Is feeling Jewish enough to become Jewish?
Is feeling Jewish enough to become Jewish? Shalom, Looking at my family’s history, it seems we have many names that sound Jewish on both of my parents’ sides. However, we fail to have hard proof that our ancestors were Jewish. We feel that we are Jewish and we believe in the Torah, but we’ve never been associated with any Jewish organizations or groups. I feel like an unofficial Jew who wants to become official. Can I just start to be Jewish or do I need to go through the whole conversion process? Many Thanks, J. Answer: Thank you for your letter. You write that you and your family believes that you have Jewish heritage. You say that there are many names in your family that “sound Jewish,” but you have no proof of Jewish ancestry. You say that you are an “unofficial Jew” who keeps the Torah, but you do not attend synagogue or associate with other Jews. You’d like to know if you could be recognized as a Jew without having to “go through the whole conversion process.” I could say two thi
