Practically all Jewish community leaders worldwide receive requests from individuals and groups wishing to convert to Judaism. These are individuals who, in one way or another, are related to the community, Judaism, and Israel, or desire to resolve issues of their personal or family identity.
Conversion requests are mostly from couples, one of whose members is not Jewish, who want to be recognized as part of the people of Israel in the congregations, in society and in community centers. But the realm of conversions has opened up to many more souls, who would hardly have approached it several years ago. Each of them comes with a different motivation. Reasons range from the discovery of faith in the G-d of Israel, and their solidarity with the Jewish people and Israel, their newly discovered Jewish ancestors, and through them the customs that remained a mystery within the family, to those who see conversion as a possibility to emigrate to Israel, improve their income and better educate their children.
Few communities have managed to establish a system for converting to Judaism accepted by all its members, the rabbinical authorities of all sectors, and other institutions of the city or country concerned.
Among the Jewish communities outside Israel[1], we find that while some have a Beth Din[2] that oversees these cases, others only have preparatory courses for those who wish to convert, and a third type has no structure at all; however there are rabbinical courts that belong to different movements in Judaism.[3] Some communities provide the preparation process, but the conversion culminates at another community’s Bet Din.
Some communities have opted for inviting courts of Israeli rabbis to come to their countries, complete the process and certify its validity. On the other hand, some of the members of congregations, communities, Jewish JCCs, and cultural and philanthropic organizations are Jewish converts or their offspring, who are not recognized as such by other congregations of the city or the country, or the Israeli rabbinate. Their children often receive Jewish education and feel like Jews, attend synagogues, celebrate the Jewish calendar festivities, have a family name easily recognized as Jewish, are considered Israelites by their Jewish and non-Jewish friends, but are not accepted when they decide to get married in their country of origin and / or the State of Israel.
On more than one occasion, unexpectedly, they are the target of rejection and repudiation, open or covert.
The State of Israel allows the immigration of couples one of whose members is not Jewish, and their children, and people who have one Jewish ancestor, and grants them full rights, except that of their religious identity.
Some people accept it, and hopeless, feel this does not affect their ethnic or religious identity. Others, feeling despised, renounce their communities and oftentimes prefer to establish their families apart from their group of belonging and reference. Others, many more, silently endure what they perceive as discrimination and rejection, powerless to explain to their children the reasons for the vagueness of their social and religious status.
No universal rules are applied by community leaders, who are usually divided when dealing with the challenge of exogamy[4] which they perceive as a threat to their social, ethnic and religious continuity.
Among those who wish to become Jews, some refuse to follow a conversion process that will require strict adherence to Jewish religious norms. Others feel that being a Jew should not be determined by religious authorities who do not share their views on Judaism. The rabbis who demand compliance with the norms live in the same city as others, who accept looser, easier, more forgiving rules, and do not abide by what is required from individuals belonging to movements that legislate their own standards according to different parameters.
When these people stand before the Rabbinical Court, they face the dilemma of having to lie when required to fully implement religious precepts, or to substantially change their way of life to a model unsuitable to them, at least at that stage. They see that many of their relatives, and Jewish friends and neighbors, live like secular Jews, and their commitment to the community, Israel and the Jewish religion is extremely limited, without any one denying or questioning their identity.
The requirements and procedures vary from one rabbinical court to another. Because of a lack of unified criteria, converts do not always succeed in fulfilling one of their fundamental desires as human beings. Adoptive families, who teach compliance with the rules that are fraught with details and thus difficult to understand when not seen and practiced under supervision, are not always correctly chosen.
Court members pose questions to confirm converts’ feelings, which affect their privacy and cause them embarrassment.[5] Many women feel their privacy is invaded because they must be seen by the judges while immersed in the ritual bath, dressed in a robe. They perceive a conflict with the rules of modesty they studied in the course that prepares them to convert, as one of the important requirements of Judaism.
Some communities set restrictive rules, ban conversions, or prevent converts’ offspring from participating in the community for several generations, justifying the families’ refusal to accept strangers on the grounds that the latter will not fully accept Judaism. Restrictions also hinder the adoption of children born to non-Jewish mothers. And if these children want to be converted by their parents to integrate into the community, the rabbis demand assurances that their education and way of life will resemble those of the most observant Jews.
The challenges of community leadership in Diaspora countries do not end here, but surface at the time of such persons’ death as well. When families want to bury them in a cemetery consecrated by the religious authorities, but are refused to allow to bury or conduct funerals for people who were not born of a Jewish womb or did not convert before authorities that they recognize as valid. Community rules are not always in line with those of the Chevra Kadisha[6] responsible for the decision to include members of the same congregation in the local Jewish cemetery, or to exclude them.
The conflict exists not only between leaders of different groups, but among governing board members, hesitant about the need to respect the decisions of the religious authorities they appointed and retain.
At least 300,000 immigrants from the former USSR countries live in the State of Israel. While some of their ancestors were Jewish, they are not under the rules of the official rabbinate. Their children are circumcised after eight days, speak Hebrew well, serve in the Israel Defense Forces and die in its defense and that of citizens and rabbis who do not fully accept them. These young people know that if they want to marry, they cannot do so before the only recognized authority -the rabbinate- and if they die they will not be buried with their families or fellow soldiers.
Among immigrants from Ethiopia there are two groups: “Beta Israel” – that followed the Jewish tradition for years, which makes some rabbis feel that they need a symbolic conversion[7] or perhaps not, and the “Falashmura”[8] – who despite their Jewish origin, converted to Christianity a century ago.
They have come to Israel willing to fully integrate into the Jewish people. But there are several groups whom most Jews do not even know of. Among them, the Bnei Menashe,[9] who live in northeastern India. The members of the Shabbatnick, the Sabbatarian – keep the Shabbat[10] and identify with the Jewish people. The Shabbatnick, who immigrated to Israel in recent years as part of the major immigration from the Commonwealth of Independent States, had to go through the entire conversion process.[11] However, even when the State was established, among them were people who had held senior positions in Israel.[12]
One of the most important groups wishing to become a part of the people of Israel are the descendants of Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal who live – some as groups, including crypto-Jews[13] – in different countries of Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Several thousands of them have kept Jewish habits and have married only into their own relatives or group members.
The common denominator of these groups is their desire to convert and be universally accepted, and also to determine who to turn to, in order to be recognized as full Jews.
Most are interested in taking up a deep and painful spiritual exercise. They must abandon their customs and even leave their families and places of residence and be accepted by the surrounding environment. They want to know and practice Judaism after study and experience, learn how to use a Hebrew prayer book and understand the prayers, attend the synagogue, change their crockery and food, and study the Scriptures and their interpretation, the music and ritual meals. However, their previous efforts are not devoted to spirituality but to overcome procedural issues and learn what to answer to the Rabbinical Court that will certify the process.
This paper is an attempt to approach the subject on aspects relevant to its comprehension, and to provide instructional material for anyone wishing to understand the controversies that arise in our times, not necessarily motivated by differences in the application or understanding of religious norms or their underlying philosophy.
Conversion in History
In the sources[14] we find that Abraham, the first monotheist, converted men while his wife Sara converted women to Judaism. Already in the Exodus account we find people who joined the liberated slaves[15] who were to receive the Tablets of the Law and enter the Promised Land to adopt their religious and ethnic identity. Moses, who is described as a convert by the Talmudic sages, got together with one of the daughters of Jethro. Rachav, the woman who assisted the tribes of Israel in their entry into the Land of Israel, sheltered them in her home in the city of Jericho, joined Judaism and married Joshua. Ruth the Moabite, whose story is told in the biblical book that bears her name, had among her offspring at least three kings: David, Solomon and Hezekiah. The Messiah, a descendant of David, will succeed Ruth, a convert whose process teaches us many of the rules currently applied in conversion.
The fact that the Scriptures expressly limited the entry of some peoples to Israel[16] tells us that the rest were welcome.[17] The rule that excluded those nations was not applied literally along history, and underwent several reforms over time, one of which actually allowed the entry of Ruth.
Interestingly, tradition says that descendants of notorious enemies of the Jewish people became part of it through conversion and, played outstanding roles in history. Among the sons of the evil Haman are those who taught Torah at Bene Beraq, those of Sisera in Jerusalem, and the Tanaites Shemaya and Avtalion[18] descend from Senacherib.
Onkelos, who translated the Scriptures into Aramaic, texts that continue to be printed, read and studied today, was a convert.[19] It is said that Rabbi Akiva,[20] Rabbi Meir,[21] and Queen Helena,[22] among others, descended from converts. The Scriptures present repeated expressions of affection for foreigners and converts, who should be treated properly, considered equals regarding obligations and rights, and not be discriminated against.[23]
The Talmud praises converts[24] who in daily prayers are equated to the righteous, the pious and scribes of the Jewish people, asking for mercy for every one of them.
However, not at all times did Judaism warmly welcome those who wished to join. Sometimes, simply because of moments of weakness and lack of faith in the ability to integrate them; on other occasions for fear about its safety, and yet on others, believing that a barrier would thus be established to stop the assimilation of foreign customs, and the loss of those who married outside the Jewish faith and then wished to insincerely regularize their status becoming a part of the Jewish people.
Concepts about Conversion
The rules of Judaism establish that anyone born of a Jewish[25] mother[27] or converted to Judaism is Jewish. The first notion is biological and does not depend on the will of the newborn. Their identity is randomly defined. The second is the result of a unilateral act of will that is regulated and depends for its validity on the decision of a rabbinical court.
The Scriptures contain other notions related to the possibility of joining -in some way- the Jewish people. One of them is “Judaizing” – mitiahadim27 – and the other, the ger toshav,[28] equivalent to a resident of Israel who agreed to abide by the “seven commandments of Noah”.[29] In both cases these are people who were not fully integrated into Judaism as if they had been born of Jewish mothers or converted according to the rules.
Those who went through the conversion process are called in Hebrew ger[30] and if female, gioret. The process leading to integration is called giur.
Religious rules consider that the people who went through the giur are subject to all obligations and rights. Among them, marrying any other Jew, except a Cohen.
Conversion is irreversible[31] in principle. Converts who change their mind about their decision would still be considered Jews according to the religious rules, even if they actively practice another religion. Children conceived after the conversion will be considered Jewish, regardless of the wish of the family and their own. This condition is shared with all the Jews born to a Jewish mother.
The rule bans conversions performed against the will of the convert.[32] Moreover, unlike other faiths, Judaism does not pursue mass conversions of people unwilling to be part of Israel.
Trends favorable or unfavorable to conversion changed in the course of history, and paradoxically our times seem to be characterized by tighter requirements for converts, and an unprecedented number of individuals accepted by the rabbinical courts.
The steps of the process
The conversion process includes, according to the Shulchan Aruch,[33] several steps: to immerse in the ritual bath (mikveh), to circumcise the men, and if they already are, go through a mini-surgical procedure, almost symbolic, to show bleeding in the area of the circumcision; present an offering, and accept Jewish precepts. The presentation of the offering, impossible in our days since there is no Temple in Jerusalem, is not a sine qua non condition to accept the convert. Exegetes and hermeneutists agree that immersion in the ritual bath and circumcision[34] are mandatory prerequisites. The need to accept the precepts was discussed by the rabbis. Some argue that without the acceptance, conversion[35] cannot be performed, since it is the most important prerequisite, others however believe it is not essential.
A minor, or anyone who lacks the ability to decide and wants to convert, should be represented by a person of age in order to have access to conversion and confirm it either actively or passively when reaching the religious coming of age: twelve years and one day for girls and thirteen and one day for boys.
Role of the rabbinical court
The act of conversion requires a three-judge court.[36] Besides the exegetical interpretation of the verse quoted in the previous footnote, which proves such obligation, it seems to be so because the act of conversion has social, collective, and national consequences beyond the simple personal fact determined by the individual who wishes to join the Jewish people. As of that moment he is counted for the minyan, may marry a Jew, testify at trials, etc… Some see in this demand the need for a group of neutral experts, to check whether under the rules, the reasons offered by the convert are legally valid.
