The current procedure of Jewish marriage
is doomed.
Both Israel and the Diaspora countries have abandoned public records on religion. To verify whether a prospective spouse is Jewish is almost impossible. Until the early twentieth century, births and marriages were registered at synagogues. For the last century, the events have been registered in secular institutions; very few Jews maintained religious registration.
In Israel, officiating rabbis seek any ad hoc confirmation of the prospective spouses’ Jewishness: Jewish-sounding names of grandparents, old registration papers, stuff like that. These papers can be forged, and are forged very often.
In America, there’s no way to verify your secular spouse’s Jewishness whatsoever. Her parents came from different countries, their documents are either lost or could be forged, and foreign grandparents are untraceable. Synagogue records are worthless: anyone can attend even Orthodox shuls, to say nothing of the Reform ones. Religious marriage and circumcision are conducted on oral evidence. In practice, less-than-Orthodox Jewishness amounts to the proclamation of one’s self-identification as a Jew.
It seems that in a generation or two the world Jewry will be split into religious Jews with proper synagogue records of their identity, Israelis, and foreigners who identify themselves as Jews. If that seems like a workable scenario, consider the American black Jews—the blacks who announced themselves the real Jews.
In the past, several Jewish sects existed in parallel without much intermingling: Karaites, rabbanites, Nazirites, Essenes, and others. Some of them eventually assimilated, others persevered and now are the sole claimants to Judaism. A reasonable expectation is that various fake Jews, whether blacks or Reconstructionists, will assimilate soon. Those with strong Jewish identity will look to marry Jews with similar identification; some identities will proliferate, others will die out. After a couple of generations, the definition of Jewishness will be clear again.
Both Israel and the Diaspora countries have abandoned public records on religion. To verify whether a prospective spouse is Jewish is almost impossible. Until the early twentieth century, births and marriages were registered at synagogues. For the last century, the events have been registered in secular institutions; very few Jews maintained religious registration.
In Israel, officiating rabbis seek any ad hoc confirmation of the prospective spouses’ Jewishness: Jewish-sounding names of grandparents, old registration papers, stuff like that. These papers can be forged, and are forged very often.
In America, there’s no way to verify your secular spouse’s Jewishness whatsoever. Her parents came from different countries, their documents are either lost or could be forged, and foreign grandparents are untraceable. Synagogue records are worthless: anyone can attend even Orthodox shuls, to say nothing of the Reform ones. Religious marriage and circumcision are conducted on oral evidence. In practice, less-than-Orthodox Jewishness amounts to the proclamation of one’s self-identification as a Jew.
It seems that in a generation or two the world Jewry will be split into religious Jews with proper synagogue records of their identity, Israelis, and foreigners who identify themselves as Jews. If that seems like a workable scenario, consider the American black Jews—the blacks who announced themselves the real Jews.
In the past, several Jewish sects existed in parallel without much intermingling: Karaites, rabbanites, Nazirites, Essenes, and others. Some of them eventually assimilated, others persevered and now are the sole claimants to Judaism. A reasonable expectation is that various fake Jews, whether blacks or Reconstructionists, will assimilate soon. Those with strong Jewish identity will look to marry Jews with similar identification; some identities will proliferate, others will die out. After a couple of generations, the definition of Jewishness will be clear again.
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