In light of the fact the Chief Rabbinate of Israel does not recognize conversions from many Rabbis abroad, on Tuesday, 14 Sivan, a document was released explaining the position of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel regarding the recognition of Diaspora Rabbis.
It should be noted that many immigrants who sought to prove their Jewishness in order to marry or claim that they were divorced in a local beis din encountered a wall, after the rabbis were told that the majority of them were not recognized. This led organizations and rabbis to demand the publication of the document that will explain what criteria will be used by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to determine who is and is not recognized.
According to the document that is currently being published, a rabbi who has not yet been recognized by the Chief Rabbinate should undergo a rabbinical examination in which his knowledge will be examined. Rabbis who seek the recognition of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel should also be observant and be recognized by the institutions of the state in which they live.
Another provision arises from the document: a new beis din is to be established in an area where a recognized beis din is already operating will not be recognized. This is in response to the protest by a rabbi of Venice, who arrived this week in the Knesset demanding that his conversion be recognized by the Rabbinate, but he was rejected outright because of the existence of an active beis din in the region
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
More importantly, who’s going to voice for the conversions of Israeli rabbis?
Also, you can’t prohibit the geirus of a second beis din in town….let’s say the first beis din is a chasidishe kloiz, let’s say lubavitch, and litvish come and set up their beis din, or sefardim….that’s no good?
Makes totally no sense, just pure politic and corrupted oriented establishment, so far away from a halachic and G-d fearing prospective , if a ger shenisgaer through a Yore Shomayim beis din of talmidei chachomim is a fullfletch jew and no questions ASKED!
Not establishing a new beis din where one already exists is certainly based in Halacha and has nothing to do with politics.
RJ: Who said anything about “Yore Shomayim” batei din? We aren’t talking about good Rabbonim whom are being rejected, they’re talking about blocking the non-Orthodox conversions.
To expand on Neville C,
” about blocking the non-Orthodox conversions” and dubious Orthodox batei din conversions .There have been more than a few of those unfortunately
RJ
I believe every profession recognizes standards in competency. Enforcement of those levels falls to a recognizable professional agency. For example for doctors it might be the AMA.
In a global society with the mantel of Torah Judaism and the majority of Jews residing in EY , it is fair to say that they get to be the decision makers.
True, the SA allows a local bias din to make these decisions. But do you think Rav Cairo ever imagined the deplorable state we would in? Reform , conservative, OO, women rabbis. We need oversight.