Requirements
The Talmud narrates, “Rabbi Chiya bar Aba said, Rabbi Yochanan said, he will never be a ger until circumcised and immersed in ritual water”.[37] The Talmud further relates, “The teachers taught that a foreigner who in our time wants to convert [to Judaism], is told: What have you seen that you come to convert? Do you not know that in current times Jews are being persecuted, oppressed, despised, harassed and tormented? If he says, I know and am unworthy of being (part of the Jewish congregation), they accept him immediately and notify him of some of the lighter and some of the strictest precepts. He is instructed on the mistake of [neglecting the laws of] the gleanings,[38] the forgotten sheaf,[39] the hidden corner and the tithe of the poor.[4] He is told about the punishment for [violating] the commandments, and also: Know that in the past you ate fat without suffering the punishment of excision (caret)[41] – and violated the Shabbat without being stoned,[42] but if you eat fat now you will be punished with caret, and if you violate the Shabbat you will be stoned.”[43] And just as he is informed about the punishment for violating the commandments, he is told about the rewards for abiding by them: “You should know that the future world has been created only for the righteous, and that in these times, Israel cannot bear too much wellbeing or too many sorrows. However, not too much insistence is employed, or excessive detail provided. If he accepts, he is immediately circumcised… Two scholars stand at his side and inform him about some of the looser and some of the most severe requirements. After immersing in the ritual water and emerging from it, he should be considered Israelite in all respects. When it comes to a woman, the other women submerge her in the water to the neck and from outside two scholars inform her of some of the minor and some of the most severe commandments…”
The Biblical source of the procedure
The Talmud itself goes on to explain the foundations of conversion rules. “Rabbi Eleazar said: What verse is it based on? – It is written: When Naomi saw that (Ruth) was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her[44]… We are forbidden, “she said from passing the limits of the Shabbat[45]… – Where you go, I will go. Meeting alone is forbidden,[46] where you lodge, I will lodge.[47] We were given six hundred and thirteen commandments. – Your people shall be my people[48] – Idolatry has been banned…. And your God my God. Courts were given four forms of capital punishment – Where you die, will I die.[49] Two cemeteries were available to the courts.[50] And there will I be buried “And seeing (Naomi) that (Ruth) was so steadfastly minded, etc.” “If he accepts, he is circumcised immediately.” “Why? – Because obedience to the commandments should not be delayed.”
Teaching the precepts and commitng to comply
In the conversion process, as the Talmud teaches, converts were «notified» on two occasions about the commandments. The first one when informed that they would be accepted; the second, at the time of immersion in ritual water. This was initially done before a court of three members and during daytime. But if he was circumcised or immersed in front of two judges and at night, and in case the immersion was due to the desire to be purified (from other ritual impurities without the will to convert through this ritual) he would be considered ger and allowed to marry Israelites, except for the notification of the precepts that prevents the process from continuing if not in front of three scholars.[51] The first notification seems to have an educational and instructive purpose.
The motvaton of the convert – its value
It is prescribed that before the acceptance the convert must be investigated to find whether there is a reason that prevents him from entering Judaism.[52] There are various opinions in the classical rabbinical literature as to the relationship that should exist between the convert’s motivation and his acceptance. One of them – restrictive –[53] ties the validity of the act to the motivation. Another, more permissive, determines that motivation is important in the decision to perform the act of conversion,[54] but, in the absence of a motivation, or if it were flawed, the ensuing validity is not affected. A third one states that the motivation of the convert is irrelevant in the whole process and its subsequent validity.[55]
In our days the theme again becomes current and opinions about converts’ motivations are almost invariably maintained. Some communities do not accept converts, whatever the reason for the conversion or the court that certifies the process.[56] The most important reason is that it prevents the children of its members from out-marriages. Through outright prohibition, young people who wish to remain in the family community are forced to choose a partner of their own faith. At the other end are those who believe that given the tendency of young Jews to marry outside Judaism, and the need to maintain the number of Jews, reduced by the Holocaust and the current low birth rate among Jews, they should try to retain those who have not lost their last contact with their origin and faith. As for existing exogamous couples, they seek a way to repair ex post facto, accepting more easily the integration of the non-Jewish spouse through more accessible conversion procedures.[57] The reason that opposes both positions is the question of whether “to save another person from sin, you can commit a blunder or not.”[58]
Some rabbinical authorities facilitate conversion without the certainty of compliance with the precepts, following several principles of jurisprudence and the philosophy of religion. Among them, the one expressed in the Scriptures: “It is time for you, Lord, to work: for they have made void your law,”[59] and “in times of need, it is considered as valid as if already made.” In a social milieu in which most Jews are not observant of the precepts, the relative who converted sees no reason to be compelled to observe religious rules. For those rabbis, saving him from the possibility of being idolatrous justifies any effort, i.e., what is important –they say– is that he not be a pagan.
When dealing with the issue of conversion, Professor Yeshayau Leibowitz (Riga 1903 – Jerusalem 1994), despite his liberalism and opennesson many issues, is stricter than the generally accepted precept. “Every conversion not performed in the Heavenly Name is invalid from the religious point of view… the massive industry of converts who had relationships with Jewish women, or non-Jewish women who were in relationships with Jews, is an ethical and religious abomination, that turns Judaism into a laughingstock and an object of ridicule.”[60]
It is virtually impossible to separate the cultural and social reasons of those who distinguish between metaphysical or sociological causes to guide their choice.
A different line of thought is that of deputy and Rabbi Chaim Amsellem[61], who compiled the jurisprudence of recent centuries, and states that it is not necessary to investigate the motivation of the convert prior to his conversion, nor is it necessary for him to commit to adopt certain behaviors. In his book Zera Israel he quotes Rabbi Ovadia Yosef[62], who after defining the sage as one who has his eyes in his head, and can see the future consequences of an action, quotes the Talmud in Sanhedrin, which narrates that Timna[63], the daughter of Kings, wanted to sincerely convert and become part of the Jewish people, but on being rejected, came to Eliphaz who converted her despite the rules and took her; and Amalek who descends from them, relentlessly persecuted the Israelites, because he felt that Timna should not have been rejected. The Torah states that people should not be rejected; That we must bring together, and that we are bound to attract others.
The work of Rabbi Chaim Amsellem implies that he accepts, according to the sources,[64] to allow the conversion of a child without demanding that he respect the precepts, and when that child becomes of religious age, as long as he does not refuse to comply it is understood that he has expressly consented. In other words, a person could be converted without asking for his consent, to the extent that he does not specifically express his refusal to respecting the precepts.
The conversion of the son of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother
Another issue that arises today is whether you can or should facilitate the conversion of a child whose father is Jewish, and his mother non-Jewish but does not want to convert.[65] In this case, there is prima facie certainty that the child will not be educated under the rules of Judaism because his mother is unacquainted with, and uncommitted to them.
Various rabbinical authorities of our time believe it is better to facilitate the mother’s conversion, for her teachings to the children not to oppose those of her husband.[66] They even apply the principle of “Zera Israel”,[67] the seed of Israel – which includes all those whom the Halacha does not include as Jews[68] because they were born to a non-Jewish woman, but descend from a Jewish ancestor or parent.[69] In the Talmudic period[70], rabbis even brought up the possibility that the non-Jew descended from the lost tribes,[71] so as to facilitate or justify their conversion.
The massive influx to Israel of former USSR immigrants, whose religious identity was unclear, triggered a series of rabbinical rulings seeking their full integration into the Israeli society. These rulings have had a major impact on rabbinic jurisprudence in Diaspora countries.
Isaiah’s prophecies[72] seem to have prompted that thought. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said in a ruling that those immigrants could be recognized as Jews through their own declarations. And, after thanking the Almighty for having freed them from seventy years of Communist rule, he added that “many questions arise regarding this immigration because, apparently, many non Jews profited from it and joined the Jewish immigrants to escape economic hardships in the Soviet Union. It should be made clear that those who wish to register as Jews are considered trustworthy, even in the case they cannot produce any supporting documents. And their testimony suffices, or at most, credible witnesses should be presented to prove it.” According to the rule, immigrants from Russia who declare to be Jewish, are trustworthy; however, if there were reasonable grounds to believe that their statement was false, a thorough investigation should be undertaken,[73] and in that case a conversion process should ensue.
Entering the ethnic group or the Jewish religion?
Proposal for civil or secular conversion to Judaism.
The geopolitical changes of recent years have not influenced Jews enough to abandon the classic discussions of whether they are part of a religion, a people, a nation or an ethnic group. The discussions even seem to have progressed, despite the fact that other groups and nations, affiliated with post-modernism, state they have overcome such dilemmas.
After thousands of years of history, along which Jews considered themselves as a national, tribal and even family unit that shared the same religious principles, they continue to inquire about their identity. Until relatively recent times, people and religion were overlapping concepts; thus converts joined both the people and the faith, without question. There was virtually no difference between these notions.
In ancient times, those who did not accept the Jewish regulatory criteria, i.e. taking part in community life, responding with solidarity to other sectors of the people, and adhering to Jewish tradition and faith, were excluded from the congregation, or excluded themselves with their behavior.
Today, most Jews do not observe religious precepts, and practically the vast majority of them live in Israel. Their fate is that of the Jewish people, no distinction exists between observant Jews and those unconnected to traditions. Nevertheless, the State of Israel secular authorities granted the rabbinical leaders power to resolve the issue of the nation’s individual and collective status, expressing their decision that this be simultaneously a religious and national issue. However, this does not mean that the patterns used to integrate Jews to their religion have changed.
Jews not living in Israel are closer to the national identity of the peoples in which they were born or educated than to that of their ancestors, or contemporary Israelis. They do not share with Israelis the language or the civil standards, nor necessarily do they resort in family matters to the religious authorities of their country of residence.
This makes an agreement among various sectors even more difficult regarding what should be the common ground for those born as Jews and those who wish to join the group and, therefore, what rules and valid procedures for carrying out the conversion should apply.
It is therefore not surprising that the thinkers of Secular Humanistic Judaism,[74] which assumes that social and religious traditions must be accredited by each person individually, and should not be accepted as a matter of faith, seek other ways to integrate into Judaism those who so desire. To them it is undeniable that human problems must bring up creative and humane responses, conversion being one of them. From this perspective, the conditions for performing a conversion, as required by the different religious sectors, cannot be the only answer to the needs of people seeking to join Judaism. That model does not resolve the identity of those who do not feel that the Jewish religion, and compliance with its rules, can become a common purpose with the Jewish people or the State of Israel. Thus, they participate in the discussion of whether the Jewish people are an ethnic group, a nation, a faith or a religion with its precepts.
From a different perspective, Rabbi Yaakov Fink[75] has argued whether the convert, committing to comply with the precepts, becomes a Jew or, whether because he converted to Judaism, he commits to comply with the precepts. In other words, if by converting he joins an ethnic group,[76] in this case the Jews, and therefore must comply with its regulations, or perhaps, the change of status from non-Jew to Jew, is the byproduct of his commitment to respect the commandments. Upon entering the Jewish religious group he becomes a part of the Jewish ethnic group. Whether the Jewish group drew its features from the pact it signed with God or the Torah grants the status of identity, those who join by performing mitzvot, become part of the group. The consequences of this discussion are practical rather than philosophical, since the question that emerges is whether the acts of circumcision and immersion are more important, and compliance with the precepts is uncalled for. In the opinion of major contemporary rabbis, a voluntary commitment to meet the requirements is not necessary for the convert to be bound by them. This obligation derives from the change in identity. They argue that the covenant at Sinai was signed with the whole group and not individually with its members.[77]
For Secular Humanistic Judaism, the term “conversion” is no longer appropriate; the concept of “adoption in the Jewish family” is preferred. If conversion describes a religious albeit mystical act involving the exchange of a set of beliefs for another, and often accompanied by a transformation ritual, they prefer to avoid the term. Voluntary integration to the Jewish culture and the desire to belong, suffice to become part of the Jewish group.
Rabbi Peter H. Schweitzer[78] holds an affirmation ceremony to reduce the hurdles that prevent access to Judaism.
That line of thought welcomes all those who are not Jewish according to the Halacha. They claim that “secular conversion should be an option because not everyone who converts does so worrying about the religion. In the countries of the Jewish Diaspora, a non-Jew who married or wishes to marry a Jew and join their family and their group, without fulfilling the rules, is offered no other alternative.” Its aim, they say, is to approach those with no religious sensitivity, who do not wish to lie to the rabbis in the conversion process, pledging to behave in a way at odds with their lifestyle, which they will then not fulfill.
The members of Secular Humanistic Judaism in Israel do not want the rabbinate to deal with conversion, marriage and divorce. They aspire to a complete division between state and religion, and a separation of conversion to Judaism and naturalization, and receiving citizens’ rights, or becoming a citizen.
