American Jewish Explosion

by Joshua (Gedalyah Chaim) Reback

Seven years ago in his New York Times article, A Jewish Recount, JJ Goldberg attacked the United Jewish Communities for promoting population surveys that misrepresented the American Jewish population as declining. He cited inconsistent standards for defining a Jew in demographic surveys, only assessing religious attitudes of subcultures in the community, and inflating the number of intermarriages in the country. The motivation, in his eyes, was to shock American Jews into greater observance.

He was right then, and he is right now. Worse yet, this policy of alarm has not produced results in reversing the assimilation trends that were then exaggerated but still a profound problem.

Without delving too much into how the American Jewish community needs to adjust its approach to demographics, it is important to note these myths have hurt the policymakers of dozens of Jewish organizations. Most importantly, the underestimation of the community's size and utter failure to recognize even scant aspects of people's personal ethnic identities have hurt religious leadership's ability to accommodate the growing demand for conversions in the United States from children of mixed marriages, which are high with or without statistical inflation.

I am personally one of those Jews who has a Jewish Father, but whose Mother does not come from that background. Speaking with Rabbis at major English-speaking post-college Yeshivas and Midrashot in Jerusalem, they estimate their students may comprise as high a figure as 20% hailing from mixed marriages in which the Mother is not Jewish, whether or not they had yet completed conversions.

This figure is dramatic. And other students, with no Jewish heritage at all, are joining them. The internet age has increased interest in new religions. Information can be sought with a simple click, and it is happening en masse. It is driving greater interest in Jewish practice, without the need to call Rabbis in distant cities.

The Jewish Learning Initiative, a combined program of the Orthodox Union and Hillel to serve Orthodox college students, has seen all its Rabbis supervise at least one student learning for conversion since the program's inception several years ago. Children of mixed marriages are essential elements to Jewish activism, be it on campus or in the plethora of non-profits dotting the country.

And yet, the Rabbinical Council of America is unable to perceive just how large a constituency this represents, nor just how large the interest in resolving their identity crises is. Since the adoption of the Geirus Policy & Standards in 2008, roughly 300 people have converted to Orthodox Judaism in the US. This is happening in a country with as many as 6.7 million Jews and where well over 10 million people could be eligible for immigration to Israel under the Law of Return. There are only 12 courts authorized to perform conversion in the United States.

This lack of resources demonstrates a gross unpreparedness to meet the needs of the American Jewish community. It is a guarantee that if the Orthodox community is unwilling to meet this immense demand, the Reform and Conservative Movements will fill the void. This is certainly true in light of years of successful outreach programs throughout Orthodoxy and a general shift to traditionalism and the right throughout all of Judaism's major denominations. The low number of courts is borderline scandalous.


Jewish demographic distribution in the United States

This should bring attention to the calls by former RCA head Rabbi Marc Angel to re-delegate the conversion process to local rabbis, lest a centralized leadership become inefficient, unreliable or even corrupt as was the case with the Eternal Jewish Family.

One does not need to be an expert to sit on a conversion court, though a Rabbi is certainly preferable to a layman. But the proscription these very recent regulations has initiated does little to serve the interests of the American Jewish community and pays lip service to the voice that says Rabbis' personal validity and integrity as judges should be inherently flimsy and feeble. It stymies Jewish religious growth at the same time it undermines the authority of the community's Rabbis.

The GPS may bring more universal standards to deal in conversion, but is limited in scope. The new system can easily be preserved, if only the RCA recognized the need to establish more formal courts in more locations throughout the country. The American Orthodox community needs to be ready, because demand is only growing.

by Seth Farber: The New Conversion Law is a Joke

View this OpEd as originally posted in the Jerusalem Post

by Seth Farber

Coalition MKs have added a clause that effectively neutralized the law.

At the immigration and absorption conference in Ashdod this week, both Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for universal support for a new conversion bill - a bill which would ostensibly "take the power away" from the Conversion Authority and allow local community rabbis to perform conversions.

At first glance, their suggestion is meritorious. The Conversion Authority has been notoriously deficient in effecting conversions - to a large extent because of lack of leadership and policy. By "privatizing" conversion, the process would become much more personal and much less overwhelming. This, in turn, might alleviate a looming demographic crisis threatening the Jewish character of the State of Israel - given the more than 300,000 citizens who emigrated under the Law of Return, but do not meet the Orthodox halachic definition of Jewish.

However, the law which these ministers support is layered with populism and party interests, and ultimately, will help few potential converts.

In fact, in its original form, the bill would have allowed all community rabbis to perform conversions. Since a handful of community rabbis are considered "moderate" in their approach to conversion, the authors of the bill assumed that converts would be able to approach these rabbis and have their conversions certified nationally.

However, all that changed four months ago.

It was then that the bill came up for review in the Knesset Law Committee and almost immediately, MKs who serve in the coalition added a clause that effectively neutralized the law. The new provision mandates that community rabbis can perform conversions "if they receive an additional certification from the Chief Rabbinical Council."

IN OTHER words, the fact that a rabbi has received the authority to register marriages, supervise burials and organize kashrut in his city doesn't imply that he can effect conversions (even though he has been examined on the laws and rituals concerning this matter).

This clause is a deliberate slap in the face to the moderate city rabbis. It suggests that notwithstanding their scholarship or experience (many used to perform conversions before the Conversion Authority was established), they need further "approval." Given the constitution of the Chief Rabbinical Council, it is a given that none of the moderate city rabbis will ever be certified to convert.

Just to provide two examples, one of the members of the council is himself a city rabbi who won't register people who convert in the Conversion Authority. And another served on the rabbinical court which issued the notorious decision in 2008 by Rabbi Avraham Sherman annulling Rabbi Haim Druckman's conversions.

In short, the new conversion bill - in its present and apparently final form - is sophistry of the first order and is being promoted as an offering to the immigrant population, with no substance supporting it. In many respects, the country would be better off if the law wasn't passed and if politicians began studying the core issues and seeking genuine resolutions, rather than trying to simply pass off another bill as a solution to an essential issue threatening the Jewish fabric of Israel.

There needs to be a full review of conversion policy and strategy, and a public relations effort that will make conversion a national priority. Anything less, and we will continue spinning our wheels for another decade.

The writer is the director of ITIM: The Jewish Life Information Center (www.itim.org.il), an organization dedicated to helping Israelis and immigrants navigate Jewish life here.

