Jerusalem – Chief Rabbinate Investigates Diaspora Rabbis’ ‘Commitment To Jewish Law’ Documents Show

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    Rabbi Yehoshua Fass (left) in his meeting with Chief Rabbi David Lau. (photo credit:NEFESH B'NEFESH)Jerusalem – Court documents submitted by the Chief Rabbinate describe how the body investigates Diaspora rabbis, including Orthodox rabbis, to determine if it will accept their letters of Jewish status affirmation for former congregants.

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    The description outlined by the Chief Rabbinate lawyers would seem to contradict the claims of the Chief Rabbinate itself that the recent list of 160 rabbis whose letters were rejected reflects not a rejection of the rabbi himself but rather a problem with the specific case.

    The documents, obtained by The Jerusalem Post, were filed by the Chief Rabbinate to the Jerusalem District Court in December 2015 in response to a freedom-of-information request to obtain the criteria by the ITIM organization which has fought to compel the Chief Rabbinate to formulate transparent criteria for accepting or rejecting the credentials of Diaspora rabbis.

    The explanation of the Chief Rabbinate’s lawyers reads: “The checks which the respondent [the Chief Rabbinate] conducts into the rabbi whose affirmation letter was presented are whether that rabbi does indeed serve as a rabbi of an Orthodox congregation, a check into his qualifications as a rabbi and the level of his commitment to Jewish law, all of which is done in order to ensure that it is possible to rely on his letters affirming Jewish status.”

    Following the release of the list of the 160 rabbis whose letters were rejected, the Chief Rabbinate, and Chief Rabbi Lau in particular, claimed that the letters were rejected for various reasons and did not necessarily mean that the rabbi’s credentials had been rejected.Live interview with Rabbi Seth Farber on the Chief Rabbinate’s ‘blacklist’ of Diaspora rabbis, July 13, 2017.

    “The list [of rabbis] represents affirmation letters which were not recognized by the [Personal Status] Department and does relate to rabbis,” the Chief Rabbinate said in an official response to the release of the list.

    The Chief Rabbinate was in particular embarrassed over the rejection of some prominent North American Orthodox rabbis including Nefesh B’Nefesh co-founder Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, Rabbi Adam Scheier, head of the prestigious Shaar Hashomayim synagogue in Montreal, and Rabbi Josh Blass, a senior educator at Yeshiva University.

    The arguments presented by the Chief Rabbinate to the court would imply that all rabbis, including Orthodox ones, are investigated by the Chief Rabbinate to verify their “commitment to Jewish law.”

    In addition, ITIM director Rabbi Seth Farber has demanded to know why the Chief Rabbinate’s officials made no effort to contact the rabbis whose letters it rejected, if there was no concern with the rabbis’ credentials.

    “This is exactly what the list is, the list is a list of rabbis which the Chief Rabbinate determined… didn’t have the right character or couldn’t be trusted,” Farber told Post on Thursday.


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    2 Comments
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    favish
    favish
    6 years ago

    those clergy should be spelled ‘rah-bais

    SandraM
    SandraM
    6 years ago

    Mmm…Prestigious Shaar Shomayim is because prestigious (read: Mega Rich $$$$) Bronfman belongs there. He is married to a non-Jew, and never even bothered to convert. PM Justin Trudeau delivered the drasha for Yom Kippur! and everyone was taking pics. Lol! Most members not really Shomer Shabbat or Mitzvot at all. The rabbi brought woman rabbis in, and they use a mike on Shabbat. They advocate acceptance of alternative lifestyles lechatchila. So not surprised that the Rabbinate may put a question mark next to them, if you get my drift.