From: faigin@aero.org (Daniel P. Faigin)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: What _is_ the procedure for conversion to Judaism?
Date: 12 Nov 92 07:52:56
Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA
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In-reply-to: 's message of Thu, 12 Nov 1992 07:37:07 EST

On Thu, 12 Nov 1992 07:37:07 EST, <CARIAN@auvm.american.edu> said:
> These are the three steps. They are followed in O(tm), C(tm) and I
> believe Rec(tm); they are optional but often followed in R(tm).

(the following are from the Liberal Judaism archives... Please read the
*entire* posting before commenting)

The following statement was issued by the CCAR (the Reform rabbinical body)
Committee on Conversion in 1978:

  Judaism welcomes all sincere converts without regard to racial or national
  origin or to their former religious faith.

  The biblical laws which excluded certain peoples from admission to the
  community of Israel were declared obsolete early in the talmudic period
  (Mishnah, Yadayim 4:4). Tradition prescribed that propsective gerim
  (converts) be warned in advance of the many religious responsibilities Jews
  assume, but that candidates for conversion should not be unduly discouraged
  (Talmud B., Yavamot 47a). Jewish literature has much to say in praise of
  converts and records the name of many illustrious and pious gerim.

  The Halacha requires male converts to submit themselves to berit milah
  (circumcision) or hatafat dam berit (the drawing of blood) and afterwards to
  tevilah (ritual immersion). It also make tevilah obligatory for female
  converts. In 1893 the Central Conference of American Rabbis declared the
  initiatory rites of berit milah and tevilah unnecessary. It is sufficient
  for the prospective convert (ger) to declare, orally and in writing, in the
  presence of a rabbi and no less than two lay leaders of the congregation and
  community, acceptance of the Jewish faith and the intention to live in
  accordance with its mitzvot.

  Nevertheless, Reform Judaism recognizes that there are social,
  psychological, and religious values associated with the traditional
  initiatory rituals, and it is recommended that the rabbi acquaint
  prospective gerim with the halachic background and rationale for berit
  milah, hatafat dam berit, and tevilah, and offer them the opportunity, if
  they so desire, to observe these additional rites.

  It is understood that just as the rituals of conversion (giur) are
  important, so the preparatory period preceding the conversion ceremony is
  also important. This is given a high priority and value by Reform Judaism.
  The length of the period of preparation is determined by the rabbi, taking
  into consideration the time needed by the candidate for conversion to obtain
  the necessary understanding and appreciation of Judaism in order to make a
  free-will decision with respect to his/her acceptance of the Jewish faith
  and identification with the Jewish people.

  The period of study should be reinforced by requiring and assisting the
  prospective convert's active participation in the various celebrations,
  observances, and worship services of Judaism and the Jewish people. Regular
  attendance at synagogue worship, as well as evidence of concern for Jewish
  values and causes in the home and community, should be required. This is
  intended to enable the rabbi and his associates to satisfy themselves not
  only that the candidate has a sufficient knowledge of Judaism, but of even
  greater importance, that the candidate is a person of sincere and
  responsible character, who is genuinely desirous of making a wholehearted
  commitment to synagogue affiliation and to the Jewish faith and people.

From Gates of Mitzvah, published by the CCAR, ISBN 0-916694-37-2 (-53-4 pbk),
pg 23:

F-4 The mitzvah of admitting converts

  It is a mitzvah to admit into the Jewish community any person who wishes
  sincerely to adopt Judaism and who is willing to study it and accept its
  mitzvot(27). Such a person is called a ger (masculine form) or a giyoret
  (feminine) --- a proselyte or convert(28).

  The Jewish people have accepted gerim (proselytes) since biblical times.
  Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David, was a Moabite, and it was she who
  first enunciated the standard for entry into Judaism: "your people shall be
  my people, and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16)(29).

F-5 The process of giur

  The process of conversion (giur) varies from community to community (see the
  "Admission of Converts" statement above). In Reform Judaism the primary
  element in conversion is a wholehearted commitment to the Jewish people, its
  faith, customs, history, and destiny. Usually an intensive course of sutdy
  is prescribed, along wiht periodic meetings with the sponsoring rabbi,
  regular attendance at Shabbat and holy day services, and participation in
  congregational and community functions and home observances.

  A convert may be accepted into the Jewish people at a public service or at a
  special private service arranged by the rabbi.

F-6 The mitzvah of self-acceptance

  It is a mitzvah for a convert to consider him/herself as one who is totally
  Jewish, descended from Abraham and Sarah and from ancestors who entered into
  covenant with God at Sinai (see F-8) (30).

F-7 The mitzvah of welcoming converts

  It is a mitzvah for born Jews to accept converts as equal members of the
  Jewish community, to make no distinction between converts and
  themselves(31), and to welcome them into the congregation and community.

F-8 Adding a Hebrew Name

  It is customary for a convert to add a Hebrew name to his/her legal name as
  a symbol of identification with the Jewish people(32). Added to the name is
  the traditional designation ben/bat (son/daughter of) Abraham ve-Sarah.

