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From: samet@sfmag.UUCP (A.I.Samet)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: "Jewishness" of non-blood-relations
Message-ID: <520@sfmag.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 10-Mar-85 10:17:32 EST
Article-I.D.: sfmag.520
Posted: Sun Mar 10 10:17:32 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 11-Mar-85 04:41:33 EST
References: <146@pyuxww.UUCP> <9039@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Summit, NJ
Lines: 22

>.... Is it then true
> that an adopted child (of unknown parentage) or an infant foundling,
> raised from just after birth, according to all the laws and principles,
> but still also of unknown parentage, can never be Jewish, unless they go
> through a conversion process as an adult? (Or is that not even enough?)
> 
> This is no criticism; just a query.
> 
> Will Martin

A child whose parents convert, or similarly, one being raised  to
observe all the mitzvas  by adopted parents, can undergo a ritual
immersion and circumcision (boys). Since conversion  requires  an
act  of  choice  however,  and  a child is not considered legally
capable of  choice  until  bar/bas  mitzvah  age,  the  issue  of
acceptance  of  the  mitzvas cannot be finally resolved until the
child reaches that age. Continuing to practice the  mitzvas  upon
reaching  bar  mitzvah  is  taken  to  be evidence that the adult
accepts the preliminary choice his  parents  or  adopted  parents
made on his behalf. At that point the conversion is considered to
be final.
				Yitzchok Samet