by Rabbi David Novak
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Union for Traditional Judaism, unless otherwise indicated.
A concerned Orthodox rabbi has received a certificate of conversion that indicates that the signatories are Conservative rabbis. He requests information on the background and qualifications of the Bet Din.
The following responsum is reprinted from Tomeikh KaHalakhah volume 2. Tomeikh KaHalakhah is UTJ’s series of volumes of responsa (teshuvot) promulgated by the Union For Traditional Judaism’s Panel of Halakhic Inquiry.
The text below is the result of OCR. Although it has already been reviewed, if you identify any errors, kindly email office@utj.org. A scan of the original teshuvah is available here.
Often rabbis are presented with Jewish legal documents whose signatories are unknown to them. In order to accept those documents, the careful rabbi will ascertain the facts of the case to which the document attests and will check the qualifications of the signatories, who do not merely certify the facts, but who make operative any change in status indicated by the documents.
This is especially important when it comes to conversion. Rabbi Y ossi ben Rav Yehudah (Bekhorot 30b) teaches that if a candidate for conversion is informed of the entire Torah yet refuses to accept even one [seemingly trivial Rabbinic] law, he is not a convert. Maimonides (Laws of Forbidden Intercourse 14:8) codifies this as law. Moreover, a candidate for conversion who is not informed of all the laws or their respective rewards and punishments is nevertheless, after the fact, con- sidered a convert if the ritual procedures are in order only when, according to Rabbi ShlomoZalman ben Yitzhaq of Posen tResponsa Hemdat Shlomo, Warsaw, 1836, Yoreh De’ ah no. 29, 30), the candidate unequivocally accepts the binding nature of all the laws. It is therefore the task, indeed the duty, of the rabbis in question to fulfill this dual educational component without equivocation. Thus the commit- ment, scholarship, observance, and piety of the overseeing rabbis (or laymen) is essential in order for another careful rabbi to accept the conversion. (See Rabbi Moses Isserles’ gloss on Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh De’ ah 268:2 which describes the members of the Bet Din as talmidei hakhamim.i
These essential qualities stand independent of any movement affiliation. That is to say, affiliation with the Orthodox movement does not necessarily mean that the Bet Din possesses these qualities any more than affiliation with the Conservative movement means that it automatically does not. “Orthodox”, “Conservative”, “Reform” and “Reconstructionist” are categories that have no halakhic validity and ought not be recognized as such. They are political distinctions. Either a Bet Din operates halakhically or it does not. If it does, then its actions are valid. If it does not, then its actions are invalid.
Rabbi David Novak for the Panel of Halakhic Inquiry
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One of the founding members of the UTJ, Rabbi David Novak is recognized scholar in Talmud and theology. He has served on the Panel of Halakhic Inquiry and contributed to the UTJ’s 3-volume Tomeikh K’Hakalakha, a series of questions & answers on topical religious issues.
A disciple of Rabbi Saul Lieberman, Rabbi Novak is the author of many books and scholarly works, including:
Rabbi Novak holds the J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Chair of Jewish Studies as Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Toronto, where he is a member of University College and the Centre for Jewish Studies. He is also a consulting scholar and a member of the Board of Advisors of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.