View this OpEd as originally posted in the Jerusalem Post

"Every town's chief rabbi must have the authority to perform conversions himself"

As originally published in Haaretz

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called on Monday for a change to laws on conversion to Judaism, which he said had left thousands of Israelis in limbo.

Speaking at a conference on immigrant absorption in Ashdod, Lieberman, who leads the hard-line Yisrael Beiteinu party, urged the state to allow head Rabbis in all Israeli towns to perform conversions.

"It is unacceptable that over 200,000 immigrants are carrying identity cards that give their status as 'no religion'," Lieberman said.

The number of immigrants entering conversion programs has plummeted following a controversial ruling in 2008 by the Rabbinical Court of Appeals, which at a stroke invalidated all conversions performed by the state-run Conversion Administration.

Yisrael Beiteinu, which enjoys strong support from Israel's large population of immigrants from the former Soviet Union - around a quarter of a million of whom are classified as non-Jews or having no religion - now hopes to roll back the changes and ease the process.

"Every town's chief rabbi must have the authority to perform conversions himself," Lieberman told the conference.

"In a generation's time there will be no Jews left in the world outside orthodox Judaism, because of assimilation."

This is not the first time that Lieberman, himself a Russian immigrant, has raised the issue of conversion. An attempt two years ago by Yisrael Beitenu to restore powers to municipal rabbis ran into opposition from religious parties in the government coalition and the rabbinical courts.

Is there still a need for EJF? - An insider's perspective

Originally posted on Daas Torah Blog.
Reprinted in the 5 Towns Jewish Times

Former EJF Insider Reveals Doubts
Did Gedolim Approve All This?

By 5TJT Staff

Published on Friday, January 15, 2010 - COMMENTS (0)
Is there still a need for EJF? - An insider's perspective

After being a mentor for some time with The Eternal Jewish Family and witnessing first hand its many serious flaws, the question is what do we need such an organization that dilutes the very framework of halachah that has guided the Jewish people for the last two thousand years?

My first assignment was to work with an intermarried couple, where the non-Jewish husband was enthusiastic about committing to Judaism and learning what it means to become a Jew. His Jewish spouse was less than enthusiastic and cold about the whole idea.

As I was approached by Rabbi Jacobs to speak to this family, I asked him point blank, how can you even think about working with this man if his wife is not supportive and want nothing really to do with Judaism?

Not only that, from a halachic perspective, what was I allowed to teach this man if his wife was not yet on board? Jewish history? A little bit of Hebrew? Gematrias?

As I posed this question to Rabbi Jacobs, he did acknowledge that this certainly was not lechatchila to work with such a family, but he wanted to see where it would go.

After all the conferences all over the world and world-class Rabbanim and Rosh Yeshivos who took part, who paskened such a question that this was permissible?

Another glaring question that I asked as I started my work for them was: is there a Shulchan Aruch or a standard that you use when deciding which families to take, who not to take?

What about the curriculum? Was there even a syllabus? Who are the tutors that are used, how are tutors qualified? What education is given, if any at all, to the Jewish partner?

After all, doesn't the Jewish partner have to have the same commitment and knowledge as the non-Jewish partner who wants to convert? Is there a rav in any of these communities who gives these people guidance and if so, how much contact does EJF have with them?

To illustrate the chaos in this organization, I want to tell the following story. My wife and I worked with a certain couple. We were giving them classes for more than a year and then they were ready to go in front of the beis din. The shabbos before the conversion, they came to our house and we met them for the first time.

The family was very nice. Definitely committed to the ideals of a Torah way of life. Their kids were in a local day school in their community and quite frankly, we were very proud of the work we had done with them.

When they were in the middle of their conversion with the beis din, we received a call to verify their seriousness and commitment to Judaism. We had only met them that shabbos but were in close contact with them over the year and were able to see and hear about their progress and what spiritual direction they were headed.

The beis din was happy with our recommendation and based on our final say, finished the conversion. What about the community in which they lived? Wasn't there any rabbinical figure there that they had worked with that could have verified the information that the beis din required? What verification was there of their Shabbos, Yom Tov experience?

After this episode, I again mentioned to Rabbi Jacobs, how could it be, that after more than a year of working with EJF that they were not in contact with any rabbinical figure in their area that could tell how they were progressing and what they were doing?

Even if the families that EJF works with are serious minded and committed to an Orthodox lifestyle, who is guiding these people in their own communities? Is it enough just for the mentors to speak to them on the phone?

This leads to another question. Who are these mentors? I asked Rabbi Jacobs many times who they used as mentors and how he qualified them as good mentors. I never got an answer on that even though I heard that they use fine people. After all, even though EJF is an organization under the umbrella of Rabbi Tropper's Baal Teshuvah Yeshivah, Kol Yaakov, is conversion really the same thing as kiruv?

Do we want kiruv people or even baalei batim working with these people without any special training? There were no qualifying criteria for being a mentor for this organization. Period. Not only that, they gave the Jewish spouse only an hour a week to learn with someone from Partners in Torah.

There are two mentors that I knew of that mentored for EJF. Both have had vast experience in working with converts and baalei teshuvah. After speaking to these two individuals at great length over the years, I came to the obvious conclusion that although they may be well-versed in kiruv and geirus, there was one thing that stood out from their resumes.

Neither possessed any daas Torah whatsoever. How do I know this? First of all, they don't mention anybody on their resumes about it, for one. I also know these two individuals in another capacity whereby both are moderators of an online group that helps people in the process of conversion.

These prospective converts have a place to go, so to speak where they can ask their questions, get reading material and listen to the stories of others in the same process. These moderators see the questions come, and either allow them to go in or reject them.

The all important question you may ask is where is the rabbinic advisory board that oversees the questions that are asked and what is allowed or disallowed. As I sat in disbelief a number of times from these two individuals were that they did not have a rabbinical board or had any desire sending questions to Rabbanim because they were afraid it would turn off perspective people interested in the group.

I heard this from both people on numerous occasions and the only reason I mention this is to show what a few of the mentors look like. These are some of the better ones that at least have worked with converts before. With such an important job to service these people, do we want just anyone teaching these perspective converts?

With all the hoopla of the many conventions that EJF has had all over the world, what about all the choshever Rabbanim and Roshei Yeshiva that have addressed these conferences. Do they really have any inkling as to what is happening within the organization?

Are they ever given any serious halachic questions to deal with? The bottom line of all these conventions was that it seemed there was a difference of opinion among the vast rabbinic personalities about conversion in general.

Even at one of the dayanim conferences, one prominent dayan told me that over the course of two days, there may have been about 10 minutes of real information that he benefited from. I am afraid to ask what these people did the rest of the time?

