CONVERSION WITHOUT FORMAL INSTRUCTION Walter Jacob

QUESTION: A couple in a mixed marriage have maintained a Jewish life-style for more than a decade. He is Jewish , and she came from a Protestant background. They were married civilly, and she had not practiced her religion or believed its tenets for many years prior to her marriage. She has received no formal instruction in Judaism , but for the last decade she has lived a Jewish life. She has attended services during the Yamim Noraim, and intermittently during the year, has participated in many programs of the Temple and its Sisterhood, enrolled in some adult education classes, and raised her children as Jews . The family observes Jewish holidays at home by lighting candles and making Qiddush each Friday evening and on the eve of holidays; they erect a Sukkah and light Hanukah lights. She considers herself Jewish , as do her friends. She would now like to have this"Jewishness" recognized officially. She does not wish to attend the Introduction to Judaism class for young new converts. She would also feel out of place at the standard conversion ceremonies which her congregation conducts publicly. How can she officially be considered as Jewish ?(F.L. , Miami , FL )*

ANSWER: Let us begin by reviewing the Reform discussion and the development of the tradition. The American Reform discussions of conversion from 1890 onward make it quite clear that the principal requirements were intellectual; we have been more concerned with understanding than ritual("Milat Gerim," CCAR Yearbook, 1947, pp. 15ff; see also#69-71 in Walter Jacob , American Reform Responsa). In keeping with this emphasis, Introduction to Judaism classes have been organized by virtually all congregations. In larger communities, some of the congregations have joined together and offered centralized classes on a year-round basis along with individualized instruction by the congregational rabbi. Traditional Judaism , of course, also requires instruction, but usually places the

135