Of Arrogant Rabbis and The Law of Return

I am a huge proponent of Aliyah. I believe Israel is the home of the Jews. That will never change and is certain. Now however, an argument from me is about to arise in response to Israeli Chief Sephardi Rabbi, Shlomo Amar’s assertion that converts to Judaism should not enjoy the benefits of the Right of Return and automatically be able to become Israeli citizens.

I would like to list a few things the Orthodox community would do well to remember:

1. The Chief Sephardic Rabbi (Orthodox) of Israel changed his requirements for conversion without informing American Orthodox rabbis.
2. Orthodox Judaism has not had a unified standard of conversion.
3. There are arguments about conversion between ultra-orthodox, modern orthodox and haredi orthodox sects.

I come from a Conservative background, so I usually disagree with the Orthodox community anyway on a whole host of issues, but this latest idea and proposal by Rabbi Amar is not only religiously intolerant, it is elitist and condescending.

Who gave him the right to decide part and parcel who is a Jew and who is not? If Israel were to adhere to his standards I would bet that the Jewish population would decline tremendously because by his standards only those who met with the Orthodox criteria would be considered Jewish.

“Hey we go around wearing black coats and pants, black shoes and tie, black hat and a white shirt! The only way people can tell us apart from the Amish is to note that hidden under our black hats are Kippot! We’re the ones that are REALLY Jewish.”

Nonsense.

Now, I realize that is a rather inflammatory description of the Orthodox community, but honestly it grates on my nerves to no end that they presume to be the only standard bearers for the correct interpretation of the Torah. And that carries over to standards of conversion.

But now, it’s not just standards of conversion that are at issue. It’s whether converts to Judaism should be able to automatically become Israeli citizens after they convert?

My position is this:

1. Why not? These people made a choice to become Jews.
2. These people want to live AS Jews in Israel. How much more Zionist can you get?
3. That’s MORE Zionist and more jewishly patriotic than those in the Orthodox community in Israel which doesn’t believe Israel even has a right to exist, and doesn’t serve in the IDF because the Moshiach didn’t set the nation up himself!

I can’t stand the conceit and arrogance that people like Rabbi Amar wallow in. Let me tell you something Rabbi, people that are not born Jews but that become Jews are often more observant than those that were born to Jewish parents.

I know. I haven’t been observant my whole life, but I’ve known converts that adhered to halakhic requirements ten times more than I did, and I was born to a Jewish mother. (My dad was an Irishman.)

Oh man, I’m only HALF Jewish! But I guess I get into the brotherhood by the skin of my teeth and by halakhic law because my Mom is Jewish. Yet I tell you a lot of converts DESERVE the title of Jew more than many of us who are born as Jews if religious observance is the definition of a good Jew.

(Or should I say…Orthodox religious observance?)

And yes, notice I said “converts.” Not just non-Jews that live like Jews but have not converted. I know the difference.

More than that, I wonder just how “pure” the blood is of most Jews in the world today. Probably not very. Throughout the history of the people of Israel there have been intermarriages, sex with women and men who were not Jews, and kids born to those unions. And it didn’t always used to be, that being Jewish meant being born to a Jewish mother. But since that’s the way it is today, I think the Orthodox would do well to remember that in the Bible, Ruth was a convert to Judaism. Not only was she a convert, she was an ancestor of King David. That means she is also an ancestor to the Moshiach.

That’s right. The Moshiach has a convert as an ancestor. *GASP!*

I doubt sincerely that Ruth had to go through an “Orthodox” conversion to become a Jew. No, in fact she merely made a statement saying:

Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.
Ruth, 1. 16

And from the Jerusalem Talmud:

WHITHER THOU GOEST I WILL GO: to the tent of testimony, to Gilgal, Shiloh, Nob, Gibeon, and the Permanent Temple. [These were the different places where the sanctuary rested before it settled in Jerusalem.] AND WHERE THOU LODGEST I SHALL LODGE: I shall lodge overnight with the sacrifices. [According to Deuteronomy 16:7, one had to stay overnight in Jerusalem on the first night of festivals after the sacrifice had been offered.] THY PEOPLE SHALL BE MY PEOPLE, in that I will destroy all idolatry within me, and then THY GOD SHALL BE MY GOD, to pay me the reward of my labor. (Ruth Rabbah I:23)

Nope, no mention of Orthodox conversions there. Just statements signifying her intention to BE a Jew and to join herself to the people of Israel.

Let me tell you something else Rabbi, these converts in modern times, yes those JEWS you don’t recognize, will strengthen Israel, will serve in the Israeli Defense Forces and will protect your old rear-end when it comes down to conflict.

See, they don’t have a problem in recognizing that being Jewish is more than a matter of your birth.