Tuesday Aug 11, 2009
Posted by Rabbi Andrew Sacks
Let me ask for your help in following the logic behind the laws and policies by which conversions are accepted, or not, by the State of Israel.
If you are converted by a recognized Masorti/Conservative (or Reform) rabbi outside of Israel - you are entitled to Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.
If you are converted by an Orthodox rabbi in the US who is a member of the leading Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), you will not be recognized - unless the conversion is performed by the limited list selected by Israel's Chief Rabbinate.
If you are converted by Orthodox rabbis who have been ordained by Hovevei Torah (the new Modern Orthodox rabbinical school) you will be given the run-around and, until matters change, not be accepted.
Tuesday Apr 21, 2009
Posted by Rabbi Andrew Sacks
Imagine the following scenario: A Masorti/Conservative Jew walks into a public library in Tel Aviv to borrow a book. At the entry she is informed by the librarian, a civil servant, that owing to her Masorti affiliation, she would not be permitted to borrow the book. If she truly wanted to read she would have to raise the funds to build her own building, stock it with books, and find the money to staff the facility and pay for its maintenance.
Sounds silly, right? Well of course it is. Our public libraries are built and maintained with tax payer dollars. They are intended to serve all of the public. There is no ideological or theological litmus test to determine who may borrow a book.
Yet this is exactly what happens when Masorti Jews seek to use the public Mikvehs (ritual baths) throughout Israel.
Monday Feb 23, 2009
Posted by Rabbi Andrew Sacks
Anybody know exactly what the Israeli Interior Ministry's intended functions may be? Yes, we all know that it is where we go to apply for a new passport or replace a lost ID card. We know that requests for aliyah [immigration], or visas (work, tourist, student, etc.) are routed through one of its departments.
But should this be the office that Shas, the Sephardi religious political party, most covets? What is really going on?
Wednesday Dec 17, 2008
Posted by Rabbi Andrew Sacks
A new director, Muli Yeselson, has just been appointed by the office of the Prime Minister, to the Israeli Conversion Authority. He has already come under severe criticism by the Haredi press, calling him a "traitor" and "collaborator." Rabbi Druckman, the recently ousted director, was far from popular in the fervently Orthodox world. While hardly a liberal, he was seen as too open and the conversions performed on his watch were questioned by the official Rabbinic courts.
Issues of conversion have been covered on the front pages of Israeli newspapers on a frequent basis. Most sociologists accept that there are as many as 350,000 Israeli citizens living in Israel from the Former Soviet Union who are not Jewish. They made Aliyah under the Law of Return that allows Israeli citizenship with a single Jewish grandfather. But Jewish law recognizes as Jewish one who has a Jewish mother or who has converted to Judaism.
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About this blog
Masorti Matters
Director of the Masorti [Conservative] Movement's Rabbinical Assembly in Israel (the organization of Masorti/Conservative rabbis), Rabbi Andrew Sacks on Conservative Judaism, Israel, religious pluralism and much more. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Masorti organizations.
Rabbi Avi Novis Deutsch, faculty member of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary and Rabbis for Human Rights exegete, previously wrote for this blog. BlogCentral thanks him for his contributions.
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Recent Comments
Avrohom - Israel: Ilan #20 continued, my comment about "He is better off encouraging people to keep halacha." is right on the money. Before conservative groups start adding chumrot regarding kashrut that are not really chumrot, the group is better off irst establishing themselves in adhering to actual halachot of kashrut. Afterwards if they want to be serendipitous in piling on non-relevent ideas to their standards of kashrut, well, at least the aspect of kashrut is still there. But until they accept kashrut as an obligation, it is not possible to add more requirements.
Avrohom - Israel: Ilan #20, you misunderstood the post in #18. Those issues already are in Torah and they have their own prohibitions and ramifications. They are not arbitrary. They are not issues of kashrut. They are not issues of churot, as are the few examples you mentioned. Each of the issues you mentioned (except hanukah and purim, whish have absolutely nothing to do with this discussion or issue) are additional fences on halachot that are on the same topic. The principles Reb Andrew talks about are random and off topic and do not all into the catagory of chumrot. This point is simple and obvious.
Ilan: To #18. You say "If the issue is important, it is already included in Torah."
Baal Tashchit and Tzar Baalei Hayim are both in the Torah. This is not to replace Kashrut but to add additional standards that can let the buyer make an informed decision.
By the way-Hannukah, Purim, waiting between milk and meat, not eating fish with meat, methods of Kiddushin, Gerushin,and much more, are not in the Torah. Are they not important?
You say "He is better off encouraging people to keep halacha." That is what he is doing. He advocates for Kashrut AND ethical food production.
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Comments (19)