These are the tools, books, and products I personally use and recommend to help you build a meaningful Jewish life — step by step, in your own way. You’ll find everything from Jewish books and ritual items to practical home resources I mention in my guides and videos.
Most links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It’s one of the ways I keep this space sustainable while sharing honest, experience-based recommendations.
Table of Contents:
* Indicates that this is an example only, I have not purchased this exact product. Please check reviews and shop around.
📖 Core Books
Becoming a Jew
- Choosing a Jewish Life by Diamant (non-orthodox)
- To Be a Jew by Donin (orthodox)
- Leaving Bacon Behind by Marsh
Living as a Jew
- How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household by Greenberg (orthodox)
- Living a Jewish Life by Diamant (non-orthodox)
- To Pray as a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service by Donin (orthodox, but highly relevant across movements)
- To Raise A Jewish Child: A Guide For Parents by Donin (orthodox)
- A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism by Goldstein
- People Love Dead Jews by Horn
- The Jewish Book of Why by Kolatch
Torahs
- Artscroll Torah/Chumash First 5 books of the Bible, “The Torah” in the most literal sense. Also available in a smaller, cheaper version.
- JPS Tanach Full Bible, this is my preferred “easy to read” translation.
- Artscroll Tanach Full Bible
- Children’s Torah/Bible book: The Family Torah by MacLeod A summary/lesson from each Parsha, the weekly portion that is read in Synagogues each week. The pictures aren’t super engaging – this is more a read-aloud book for kids older than toddlers, but it does the job. Speaking as a former homeschooler, there are few to none good books for Jews…yet. Someone please make them.
Learn to Read Hebrew (Decoding)
Learn the pros and cons of these resources here: My Top Hebrew Reading Recommendations
- Learn to Read Hebrew in 6 Weeks by Shaffier
- National Jewish Outreach Project Hebrew Crash Course
- Learn Hebrew Today by Yedwab
- Teach Yourself to Read Hebrew by Simon and Anderson
- The Hebrew Reader: Famous Hebrew Texts to Practice Your Reading by Shaffier
Hebrew Writing
- The Hebrew Work Book by Shaffier (teaches both block/print and cursive Hebrew)
- Learn to Write the Hebrew Script as an Adult by Notzah-Bicher – I would use this as an optional second book after Shaffier’s for more practice. It’s main strength is it gives you larger blocks of texts for practice, but they’re just quotes from the Torah, so you could choose any text you like from the Torah instead.
Reading Rashi Script
- Reading Rashi Made Easy Shmeezy by Rietti (part of a larger curriculum for schoolchildren, but pretty easy to apply independently)
Prayerbook Hebrew
- First Steps in Hebrew Prayer book and CD by Ben-Gigi
Biblical Hebrew
- The First Hebrew Primer by Simon
- The First Hebrew Primer Answer Book by Simon
Modern Hebrew
- Rosen Hebrew School (ulpan method: Hebrew taught in Hebrew) – I’m taking a course here. The course is fine, but their advertising efforts are over the top and annoying.
- Duolingo is better than nothing, but it’s not great. But if it’s what you’ll do, do it.
📚 Reference
Reference Books
- Jewish Literacy, Revised Edition by Telushkin
- The Jewish Annotated New Testament by Levine and Brettler
- Jastrow Dictionary of the Talmud by Jastrow
- The Practical Talmud Dictionary by Frank (called “the Frank”)
Kosher Cookbooks
- Kosher by Design series by Fishbein I’ve read several of these, but not all of them.
- The New York Times Kosher Cookbook by Amster
- Spice and Spirit: The Complete Kosher Jewish Cookbook by Emmer and Reitman
- Persian Food from the Non-Persian Bride: And Other Kosher Sephardic Recipes You Will Love! by Simnegar * This was mentioned in my YouTube Gift Guide video, but I haven’t read this yet. It has great reviews.
