Rabbis ease conversion rules

Abraham was a late-in-life convert. Moses married an Ethiopian gentile who some say later joined the Jewish faith. More than 3,500 years later, intermarriage and conversion remain hotly contested issues within Judaism.

Yet nearly 50 percent of married Jews today are wedded to someone of a different faith.

Faced with that reality, American Jewish leaders have delicately sidestepped a centuries-old prohibition against proselytizing and launched new efforts to convert non-Jewish spouses.

Leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements outlined initiatives to unmix mixed marriages at denominationwide conventions last year. Now even Orthodox rabbis, the staunchest opponents of interfaith marriage, are exploring ways to encourage conversions.

Recently, 130 Orthodox rabbis from five continents gathered at the Westin Diplomat Resort in Hollywood, Fla., to outline new approaches to interfaith marriages and conversion. The meeting — sponsored by the New York group Eternal Jewish Family — provoked groundbreaking discussions among Jewish legal scholars on how to simplify the long and involved Orthodox conversion process, participants said.

"When there's an intermarriage, the Torah considers it to be a serious violation of Jewish law," said Rabbi Leib Tropper, who heads Eternal Jewish Family's program to "streamline" conversion for members of interfaith couples. "We want to remedy a problem. At the same time, we don't want to compromise on standards."

Tropper and other Orthodox rabbis say they hope to ease some restrictions on conversions, including a mandatory waiting period of a year or more. According to Jewish law, a rabbi is supposed to turn away a potential convert three times before even considering the request. But some Orthodox rabbis are now softening their position.

Jewish leaders from more liberal sects say they've urged outreach to interfaith families for years.

Rabbi Terry Bookman of Temple Beth Am, a Reform synagogue in Pinecrest, Fla., says he has been encouraging conversions since he arrived at Beth Am 11 years ago — a controversial stance in a religion that staunchly discourages evangelism.

"It wasn't always a very popular idea, but now the Reform movement is catching on," Bookman said. "The Jewish community needs to be more open about outreach to the unchurched."