In Israel, the shtetl rules

When Y turned to me to help him get his marriage license, I thought he was kidding. Y's story, which appeared in The Jerusalem Post, is another example of how the shtetl continues to trump the metropolis - at least when it comes to Jewish life in Israel. And it is another example of how I often find myself at odds with an orthodox establishment I'm proud to be part of.

Y is an immigrant from the former Soviet Union who made aliya based on his father's Jewishness. Y feels the Jewish narrative is compelling, and during his four-and-a-half year stint in the IDF, he underwent conversion through the army rabbinical court. I know the rabbinical court judges who served as Y's "bet din" personally, and they are men of impeccable stature and learning.

Two years following his conversion, Y fell in love, with another immigrant from a traditional Jewish family. His fiancé had little difficultly proving her Jewishness to the rabbinate, and the couple were enamored by the treatment they received at the Rishon Lezion marriage bureau. Only following their marriage did the problems begin.

When Y came to return a copy of their ketubah (marriage contract) and pick up his civil marriage license, the chief rabbi told him that the validity of his conversion was in question. Without a proper investigation of Y's observance patterns following the conversion, he was unwilling to issue the document. 

Now, I believe that anyone has the right to choose his own halachic path, even if that is an exclusionary path.  If I believe that open-mindedness is a virtue, then it is critical that I be open-minded even regarding those who are close-minded. On a personal level, while I believe that it is inappropriate to challenge the validity of past Orthodox conversions, I understand that others feel that it is legitimate, and perhaps even imperative.

However, can the State of Israel suffer its marriage registrars rejecting the state's own conversions?

Imagine the following scenario:  A man is stopped by a policeman and asked to produce his driver's license. Upon examination, the policeman states: "I'm sorry sir, but your license is invalid because it was issued in Jerusalem." The result would be chaos, at best. The State has to stand behind its own institutions or anarchy will pervade. 

I believe that the marriage registrar in Rishon is acting out of conviction, and I respect him for that. But I also believe he cannot continue to be an employee of the State of Israel - at least as a marriage registrar. To allow him to continue is to recognize that the shtetl rules, and not the State.

Y has still not decided whether to seek his marriage license in an alternative office or in the Supreme Court. I'm relatively certain he'll get his license eventually. But in the meantime, we all ought to be demanding that the State support its own institutions.