- The Instant Pot Kosher Cookbook by Shoyer
- Meatballs and Matzah Balls: Recipes and Reflections from a Jewish and Italian Life by Friedman (my review here)
- Le Marais: A Rare Steakhouse – Well Done by Meirelles and Hennessey * Fancy NYC restaurant I’ve been lucky enought to eat from a few times.
Other Useful Cookbooks
Vegan and vegetarian cookbooks are extremely useful for the kosher cook because they will usually have better substitutions for milk and meat than the kosher cookbooks, in my experience. Learn from them and apply that knowledge to your other cookbooks.
- The Happy Herbivore series by Nixon (Vegan) I own almost all of these and used to use her meal planning service during the maxed-out days of early parenthood. Highly recommend.
- The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples by Schinner
- The Moosewood Cookbook by Katzen (Vegetarian)
📖 Prayerbooks
These are all English-Hebrew editions, with Hebrew on one page and an English translation on the other. Artscroll is what you’re most likely to find in an orthodox synagogue, but I personally find the Koren easier to read and with a better, more modern translation.
There are multiple prayer styles (a nusach), but most commonly Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Sefard (Chabad). I’ve noted the different nusachs, and if you don’t see it for a particular style, that is because it was not available as of 11/11/25. Don’t know the difference between Ashkenaz, Sefardi, and Sfard? Start here!
- How to choose a Jewish prayer book/siddur/machzor (blog post I wrote, with links to recommendations)
- Note that while “compact” versions are cheaper, they are the same number of pages so you can follow along in synagogue if the pages are announced – the print just gets smaller.
- Ideally, use the same siddur your synagogue uses.
Online versions
- Free online versions of prayerbooks at Sefaria (most are antiquated English translations, but they’ll do in a pinch)
- The Open Siddur Project
Orthodox Weekday and Shabbat Prayerbooks
- Artscroll Ashkenazi Siddur (Also available in a cheaper, smaller version)
- Koren Ashkenazi Siddur (Also available in a cheaper, smaller version)
- Siddur Tehillat Hashem (Sefard/Chabad)
- Artscroll Sephardic Siddur (Also available in a cheaper, smaller version)
- Koren Sephardi Siddur
- Koren Talpiot Siddur (Prayers in Hebrew with English instructions)
Orthodox Machzorim (Holiday Prayerbooks)
- Sold individually for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot
- A regular Shabbat/Holiday siddur should include what you need for any holiday, but you will have to jump around some
- Artscroll 5 Machzor set, 5 Vol. (Ashkenazi) Comes in a cheaper, smaller size
- Koren Machzor set, 5 Vol. (Ashkenazi) Comes in a cheaper, smaller size
- Artscroll Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Machzorim set, 2 Vol.
- Koren Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Machzorim set, 2 Vol.
- Artscroll Children’s Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur Machzor (presumably Ashkenazi)
Non-Orthodox Prayerbooks
- Siddur Sim Shalom (Conservative)
- Mishkan T’Filah (Reform)
- Kol Haneshamah (Reconstructionist)
- Hillel Even the college student group Hillel has a siddur! I don’t actually know whether this siddur is appropriate for the orthodox, but I’m told it’s a great learning tool and an excellent choice for a “learners’ minyan.”
- The U.S. Military just came out with a new siddur that seeks to incorporate all the movements into one siddur: U.S. Soldiers Getting First New Siddur Since World War II.
Tehillim / Psalms
Many people pray the psalms. These are Hebrew/English versions.
🏠 For the Home
- Plata/Hot Plate for Shabbat and holidays (only one I recommend – made with safety and Jewish observance in mind): TechYidCo. Shabbos Safe Warming Tray
- Appliance timer (use an appliance timer for anything more powerful than a lamp): Sunlite T200 24hr Heavy Duty Appliance Timer
- Hot water urn (75% of people have this exact one, including me): Hamilton Beach 45 cup Coffee Urn and Hot Water Dispenser
- Kosher kitchen labels (still using 15+ years later): The Kosher Cook
- Crock-pot Slow Cooker
- Instant Pot (don’t use the crockpot feature for Shabbat/holidays)
- Kosher Lamp for Shabbat
- Kosher Clock * (Allows you to set alarms that will turn off after only 1 minute, plus other features. I haven’t personally used it, but it comes highly recommended.)
