Oftentimes, when one comes to convert, they are faced with resistance from those they seek out for guidance and help. This can be confusing because in most cases, religion is primarily about your belief. It is the common beliefs shared by a religious community that hold it all together. However, Judaism should be viewed from a slightly different perspective. 

Judaism began on Mount Sinai when Moses settled a “contract” or a covenant between the Nation of Israel and G-d. G-d said, “I choose this nation to be my messengers of Torah light into the world.” The nation, in turn, chose G-d and said, “Whatever G-d says, we will do, and we will obey.” At this pivotal moment in history through the covenant, all of those standing at Mount Sinai became converts. G‑d also made a covenant with Abraham. According to this covenant Abraham and his future generations must follow in the path of G‑d, and G‑d promised them the land of Canaan and His protection and care. The command for circumcision (Brit) was then given as a symbol of this covenant. Every newly born Jewish boy should be circumcised at the age of eight days. Abraham himself, despite his ripe age, and all the male members of his household, underwent that operation, and the covenant was established for all generations to come.

Every “covenant” had a specific goal which may not be the same goal for a different covenant. For example, the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob involved the permanent inheritance and ownership of the Promised Land unconditionally.  “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.” There were no conditions (Torah), only God’s unconditional promise, “because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” The covenant God made with Israel at Mt. Sinai 430 years later was conditional. It too involved possession of the Promised Land, but this was only a temporary lease of the Land that God promised Abraham as his permanent inheritance. “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers.” God only allowed possession of the Promised Land as long as they continued to abide by the terms (Torah) of the lease, the Mt. Sinai Covenant.

The Jewish nation, then, is best described as “The People of the Covenant” - meaning they are a nation because of the covenant. In a religion you belong because you believe. In Judaism, you believe because you belong.

Conversion is mostly viewed as a simple acceptance of belief and commandments upon oneself and if this were only about the individual that would be enough. However, the most fundamental aspect of Judaism is that we are all connected, and we are all one. What one individual endures, we all endure and so to enter into the covenant means to become connected to The People of the Covenant. To be a convert, according to the Torah, is to be a “ger” meaning “a stranger who has come to live in an unknown land”. Similarly, to a naturalized alien, aside from choosing your country, your country must choose you. If you choose Judaism, Judaism also must choose you.

By joining the Jewish people, the convert instantly becomes a part of the covenant. The one difference between becoming a citizen of a country and converting is that one can renounce their citizenship but a convert is a part of an unending and eternal covenant that cannot be changed.