Giyur Kehalacha

Last updated

Giyur KeHalacha (also stylised Giyur K'Halacha [1] ) is an Israeli-based organisation offering conversions outside of the state mandated Chief Rabbinate. It has elicited controversy around its desire to decentralise the conversion process and is associated with the Tzohar network of rabbis. [2] At present they have received wide support around the Jewish world. [2] but the Chief Rabbis are unwilling to accept their authority. [3]

Contents

Creation

The organisation was started by a series of rabbis who wanted to challenge the existing monopoly that the Chief Rabbinate had over conversions to Judaism. These included rabbis Seth Farber, Chuck Davidson [4] and Nahum Rabinovitch. [1]

The organisation soon grew with the addition of several high-profile rabbis, including rabbis David Stav, Shlomo Riskin, Nahum Rabinovitch and Yisrael Rosen, amongst others. [5]

The organisation has continued to grow, and as of the beginning of 2019 there are more than 70 rabbis who are actively converting people, with a particular focus on children prior to their bar or bat mitzvah. [6]

Legality

In the Knesset, Elazar Stern [7] presented a bill to legalise an alternative path to conversions outside of the Chief Rabbinate, although significant opposition existed to the passing of the law from the Haredi political parties, [8] and their pressure was sufficient to prevent the bill passing into law. However, the status of the people converted by Giyur KeHalacha is a significant struggle today in Israel, with efforts, both legislative and legal, ongoing. [3] [9]

These political-legal manoeuvrings are significant in Israel since Halacha is strongly entwined in the day-to-day running of the state, [10] and specifically the Chief Rabbinate, which controls the conversion process, and uses this power to decide who can get married, and who can be buried in a Jewish cemetery. [11]

Halacha

Giyur KeHalacha follows Orthodox Halacha, while easing some of the harsh restrictions of the large centralised beth dins. [12] In addition to Giyur KeHalacha there are other independent conversion courts, such as Ahavat HaGer. [13] Darchei Israel also known as Ways Of Israel and in Spanish Los Caminos de Israel.

Controversy

The Chief Rabbinate courted significant controversy when they cancelled many of the conversions performed under the auspices of Giyur KeHalacha, or otherwise not accepting conversions done by the group. [14] When the Supreme Court rejected the cancelling of conversions, [15] the Haredi communities attempted to pass a new law to by-pass the courts. [16]

In Australia, [17] the local rabbis refused to accept the legitimate conversions performed through the Beth din of rabbi Yisrael Rosen, a member of Tzohar and Giyur Kehalacha.

Related Research Articles

Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law with the modern world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conversion to Judaism</span> Religious conversion of non-Jews

Conversion to Judaism is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring denomination. Furthermore, a conversion done in accordance with one Jewish denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination. Normally, though not always, the conversions performed by more stringent denominations are recognized by less stringent ones, but not the other way around. A formal conversion is also sometimes undertaken by individuals whose Jewish ancestry is questioned or uncertain, even if they were raised Jewish, but may not actually be considered Jews according to traditional Jewish law.

The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). It is the main professional rabbinical association within Modern Orthodox in the United States. Many rabbis of the RCA are graduates of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University or otherwise identify with Modern Orthodox Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shlomo Riskin</span> American-Israeli Orthodox Jewish rabbi

Shlomo Riskin is an Orthodox rabbi, and the founding rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue on the Upper West Side of New York City, which he led for 20 years; founding chief rabbi of the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Israeli-occupied West Bank; former dean of Manhattan Day School in New York City; and founder and Chancellor of the Ohr Torah Stone Institutions, a network of high schools, colleges, and graduate Programs in the United States and Israel.

Religion in Israel is manifested primarily in Judaism, the ethnic religion of the Jewish people. The State of Israel declares itself as a "Jewish and democratic state" and is the only country in the world with a Jewish-majority population. Other faiths in the country include Islam, Christianity and the religion of the Druze people. Religion plays a central role in national and civil life, and almost all Israeli citizens are automatically registered as members of the state's 14 official religious communities, which exercise control over several matters of personal status, especially marriage. These recognized communities are Orthodox Judaism, Islam, the Druze faith, the Catholic Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Anglicanism, and the Baháʼí Faith.

Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to make the religious, legal, and social status of Jewish women equal to that of Jewish men in Judaism. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major branches of the Jewish religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nahum Rabinovitch</span> Israeli rabbi

Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch, born Norman Louis Rabinovitch, was a Canadian-Israeli Religious Zionist rabbi and posek. He headed the London School of Jewish Studies from 1971 to 1982, and the hesder yeshiva Birkat Moshe in Ma'ale Adumim from 1982 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief Rabbinate of Israel</span> Leading authority of Judaism in Israel

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Council assists the two Chief Rabbis, who alternate in its presidency. It has legal and administrative authority to organize religious arrangements for Israel's Jews. It also responds to halakhic questions submitted by Jewish public bodies in the Diaspora. The Council sets, guides, and supervises agencies within its authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marriage in Israel</span> Legal status of marriages and divorces in the state of Israel

In Israel, marriage can be performed only under the auspices of the religious community to which couples belong, and inter-faith marriages performed within the country are not legally recognized. However, marriages performed abroad or remotely from Israel must be registered by the government. Matrimonial law is based on the millet or confessional community system which had been employed in the Ottoman Empire, including what is now Israel, was not modified during the British Mandate of the region, and remains in force in the State of Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomet Institute</span> Israeli high-tech non-profit organization