What about the batei din on EJF's list that states that they are all on the same page about the idea of a universal conversion. It in theory is a great idea, but in reality there are many batei din on this list that first of all, don't even know they are on the list but also have no idea what the organization does.

Some of these stories are just the tip of the iceberg of the disaster and krumkeit that this organization purports, all in the name of helping these families. Yes, such an organization should exist and continue this important work.

It must be done with competent people that know what they are doing! There needs someone to oversee the mentors and to train them. There should be close contact with batei din and Rabbanim in the communities so that everyone will be on the same page.

The Jewish spouse needs real education from people who have the knowledge to give it to them. It should not be once a week for an hour! They have to be involved in their own communities and show the commitment needed for the non-Jewish spouse to convert.

Unfortunately, there are probably thousands of people out there that could be helped by such an organization. If it would be done in the proper way, without compromising halachah, it could be an unbelievable Kiddush Hashem.

As of right now, it is a disaster and in total disarray. It's not about the scandal and how it happened. It is about who is running the organization and why it is hefker. Putting the right people in charge, could make all the difference in the world but it instead it looks like a one-man show.

As the old adage goes, it is either my way or no way. From Rabbi Dunner's letter (5Towns Jewish Times January 11, 2010), it definitely looks that way and that is just a recipe for disaster!

Encourage descendants of Jews to come back into the fold, rabbi urges

Written by Atara Beck
Wednesday, 13 January 2010

TORONTO – “In our generation, the topic of conversion is a unique one,” said Rabbi Haim Druckman, head of the religious Zionist Bnei Akiva youth movement and Center for Bnei Akiva yeshivot, who, at the invitation of local Zionist activist Larry Zeifman, led a roundtable discussion on the importance of encouraging Israeli immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) to become Jews according to halacha (Jewish law).

Visiting here from Israel, Rabbi Druckman, rosh yeshiva of Ohr Etzion hesder yeshiva, a former deputy minister of religious affairs and, until recently, head of the State Conversion Authority, has long been advocating for a more ‘conversion-friendly’ system for olim [immigrants] from the former Soviet Union. He spoke in support of the newly launched AMI – Personal Ulpan for Conversion, through which small groups of potential converts could undergo the process with the continual guidance of a religious mentor family. Program organizers would be willing to accommodate a single potential convert as well, if necessary.

AMI “represents a revolution,” Rabbi Druckman stated. It “transforms the process of conversion into an intimate, familial experience.” The program, which includes formal classroom education as well as informal learning through the mentor family, should significantly increase the number of converts through this personal approach, he explained.

“We are 18 years too late,” he declared. “It would have been much easier had this been dealt with in a better way from the start. They [Russian olim] are already part of Medinat Yisrael [the state of Israel]. They are Israeli citizens…study in Israeli schools, serve in the army. Eighty thousand are considered non-Jews. What will happen to the next generation?”

Indeed, “among the many who made aliyah are some 350,000 immigrants who are not Jewish according to halacha but came to Israel because of their deep connection to the land and people about which, sadly, they know so little today,” according to Natan Sharansky, chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel, adding that he was “very pleased” to learn about AMI and sees the program as a “blessing” and “timely.”

The majority of these olim claim Jewish ancestry; in fact, Rabbi Druckman read a list of names of individuals eager to convert to Judaism, including, for example, Rosenbaum, Landau and Kaplan.

“It is clear that we are commanded and it is our responsibility to bring these people closer to the Jewish people and to assist them in fully connecting to and becoming part of our nation through conversion,” Rabbi Druckman stated. “The truth is that all the immigrants are our family…and we must embrace them and help them.”

It was because of persecution and the forbidding of Jewish practice, including circumcision, that Jews from the FSU have been assimilated, “and the restrictions were enforced with brutal force like nothing we’ve ever seen. And the non-Jewish side suffered because of his connection to a Jew.”

The descendants are from zerah Yisrael – literally, Jewish seed – and therefore should be encouraged to become full-fledged Jews, he stressed. In fact, this viewpoint has been expressed in rabbinic literature and supported by some of the greatest spiritual leaders in the last generations.

Nevertheless, Rabbi Druckman affirmed that Jewish law must not be compromised in the process and the convert would have to demonstrate acceptance of the “yoke of heaven” and commitment to observing the mitzvot (commandments).

Regarding the permanence of conversion, “all those who were converted to Judaism are Jews,” he stated. “No one can take that away from them.”

For more information about AMI, contact Naftali Kandler, executive director, at 972-52-423-9740 or naftali@project-ami.org, or email info@project-ami.org.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 14 January 2010 )

Rabbi Drukman dismissed from conversions court

Civil Service Commission orders Prime Minister's Office to terminate conversions court head's employment effective immediately, citing it opted not to renew his contract. Religious Zionism sources warn move may have coalitional ramifications

Kobi Nahshoni
Published:
01.14.10, 07:52



As the Prime Minister's Office has administrative jurisdiction over the conversions court, Director-General Eyal Gabai was asked to inform Drukman of the decision.

The letter, sent 10 days after the contract expired, reads: "Rabbi Haim Drukman began working for the Prime Minister's Office as head to the conversions court on February 9, 2004. His employment contract was renewed periodically and ended on December 31, 2009.

The Civil Service Commission decided to terminate Rabbi Haim Drukman's tenure as head of the conversions court effective immediately, Ynet has learned.

Is a letter sent to the Prime Minister's Office, Deputy Civil Service Commissioner Moti Aharoni confirmed that Drukman's contract, which ended on December 31, will not be renewed.

"As the rabbi will soon turn 77, the civil service commissioner has asked me to inform you that his tenure can no longer be renewed." Gabai was asked to summon Drukman to a meeting and inform of the decision.

"The Civil Service Commission," ended the letter, "Would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to Rabbi Drukman for his contribution to promoting conversions in Israel and his willingness to find halachic solutions to this complex social matter."

The Civil Service Commission also noted that according to a 2008 government directive, the position is to be filled via the decision of a locator committee, and asked the Prime Minister's Office "make the necessary arrangements to set such a committee up in order to fill the position of head of the conversions court."

"This is the first time I've heard of this. I have no idea what you're talking about," Drukman told Ynet.

The rabbi's associates were puzzled by the decision's timing, saying it was made now in retaliation to a recent, controversial statement he made on settlement eviction.

"They've been discussing ending his tenure for a long time and all of a sudden the make a decision 10 days after his contract ends? I guess the Prime Minister's Office wants to punish him for what he said," ventured one of Drukman's associates.

Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar said he will ask Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for clarifications on the matter. according to Ynet's sources, Amar will demand Drukman's tenure will be extended at least until a replacement is found.

Ynet sources at the PM's Office said former Great Rabbinical Court Judge Rabbi Shlomo Deichowsky is the lead candidate to take Drukman's place.

Deichowsky is considered a moderate rabbi, which may go a long way towards solving several controversial conversion issues. So far, however, Deichowsky has not agreed to the appointment.

Better the devil you know?
Meanwhile, and as the news of Drukman's termination broke, agitation was noted in Religious Zionism and Habayit Hayehudi faction chairman Knesset Member Zevulun Orlev warned against possible coalitional ramifications.

"The government's conduct in this matter bares coalitional consequences. I, for one, can't see myself voting for the government in any nonconfidence vote on the matter," he told Ynet. "It's inconceivable that the government will work to oust him while we are part of the coalition."

Orlev said he hopes "the government will rectify this disgrace with the same speed the rabbi was ousted so to prevent an unnecessary crisis."

Drukman, added the MK, "Is Religious Zionism's senior spiritual leader and he should be treated with the respect he deserves."

MK Uri Ariel (National Union) also protested the decision, slamming it as "scandalous" and "offensive to all rabbis and especially to Rabbi Drukman."

Somewhat surprisingly, even those opposing Drukman within the ultra-Orthodox community among were displeased. "This makes no difference at all – it's just a technical decision," a senior source in ultra-Orthodox conversion circles told Ynet.

"There is no chance a person who truly observes conversion ruled would be appointed in his place. His successor will be just like him or worse.

There shouldn’t be a governmental conversions system to begin with," he continued. "It's a false system and the results speak for themselves – the majority (of converts) don't observe mitzvahs. The entire systems should be shut down There's better use for the money spent on it."

"Return Conversion to the Rabbis"

Return Conversion to the Rabbis
Opinion

By Marc D. Angel

As published in the Daily Forward on 6 January 2010 C.E.

For centuries, rabbis steeped in Torah and Halacha have served as the gatekeepers of the Jewish people. They have determined which non-Jews may join the Jewish people as converts.

Halachic literature provides a wide array of opinions and attitudes relating to conversion. In recent years, however, the more extreme views espoused by the Haredi rabbinic establishment have gained predominance — and those Orthodox rabbis who do not share these views have been increasingly marginalized.

In 2006, Israel’s chief rabbinate announced that it would no longer accept conversions performed by Orthodox rabbis in the Diaspora, unless these rabbis were on a pre-approved list (i.e., they were deemed sufficiently Haredi in their approach). The mainstream Orthodox rabbinic group in the United States, the Rabbinical Council of America, essentially went along with the dictates of the chief rabbinate. The RCA set up regional rabbinic courts to oversee conversions. The individual Orthodox rabbi — even if a member in good standing of the RCA — generally will not have his conversions accepted by the rabbinate in Israel, unless the convert has gone through the RCA’s conversion bureaucracy.

The result of this shift in authority has been profound. Good, talented and well-intentioned Orthodox rabbis in the Diaspora have been eliminated as recognized gatekeepers to the Jewish people. Power has been concentrated in fewer hands. The more restrictive views on conversion have become universalized, leaving rabbis with little leeway in dealing with candidates for conversion who are not ready to become fully Orthodox Jews. Rabbi Ben-Zion Uziel, who was the first chief Sephardic rabbi of the State of Israel, sought halachically valid ways to bring such individuals into Judaism and the Jewish people. The current rabbinic hierarchy shuts the door on them.

At a time when many thousands of people in Israel and the Diaspora want to become Jewish, the Orthodox rabbinic gatekeepers are becoming ever more restrictive. They adopt new stringencies not required by the Talmud, the Rambam or the Shulchan Aruch. There are women whose conversions have been denied because they wear pants — loose-fitting, modest pants. I know a woman whose conversion was rejected because the rabbinic court did not think her boyfriend was sufficiently Orthodox. A number of would-be converts have been told that they will not be accepted for conversion unless they first move to more religious neighborhoods — even though they currently attend an Orthodox synagogue in the neighborhood where they presently reside. Meanwhile, rabbinic courts in Israel have annulled conversions when converts lapse from a stringent observance of mitzvot.

These restrictive policies are not mandated by Halacha. They reflect a deep xenophobia and a narrow view of Jewish peoplehood. These policies prevent and deter many people from converting to Judaism according to Halacha. They cause unspeakable pain and frustration to numerous individuals who want to cast their destiny with the Jewish people — but who are rejected, humiliated or threatened by the rabbinic bureaucracy.

In recent months, we have witnessed scandal after scandal involving Haredi rabbis. In a particularly notorious case, Rabbi Leib Tropper — who set himself up as the head of an influential Haredi conversion authority, the Eternal Jewish Family — has resigned his position due to allegations of particularly heinous and repulsive behavior, reportedly involving sexual coercion of a prospective convert.

These high-profile scandals should be cause for alarm. But we should also be concerned about the scandal of what is being foisted upon the public as “true Judaism.” At an Eternal Jewish Family conference, Rabbi Nachum Eisenstein stated that Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elyashiv, one of the Haredi world’s leading authorities, holds that any rabbi who believes the world is more than approximately 6,000 years old should not serve on the rabbinic courts that perform conversions. (Elyashiv is not known to have disputed this characterization of his views.) Indeed, the Eternal Jewish Family includes a question on “the Torah view of the age of the universe” in its testing of would-be converts. Knowing that we have perfectly legitimate traditions in Torah Judaism that allow for belief in a universe billions of years old, should we allow the obscurantists to disqualify all rabbis who dare to accept the clear findings of science? Do we want such people as the gatekeepers of Jewish identity?

The Orthodox rabbinate has become narrower and more extreme, exactly at a time when world Jewry is very much in need of responsible, creative, sensitive and inclusive religious leadership. Can the State of Israel afford to have a bureaucracy of rabbinic gatekeepers who seem more interested in keeping people out than in letting them in? Can world Jewry afford to leave halachic conversion in the hands of a rabbinic hierarchy that refuses to draw on the inclusive opinions within Halacha, that insists on creating higher and higher barriers, that values restrictiveness as a sign of religiosity? Can we really trust a Haredi-dominated rabbinic establishment that does not inspire our respect as a model of morality, idealism and intellectual vitality?

