Recommended Reading

Regardless of which Orthodox Bet Din you will be working with and who your sponsoring rabbi will be there is a standard curriculum of Torah study that each program will likely share in common. The following books we recommend to increase your knowledge of Torah these will be very helpful in helping you prepare for conversion.

Five Books of Moses

1. The Living Torah by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
2. The Stone Edition Chumash

Tanach

1. The Stone Edition Tanach

On Conversion

1. Becoming a Jew by Rabbi Maurice Lamm
2. Jewish Conversion: Its Meaning & Laws By Rabbi Yoel Schwartz
3. The Orthodox Road to Conversion by Rabbi Marc Angel (Ktav)

General Introduction to Judaism

1. A Complete Idiot's Guide to Judaism by Rabbi Benjamin Blech
2. Maimonidies 13 Principles of Faith Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
3. Handbook fo Jewish Thought Volumes I & II by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
4. The Jew and His Home by Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov
5. The Way of G-d Derech Hashem by Rabbi Mosher Chaim Luzzato
6. To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life by Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin
7. Sefer Hachinuch The Book of Mitzvah Education

General Introduction to the Holidays

1. The Book of our Heritage by Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov
2. The Halachos of Pesach by Rabbi Shimon Eider
3. Living the Kabbalah: A Guide to the Sabbath and Festivals in the Teachings of Rabbi Rafael Moshe Luria

General Introduction to Halakha

1. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried
2. The Brochos Handbook by Rabbi Yisroel Pinchos Bodner

Shabbat

1. Shemirath Shabbath by Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth
2. The 39 Avoth Melacha of Shabbath Rabbi Baruch Chait
3. The 39 Melochos: An Elucidation of the 39 Melochos from Concept to Practical Application Rabbi Dovid Ribiat

Prayer

1. To Pray as a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service by Rabbi Hayim Halevi Donin

General Introduction to Talmud

1. The Essential Talmud by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
2. Tales from the Gemara Volumes 1-5

General Introduction to Jewish Customs

1. Rite & Reason: 1050 Jewish Customs and Their Sources by Rabbi Shmuel Gelbard

Women and Halakha

1. A Hedge of Roses by Rabbi Norman Lamm
2. The Secret of Jewish Femininity by Tehilla Abramov
3. Women and the Mitzvot Volumes I, II & III by Rabbi Getsel Ellinson
4. Halichos Bas Yisrael by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakoc Fuchs
5. The Jewish Way in Love and Marriage by Rabbi Maurice Lamm
6. Hide and Seek: Jewish Women and Hair Covering edited by Lynne Schreiber
8. Outside/Inside by Gila Manolson
9. A Lifetime Companion to the Laws of Jewish Family Life by Dr. Deena Zimmerman
10. Total Immersion: A Mikvah Anthology edited by Rivkah Slonim

General Introduction to Jewish History

1. 2000 Years of Jewish History Rabbi Chaim Schloss

General Introduction to Hassidism

1. Chassidc Masters by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
2. The Light Beyond by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
3. The Religious Thought of Hassidism by Rabbi Norman Lamm

General Introduction to Kabbalah

1. The Thirteen Pedalled Rose by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
2. Inner Space by Rabbi Arye Kaplan

General Introduction to Jewish Stories

1. Stories my Grandfather Told Me Volumes 1-5 2. Tales of the Tzadikkim Volumes 1-5