Today, they say, “we are in our country, Israel. We are the majority; ministers, legislators, judges, police, military and the educational system and culture is ours. The immigrants assimilate into the Israeli identity. Children learn to sing and play in Hebrew, and incorporate the holidays of Israel, its joys and sorrows for the wars. They grow as Israelis and serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. Hence, in practice they are Jews, even if they were not born as such and did not convert.”
In a country with democratic aspirations, the principle of the Elders of Israel must be applied: “A family that assimilated into Judaism is part of it and all families will be legitimate in the future, and he who challenges them does so extrapolating his own ineligibility.”[79]
The issue is further compounded because in Israel there are those who seek a correspondence between the country’s citizenship laws, the Law of Return and the rules of conversion to Judaism. Under the Law, a Jew is one who was born of a Jewish mother or converted and has no other religion. The rights granted to Jews, such as citizenship, are granted to their son or daughter, wife, and grandson. Many of the immigrants who arrived in Israel, particularly from the former USSR countries, are citizens under the Law of Return, which grants them full civil rights, but following the same rule, their spouses, children and grandchildren are not “Jews.” If they want to be, they should go through the Orthodox conversion process.
A ruling by the Supreme Court of Israel recognizes non-Orthodox conversion for the purpose of the Law of Return but, since marriage and divorce fall under the jurisdiction of the rabbinical courts, its effects only apply to citizenship.
Most converts to Judaism in the United States and other countries have gone through the process of the Conservative and Liberal (Reform) movements’ rabbinical courts, which grants them the citizenship, although they are not considered Jews by the family law courts of the State of Israel.
The Supreme Court of Israel decided to recognize non-Orthodox conversions for the purpose of the Law of Return.[80] The Court’s decision was issued in May 1995, recognizing the fifteen appellants as Jews, by seven votes to four, even though the conversion process had taken place outside the boundaries of Israel before Reformist (Liberal) or Masorti (Conservative) movements’ courts. No decision was issued on conversion processes carried out in Israel. This decision paved the way for providing citizenship rights, but has no bearing on the question of “marriage and divorce”, which remain in the hands of Orthodox rabbis. For them the only possible solution is to go through another conversion before the Israeli courts, or rule their family rights according to the civil law, and marry abroad.
Thus, the integration into the Jewish ethnic group, when not done after conversion processes, allows new Jews to feel integrated into the groups they belong to, without being fully recognized as Jews by the Israeli family courts.
Even for those who believe that the commitment to meet the rules is not mandatory for conversion, the traditional process conducted by recognized courts remains a pre-requisite for full acceptance of the convert in the State of Israel.
3. Has given up their previous nationality, or has shown the will to become an Israeli citizen.The Ministry of the Interior may exempt an applicant for some of these requirements.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 13 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
Epilogue
This work is based on rabbinic and exegetical sources seen in the light of Orthodox Judaism, the one adopted by the State of Israel to clarify issues on religious identity.
It is easy to note that there is no consensus on findings, proceedings or their practical application, and their arguments are dynamic and have changed over the course of Jewish history.
Judaism is not monolithic, nor had it been in the old times.
Rabbinical Courts take into account the situation of the persons who resort to them, their circumstances and place of residence. The rulings follow different traditions, depending on the judges, their training and stance regarding the various schools of jurisprudence.
In a not too distant past, Rabbinical Courts were influenced by external events, ruled by the authorities of the place where they had settled, and where the Jews’ religious or secular authority had no role.
The existence of different exegetical schools that gave rise to contradicting and chronologically simultaneous responses, sometimes even in the same cities, was a blessing in the course of history, since it greatly enriched the case law that later became the standard or the custom accepted by the majority, in a process that in certain areas lasted several centuries. With regards to conversion in present times, the same comment does not apply.
Converts in good faith, eager to fully integrate into Judaism, go through ceremonies that approve them as Jews only in the geographical jurisdiction of that court. In Israel, courts appointed by the Chief Rabbinate reject converts approved by the Rabbinical Courts of the Israel Defense Forces[81] and even retrospectively overturn conversions by other courts, not only creating legal uncertainty but also affecting the spiritual sensitivity of these people.
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is an institution created by the State. The opinion of its members is not binding for the secular sectors that do not need its message, or the more observant sectors led by their own rabbinical authorities. It has limited influence.
However, the Israeli law empowers the Chief Rabbinate to rule in conversion cases. Its influence is also very limited in worldwide Jewish communities that do not abide by its decisions on conversions in their own territories, with a few exceptions.
Nowadays, heated discussions are ongoing that result on one hand in stricter requirements and, on the other in a desperate search for solutions. Many of these discussions are not based on faith or religion, but on issues of Israeli domestic politics or others, who aware of the discussions, take the opportunity to gain influence in their own countries.
This paper aims to present the stances of various rabbinical authorities and the Responsa[82] for readers to form their own opinion, and contributes elements for the debate to be more productive and allow anyone who wants to be part of the Covenant to be accepted after completing the procedures that still need to be further explored.
Despite the relative acceptance of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s authority in our days, it is clear that because most of the Jews of the world live there and because it rules in more cases than anywhere else on the planet, its approaches will be used to further construe the procedures and establish guidelines that will ultimately be accepted by most of the Rabbinical Courts. In a few years, solutions may be found that, after setting in will be accepted in this dynamic and changing process grounded on hermeneutics, exegesis and jurisprudence.
Yerahmiel Barylka
Jerusalem, Menachem av 5770
August 2010
81. See ut supra.
82. Responsa (Latin, plural of responsum, “responses”) is the set of written decisions and rulings of scholars to the questions they are asked. In Hebrew they are called Sheelot uTeshuvot: “questions and answers” and include the resolutions of those accepted as experts in Jewish law” along 1,700 years.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 14 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
About the author
Yerahmiel Barylka, an Orthodox rabbi, educator and community advisor, was born in Argentina in 1943, and currently lives in Israel. He was the principal at Jewish schools in Argentina and Mexico, and in Israel he led several Keren Kayemet Leisrael areas and departments. He has published several books, among them: Exogamy – Diagnosis and Prevention, Selected Topics on Judaism, and The Jewish Prayer. For over ten years he was the Middle East correspondent for the Mexican network Nucleo Radio Mil and currently publishes in Israeli and Latin American journals.
Copyright© JDC, Yerahmiel Barylka, 2010
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[1] In most of the European countries there is an official rabbinate, generally Orthodox, in charge of the conversion process. In U.S.A., there is separation of Church and State, therefore no official body exists, and any rabbi may perform a conversion according to their own philosophical and religious belief and the group they belong to. In Latin America, in several countries and communities, converting individuals to Judaism is banned; if they converted in other countries or communities they are not recognized or admitted in the community.
[2] Rabbinical Court.
[3] Some of the main groups in modern Judaism are: Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform, Orthodox, and Secular Humanistic Judaism.
Within each of these groups, no standard criteria exist for conversion to Judaism.
[4] See Barylka, Yerahmiel, Exogamia –Diagnóstico y Prevención, Editorial Keter, Jerusalem, 2002.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 3 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[5] See, Meguilat Gerut, by Vered Mor, Publisher Rubén Mas, 5770, a work that describes the experience of 23 women who went through the conversion process. The second part of the book describes the experiences of the conversion courts’ judges.
[6] Lit. the Sacred Congregation, in charge of providing burial services to community members.
[7] Guiur Lechumrah is the one performed in cases of doubt about the religious identity of the convert. Although the process is more dynamic, it still involves completing the basic steps: Immersing in the ritual bath, men must go through circumcision, and appear before an accepted court.
[8] The Falash Mura were practically unknown until Operation Solomon, when a group tried to get on the Israeli planes and was rejected. The Falash Mura insisted that they had a right to emigrate because they were of Jewish descent, but the Israelis saw them as non-Jews, since most of them had never practiced Judaism and were not considered by Beta Israel as part of the community. Their leaders contended that they had been forced to convert, but were still Jews. The Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) provided humanitarian assistance without taking part in the discussion about their identity.
[9] The Bnei Menashe are a group of over 9,000 persons living in the border states of northeastern India: Manipur and Mizoram. They contend they are the offspring of one of the lost tribes of Israel.
[10] Dr. Velvl Chernin’s research has shown that there are about 10,000 Subbotniks, living in several places like Russia, Ukraine and Siberia, besides those living in Israel. (See The Subbotniks, published by The Rappaport Center for Assimilation Research and Strengthening Jewish Vitality, Bar Ilan University – Faculty of Jewish Studies, 2007 – 5767).Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 4 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[11] See decision of the Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar (2007) who decided that it could not be proven that the group was Jewish, but its members are related to the Jewish people.
[12] General Raful Eitan – who acted in Israel – has probably been the best known descendant of the group. He was the Commander in Chief of the IDF, and Minister of Agriculture. Eitan was quoted as saying: “My mother was a descendant of the Czar’s bodyguards, who like other Subbotniks were Shabbat-observers Christian Cossacks. Their reason to come to the Land of Israel was Christian”. Eitan then said that he had been misinterpreted.
[13] Crypto-Judaism refers to the groups that hide clandestine Jewish practices from members of other faiths. Marranos and Chuetas practiced Judaism in private, and descendants of Crypto-Jews have been identified in many countries.
[14] About the verse of Genesis 12:5 “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came”. Says the Midrash Bereshit Rabá, Parashá 39, that they did not “take” the persons, but converted them to Judaism: “Said rabbi Eleazar ben Zimra, even if all the creatures got together, they could not have created even a mvosquito or give it a spirit; thus the verse means that they converted them. And why are the words in plural, when the verse starts in singular? To teach us that Abram converted men and Sarai converted women.
[15] “And a mixed multitude went up also with them…” (Exodus 12:38). Exegete Rashi says that those were persons who converted to Judaism.
[16] “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:” (Deuteronomy 23:3).
[17] “You shall not abhor an Edomite; for he is your brother: you shall not abhor an Egyptian; because you were a stranger in his land. The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the Lord in their third generation.” (OP. CIT., chapter cit. 7-8). Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 5 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[18] See Talmud Babylon, Gittin 57 b.
[19] Onkelos, called Aquila in the Talmud of Jerusalem, who lived in the 1st Century AD, is the most outstanding translator of the Scriptures into Aramaic. His name is quoted several times in the Talmud. He was thought to descend from a noble Roman family.
[20] Rabbi Akiva, the son of Joseph is one of the most important Tanaites of the Talmudic period. He lived in 1st and 2nd centuries AD, and died, tortured by the Romans, in 136. It is believed that he supported the rebellion of Bar Kochba whom he considered a Messiah. His name is quoted over 1500 times in the Talmud.
[21] Rabbi Meir was a leader after Bar Kochba’s rebellion. Talmudic sources state that he descended from Emperor Nero. He was one of the closest disciples of Rabbi Akiva. His wife Bruria was the daughter of Rabbi Haninah ben Teradion.
[22] Helena was the queen of Adiabene and wife of Monobaz I. Their son Monobaz II converted with her to Judaism in 30 AD. She died 26 years later and during her stay in Israel gave her goods to the people of Jerusalem.
[23] “He (G-d) does execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger (ger), in giving him food and raiment. Love you therefore the stranger: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”(Deuteronomy 10:18-19). “And if a stranger (ger) sojourns with you in your land, you shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your G-d.” (Leviticus 19:33-34). “And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet smell to the Lord; as you do, so he shall do. One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourns with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourns with you.” (Numbers 15:14-16), “You shall neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt…”(Exodus 22:21).
[24] Said Rabbi Eleazar ben Pdat: “G-d did not redeem Israel among the nations except to take in converts” (Pesachim 87 b). Said Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, “Converts are desired by G-d more than those who were at Sinai. Why? If those had not heard the voices, seen the torches and thunder, and the mountains shaking and the sound of trumpets and horns, they would not have received the divine yoke. And he who saw nothing of the sort, comes and approaches the Lord, and receives the heavenly yoke. Is there anything to be loved more than that? (Tanchuma Lech Lecha 6).
[25] In the far-off past, the Jewish identity was defined by the father’s identity. Several examples of such cases appear in the Scriptures, the most outstanding of them being: Yehudah the son of Jacob who took Bat Shua, who was Canaanite. Joseph, married Osnat, an Egyptian who was the daughter of a pagan priest. Moshe, King David and their son Solomon, had children who considered themselves Jewish despite the fact that their mothers were not. Apparently that situation persisted until the times of Ezra the Scribe (5th century before AD).