The Jewish people needs and deserves an effective and inclusive halachic framework for accepting converts. The current gatekeepers have not served us well, and there is no sign that they will change their ways if left to their own devices. We would do much better by dismantling the current rabbinic bureaucracy and leaving conversion in the hands of local Orthodox rabbis — as had been the practice for centuries. Let each rabbi draw on the halachic sources that best apply to each situation and not have his hands tied by an inflexible and restrictive hierarchy. Let each halachic convert be fully accepted as a Jew in the State of Israel and throughout the Diaspora.

If some in the Haredi world will not accept the Jewishness of such converts, then that is a problem for the Haredim. The Jewish people as a whole should not be held hostage to the extreme views of the rejectionists.

Halachic conversions performed by local Orthodox rabbis will draw many more converts into the Jewish people more efficiently, more compassionately and with more halachic integrity. Every bona fide member of a reputable national or international Orthodox rabbinic body should be empowered to perform conversions. Each rabbinic organization must ensure that its members conduct conversions according to Halacha, with the highest ethical standards, and without financial remuneration.

The Torah describes the people of Israel as a wise people; let us, then, act wisely.

Rabbi Marc D. Angel is founder and director of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals and rabbi emeritus of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York. He is a past president of the Rabbinical Council of America and the author of “Choosing to Be Jewish: The Orthodox Road to Conversion” (Ktav, 2005).

A Step Back in Time: The List of 50

In 2006, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate announced they would only accept conversions from a select list of Rabbis around the world, until conditions changed for conversion. What prompted the announcement is still a widely debated topic, though most credit Rabbi Nachum Eisenstein with urging major names like Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar to no longer accept conversions conducted by Modern Orthodox authorities in the United States.

This list, which was never intended to be published, appeared on several websites and blogs three and a half years ago as naming the select 50:

Australia Rabbi S. Gutnick, Rabbi Baruch Lashs (apparently, retired and left Sydney), Rabbi Moshe Gutnick

Italy Rabbi Elihu Toaff, Rabbino Alberto A. Piatteli Rome
Rabbi G. Garelik Milan

Argentina Rabino Shlomo Ben Hamu

Brazil Rabbi E. B. Valt

United States of America Rabbi Y. Grumer, Rabbi J. Blum Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwarz, Rabbi Y. Weinkrantz, Rabbi Shmuel Fuerst Chicago, Ill.
Rabbi Ilan D. Feldman, Rabbi S. Khoshkrman Atlanta, Georgia
Rabbi Hillel Klavan (now retired) Washington D.C.
Rabbi S. Maimon Seattle, WA
Rabbi Menachem Senderovic Milwaukee, WI
Rabbi Neta (sic) Greenblat Memphis, TN
Rabbi Sholom Rivkin St. Louis Missouri
Rabbi I.M. Levin Southfield, MI
Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger Boston, MA
Rabbi Y. Rotenberg, Rabbi M. Feldman (retired to Sydney, Australia – AR)Baltimore, MD
Rabbi E.M. Teitz Elizabeth N.J.
Rabbi Yonah Reiss, Rabbi Yehuda Korczak, Rabbi Elimelech Bluth, Rabbi Aaron Stein, Rabbi S. Herbst, Rabbi C. Kohen, Rabbi Chaim Ganzwieg, Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag, Rabbi Mencahem Zilber, Rabbi Abraham Izdabye, Rabbi Yosef Heller, Rabbi A. Hatchuel, Rabbi S.J. Landesman, Rabbi Peretz Steinberg New York
Rabbi David Lehrfield North Miami Beach Florida
Rabbi A. Brisman Philadephia PA
Rabbi Abraham Union, Rabbi G. Cohen Los Angeles, CA

Belgium Rabbi Eliyahu Sternbuch, Rabbi Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss, Rabbi David Leiberman, Rabbi J. Cohen Antwerp
Rabbi I. Chaikin Brussels

United Kingdom Rabbi Chanoch Ehrentreu, Dayan E. Pdwa, Rabbi Y. Lichtenstein London
Rabbi Y. Refson Leeds
Rabbi G. Kraus Manchester

South Africa Rabbi Moshe Kurchak Johannesburg

Holland
Rabbi Meir Just Amsterdam

Venezuela
Rabbi Yizchak Cohen Caracas

Turkey
Rabbi David Asseo Rabbi Yitchak Chaliba Istanbul

Mexico
Rabbi S. Tawil Rabbi D. Malech Rabbi Smolienski

Morocco
Rabbi Shimon Suissa Casablanca

France
Rabbi Yaacov Medar, Rabbi Nissim Ravivo, Rabbi Mordechai Rotenberg Paris
Rabbi J. Tubul Lyon
Rabbi Mordechai Zekbach, Rabbi S.A. Schlesinger Strasbourg

Canada
Rabbi A.D. Niznick Montreal
Rabbi M.Z. Ochs Toronto

Russia Rabbi Pinchas Goldshmidt Moscow

Switzerland Rabbi Shaul Briish, Rabbi Daniel Levi Zurich
Rabbi Yisrael Levinger (apparently, retired to Israel) Basel
Rabbi A.Y. Schlesinger Geneva

Religious advocates decry rabbinate statement calling conversions reversible

As published in הארץ on 8 January 2010 C.E.

A precedent-setting statement this week by the Chief Rabbinate, which said all conversions may be retroactively annulled at any time, is adding fuel to a legal battle over the status of state-sponsored conversions in Israel.

"This is an immoral, inhumane and anti-Halakhic assertion," said Rivkah Lubitch, a Rabbinic Court advocate from the Center for Women's Justice. "Let us hope that the High Court of Justice finds it is also illegal."

The document by Rabbi Shimon Yaakobi, the rabbinate's court adviser, was the rabbinate's reply to a High Court of Justice petition filed last May by the Center for Women's Justice. In it, the center asked the court to reverse the 2008 retroactive nullification of thousands of conversions performed by the state-sponsored Conversion Authority headed by Rabbi Haim Druckman. The 122-page document comprises the first time that such a prominent figure within the Rabbinate's legal arm openly states that approved conversions can be "reversed" at the discretion of any rabbinical judge.

"This is a significant blow to converts," said Seth Farber, who heads the Jerusalem-based nonprofit ITIM. "We are slowly splintering into two peoples." An American-born rabbi, Farber is a key opponent of the controversial phenomenon.

Over the past two years this issue has become a main point of contention within the Orthodox community, with hardliners conditioning conversion on strict religious observance by converts, and pragmatists who say the conversion process should be irreversible.