- Shtender (book stand – not required, just very useful): tabletop, another tabletop, a third type of tabletop, floor version *
- Yair Emanuel Judaica * (He dominates the market, but he’s not my style)
🕯️🕯️ Sample Basic Judaica
These are offered as just samples of what you might look for. Remember that none of these items has to be “Judaica” to be useful. For example, you can use any candlesticks you want, no Star of David decoration required. You don’t need a “kiddush” cup, you just need a cup to do kiddush with – and sometimes that’s a plastic Solo cup. It works. Do you need travel Shabbat candlesticks? No! Just light two tea lights on a safe surface.
- Shabbat candlesticks, another style, another, for tea lights *
- Travel Shabbat candlesticks *
- Shabbat candles
- Tall Kiddush cup, short one *
- Kosher grape juice: Kedem, Welch’s
- Kosher wine: If nothing else, you can probably find Manischewitz wine at your local shop. It’s a cheap wine.
- Challah board, another style *
- Challah cover, another style * (It’s perfectly kosher to cover the challah with a regular napkin!)
- Havdalah candle, another style * (one will last a long time because you only light it for a few minutes each week)
- Havdalah set, another style *
- I don’t link to a Mezuzah scroll because there’s too many Christian fakes online. Buy a “kosher” scroll from a real Jewish store, like Eichlers. Unfortunately, few shops are online as far as I can find.
- Simple Mezuzah case, fancier one, another, another, another * The choices are endless.
- Outdoor Mezuzah case
- Netilat Yadayim washing cup, cup and bowl set, cheap cup, cheap set *
- Tzedakah box, with a lock *
- I don’t link to a Tefillin or Tallit because there are too many Christian fakes online. These should be bought in consultation with your rabbi so that it will match your community and be kosher. They are generally investments, not cheap.
- Seder plate, another style *
- Matzah
- Menorah / Chanukiah, another style, children’s Chanukiah * (I recommend having the shamash on the side because it’s too easy to burn yourself replacing the shamash in the middle spot after lighting.)
- Chanukah candles, another style, oil cups that will fit in your chanukiah * (some people prefer to light with oil instead of candles – both are kosher, but not the electric ones)
👗🧣 Women’s Clothing and Haircoverings
Women and girls’ modest clothing, workout gear, and swimwear
- A clothing item you’re most likely to get from these retailers is a shell, explained here.
- Kosher Casual (to combine shipping, go to their main website, but shipping takes longer in my experience than on the Amazon store)
- Double Header
- Kiki Riki (Like Kleenex, many people refer to shells as Kiki Rikis)
Headscarves / Headcoverings
- Wrapunzel (owned by an IRL friend but almost all my scarves have come from here at full price. Especially check out the shapers. Their YouTube channel has a ton of tutorials, and they’re the only reason I know how to wrap creatively)
- Double Header
🎥 Biz Gear
- Camera: Refurbished iPhone 16
- DJI Mic Mini microphone
- Weilisi 12” Ring Light
- EUCOS 62″ Phone Tripod
- Link in bio tool: Stan.Store
- Video editing software: Descript (highly recommend!)
🧭 Planning Gear
- Arc Notebook by Staples (they keep trying to discontinue them)
- Discbound Notesbooks by Levenger
- Levenger hole punch
✨ Little Extras
📖 Books About Converts
- KosherSoul by Twitty (check out his other books! They’re all on my very big TBR pile.)
