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What does a conversion from Reform Judaism to Conservative look like?

Hi folks,

So here’s the deal. I grew up in a reform synagogue in MA (although, we were always told it was significantly more strict than most, not sure how true that is). I had a bris, bar mitzvah, attended Hebrew school until I was 16, went to Avoda summer camp, etc. etc. etc. My mother isn’t Jewish, but was irreligious, and we always were made to feel fully Jewish by our synagogue, rabbi, Hebrew school teachers, friends, etc. and never questioned that fact. We even spent way more time with my father’s side of the family. We never kept kosher, and admittedly, I’ve not really been practicing since around 17 or so (I’m 33 now).

My fiancé is from Guatemala, and the Jewish community there is, on average, significantly more conservative than the community in southeastern Mass. her family keeps kosher (at the home anyway, they don’t mind eating vegetarian at restaurants that serve pork), and is fully practicing. A potentially relevant wrinkle is that her dad is a convert from Catholicism. That being said, my fiancé hasn’t been practicing since she was about 18 (more than a decade before we met) and gave up keeping kosher before that.

So, now we’re getting married. Her folks are wonderful, are extremely happy with our engagement, love me and I love them, and are very supportive. That being said, her mother has wondered, in passing and only to my fiancé, whether I would consider converting to “real Judaism”. My fiancé jumped down her throat and reamed her out, and maybe the matter is dropped.

If it’s not, however, I’m curious as to what that’s process might even look like? I’d probably do it just to avoid any headaches, but the very notion strikes me as wildly anti-semetic? Am I alone in feeling this? I’d love whatever input anyone has about any of this.

Tl;dr: how do I convert to Judaism from Judaism?

submitted by /u/Pigroasts
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