|
|
Introduction Conversion to Orthodox Judaism , as stipulated by the Shulhan Arukh , has always been permitted by Jewish law . And while the State of Israel only recognizes Orthodox conversion , there is one community where marriage to a convert to Judaism is not only socially unacceptable , but forbidden by Jewish law ( halakha ) . The issue discussed in this paper is conversion to Orthodox Judaism and the acceptance or rejection of such conversions and of the converts themselves by Brooklyn ’ s Syrian and Near Eastern Jewish community from 1935 until today . Sutton reports that in 1934 , a member of the community indicated that there had been fifteen intermarriages between members of the community and non - Jews ( Sutton 1988 , 84 ) . Concerned about the non - Jewish influences to which members of the Brooklyn community were exposed , Rabbi Jacob S . Kassin , the Syrian Jewish community ’ s chief rabbi , and the Rabbinical Council of the Syrian community issued a takana ( edict ) in 19...
To the book |
|
|