The Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, which has been a major force in the effort to reform the halachic conversion process in Israel, described the passage of the Conversion Bill as “a victory for those who oppose the continued assimilation within Israeli society and the future of the Jewish People.”
Rabbi David Stav, Founder and Chairman of Tzohar said, “The Government of Israel took responsibility this morning for our country’s future and ratified a decision which will benefit hundreds of thousands of Israelis who had been stymied for years by an outdated and unfriendly conversion process at the hands of the Chief Rabbinate. Should this reform not have been accepted, we would have been witness to an irreversible path of assimilation not unlike that which exists in Jewish communities throughout the Diaspora”
The bill, as it was passed by the cabinet, will transfer the authority over conversion from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s authority into the hands of local official municipal rabbis. According to Tzohar, this process will make the procedure far more efficient and welcoming to the convert. Furthermore Rabbi Stav said, “This development will in no way impact upon the halachic sanctity of the conversion process and will always be carried out according to the tradition which has inspired us from the time we received the Torah at Sinai. We are proud to restore the Municipal Courts of Conversion that existed in Israel until 20 years ago when they were transferred to the authority of the Chief Rabbinate”.
The Tzohar Rabbinical Organization expressed their gratitude to MK Elazar Stern for bravely leading this initiative in the Knesset, along with Deputy Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, MK David Rotem, as well as opposition leader MK Yitzchak Herzog.
Rabbi Stav said, “The decision this morning is nothing short of historic for the future of Jewish identity in Israel and in passing this law we will now be able to look into the eyes of converts and say with love and compassion, welcome to the Jewish people.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
I thought the process is SUPPOSED to be difficul, slow, and deliberate. I thought it is SUPPOSED to be discouraging and less than welcoming. This sounds more like a reformation than it does an embrasement of our mesorah from matan Torah.
Bringing in Goyim and calling them Yidden (lehavdil) through a Reform or Conservative procedure is going to somehow OPPOSE assimilation and BOLSTER Jewish identity?? What a crock.
Even under the previous system, some of us are familiar with “converts” who haven’t changed from their former lifestyle one iota!
Idiots or worse!
‘talmud chacham she’in bo da’as ,neveilah tovah mimenah’
How the world has changed under our noses!!
Some three and a half decades ago, similar forces attempted to push Begin to change the laws of Geirus in Israel.
His abrupt rebuttal : GeiruT is Halachah, and Halachah is the prerogative of the Poskei HaDor!!
I have read many of the comments by posters on the various news briefs and, truly, I do not understand the alarm. The bill does NOT empower Reform or Conservative movements, it does NOT change one iota the process itself (milah,mikvah,etc), it does not take away the process from batei Din. All it does is transfer the decisions to local Batei Din,rather than the Chief Rabbinate-something that has been with us for centuries. I would have thought that the posters would welcome this, as Botei Din controlled by chareidim could impose their standards, if they so wish. SO, I think this is, as always, a fight about control, not halocho or real facts.
“All it does is transfer the decisions to local Batei Din,rather than the Chief Rabbinate-something that has been with us for centuries.”
Not centuries. Millenia.
#5, #6,
TAKE OFF YOUR kippot already!
At this moment you’ll cotinue your disinformation?!
Bi’dieved and mediocre as the chief rabbinate is ,does anyone who cherishes his national destiny really give a semblence of trust to the nepotic and political local rabbinates'(elected and appointed by…)
(Though some localities might be good,)Under the new legislation everyone in the country entitled to go to the worst ones.
Geirus has zero to do with charedi vs. dati.
If at all, charedim should hardly care less about it, as it has but little relevance for them. For the dati, protecting the halacha,insofar that that is how they always portray themselves, should be held this dear.
But we see the opposite!!!
typo semblance
שמעון
טרעבגיק שליט”א הגאב-ד האדיאץ.
במה שמתפק כתר”ה אם גר שלא קבל עליו מצות
אם נחשב גר, פשוט וברור שאיע גר כלל אף בדיעבד
וכן הורה אבא מארי הגאון זצלה”ה הלכה למעשה
בסטראבין בשבדא כזו שאיע גר כלל בין לקולא בין
לחומרא שקבלת מצות בגר מעכב כדאיתא ביו”ד סי’
רס”ח סעי’ ג’. ואף אם אמר בפיו שמקבל מצות אם
אגן טהדי שאיגו מקבל עליו באמת אינו כלום. וגר
שמהני לשם אישות בדיעבד, יירי שבשביל האישות
קבל עליו מצ,ת באמת והוא ברור ופשוט וכל זה אמר
אבא מארי הגאון בפירוש אז כשהורה. ובכלל איני יודע טעם הדבנים הטועים בזה דאף לדידהו עכ”פ
איזה תועלת הם מביאין בזה לכלל ‘שראל שמקבלין
גרים כאלו דודאי לא ניחא ליה להקב”ה ולעם ישדאל
שיתערבו גרי 6 כאלו בישראל. ולדיגא פשוט שאין זה
גר כלל.
ידידו,
משה פיינשטיין