If A Marrano Comes To Your Synagogue, Should You Count Him In The Minyan?

A pesak din from Rabbi Aaron Soleveichik, ztz"l.

Comments

[critical_minyan]

5754 is 1993-1994

[harold]

I think the letter answers your question.

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

I presume these anusim can also eat Streit's matza.

[Successful Messiah]

This seems like a bunch of BS to me. Treat them as full jews in every way but require conversion if they want to marry?

[David]

How is it that someone could be counted in a minyan and permitted to read the Torah, but not be considered a Jew? I wonder why he doesn't give his reasons for this rather peculiar view...

[Alex]

I never understood the whole conversion process particularly in America. Any person in America can claim that he\she is Jewish. How can you disprove them?

[steve]

This seems like a bunch of BS to me.

Remarks like that one would expect from apikorsim and kofrim, not from someone who claims to be religious. Just say that you don't understand the psak, don't use vulgar language and denigrate a deceased rabbi, just before Rosh Hashana nonetheless.

[Shmarya]

This seems like a bunch of BS to me. Treat them as full jews in every way but require conversion if they want to marry?

It's actually what Rav Moshe Feinstein paskened with regard to Ethiopian Jews, except Rav Moshe only wanted a giyur l'humra.

[harold]

Remarks like that one would expect from apikorsim and kofrim, not from someone who claims to be religious. Just say that you don't understand the psak, don't use vulgar language and denigrate a deceased rabbi, just before Rosh Hashana nonetheless.

Don't be naive, this is not a forum for the religious. This is a forum where the religious are ridiculed.

[Neo-Conservaguy]

It's our perception that there must be flaming hoops created for a convert to jump through that makes this pesak din seem so radical. In fact, it's the former perception that is radical both in time (less than 200 years old) and when compared to the vast body of rabbinic responsa on this issue.

[Shmarya]

Don't be naive, this is not a forum for the religious. This is a forum where the religious are ridiculed.

And the person who did the ridiculing this time is religious.

But Harold, in his rush to blame, forgot that.

[harold]

Don't be naive, this is not a forum for the religious. This is a forum where the religious are ridiculed.

And the person who did the ridiculing this time is religious.

But Harold, in his rush to blame, forgot that.

I am not blaming. I am just stating the obvious.

[Shmarya]

The obvious, Harold, is stated every time you open your mouth.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Harold, if you've been following this blog for a while, you'd know that Successful Messiah is an orthodox person who regularly defends all things orthodox, at least as vociferously as yourself.

I, like Steve at 9:55, was taken aback by the remark from SM that the ruling is 'BS'.
I'm a bit of an apikoros myself at times, but I wouldn't be disrespectful of a ruling from Rabbi Soloveichik. If I didn't understand it, I would ask for clarification. If I then still disagreed, I would say so with at least a modicum of manners.

As you alluded to at 11:47, orthodox commentators on this site often have an uphill climb with the usual crowd here. However, this time it's one of our orthodox folks who is being rude to a respected rabbinical authority.

[harold]

WSC, you are right, I messed up on this one. I don't really follow the various personalities who respond to the posts since they mostly sound the same to me. I am mostly offended by the tone and tenor of the blog. Most of the responses to the posts are of the form of preaching to the choir. When Steve responded in such an intelligent manor it prompted me to respond that this is not the forum where one shows any form of respect for one of our gedolim.

[Maskil]

Shmarya,
...except Rav Moshe only wanted a giyur l'humra.
The Rav is stating the same thing. A full giyur "without a blessing" is a giyur le-humra.

[Shmarya]

Correct.

[mordecai]

Harold:

You say you are "offended by the tone and tenor of the blog." Maybe you should be offended by the tone and tenor of the Tanya which says non-Jewish souls come from the place where there is no good and are inferior to Jewish souls. Maybe you should understand that the "tone and tenor" is in response to orthodox outrages.

[soso]

Are you sure this letter is authentic? Looks like a hoax to me...

[Dr. Dave]

How can you recognize a true Gadol?

R' Aaron, like R' Moshe and other true Gedolim show ahavat yisrael, not the sinat chinam we see so often today.

May we merit seeing more like them.

[Pablo Faird]

Clarification is definately needed in this psak. I cannot imagine that if a person who walks into a shul with a pony tail claiming in spanish that he`s a decendant of marrano`s would be believed enough without some sort of evidence backing him up.

[Neo-Conservaguy]

Yeah, I don't trust those guys with pony tails either.

[Yakira]

It is clear ethnic bias against Spainish and Portuguese Jews by R. Soloveitchik. I do not care how renown he is, that ruling is not only bias but disrespectful to Spainish Jews.

[Yehudha de Oliveira]

He is ruling against every Sephardic poseq ever. As long as bene anusim are welcome among their Sephardic brothers who cares. But sadly this is not the case anymore because modern Sephardic hakhamim have been listening too much to Ashkenazi rebbez.

[Gad]

It looks like many Americans are just worried theirs Schuls will be overwhelmed by latino gangsters claiming to be under the auspice of Rabbi Soloveichik.
Worry not, even with such an open and inclusive ruling. It is very unlikely that false marrano/anusim (with pony tails as they are described here) will want to take part on any social gathering of Ashkenazi upper middle-class ladies and gents, religious or not. Let alone requesting aliyah and having to learn Hebrew.
On the other hand, it is open and inclusive enough to encourage the real descendants, to reconnect with their past and receive the recognition that has already been granted to some Ethiopian communities.
Those who need or want more evidence should need to read Schulamith Halevy's thesis for the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and avoid pointless bashing.