I have thought long and hard on this and must admit, I am not completely informed on the Jewish conversion process. But that said, I know a few key details.
In the Kosher wine making business. The only people who are able to touch the grapes Must be Fully Shabbas observant Jews. No driving. No working for profits of material wealth. Shabbas Observant. If they are not shabbas observant, the wine is not Kosher.
The people doing reform and conservative conversions are not shabbas observant by this degree. If the wine isnt Kosher, how is the conversion witnessed by 3 non shabbas oriented Jews kosher? It is a mystical magical process by which a non jew becomes Jewish. Shouldn't you want to ensure that its scientifically and spiritually done perfect? I would.
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I must say that the analogy that comes to mind is that reform and conservative conversions are like getting an empty box of valentines day chocolates.
This one I have been forced to reconsider. I think that if you are converted by any religious authority in our faith, you really are Jewish. This may or may not be good enough for the really ultra orthodox associations, but I say that there is no monopoly on Jewish conversion and noone can say that any one rabbi, preferably and clearly a male rabbi can not indeed confer the seed of Abraham to a person who wants to be Jewish. True some get reconverted to be in the orthodox community. For all purposes, I see that as a possibility, but lets say your mother had a reform or conservative Jewish conversion and you were raised in a Jewish community. Are you Jewish? I say you are. That said, I guess this will be for the rabbis of tomorrow to sort out. But that said, I will not be the one to tell another who had a Jewish conversion that they really are not Jewish. But that said, they really should keep kosher and strive to be Jewish through and through.
I have been doing more research and I have consulted a few rabbis at Din online. I must report that indeed a conservative and reform conversion are not valid in any sense. They do not follow Jewish procedure and they do not teach Judaism at any length to the persons who want to convert. I am more and more sure absolutely that one who has this sort of conversion is not in any sense Jewish. I will realize that the schizm between the reform and the orthodox is the real problem here and that the non orthodox do not respect or obey Jewish Law or Torah. But that said, this is all find and good. I would just never marry someone of a reform or conservative conversion or the daughter of a woman with that conversion without that person having a true Orthodox Jewish conversion. I will not find that this is a terribly troubling situation although sadly there is a great deal of intermarriage today and this counts as well.
Today, I have to report here that I disagree and truly feel that those who have a conversion under the reform or conservative movements are Really Truly Jewish through and through. I must say that when my sister in law was married, I did indeed feel that she really was a Jew. That said, I have spend the years since becoming more Torah Observant and have fallen under the direction of the orthodox order. That said, I have reasoned this. If a reform or conservative Jewish Rabbi can indeed offer a marriage that is halachaicly True and recognized by all of the orthodox and other movements, so too must they be able to perform a conversion. These rabbis really are rabbis and they really are Jewish rabbis. Perhaps they disagree with some fundamentals such as the mechitza, but the truth is that they serve our people. I must say that this brings me to much relief as this topic is a problem for me as a family member and as a striving Orthodox Jew. I will likely not be able to make any progress in discussing this among the religious right until I am much older, but that said, I do feel that this is my final position. I am confident that the children of reform converted mothers are truly Jewish as well. With G-ds province I am going to stay the course as I see fit and I hope that my readers and friends and considerate opponents will consider that I have given this long thought over a course of many years.
I today, have to add to this blog entry that I have been visiting with a few of the jews who are not exactly from a true orthodox convert. I am not sure, but I sense that there is a difference in their whole way of life at a certain level. I am not pointing fingers, but the true orthodox view is that you must only have an orthodox conversion. I am at this time going to say that I no longer feel that anyone converted outside the Real Torah faith is jewish.
I will call these people "Members of the Flag" rather than Members of the tribe.
Thanks for the time spent reading the above soliloquoys of precidence in terms of trying to ascertain for myself if we can be lax on conversion laws. We can not.
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