[26] According to the Talmud, the rule is taken from Deuteronomy 7:3-4 “Neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, nor his daughter shall you take to your son. For they will turn away your son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy you suddenly”. Also see Ezra 9:2 “For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass. ” and Ezra 10:3 “Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.” Confirmed in the Talmud Babylon, Kidushin 68 b.
[27] “And in every province, and in every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell on them” (Esther 8:17).
[28] See M. Ed., M. A. Jed Michael Schatz, in Strangers among us: El Nakri, Ger Toshav, and Ger Tzedek in Devarim. “Ger Toshav, which is mentioned in the Torah simply as Ger, enjoyed many of the privileges of the native Israelites, and was bound to comply with many of the precepts of the Torah, albeit not all of them, while living among the Israelites. He was defined, at least, as a non-Jew living within the Jewish community, who abstained from idolatry (Talmud Babylon, Makot 9a). “Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 6 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[29] The Seven Precepts of Noah are considered binding by humankind. (See Sanhedrin 56). They determine that courts of justice will be established and ban idolatry, blasphemy, murder, incest, theft, and eating meat of live animals.
[30] Probably a word of ugaritic origin, referred to immigrants, see Gur in Even Shoshan.
[31] A recent decision of the Rabbinical Court of Jerusalem declared conversions invalid retroactively, which gave rise to major controversies and was subsequently rejected by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
[32] “A rational individual is not converted against his will” (Conf. Rashi, Yevamot 48 a).
[33] The name of the compilation of religious Jewish standards. Its author was Yosef Karo, born in Toledo, in 1488, four years before the eviction of the Jews from Spain by the Catholic Monarchs. He died in 1575.
[34] See Genesis 34:22: “Only herein will the men consent to us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.”
[35] See Maimonides, Isurei Bi’ah, chapter 14, Halachot 1-2.
[36] The Talmud, in Yevamot 47a, assumes through Rabbi Yehuda that a convert who went through the rabbinical court, is ger but if he self converted, is not considered ger. From the verse: “And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brothers, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him”. (Deuteronomy 1:16).
[37] The ten-male quorum, mandatory for certain segments of the collective religious services.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 7 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[38] Talmud Babylon, Yevamot 46 b.
[39] See Deuteronomy 24:19: “When you cut down your harvest in your field, and have forgot a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
[40] See Deuteronomy 26:12: “When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled.”
[41] The punishment of “caret” appears in several places of the Scriptures. (See Exodus 12:19, Leviticus 7:27, Op. Cit. 20:20-21, Numbers 19:13 and 20, Talmud Babylon Moed Katan 29 a, Kritut 2 a, Shabbat 25 b).
[42] Stoning is one of the four capital punishment modalities established in the Talmud.
[43] The four ways of executing the death penalty that appear in the Talmud are currently not applicable and, according to the Talmudic text, were applied on an exceptional basis in the times of the Sanhedrin.
[44] Ruth 1:18.
[45] The rule establishes that on Shabbat one is not allowed to walk a distance longer than two hundred cubits from the boundary of the area of residence.
[46] A man and a strange woman shall not meet in a closed or isolated place.
[47] Op. Cit. 1:16.
[48] Op. Cit. 1:17.
[49] Op. Cit. 1:17.
[50] To bury the victims of the death penalty, according to the severity of the crime.
[51] See Shulchan Aruch, Iore Dea, artcle 268, paragraph 3. Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 8 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[52] Perhaps for economic reasons, or a governmental position, or for fear of something bad happening, if he has laid eyes on an Israelite Woman or a young Jew? See Maimonides, Isurei Bi’ah, Chapter 13, Halacha 14 and Shulchan Aruch Iore Dea, article 268, paragraph 12.
[53] See Yevamot 24, b “The man who converts because of a woman, and the woman who converts because of a man, and he who converts because of a royal table or the slaves of Solomon, are not converts; those are the words of Rabbi Nehemiah, who said; the “converts of lions” (the Samaritans who converted out of fear, see II Kings 27:25) just like the converts of dreams (because they had a nightmare or in its interpretation they were told to convert to Judaism) and the converts of Mordechai and Esther, (for the fear of the Jews fell upon them) are not converts (See Esther 8:17); converts are only those who convert in current times”. (When the situation of Jews is better).
[54] See Yevamot 24 b, “The rabbis taught that in the times of Messiah no converts will be accepted. Nor were they accepted in the times of David and Solomon. Said Rabbi Eliezer: What is the source?- Isaiah 54:15 “Behold, they may gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall because of thee.” However, in verse 76 b, “Rabbi Joseph stated: And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh King of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter (1 Kings 3:1), and had her convert, in times when David and Solomon did not allow converts. This because they converted to approach the royal feast, but Pharaoh’s daughter did not need that.” From that we learn that her conversion was not objected despite the fact that it had been performed for allegedly incorrect reasons.
[55] In the sources we find (Shabbat 31a) the case of a non-Jew who walked by a study house and heard the description of the kingly attire of the high priest, and decided to convert to Judaism to be chosen Cohen Gadol. Shamai rejected him angrily, but Hillel converted him, taught him the Torah until he realized he would never be chosen for that position. Hillel’s position is that even in the case of an erroneous or impossible motive, someone may be converted and accepted.
[56] Among them are the communities of descendants of the city of Aleppo in Syria, the major ones are in Israel, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Panama.
[57] Living with a person of another sex outside the wedding rules is considered a violation of the rules of Judaism. If the non-Jew converted, the situation could be normalized. The question that has come up in late years is whether saving a person from such violation is an obligation that must be actively exercised, converting the non-Jew if he agreed, or not do it.
[58] The source of the discussion is in Shabbat 4 a, “A person is not told to sin to save a fellow man from a violation”. See comment in the Talmudic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, pages 575-578.
[59] Psalms 119: 126.
[60] Quoted in Sagi, Avi, The Jewish-Israeli Voyage, Culture and Identity, Shalom Hartman Institute, 2006, page 189.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 9 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[61] Amsellem, Chaim, was born in 1959 in Oran, Algiers, and has lived in Jerusalem since age 10. He is a rabbi and a justice mediator in Rabbinical Courts. He was elected to the Israeli Parliament representing the party Shas. His learned work has raised discussions among contemporary rabbis. Some of the titles are, Zera Israel, and Makor Israel (Jerusalem 2010).
[62] Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, (1920, Iraq), Chief Rabbi of Israel, is considered one of the major religious legislators of the religious Jewish law of this century. His responses, published and commented, have been distributed among Jewish scholars worldwide and are accepted mainly by Sephardic rabbis. He follows the Sephardic jurisprudence, but is respected by many Ashkenazi rabbis because of the breadth of his knowledge.
[63] See Sanhedrin 99b, Genesis 36:12 “And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bore to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau’s wife”.
[64] Tosafot –commentators of the Talmud-, in Sanhedrin 68 b.
[65] Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer, (Germany 1820-1899), [quoted in Conversion to Judaism and The Meaning of Jewish Identity, by Avi Sagi and Zvi Zohar, The Bialik Institute, Jerusalem, The Shalom Hartman Institute], considered that the court converting in such cases would be punished for all the convert’s violations if it had known beforehand that he would not respect the rules after his conversion. On the contrary, rabbi Mordechai Halevi Horowitz (Germany 1844-1910), considered that the convert alone is liable for his faults.
[66] The Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ben Sion Meir Jai Uziel (1880-1953), who held his position between 1939 and 1953 thought that the conversion of a non-Jewish woman in an exogamic marriage should be facilitated. See Responsa de los Fallos de Uziel a Preguntas de nuestro Tiempo, article 64.
[67] Some rabbis demanded the conversion of individuals born to a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father, educated by the father. (See Chidushei Yom Tov Algazi, Bechorot 47a). The Rabbinical Court of Appeals decided against such principle. See 5730/79. See also Corinaldi, M., in Preguntas acerca de la Identidad Judía, La ley del retorno, Derecho Práctico, 2001, page 197.
[68] The source is the verse “And the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp”, Leviticus 24:10.
[69] Rabbi David Tzvi Hoffmann (1843, Austria-1921, Berlin) even accepted the conversion of a woman married to a Cohen, stating that their children had to be integrated into Judaism despite the express prohibition of marriage between a Cohen and a convert.
[70] The Mishnah and Talmud period lasted 600 years, and among its major works are the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmud. The period started during the Roman domination and ended with the Muslim conquest at the beginning of the 7th century. In that lengthy period, the Jews were under pagan regimes (1st to 3rd centuries), in 324 with the victory of Constantine, the land of Israel became part of the Christian Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. In those days, the courts and jurisprudence of Israel lost their supremacy against those constituted in Babylon.
[71] Rav Asi considers that if a non-Jew took a Jewish woman as his wife, the recognition is doubtful, since it could be the descendant of the ten tribes that took non-Jewish women. See Rashi in Yevamot 16 b.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 10 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[72] “Lift up your eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to you: your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side.” (Isaiah 60:4), “Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?” (Op. Cit. 60:8), and “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy on their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:10).
[73] Responsa Iabia Omer, part 7, 70, 1. This decision was also accepted by the Special Court for the Oversight of Religious Identity, of the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem. See Decisions of Jerusalem, clarification of Jewishness, 1, pages 17-31.
[74] Secular Humanistic Judaism has shifted from a philosophical trend to a new and active Jewish movement. Currently there are a few dozen communities in the U.S., Israel, Europe, Australia, and some Latin American countries that consider themselves part of the movement.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 11 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[75] Fink, Yaacov, “Judaísmo y conversión”, published in Noam, 14 (5731) page 17. Rabbi Fink, originally from Germany, lived many years in Argentina, and then moved to Haifa (Israel) to hold a major rabbinical position.
[76] An “ethnic group” may mean that its members share an identity. In many cases the language is the prevailing factor that identifies an ethnic group. But there are others that relate to, or define an ethnic identity. Sharing a history, habits, family and clan identities, and marriage rules and practices, classifications by ages and other agreements on their obligations, and patterns and inheritance rules, are some of the common ethnic factors that define or distinguish a people. There are numerous examples of peoples that speak different languages but consider themselves as a single ethnic group.
[77] Among those who think so are two outstanding rabbinical figures who were Chief Rabbis of Israel, i.e. Rabbi Shlomo Goren and Rabbi Eliahu Bakshi Doron.
[78] Was the leader of New York City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism and one of its highest representatives.
[79] See Talmud Babylon, Kiddushin 71a.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 12 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[80] Acquisition of Israeli Nationality through the Israel Nationality Act that applies to people born in Israel or residing in that country, as well as those wishing to settle there, regardless of race, religion, creed, gender or affiliation policy. Citizenship can be obtained by: Birth, The Law of Return, Residency, and Naturalization. Acquisition of Citizenship by Birthright is granted to:
1. Persons born in Israel to a mother or father of Israeli citizenship.
2. Persons born outside Israel, if a parent kept their Israeli citizenship, acquired either by birth in Israel under the Law of Return, by residence or naturalization.
3. People born after the death of a parent, if the deceased father was an Israeli citizen by virtue of the conditions listed in paragraphs 1. and 2. at the time of death.
4. Persons born in Israel, who never had any other nationality, who are subject to the limitations prescribed by law and who have applied for citizenship between 18 and 25 years old, or have been residents of Israel for five consecutive years prior to the date of submission of their application.
Acquisition of nationality under the Law of Return
Practically all Jewish community leaders worldwide receive requests from individuals and groups wishing to convert to Judaism. These are individuals who, in one way or another, are related to the community, Judaism, and Israel, or desire to resolve issues of their personal or family identity.
Conversion requests are mostly from couples, one of whose members is not Jewish, who want to be recognized as part of the people of Israel in the congregations, in society and in community centers. But the realm of conversions has opened up to many more souls, who would hardly have approached it several years ago. Each of them comes with a different motivation. Reasons range from the discovery of faith in the G-d of Israel, and their solidarity with the Jewish people and Israel, their newly discovered Jewish ancestors, and through them the customs that remained a mystery within the family, to those who see conversion as a possibility to emigrate to Israel, improve their income and better educate their children.
Few communities have managed to establish a system for converting to Judaism accepted by all its members, the rabbinical authorities of all sectors, and other institutions of the city or country concerned.
Among the Jewish communities outside Israel[1], we find that while some have a Beth Din[2] that oversees these cases, others only have preparatory courses for those who wish to convert, and a third type has no structure at all; however there are rabbinical courts that belong to different movements in Judaism.[3] Some communities provide the preparation process, but the conversion culminates at another community’s Bet Din.
