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Q&A - FAQ: Converts & Conversion
QUESTION: "I know that the Chasidim do not think of converts as fully Jewish
although, I did go to mikvah as well as do all the other things for my conversion."
ANSWER: Where could you have possibly gotten this idea from??? I'm shocked to
hear someone is saying such things. If you had a conversion according to Jewish
law, then everyone accepts that you are 100% Jewish. If your conversion was not
according to halacha, then every possible type of Orthodox Jew doesn't
believe that you are even partially Jewish.
The problem in your case may be that if you didn't have a rabbi that believes in
the absolute binding nature of Torah law upon every Jew, then he cannot bind you
to the Torah either. That is part of Jewish law, and at least as important as
mikvah.
QUESTION: "How can you know for certain if you are supposed to convert? Is it
a sin to delay the conversion if your heart desires
it and you are constantly without peace of mind?"
ANSWER: CLEARLY there is no sin involved, especially since you seem to still
have lingering doubts about whether conversion is the correct step for you. Have
you spoken about it with a rabbi who is qualified to answer the process?
QUESTION: "Shalom! I am a 43 year old male with Jewish wife and 2 Jewish
children. I feel very strong for the Jewish people and I like very much to read
the Torah. We have thought of maybe moving to Israel in the future and I feel
that I want to be a part of the Jewish people. I am born Christian, and I wonder
if and how much it takes to convert to Judaism, or if I can live as a Christian
with Jewish values?"
ANSWER: My personal opinion is that for yourself, as an individual, there is no
necessity to convert if you don't feel a strong inner desire to do so. You can,
as you say, "Live as a Christian with Jewish values," and the Al~mighty will be
pleased with you.
However, as the father of Jewish children and the husband of a Jewess, you may
wish to consider conversion anyway.
QUESTION: "I am a Chinese and I came to US from China 4 years ago. Somehow I
was fascinated by Kabbalah, and I have been studying it for three years. I am
married to an American Jew but I did not convert. Kabbalah is mystical and my
life is mystical. Somehow I realize I am Jewish (past life). And people tell me
I am insane.
I am looking for some help, maybe a Kabbalist to help me find out my identity.
If I am really a Jew I do not need to convert. I also want to move to Israel to
continue studying Kabbalah. Could you give me some advice?"
ANSWER: What an interesting letter! Your problem is based on a simple but 180
degree misunderstanding.
You say: "If I am really a Jew I do not need to convert." The exact opposite is
true. If by "am really a Jew" you mean that you have a Jewish soul, nevertheless
it is still contained within a non-Jewish body. So according to Jewish law, you
are 100% non-Jewish, no matter what your past lives or status of your soul. The
only rectification is conversion, if you sincerely desire and feel the need to
be Jewish. On the other hand, if you are comfortable as a non-Jew then there is
no need to convert. Except, of course, for the problem that you are married to a
Jew, yet his children with you will be non-Jewish too, because the Jewish soul
is transferred through the mother.
You report that "people" think you insane. "People" are irrelevant; what does
your Jewish husband say?
QUESTION: "What do our sages make of a person who comes from a 100% Jewish
lineage on the father's side, and none on the mother's side? Outside of the
biological logistics of verifying bloodline that are indisputable if you reckon
through the mother, are there spiritual or other reasons why we reckon the
child's Jewishness that way?"
ANSWER: We understand that the Jewish soul is transmitted through the
mother, and that this is a spiritual matter. Let us remember that blood and DNA
are not the same thing as soul, a spiritual essence. Kabbalah gives some
explanation of why it is through the mother, which is too technical for this
forum of brief answers. Also it is clear that Kabbalah endeavors to explain an
existing fact, rather than the reason upon which a decision is based.
One basis for the mystical understanding of the status of a convert is the basic
Talmudic ruling on conversion which begins, "When a convert comes to convert..."
Shouldn't it say "when a non-Jew comes to convert"? He can't be called a convert
till after he converts right?
From this statement we understand that the reason he is coming to convert is
that he already has the Jewish soul (although it hovers above him until it
enters his body at the actual conversion), and it is this soul which is drawing
him to Judaism, whether consciously or not. That is one reason why we are told
to discourage conversion candidates initially and make it difficult for them.
Those with the Jewish soul will persist no matter what.
QUESTION: "I've read various interpretations on conversion. Some say that the
convert was a product of Abraham and Sarah's marital unions that didn't result
in a child, other suggest that the converts are souls of those non-Jews that
wanted the Torah, but their leaders rejected it. Since the Zohar stresses the
concept of measure for measure so much, I've always thought that converts were
Jews in previous lifetimes that made some grave religious transgression like
becoming an apostate. Could you help sort out the legitimate Kabbalistic
approach?"
ANSWER: In most cases it is probably a trapped Jewish soul, as you posited, but
not necessarily for the reason that you speculated. Please note that the other
theories you raised are not incompatible with this. For a lot more on this
subject, keep abreast with our ongoing "Gate of Reincarnations" translation that
we have posted.
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