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Open
Letter to Minister Avraham Poraz of
the Shinui party
By
Shelomo Alfassa
Published
by Arutz
Sheva, Israel National News
(July
3, 2003) I read with disgust that you
stated that Reform and Conservative conversions
should take place in Israel. Mr. Poraz,
like Tommy Lapid and other members of
the anti-religious parties, you have no
idea or generally seem to not care, of
the conversion crisis in North America
which is having a direct impact on the
Jewishness of the State of Israel.
As
you know, Reform and Conservative 'Judaism'
does not follow a path of halakha, the
Jewish holy law as prescribed in the Torah
and Talmud which has guided us as Jews
throughout history. The issue is the leadership
of these two groups (which make up the
majority of North American Jews) subjectively
conduct what they term ‘conversions’
on people interested in converting.
As
of February 20, 2002 anyone who goes through
one of these programs is considered Jewish
by the standard of the Israeli Supreme
Court. Once attending one of these ‘conversion’
programs they need only pay a fee and
they are Jewish. After that, they
are entitled to a free airplane ticket,
can move to Israel where they will receive
financial benefits and other perks for
up to eleven years
Because
of attitudes like yours Mr. Poraz, and
the implementation of Israel's Supreme
Courts' law of acceptance, a flurry of
conversion mills have been established
in North America. The offer quick and
cheap ‘conversions.’ Buddhists,
Hindus, Christians or Muslims can rush
right up and become a Jew in a matter
of weeks and sometimes days. Mr. Poraz,
lets say you were not a Jew. You could
just come to Florida and become a Jew
in just 12 weeks at no charge, a freebie!
Programs like this are overflowing with
participants, and every few months they
refill their seats and turn out hundreds
of new ‘Jews.’
Allow
me to tell you about some other conversion
mills:
Car
broke down, how about an over-the-Internet
conversion? One self-proclaimed conversion
mill based in New York will do this for
you. Their website’s recommended reading
list included books which cover, "transgender
issues." The website is filled with
encouragement for non-Jewish homosexuals
to come ‘convert’ through them
to Judaism; Because some sects within Judaism
have a history of promoting issues which
hone a Jew into a self-hating Jew; this
particular ‘rabbi’ seems to recommend
his potential converts read a certain propaganda
filled book by the Jew hating, Edward Said.
I guess this is a way to fast-track the
development of the self-hating Jew, in the
newly ‘converted.
How
about another where you can log on, log
in, and get ready to join the Chosen People
electronically. It is home study under
a reform Judaism frame. Then when you
think you have studied enough to become
a Jew, you fly to a hotel in Miami where
in just one eight hour class you are taught
by a reform ‘rabbi’ Jewish ethics,
blessings, prayers, heritage, Holocaust,
customs, symbols, values, choose a Hebrew
name, then you are sent to run out to
the ocean for mikveh. That is a
whopping 3.3 minutes per topic! Can anyone
learn anything substantial in less then
4 minutes? Only eight hours, what a deal!
As soon as you dry of with your towel
(which the ‘rabbi’ tells you
to bring from home) you can drive up the
block to the Jewish Community Center on
Biscayne Boulevard where you can go to
the second floor and apply to make Aliyah!
Since the Aliyah office is generally on
a speed track themselves, you can go from
being a Christian, Muslim, Hindu or any
non-Jewish religion for that matter to
becoming a Jew and getting a date for
your arrive in Israel in a matter of weeks
if not days. This Internet conversion
program is operated by a relative of the
infamous “pork eating rabbi”
known in the U.S. for his written endorsement
of a restaurant, which has a well-known
(and quite funny) photo of him eating
pork ribs. When he is not eating pork
ribs, he too offers his own brand of conversions.
Don’t
want to go the way of reform Judaism,
how about conservative Judaism. There
are at least three discount conservative
conversions available.
A
program in Canada is 26 hours which includes
a 'final exam' for the low price of $100.00.
The website however does not indicate
if you fail the final exam, if you will
remain a Christian, Muslim or other initial
religion. Can it be that the difference
between being a Hindu or a Jew is one
question on a test?