Some communities have opted for inviting courts of Israeli rabbis to come to their countries, complete the process and certify its validity. On the other hand, some of the members of congregations, communities, Jewish JCCs, and cultural and philanthropic organizations are Jewish converts or their offspring, who are not recognized as such by other congregations of the city or the country, or the Israeli rabbinate. Their children often receive Jewish education and feel like Jews, attend synagogues, celebrate the Jewish calendar festivities, have a family name easily recognized as Jewish, are considered Israelites by their Jewish and non-Jewish friends, but are not accepted when they decide to get married in their country of origin and / or the State of Israel.
On more than one occasion, unexpectedly, they are the target of rejection and repudiation, open or covert.
The State of Israel allows the immigration of couples one of whose members is not Jewish, and their children, and people who have one Jewish ancestor, and grants them full rights, except that of their religious identity.
Some people accept it, and hopeless, feel this does not affect their ethnic or religious identity. Others, feeling despised, renounce their communities and oftentimes prefer to establish their families apart from their group of belonging and reference. Others, many more, silently endure what they perceive as discrimination and rejection, powerless to explain to their children the reasons for the vagueness of their social and religious status.
No universal rules are applied by community leaders, who are usually divided when dealing with the challenge of exogamy[4] which they perceive as a threat to their social, ethnic and religious continuity.
Among those who wish to become Jews, some refuse to follow a conversion process that will require strict adherence to Jewish religious norms. Others feel that being a Jew should not be determined by religious authorities who do not share their views on Judaism. The rabbis who demand compliance with the norms live in the same city as others, who accept looser, easier, more forgiving rules, and do not abide by what is required from individuals belonging to movements that legislate their own standards according to different parameters.
When these people stand before the Rabbinical Court, they face the dilemma of having to lie when required to fully implement religious precepts, or to substantially change their way of life to a model unsuitable to them, at least at that stage. They see that many of their relatives, and Jewish friends and neighbors, live like secular Jews, and their commitment to the community, Israel and the Jewish religion is extremely limited, without any one denying or questioning their identity.
The requirements and procedures vary from one rabbinical court to another. Because of a lack of unified criteria, converts do not always succeed in fulfilling one of their fundamental desires as human beings. Adoptive families, who teach compliance with the rules that are fraught with details and thus difficult to understand when not seen and practiced under supervision, are not always correctly chosen.
Court members pose questions to confirm converts’ feelings, which affect their privacy and cause them embarrassment.[5] Many women feel their privacy is invaded because they must be seen by the judges while immersed in the ritual bath, dressed in a robe. They perceive a conflict with the rules of modesty they studied in the course that prepares them to convert, as one of the important requirements of Judaism.
Some communities set restrictive rules, ban conversions, or prevent converts’ offspring from participating in the community for several generations, justifying the families’ refusal to accept strangers on the grounds that the latter will not fully accept Judaism. Restrictions also hinder the adoption of children born to non-Jewish mothers. And if these children want to be converted by their parents to integrate into the community, the rabbis demand assurances that their education and way of life will resemble those of the most observant Jews.
The challenges of community leadership in Diaspora countries do not end here, but surface at the time of such persons’ death as well. When families want to bury them in a cemetery consecrated by the religious authorities, but are refused to allow to bury or conduct funerals for people who were not born of a Jewish womb or did not convert before authorities that they recognize as valid. Community rules are not always in line with those of the Chevra Kadisha[6] responsible for the decision to include members of the same congregation in the local Jewish cemetery, or to exclude them.
The conflict exists not only between leaders of different groups, but among governing board members, hesitant about the need to respect the decisions of the religious authorities they appointed and retain.
At least 300,000 immigrants from the former USSR countries live in the State of Israel. While some of their ancestors were Jewish, they are not under the rules of the official rabbinate. Their children are circumcised after eight days, speak Hebrew well, serve in the Israel Defense Forces and die in its defense and that of citizens and rabbis who do not fully accept them. These young people know that if they want to marry, they cannot do so before the only recognized authority -the rabbinate- and if they die they will not be buried with their families or fellow soldiers.
Among immigrants from Ethiopia there are two groups: “Beta Israel” – that followed the Jewish tradition for years, which makes some rabbis feel that they need a symbolic conversion[7] or perhaps not, and the “Falashmura”[8] – who despite their Jewish origin, converted to Christianity a century ago.
They have come to Israel willing to fully integrate into the Jewish people. But there are several groups whom most Jews do not even know of. Among them, the Bnei Menashe,[9] who live in northeastern India. The members of the Shabbatnick, the Sabbatarian – keep the Shabbat[10] and identify with the Jewish people. The Shabbatnick, who immigrated to Israel in recent years as part of the major immigration from the Commonwealth of Independent States, had to go through the entire conversion process.[11] However, even when the State was established, among them were people who had held senior positions in Israel.[12]
One of the most important groups wishing to become a part of the people of Israel are the descendants of Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal who live – some as groups, including crypto-Jews[13] – in different countries of Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Several thousands of them have kept Jewish habits and have married only into their own relatives or group members.
The common denominator of these groups is their desire to convert and be universally accepted, and also to determine who to turn to, in order to be recognized as full Jews.
Most are interested in taking up a deep and painful spiritual exercise. They must abandon their customs and even leave their families and places of residence and be accepted by the surrounding environment. They want to know and practice Judaism after study and experience, learn how to use a Hebrew prayer book and understand the prayers, attend the synagogue, change their crockery and food, and study the Scriptures and their interpretation, the music and ritual meals. However, their previous efforts are not devoted to spirituality but to overcome procedural issues and learn what to answer to the Rabbinical Court that will certify the process.
This paper is an attempt to approach the subject on aspects relevant to its comprehension, and to provide instructional material for anyone wishing to understand the controversies that arise in our times, not necessarily motivated by differences in the application or understanding of religious norms or their underlying philosophy.
Conversion in History
In the sources[14] we find that Abraham, the first monotheist, converted men while his wife Sara converted women to Judaism. Already in the Exodus account we find people who joined the liberated slaves[15] who were to receive the Tablets of the Law and enter the Promised Land to adopt their religious and ethnic identity. Moses, who is described as a convert by the Talmudic sages, got together with one of the daughters of Jethro. Rachav, the woman who assisted the tribes of Israel in their entry into the Land of Israel, sheltered them in her home in the city of Jericho, joined Judaism and married Joshua. Ruth the Moabite, whose story is told in the biblical book that bears her name, had among her offspring at least three kings: David, Solomon and Hezekiah. The Messiah, a descendant of David, will succeed Ruth, a convert whose process teaches us many of the rules currently applied in conversion.
The fact that the Scriptures expressly limited the entry of some peoples to Israel[16] tells us that the rest were welcome.[17] The rule that excluded those nations was not applied literally along history, and underwent several reforms over time, one of which actually allowed the entry of Ruth.
Interestingly, tradition says that descendants of notorious enemies of the Jewish people became part of it through conversion and, played outstanding roles in history. Among the sons of the evil Haman are those who taught Torah at Bene Beraq, those of Sisera in Jerusalem, and the Tanaites Shemaya and Avtalion[18] descend from Senacherib.
Onkelos, who translated the Scriptures into Aramaic, texts that continue to be printed, read and studied today, was a convert.[19] It is said that Rabbi Akiva,[20] Rabbi Meir,[21] and Queen Helena,[22] among others, descended from converts. The Scriptures present repeated expressions of affection for foreigners and converts, who should be treated properly, considered equals regarding obligations and rights, and not be discriminated against.[23]
The Talmud praises converts[24] who in daily prayers are equated to the righteous, the pious and scribes of the Jewish people, asking for mercy for every one of them.
However, not at all times did Judaism warmly welcome those who wished to join. Sometimes, simply because of moments of weakness and lack of faith in the ability to integrate them; on other occasions for fear about its safety, and yet on others, believing that a barrier would thus be established to stop the assimilation of foreign customs, and the loss of those who married outside the Jewish faith and then wished to insincerely regularize their status becoming a part of the Jewish people.
Concepts about Conversion
The rules of Judaism establish that anyone born of a Jewish[25] mother[27] or converted to Judaism is Jewish. The first notion is biological and does not depend on the will of the newborn. Their identity is randomly defined. The second is the result of a unilateral act of will that is regulated and depends for its validity on the decision of a rabbinical court.
The Scriptures contain other notions related to the possibility of joining -in some way- the Jewish people. One of them is “Judaizing” – mitiahadim27 – and the other, the ger toshav,[28] equivalent to a resident of Israel who agreed to abide by the “seven commandments of Noah”.[29] In both cases these are people who were not fully integrated into Judaism as if they had been born of Jewish mothers or converted according to the rules.
Those who went through the conversion process are called in Hebrew ger[30] and if female, gioret. The process leading to integration is called giur.
Religious rules consider that the people who went through the giur are subject to all obligations and rights. Among them, marrying any other Jew, except a Cohen.
Conversion is irreversible[31] in principle. Converts who change their mind about their decision would still be considered Jews according to the religious rules, even if they actively practice another religion. Children conceived after the conversion will be considered Jewish, regardless of the wish of the family and their own. This condition is shared with all the Jews born to a Jewish mother.
The rule bans conversions performed against the will of the convert.[32] Moreover, unlike other faiths, Judaism does not pursue mass conversions of people unwilling to be part of Israel.
Trends favorable or unfavorable to conversion changed in the course of history, and paradoxically our times seem to be characterized by tighter requirements for converts, and an unprecedented number of individuals accepted by the rabbinical courts.
The steps of the process
The conversion process includes, according to the Shulchan Aruch,[33] several steps: to immerse in the ritual bath (mikveh), to circumcise the men, and if they already are, go through a mini-surgical procedure, almost symbolic, to show bleeding in the area of the circumcision; present an offering, and accept Jewish precepts. The presentation of the offering, impossible in our days since there is no Temple in Jerusalem, is not a sine qua non condition to accept the convert. Exegetes and hermeneutists agree that immersion in the ritual bath and circumcision[34] are mandatory prerequisites. The need to accept the precepts was discussed by the rabbis. Some argue that without the acceptance, conversion[35] cannot be performed, since it is the most important prerequisite, others however believe it is not essential.
A minor, or anyone who lacks the ability to decide and wants to convert, should be represented by a person of age in order to have access to conversion and confirm it either actively or passively when reaching the religious coming of age: twelve years and one day for girls and thirteen and one day for boys.
Role of the rabbinical court
The act of conversion requires a three-judge court.[36] Besides the exegetical interpretation of the verse quoted in the previous footnote, which proves such obligation, it seems to be so because the act of conversion has social, collective, and national consequences beyond the simple personal fact determined by the individual who wishes to join the Jewish people. As of that moment he is counted for the minyan, may marry a Jew, testify at trials, etc… Some see in this demand the need for a group of neutral experts, to check whether under the rules, the reasons offered by the convert are legally valid.
Requirements
The Talmud narrates, “Rabbi Chiya bar Aba said, Rabbi Yochanan said, he will never be a ger until circumcised and immersed in ritual water”.[37] The Talmud further relates, “The teachers taught that a foreigner who in our time wants to convert [to Judaism], is told: What have you seen that you come to convert? Do you not know that in current times Jews are being persecuted, oppressed, despised, harassed and tormented? If he says, I know and am unworthy of being (part of the Jewish congregation), they accept him immediately and notify him of some of the lighter and some of the strictest precepts. He is instructed on the mistake of [neglecting the laws of] the gleanings,[38] the forgotten sheaf,[39] the hidden corner and the tithe of the poor.[4] He is told about the punishment for [violating] the commandments, and also: Know that in the past you ate fat without suffering the punishment of excision (caret)[41] – and violated the Shabbat without being stoned,[42] but if you eat fat now you will be punished with caret, and if you violate the Shabbat you will be stoned.”[43] And just as he is informed about the punishment for violating the commandments, he is told about the rewards for abiding by them: “You should know that the future world has been created only for the righteous, and that in these times, Israel cannot bear too much wellbeing or too many sorrows. However, not too much insistence is employed, or excessive detail provided. If he accepts, he is immediately circumcised… Two scholars stand at his side and inform him about some of the looser and some of the most severe requirements. After immersing in the ritual water and emerging from it, he should be considered Israelite in all respects. When it comes to a woman, the other women submerge her in the water to the neck and from outside two scholars inform her of some of the minor and some of the most severe commandments…”
The Biblical source of the procedure
The Talmud itself goes on to explain the foundations of conversion rules. “Rabbi Eleazar said: What verse is it based on? – It is written: When Naomi saw that (Ruth) was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her[44]… We are forbidden, “she said from passing the limits of the Shabbat[45]… – Where you go, I will go. Meeting alone is forbidden,[46] where you lodge, I will lodge.[47] We were given six hundred and thirteen commandments. – Your people shall be my people[48] – Idolatry has been banned…. And your God my God. Courts were given four forms of capital punishment – Where you die, will I die.[49] Two cemeteries were available to the courts.[50] And there will I be buried “And seeing (Naomi) that (Ruth) was so steadfastly minded, etc.” “If he accepts, he is circumcised immediately.” “Why? – Because obedience to the commandments should not be delayed.”
