70
edits
Conversion: Difference between revisions
From Halachipedia
added content
m (Text replacement - "S"A" to "Shulchan Aruch") |
Bchernigoff (talk | contribs) (added content) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
While Judaism does not proselytize it does welcome converts who come on their own initiative. The process is complex and briefly described below. The purpose of the summaries below are for educational purposes only. | While Judaism does not proselytize, it does welcome converts who come on their own initiative<ref>Gm Yevamot 47a (and paskened in Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De'ah 268:2) states that when an individual comes to convert, we discourage him by mentioning the fact that the Jews are a downtrodden and oppressed nation. If the person acknowledges this and nonetheless expresses his desire to convert, then we accept him as a convert. </ref>. The process is complex and briefly described below. The purpose of the summaries below are for educational purposes only. | ||
==Bet Din for Conversion== | ==Bet Din for Conversion== | ||
#All aspects of conversion need the presence of bet din.<ref>The Gemara Yevamot 46b establishes that conversion requires the supervision of a | #All aspects of conversion need the presence of bet din.<ref>The Gemara Yevamot 46b establishes that conversion requires the supervision of a Bet Din of three judges based on the fact that the phrase "misphat" is used in the context of conversion. Tosfot s.v. mishpat offers two possibilities as to which passuk the Gemara is alluding to. Tosfot further explains that everyone agrees that three judges are required by conversion, even those who say that a Bet Din for hoda'ot v'hal'vaot, admissions and loans, only needs one judge, because we compare conversion to gzelot v'chavalot, theft and injury, regarding which everyone agrees that you need three judges. This is accepted by the Rambam (Isurei Biyah 13:6) and Shulchan Aruch YD 268:3. Shulchan Aruch YD 268:3 writes that after the fact, the Bet Din is only necessary for the acceptance of mitzvot, while the Rambam and Rif hold it is necessary for the milah and tevilah as well. | ||
* Tosfot Yevamot 45b s.v. mi holds it is necessary for kabbalat mitzvot and not other aspects of the conversion | Tosfot s.v. mishpat raises the issue that if conversion is compared to cases of theft and injury (see earlier in this footnote), then we should require the judges to have bona fide Semicha in an unbroken chain from Moshe Rabbeinu, something which we lack today. Tosfot answers that that even though we don’t have semicha, we can still perform Gerut nowadays, based on the principle of shelichutyahu (Gittin 88b), that the judges nowadays serve as the agents of the judges of old who possessed real Semicha. | ||
* Rambam Isurei Biya 13:9 | |||
* Ramban, Rashba, and Nemukei Yosef | Tosfot Kiddushin 62b s.v. ger quotes another answer from Rabbeinu Netanel. He notes that Gemara Keritut 9a says that although a Ger must offer a Korban HaGer when converting, we can nevertheless accept converts nowadays that we don't have a Beit HaMikdash, as the Torah says that a Ger can live in "any of your generations", implying even after the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. Similarly, reasons Rabbeinu Netanel, based on the passuk of "any of your generations", we should be able to accept converts nowadays, even though the chain of Semicha has been broken. | ||
* Ritva 45b writes that Bet Din is necessary for everything even after the fact. The | </ref> After the fact, according to some opinions, the conversion is valid as long as the kabbalat mitzvot was performed in the presence of bet din. In such a case we'd be strict to require another conversion.<ref>What is the presence of Bet Din necessary for? | ||
* Hagahot Mordechai Yevamot 4:111 says that if a convert converted without a | *Tosfot Yevamot 45b s.v. mi holds it is necessary for kabbalat mitzvot and not other aspects of the conversion. Nevertheless, three judges are lechatchila (ideally) required even for the Milah and Tevilah. This is also the view of Tosfot Kiddushin 62b s.v. ger. Tosfot's proof is the fact that the Gemara Yevamot 45b tells a story in which people used to refer to a certain person as "the son of a non-Jew". Rav Assi commented: "she certainly was Tovel for Niddah!". Tosfot understands that the Gemara is saying that her Tevilah which she did because she was a Niddah, even though there were no judges present, bdiavad (after the fact) counts for Gerut. | ||
* Shulchan Aruch YD 268:3 writes the opinion of Tosfot and Rosh as the anonymous opinion and then notes the opinion of the Rif and Rambam by name. Yabia Omer YD 1:19 is strict even though | *Rambam Isurei Biya 13:9 hold that three judges are needed for all aspects of the conversion process, and if you don't have this, then the conversion is invalid. The challenge is how he deals with Tosfot's proof. One possibility is that they adopted Tosfot's second approach to the Gemara, that if everyone knows that a certain person did Tevilah, then it's as if they were present and witnessed it. Alternatively, the Gemara is saying that the fact that the woman is acting like she's Jewish by observing the laws of Niddah, is proof that she performed a valid conversion earlier. | ||
#The Bet Din for conversions | *Ramban, Rashba, and Nemukei Yosef (his understanding of the Rif) hold that in order to assume that the children of the convert are the children of a Jewish man, kabbalat mitzvot is the only thing necessary to have in the presence of Bet Din. However, a convert can only marry a Jewish woman if all parts of the conversion process were performed in the presence of a Bet Din. | ||
*Ritva 45b writes that Bet Din is necessary for everything, even after the fact. The Gemara (Tosfot's proof) means that even if you don’t intend for conversion, it is still valid. | |||
*Hagahot Mordechai Yevamot 4:111 says that if a convert converted without a Bet Din, some say that the conversion is invalid, while others say that it's acceptable. Darkei Moshe 268:3 understands that this corresponds to the opinions of Tosfot and Rambam. Mordechai Yevamot 4:36 quotes Rabbenu Simcha and Rabbi Yehuda Bar Yom Tov who hold that a conversion only needs one judge. | |||
*Shulchan Aruch YD 268:3 writes the opinion of Tosfot and Rosh as the anonymous opinion, and then notes the opinion of the Rif and Rambam by name. Yabia Omer YD 1:19 is strict, even though this is against the anonymous opinion cited by Shulchan Aruch. Achiezer 3:27 implies that even after the fact, not having Bet Din for milah or tevila is an issue, like the Rif and Rambam. Similarly, [https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=57989&pgnum=181 Perach Mateh Aharon 2:51] writes that we’re strict for Rif and Rambam. </ref> | |||
#The Bet Din for conversions does not need to be comprised of three Torah scholars.<ref>Igrot Moshe YD 1:159 clarifies that the three people who serve as a bet din don't all need to be torah scholars.</ref> | |||
==Order of Procedure== | ==Order of Procedure== | ||
