The High Court of Justice's ruling on the issue of conversion has put the issue of the Reform and Conservative movements back on the public agenda. The firm reservations of representatives of the Jewish faith about these movements are sometimes perceived as intolerance and perhaps even as an expression of hatred. Some even claim that such positions are excluding millions of Jews from the Jewish people.<\/p>\r\n
It is important to put things in order. Reform and Conservative Jews themselves are, of course, Jews for all intents and purposes. Judaism is an inner essence, independent of a person's behavior and opinions.<\/p>\r\n
The Sages established a basic rule - "Israel, even though he has sinned - is Israel." Even a Jew who does not fast on Yom Kippur and eats leaven on Passover remains a Jew. Therefore, belonging to one movement or another does not change the very fact that a person is Jewish.<\/p>\r\n
All of this is of course provided that the person is a Jew, meaning someone born to a Jewish mother or who converts according to the law. Someone who is not a Jew, meaning someone whose mother is not Jewish - even if they join the most ultra-Orthodox community - will not thereby become a Jew, until they convert according to the law, as the Torah states.<\/p>\r\n
Not 'Jewish sects''<\/strong><\/p>\r\n The great conflict with the Reform and Conservative movements is not about personal relations with people. Chabad emissaries around the world maintain friendly relations with members of these movements and their leaders, just as they strive to connect with every Jew, regardless of his opinions, actions, and social affiliation.<\/p>\r\n The main problem is the attempt of these movements to present themselves as 'sects' within the Jewish religion. They try to create the impression that they are part of the existing mosaic of Judaism \u2013 Sephardim and Ashkenazim, Hasidim and Lithuanians, Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. So there are supposedly Orthodox, Reform and Conservatives, and they all have 'synagogues', 'prayer orders' and 'rabbis'.<\/p>\r\n This lie is unacceptable.<\/p>\r\n This is a fraud and impersonation that is unacceptable in any other system. Will healers and mediums and flower therapists be recognized as doctors? Will kite flyers be part of the pilots' union? Will plastic jewelry manufacturers be considered diamond dealers?<\/p>\r\n It is possible that all of these factors unite many people around them and do important things. That is all well and good. But it is impossible for them to pretend to be what they are not. Sephardim and Ashkenazim, Hasidim and Lithuanians, Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel are part of the Jewish religion because they are committed to the Torah and see it as an unequivocal authority. Anyone who does not accept the tenets of the Jewish faith and advocates the view that the Torah is not binding, and that each and every one can interpret it as they see fit and choose what to adopt from it and what to reject \u2013 in essence, by this position he removes himself from the framework of the Jewish religion.<\/p>\r\n Unbearable absurdity<\/strong><\/p>\r\n These are not matters of semantics and philosophical definitions. If you see a 'doctor' sign - you don't expect to meet a crystal healer, with all due respect. When you see a 'licensed garage' sign, you know that the place is indeed authorized for that.<\/p>\r\n So, why, when you hear the word 'rabbi', aren't you supposed to know if he wears a kippah, observes Shabbat, eats kosher, and believes in the Creator of the world? Isn't that absurd!<\/p>\r\n Every Jew should be loved, every person should be respected, but it is impossible to turn the Jewish religion into a no-man's land, where a person can do as he sees fit (or as he sees fit). Someone who does not accept the authority of the Torah of Israel can be many things \u2013 not part of the Jewish religion.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u05db\u05e9\u05d0\u05ea\u05dd \u05e8\u05d5\u05d0\u05d9\u05dd \u05e9\u05dc\u05d8 '\u05e8\u05d5\u05e4\u05d0' \u2013 \u05d0\u05d9\u05e0\u05db\u05dd \u05de\u05e6\u05e4\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05e4\u05d2\u05d5\u05e9 \u05de\u05d8\u05e4\u05dc \u05d1\u05d0\u05d1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05e7\u05e8\u05d9\u05e1\u05d8\u05dc, \u05e2\u05dd \u05db\u05dc \u05d4\u05db\u05d1\u05d5\u05d3. \u05d5\u05de\u05d4 \u05d1\u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05dc\u05ea\u05d5\u05d0\u05e8 '\u05e8\u05d1', \u05d4\u05d0\u05dd \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05d4\u05e4\u05e7\u05e8 \u05dc\u05db\u05d5\u05dc?","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":435798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[6238,217,4264],"class_list":["post-665782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-138","tag-6238","tag-217","tag-4264"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n