Frum vs.frum:The conversion crisis that affects all
Here’s an opinion piece about the recent Israeli rabbinical ruling declaring possibly thousands of Orthodox (Hebrew: Dati; Yiddish: Frum) conversions invalid. (Thanks to Steg for the link).
Harry Maryles warns, “Are you a convert to Judaism? Think again!"
Steg also links to Marc Shapiro’s New York Jewish Week article asking whether there’s going to be a schism in the Orthodox community—and indicating that it might be necessary.
Rabbis Marc Angel and Avi Weiss must be clairvoyant—they founded the new International Rabbinic Fellowship just last week. Actually, they seem to have been headed in that direction already, as this quote from the linked article indicates: "“Avi and Marc have come to feel increasingly disenfranchised,” one rabbi said, “and the conversion issue put them over the top."
ADDeRabbi, a former American now living in Modiin, said of the Israeli rabbinate, “I haven't discussed the current giyur [conversion] issue because I've been trying to get a copy of R'
This rabbinical ruling is frightening. As I said in my comments to a post of my own that’s almost two years old (sorry about the no-longer-functioning link in that post):
". . . if, as the ADDeRabbi asserts, the real issue is that a significant group of chareidi [fervently Orthodox] rabbis consider only chareidi rabbis to be real rabbis, then . . . it stands to reason that, if non-chareidi *rabbis* aren't consider to be real *rabbis,* then non-chareidi *Jews* aren't considered to be real *Jews.*
Don't say I didn't warn you that the rightward turn of Orthodox Judaism would affect all of us, Orthodox and non-Orthodox. At this point, I'm frankly hoping that there will, indeed, be a schism within the Orthodox community, both in
"Please excuse me for taking this personally, but the last person in my family to live and die Orthodox was my greatgrandmother, so our son has no Orthodox rabbi to vouch for his Jewishness. In addition, my Israeli nieces and nephew are the children of a Jew by choice. Her conversion was under the auspices of an American Orthodox rabbi. I fear that the fact that said [rabbi] was approved by the Israeli rabbinate *at that time* might not suffice to protect her children from being declared non-practicing Protestants.
My nightmare scenario #1: Within the next 15 years, my nieces and nephew are each, in turn, rejected for marriage by the Israeli rabbinate (their parents having made aliyah only weeks after the wedding). Each chooses to raise her/his kids as totally secular Israelis.
My nightmare scenario #2: My son's fiancee having decided, after very serious deliberation, to chose Judaism, they go to an Israeli-rabbinate-approved Orthodox rabbi to begin the process. Instead of addressing my son's fiancee, the rabbi grills my son about his Jewish identity, rejecting our ketubah [Jewish wedding contract] as proof. My son storms out, enraged, and our only grandchildren are raised Roman Catholic.
Result: In 20 years, there won't be a practicing Jew left in the family, and all of my parents' descendants will be (considered) Christian."
The most right-wing and anti-Zionist of the chareidim have rejected the rest of the Jewish People. Maybe it's time for the rest of the Jewish People to reject the most right-wing and anti-Zionist of the chareidim.
posted by Shira Salamone at 10:52 PM
14 Comments:
My understanding is that it's not a full retroactive undoing of all the conversions (which is what one might believe from the media reports), but rather the court saidthe case in particular needs to be re-examined.
The Rishon L'Tzion, R' Shlomo Amar was rather perturbed by the ruling of the court, since he personally instructed 3 judges to "sit on the case and not rule on it" -- because he wanted to uphold R' Drukman's conversions.
Never a dull moment here :-/
A powerful post about a worrying issue. Thanks for writing it and for all the links.
I think that hoping for a schism in Orthodox Judaism ultimately fails to address the primary issue, and that is that a state funded rabbinate that represents only one stream of Jusaism (and increasingly, only one subset of that stream) that has power over defining identity is reprehensible.
To hope for a schism is unhelpful also because it assumes there aren't. Modern Orthodox, Haredi, and Chassidim often have little regard for each other, and even within Chabad the meshichists and the non-meshichists are squaring off against each other. All in all, talking about "Orthodoxy" has been becoming increasingly useless over the years.
That said, the other streams are present, but they cannot perform a wedding the state will recognize, because the state has wedded itself to extremists.
Which brings me to my biggest fear: namely that Ahmedinajad's prophecies will come true with no action on his part because news like this can lead to disaffection by Diaspora Jewry with the state. Indeed, given the sources you say the pasken cited, I would not be surprised if this was the goal.
Now on a brighter note I know that a Progressive(Israeli Reform) synagogue in Modiin just managed to get state funding, and that Masorti synagogues have also been working on it. I would hope that the option of affiliation with a Masorti or Progressive congregation would be something your kinfolk would consider, because the stronger those streams become, the better the chance of them eventually having a place in the Rabbinate.