Teaching the precepts and commitng to comply
In the conversion process, as the Talmud teaches, converts were «notified» on two occasions about the commandments. The first one when informed that they would be accepted; the second, at the time of immersion in ritual water. This was initially done before a court of three members and during daytime. But if he was circumcised or immersed in front of two judges and at night, and in case the immersion was due to the desire to be purified (from other ritual impurities without the will to convert through this ritual) he would be considered ger and allowed to marry Israelites, except for the notification of the precepts that prevents the process from continuing if not in front of three scholars.[51] The first notification seems to have an educational and instructive purpose.
The motvaton of the convert – its value
It is prescribed that before the acceptance the convert must be investigated to find whether there is a reason that prevents him from entering Judaism.[52] There are various opinions in the classical rabbinical literature as to the relationship that should exist between the convert’s motivation and his acceptance. One of them – restrictive –[53] ties the validity of the act to the motivation. Another, more permissive, determines that motivation is important in the decision to perform the act of conversion,[54] but, in the absence of a motivation, or if it were flawed, the ensuing validity is not affected. A third one states that the motivation of the convert is irrelevant in the whole process and its subsequent validity.[55]
In our days the theme again becomes current and opinions about converts’ motivations are almost invariably maintained. Some communities do not accept converts, whatever the reason for the conversion or the court that certifies the process.[56] The most important reason is that it prevents the children of its members from out-marriages. Through outright prohibition, young people who wish to remain in the family community are forced to choose a partner of their own faith. At the other end are those who believe that given the tendency of young Jews to marry outside Judaism, and the need to maintain the number of Jews, reduced by the Holocaust and the current low birth rate among Jews, they should try to retain those who have not lost their last contact with their origin and faith. As for existing exogamous couples, they seek a way to repair ex post facto, accepting more easily the integration of the non-Jewish spouse through more accessible conversion procedures.[57] The reason that opposes both positions is the question of whether “to save another person from sin, you can commit a blunder or not.”[58]
Some rabbinical authorities facilitate conversion without the certainty of compliance with the precepts, following several principles of jurisprudence and the philosophy of religion. Among them, the one expressed in the Scriptures: “It is time for you, Lord, to work: for they have made void your law,”[59] and “in times of need, it is considered as valid as if already made.” In a social milieu in which most Jews are not observant of the precepts, the relative who converted sees no reason to be compelled to observe religious rules. For those rabbis, saving him from the possibility of being idolatrous justifies any effort, i.e., what is important –they say– is that he not be a pagan.
When dealing with the issue of conversion, Professor Yeshayau Leibowitz (Riga 1903 – Jerusalem 1994), despite his liberalism and opennesson many issues, is stricter than the generally accepted precept. “Every conversion not performed in the Heavenly Name is invalid from the religious point of view… the massive industry of converts who had relationships with Jewish women, or non-Jewish women who were in relationships with Jews, is an ethical and religious abomination, that turns Judaism into a laughingstock and an object of ridicule.”[60]
It is virtually impossible to separate the cultural and social reasons of those who distinguish between metaphysical or sociological causes to guide their choice.
A different line of thought is that of deputy and Rabbi Chaim Amsellem[61], who compiled the jurisprudence of recent centuries, and states that it is not necessary to investigate the motivation of the convert prior to his conversion, nor is it necessary for him to commit to adopt certain behaviors. In his book Zera Israel he quotes Rabbi Ovadia Yosef[62], who after defining the sage as one who has his eyes in his head, and can see the future consequences of an action, quotes the Talmud in Sanhedrin, which narrates that Timna[63], the daughter of Kings, wanted to sincerely convert and become part of the Jewish people, but on being rejected, came to Eliphaz who converted her despite the rules and took her; and Amalek who descends from them, relentlessly persecuted the Israelites, because he felt that Timna should not have been rejected. The Torah states that people should not be rejected; That we must bring together, and that we are bound to attract others.
The work of Rabbi Chaim Amsellem implies that he accepts, according to the sources,[64] to allow the conversion of a child without demanding that he respect the precepts, and when that child becomes of religious age, as long as he does not refuse to comply it is understood that he has expressly consented. In other words, a person could be converted without asking for his consent, to the extent that he does not specifically express his refusal to respecting the precepts.
The conversion of the son of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother
Another issue that arises today is whether you can or should facilitate the conversion of a child whose father is Jewish, and his mother non-Jewish but does not want to convert.[65] In this case, there is prima facie certainty that the child will not be educated under the rules of Judaism because his mother is unacquainted with, and uncommitted to them.
Various rabbinical authorities of our time believe it is better to facilitate the mother’s conversion, for her teachings to the children not to oppose those of her husband.[66] They even apply the principle of “Zera Israel”,[67] the seed of Israel – which includes all those whom the Halacha does not include as Jews[68] because they were born to a non-Jewish woman, but descend from a Jewish ancestor or parent.[69] In the Talmudic period[70], rabbis even brought up the possibility that the non-Jew descended from the lost tribes,[71] so as to facilitate or justify their conversion.
The massive influx to Israel of former USSR immigrants, whose religious identity was unclear, triggered a series of rabbinical rulings seeking their full integration into the Israeli society. These rulings have had a major impact on rabbinic jurisprudence in Diaspora countries.
Isaiah’s prophecies[72] seem to have prompted that thought. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said in a ruling that those immigrants could be recognized as Jews through their own declarations. And, after thanking the Almighty for having freed them from seventy years of Communist rule, he added that “many questions arise regarding this immigration because, apparently, many non Jews profited from it and joined the Jewish immigrants to escape economic hardships in the Soviet Union. It should be made clear that those who wish to register as Jews are considered trustworthy, even in the case they cannot produce any supporting documents. And their testimony suffices, or at most, credible witnesses should be presented to prove it.” According to the rule, immigrants from Russia who declare to be Jewish, are trustworthy; however, if there were reasonable grounds to believe that their statement was false, a thorough investigation should be undertaken,[73] and in that case a conversion process should ensue.
Entering the ethnic group or the Jewish religion?
Proposal for civil or secular conversion to Judaism.
The geopolitical changes of recent years have not influenced Jews enough to abandon the classic discussions of whether they are part of a religion, a people, a nation or an ethnic group. The discussions even seem to have progressed, despite the fact that other groups and nations, affiliated with post-modernism, state they have overcome such dilemmas.
After thousands of years of history, along which Jews considered themselves as a national, tribal and even family unit that shared the same religious principles, they continue to inquire about their identity. Until relatively recent times, people and religion were overlapping concepts; thus converts joined both the people and the faith, without question. There was virtually no difference between these notions.
In ancient times, those who did not accept the Jewish regulatory criteria, i.e. taking part in community life, responding with solidarity to other sectors of the people, and adhering to Jewish tradition and faith, were excluded from the congregation, or excluded themselves with their behavior.
Today, most Jews do not observe religious precepts, and practically the vast majority of them live in Israel. Their fate is that of the Jewish people, no distinction exists between observant Jews and those unconnected to traditions. Nevertheless, the State of Israel secular authorities granted the rabbinical leaders power to resolve the issue of the nation’s individual and collective status, expressing their decision that this be simultaneously a religious and national issue. However, this does not mean that the patterns used to integrate Jews to their religion have changed.
Jews not living in Israel are closer to the national identity of the peoples in which they were born or educated than to that of their ancestors, or contemporary Israelis. They do not share with Israelis the language or the civil standards, nor necessarily do they resort in family matters to the religious authorities of their country of residence.
This makes an agreement among various sectors even more difficult regarding what should be the common ground for those born as Jews and those who wish to join the group and, therefore, what rules and valid procedures for carrying out the conversion should apply.
It is therefore not surprising that the thinkers of Secular Humanistic Judaism,[74] which assumes that social and religious traditions must be accredited by each person individually, and should not be accepted as a matter of faith, seek other ways to integrate into Judaism those who so desire. To them it is undeniable that human problems must bring up creative and humane responses, conversion being one of them. From this perspective, the conditions for performing a conversion, as required by the different religious sectors, cannot be the only answer to the needs of people seeking to join Judaism. That model does not resolve the identity of those who do not feel that the Jewish religion, and compliance with its rules, can become a common purpose with the Jewish people or the State of Israel. Thus, they participate in the discussion of whether the Jewish people are an ethnic group, a nation, a faith or a religion with its precepts.
From a different perspective, Rabbi Yaakov Fink[75] has argued whether the convert, committing to comply with the precepts, becomes a Jew or, whether because he converted to Judaism, he commits to comply with the precepts. In other words, if by converting he joins an ethnic group,[76] in this case the Jews, and therefore must comply with its regulations, or perhaps, the change of status from non-Jew to Jew, is the byproduct of his commitment to respect the commandments. Upon entering the Jewish religious group he becomes a part of the Jewish ethnic group. Whether the Jewish group drew its features from the pact it signed with God or the Torah grants the status of identity, those who join by performing mitzvot, become part of the group. The consequences of this discussion are practical rather than philosophical, since the question that emerges is whether the acts of circumcision and immersion are more important, and compliance with the precepts is uncalled for. In the opinion of major contemporary rabbis, a voluntary commitment to meet the requirements is not necessary for the convert to be bound by them. This obligation derives from the change in identity. They argue that the covenant at Sinai was signed with the whole group and not individually with its members.[77]
For Secular Humanistic Judaism, the term “conversion” is no longer appropriate; the concept of “adoption in the Jewish family” is preferred. If conversion describes a religious albeit mystical act involving the exchange of a set of beliefs for another, and often accompanied by a transformation ritual, they prefer to avoid the term. Voluntary integration to the Jewish culture and the desire to belong, suffice to become part of the Jewish group.
Rabbi Peter H. Schweitzer[78] holds an affirmation ceremony to reduce the hurdles that prevent access to Judaism.
That line of thought welcomes all those who are not Jewish according to the Halacha. They claim that “secular conversion should be an option because not everyone who converts does so worrying about the religion. In the countries of the Jewish Diaspora, a non-Jew who married or wishes to marry a Jew and join their family and their group, without fulfilling the rules, is offered no other alternative.” Its aim, they say, is to approach those with no religious sensitivity, who do not wish to lie to the rabbis in the conversion process, pledging to behave in a way at odds with their lifestyle, which they will then not fulfill.
The members of Secular Humanistic Judaism in Israel do not want the rabbinate to deal with conversion, marriage and divorce. They aspire to a complete division between state and religion, and a separation of conversion to Judaism and naturalization, and receiving citizens’ rights, or becoming a citizen.
Today, they say, “we are in our country, Israel. We are the majority; ministers, legislators, judges, police, military and the educational system and culture is ours. The immigrants assimilate into the Israeli identity. Children learn to sing and play in Hebrew, and incorporate the holidays of Israel, its joys and sorrows for the wars. They grow as Israelis and serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. Hence, in practice they are Jews, even if they were not born as such and did not convert.”
In a country with democratic aspirations, the principle of the Elders of Israel must be applied: “A family that assimilated into Judaism is part of it and all families will be legitimate in the future, and he who challenges them does so extrapolating his own ineligibility.”[79]
The issue is further compounded because in Israel there are those who seek a correspondence between the country’s citizenship laws, the Law of Return and the rules of conversion to Judaism. Under the Law, a Jew is one who was born of a Jewish mother or converted and has no other religion. The rights granted to Jews, such as citizenship, are granted to their son or daughter, wife, and grandson. Many of the immigrants who arrived in Israel, particularly from the former USSR countries, are citizens under the Law of Return, which grants them full civil rights, but following the same rule, their spouses, children and grandchildren are not “Jews.” If they want to be, they should go through the Orthodox conversion process.
