Noahide / Conversion
Question
Hello my name is Luiz Diego, I live in Brazil and I'm 21 years old, my dream has always been to follow Judaism as my religion, but here there is no beit din where I can convert. One day an entity from a religion called Umbanda told me that I should follow this religion, Umbanda, but I am still in doubt. For my dream is to follow Judaism as my main religion. What advice can you give me
Answer
Dear Luiz,
Thank you for your question!
While Christianity believes that one must be a Christian to find favor with God and go to heaven, and Islam believes that one must become a Muslin to find favor with God and go to heaven, Judaism has no such belief. Judaism doesnt believe in seeking converts.
Judaism believes that God loves all mankind. One does not need to become Jewish to go to heaven. All that God wants from the Non-Jewish world is that they observe 7 precepts, or commandments. They are known as the “Noahide Laws” because the requirement to observe these seven laws was given Noah, a righteous non-Jew (yes, the fellow from the story with the flood).
The 7 laws are:
1. Don’t murder.
2. Don’t steal.
3. Don’t worship false gods.
4. Don’t be sexually immoral.
5. Don’t eat a limb from an animal that is still alive.
6. Don’t curse God.
7. Establish a system of justice.
Any human being who observes these laws goes to heaven. There is no need to become Jewish. God loves you and listens to your prayers. See for example Kings 1 8:41-43 where we find that God hears the prayers of non-Jews. I want to emphasize that there is no need to convert especially considering that you mention that there is no rabbi in your area. It is simply not possible to convert without a supervising rabbi.
Based on the above, it would be forbidden to join the Umbanda religion as they do not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the one and only God who Created the world. As such, we believe that it is forbidden for anyone to believe in such a religion.
Look online for the “Noahide” or "B'nai Noach" movement and consider joining them!