- The Mountain Family: An Appalachian Family of 12 – and their Fascinating Journey to Judaism by Berger and Neiman (here is my review of this book)
📚 Torah and Parsha books
- Judaism’s Life-Changing Ideas by Sacks
- Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible by Sacks
- Five Books Of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah by Frankel
- The Family Torah by MacLeod (for older elementary/middle kids)
- Torah of the Mothers: Contemporary Jewish Women Read Classical Jewish Texts by Wiskind-Elper
- Torah Queeries by Drinkwater
- Talks on the Parasha by Steinsaltz
- Parsha in Pink – Weekly inspiration from the Parsha to ignite the lives and Hearts of Women Today by Bodner-Lankry
📚 History & Culture Books
- Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean by Kritzler
- People Love Dead Jews by Horn
- The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York by Roden
- KosherSoul by Twitty
- Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole by Belser
- The Story of the Jews : A 4,000-Year Adventure by Mack (graphic novel aimed at kids)
- The Jewish Deli: An Illustrated Guide to the Chosen Food by Nadler
- Playmakers: The Jewish Entrepreneurs Who Created the Toy Industry in America by Kimmel
📚 Halacha Books
- The Daily Halacha by Mansour
- Business Halacha by Marburger
- Gates of Shabbat: A Guide for Observing Shabbat by Shapiro (Reform)
- The 39 Avoth Melacha of Shabbath by Chait (an orthodox illustrated children’s book but is an intermediate book used by many adults in orthodox conversions)
- Illustrated Guide to Shabbos by Greenwald
- The Kveller Shabbat Guide: How busy families can find meaning (and a bit of sanity) on the day of rest by Kveller
- How to Keep Kosher by Stern
- Hilchot-Tefila: A Comprehensive Guide to the Laws of Daily Prayer by Brofsky
- The Kosher Kitchen: A Practical Guide by Forst
📚 Novels/Pleasure Reading
- The World to Come: A Novel by Horn
- The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel by Wecker
- Haikus for Jews by Bader
📚 Parenting Books
- To Raise a Jewish Child by Donin
- How to Raise a Jewish Child: A Practical Handbook for Family Life by Diamant
- Mamaleh Knows Best: What Jewish Mothers Do to Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children by Ingall
- Raising a Child with Soul: How Time-Tested Jewish Wisdom Can Shape Your Child’s Character by Jungreiss-Wolff
- Teaching Your Children About God: A Modern Jewish Approach by Wolpe (non-orthodox)
- Nurture the Wow: Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears, Poop, Desperation, Wonder, and Radical Amazement of Parenting by Ruttenberg
- Talking to Your Children About Intimacy: A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Parents by DIament
- The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children by Mogel
- Celebrating Your New Jewish Daughter: Creating Jewish Ways to Welcome Baby Girls into the Covenant by Nussbaum Kohen (basically female alternatives to a bris celebration)
- The Complete Book of Hebrew Baby Names by Sidi
- New Jewish Baby Book: Names, Ceremonies & Customs―A Guide for Today’s Families by Diamant
- The Jewish Pregnancy Book: A Resource for the Soul, Body & Mind during Pregnancy, Birth & the First Three Months by Falk
📚 Spirituality Books
- My Father, My King by Pliskin
- Toward a Meaningful Life by Jacobson
- The Garden of Emunah by Arush
- Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar by Morinis
- Jewish Meditation by Kaplan
- Conversations with God: Prayers for Jewish Women by Koval
🏠 Miscellaneous for the Home
The following were examples given in my Chanukah Gift Guide video
- Kotel painting *
- “Shalom Y’All” sign *
- Rosh Hashanah Apples and Honey dish, another style *
- Jewish Home Blessing decor, another style *
- Kiddush cup fountain, another style *
- Hebrew wall clock *
🚫 👎 What I DO NOT Recommend
- Becoming Jewish: The Challenges, Rewards, and Paths to Conversion (review here with my reasons why this is the worst conversion book I’ve ever read)