Notes:

(27) Although there is no unanimous attitue in the Talmud and Midrash toward
  the ger (see note 28), the guiding principle is that he/she should be
  welcomed and befriended. The following Midrash is typical: "Dearer to God is
  the proselyte who has come of his own accord than all the crowds of
  Israelites who stood at Mount Sinai..." (Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 6)

(28) The word covert does not describe accurately the process by which one
  becomes a Jew. Conversion is a religious term; it says nothing about
  peoplehood, which is an essential part of Judaism. The proper term for a
  persion who accepts Judaism after a prescribed course of study under the
  direction of a rabbi or rabbinical court is ger or giyoret. These terms are
  usually translated as "proselyte" or "convert".

(29) In keeping with the idea in note 28 that becoming a ger means more than a
  conversion of faith, notice that Ruth's declaration contains both the
  element of peoplehood ("your people shall be my people") and the element of
  faith ("and your God my God").

(30) When Maimonides was asked by a ger whether he could recite prayers that
  include the words "Our God and God of our fathers," he answered "Yes, ... in
  the same way that every Jew by birth says his blessing and prayer, you, too,
  shall bless and pray.... Whoever adopts Judaism and confesses the unity of
  the Divine Name, as it is prescribed in the Torah, is counted among the
  disciples of Abraham our Father. ... For the Torah has been given to us and
  the proselytes, as it is said, `One ordinance shall be both for you of the
  congregation and also for the stranger [ger] that sojurns with you.... as
  you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord'[Numbers 15:15].... Do not
  consider your origin as inferior.... You derive from Him through whose word
  the world was created" ("Letter to Obadiah the Proselyte," quoted in I.
  Twersky, A Maimonides Reader [New York, 1972])

(31) The possibility of prejudice against converts was recognized by the early
  rabbis, and they warned against it quite strongly. "If one is a child of
  converts, one must not say to him, `Remember the acts of your ancestors'"
  (Talmud B., Baba Metzia 58b).

  The rabbis remind us that Abraham himself was a convert and that his fater
  was an idolater. "One who hurts the feelings of a ger transgresses three
  biblical injunctions... `You shall not wrong a ger' [Exodus 22:20]; `If a
  ger sojourn with you in your land, you shall not wrong him [Leviticus
  19:33]; and `You shall not therefore wrong each hhis fellowman' [Leviticus
  25:17], a ger being included in "fellowman" [Talmud B., Baba Metzia 59b)

(32) The Midrash teaches: "The father of all converts was Abraham. Therefore,
  when a convert is named, he/she is named X, son/daughter of our father
  Abraham" (Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 32).

> Please, explain to me how a conversion, even under REFORM outlook can be
> considered valid with any type of circumcision?  Please also note, I am
> purposely using the word circumcision in place of mila, and am not bringing
> any mention of who is performing such. It seems to me that mila is one of
> the most basic items in the religion that to accept a 'conversion' of any
> kind for any male, without any circumcision is a direct and defiant
> abrogation of a Torah law.

In 1893, Isaac M. Wise, one of the foremost leaders of the early Reform
movement, issued an over 20 page responsa concerning Circumcision for Adult
Proselytes (American Reform Responsa, pp. 217-237. The net conclusion of this
responsa was:

  1. There there are known in history three initiatory rites for the proselyte
     to Judaism, vis., the Sacrificial Rite, the Ritual Bath, and
     Circumcision.

  2. None of these three initiatory rites for the proselyte is ordained or
     otherwise suggested in the Torah, Prophets, and Hagiography.

  3. They appear not in history and literature prior to the conquest of Idumea
     by John Hyrcan, who decreed circumcision on the Edomites, contrary to law
     and custom.

  4. From and after that time, initiatory rites for the proselyte became
     customary, but never became canon law, not even Rabbinical law proper,
     and have therefore found no place in the Mishna; nor were, generally, all
     three rites considered necessary to every one proselyte; there existed a
     difference of opinion, as to which rite was necessary, down to the last
     of the Tannaim.

  5. After all legislative authority had been defunct, in the time of the
     Amoriam, without any lawful enactment, the two rites -- the sacrifice
     having been abolished -- were considered necessary to make a proselyte,
     but this never did and never could become canon law. It always remained
     custom (minhag) without foundation in the Torah, brought about as "Davar
     Shebeminyam," and the Rabbinical rule concerning such a custom is: "Davar
     shebeminyam, tsarich minyan acher lehatiro," "What was prohibited [or
     ordained] by a voice [not by legislative authority] must be revoked by a
     voice," viz., when the cause of its existence has ceased.

  Therefore, be it resolved: that the Central Conference of American Rabbis,
  assembled this day [1893] in this city of New York, considered it lawful and
  proper for any officiating rabbi, assisted by no less than two associates,
  to accept into the sacred covenant of Israel and declare fully affiliated to
  the congregation (davar shebikdusha) any honorable and intelligent person,
  who desires such affiliation, without any initiatory rite, ceremony, or
  observance whatever; provided such person be sufficiently acquainted with the
  faith, doctrine, and canon of Israel; that nothing derogatory to such
  person's moral and mental character is suspected; that it is his or her free
  will and choice to embrace the cause of Judaism; and that he or she declare
  verbally and in a document signed and sealed before such officiating rabbi
  and his associates his or her intention and firm resolve:

  (1) to worship the One, Sole, and Eternal G-d, and non besides Him;
  (2) to be conscientiously governed in his or her doings and omissions in
      life by God's laws ordained for the child and image of the Maker and
      Father of all, the sanctified son or daughter of the divine convanent;
  (3) to adhere in life and death, actively and faithfully, to the sacred
      cause and mission of Israel, as marked out in Holy Writ.

