‘Your people shall be my people’
Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Said Ruth to Naomi, her Judean mother-in-law. The biblical Book of Ruth tells the story of Ruth, who converted and joined the Jewish people
These words describe unconditional loyalty and love. Ruth was a widowed Moabite woman, who chose to accompany Naomi on her journey of return to the land of Canaan. Naomi, ashamed, mourning and poor, urged her to turn back. Ruth refused. Despite everything, Ruth insisted and clung to her desire to return to the land of Canaan.
That decision would later be recognized as one of the earliest acts of conversion to the “Jewish people.”
Today, history repeats itself.
In the past two years, following the murderous terrorist attack of October 7, demand for conversion to Judaism in Israel has risen significantly. According to the Conversion Authority in the Prime Minister’s Office, there has been an increase of approximately 24.5% between 2022 and 2024.
That has led me to ask: WHY?
Precisely when Israel is at war, when being Jewish feels more “dangerous” than ever, and when hatred toward the Jewish people erupts in the streets of Europe and on university campuses in America. And yet, in this moment, people are choosing to join the Jewish people.
One possible explanation links the rise in conversions to global changes. Like the Russia–Ukraine war, which led to increased immigration to Israel. Among these immigrants were individuals defined as “irreligious״, making them a target population for conversion.
While this wave of newcomers may have played a role, it does not fully explain the phenomenon. Conversion applications rose not only among immigrants but also among native-born Israelis and those born in Ethiopia. This suggests that the conversions wave cannot be explained by immigration alone.
If so, it can also be examined through the “rally around the flag” effect, a surge of patriotic emotion that often emerges during times of crisis. Disagreements are set aside, and the flag becomes a point of unity. We saw this after the events of the September 11 attacks, and again in Ukraine following the Russian invasion in 2022.
However, in my view, this framework is too superficial. It assumes that conversion is a temporary emotional reaction that fades once a crisis ends. In reality, conversion is a lifelong commitment.
I propose a different understanding of conversion, as a deep, personal, and existential choice. Conversion is a decision that comes from the depths of the heart, and is a long and challenging process, culminating before a rabbinical court and in the acceptance of the “yoke of Heaven.” A unique and courageous decision to join the Jewish people.
If so, what do those who choose to join actually see?
I will attempt to answer this question through my own eyes; the eyes of a woman who chose to convert in 2019. The eyes of someone who spent her Shabbats in the embrace of another family in order to learn the Jewish way of life. The eyes of someone who was privileged to enter under the wings of the Divine Presence (“Shekinah Hashem” ). And yes, also to join the most persecuted people in the world.
I believe that October 7th was a wake-up call for the Jewish souls who sought to belong. Over the past two years, the people of Israel have been put to the test.
Friends from my class left behind their families, jobs and studies to defend their homeland and their people. I have friends who stood at the heart of the storm, representing the families of the hostages as if they were their own. My hometown friends and I left our jobs to help build donation centers for people evacuated because of the war.
Combatants, both men and women, returned from the battlefield with one request: to complete the conversion process. To ensure the continuity of the Jewish people. And beyond that, if they were to fall, to be buried as Jews. Those people have been told of the burdens of Jewish life, of persecution, danger, and responsibility. And yet, they insist. They may have been born as a gentile, but they carry a Jewish soul.
This is the story of Ruth. Naomi urged her to turn back and choose the safer and easier path. But Ruth refused.
Thousands of years have passed, and history repeats itself. This is the story of our country. Tens of thousands of souls who desire to return home and choose to say loud and proud;
Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
