  61. NIH Profile
  62. Ynet News Born 42 years ago in a Shi’ite village in eastern Lebanon, today he is an ultra-Orthodox Jew who studies in a yeshiva and is raising his seven children in Safed.
  63. Jewish Encyclopedia "He was by birth a Gentile from Pontus, and is said by Epiphanius to have been a connection by marriage of the emperor Hadrian and to have been appointed by him about the year 128 to an office concerned with the rebuilding of Jerusalem as "Ælia Capitolina." At some unknown age he joined the Christians, but afterward left them and became a proselyte to Judaism."
  64. Fordham University
  65. Jewish Encyclopedia
  66. Jewish Encyclopedia "If the contradictory and sometimes legendary accounts of the personality of Dhu Nuwas given by the Arabian writers can be trusted, he was not a Jew by birth, but embraced Judaism after ascending the throne, taking the name of "Joseph."
  67. Jewish Encyclopedia "Obadiah was a proselyte of Edomite origin."
  68. Jewish Encyclopedia
  69. BBC
  70. (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities xx. 7, § 3
  71. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, xx.7.1
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