A ruling by the Supreme Court of Israel recognizes non-Orthodox conversion for the purpose of the Law of Return but, since marriage and divorce fall under the jurisdiction of the rabbinical courts, its effects only apply to citizenship.
Most converts to Judaism in the United States and other countries have gone through the process of the Conservative and Liberal (Reform) movements’ rabbinical courts, which grants them the citizenship, although they are not considered Jews by the family law courts of the State of Israel.
The Supreme Court of Israel decided to recognize non-Orthodox conversions for the purpose of the Law of Return.[80] The Court’s decision was issued in May 1995, recognizing the fifteen appellants as Jews, by seven votes to four, even though the conversion process had taken place outside the boundaries of Israel before Reformist (Liberal) or Masorti (Conservative) movements’ courts. No decision was issued on conversion processes carried out in Israel. This decision paved the way for providing citizenship rights, but has no bearing on the question of “marriage and divorce”, which remain in the hands of Orthodox rabbis. For them the only possible solution is to go through another conversion before the Israeli courts, or rule their family rights according to the civil law, and marry abroad.
Thus, the integration into the Jewish ethnic group, when not done after conversion processes, allows new Jews to feel integrated into the groups they belong to, without being fully recognized as Jews by the Israeli family courts.
Even for those who believe that the commitment to meet the rules is not mandatory for conversion, the traditional process conducted by recognized courts remains a pre-requisite for full acceptance of the convert in the State of Israel.
3. Has given up their previous nationality, or has shown the will to become an Israeli citizen.The Ministry of the Interior may exempt an applicant for some of these requirements.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 13 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
Epilogue
This work is based on rabbinic and exegetical sources seen in the light of Orthodox Judaism, the one adopted by the State of Israel to clarify issues on religious identity.
It is easy to note that there is no consensus on findings, proceedings or their practical application, and their arguments are dynamic and have changed over the course of Jewish history.
Judaism is not monolithic, nor had it been in the old times.
Rabbinical Courts take into account the situation of the persons who resort to them, their circumstances and place of residence. The rulings follow different traditions, depending on the judges, their training and stance regarding the various schools of jurisprudence.
In a not too distant past, Rabbinical Courts were influenced by external events, ruled by the authorities of the place where they had settled, and where the Jews’ religious or secular authority had no role.
The existence of different exegetical schools that gave rise to contradicting and chronologically simultaneous responses, sometimes even in the same cities, was a blessing in the course of history, since it greatly enriched the case law that later became the standard or the custom accepted by the majority, in a process that in certain areas lasted several centuries. With regards to conversion in present times, the same comment does not apply.
Converts in good faith, eager to fully integrate into Judaism, go through ceremonies that approve them as Jews only in the geographical jurisdiction of that court. In Israel, courts appointed by the Chief Rabbinate reject converts approved by the Rabbinical Courts of the Israel Defense Forces[81] and even retrospectively overturn conversions by other courts, not only creating legal uncertainty but also affecting the spiritual sensitivity of these people.
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is an institution created by the State. The opinion of its members is not binding for the secular sectors that do not need its message, or the more observant sectors led by their own rabbinical authorities. It has limited influence.
However, the Israeli law empowers the Chief Rabbinate to rule in conversion cases. Its influence is also very limited in worldwide Jewish communities that do not abide by its decisions on conversions in their own territories, with a few exceptions.
Nowadays, heated discussions are ongoing that result on one hand in stricter requirements and, on the other in a desperate search for solutions. Many of these discussions are not based on faith or religion, but on issues of Israeli domestic politics or others, who aware of the discussions, take the opportunity to gain influence in their own countries.
This paper aims to present the stances of various rabbinical authorities and the Responsa[82] for readers to form their own opinion, and contributes elements for the debate to be more productive and allow anyone who wants to be part of the Covenant to be accepted after completing the procedures that still need to be further explored.
Despite the relative acceptance of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s authority in our days, it is clear that because most of the Jews of the world live there and because it rules in more cases than anywhere else on the planet, its approaches will be used to further construe the procedures and establish guidelines that will ultimately be accepted by most of the Rabbinical Courts. In a few years, solutions may be found that, after setting in will be accepted in this dynamic and changing process grounded on hermeneutics, exegesis and jurisprudence.
Yerahmiel Barylka
Jerusalem, Menachem av 5770
August 2010
81. See ut supra.
82. Responsa (Latin, plural of responsum, “responses”) is the set of written decisions and rulings of scholars to the questions they are asked. In Hebrew they are called Sheelot uTeshuvot: “questions and answers” and include the resolutions of those accepted as experts in Jewish law” along 1,700 years.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 14 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
About the author
Yerahmiel Barylka, an Orthodox rabbi, educator and community advisor, was born in Argentina in 1943, and currently lives in Israel. He was the principal at Jewish schools in Argentina and Mexico, and in Israel he led several Keren Kayemet Leisrael areas and departments. He has published several books, among them: Exogamy – Diagnosis and Prevention, Selected Topics on Judaism, and The Jewish Prayer. For over ten years he was the Middle East correspondent for the Mexican network Nucleo Radio Mil and currently publishes in Israeli and Latin American journals.
Copyright© JDC, Yerahmiel Barylka, 2010
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[1] In most of the European countries there is an official rabbinate, generally Orthodox, in charge of the conversion process. In U.S.A., there is separation of Church and State, therefore no official body exists, and any rabbi may perform a conversion according to their own philosophical and religious belief and the group they belong to. In Latin America, in several countries and communities, converting individuals to Judaism is banned; if they converted in other countries or communities they are not recognized or admitted in the community.
[2] Rabbinical Court.
[3] Some of the main groups in modern Judaism are: Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform, Orthodox, and Secular Humanistic Judaism.
Within each of these groups, no standard criteria exist for conversion to Judaism.
[4] See Barylka, Yerahmiel, Exogamia –Diagnóstico y Prevención, Editorial Keter, Jerusalem, 2002.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 3 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[5] See, Meguilat Gerut, by Vered Mor, Publisher Rubén Mas, 5770, a work that describes the experience of 23 women who went through the conversion process. The second part of the book describes the experiences of the conversion courts’ judges.
[6] Lit. the Sacred Congregation, in charge of providing burial services to community members.
[7] Guiur Lechumrah is the one performed in cases of doubt about the religious identity of the convert. Although the process is more dynamic, it still involves completing the basic steps: Immersing in the ritual bath, men must go through circumcision, and appear before an accepted court.
[8] The Falash Mura were practically unknown until Operation Solomon, when a group tried to get on the Israeli planes and was rejected. The Falash Mura insisted that they had a right to emigrate because they were of Jewish descent, but the Israelis saw them as non-Jews, since most of them had never practiced Judaism and were not considered by Beta Israel as part of the community. Their leaders contended that they had been forced to convert, but were still Jews. The Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) provided humanitarian assistance without taking part in the discussion about their identity.
[9] The Bnei Menashe are a group of over 9,000 persons living in the border states of northeastern India: Manipur and Mizoram. They contend they are the offspring of one of the lost tribes of Israel.
[10] Dr. Velvl Chernin’s research has shown that there are about 10,000 Subbotniks, living in several places like Russia, Ukraine and Siberia, besides those living in Israel. (See The Subbotniks, published by The Rappaport Center for Assimilation Research and Strengthening Jewish Vitality, Bar Ilan University – Faculty of Jewish Studies, 2007 – 5767).Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 4 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[11] See decision of the Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar (2007) who decided that it could not be proven that the group was Jewish, but its members are related to the Jewish people.
[12] General Raful Eitan – who acted in Israel – has probably been the best known descendant of the group. He was the Commander in Chief of the IDF, and Minister of Agriculture. Eitan was quoted as saying: “My mother was a descendant of the Czar’s bodyguards, who like other Subbotniks were Shabbat-observers Christian Cossacks. Their reason to come to the Land of Israel was Christian”. Eitan then said that he had been misinterpreted.
[13] Crypto-Judaism refers to the groups that hide clandestine Jewish practices from members of other faiths. Marranos and Chuetas practiced Judaism in private, and descendants of Crypto-Jews have been identified in many countries.
[14] About the verse of Genesis 12:5 “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came”. Says the Midrash Bereshit Rabá, Parashá 39, that they did not “take” the persons, but converted them to Judaism: “Said rabbi Eleazar ben Zimra, even if all the creatures got together, they could not have created even a mvosquito or give it a spirit; thus the verse means that they converted them. And why are the words in plural, when the verse starts in singular? To teach us that Abram converted men and Sarai converted women.
[15] “And a mixed multitude went up also with them…” (Exodus 12:38). Exegete Rashi says that those were persons who converted to Judaism.
[16] “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:” (Deuteronomy 23:3).
[17] “You shall not abhor an Edomite; for he is your brother: you shall not abhor an Egyptian; because you were a stranger in his land. The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the Lord in their third generation.” (OP. CIT., chapter cit. 7-8). Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 5 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[18] See Talmud Babylon, Gittin 57 b.
[19] Onkelos, called Aquila in the Talmud of Jerusalem, who lived in the 1st Century AD, is the most outstanding translator of the Scriptures into Aramaic. His name is quoted several times in the Talmud. He was thought to descend from a noble Roman family.
[20] Rabbi Akiva, the son of Joseph is one of the most important Tanaites of the Talmudic period. He lived in 1st and 2nd centuries AD, and died, tortured by the Romans, in 136. It is believed that he supported the rebellion of Bar Kochba whom he considered a Messiah. His name is quoted over 1500 times in the Talmud.
[21] Rabbi Meir was a leader after Bar Kochba’s rebellion. Talmudic sources state that he descended from Emperor Nero. He was one of the closest disciples of Rabbi Akiva. His wife Bruria was the daughter of Rabbi Haninah ben Teradion.
[22] Helena was the queen of Adiabene and wife of Monobaz I. Their son Monobaz II converted with her to Judaism in 30 AD. She died 26 years later and during her stay in Israel gave her goods to the people of Jerusalem.
[23] “He (G-d) does execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger (ger), in giving him food and raiment. Love you therefore the stranger: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”(Deuteronomy 10:18-19). “And if a stranger (ger) sojourns with you in your land, you shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your G-d.” (Leviticus 19:33-34). “And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet smell to the Lord; as you do, so he shall do. One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourns with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourns with you.” (Numbers 15:14-16), “You shall neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt…”(Exodus 22:21).
[24] Said Rabbi Eleazar ben Pdat: “G-d did not redeem Israel among the nations except to take in converts” (Pesachim 87 b). Said Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, “Converts are desired by G-d more than those who were at Sinai. Why? If those had not heard the voices, seen the torches and thunder, and the mountains shaking and the sound of trumpets and horns, they would not have received the divine yoke. And he who saw nothing of the sort, comes and approaches the Lord, and receives the heavenly yoke. Is there anything to be loved more than that? (Tanchuma Lech Lecha 6).
[25] In the far-off past, the Jewish identity was defined by the father’s identity. Several examples of such cases appear in the Scriptures, the most outstanding of them being: Yehudah the son of Jacob who took Bat Shua, who was Canaanite. Joseph, married Osnat, an Egyptian who was the daughter of a pagan priest. Moshe, King David and their son Solomon, had children who considered themselves Jewish despite the fact that their mothers were not. Apparently that situation persisted until the times of Ezra the Scribe (5th century before AD).
[26] According to the Talmud, the rule is taken from Deuteronomy 7:3-4 “Neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, nor his daughter shall you take to your son. For they will turn away your son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy you suddenly”. Also see Ezra 9:2 “For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass. ” and Ezra 10:3 “Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.” Confirmed in the Talmud Babylon, Kidushin 68 b.
[27] “And in every province, and in every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell on them” (Esther 8:17).
[28] See M. Ed., M. A. Jed Michael Schatz, in Strangers among us: El Nakri, Ger Toshav, and Ger Tzedek in Devarim. “Ger Toshav, which is mentioned in the Torah simply as Ger, enjoyed many of the privileges of the native Israelites, and was bound to comply with many of the precepts of the Torah, albeit not all of them, while living among the Israelites. He was defined, at least, as a non-Jew living within the Jewish community, who abstained from idolatry (Talmud Babylon, Makot 9a). “Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 6 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[29] The Seven Precepts of Noah are considered binding by humankind. (See Sanhedrin 56). They determine that courts of justice will be established and ban idolatry, blasphemy, murder, incest, theft, and eating meat of live animals.