Rabbinical court records show that from 2004 to 2008 the Chief Rabbinate approved the conversion of approximately 26,000 people. Of those, some 17,000 were of Ethiopian descent and 5,000 were of Russian-speaking origins. Lubitch of the Center for Women's Justice says the latest statement could have far-reaching ramifications for potential converts among the approximately 300,000 non-Jewish, Russian-speaking citizens of Israel.

"Beyond the tremendous uncertainty this introduces into converts' lives... the government's efforts to convert [Russians] now face serious problems, because making conversions reversible will undoubtedly seriously diminish their motivation to even start the process."

A source within the rabbinate said that Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar was "furious" about Yaakobi's document "which does not represent Rabbi Amar's stance," according to the source. A senior advisor to Rabbir Amar told Anglo File that the rabbis who nullify conversions are "a radical minority" who "for political reasons try to show that they are 'more Catholic than the Pope' by reversing conversions sanctioned by Rabbi Amar and (Ashkenazi Chief) Rabbi Metzger."

The same adviser said last month that rabbis who nullified conversions would be called into explain their actions to Amar in December 2009, but Farber and other people involved in the field said this never happened.

On Tuesday, Shas MK Rabbi Haim Amsalem, formerly chief Sephardic rabbi in Geneva, spoke out against retroactive nullifications when he launched a book he had penned, detailing his research of the attitudes of great past Jewish sages to conversion.

"A proper conversion cannot be canceled even if the convert did not properly fulfill Jewish law," Amsalem wrote. Amsalem says he received anonymous letters, phone calls and "hinted threats" aimed at pressuring him into not publishing the book.

Farber said that even though there is a "power struggle" within the rabbinate over conversions, he has "lost faith" in the rabbinate's ability to "properly resolve the matter." Farber, who for years favored dialogue with the rabbinate over litigation, said he believed only court intervention could settle the question now.

His ITIM intends to file in a few weeks a second petition to the High Court of Justice on behalf of a number of Jews whose conversions were nullified by rabbinate representatives. "In an unprecedented manner, the rabbinate has opened a Halakhic Pandora's box with its latest legal statement," Farber yesterday told Anglo File. "This further exacerbated the predicament of thousands of converts around the world who are now living in a state of uncertainty," he said.

Leib Tropper Victim Converts to Judaism

As published in the 5 Towns Jewish Times on 7 January 2010 C.E.

Leib Tropper Victim Converts to Judaism

Interview
By Avi Meir
Published on Thursday, January 07, 2010

Shannon Orand, the woman who was taken advantage of by Leib Tropper, the former head of the Eternal Jewish Family, has successfully converted to Judaism in Eretz Yisroel as reported by Jewish Israel.

Members of the Beit Din were the highly respected Chief Rabbi Dov Lior of Hevron, Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu of Safed, and Rabbi Rafi Ostroff. Another highly respected Rav officiated over the conversion.


Shannon Orand standing befor the Beit Din l'Giyur (Conversion Court)

Shannon withstood an extremely challenging test over these past few weeks, as news of Leib Tropper’s compromising behavior hit the press and blogosphere. Shannon is a valued member of Jewish Israel. She actively participates in their interactive forums and talkbacks, and provides them with invaluable information. Jewish Israel was in touch with her and very much aware of the disturbing circumstances involving Leib Tropper.

Jewish Israel had the opportunity to speak with Shannon this week, and she graciously afforded them this interview:
[Note: one of the rabbis handling Shannon’s conversion asked that she no longer refer to Leib Tropper as “Rabbi”]

JI: How are you feeling? You’re a Jew now.

Shannon : Relieved after such a long process. I feel like I came out of Egypt. Many potential converts undergo severe testing, and I’ve certainly had my share.

JI: Were the rabbis involved with your conversion fully aware of the episode that transpired over the past few weeks?

Shannon: They were fully aware of the situation, are in possession of tapes, heard evidence, thoroughly questioned me, and required me to submit a written statement.

JI: Is there something you would like the online public to know that was not exposed in the press reports? Is there a statement that you would like to make?

Shannon: I think it needs to be understood that the information which went public was intended for trusted rabbinic authorities only. It should never have been leaked. The worst thing for me is the chilul Hashem that was created by all of this and the pain it has caused the Jewish community. I’m sick over the media’s treatment of this episode and the aspects they chose to focus on.

The outstanding questions are, how did I allow this situation to happen? Why didn't I put a stop to it and just go elsewhere?

But the press reports virtually ignored the fact that I have been immersed in an ongoing legal battle involving my children and my ex-husband who sexually molested my daughter, pleaded guilty, and is a registered sex offender. Leib Tropper was taking care of the tremendous legal expenses I was incurring – which put me in a terribly difficult situation. I don’t think the press or blog reports conveyed the desperate and powerless situation I found myself in.

JI: In addition to the humiliation and pain caused by the Tropper scandal what are the other emotional costs you have incurred?

Shannon: I lost the trial and although my ex-husband is forbidden from seeing my daughter, he has been granted visitation rights to see my son. I had planned on making aliyah, but after this verdict that is no longer possible at this time.

A major concern I have is, how will the people in my community react? They are confused, and because I have been silent thus far, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. I want the opportunity to clear my name, and to be accepted by the community as a Jew.

There are other costs. My mother, who is a devout evangelical/messianic and was never supportive of my conversion efforts, has told me that I’m going to hell and taking her grandchildren with me. My father, who used to be a preacher, has left the church and now considers himself Bnai Noach. He is supportive. (Shannon’s parents are divorced.)

JI: And you still insist on being a Jew after all of this?

Shannon: Yes. I came from an idolatrous Christian background and worshipped a man instead of G-d. And now I have a relationship with G-d that no man can take away from me. I began studying counter-missionary literature when I was part of the church. I realized that the Christian bible had been severely altered, and that’s how I became interested in Judaism.

JI: You’ve had a chance to explore the rigors of the conversion process in both America and in Israel – in the Hareidi and the religious Zionist worlds. Is the approach different?

Shannon: I found that the Israeli process is just as stringent, but was far more focused on what it means to be a Jew, whereas the American Hareidi system placed a great – almost exclusive - emphasis on halacha. For example, the Israeli rabbis asked me questions about halacha, but also asked me questions pertaining to the 13 principles of faith, the idea of messiah,
belief in one G-d, the importance of the land of Israel, the mitzvot, and what being a Jew means to me. The American rabbis grilled me on the various laws pertaining to Shabbat observance. I have to say that I found the Israeli approach to be refreshing and inspiring.

