Archive for the ‘EJF Seminars’ Category
Intermarried Couples at Special Seminar in Odessa
Written by Admin on October 14, 2009 – 12:18 pm -ODESSA, UKRAINE – A group of 15 intermarried couples, who are interested in becoming fully observant Jews by going through universally accepted Jewish conversions, participated in a two-day seminar on the process of conversion to Judaism. The keynote speaker was Rabbi Shimon Grilius, the “refusenik” of the ‘70’s, who is considered one of the fathers of the teshuva movement in Russia. Rabbi Grilius was incarcerated for five years under the Communist regime, ultimately leaving for Eretz Israel in 1974. The fact that such a seminar could take place in the Ukraine was not lost on the lecturers, which also included Rabbi Mordechai Neugroschel and Rabbi Doron Kornbluth. Menachem Lubinsky delivered a message from Rabbi Leib Tropper, dean of Yeshiva Kol Yaakov/Horizons and the Chairman of the Rabbinic Committee of the Eternal Jewish Family: “EJF is proud to have come to the Ukraine to sponsor this seminar for couples who are sincerely interested in making the arduous journey to authentic Judaism.”
Tags: EJF, intermarried couples, Jewish conversion, rabbi tropperPosted in EJF Seminars, Jewish conversion | No Comments »
Morristown Seminar Reaches Out to Mechanchim and Kiruv Professionals
Written by ejf on August 18, 2009 – 8:55 pm -
Eternal Jewish Family Holds a 2 Day Seminar for Outreach Organizations
ON MAY 24th, Eternal Jewish Family responded to the spiritually devastating impact of intermarriage and assimilation on many Jewish communities around the world by hosting a two day interactive seminar for educators and professionals from leading kiruv (outreach) organizations. Renowned lecturers and leading gedolei yisroel presented practical advice and concrete ways to face the fallout of improper conversions to Judaism, such as families who suddenly discover they are not Jewish, broken engagements and denied citizenship in Israel.
Rabbi Tropper and Harav Reuven Feinstein Speak about Challenges in Outreach and Jewish Conversion
The lecturers called upon the rabbanim to recognize their responsibility of ensuring that each geirus in klal yisroel is halachically valid. Rabbi Leib Tropper, Chairman of Eternal Jewish Family’s Rabbinic Committee, mentioned Eternal Jewish Family’s accomplishments in the US, Europe and Israel, whose office is flooded with requests for help from numerous individuals regarding issues in intermarriage and Jewish conversion. He stressed that, while geirus (Jewish conversion) is a complex and often controversial concept, klal yisroel has an obligation to meet its challenges. Harav Reuven Feinstein, chairman of Eternal Jewish Family’s Halachic Committee, expressed the hope that while the kiruv movement has responded to the need to provide each Jew with the opportunity to learn about their Jewish heritage and identity, much more needs to be done to head off potential intermarriage. “All Jews count. Klal Yisroel is obligated to utilize all of its resources to be mekareiv baalei teshuva and ensure the proper lineage of every Jew,” said Rav Feinstein. He noted that Eternal Jewish Family has filled a need in the world of kiruv, which regularly confronts issues regarding the yichus of baalei teshuva. Harav Feinstein and others mentioned the psak that permits one to be mekarev the non-Jew in intermarriage for the sake of simultaneously being mekarev the Jewish spouse.
Harav Kaminetsky Gives Eternal Jewish Family a Brocho
Harav Shmuel Kaminetsky, Rosh Yeshiva of the Philadelphia Yeshiva, gave a brocha to Eternal Jewish Family for its work and mentioned the “vast problem we are dealing with here in America because of intermarriage and Jewish conversion. To illustrate the accomplishments of a proper geirus, Harav Kaminetsky used the example of Ruth, whose Jewish conversion (geirus) escorted her to the pinnacle of greatness among the Jewish people. Other presenters included Rabbi Nota Schiller, Rabbi Nachum Eisenstein, Rabbi Yonasan Rosenblum, Rabbi Dovid Shochet, Rabbi Dovid Gottleib, Rabbi Mordechai Fishberg, Rabbi Mordechai Neugroschel, and Rabbi Doron Kornbluth.
Tags: Eternal Jewish Family, intermarriage, Jewish conversion, outreach, rabbi tropperPosted in EJF Seminars | No Comments »
