To The Editor:
I often enjoy your publication, but after a short
time, I always find myself too discouraged to go on
reading it, and I do not return for several months.
I converted to Judaism (Orthodox, halachic, kosher -
- however you want to term it) nearly 17 years ago,
and I must say I find your relentlessly negative
viewpoint on giyur dispiriting to say the
least. Not everyone who finds within himself a
yearning for Yiddishkeit is a shyster or a
missionary in disguise. Not everyone who undergoes
a non-Orthodox conversion does so for nefarious
motives -- many of them do not know better, and are
continually misinformed by "rabbis" protecting
their own vested interest at the expense of the
would-be convert. Many are the victims of the
slander and bad press from which the religious
community suffers, and which you so accurately
depict. I have met more than a few honest,
searching souls who partake of the non-halachic
movements because they seem so much less
threatening than Orthodoxy.
It would be good if you would balance your
relentlessly negative, suspicious picture of
geirim and prospective geirim with
something a little more positive. Let your readers
know that not all of us are seditious infiltrators,
that honest, sincere converts and candidates for
conversion deserve their respect, not always their
suspicion.
Judaism is not a racist club; with all our
divisions, the one thing we all have in common is
the Torah. It ought to be stated, again and again,
that the Jewish people accept and welcome sincere
individuals who desire to join them, although this
choice isn't and doesn't have to be, for everybody.
Let's try a little less xenophobia "lishma".
Let's be frank but friendly about the
differences between the duties of Jews and of non-
Jews, but let us be clear that Hashem made non-Jews
as well as Jews, and that he loves them also, and
cares about them doing His will too. We need not
missionize -- that's not the Jewish way -- but we
ought to realize that the Ribono shel Olam
has a purpose for the goyim as well as for
the Jews, and that He is the G-d of ALL of
us.
Obviously, we need to maintain halachic standards
for giyur, but this can be done without
being nasty. One can be firm in one's stance, but
friendly as well. Bear in mind that geirim,
like baalei teshuva, need time to grow
and mature, both before and after giyur.
Respectfully,
(Name Withheld)
The Editor Replies:
We received your letter and appreciate the
points that you mentioned. You are definitely
correct that there are many wonderful, sincere
geirim and we must welcome and support them.
This is an important principle that we must never
lose sight of.
We have stressed on many occasions that taking
shortcuts in the conversion process is a recipe for
tragedy later on. The period of conversion is
certainly a sensitive one, but if the proper
standards are not adhered to then, it can cause
terrible problems for the convert and his or her
children later on. Those unscrupulous clergy
(whether Orthodox or non- Orthodox) who do not make
it clear that their "easy" standards are not
accepted by all parts of the Jewish people are
responsible for the tragedies that happen later
on.
As a newspaper which was established to give
over daas Torah, it is our obligation to
write about subjects even though they are not
popular and therefore would probably be rejected by
a newspaper that is driven by commercial interests.
In no way to we have any intent to hurt or cast any
aspersions on true converts who live a full Torah
life and in fact we have received encouraging
comments from some who feel that it is important to
make clear the distinction between them and the
bogus converts.
As a general rule, the Jewish nation does not
missionize and therefore does not solicit converts.
It is therefore not really appropriate for our
paper to publicize real, valid conversions, which
should be handled discreetly. Unfortunately, mass
conversions have become a goal in Israel as a
"solution" for the influx of hundreds of thousands
of non-Jews. It is the purpose of our paper to
present the true Torah position that conversions in
which the candidate does not sincerely accept a
full-fledged Torah lifestyle are invalid. Since we
do not solicit conversions, we do not have many
opportunities to praise those botei din which
deal properly with conversion matters. We try to
mention as often as possible, the position of
maranan verabonon that conversion matters should
only be handled by botei din kevu'im
vechashuvim.
