conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
So, remember a few months ago it occurred to me that baby Hebecca might be Jewish?

I mean, the question would probably be moot for anybody but Darryl, who of course is Darryl, because her Jewish genetic mother a. doesn't care and b. doesn't really care about having any sort of relationship with her anyway.

But Darryl is Darryl, so I googled this and found out something interesting. Although the Reform position is pretty much what I expected (being raised in a Jewish household is very important, Hebby isn't being raised in a Jewish household and, again, Rebecca doesn't care and doesn't care, therefore Hebby would have to convert), apparently the widely accepted opinion otherwise is that it's the gestational mother who matters - and not the genetic mother.

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-egg-donors/

So unless Heather has been Jewish this whole time and never told us (possible, if unlikely), Hebby is still not Jewish.

...this probably still wouldn't matter to Darryl if anybody mentioned it to him. I mean, again, he's Darryl, with all that implies.

I had no idea. I really assumed it was the other way around. This information is wholly useless in my life, and yet I'm still glad I looked it up.

Date: 2021-02-04 05:45 pm (UTC)
frandroid: A faroher, emblem of the Zoroastrian religion (religion)
From: [personal profile] frandroid
That is fascinating.

Now what if the gestational mother converts to judaism during the pregnancy?

Oh, I could read the article and find the answer!
Edited Date: 2021-02-04 05:58 pm (UTC)

Date: 2021-02-05 06:00 pm (UTC)
adrian_turtle: (Default)
From: [personal profile] adrian_turtle
Article doesn't say, but recommends that EVERYONE be Jewish if possible just to be on the safe side. I have not read any official rulings on the subject, and my own Talmud study has been limited. (Not modern and not about this, but dealing with some family law. OMG those people loved edge cases.)

In general, they determined status based on birth and not conception. They recognized there was always doubt about conception. I don't mean they had no idea how babies were made. I mean they couldn't tell if a baby was conceived 9 months earlier, or 8.5, or 8. Knowing what day a baby is born let them be clear about the status of the mother on that day. (Jewish or not? Married or not? Married to whom? Etc.)

The other "just to be on the safe side" approach is to have a conversion ceremony for the infant, just as people do when adopting a baby whose biological mother's religion is not known.

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