Are you a Jew by choice?
LISHMAH is here to help you find your way on your own personal Jewish journey.
COMING SOON!
ABOUT LISHMAH
THE WHY
Choosing to be Jewish is an exciting a meaningful journey that lasts a time of learning. It can also feel overwhelming and confusing. Sometimes, however, the support that was available during the conversion process or initial stages of returning to Judaism seems to disappear despite the fact that new questions and choices arise all the time.
THE WHAT
LISHMAH aims to create the support you need to make your life and Judaism fit together. By starting with who you are as a person you can design the Jewish life that is meaningful and relevant to you
THE HOW
LISHMAH hopes to eventually provide a unique set of resources from blogs and ebooks through to discussion spaces and even online courses, all looking at Judaism through the eyes of people like you. Ultimately the aim is to create individual connections and a sense of community so we can strengthen each other.
What does LISHMAH offer?
Lishmah is currently in the research and development stage, which means you can help shape what it becomes by signing up below to be an early participant and supporter and by taking the survey. We are keen to hear from Jews by choice (and your Rabbis or lay-teachers) about your experiences and what you feel you need to continue on your journey.
LISHMAH is however founded on the philosophy that we all make conscious choices which, over time, form a design for our own lives. LISHMAH can draw on four sets of resources to support you in forming and implementing that design,
JEWISH LEARNING
There is so much to learn! LISHMAH aims to help you learn from Jewish texts by looking at them through the particular lens of coming new to Judaism as an adult.
CREATIVITY
Designing a new life is a deeply creative act. There are many creative ways to make ritual, practice, culture and community a meaningful and practical part of your daily life.
COACHING IDEAS
Finding your place in Judaism and making a place for Judaism in your life can bring challenges and moments of ‘stuckness’ or uncertainty. Approaches drawn from life coaching can help you through those times.
COMMUNITY
Community matters. LISHMAH hopes to help individuals connect and to empower the wider Jewish community to understand the conversion experience and provide a truly welcoming and nurturing environment for converts.
What does LISHMAH mean?
Lishmah is a Hebrew word meaning ‘ for the sake of it’. It is used to reflect the choice to learn Torah and practice Judaism purely for the love of it, not, for any ulterior motivation. It’s use as the name for this site reflects the intention to kindle that love that you have found and make sure you grow deeper and deeper in love with your newly chosen life.
What do you mean by 'Jew by choice'?
Lishmah is written for anyone who finds it useful!
However the term Jew by choice has been chosen to cover two main groups of people. First those who have come into Judaism from secular backgrounds or other faith traditions, recently or some time ago. Some of those people will call themselves converts, some prefer the term ‘Jew-by-choice’. To respect that LISHMAH uses both terms side by side, allowing each individual to describe themselves as they wish. The site is particularly aimed at those who have already been through the Beit Din process and become Jewish, as there are many other sites supporting the conversion process itself. However if you are earlier in your journey you are of course welcome to use this site in anticipation of your conversion.
However, many of the questions and experiences that converts have are equally relevant to people who have Jewish parents (on either side) or more distant relatives, but were not brought up practicing Judaism. The term Jew by choice is equally applicable to someone with that heritage who actively makes a decision to practice or learn about Judaism whether or not they are required to formally convert. Indeed, there is an argument to say that every Jew has to make that choice no matter their background. Ultimately it’s up to you to decide if the material here is helpful to you. If it is – it’s all yours!
Of course you may be a family member, friends or teacher of either category of Jew by choice and hopefully the site will also help you understand their experience more so you can support them in their life choices.
However you come to Judaism and this site, you are welcome irrespective of your race, gender, sexuality, nationality, body-type, denomination, type of Beit Din you converted through, the side of your family on which you have Jewish heritage, or any other personal characteristic. The site however is written from an inclusive, progressive and egalitarian stance.
Would you like to help shape LISHMAH?
LISHMAH is a slow growing passion project founded by one individual Jew by choice. It is at the very beginning research and development stage and I am keen to hear from other converts and their rabbis. I would like to hear your stories, your joys and your struggles and to find out what you most need to support you on your Jewish journey. I also want to hear from people who may wish to write guest blogs in due course because the voices of all Jews by choice are important. . Early supporters will help us form connections and have key imput into the resources which LISHMAH designs. There are two ways you can get involved at this early development stage.
TAKE THE SURVEY
Contribute your thoughts needs and ideas via a short survey. Your answers will help shape LISHMAH.
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
- Help shape Lishmah into what you need
- Join in the conversation with other readers on Substack
- Be the first to get new resources
Is it Jewish to talk openly about conversion like this?
The Torah states thirty-six times that we should love the convert. There are also textual prohibitions against humiliating converts and this includes by reminding them of their background in a way that makes then feel ‘less than’ or not a full Jew. Once a person converts they are a full part of the Jewish people.
However, there is no prohibition against converts talking about their own story, how they came to Judaism and about the particular Jewish journey they are on. Indeed it can be harmful to insist that they ‘flatten their identity’ by making then feel that they cannot tell their life story. Lishmah hopes ultimately to become a place where these stories can be added to the rich storehouse of records of individual Jewish experiences.
Who founded LISHMAH?
fa LISHMAH is a slow-growing personal project founded by Helen Conway, a Jew-by-choice from the UK. She is an abstract artist, a writer and a qualified life, creativity and leadership coach and writer. She has a long background in adult education and working with people in various forms of transition. A former family and immigration lawyer, she is now studying on a rabbinical programme. She attends a Progressive synagogue.
The project was born out of her own experience following her conversion in 2019 and from listening to the stories of other converts and the rabbis and lay leaders who have supported them on their journey. The same experiences related to establishing a Jewish life and identity post-conversion or after a return to a Jewish heritage cropped up, no matter where people lived. It became apparent that although there are many support groups for various segments of the wider Jewish population, no such place existed to discuss and learn Judaism through this particular lens.
Wishing someone else had created what she herself wanted, she then could not ignore the words of Hillel: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself what am I? And if not now, when?
© Helen L Conway 2026