Our Activites

Shavei Israel opens the door to all who have decided that Judaism and a return to the Jewish people are central to their fate and their identity.

Our activities include:

• Dispatch of Emissaries: Shavei Israel sponsors rabbis and teachers to work with various groups of “lost Jews” in places as far afield as India and the Iberian peninsula. Shavei Israel rabbis are currently posted in Palma de Majorca in Spain, Oporto in northern Portugal, Recife in Brazil, and Krakow and Wroclaw in Poland.

• Traveling Seminars: Shavei Israel has launched a series of roving seminars aimed at reaching out the lost Jews and helping them to return to Judaism. Seminars have been held in Spain, Portugal, Poland and India.

• Educational Programs: For those seeking to undergo formal conversion to Judaism, Shavei Israel offers various educational options in Israel, including Machon Miriam, the only Spanish-language conversion and return institute in Jerusalem. Dozens of Spanish and Portuguese crypto-Jews graduate from Machon Miriam each year, and proceed to undergo formal conversion by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. Click here for information in Spanish about Machon Miriam.

• Virtual communities: Via our website, Shavei Israel hopes to create virtual communities in the future on the Internet, where those seeking to return to the Jewish people can find guidance and concrete answers. This may be accomplished through the use of electronic forums, mailing lists, and the archiving of educational material, as well as live “virtual chats” with rabbis, scholars and historians.

• Publications: Shavei Israel has published books in Spanish, Polish, Yiddish, Mizo and Portuguese, ranging from a children’s prayer book to a guide to the Sabbath table, as well as texts on other  Judaic themes. Click here to browse books.

• Aliyah: For those wishing to tie their fate with the people of Israel through aliyah, Shavei Israel is there to lend a helping hand. Shavei Israel remains in close contact with new immigrants, offering both material and spiritual assistance such as loans, financial aid, employment counseling and various group activities.

Shavei Israel does not proselytize nor does it support any form of missionary activity. Shavei Israel responds to personal expressions of desire to return to Judaism. We believe the Jewish People is a family with links that never vanish completely; our endeavor is to strengthen the links wherever they may have been weakened by history, distance or social parameters.

Our work is in complete accordance with Jewish Law and under the ongoing supervision of the Chief Rabbinate of the State of Israel.