The New Convert’s Guide to Essential* Jewish Texts
*Essential here not meaning required or mandatory, but rather, carrying the essence of Jewish learning.
Introduction
One thing that new or considering converts may find challenging about coming to Judaism is the sheer volume of text that provides a bastion of Jewish values and beliefs. In addition to peoplehood, land, and language, texts are another essential piece of Jewish heritage, cultural staples that bind Jews all across the globe.
While Judaism relies on many texts and continues to produce evolving scholarship, several texts are central to Judaism’s continuing message, and new or considering converts may find it helpful to at least be familiar with the general role and content of these seminal texts within their new tradition. The following list is by no means exhaustive, but are all texts of which I have been made aware and have studied thus far as a prospective convert within the Reform tradition–they have all informed my Jewish knowing of the world. There are other important texts out there; they’re just not on my radar yet. After describing the general role and content of each text, I have attempted to articulate how I view a convert’s responsibility to know and love these texts as they pertain to the wider Jewish world.
The Essential* Texts
The Torah (תורה) is (almost) inarguably the most central text in the Jewish world. It is composed of the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Each of these five books contains its own narrative and its own messages that continue to be relevant to the Jewish people. The Torah is traditionally read on Saturday mornings across the world in observance of Shabbat (the Sabbath). This text is read cyclically, about once per year, and Jewish communities all over the world read more or less the same section of text (parshat) each week.
Authorship of the Torah remains hotly contested across many Jewish traditions. Deeply conservative traditions may believe that the Torah was given in its entirety by G-d on Mount Sinai; more liberal and academic traditions attribute the writing of the Torah to several authors across centuries. The Torah has been, understandably, altered by translation into many different languages. The ultimate authoritative Torah, written in ancient Hebrew and Aramaic, is known as the Masoretic text. Ultimately, each Jew’s relationship to the Torah is personal. Some study it only academically and historically, and some study it spiritually.
The convert’s responsibility to the Torah: The way you learn Torah and the degree to which it is taught literally will vary with which Jewish tradition you are learning in. Many Reform Jews, for example, do not see the Torah as a literal text, and search for hidden meanings, analogies, and generalizations about the human condition within its pages. Every interpretation of the Torah is up for debate–that, too, is part of the Jewish tradition. There is really nothing vis-a-vis Torah interpretation that you, as a convert, or any Jew absolutely must believe. As someone who is converting, however, you will want to understand how the Torah has impacted the Jewish people both spiritually and historically, get a sense of how it unifies and arguably created the Jewish people, and spend enough time studying this text to understand how it maintains relevance for Jewish people across the world. The Torah is also an incredibly helpful text in developing one’s Hebrew literacy. Whether you interpret it literally or metaphorically, you will doubtless find stories and messages within the Torah that resonate with you. It is, primarily, the story of the Jewish people’s search for G-d and human meaning.
The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ) is a collection of texts made up of the Torah, Prophets (Nevi’im, נְבִיאִים), and Writings (Kethuvim, כְּתוּבִים). Prophets and Writings supplement the story of the Torah; they provide biblical stories not put down in the five books of Moses, offer prayers and songs, morals and rules for Jewish life, and a vast amount of other cultural knowledge. Most traditions don’t treat Prophets and Writings with the same reverence they give to the Torah itself. However, they remain deeply relevant in modern Jewish life. The holiday of Shavuot, for example, has its precedent in the book of Ruth, the quintessential story of a woman who joins the Jewish people in Writings.
The convert’s responsibility to the Tanakh is much the same as your responsibility to the Torah. How you interpret this text is ultimately up to you. It is primarily your duty to grapple with this text, to invite its knowledge into your ways of Jewish knowing, and to understand how this text has influenced the Jewish people and Jewish life.
The Talmud (תַּלְמוּד), or Shas (ש״ס), is a much more historically anchored text than the Torah or the entirety of the Tanakh. The Talmud is primarily a book of Jewish oral law–rituals and observances that may or may not be explicitly laid out in the Torah. The Talmud also contains pertinent stories and morales, as well as sages’ and rabbinic opinions (and, of course, debates) on Jewish ritual and law. Because this text evolved alongside the Jewish people, it exists in multiple versions. The most widely read is the Babylonian Talmud (Berakhot).
The convert’s responsibility to the Talmud: Unlike the Torah, even people who are born Jewish may not be familiar with this text (granted, born Jews may or may not read and study Torah, but they likely understand its relationship to their Jewish heritage). A deep and reflective understanding of the Talmud is not necessary for a potential convert unless you are deeply interested in Jewish scholarship. Rather, grappling with pieces of the Talmud will help you learn to think of the world in distinctly Jewish ways, and will help you develop existential questions that you want to confront Jewishly alongside your chosen people.
The Mishneh Torah (מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה), a work of halakhic (having to do with law and custom) literature, is the best-known text of renowned Jewish scholar Moses Maimonides, also known as the Rambam. His commentary on the scriptures features prominently in many modern editions of the Torah, and his thinking is a jumping-off point for many modern Torah scholars. The Mishneh Torah is a more accessible book of Jewish law. Written in the 12th century, an age when Torah scholarship was largely reserved for the elite, Maimonides recognized that common people needed a way to have a relationship with their sacred texts that originated their rituals and customs. He produced the Mishneh Torah (which even he refers to as his “great text”) to explain and contextualize Jewish spirituality and ritual for everyone in the Jewish world.
