List of converts to Judaism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by GenoV84 (talk | contribs) at 23:53, 24 September 2018 (→‎Former Christian clergy/theologians). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article lists nations, groups or tribes, as well as individual people, who have converted to Judaism and have a Wikipedia article about them. This article does not differentiate between the different branches of Judaism. See also Who is a Jew? on issues related to the acceptance of conversions throughout the Jewish community.

Note that a number of prominent figures, such as Madonna, Demi Moore, have recently become followers of a "new age" version of Kabbalah, derived from the body of Jewish mystical teaching also called Kabbalah, but do not consider themselves – and are not considered – Jewish.[1]

Converted nations, groups or tribes

Converted nations, groups or tribes from Christianity

Other converted nations, groups or tribes

Converted individuals

From Christianity

Former Christian clergy/theologians

Other Christians who converted to Judaism

Sammy Davis Jr., entertainer who converted while recovering from an automobile accident
Marilyn Monroe
Elizabeth Taylor
Andre Tippett
Ivanka Trump
Nikki Ziering

Not from Christianity

From atheism and/or agnosticism

From Black Hebrew Israelitism

From Islam

From Druzism

From other Middle Eastern religions

  • Avtalyon, Sage and Vice-President of the Sanhedrin, apparently from a Mideastern religion[89]
  • Sh'maya, Sage and President of the Sanhedrin, apparently from a Mideastern religion[90]

From Greco-Roman religion

From Samaritanism

From Shinto

  • Setzuso Kotsuji, son of a Shinto priest, and a professor in Japan (converted from Shinto to Christianity and then from Christianity to Judaism)

