Is he Jewish???Read More?

Question

I just want to know if my friend is Jewish. He studied for about a year and a half. He had the "procedure" and all(beit milah). He converted in a mikvah with two witnesses. He also has Jewish background on his maternal side. They are Russian Jews. I know hes Jewish but my sister doesnt know if he is because he converted though a conservative rabbi and she has heard that Orthodox conversions are only accepted but i told her that Orthodox and conservative conversions are, not reform. So is he Jewish? Am i right or wrong?

Answer 1

is he jewish to whom? himself? surely. you? sounds like it? some others? maybe not. does it matter what other people think?

do you care if some rabbi you don't know calls him not jewish? or do you care how he feels about himself and his life?

it's not up to you or your sister to decide if he is jewish. ask him. if he says yes, then you have your answer.

Answer 2

If you say that his mother is Jewish, then he is automatically Jewish, with no need to convert.

If not, then the conversion would have to be in accordance with Jewish Law.

The Reform and Conservatives do not themselves obey Jewish Law, so their conversions could not be valid.

You should check with your LOR (local Orthodox rabbi).

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EDIT:  I see that I have 4 thumbs down.  That is a sign that 4 people do not like what the Torah says.  As a Jew, I must follow Torah, an din this case I have no problems doing so.

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Answer 3

The confusion stems from the fact that there is no central Jewish authority, so different groups have different standards. According to Jewish law, if your mother's mother's mother's etc. is Jewish, then you're Jewish, no need for conversion.

According to Jewish practice, if a counsel of rabbis converts you, then you're Jewish. But some rabbis don't recognize the authority of other rabbis, like Orthodox might not recognize a reform conversion.

According to Israeli law, only Orthodox conversions count. So he wouldn't be counted as Jewish for the purposes of getting Israeli citizenship... except if he was Jewish according to the female line. Then he'd be able to make a case that he's Jewish regardless of the non-Orthodox conversion. On the other hand, they might not count that because they consider the Jewishness of your grandparents. If one grandparent was Jewish, you can get Israeli citizenship.  

Answer 4

There are many Jewish Russians.

My parents are, but I was born in Israel =]

And yes, I think he is Jewish. If he looks at himself as Jewish. Some Russian Jewish just say their Russian.

Answer 5

People who are they say they are.  If he did all the things a person needs to do to convert to Judaism, then he is Jewish.  I know the rule is to have a "Jewish mother."  But a friend of mine begged to differ with her family's Rabbi.  

She was a Gentile and married a Jewish man.  When they had children her husband wanted them to be raised in his Faith, attend Synagogue and go to Hebrew school.  She also agreed to have the family go to his relatives so they could participate in the various religious celibrations that take place in the home.  She agreed to all this, but she herself, being an agnostic, did not wish to convert.  

One day her children came back home early from Hebrew School and when she asked them why, they said "Because the Rabbi said we aren't Jewish."

Upon hearing this, she took her children back to Hebrew School, sat them down in the class and told the Rabbi, "If I say my kids are Jewish, they are Jewish."

They are now grown-up and are Jewish and actively practice Judaism.

Answer 6

Yes he is. Did they give him a certificate

Answer 7

yeah i believe it's only orthadox

Answer 8

Listen to me and listen carefully.

In order to become a Jew you need to either

1. Have a Jewish(maternal) mother or

2. Convert by JEWISH LAW which is ORTHODOX!.

If your friends mother is not Jewish then he is NOT JEWISH.

If he truly wishes to be Jewish he needs to follow ALL the laws, not just what he finds comfortable.

If he wants to become Jewish he will have an orthodox conversion.

Answer 9

I will dissent on the opinion that he's Jewish and say I don't know and that he is "probably" Jewish. You have to go by Jewish law as it is applied today. Let me explain.

From the info I have it is only that he "probably" is. The clincher is that he has maternal history and seemingly has nothing to do with Conservative conversion. Does he show unbroken maternal line not just some rumor in his distant tree?  It is suggested in your question but is this a fact?  People need to understand that family trees can go back generations and some people are claiming Jewishness by grandmother's father etc and this does not count as Jewishness they are just taking advantage of things so it needs to be more specific in this regard.  So with this it makes a world of difference between Jewishness and invalid Conservative conversion. That is why you getting overwhelming response he's Jewish but it needs to be more specific than this in his maternal line.

Also regarding our system is a bit of disarray for Jewish  RETURNEES who were lost from Holocaust or Inquisition or other reasons no fault of their own. They give them conversion certificates when really they are returnees because some of the info is unprovable by unrecoverable documentation so people are erring on the side of caution and making them convert. This may very well be what happened to him, that he is a JEWISH returnee that just chose to go Conservative conversion since return is so difficult, I don't know the details.

So do you see he could either be returnee or invalid convert there is not enough information to tell.  Only an Orthodox Rabbi who is briefed on the modern day RETURN process that knows this particular person can answer this question.

Answer 10

yes he is jewish