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Of course, as you all know there's no ultra-orthodox way. There's only the Torah way. Thanks, Usuario, for putting it so succinctly--potato kugel and all.
So one can all convert in whatever way he/she wants to and continue to gripe about not being accepted.
The Ultra-Orthodox have added a new law to the Torah where you can claim someone was lying all along and retroactively annul a conversion decades later, but unless you plan to move to Israel you don't have to worry about this.
Another question comes to mind is how would they have the records of what kind conversion was done decades ago so that it could be questioned? Imagine a situation where a woman who had converted was already deceased and her offspring already had children or even grandchildren and didn't have the original conversion records and there was no way to get them (meaning before the digital/internet age). How could it be disputed that the conversion wasn't acceptable to begin?
I am not sure if I would be considered Jewish or not but my dad was a cohen and born to a orthodox family, he married my mother who was a ger and converted but she converted via a conservative rabbinical assembly and went through a beth din in the 70s, she had mikveh after about 2 to 3 years studying and then got married to my dad. My guess is she couldn't marry a cohen because she was a convert.
What's a "beth din"?
Quote:
She lived Jewish apparently until after I was born, I had a Brit milah
It sounds like yours is not a purely simple situation, and you need to consult (yet another) orthodox rabbi who will be honest enough to consult with or refer you to someone who is expert on this subject. Your case may well be referred to a bais din. I strongly suspect that when the dust clears, you will find out that you are Jewish by orthodox standards. I am pretty sure that you will find out that you are NOT a kohen. Your father, while a kohen, is almost surely a disqualified kohen, because of his marriage to a convert. BTW, the prohibition against his marrying a convert does not mean that the marriage is invalid - it just means that he can't function as a kohen, and I think that it means that you aren't one. But you need to ask these questions of an orthodox rabbi. While you have already seen that the internet can give you some interesting links to read, almost all of the people responding are unqualified, including me. Some of the links are probably misleading also. Maybe all of them.
It sounds like yours is not a purely simple situation, and you need to consult (yet another) orthodox rabbi who will be honest enough to consult with or refer you to someone who is expert on this subject. Your case may well be referred to a bais din. I strongly suspect that when the dust clears, you will find out that you are Jewish by orthodox standards. I am pretty sure that you will find out that you are NOT a kohen. Your father, while a kohen, is almost surely a disqualified kohen, because of his marriage to a convert. BTW, the prohibition against his marrying a convert does not mean that the marriage is invalid - it just means that he can't function as a kohen, and I think that it means that you aren't one. But you need to ask these questions of an orthodox rabbi. While you have already seen that the internet can give you some interesting links to read, almost all of the people responding are unqualified, including me. Some of the links are probably misleading also. Maybe all of them.
Good luck!
Well said. Funny how everybody thinks they are an expert and therefore have no need to consult their LORD (local orthodox rabbi dude).
It sounds like yours is not a purely simple situation, and you need to consult (yet another) orthodox rabbi who will be honest enough to consult with or refer you to someone who is expert on this subject. Your case may well be referred to a bais din. I strongly suspect that when the dust clears, you will find out that you are Jewish by orthodox standards. I am pretty sure that you will find out that you are NOT a kohen. Your father, while a kohen, is almost surely a disqualified kohen, because of his marriage to a convert. BTW, the prohibition against his marrying a convert does not mean that the marriage is invalid - it just means that he can't function as a kohen, and I think that it means that you aren't one. But you need to ask these questions of an orthodox rabbi.
Since the father is cohen, then the son would be cohen (if he is considered Jewish). I don't think the issue of whether or not the father can function as a cohen changes the fact that the cohen status passes via the blood relationship of father and son. Also I haven't heard of a cohen being disqualified from functioning as a cohen in general. Do you have any links to references about this?
Since the father is cohen, then the son would be cohen (if he is considered Jewish). I don't think the issue of whether or not the father can function as a cohen changes the fact that the cohen status passes via the blood relationship of father and son. Also I haven't heard of a cohen being disqualified from functioning as a cohen in general. Do you have any links to references about this?
It happened in my shul. A Cohen married a divorcee and was forbidden to duchan and became disqualified as a Cohen. Real life. He later went off the derech and joined a Conservative shul. I'd be curious to hear if he started duchaning again over there.
Since the father is cohen, then the son would be cohen (if he is considered Jewish). I don't think the issue of whether or not the father can function as a cohen changes the fact that the cohen status passes via the blood relationship of father and son. Also I haven't heard of a cohen being disqualified from functioning as a cohen in general. Do you have any links to references about this?
A kohen may not marry:
A woman who was divorced. This would apply even to the kohen's own ex-wife.
A woman who had a chalitzah ceremony (see above)
A convert. This is true even if the woman was converted as a small child.
The daughter born to a kohen of a relationship forbidden to a kohen—known as a chalalah.13
The daughter of a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father.14
A woman who had sexual relations with a man whom she is forbidden to marry, such as a close relative (see above), a mamzer, or a non-Jew.
The widow of a disqualified kohen (see below).15
If a kohen does marry any of the above women, despite the fact that the marriage is forbidden, it is valid. For as long as they remain married, however, the kohen does not receive any privileges of a kohen. For example, he does not get called to the Torah first, nor may he administer the Priestly Blessing.16 The priesthood itself, however, remains with him and can never be renounced.17 For this reason, the prohibitions that apply to a kohen (that he may not enter a cemetery, etc.) still apply to him.
A male child of such a marriage is considered a disqualified kohen—a chalal. He does not have any of the privileges or prohibitions18 of a kohen. (In the case when a kohen married a woman whose father was not Jewish, the status of the child born to this marriage is unclear.19)
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