Sep 3, 2018

Rabbanut monopoly on Judaism strikes again

Some female Arab singer just converted to Judaism through a private beis din. The Rabbanut would not allow her to convert, supposedly because they insisted she give up her singing career and she refused to do so. So she went to a private beis din and went through the process.

I know nothing about her, her motives, or the private beis din that converted her, but assuming the beis din is Orthodox, this woman, Nasrin Kadri - now to be known as Bracha Kadri - is Jewish, though neither the Rabbanut of Israel nor the Ministry of the Interior will not recognize her as such. If the beis din is not Orthodox that is a different story.

I don't know why singing should be a reason to prevent someone from converting. There are plenty of female singers and female bands that are religious and perform in public, even if just for female audiences, but not just. It is not even a sin to sing, not even to sing in public. The sin, if any, would be on the men going to her concerts. So by saying she would not give up singing is not even saying that she intends to continue living a life of sin. When they hold a monopoly they can do what they want, even if it is not based in halacha.

sources: Kipa, Haredim10





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14 comments:

  1. Biased
    reporting

    the Alternative
    is better than
    the monopoly ?

    had this monopoly been broken
    6 decades ago
    would we be a coherent
    people today?



    Only where there is no way out there is utter devotion; and devotion is the touchstone of every truth in the world
    [translated]

    Nachman bialik

    ReplyDelete
  2. I dont know but all around the world the various countries dont have one body controlling Judaism and Judaism has been fine and thrived in many of those places.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lord Jakubovitz a"h
    disputed that
    those countries
    were characterized as
    'chaos' by him
    including the US

    ReplyDelete
  4. Interesting that Arutz 7 covered this, but didn't mention that the conversion was done through a private Beit Din:
    https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/251496

    The Arutz 7 article says that she studied under "Rabbi Dudu Dery" who I had never heard of, but a google search showed that there is a רב דודו דרעי who is a singer with his own YouTube channel:
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXDeJsnnMAndQZ2xox91pyg


    Also Rafi, with regard to your comment "all around the world the various countries don't have one body controlling Judaism and Judaism has been fine and thrived in many of those places." True that there are many countries without a centralized Rabbanut (the US), but there are many cities and countries that do have a single recognized Rabbanut or Beit Din (Toronto, Melbourne, Sidney, the UK spring to mind but there are many more).
    Not sure how you define a thriving Judaism, but it is certainly easier to determine who is Jewish, and who had a legitimate wedding, divorce, or conversion in a location with a single established Beit Din.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. None of the places you list are anything like Israel.

      Delete
    2. Toronto has two batei din doing gerut, neither recognizing each other. One recognized (pretty much) by the rabbanut, the other the RCA GPS.

      Delete
    3. All Rabbis,it seems in Toronto,are on the Vaad

      There's been some friction between "old town" and "newer town"and similar


      The Vaad does have final Verdict when they actually get together

      Delete
  5. Rafi, what's your red line as regards to rejecting prospective converts?

    Perhaps, in this case, it was not just that she was "singing" but the type of performances she gives.

    Here's a clip from less than a year ago, when she was in the midst of the conversion process:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiQv8OM0YCM

    I would guess that her desire to convert has to do with wanting to more fully integrate into Israeli Jewish society, given the unlikelihood that she will either get married or have much of a career among moslems at this point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And this, from a week ago:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6NGwcskKWI

      Of course, the Rabbanut converts people all the time who have no commitment to even basic halacha, but perhaps a case where the flaunting of halacha is so public should be treated differently?

      Delete
    2. I opened one of the clips but didnt have patience or interest to watch, though in the brief clicking around I didnt see her doing anything unusual, though there was a side dancer there dressed inappropriately.
      Besides for that, I am not anybody that needs to develop a policy or red line. I dont know anything about her or her lifestyle. She is not Jewish and is not obligated to keep torah and mitzvos like a Jew. Her future commitment is more of an issue than her lifestyle as a goy

      Delete
    3. Perhaps you
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiQv8OM0YCM

      Delete
  6. Israel should be different than other countries. Is is our Jewish country given by G-D to us together with our Torah laws. There should be only one Rabbinic Authority (Orthodox, according to Halacha)! Without that safety net, things spiral downward and eventually anything goes and the nation can be split with a true Jewish people and a mock one, c'v. Other countries, is another story because we are guests no matter what one thinks or says in those respective countries and we live our separate lives as Jews in those countries. Those who want to assimilate there is their choice and thus there is the intermarriage and assimilation problems, r'l. Israel is not the US, Europe, Asia, etc. Simple!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rafi,
    How do you know that she was asked to give up her career entirely? It's very odd if a beis din asked her to not sing for women. More likely they asked her to stop singing for men and she refused, and this was the only beis din that allowed her to continue her singing career without change. Your links to ch10 and kipa souind more like my version...
    Do you have a source for the way you presented this?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it was in one of the articles on the subject. I thought I linked to it but I dont see it in these articles. I'll look for it

      Delete