The convert’s responsibility to the Mishneh Torah: While the Rambam is a revered scholar and Jewish thinker (indeed, his philosophy even appears to have influenced Einstein’s thinking), the Mishneh Torah is not regarded as a divine or sacred text. Rather, it provides an interesting peek into the ancient Jewish world, and as a convert, you may benefit from its highly accessible explanations of Jewish ritual and custom. As with the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Talmud, you should understand how the Mishneh Torah came about and how it continues to be impactful and relevant in the Jewish world.
The Guide of the Perplexed is Maimonides’ other well-known text. Unlike the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides composed his guide for other elite Torah scholars and Jewish thinkers. He wrote it for his student, Joseph, who had to leave Maimonides’s tutelage before his education was complete, and so Maimonides attempted to condense all of his most cutting-edge thinking and questioning into one text. Although the average person can glean fascinating knowledge from the Guide, dedicated scholars are challenged to unlock the text’s deeper mysteries. The Guide contains everything from biblical exegesis to epistemology to massively existential considerations on the future of mankind and the nature of G-d. The Guide is not light reading; rabbinical students may spend years working on this text.
The convert’s responsibility to the Guide is, arguably, minimal. A thorough understanding of the contents of the Torah and some Hebrew literacy are required before one can seriously grapple with this text. In the absence of this knowledge, you will need a well-educated teacher, such as a rabbi, to walk you through the Guide’s many rabbit-holes and nuances. That does not mean that you shouldn’t make the attempt–the text richly rewards those who sit deeply with it. Just don’t feel that you need to tackle this text to convert wholly and successfully. It is worthwhile, however, to read about Maimonides and how his thinking and philosophies have influenced the Jewish people, both historically and modernly.
The midrash (מִדְרָשׁ) are not one single text, but a body of rhetorical history. Jewish tradition is rich with debate, disagreement, and discussion. Midrashic texts are works of commentary on the Torah, chiefly, and also on other seminal Jewish texts and traditions. The classical midrash were authored primarily at the start of the rabbinic age, but as Judaism becomes more widely accessible and increasingly scholarly, the world of midrash continues to expand. Halakhic midrash, including the Mishneh Torah, deals with the legal aspects of Jewish life, while aggadic/haggadic midrash deals with customs, stories, and other non-legal aspects.
The convert’s responsibility to the midrash is, essentially, to study it–to understand how a history of rhetoric and debate has shaped the Jewish world. If you are studying Torah, especially in weekly sessions, you may find yourself wanting to produce some midrash of your own.
A Siddur (סדור) is a book of Jewish prayer and song, usually utilized in synagogue during services, although many people study their Siddur privately or simply read it for comfort. There is no unified siddur; rather, different Jewish traditions and even different synagogues have a siddur that fits their specific needs and beliefs. A typical siddur will include liturgy for Shabbat especially, but also for other Jewish holidays and holy moments.
The convert’s responsibility to a siddur will vary by tradition and by the degree to which you are experiencing Jewish life religiously. If you plan on attending religious services at a synagogue, you can expect to be handed a siddur from which the rabbi will conduct the service. If you are coming to Judaism religiously, siddurim will contain many spiritual and religious messages that you may find helpful in your new path; if you are more secular or non-religious, singing and praying from the siddur during services is an excellent way to build your sense of Jewish community and improve your Hebrew literacy. Religious or not, you will likely find the reading of a siddur to be an emotionally enriching experience.
A piyyut (פיוט) is also not a unified text, but is a Jewish liturgical prayer or poem. Piyyutim are often meant to be chanted in a religious service. Piyyutim feature prominently in siddurim, therefore, and play a widespread cultural role in Jewish communities across the world. Very well-known and well-loved piyyutim include Adon Olam (Master of the World) and Yigdal, as both are meant to be daily prayers. Piyyutim recited for Shabbat are also widely known.
The convert’s responsibility to piyyutim is much like that of their responsibility to siddurim. These are not specifically holy texts, but possible ways for you to build your Jewish path, whether that path seeks religion, community, or knowledge. Because many piyyutim can be traced back before the rabbinic age, learning them will bring you closer to Jewish history.
Additions
The Shulchan Aruch is widely known as the ultimate compendium of Jewish law. “Shulchan Aruch” refers both to the original work by Joseph Karo, which reflects Sephardic tradition, and the additional commentaries by the Rema, which provide Ashkenazi traditions. The Shulchan Aruch succeeds the Mishneh Torah and Jacob ben Asher’s Tur as the ultimate halachic reference.
As this work has been suggested for this list and is not part of my learning as of this posting, I can’t comment on the convert’s responsibility to the Shulchan Aruch. Instead, I will suggest that considering and studying converts explore how the textualization of Jewish law has evolved over time, and what specific questions and issues in Jewish life authors such as Maimonides and Karo were responding to in compiling these codes.
Disclaimer: This author is still learning! Please feel free to reply/reblog with corrections, additions, and questions.