I feel very fortunate to have had what I consider to be the best of the best conversions, under such an amazing Beit Din. To be able to sit in front of and speak to such pure individuals that I respect and admire was beautiful. These people understand what it means to be a Jew, that it’s much more than a black hat, and they live it every day.

JI: Shannon, thank you for your honesty. May G-d grant you the strength, focus and wisdom needed to continue on the correct path and to meet the challenges ahead.

Jewish Israel can be reached at http://www.jewishisrael.com

Giyur Issue Will Regain Prominence Tuesday

As published by theyeshivaworld.com on 4 January 2010 CE



The controversy surrounding the state’s (Israel) giyur process will most likely regain media prominence on Tuesday when MK (Shas) Chaim Amsellem releases his comprehensive sefer on giyur, which will address the halachos and in reality, state conversions, IDF conversions and the controversy surrounding the entire matter.

R’ Amsellem will be releasing his new sefer “Zera Yisrael” which addresses the halachos of giyur and the views of gedolei yisrael. The sefer reportedly addresses the conversions of over 300,000 immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, who are not viewed as Jews according to halacha. He feels they can undergo giyur as his sefer will show. The rav explains that much of his sefer addresses the rulings of the rabbonim regarding the need of giyurim to adhere to mitzvos, what mitzvos and to what extent, and if and when a giyur decision is reversed. Rabbi Amsellem stresses a giyur must accept mitzvos, but many rabbonim do not understand how far this is taken and when exception should or must be made.

The rav explains that the approach to bring potential giyurim closer is the proper approach for those who can trace Jewish roots, “Zera Yisrael”, explaining that halachically, regarding giyur; they are in a different category then regular non-Jews seeking to convert. Therefore he explains; the approach to such potential converts is drastically different from goyim who wish to become Jews.

He states one who openly announces he has no intentions of keeping mitzvos, he is not accepted. On the other hand, he explains halacha states explicitly that a convert who accepted mitzvos and changes his mind, remains a Jews and that cannot be reversed. (Rashbatz - 3:47)

Rav Amsellem quotes Maran Rav Elyashiv Shlita, who in the past addressed those wishing to undergo giyur and openly state they do not plan to be chareidi, but traditional, and there is room for this too as this is part of today’s life. “This is an area where the beis din must look into the eyes of a candidate” he explains, “and make a decision”.

The rav says his sefer makes reference to the giyurim who were converted via the IDF, providing a warm attitude and open arms towards them, explaining they are giving of themselves towards the defense of the nation and the Jewish people and the poskim of the past took this reality into account when dealing with their giyur as well.

“The State of Israel cannot permit itself to stagnate regarding the giyur matter, and the process cannot be frozen, warning a continuation of the current controversy will chas v’sholom lead to civil laws that will split the nation apart and/or lead to civil marriage. The retroactive cancellation of one’s Jewishness after he has lived as a Jew for years in not humane, and even worse, such decisions may lead to severe complications including mamzeirus.

The rav brings many pertinent matters to light, that Rishonim state one who lights shabbos candles and does not keep shabbos is not a ‘kofer’. He adds that statistically, over 80% of Israelis fast on Yom Kippur and light shabbos candles and in accordance with halacha, the beis din has a great deal of leeway as to bringing one into the fold, to become a convert, and these issues must come into play for “Zera Yisrael”, Jews who have traceable roots to yiddishkeit.

People close to the rav report that during the past months while he was completing the sefer he was under tremendous pressure, including threatening anonymous letters and telephone calls as well as pressure on rabbonim whose approbations appear in the sefer. The rav has been involved in the halachos of giyur for many years, and is known to have given many many shiurim on the subject.

Those supporting the rav explain that with great effort and siyata d’shmaiya he has endured, along with those rabbonim who support him and agree with his approach towards the halacha and giyur, with reports indicating some rabbonim who have reviewed the sefer state it is truly a rare find, probing halachos that have not been reviewed in a very long time, appearing in one bound volume, providing a comprehensive compilation addressing the entire giyur process and its complexities.

The word is that the sefer will without a doubt spark controversy among rabbonim, the Chief Rabbinate perhaps, and the entire matter regarding the different views pertaining to the giyur conducted by the state under the direction of HaRav Chaim Druckman Shlita, who as a result of the controversy was compelled to step down under the guise of his advanced age.

(Yechiel Spira - YWN Israel)

MK Rabbi Amsallem: Old-New Conversion Solution by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz

Published by Arutz Sheva / Israel National News on 5 January 2010 C.E.



Knesset Member and Rabbi Chaim Amsallem (Shas) will present a book he wrote on the subject of conversion to the Knesset Speaker on Tuesday. In the book, Rabbi Amsallem puts forth an encompassing solution to the conversion of non-Jewish descendants of Jewish forebears, specifically designed for implementation in the State of Israel.

Entitled Zera Yisrael ("The Seed of Israel"), Rabbi Amsalllem's book offers a carefully researched halachic (Jewish law) position that he believes should serve the needs of most of Israel's non-Jewish immigrant population.  The largest group of non-Jewish Israeli immigrants hail from the states of the former Soviet Union, and are estimated to number 300,000.

According to the rabbi MK, his proposal is for "a conversion that would be carried out from a perspective of drawing in, not pushing away, those who truly want to convert. This approach sees those who are descended from Jews, in the context of their halachic status as 'of the seed of Israel', as substantially different from regular non-Jews seeking to convert. It follows, therefore, that the approach to their conversion has to be different from the approach to conversion of a non-Jew who is not 'of the seed of Israel'," he explained.

Rabbi Amsallem added that the approach laid out in his 500-page book would see service in the IDF as a sign of the potential convert's dedication to join the people of Israel and his sharing in their pain. Accordingly, Rabbi Amsalllem quotes classic halachic decisors, "this shows that his heart is true and that he is very desirous of Judaism."

The state of Israel can no longer allow the status quo in matters of conversion to continue, warns MK Amsallem. The lack of a solution, in his opinion, may lead to the passing of legislation that would divide the nation in two. Recent rabbinical court decisions overturning prior conversions after years of the individual being considered Jewish were, in Rabbi Amsallem's view, inhumane and halachically unjustified.

Rabbi Amsallem's book includes letters of praise and approbation from leading rabbis and rabbinical court judges. Prior to publication, he sent a draft of the book to 1,000 rabbis from all Orthodox streams in Israel, in the hope of receiving their support for, and comments on, his ideas. At the same time, the author has been subject to pressures from within the Orthodox world and vigorous resistance against his views ever since he announced his intention to publish his findings.