The isues you address are complex. I don't think a schism in Orthodoxy would help you. Onstyead it would divide the Jewish people further. There is enough of that.
I note that you have made a steady move to the right yourself. That is a good thing. As an Orthodox Centrist, you - as a Conservative Jew are still far to the left of me.
You may know that I have serious issue with the movement having to do with their acceptence of hetrotcal views. As an O Jew we beleive that the revelation at Sinai was literal. And that the Torah was written by Moses as dictated by God.
While C does not categorically reject this, it allows its adherents the freedom to reject it and still be a member in good standing. This is unacceptable to Orthodoxy.
At this point I'm not sure how to deal with C now. But at least within O I think there is a definite need to stay unified. Charedim must become more moderate and LW Orthodoxy must become more mainstream.
As I said, this is a complex subject that can't really be answered in a single comment.
As for conversions themselves, we need unity there too. The one thing we don't need is voiding legitmate converts because of religious politics.
In my comment - that should read 'heretical' not 'hetrotcal'. Please forgive my other spellling errors. Typos are my achillies heel.
I agree with Harry that this raises a number of issues, and that they are too complex to be addressed in one post.
On the issue of your family, my reaction is (as it has been before) that you are overreacting. Since this is about your family, that is perfectly understandable.
It seems like a leap to me to think, for example, that if (and it's a pretty big IF, I think) your Israeli niece and nephew are forbidden to get married by the Chief Rabbbinate, they will become secular. If they are dati or Masorti or Progressive (in other words, not secular), why would that one decision throw them off so much? It's sad, but people do go to Cyprus to get married. They could also go to the US.
You have raised your son. Do you seriously think that he will raise Catholic children? It is an even bigger if in that case that his girlfriend will be turned away because you and your husband don't have an Orthodox ketubah. Even if they were, why not get a Conservative conversion?
Things are bad, but they're not as bad as you think.
Jameel, I certainly hope you're right about only that particular case being re-examined. The scary thing is precisely that the judges ignored the specific order of Rabbi Amar, their superior, not to rule on the case.
Ilanadavita, thanks for you kind words, and you're welcome for the links.
Richardf8, the concentration of all rabbinic authority in the hands of a rejectionist minority is a major issue. These judges clearly don't give a hoot about even their own boss's opinion, much less anyone else's. This certainly gives the Israeli rabbinate a black eye in the eyes of many Diaspora Jews, even many in the Orthodox community.
For the record, my brother and ex-sister-in-law were Orthodox for a number of years, but left the Dati world for the Masorti one precisely because they were fed up with the right-ward turn of Orthodoxy. As my brother put it at the time, no matter how kosher the food was in Tsahal (the Israel Defense Force), there were always those who refused to eat it. At this point, the family is not so observant, but would probably return to the Masorti camp should they choose to become more observant again.
Gotta zip. Harry and Katrina, I'll respond when I have a minute, which considering today's work schedule, may not be 'til this evening.
With all due respect Shira, no Rabbinate worth its salt would adjust its beliefs to accomodate either political or social objections. OTOH it is not supposed to be the job of the Rabbinate to decide how states react to their rulings.
If the Rabbis believe that certain conversions do not fit their criteria, they must say so. (It is no secret that orthodox Rabbis tend to suppose that many conversions not followed by orthodox observance are not valid, seeing as they would never have given them had that not been the promise at the time of the conversion.)
At the end of the day if the state of Israel hopes to survive as a Jewish state and retain the support of many who not considered Jewish by others, it must stop defining itself as Jewish and start being Israeli.
Separating the church from the State is the only realistic way to remove the pressure, on the orthodoxy to sell itself down the river and on the citizens to feel they have to prove their religious credentials politically.
harry maples points to the requirement of belief to be Orthodox. of course, no such belief is required if one is born a Jew. by this standard, Ruth has a clearly unorthodox conversion. I say Ruth is a good place for the requirement of literal belief!
the shaigetz has an interesting idea to split the rabbis and the state. this could be as simple as removing marriage and divorce from the state, and giving them over any rabbi from any group. then the rabbis could revert to their arguments of who could marry within their own tribes.
Gevalt! Every time I have a busy day at the office and can't steal time to respond, I end up with "runaway comment syndrome." :) Let me try to play catch-up.
Well, Harry, at least we agree on one thing. :) As you said, "The one thing we don't need is voiding legitmate converts because of religious politics." Amen to that! As to this pilgrim's progress into the world of observance, I don't really expect to get as far down that path as you'd like. As Too Old to Jewschool Steve was saying in a comment to a recent post of mine, Neither here nor there, I’m suffering from a condition called conservative judaism, a ". . . condition . . . different than mere membership in a Conservative congregation. It is far more of an intellectual condition, resulting from availing yourself of the educational opportunities presented to you and your self-directed learning." I agree with Steve that the condition is incurable. I would find it challenging to become Orthodox because, among other reasons, I'm blunt-spoken by nature, and would find it difficult to pretend that I believe what I don't believe.