Another
program you meet 20 times, and pay a $125.00
fee. With this, you get a lesson for 30
minutes by the ‘rabbi’s’
wife who teaches, “basic Hebrew reading
in the last half hour.” I am not
sure if 30 minutes of Hebrew will allow
a new immigrant skip ulpan once arriving
in Israel, but hey…the 30 minute
Hebrew class is free! No better way of
joining those who’s ancestors stood
at Har Sinai than taking a free 30 minute
class by a ‘rabbi’s wife.
Yet
another program you get together 20 times
to study, only have to pay an $80.00 fee,
and you are Jewish! This program is best
suited for the thrifty proselyte.
But
lets get serious Mr. Poraz. There is a
common thread here yet unmentioned. Reform
and some Conservative ‘rabbis’
conceptualize no need for entering the
covenant of Abraham through circumcision.
“Reform has also been ambivalent
at best with regard to circumcision,”
says Rabbi Reuven Bulka of Hebrew Theological
College in Chicago. He goes on, "Reform
has certainly not been insistent on the
need for circumcision, taking the view
that it is not necessary..."
An
American Jewish organization of self-proclaimed,
"educated and enlightened Jews"
states circumcision is, "barbaric,
primitive, torturous." They say it
does not have a place in, "modern
Judaism." This group is going through
the American community promoting what
they term, "Brit Shalom...a non-cutting
naming ceremony for newborn Jewish boys."
They have completely erased from Judaism
the concept of the covenant of Abraham,
the fundamental and vital link to Judaism.
Mr.
Poraz, there is a crisis within kelal
Yisrael, one which must be looked
at separate from politics. Even the most
secular Jew should take measures to defend
the religion of their grandparents from
division into two distinct camps. A system
which has one side Jews which are Jews
according to God, Torah, Talmud and tradition,
and another one which has ‘Jews’
based on a political-social model made
up of gentiles who have gone through a
Jewish-like quasi right of passage. Many
of these people are sincere in their desire
to convert, but are being deceived by
the Jewish ‘rabbis’ they approach.
How can Reform and Conservative ‘rabbis’
insist that converts be holier than they,
that converts be obliged to observe laws
of kashruth, observe the Shabbat and holidays,
put on Tefillin each morning, pray three
times a day, etc., when the ‘rabbi’
who is supervising the conversion most
likely does not observe these practices
him or herself?
We
must and shall welcome all ger zedekim
(righteous converts) into Judaism. However,
just like converts have a responsibility
to be sincere, their teachers must be
respected authorized members of the Jewish
community, not fly-by-night hawkers who
hang out a shingle which reads ‘rabbi’
and can authorize documents proclaiming
the person who handed cash over to them
to be Jewish. And as a politician you
have the responsibility to protect the
Jewishness of the Jewish state. It is
one thing not to be observant, it is another
to take actions which directly cause destruction
of your religion.
Am
I exaggerating? Is this taken out of context?
No. I only wish it was.
###
RESPONSES
FROM THE PUBLIC TO THIS LETTER.
7-5-03
I read your article in
Arutz-7 and just want to say to you "Chazak
Ve'ematz!" Your writing is excellent
and the topic needs to be addressed vociferously.
I for one applaud your open letter and encourage
others to write similar pieces!
Respectfully,
Rabbi Zev M Shandalov
Chicago, IL
[President of the Chicago Rabbinical Council
]
7-5-03
I
wanted to tell you how much I agreed with
your Arutz Sheva article on reform and conservative
"conversions". Am Yisrael needs
more people to stand up for the truth on
authentic Torah Judaism like you did. The
dangers that we Jews are facing by illegitimate
Jewish institutions is astounding, and we
MUST continue to bravely defend our faith...
Shavua
tov,
Ron Noam Donenfeld
7-6-03
I just want to commend
you on your terrific piece on the Arutz
website. I know first hand of the silliness
of Reform Juadaism, having been raised in
it's complete emptiness. I thank God for
people like you who are struggling to maintian
Jewish continuity and holiness. And I am
also thankful for the Sephardic community,
many of whom have kept their sanity when
it comes to these matters.
Janet Kingan
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