From Hinduism

List of conversions named in the Bible

Undetermined former religion

Converts who later left the faith or were expelled

See also

References

  1. ^ Goldstein, Evan R. (8 April 2011). "Is Madonna Jewish?". Wall Street Journal.
  2. ^ "A History of the Abuyudaya Jews of Uganda".
  3. ^ "Rabbi backs India's 'lost Jews'". BBC News. April 1, 2005. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  4. ^ Kulanu: Bene Ephraim of Andhra Pradesh, South India Archived 2007-11-12 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Converting Inca Indians in Peru Archived 2008-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "bet-debora.net – Frauenperspektiven im Judentum".
  7. ^ Kulanu: Claim Mexico playing host to a Lost Tribe Archived 2007-11-12 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia "Obadiah was a proselyte of Edomite origin."
  9. ^ a b c "IZATES – JewishEncyclopedia.com".
  10. ^ "ANANIAS OF ADIABENE – JewishEncyclopedia.com".
  11. ^ "Medieval Quotes About Khazar Judaism (Khazar Jews)".
  12. ^ Fordham University
  13. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia "If the contradictory and sometimes legendary accounts of the personality of Dhu Nuwas given by the Arabian writers can be trusted, he was not a Jew by birth, but embraced Judaism after ascending the throne, taking the name of "Joseph."
  14. ^ "Losing Faith: Who Did and Who Didn't How Scholarship Affects Scholars". Biblical Archaeology Society. March 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  15. ^ a b Barr, Robert (12 May 2013). "Geza Vermes, renowned Jesus scholar, dies at 88". Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  16. ^ a b Ivry, Benjamin (15 May 2013). "Geza Vermes, Hungarian Bible Scholar Who Returned to Jewish Roots, Dies at 88". The Forward. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  17. ^ Scalamonti, John David (1992). Ordained to be a Jew : a Catholic priest's conversion to Judaism. Hoboken, NJ: Ktav. ISBN 978-0-88125-412-9.
  18. ^ Carmel, Abraham (1993). So strange my path : a spiritual pilgrimage (Rev. ed.). New York: Bloch Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-8197-0040-7.
  19. ^ Bernstein, Fred. "Onetime Catholic Priest Abraham Carmel Celebrates His 25th Year as An Orthodox Jew". People.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  20. ^ Sanders, Gavriel Aryeh. http://ministersjourney.blogspot.com/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ^ "About Gavriel". 10 July 2008.
  22. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, art. Aquila of Sinope
  23. ^ "Tom Arnold".
  24. ^ "Jewish Actress Elizabeth Banks Discusses Her Conversion With Marc Maron – Jewcy". 17 January 2013.
  25. ^ "Episode 352 – Elizabeth Banks".
  26. ^ Le Figaro Magazine which states "as though his conversion to Judaism in 2002 had paradoxically made him closer to his Pas-de-Calais roots".
  27. ^ Arc Poetry review of "Jacob's Dream" which states "Brewster is fascinated with her newly adopted faith of Judaism—poems about Jewish holy days and heritage are sprinkled throughout"
  28. ^ "May Britt Joins Jewish Faith", The New York Times, October 18, 1960, p. 46
  29. ^ Q&A with Sarah Brown "Judaism, for me, is more a spiritual thing than a religion, but I feel that I have a Jewish soul. I didn't convert because of my marriage; I just always felt like there was a Jewish soul inside of me just dying to get out."
  30. ^ New York Times
  31. ^ "Onetime Catholic Priest Abraham Carmel Celebrates His 25th Year as An Orthodox Jew : People.com".
  32. ^ Chicago Sun Times via "Find Articles." Archived 2015-10-19 at the Wayback Machine: Said of her conversion "I needed to know where God was, and I went back to the basics."
  33. ^ a b c d e "Converted to Judaism".
  34. ^ "Happy Birthday, Connie Chung, Award-Winning Journalist".
  35. ^ Interview with Croce's Cousin http://www.netporch.com/sa/
  36. ^ Jewish Virtual Library
  37. ^ Shanks, Hershel. "Losing Faith: How Scholarship Affects Scholars". Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 2007.
  38. ^ A Publishers Weekly review of Jacqueline Du Pre: A Biography by Carol Easton [1] states she was "the daughter of anti-Semitic parents who herself converted to Judaism and at age 21 married Jewish pianist-conductor Daniel Barenboim."
  39. ^ "Democratic Convention Notes: Meet Chinese Jewish candidate Hank Eng".
  40. ^ Gensler, Howard (November 27, 2006). "'Borat' to wed Aussie actress Isla Fisher". Retrieved November 29, 2006.[dead link]
  41. ^ Luke Ford, XXX-Communicated: A Rebel Without a Shul. iUniverse, Inc., 2004. ISBN 0-595-66441-5
  42. ^ "AARONFREEMAN.COM".
  43. ^ "美白肌になる為の紫外線対策: 美白肌になる為の紫外線対策".
  44. ^ "Compass: COMPASS: THE BLACK JEW OF ROYAL SWAZILAND – ABC TV".
  45. ^ "GORDON, LORD GEORGE – JewishEncyclopedia.com".
  46. ^ The movie Shalom y'all
  47. ^ "Contemporary Jewish Writing in Sweden -- Lars Gustafsson Bio".
  48. ^ Hart[2] "Thought there are no Jewish Republicans in show biz? Well, Bush contributors include... host Mary Hart, who’s a convert to Judaism..."
  49. ^ Her website
  50. ^ Horlen, Joe : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  51. ^ The Big Book of Jewish Sports People by Peter Horvitz page 53
  52. ^ "Carolyn Jones (I) – News".
  53. ^ "Los nuevos conversos... al judaísmo".
  54. ^ Times Online interview: She says in the interview "I converted to Judaism in 1983. I am not a deeply religious person but it is a vital part of my life. It shapes my beliefs, and how I look at the world."
  55. ^ Seattle Times Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback Machine
  56. ^ judaism+-wikipedia&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=25 Beth Israel
  57. ^ Lester, Julius. "Home – Julius Lester".
  58. ^ a b "Jewish Baseball Players".
