As we view the rite of conversion from a Reform point of view, we should not that the Reform Movement has placed its stresson careful instruction, with more attention to intellectual rather than ritual requirements. The Central Conference of American Rabbis in 1892 abolished the requirement of any ritual, including circumcision. Most Liberal rabbis, however, require circumcision or accept the existing circumcision(in accordance with the opinion of Hillel in Shab. 135b). Converts were to be accepted after due instruction before"any officiating rabbi assisted by no less than two associates." There has been very little discussion of tevilah by Liberal Jewish authorities. The custom has fallen into disuse, but was never actually rejected by Liberal Judaism. There are a number of cities in the United States and Canada in which tevilah has been encouraged or required for Reform conversion, as there has been cases of tevilah undertaken at the express wish of the prospective convert.
Immersion in a miqveh should not prove particularly difficult, however. The miqveh itself need contain only forty seah of water, which is approximately a hundred and twenty gallons, and must be about four feet in depth, so that a person can easily submerge himself completely(Sifra 6.3; Yoma 31a, Er. 4b). During most of the conversion procedure the convert would be in water up to his/her neck, and then for an instant be completely submerged. In other words, as we are not discussing a deep body of water or an extensive one, it should not be much more difficult than entering a bath; therefore, someone with a phobia about water should be able to undergo the ritual. However, as it is only rarely used for Reform conversion, we can dispense with it for such a convert even in a community where it is usually utilized.
Theoretically, circumcision may be viewed similarly
according to the statement of the Central Conference of American Rabbis of 1892. In practice, circumcision has, however, been a
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