You’re not alone if you have decided to convert to Judaism because of a romantic relationship.

The only condition is that the person who wishes to convert do so because they want to  - no one can convert them – they must do that themselves.  It must be their own choice.

This makes it giur – meaning that the converter came on their own volition to the Jewish faith.

If you are someone who’d like to convert because of marriage, you’re not alone – celebrities, including Natalie Portman’s husband, did just that.

In fact, it is listed as the most common reason that people convert to Judaism today, and the routes to converting have become so much more comfortable with the introduction of online conversion courses, which are accepted with a certificate that is recognized by the state of Israel as a legal document, have undoubtedly helped.

Historically, a non-Jew to marry a Jew was almost unheard of because of the stigma, isolation, and perhaps even violence.

This shows amazing acceptance of today’s society, where the love of both religion and of the intended spouse wins the day over bigotry and intolerance.

You may have read that according to the Talmud (the primary source of Jewish religious law (halakha) and Jewish theology), converting out of love is actually forbidden.

‘Both a man who converted for the sake of a woman and a woman who converted for the sake of a man are not converts.’

However, it is essential to note that the law has evolved significantly since the Talmud was originally written.

The Talmud logic appears to be that conversion mustn’t be undertaken for the sake of any personal reward or advantage but strictly for the belief in Judaism.

Therefore this is still an area which is debated and refuted to this day…

But the route to conversion to Judaism is complicated – it requires a complete overhaul of your belief system with rigorous study and a complete lifestyle change for many people – it’s not something you enter into lightly, however much you may love your intended partner.

To convert to Judaism is to embrace more than a religion. It is a complete way of life, and the Torah tells the Jews to love the converts and not to make them feel like strangers, as they were in Egypt.

So, while falling in love can be the catalyst for converting to Judaism, ultimately, it is the convert who has to go through the complicated steps to reach it.

The world of Orthodox Judaism remains too conservative with conversions and only accepts individual conversions on a case by case basis – the age-old belief of conversion rests on that anyone who is born of a Jewish mother is a Jew and anyone else isn’t.

This is why if you are thinking of converting due to a possible marriage, you should ensure the state of Israel recognizes your conversion certificate as many people consider themselves as Jewish, who can speak Hebrew and whose children they believe to be fully-fledged but aren’t recognized by the Israeli rabbinate or by the State of Israel.

So, it is important that whatever the obstacles, love conquers all…