  59. ^ O'Toole, Lesley (December 22, 2006). "Ben Stiller : 'Doing comedy is scary'". London: The Independent. Archived from the original on January 8, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2006. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  60. ^ Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco Archived 2012-03-12 at the Wayback Machine states of her marriage, "Adah was not at all interested in home or family; in fact, the only thing she shared sincerely with him was his religion–she adopted the Jewish faith and remained steadfast in it until her death."
  61. ^ "1961: End of the road for Monroe and Miller". bbc.co.uk. 24 January 1961.
  62. ^ The Independent Feb 7, 2005; online here Findarticles Archived 2009-04-14 at the Wayback Machine accessed Dec 11, 2006
  63. ^ The Nation
  64. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2012-03-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  65. ^ Lawrence Jeffrey Epstein (1989). A treasury of Jewish anecdotes. p. 5,6. ISBN 978-0-87668-890-8. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  66. ^ Interview at Book Browse "I am a Jew by choice and Italian by heritage. Shortly after I converted to Judaism, I came across a book by Alexander Stille called Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism."
  67. ^ User, Super. "Bärbel Schäfer: Knallharte Diskussionen mit Michel Friedmann". {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  68. ^ Ariey Ariley (May 29, 2014). "Yosef the Holy Avreich" (in Hebrew). Jerusalem, Israel: Mishpacha. Retrieved Sep 30, 2014.
  69. ^ Deutsch, Gloria. "Yearning for acceptance". Features. No. 07/26/2012. Jerusalem Post. Joseph Joel Sherman has traveled a long road, from devout Christian to even more devout Jew – and in fact he has not yet arrived at his destination, to be accepted as a fully-fledged Orthodox Jew – although he is well on the way.
  70. ^ "Intelligently and Enthusiastically Crowning Hashem". The Seymour J. Abrams Jerusalem World Center, headquarters of OU Israel. Retrieved Sep 30, 2014.
  71. ^ "WordPress.com". Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  72. ^ pine, dan. "Novelist takes on Vatican secrecy with new spy thriller – j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California". Archived from the original on 2009-02-17. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  73. ^ Ex-Knick Chris Smith converts to Judaism, signs deal in Israel - NY Daily News
  74. ^ from biography "Female Brando: The Legend of Kim Stanley" by Jon Krampner, 2006
  75. ^ Men.", Godfrey Hodgson; Godfrey Hodgson Is A. British Journalist Whose Latest Book Is "all Things To All (3 April 1983). "BUSY LOVE LETTERS". YTimes.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  76. ^ Stilley[3] "...the former model, raised a Christian in Conway, S.C., recently announced that she is converting to Judaism. Even her rabbi is befuddled.... "The first thing that attracted me to Judaism was the undeniable family strength that has held Jewish people and culture together for 3,000 years. . . Jews, whether religious or not, know where they have come from and what they would wish for their future, and this certainty is based on fact, not faith.... "I will not be a perfect Jew, nor will Judaism make me perfect. But I know that Judaism will give me faith, support, knowledge, and history. I am not Jewish because I choose to be. I am Jewish because there is no other choice for me.""
  77. ^ In her book Elizabeth Takes Off, Taylor writes, "[Conversion to Judaism] had absolutely nothing to do with my past marriage to Mike [Todd] or my upcoming marriage to Eddie Fisher, both of whom were Jewish. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time." [4]
  78. ^ "Profile at Jewishsports.com". Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2007-02-25. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  79. ^ Jewish Bulletin of Northern California:On being asked about Christmas, because of the Santa Claus related The Polar Express, he stated "We have a Jewish household. I converted when I married Lisa."
  80. ^ Jewish Bulletin of Northern California: "After Winningham observed her first Yom Kippur that year, she knew she had to convert, and did so March 3, 2003, accompanied by an entourage of friends and relatives."
  81. ^ Entertainment Weekly
  82. ^ "The Christian B. Anfinsen Papers: Biographical Information".
  83. ^ Novak, David (1 January 1989). "Review of From Marxism to Judaism: Collected Essays of". Journal of Law and Religion. 7 (1): 247–250. doi:10.2307/1051200. JSTOR 1051200.
  84. ^ Broderick, Damien (1 January 2000). Transrealist Fiction: Writing in the Slipstream of Science. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-31121-5.
  85. ^ Cohen, Mike. TV’s Lost Girl converts to Judaism, Jewish Tribune, August 23, 2011. Accessed October 18, 2011.
  86. ^ admin. "Actress-singer Mare Winningham an unlikely Jewish soul – j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California".
  87. ^ "500 Error".
  88. ^ "A Martyr from Lebanon: Life in the Shadow of Danger"
  89. ^ "ABTALION, POLLION – JewishEncyclopedia.com".
  90. ^ "SHEMAIAH (SAMAIAS, SAMEAS) – JewishEncyclopedia.com".
  91. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia "He was by birth a Gentile from Pontus, and is said by Epiphanius to have been a connection by marriage of the emperor Hadrian and to have been appointed by him about the year 128 to an office concerned with the rebuilding of Jerusalem as "Ælia Capitolina." At some unknown age he joined the Christians, but afterward left them and became a proselyte to Judaism."
  92. ^ "ONḲELOS – JewishEncyclopedia.com".
  93. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2007-02-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  94. ^ "SHEBA, QUEEN OF – JewishEncyclopedia.com".
  95. ^ "BBC – Religions – Judaism: Converting to Judaism".
  96. ^ EsMas.com Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine
  97. ^ "Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more". Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  98. ^ (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities xx. 7, § 3