[30] Probably a word of ugaritic origin, referred to immigrants, see Gur in Even Shoshan.
[31] A recent decision of the Rabbinical Court of Jerusalem declared conversions invalid retroactively, which gave rise to major controversies and was subsequently rejected by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
[32] “A rational individual is not converted against his will” (Conf. Rashi, Yevamot 48 a).
[33] The name of the compilation of religious Jewish standards. Its author was Yosef Karo, born in Toledo, in 1488, four years before the eviction of the Jews from Spain by the Catholic Monarchs. He died in 1575.
[34] See Genesis 34:22: “Only herein will the men consent to us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.”
[35] See Maimonides, Isurei Bi’ah, chapter 14, Halachot 1-2.
[36] The Talmud, in Yevamot 47a, assumes through Rabbi Yehuda that a convert who went through the rabbinical court, is ger but if he self converted, is not considered ger. From the verse: “And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brothers, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him”. (Deuteronomy 1:16).
[37] The ten-male quorum, mandatory for certain segments of the collective religious services.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 7 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[38] Talmud Babylon, Yevamot 46 b.
[39] See Deuteronomy 24:19: “When you cut down your harvest in your field, and have forgot a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
[40] See Deuteronomy 26:12: “When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled.”
[41] The punishment of “caret” appears in several places of the Scriptures. (See Exodus 12:19, Leviticus 7:27, Op. Cit. 20:20-21, Numbers 19:13 and 20, Talmud Babylon Moed Katan 29 a, Kritut 2 a, Shabbat 25 b).
[42] Stoning is one of the four capital punishment modalities established in the Talmud.
[43] The four ways of executing the death penalty that appear in the Talmud are currently not applicable and, according to the Talmudic text, were applied on an exceptional basis in the times of the Sanhedrin.
[44] Ruth 1:18.
[45] The rule establishes that on Shabbat one is not allowed to walk a distance longer than two hundred cubits from the boundary of the area of residence.
[46] A man and a strange woman shall not meet in a closed or isolated place.
[47] Op. Cit. 1:16.
[48] Op. Cit. 1:17.
[49] Op. Cit. 1:17.
[50] To bury the victims of the death penalty, according to the severity of the crime.
[51] See Shulchan Aruch, Iore Dea, artcle 268, paragraph 3. Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 8 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[52] Perhaps for economic reasons, or a governmental position, or for fear of something bad happening, if he has laid eyes on an Israelite Woman or a young Jew? See Maimonides, Isurei Bi’ah, Chapter 13, Halacha 14 and Shulchan Aruch Iore Dea, article 268, paragraph 12.
[53] See Yevamot 24, b “The man who converts because of a woman, and the woman who converts because of a man, and he who converts because of a royal table or the slaves of Solomon, are not converts; those are the words of Rabbi Nehemiah, who said; the “converts of lions” (the Samaritans who converted out of fear, see II Kings 27:25) just like the converts of dreams (because they had a nightmare or in its interpretation they were told to convert to Judaism) and the converts of Mordechai and Esther, (for the fear of the Jews fell upon them) are not converts (See Esther 8:17); converts are only those who convert in current times”. (When the situation of Jews is better).
[54] See Yevamot 24 b, “The rabbis taught that in the times of Messiah no converts will be accepted. Nor were they accepted in the times of David and Solomon. Said Rabbi Eliezer: What is the source?- Isaiah 54:15 “Behold, they may gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall because of thee.” However, in verse 76 b, “Rabbi Joseph stated: And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh King of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter (1 Kings 3:1), and had her convert, in times when David and Solomon did not allow converts. This because they converted to approach the royal feast, but Pharaoh’s daughter did not need that.” From that we learn that her conversion was not objected despite the fact that it had been performed for allegedly incorrect reasons.
[55] In the sources we find (Shabbat 31a) the case of a non-Jew who walked by a study house and heard the description of the kingly attire of the high priest, and decided to convert to Judaism to be chosen Cohen Gadol. Shamai rejected him angrily, but Hillel converted him, taught him the Torah until he realized he would never be chosen for that position. Hillel’s position is that even in the case of an erroneous or impossible motive, someone may be converted and accepted.
[56] Among them are the communities of descendants of the city of Aleppo in Syria, the major ones are in Israel, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Panama.
[57] Living with a person of another sex outside the wedding rules is considered a violation of the rules of Judaism. If the non-Jew converted, the situation could be normalized. The question that has come up in late years is whether saving a person from such violation is an obligation that must be actively exercised, converting the non-Jew if he agreed, or not do it.
[58] The source of the discussion is in Shabbat 4 a, “A person is not told to sin to save a fellow man from a violation”. See comment in the Talmudic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, pages 575-578.
[59] Psalms 119: 126.
[60] Quoted in Sagi, Avi, The Jewish-Israeli Voyage, Culture and Identity, Shalom Hartman Institute, 2006, page 189.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 9 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[61] Amsellem, Chaim, was born in 1959 in Oran, Algiers, and has lived in Jerusalem since age 10. He is a rabbi and a justice mediator in Rabbinical Courts. He was elected to the Israeli Parliament representing the party Shas. His learned work has raised discussions among contemporary rabbis. Some of the titles are, Zera Israel, and Makor Israel (Jerusalem 2010).
[62] Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, (1920, Iraq), Chief Rabbi of Israel, is considered one of the major religious legislators of the religious Jewish law of this century. His responses, published and commented, have been distributed among Jewish scholars worldwide and are accepted mainly by Sephardic rabbis. He follows the Sephardic jurisprudence, but is respected by many Ashkenazi rabbis because of the breadth of his knowledge.
[63] See Sanhedrin 99b, Genesis 36:12 “And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bore to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau’s wife”.
[64] Tosafot –commentators of the Talmud-, in Sanhedrin 68 b.
[65] Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer, (Germany 1820-1899), [quoted in Conversion to Judaism and The Meaning of Jewish Identity, by Avi Sagi and Zvi Zohar, The Bialik Institute, Jerusalem, The Shalom Hartman Institute], considered that the court converting in such cases would be punished for all the convert’s violations if it had known beforehand that he would not respect the rules after his conversion. On the contrary, rabbi Mordechai Halevi Horowitz (Germany 1844-1910), considered that the convert alone is liable for his faults.
[66] The Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ben Sion Meir Jai Uziel (1880-1953), who held his position between 1939 and 1953 thought that the conversion of a non-Jewish woman in an exogamic marriage should be facilitated. See Responsa de los Fallos de Uziel a Preguntas de nuestro Tiempo, article 64.
[67] Some rabbis demanded the conversion of individuals born to a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father, educated by the father. (See Chidushei Yom Tov Algazi, Bechorot 47a). The Rabbinical Court of Appeals decided against such principle. See 5730/79. See also Corinaldi, M., in Preguntas acerca de la Identidad Judía, La ley del retorno, Derecho Práctico, 2001, page 197.
[68] The source is the verse “And the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp”, Leviticus 24:10.
[69] Rabbi David Tzvi Hoffmann (1843, Austria-1921, Berlin) even accepted the conversion of a woman married to a Cohen, stating that their children had to be integrated into Judaism despite the express prohibition of marriage between a Cohen and a convert.
[70] The Mishnah and Talmud period lasted 600 years, and among its major works are the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmud. The period started during the Roman domination and ended with the Muslim conquest at the beginning of the 7th century. In that lengthy period, the Jews were under pagan regimes (1st to 3rd centuries), in 324 with the victory of Constantine, the land of Israel became part of the Christian Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. In those days, the courts and jurisprudence of Israel lost their supremacy against those constituted in Babylon.
[71] Rav Asi considers that if a non-Jew took a Jewish woman as his wife, the recognition is doubtful, since it could be the descendant of the ten tribes that took non-Jewish women. See Rashi in Yevamot 16 b.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 10 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[72] “Lift up your eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to you: your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side.” (Isaiah 60:4), “Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?” (Op. Cit. 60:8), and “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy on their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:10).
[73] Responsa Iabia Omer, part 7, 70, 1. This decision was also accepted by the Special Court for the Oversight of Religious Identity, of the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem. See Decisions of Jerusalem, clarification of Jewishness, 1, pages 17-31.
[74] Secular Humanistic Judaism has shifted from a philosophical trend to a new and active Jewish movement. Currently there are a few dozen communities in the U.S., Israel, Europe, Australia, and some Latin American countries that consider themselves part of the movement.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 11 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[75] Fink, Yaacov, “Judaísmo y conversión”, published in Noam, 14 (5731) page 17. Rabbi Fink, originally from Germany, lived many years in Argentina, and then moved to Haifa (Israel) to hold a major rabbinical position.
[76] An “ethnic group” may mean that its members share an identity. In many cases the language is the prevailing factor that identifies an ethnic group. But there are others that relate to, or define an ethnic identity. Sharing a history, habits, family and clan identities, and marriage rules and practices, classifications by ages and other agreements on their obligations, and patterns and inheritance rules, are some of the common ethnic factors that define or distinguish a people. There are numerous examples of peoples that speak different languages but consider themselves as a single ethnic group.
[77] Among those who think so are two outstanding rabbinical figures who were Chief Rabbis of Israel, i.e. Rabbi Shlomo Goren and Rabbi Eliahu Bakshi Doron.
[78] Was the leader of New York City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism and one of its highest representatives.
[79] See Talmud Babylon, Kiddushin 71a.Conversion in Judaism I Yerahmiel Barylka 12 JDC – Internatonal Center for Community Development
[80] Acquisition of Israeli Nationality through the Israel Nationality Act that applies to people born in Israel or residing in that country, as well as those wishing to settle there, regardless of race, religion, creed, gender or affiliation policy. Citizenship can be obtained by: Birth, The Law of Return, Residency, and Naturalization. Acquisition of Citizenship by Birthright is granted to:
1. Persons born in Israel to a mother or father of Israeli citizenship.
2. Persons born outside Israel, if a parent kept their Israeli citizenship, acquired either by birth in Israel under the Law of Return, by residence or naturalization.
3. People born after the death of a parent, if the deceased father was an Israeli citizen by virtue of the conditions listed in paragraphs 1. and 2. at the time of death.
4. Persons born in Israel, who never had any other nationality, who are subject to the limitations prescribed by law and who have applied for citizenship between 18 and 25 years old, or have been residents of Israel for five consecutive years prior to the date of submission of their application.
Acquisition of nationality under the Law of Return
In establishing the State of Israel, its founders proclaimed “… the restoration in Eretz-Israel the Jewish State, which would open wide the gates of the homeland to every Jew…” In compliance with this principle, upheld the State of Israel to Holocaust survivors, refugees from countries where they resided, as well as many thousands of Jews who came to settle in Israel by choice. The Law of Return (1950) grants every Jew, whoever he is, the right to come to Israel as an Oleh (Jewish immigrant to Israel) and acquire Israeli citizenship.
For purposes of this law, “Jew” means a person born of a Jewish mother or has converted to Judaism and is not a member of another religion. Israeli citizenship is in effect at the time of arrival or the acquisition of a Certificate of Oleh. A person may declare, within three months, not wanting to acquire citizenship. An immigrant certificate may be denied to people who:
1. Are engaged in activities directed against the Jewish people.
2. May endanger public health or safety of the state.
3. Have a criminal past that could endanger public welfare.
Since 1970, the right to immigrate under the protection of this law was extended to the children and grandchildren of a Jew and their spouses. The purpose of this amendment is to ensure the unity of the families in which there has been a mixed marriage, does not apply to people who were Jewish and converted of their own free will to other religions.
Acquisition of Nationality by Residence
The Nationality Act contains a special provision for former citizens of British Mandatory Palestine. Those who remained in Israel since the establishment of the state in 1948 until the enactment of the Nationality Act of 1952, become Israeli citizens by residence or by return.In 1980 an amendment to the Act was added in order to include more possibilities of acquiring citizenship by residence.
Acquisition of Nationality by Naturalization
An adult can acquire Israeli citizenship by naturalization at the discretion of the Minister of Interior and provided it meets certain requirements, namely:1. The person must have resided in Israel during three of the five years preceding the date of submission of the application;2. Is entitled to reside in Israel permanently and has settled or intends to settle in Israel.
[81] See ut supra.
[82] Responsa (Latin, plural of responsum, “responses”) is the set of written decisions and rulings of scholars to the questions they are asked. In Hebrew they are called Sheelot uTeshuvot: “questions and answers” and include the resolutions of those accepted as experts in Jewish law” along 1,700 years.
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