Expert: Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner - 6/4/2009

Question
Shalom Rabbi Lerner,

As the subject implies I am nor sure whether or not a conversion is in order. I am 20 years old. I was born Jewish, my father is Jewish, my mother is christian, and as I do not know much of my extended family on her side, tracing anything back would be difficult.

When I was younger I was raised in a fairly Jewish manner, I learned about Judaism and Torah, and in fact I could read and understand Hebrew before I could English. My Father travels as he has been all my life to speaking engagements around the country educating christians more about Judaism. When I was younger his trips months at a time. My mother, who had more or less accepted a somewhat Jewish lifestyle, could no longer do so without my father to be here to guide her. So she took us back into the church. Everything I had known about my Jewish past was forgotten. We remained in the church until my father started taking us to a messianic synagogue to try to start bringing us back to Judaism slowly. It has been within the last five years through my own study that what I had been taught by them was wrong. No one had ever told me that the messianic movement was in no way affiliated with actual Judaism. It then struck that my father never taught me about Jesus, and that when he was home he taught us more about Judaism. I have since denounced my belief in Jesus totally, and began to follow a much more traditional Jewish lifestyle. Even though this group did believe in Jesus, they still held very strongly to Jewish customs and Holy Days.

So my question in regards to the novel I've written, is conversion into Conservative Judaism something that would be required for me to be Jewish again? Or should I have a Mikveh to show that I have separated myself totally from my past affiliation with another religion?

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

James Cohen

Answer
Dear James,

Thanks for writing and for the background information.

As a Conservative Rabbi and following Jewish traditional law, one is Jewish when they are born to a Jewish mother or they convert formally to Judaism.

To the best of my knowledge and experience, the current position of the Reform movement would be that if the father is Jewish and the mother is not Jewish, the child would be considered Jewish if he were raised uniquely and educated uniquely in a Jewish identity, schooling, synagogue affiliation, etc.

Thus, I would suggest that you would benefit from studying formally for conversion in a full program of subjects including Hebrew reading and familiarity with the prayerbook for services year-round, the Haggadah, for Passover, home and synagogue rituals.

In addition, you would have the opportunity for socialization with the Jewish community and a close relationship with a Rabbi and synagogue.

Finally, I am personally pleased to see that you have on your own discovered that Hebrew Christians or Messianic "Jews" are really Christians, very often committed to conversion of Jews to their form of Christianity that is nonetheless clearly committed to a faith in Jesus as divine. Judaism universally rejects any divine role for Jesus; if he lived he would have been one more teacher of Judaism in that time frame whose nationalism would have threatened the Roman Empire, hence deserved public execution as a rebel.

Find a Rabbi and teacher, begin a Jewish life and formally be welcomed into the Jewish People - and I hope that it will be as fulfilling for you as my Jewish life has been for me.

Best wishes for your spiritual journey

Rabbi Dov