An offensive conversion 'solution' (The Jewish Chronicle)
But the truth is that, in every single instance, the confusion and discord is sown by one party: Charedi rabbis who are imposing ever stricter standards for conversion, standards that are unprecedented historically, halachically dubious and which increasingly tend to exclude any convert who is not willing to take on a strictly Orthodox lifestyle. For them to break a perfectly good system and then come complaining that it “doesn’t work”, and needs to be abandoned, is simply chutzpah.
So what must be done? In Israel and the US, there exists a cadre of highly regarded, modern Orthodox rabbis, who can combine halachic standards of conversion with more realistic expectations from converts and, perhaps, more respect for them as well. Responsibility for conversion needs to pass to them.
Here in the UK, we must insist that the United Synagogue — supposedly a moderate, centrist institution — appoint to its Beth Din and to its pulpits only rabbis who support its vision and its values. Sadly, radical rabbis like Yitzchak Schochet do not have the solution — they are the problem.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
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