Hey! So I know there are a few of these floating around but Ifelt it necessary to make my own post of what I consider essential websites, books, and other resources for learning about Judaism + a little note with what kind of info it has. The name of each should have a link.
My Jewish Learning - pulls articles from several branches of Judaism. Really useful for gathering pockets of information on a variety of topics, & sometimes goes super in-depth. Loads of articles with words to know for certain times of year and they have a related website with recipes.
JewFAQ - written by an Orthodox Jew, so obviously comes from an Orthodox perspective but occasionally mentions when the standards are different in other branches. Generally really good information & each page has a rating to tell you if a beginner would be likely to struggle with the topic or not and a few important notes at the top.
Chabad.org - also from a more Orthodox perspective. Great if you’re looking for the stricter interpretation of halacha (Jewish law) & has a /lot/ of information. Almost all words that may require further reading for understanding will have a link to another article.
ReformJudaism.org - obviously, Reform (liberal Judaism). Will go in detail on the generally accepted Reform perspective on several topics
JewishRecon - Reconstructionist Judaism (in terms of liberal - conservative, it’s generally less liberal than Reform Judaism). I don’t have much experience with this site personally.
JewishVirtualLibrary - I linked to the page on Conservative Judaism, but Jewish Virtual Library has a wide range of information, generally (in my experience with it) from the more historical perspective
CoffeeShopRabbi - Generally short blogs addressing pretty much every question you may have, all written by a female Rabbi. She’s also pretty good about responding to comments and tweets so I wouldn’t hesistate to reach out to her.
(check libraries, synagogues, and jewish used books before buying brand new books! books can be so expensive!)
Judaism’s 10 Best Ideas - a really short intro text to some of the major concepts in Judaism
Aleph Isn’t Tough series - intro to Biblical and prayer Hebrew (yes, it is a bit different from Modern Hebrew)
Essential Judaism - an overview of Jewish beliefs & practices
Finding G-d: Selected Responses - a short but kind of dense series of essays on Jewish concepts of G-d
Jewish Feminists - a compilation of interviews and writings on/about second-wave feminists who also identify as Jews
Living a Jewish Life - aimed more at families, but Anita Diamant is kind of one of those authors a lot of converts read at some point
Choosing a Jewish Life - Diamant’s book aimed at converts
Seasons of Our Joy - recommended to me by my Rabbi “but a bit mystical,” she told me. I really loved it and it was a good book for learning about the holidays
BimBam (formerly G-dcast) - a series of short videos going over the basics of Judaism
Jewish Music Toronto - literally how I learned the song Dayenu for Passover. Good resource if you’re looking for Jewish music basics
Jewish.tv - Chabad’s website for Jewish videos
Looking into Judaism can be really overwhelming, so here are a few questions I have had and seen others ask, along with links to get you started looking (but please, keep reading beyond these!)
- What are the Jewish sacred texts?
- What are the Jewish holidays?
- Why do the dates of holidays change every year (on the secular calendar)?
- What is kosher? Why follow these laws?
- What are the Jewish life cycle events and what is used to mark them?
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