Reform Couple Finally Find Orthodox Rabbis Who Approve : Conversion of Adopted Baby Hits Impediments

When Stan and Wendy Levin tried to find an Orthodox rabbinical court to convert their adopted baby daughter, Melody, to Judaism, the search turned out to be more difficult than they ever imagined.

“We ran into more impediments with the conversion than with the adoption,” said Wendy, 39. The Levins live in Laguna Niguel, and both are members of the Reform branch of Judaism, considered the most liberal.

Raised in the San Fernando Valley by parents she called “secular Jews,” Wendy Levin said, “I had no idea how strongly I felt about the Jewish religion until I had a child in my home.”

Five months after they brought Melody home from the hospital, Levin said, she was “not even aware of the necessity of formal conversion” for her daughter. She read an article detailing the “Who is a Jew?” controversy in Israel, which focused on the fact that some Orthodox religious leaders in Israel and the United States questioned the validity of conversion performed by Reform and Conservative rabbis.

The couple decided to seek an Orthodox conversion for three reasons, Wendy said: “We wanted her to be recognized as Jewish by all three branches of Judaism; in case she wanted to live in Israel she would be able to claim citizenship under the Law of Return; and if she wanted to marry an Orthodox man some day.”

Consult Rabbi

They consulted their rabbi, Allen Krause of Temple Beth El in Mission Viejo, “who was very sympathetic,” Wendy said, and offered to help. Eventually they were referred to Rabbi Paul Dubin of the Los Angeles County Board of Rabbis.

Despite Dubin’s help, the Levins could not find Orthodox rabbis in Orange or Los Angeles county who would preside over the conversion, since converting a child to be brought up in what was was considered a non-observant--though clearly Jewish--atmosphere was not something the rabbis wanted to do.

Finally, Dubin was able to make arrangements with an Orthodox rabbi in San Francisco who was already acting on the same interpretation of Jewish law outlined by Orthodox Rabbi Jack Simcha Cohen in his forthcoming book. Cohen believes that a religious court should convert the minor children of a Jewish father and a Gentile mother at the request of the parents, and without any preconditions for religious observance.

Wendy flew to San Francisco with her own mother and Melody, where she was interviewed by four Orthodox rabbis, who still “took a lot of convincing” to proceed, she said. “They asked serious questions, and they encouraged me to have a more Orthodox life style. They did a real sales job.”

Rabbis said several prayers and Wendy submerged Melody in the mikveh, or ritual bath. The conversion was complete, and Wendy was given a certificate attesting to Melody’s conversion.

Easier for Adults

For adults in Orange County, conversion is much less arduous. The Orange County Board of Rabbis has for the past 20 years organized an ongoing evening course called “Introduction to Judaism.”

Rabbi Stephen Einstein of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Tustin, who has taught the course for 11 years, emphasizes that it is “not just for those contemplating conversion,” although he estimates that approximately 25% of those attending do ultimately convert. Some of those who take the course, a weekly, two-hour class that stretches over a six-month period, are already Jewish. Others are married or contemplating marriage to Jewish partners, who often take the course with them.

“The course often rejuvenates the Jewish partner in a mixed relationship,” Einstein said.

After satisfactory completion of the course, those interested in converting generally consult with the rabbi of the congregation they would like to join, sometimes for additional instruction and counseling, Einstein said. Because there are so few Orthodox rabbis in Orange County, most Orthodox conversions are done in Los Angeles, according to Rabbi David Eliezrie of Chabad of Anaheim.

The larger and related issues of intermarriage and the Jewish identity of the children of intermarried couples are at least as important to Jews in Orange County as they are nationally, area rabbis say.

Subject of Forum

This month alone, intermarriage is the subject of a recent forum scheduled by the Orange County Jewish Federation in Garden Grove and a second eight-week series at Temple Beth David in Westminster, beginning Wednesday.

Reform congregations in the county welcome non-Jewish partners as members and admit children of such unions into religious schools.

Conservative synagogues permit only the Jewish partner to formally join the congregation, although the non-Jewish spouse is welcome to attend services and social functions. Children of Jewish fathers and Gentile mothers may be admitted to religious schools with the understanding that attendance will lead to conversion.

“You have to recognize sociological factors but not concede to them,” said Rabbi Menahem Herman of Congregation B’nai Israel of Tustin, a conservative synagogue. “I’m not interested in recruiting the non-Jewish spouse” in a mixed marriage, he said.

Although the percentage of intermarried couples at his synagogue is “very, very low,” Herman said, he welcomes children of Jewish fathers and Gentile mothers who wish to attend religious school.

“There’s everything to be gained and nothing to be lost,” he said.

Until several weeks ago, Henri E. Front of Temple Beth David in Westminster was one of the few congregational rabbis in the county who would agree to officiate at a wedding where one of the partners was not Jewish.

“Our first objective is to save the Jews for Judaism,” Front said. “We have to make up the 6 million we lost. . . . I believe that Jews need to include people rather than to exclude people. Why we make it so difficult for people to become Jewish is beyond my comprehension. . . . That doesn’t mean we take everyone who walks in the door.”

Earlier this month, another Reform rabbi, Frank Stern of Temple Beth Sholom of Santa Ana, sent a letter to his congregants announcing that after many years of refusing to officiate at mixed marriages, he would now do so.

“It’s a struggle I’ve gone through for many years now,” Stern said in an interview. “I’ve had to experience much of my congregation’s anguish” in refusing to marry such couples. “Those are really heart-rending situations,” he said. “My understanding had always been that I was upholding Jewish tradition, that I was a bastion of Jewish faith.”

Stern, who said he has always considered himself “a traditionalist in the Reform movement,” said his decision was influenced in part by the continued high rate of intermarriage.

“I don’t see the statistics diminishing, I see them accelerating,” he said.

But there was also a change in his own views on intermarriage, reflecting that of the Reform movement as a whole, to viewing the phenomenon as much as a challenge as a threat. “I believe in fostering as much Jewish commitment as I can muster in such families,” he said.