Conversion controversy: Can the Jewish people win a gold medal? – The Jerusalem Post

The moment Artem Dolgopyat tumbled, twisted and turned his body to the tune of an Olympic gold medal, the debate over who is or should be a Jew has roared across the Israeli landscape. The plaintive cry by Artems (admittedly) non-Jewish mother before the cameras They wont let my son marry here! has vaulted the conversion crisis into center stage of the publics consciousness. How can a genuine Israeli hero, who deeply loves our his! country, who humbly laid at our doorstep that for which we so desperately crave positive world attention not be embraced as a full-fledged Jew? Is that not the height of hypocrisy, the depths of degradation?

Artem, of course, is just one of many thousands of Russian immigrants as many as a quarter million who are not halachically Jewish, and so are unable to wed here in Israel, where marriages are conducted solely by the religious, rather than civil authorities. This crisis is not a new one (we have plenty of those, too, dont worry!); it has been percolating from the moment Israel decided to throw open its doors to Soviet Jewry in the late 1980s. This, I wholeheartedly believe, was a wise and wonderful decision, because it greatly increased our nations critical mass (hence the joke: what is Israels second-most popular language? Hebrew!) and played a major part in jump-starting our ascendant economy.

But this modern exodus to Israel was bound up in a spiritual Gordian knot of mythical proportions, prompting us to ask: How can we wave our halachic wand and turn non-Jews en masse into Jews? If there is a halachic will driven by intense public pressure can there somehow be a halachic way?

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Yet at the same time, we observe that it was not uncommon in the Biblical era for prominent Jews to marry non-Jews. King Davids third wife, the mother of Avshalom, was the daughter of the king of Geshur; Davids son Solomon had a slew of wives from various nationalities (Edom, Ammon, Egypt) who, according to Nehemiah, did not convert. Ditto Samson and Delila.

Consider, too, the famous story of Hillel, who unabashedly converted both a man who wanted to become Israels high priest because he liked the special clothing that came with the office (though, of course, a convert cannot become a kohen), as well as a fellow who wanted to be taught the entire Torah while standing on one foot. Hillel is blessed for bringing them under the wings of Gods spirit (Shabbat 31). And the very same Talmudic source with which we began this article goes on to say that we should not be overly stringent or onerous in our treatment of a potential convert.

It is true that no one approach to conversion will satisfy everyone; certainly the more extreme religious circles some of whom do not allow conversion under any circumstances will set the bar so high that only the rarest candidate will manage to vault over it. But a spirited effort to solve this dilemma has to finally be made on a large scale.

Shortly before the last election, I was privileged to sit with Naftali Bennett and discuss a few current issues with him, this one included. I told him that, sadly, Modern Orthodox Jews like ourselves may never be accepted as equals by much of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) world. But that cant deter or dismay us; we can hold our heads up high, with pride. We have absolutely nothing to apologize for, nor are we religiously inferior in any way. Our attitude of tolerance for every Jew, our love of the State of Israel and our strong work ethic along with our excellence in Torah study and observance is one that God surely smiles upon.

And so I suggested that our now prime minister an original thinker if ever there was one gather together a cadre of bright, innovative, Zionist Orthodox rabbis who can constitute a brain trust to grapple with issues exactly like this one and come up with strategies for Jewish survival. It should be comprised of bona fide talmidei hahamim, intensely committed to the future of our state, who recognize the need for everyone in that state to feel that they are a valuable part of the nation. If we develop and propose solutions that are palatable to the majority, and are in consonance with our glorious tradition, I believe that eventually the Jewish world at least the majority of it will come around to accept them.

As of this writing, Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana is working on a new approach to facilitate conversion, and I wish him much success. It is a bold venture, but these are times that demand boldness and creativity, where the risk is commensurate with the reward. A rabbinic support group such as the one I described can provide him with a vital firewall to have his back in this all-important project. If he and we succeed, the entire Jewish people will have earned a truly gold medal.

The writer is director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Raanana; jocmtv@netvision.net.il

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Conversion controversy: Can the Jewish people win a gold medal? - The Jerusalem Post