The Zomet Institute is an Israeli high-tech non-profit organization specializing in IT equipment and electronic appliances designed to meet Halakha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yitzhak Peretz (politician born 1938)</span> Israeli politician

Rabbi Yitzhak Haim Peretz is a former Israeli politician who held several ministerial portfolios during the 1980s and early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haim Amsalem</span> Israeli politician

Rabbi Haim (Emile) Amsalem is an Israeli politician and a former member of the Knesset. Following a rift between him and his former party Shas, he established the Am Shalem party to run for the 2013 Knesset elections, but failed to win any seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yitzhak Yosef</span> Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel (born 1952)

Yitzhak Yosef is an Israeli Haredi rabbi. The Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, he also serves as the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Hazon Ovadia in Jerusalem's Romema neighbourhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuval Cherlow</span>

Yuval Cherlow is a Modern Orthodox rabbi and posek. He is Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Amit Orot Shaul in Tel Aviv, Israel. Cherlow was one of the founders of Tzohar, an organization of religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Yosef</span>

Ron Yosef is the founder of the Israeli organization Hod, which represents Israeli gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews. His organization has played a central role in the recent reevaluation of the role of religious homosexuals in the Israeli Religious Zionist movement.

Yeshivat Maharat is a Jewish educational institution in The Bronx, New York, which was the first Orthodox yeshiva in North America to ordain women. The word Maharat is a Hebrew acronym for phrase manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Toranit, denoting a female "leader of Jewish law spirituality and Torah". Semikha is awarded to graduates after a 3- or 4-year-long program composed of intensive studies of Jewish law, Talmud, Torah, Jewish thought, leadership training, and pastoral counseling. The ordination functions as a credentialed pathway for women in the Jewish community to serve as clergy members.

Chuck Davidson is an American Orthodox rabbi who made Aliya to Israel. His willingness to challenge the religious establishment of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, specifically in the realms of marriage and conversion, has been controversial.

The Melbourne Beth Din (MBD) is an Orthodox / Chassidic Jewish court in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Located in Caulfield North, Victoria, it rules mostly on divorces and conversions although it does rule on other matters as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Stav</span>

Rabbi David Stav is the chief rabbi of the city of Shoham, the chairman of the Tzohar organization, and serves as a rabbi for the Ezra youth movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hashgacha Pratit (organization)</span> Israel-based Organization with both female and male clergy

Hashgacha Pratit (השגחה-פרטית) is an independent, Israel-based organization with both female and male clergy that self-describes as providing an alternative form of Orthodox Rabbinical authority and social activism group dedicated to challenging the monopoly of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel over religious ceremonies and practices, through the provision of private religious ceremonies. Founded in 2012 by Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz in Jerusalem, Israel, it offers alternative halachic services in life-cycle events, rabbinical training, and other courses in religious education. It has provided private kashrut supervision for restaurants, worked on raising public awareness and finding loopholes in the laws to circumvent the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly, first regarding Kashrut, by leading the movement to open the kosher food market to competition, and today regarding Orthodox wedding ceremonies.

References

  1. 1 2 "In first, Israeli judge recognizes conversion to Judaism by private court". The Times of Israel . 13 September 2018. Giyur K'halacha's rabbinical courts, which follow the precepts of Jewish law, were founded by Farber along with many of Modern Orthodoxy's biggest names — Efrat's Rabbi Shlomo Riskin; Rabbi Nachum Rabinovitch from Ma'ale Adumim; Rabbi Haim Amsalem; Otniel's Rabbi Re'em HaCohen; head of the Tzohar rabbinical movement Rabbi David Stav; and Prof. Benjamin Ish-Shalom, the founder of the Israel Defense Force's Nativ conversion program
  2. 1 2 "About Giyur Ke'Halacha - גיור כהלכה". גיור כהלכה (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  3. 1 2 "Israeli secular court to rule on Orthodox conversions". The Canadian Jewish News. 2015-11-14. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  4. ↑ "The Conversion Blacklist - Bios". JOFA | Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
  5. ↑ "Establishment of Private Jewish Conversion Court an Important Initiative for Israel and the Jewish People, ADL Says". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  6. ↑ Erlich, Yifat (9 February 2019). "The trouble with Jewish conversions in Israel". Ynetnews.
  7. ↑ "Double Indemnity - Zionist Federation of Australia". Zionist Federation of Australia. 2015-08-16. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  8. ↑ "Knesset moves to decentralize conversion to Judaism" . Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  9. ↑ "Conversion, the Knesset and the Supreme Court". TZOHAR. 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  10. ↑ Levy, Gideon (2009-04-12). "A State Governed by Religious Law". Haaretz. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
  11. ↑ "Avi Weiss and The End Of The Chief Rabbinate | Matzav.com". matzav.com. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
  12. ↑ "A tolerant and traditional Jewish approach toward modernity". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  13. ↑ "Chuck Davidson, Author at My Jewish Learning". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  14. ↑ "Tzohar hits back against chief rabbinate, other critics in conversion imbroglio". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2017-11-22.
  15. ↑ "Israeli Supreme Court rules state must accept non-Rabbinate Orthodox conversions". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  16. ↑ "Bill would end state recognition of private Orthodox conversions" . Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  17. ↑ "Ark conversions rejected - The Australian Jewish News". The Australian Jewish News. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.