Conversion to Judaism has taken many forms across Jewish history, and the objects gathered here reflect that diversity: legal documents, ritual texts, printed books, personal stories, and images of converts entering Jewish life. In medieval and early modern societies, conversion meant entry into the Jewish people and its practices and obligations, sometimes in the face of suspicion or danger from the communities converts left behind. Modern conversion takes place under very different social conditions, but these varied images reveal the persistence of older questions about belonging, identity, choice, and what it means to become a Jew.
Conversion to Judaism has taken many forms across Jewish history, and the objects gathered here reflect that diversity: legal documents, ritual texts, printed books, personal stories, and images of converts entering Jewish life. In medieval and early modern societies, conversion meant entry into the Jewish people and its practices and obligations, sometimes in the face of suspicion or danger from the communities converts left behind. Modern conversion takes place under very different social conditions, but these varied images reveal the persistence of older questions about belonging, identity, choice, and what it means to become a Jew.
