Question:
Dear Rabbis
I have a question regarding the conversion on Judaism.
- Can a person who doesn’t have Jewish parents convert to Judaism or do you need at least a Jewish mother to convert to Judaism?
- If a person who has a Jewish mother by religion but believes in Muhammad to be a true prophet of god and Jesus to be a messiah, will he still be considered Jew by religion despite he has a Jewish mother who accepts both Jesus and Muhammad as true prophets? Including Don’t believe in God, eats pork etc.
- If a person who doesn’t have a Jewish mother, and converts to Judaism, can he believe in both Jesus and Muhammad and still be Jewish or he will no longer be considered a Jew?
- If the person who is already circumcised, and converts to Judaism, what will happen?
Please reply
Answer:
Hello,
- According to Jewish law, a person with a Jewish mother is a Jew and has no need to “convert”, on the other hand if his mother is not Jewish, even if his father is, he is not considered Jewish unless he converts.
- As stated, a person who has Jewish mother is considered Jewish, and if he believes in other powers, etc. that would be considered a Jew who committed idolatry. It is unfortunate that he wasn’t brought up knowing what is religion is about, and he always has the opportunity to return to practicing his religion, but nevertheless he is still considered a Jew.
- One of the main parts of converting to Judaism, is to accept the Laws and commandment as given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. A person can not convert to Judaism and still worship idols, or still be part of another religion. That cannot be considered converted, but fooling around There is no obligation for a gentile to convert, but if it is being done, it has to be done correctly. In fact, a gentile who is not willing to keep all of the commandment, can still get reward in the world to come if he keeps the seven Noahide commandments.
- A person who converts and was already circumcised, will undergo a very minor process called hatofas dam bris, where a minute amount of blood will be taken from him, in order to be considered a Jewish circumcision.
Best wishes
