Getting ready to contact a Rabbi

First step to converting.  Most people would tell you to find a Rabbi.  However there is a bit of stuff you should do on your own before contacting a Rabbi.  You may have heard that a Rabbi will turn you away three times.  Well, they turn you away because this is a long and life changing process.  It wouldn't be a big deal if it didn't make you so different from other people around you.  Not to mention it will make you different from your family.  Most people find religion during difficult and troubling time but most find Judaism during a happy and fulfilled time in their lives.  When they want to finally come home.  Because the more you learn the more you will fill you are coming home.

My advice..
step one - check to make sure what Judaism believes you two can believe or already do.
If you want to be Orthodox then you should start by checking out Jew in the City.  You will learn the way to dress which is black and white for men and the ladies have wigs or full head coverings if you are married.  The ladies of all ages wear skirts to the knee, shirt sleeves to the elbow and no shirt cut past the collar bone.
Now if you want to be any other kind of Jew, a Reconstruction, Reform, conservative then look to websites like the following
http://www.reformjudaism.org/
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/

My Jewish Learning website is a great go to for all information and questions you may have.


You may want to know hard core stuff like why we don't believe in Jesus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49l-g_TtGhI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wiawe2Pyzws

I have more information about this on this page
http://wheelerthree.blogspot.com/2013/10/core-beliefs-check-list.html

For a quick run down
Do you Jews drink?  Yes, but you don't have to.  They do not look down on it like the christian world.
Do Jews curse? It is never good to do it in company where you may offend someone but it is not forbidden like in the christian world.
Do Jews celebrate Halloween?  Some do but Orthodox don't.  They don't want to celebrate any holiday out of Judaism.  But we have Purim...

Which is so fun. Check out my holiday page and you will see our Purim party.

But we do Halloween also.

Do Jews celebrate Easter or Christmas?  No not at all.  Some may go to their families home to have a meal and exchange gift but do not have a tree or decor in their home.  They do not give xmas gifts to their kids.  We have our family to our house for Hanukkah and they give the kids the gifts then.  We give the kids one gift every night of Hanukkah.  We have tons of lights and decor for Hanukkah so ours do not fill like xmas is better.  Hanukkah doesn't have to be a dry and flat 8 nights.  But more on that later.

Do Jews feel Gay people are going to hell?  Well, hell is not the same thing for Jews as it is for Christians and neither is sin.   Sin is not the wrong which convicts you to a burning fire pit.. Sin is missing the mark.  You are trying to come closer to G-d and when you sin you miss the mark of getting closer to him.  So most Jewish Synagogues and Temple will welcome Gays into their communities.

Judaism doesn't work by fear.  You will not fear G-d, Satan, evil or Hell.  Satan is an angel of G-d.  No one that rebelled against G-d.  Angel can not do that.  It is not one set angel but any angel G-d uses to do the job.  Satan means opposition.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ezl1_4QtGc 

Satan is actually used many times in the Tanakh, and it means an adversary, obstacle or stumbling block. In Judaism Satan is an agent of G-d, created by G-d for a specific purpose, and something very good. Satan is simply an agent of G-d, just as all the other angels are simply agents of G-d

For more detail about this also check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGNAOZTXkac

Now a few questions to ask yourself about this before looking for a Rabbi is this, 

Can I give up all I was taught before about things in the christian world.  Can I learn the new meaning of words like sin, hell, satan, and messiah?

Can I give up Christmas and Easter?

These are questions you will be ask before you convert.  

Now they say to start learning to live a Jewish life.  We started this and six months later we contacted a Rabbi.  We wanted to show how committed we were.  When you start saying We believe and We do instead of They believe and Their do (Jews) when talking about Jews then you know you are ready to convert.

This link tells you a lot of information about Jews believe.

http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/index.html

First place to start is with this youtube video

Rational Approach To Divine Origin of Judaism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEg_Oys4NkA

TALMUD VIEWS ON CONVERTS
http://punktorah.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ConversionAccordingtoWinkler.pdf