Child of Conservative Convert
Question
I am in charge of signing up new members at the synagogue I attend. The synagogue is in a transition between rabbis now. We are not getting a new rabbi until September and we don’t even know yet who that new rabbi will be. This past Shabbos, a man we saw for the first time ever starting came to services. He says he wants to join as a member. I talked to him on the phone today and he revealed to me that his mother is a convert to Judaism in the Conservative movement, and he had a bris and bar mitzvah. I don’t know if he is really a Jew or not. Can I accept him as a member?
Answers
According to Jewish Law a someone who converted through the Conservative movement is not Halachically Jewish. Personally, I feel that the best approach might be to tell the person that this is a decision that only the Rabbi of the community can make – but as of right now there is no Rabbi. And that, hopefully, by September the new Rabbi will have begun leading the congregation and at that point he can make a final decision.
Until then, if he wishes to continue attending the Tefillos in your synagogue, there is no reason to stop him from doing so but he should not be given any of the honors during the Tefillos, such as opening the Holy Ark or being called up to the Torah.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team