JPost
Rabbinic Conversion Court judges are more likely to reject prospective converts who were partially trained via the Internet, a senior source in the Conversion Authority said Sunday.
According to the source, about 70% of prospective converts who are interviewed by the conversion court are accepted. However, among prospective converts who were trained in part via the Internet, only about half are accepted, said the source.
An interview by a panel of three rabbinical judges is the final stage of the conversion process before the convert is circumcised, immersed in a ritual bath and accepted as a full member of the Jewish people.
In preparation for their meeting with the judges, prospective converts must gain extensive theoretical and practical knowledge about Orthodox Judaism through book learning and participation.
Use of the Internet has been found to be beneficial for some prospective converts, said Prof. Binyamin Ish-Shalom, chairman of the Joint Institute for Jewish Studies, the largest institute for the training of converts.
"We use it primarily with university students who have good learning skills and can make better headway studying independently," said Ish-Shalom.
"Young, bright people do not need to spend as much time in the classroom. So there is no reason for them to be physically present throughout all of the learning process," added Ish-Shalom, who said the Internet was not a substitute for in-person meetings with educators but was used as a supplement.
"Internet is a tool that helps us logistically and educationally," said Ish-Shalom.
However, rabbinical judges strongly oppose the use of Internet training for converts.
"Conversion is not just about collecting a bunch of information," said a conversion court source. "It is about forming significant relationships with rabbis, educators, religious families and members of Orthodox communities. [...]
We even have an Internet-trained Rabbi in our community...
ReplyDeleteSo why not converts?
Simply the question comes down to one of kesher. Whether or not there is one, independant of the tools used for the learning.
ReplyDeleteThe same thing applies to the "internet semicha program". Knowing many of the Rabbis involved with one of them, they simply don't give semicha or send people for the Rabbinut exams that they don't have a kesher with. It is the job of the student to build the kesher. Considering the haskamos the program I know of has from Gedolei Yisrael, it apparently works, and is trusted.
So with internet trained converts one has to ask do they have a kesher with the Rabbis. More importantly to this discussion which the article doesn't really seem to touch on is whether they have are being penalized because of lack of a kesher or simply because of the internent.