According to all accounts I have read and seen - Rabbi Vinas is a wonderful and sensitive human being. He genuinely cares about the welfare of other people. I also accept as fact that he is totally sincere and genuinely concerned about the spiritual state of the Jewish people. He has also gone through the system as an Orthodox Jew, studied Torah, helped turn around a dying shul in Yonkers as well as devoted countless hours to helping people of Hispanic background. Furthermore despite his upset about some of the material that I have posted - he has taken the time to write material which he requested to be posted on this blog to defend his position (which I have duly posted). We have also exchanged emails with material he requested remain confident - and I am honoring his request. He has even agreed to meet with me next time he comes to Jerusalem.
So what is left? The answer unfortunately is that nothing that he has written so far would lead to answering the basic points that I have posted before.
Contrary to what one commentator posted about ignorant blogs causing problems - this is not an ignorant blog! I have been criticized for many things in my lifetime - but being ignorant is not something I am accused of by people - who know me and know what I have written in my seforim as well as on the internet. Furthermore most of the comments to my postings - even though often in disagreement - generally reflect informed well thought out positions by intelligent, well educated adults.
Rabbi Vinas - has in essence addressed the issues on the level of a newspaper interview but has not evinced any concern with our questions on the level of Torah scholarship. From what I have posted about Rabbi Vinas - it is clear he is a highly educated man and in recognition of such is a research fellow of a think tank devoted to proselytization of anyone who either thinks he might be Jewish or who can be pesuarded that he might want to be Jewish. Thus he is fully capable of responding to fairly standard questions both as a Talmid Chachom and a secular academic scholar.
Let me summarize the halachic/hashkofic issues that we have raised and for which I hope to receive from him erudite responses citing chapter and verse and well as teshuvos from contemporary gedolim as well as some of the authorities that Rabbi Vinas uses - since from everything I have read so far he is apparently not a posek.
1) Rabbi Vinas is active in accepting and encouraging those who might be descended from the Anusim of Spain and Portugal (500 years ago) to keep mitzvos and to convert fully to Judaism. I have asked for the justification for such a practice and he says it is a sofek doreissa whether they are Jewish. In fact he believes his family is from such a background and thus his own self perception is either a Jew from birth or at least a sofek doreissa Jew from birth. While there are many discussions in the rabbinic literature concerning Ethiopians - I am not familiar with any discussion of the status of Anusim. The letter from R' Aaron Soleveitchick and R' Mordechai Eliyahu do not address the concerns raised and are in of themselves difficult to ascertain what they mean. In sum - on whose authority does Rabbi Vinas actively promote the mitzva observance and conversion of Hispanic Jews who might be halachic Jews, or might be descended only patrilinearly or might in fact be full goyim. Associated with this is the question whether they are possible mamzerim or sofek mamzerim.
2) Rabbi Vinas has many talents - one of which is fluency in Spanish and the Hispanic culture. In this context he has been interviewed by Spanish/Catholic newspapers concerning how Judaism views Christianity. He is on record as saying that there is nothing prohibited in Christian worship and they in fact worship the same deity as we do. He says he did this to enhance the attitude towards Jews - which is clearly a desirable goal. However the statements as reported in the papers are not accurate descriptions of the Jewish position - which views Christianity as prohibited. The attempt of one of the commentators to explain this away as saying in effect "for you goyim it is permitted by the Torah - even though it is viewed as idolatry if a Jew did it" is simply not acceptable. Is there a posek which allows telling goyim that the Torah sees nothing wrong with their worship practices - when in fact it isn't so? If there is I would appreciate knowing who it is.
3) Rabbi Vinas is an official associate of an organization which actively promotes proselytization of non-Jews. His defense that he disagrees with some of what they do and besides there is also a Chabad rabbi associated with this organization - is not acceptable. Where is the literature, the Torah sevoras, the psak of gedolim which would permit him to act in this way. While there are poskim who allow teaching at Reform and Conservative day schools - I would like to know who told him that it is mutar to be publicly associated with this organization? What is the justification?
4) Rabbi Vinas acknowledges that he is a ger. As was discussed in my previous post on Rabbi Vinas - there is a significant question as to having a ger as a rav of a shul - especially when he is telling people what they must do. While there are various possible reasons to justify this - I would like to hear the Torah reasoning and sources he used to justify this.
In sum. The issue is not whether Rabbi Vinas is a sincere man who is moser nefesh to help the Jewish people. The question is what is the justification for what he actually does - since it is obvious that there are clear cut Torah problems raised by his activities. Sincerity and pure motivation is not an adequate justification in a religion of halacha - even though it is so for other religions.