Now, in 1978, Rabbi Walter Jacob, currently chair of the CCAR Responsa
Committee, was asked the question: "Is there any precedent in Halacha for a
prospective convert who fears circumcision to avoid it? Similarly, is there a
precedent for a prospective convert who has a deeply-rooted fear of water?
Must he/she proceed with the requirement for Mikvah?" His response was:

  The traditional requirement for conversion are clear (B. Yev. 46, 47;
  Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De-a 268; Yad, Isurei Bi-a 15). A court of three is
  necessary, and prospective converts must be warned that they are joining a
  persecuted community and that many new obligations will be incumbent upon
  them. In the days when the Temple stood, they were to bring a sacrifice,
  take a ritual bath, and -- in the case of males -- be circumcised. To this
  day, the requirements of a Beit Din, Tevila, and Berit remain for
  traditional Jews. Sources are clear on the requirements, but considerable
  discussions about them exists in the Talmud. For example, R. Eliezer stated
  that if a prospective male convert was circumcised or took a ritual bath, he
  was considered a proselyte. R. Joshua insisted on bath, and his point of
  view was adopted (B. Yev. 46b). Hillel and Shammai disagreed about a
  prospective male convert who was already circumcised. Beit Shammai insisted
  that blood must be drawn from him, while Beit Hillel stated that one may
  simply accept the circumcision without drawing blood (B. Shab. 135a). The
  Rabbinic authorities decided in favor of Beit Shammai (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh
  De-a 268.1; Yad, Isurei Bi-a 14.5). Clearly, there were differences of
  opinion about the steps necessary for the ritual conversion in ancient
  times. As is well known, the Talmud also contains a variety of opinions
  about the desireability of accepting converts. These reflect the historic
  competition with Christianity, persecution, etc. in the early centuries of
  our era.

  As we view the rite of conversion from a Reform point of view, we should
  note that the Reform Movement has placed its stress on careful instruction,
  with more attention to intellectual rather than ritual requirements. The
  Central Conference of American Rabbis in 1892 abolished the requirement of
  any ritual, including circumcision. Most Liberal rabbis, however, require
  circumcision or accept the existing circumcision (n accordance with the
  opinion of Hillel in B. Shab 135b). Converts were to be accepted after due
  instruction before "any officiating rabbi assisted by now less than two
  associates." There has been very little discussion of Tevila by Liberal
  Jewish authorities. The custom has fallen into disuse, but was never
  actually rejected by Liberal Judaism. There are a number of cities in the
  United States and Canada in which Tevila has been encouraged or required for
  Reform conversion, as there has been cases of Tevila undertaken at the
  express wish of the prospective convert.

  Immersion in a Mikveh should not prove particularly difficult, however. The
  Mikveh itself need contain only forty se-a of water, which is approximately
  a hundred and twenty gallons, and must be about four feet in depth, so that
  a personal can easily submerge himself completely (Sifra 6.3; B. Yoma 31a,
  Er. 4b). During most of the conversion procedure the convert would be in
  water up to his/her neck, and then for an instant be completely submerged.
  In other words, as we are not discussing a deep body of water or an
  extensive one, it should not be much more difficult that entering a bath;
  therefore, someone with a phobia about water should be able to undergo the
  ritual. However, as it is only rarely used for Reform conversion, we can
  dispense with it for such a convert even in a community where is it usually
  utilized.

  Theoretically, circumcision may be viewed similarly, according to the
  statement of the Central Conference of American Rabbis of 1892. In practice,
  circumcision has, however, been a virtually universal requirement. It may be
  made easier, especially for an adult or an older child, by providing an
  anesthetic. The early authorities of the last generation were against using
  an anesthetic (Mier Arik, Imrei Yosher II, 140). This was part of th
  rejection of all innovations, but more recent authorities has not hesitated
  to approve the use of an anesthetic (J. L. Zierelsohn, Ma-archei Lev, 53;
  Gedalia Felder, Nachalat Tsevi, p. 57). When the operation is done on a
  new-born child, it is presumed that the nervous system does not yet fully
  convey a sense of pain, but as that is not true of an adult or an older
  child, anesthetic may alleviate the pain and remove the fear of the
  impending operation. Circumcision may, of course, be postponed indefinitely
  due to health reasons, and we might consider the phobia as such a health
  reason. In this way, one could also assure the convert that he would b3e
  acceptable even without Circumcision.

  The prospective convert should be encouraged to undergo circumcision
  although, strictly speaking, this requirement may also be waived according
  to the earlier Reform decision.

I hope this information helps answer your question.

Daniel

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