Katrina, I do tend to be a cockeyed pessimist. Truth to tell, I can more readily imagine my son raising kids Buddhist than Catholic. But the jury's still out. I told him that his considering himself a Buddhist at 20 didn't worry me, but that, if he still considered himself a Buddhist at 30, then I'd worry. He's now 25, so we have another five years until the verdict comes in.
The Shaigetz, you said, "Separating the church from the State is the only realistic way to remove the pressure, on the orthodoxy to sell itself down the river and on the citizens to feel they have to prove their religious credentials politically." You may have a point.
Eliyahu, I disagree concerning Ruth's conversion, which is one of the reasons why I'm not Orthodox: I would like to see a system of conversion that would take a more open-minded approach to the "your god will be my god" part for those willing to cast their lot with the Children of Israel and say, "your people will be my people." It wasn't easy for Ruth to turn her back on her own people, and those willing to do the same should have that willingness accounted to their credit. I would think that some compromise on all sides would be called for. Standards should not be so impossibly high that conversions take years (as I've heard is sometimes the case in Israel), not should a possible convert be expected to observe every chumrah (stringency) in existence.
Here's some good news- The RCA sent out this press release:
Rabbinical Council of America Reacts to Ruling of Israeli
Rabbinical Appeals Court
regarding Past Conversions by the Israeli Conversion
Authority
Leviticus 19:33: "You (plural) shall not oppress the
convert in your land."
Commentary of the Netziv: "The plural form of the verse
teaches us that a third party who sees the oppression of a
convert and does not protest is also guilty of oppression."
The Rabbinical Council of America, having taken note of the
recent ruling of the Bet Din Elyon (Rabbinic Court of
Appeals) of Israel, nullifying certain conversions
performed by the State Conversion Authority led by Rabbi
Chaim Druckman, has today issued the following statement:
Having reviewed the ruling of the Bet Din Elyon in detail,
and being fully mindful of the respect due the rulings of
duly constituted rabbinical courts in their respective
jurisdictions, the RCA finds it necessary to state for the
record that in our view the ruling itself, as well as the
language and tone thereof, are entirely beyond the pale of
acceptable halachic practice, violate numerous Torah laws
regarding converts and their families, create a massive
desecration of God's name, insult outstanding rabbinic
leaders and halachic scholars in Israel, and are a
reprehensible cause of widespread conflict and animosity
within the Jewish people in Israel and beyond. The RCA is
appalled that such a ruling has been issued by that court.
We have been assured by Israel's Chief Rabbi Rav Shlomo
Moshe Amar, who is also the President of the Rabbinical
Courts System of Israel, that in releasing this ruling the
court in question directly countermanded his instructions
and policies. He has confirmed that the ruling has no
legal standing at this time. We commend Rav Amar for his
positive role in this matter since its very inception in
the Ashdod regional court.
We add our rabbinic voice to those of others who have
called for a thorough review and repudiation of the actions
of a select few of the Bet Din Elyon, who in this ruling as
in other previous instances, have sought to undermine the
Conversion Authority.
For this reason, and others, it is more important than ever
that the Conversion Authority be strengthened in its
important work in bringing about halachicly proper
conversions to our faith and to the Jewish people.
Given the very public nature of the challenge posed by the
ruling in question, we call on the Chief Rabbis of Israel
to reaffirm their support of the Conversion Authority and
its leadership in clear and unambiguous terms at the
earliest possible time. Until that will happen, each
passing day will cause reprehensible anguish to halachic
converts, irreparable harm to the fabric of the Jewish
people, and a considerable debasement of the good name of
Torah, halachah, and tradition.
My commments- given the RCA's opposition and the Chief Rabbi's determination to basically overrule the decision, this whole thing may be a teapot in a tempest (at least in the short run- and I hope in the long run!)
As they say in Yiddish, fun dein mol un Gott's oir arein--from your mouth to G-d's ear.
ha. as if.
The charedi are signaling that the era of any acceptable conversions is over, according to them. I did warn you about this.
I don't remember your warning, but then, with my so-called memory . . .
I certainly hope you're wrong. At this point, it doesn't appear that the chareidim are rejecting *all* conversions, but they do appear to be rejecting conversions performed by non-Chareidi rabbis. As has been pointed out many times by many people, the real question is not "Who is a Jew?," but, rather, "Who is a rabbi?"
Truth to tell, I'm extremely curious to see whether the recent agreement by the Rabbinical Council of America to have all conversions performed by regional batei din (religious courts) whose rabbis are approved by the official Israeli rabbinate will stand, now that conversions performed by the official Israeli conversion court have themselves come under attack.
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