Library Exhibits

Your People Shall Be My People: Conversion to Judaism through the Centuries

January 22–July 23, 2026

Join us for the opening event on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Throughout Jewish history, from biblical times to the present, non-Jews have joined the Jewish people. How they have done so, however, has differed greatly from one historical context to another. Changing conditions of Jewish life have led to striking variations both in the motivations of converts and in the requirements for their formal acceptance as Jews. Yet some features of conversion to Judaism, or giyyur (in rabbinic terms), have been remarkably stable over the long period since rabbinic law became normative throughout the Jewish diaspora.

A major element of giyyur that distinguishes it from conversion in other cultures is its dual nature: the convert not only adopts a religious practice but joins a people. This duality is famously expressed by Ruth the Moabite, the biblical figure most closely associated with Jewish conversion, when she declares that “your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my God” (Ruth 1:16). Contrary to popular assumptions, however, the Hebrew Bible lacks a concept of conversion. The biblical “ger” was not a convert either in an ethnic or religious sense but was rather a foreigner living among Jews. It was only in late antiquity that the rabbis of the Talmud articulated the process of conversion they called giyyur. Over the centuries, rabbinic authorities have produced a rich and varied literature dealing with novel issues raised by specific cases or by changing social realities. Other sources – among them Geniza documents, ketubbot (marriage contracts), autobiographical accounts, and chronicles – throw light on historical trends and on the lives of individual converts.

This exhibit draws from The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary’s rich collection of manuscripts, rare books, and other items to illustrate some of the changes and continuities over time in the understanding and practice of conversion to Judaism.