Judaism's Choice is Division or Unification regarding Conversion

The attacks against the Eternal Jewish Family are being leveraged on the now defunct reputation of Rabbi Leib Tropper, and this risks exacerbating divisions in the Jewish world even further. The debate over conversion must retain a decorum and mutual respect if these crucial issues of Jewish society and its unfortunate divisions are to be resolved.

That being said, the Eternal Jewish Family's effort to push the most stringent of standards to universalize conversion is both unrealistic and unnecessary, and risks driving well-meaning converts from a seemingly divisive and disrespectful community. Furthermore, the progressive elimination of Orthodox Rabbis from the list of acceptable authorities concentrates the conversion process into the hands of a select few. Last week, Orthodox Rabbi Mark Angel, former president of the Rabbinical Council of America responded to inquiries by reporter Paul Berger by saying "When power is concentrated in the hands of a few self-righteous rabbis, the result is inevitably corruption, injustice, immorality."

The point by Rabbi Angel turns the logic that power to conduct conversions must be centralized and regulated upside down. This scandal, true or not, highlights the tremendous possibility that corruption among any central committee for conversion would immediately call into question the validity of that particular group's conversion, further exacerbating the conversion crisis. Even from a conservative standpoint, this should all be cause for alarm.

This brings to attention the reason why we as a community should be concerned about centralizing conversion at all. The cause has been seen as an effort to prevent future problems in the conversion process. That particular reason is based on to previous causes for concern - the non-commitment of some converts to Jewish practice, and problems in the conversion process that would retroactively annul said conversion. What is important to bear in mind is that these are two separate issues that have been unfortunately misrepresented as a single matter of contention.

This has hurt the public and legal debates about conversion, and totally confused the general Jewish public as to what is creating these massive social and political divisions. As has been handled by Orthodox authorities the last several years, the issue has come to perpetuate divisions in the Jewish community and actually embitter them, rather than resolving a potentially larger crisis of future generations, separate groups of Jews who would not be able to marry each other in the future, God forbid. We have to remember that if a conversion is conducted without all of the stringencies even the most conservative approach to the matter demands, such a conversion is not necessarily invalid. So too, we cannot forget the benefit of demanding more than the minimum from anyone and taking our time to make sure any new Jews are well-integrated into the Jewish community.

In the early 1990s, Yeshiva University Chancellor Rabbi Norman Lamm led a cross-denominational effort to create a universal standard of conversion in the United States, trying to stem the growth of this very crisis before it grew. Those efforts failed because of reservations by several Rabbinic leaders, to which he lamented it was a missed opportunity to resolve other major issues between different denominations of Judaism.

No matter the outcome of the debate in Jewish law, the goal must remain common among Jewish groups - the unification of the Jewish community. Assuredly from any religious standpoint, that community's welcoming of converts must be open, and the sanctity of the conversion process must be preserved for those people who have made the tremendous commitment to observe the rites and fight for the welfare of Jews the world over.

That being said, we face a challenge, but one that we must believe can ultimately be resolved. Intermarriage has created problems, but optimistic leaders of all denominations increasingly determine reaching out to mixed families and strengthening bonds to Judaism is the optimal response to Judaism's intertwined crises of assimilation, intermarriage and conversion. Members of all denominations must demand of their leaders to work their damnedest to mend the fences, mesh the viewpoints and resolve this catharsis in the Jewish world with a unified and genuine policy of conversion.

Focusing on Conversion, Don't Get Distracted by Scandal

Published in the Jerusalem Post on 27 December 2009 C.E.


Focusing on Conversion, Don't Get Distracted by Scandal
Joshua Reback

The sex scandal purportedly involving Rabbi Leib Tropper of the Eternal Jewish Family - in which he was reportedly engaged in sexual misconduct with a woman whose conversion he was guiding - is an unfortunate situation that should not become a reason to denounce the EJF or its efforts as an organization. It is looked at as an opportunity to drag the organization through the mud and weaken it, making the situation easier for converts. These efforts by bloggers and advocates will not serve the cause of righteous converts, even those who have been unfairly dragged through the proverbial mud themselves.

Having finished my conversion just two years ago, with a family background including a Jewish father and Catholic mother, I know there is a tremendous level of introspection going on among children of mixed families. This is going to continue in this unprecedented age of shared information. Their attraction to Judaism presents the Torah-observant community with just as massive a dilemma: prepare to accommodate large numbers of righteous converts or risk a potentially larger social crisis if those would-be converts fortify themselves and integrate into liberal Jewish communities.

I fear the level of stringency we are seeing is on account of perpetuating a particular community's standard that does not consider the minimal level of requirements to create a kosher conversion. If anything, this is a time period that calls for halachic disputes to be resolved. These are reconcilable differences that, if not settled, will leave a tremendous stain on the Orthodox world and result in the defection of potential converts to liberal Conservative rabbis and Reform authorities who will perform inappropriate conversions and perpetuate the social splits between Orthodox Jews and those from non-Orthodox movements.

THE ONLY way to help
converts - those who have already finished their transition process and those converts of the future - is to remain intellectually honest. This battle revolves around dispute in practical Halacha, which has been inarguably affected by competing social factors on the observant Jewish community. A plethora of literature is being produced on conversion. No particular individual's misgivings, if proven in a court of law, should be able to affect the debate about proper and minimum standards for conversion.

This is not to say we should not ask our potential converts to go beyond the letter of the law. We are taught often to build fences around our practices, to use stringency to protect the letter of that law. There is a responsibility on our leaders to instruct converts about both the minor, the easy laws, and the massive responsibility of Shabbat, kashrut and family purity. We go beyond these ideas and teach so much more. So too we must maintain that principle, but that itself does not represent a minimum requirement.

I personally would suggest that the effort to protect the personal integrity of converts bounds our diverse Orthodox leadership to honor the efforts of those rabbis in the Conservative movement, who maintain strict observance of Halacha, perform conversion processes according to the standards codified in our legal codes and hold their converts to their oath to continuing learning and implementing Jewish practices as they grow in Judaism. They fight for the legal standards which are increasingly under attack within their own movement, yet receive little in moral or logistical support.

The issue still remains conversion, not the integrity of a particular individual. I recommend to all of us concerned about the integrity of conversions and their resultant converts, that we refrain from a perpetuation of lashon hara, keep ourselves focused and bear in mind what will be best for the unity and prosperity of the Jewish people.