How do we support students part-way through conversion course?

Dear Rabbi,

We currently have 5 people on our conversion to Judaism programme. They have all completed an Introduction to Judaism course that was facilitated by the last Rabbi before he left. In addition, they have attended a variety of forums, are attending services and are all studying Hebrew.

We are hoping to have at least two of these candidates ready for a Beth Din when you can arrange one in around six months time. But we are needing your guidance on:

   - How we assess what knowledge the candidates have (and what their gaps are)

      

       We are doing a 'audit' of what courses they have attended, but this will not tell us what

       they have actually learned. Yours guidance and help with ways to assess their learning

       would be much appreciated (e.g. Is there an 'exam' we could give them? Would it be

       possible/ useful for you to speak to them?)

  -  Once we know what the gaps are, guidance on how best to fill these?

Rabbi Jonathan responded:

Lovely to hear from you.  

There is a process to assist you with the wonderful opportunity of welcoming people to Judaism - once the studies are completed, there are 'Take Home' Essays to write first.  These can be done from notes, books, internet etc. and partners can assist.  

1) It is easiest to send them to the student as a Word file.

2) I suggest that these are then submitted on computer and someone (your tutor?) goes through them using 'Track Changes' to make major corrections, comments etc.

3) Then send them back to the candidate for consideration.

4) Then send the revised version to the Supervising Rabbi (each person accepted for Conversion with congregations of the Union for Progressive Judaism has to be accepted by a Supervising Rabbi), or, if the Supervising Rabbi is no longer available, to the congregation's Consulting Rabbi (every congregation in the Movement must have a Rabbi or Consulting Rabbi who is a member of the Rabbinic Body, the Moetzah).

5) If the Supervising or Consulting Rabbi is happy, you should then administer the 'Closed Book' paper.  There is no pass mark and no time limit on this - it usually takes up to 2 hours.  It is done without resources (books, phones etc).  This gives the Bet Din an 'inventory' of how much the student has internalised (for obvious reasons, this document should be printed out and not circulated!)

If there are major errors or gaps, teach them.  If necessary, resit.  Then send that back to the Supervising or Consulting Rabbi.  

If they are happy with both these papers (and you report that the student can decipher and 'read' Hebrew to the best of their ability, and have been participating actively in the congregation for at least a year) then we can set a Bet Din for them.  

We have a regular Bet Din in Melbourne and in Sydney.  For one candidate, it is usually better for them to come to these.  Once there is more than one candidate for the Bet Din, it may be preferable to set up a local Bet Din (this requires 2 Rabbis or Cantors, both members of the Moetzah).  The cost is split between the candidates, the congregation/s, the UPJ and the Moetzah.  Ritual immersion and circumcision will be required as necessary following acceptance by the Bet Din, and the congregation then arranges a welcome ceremony (which may be private or public depending on the wishes of those just accepted).   

WHEN THE TORAH PORTION IS AHEAD OF THE ORTHODOX

WHY ARE WE RUNNING AHEAD?

I know we are progressive, but why have we progressed to be a full week ahead in all our Torah readings?  We read Acharei Mot on Saturday 1^st May when most other synagogues read it on 8^th May, we start the book of Numbers (and read the first portion, Bmidbar)’ on 4^th June when others are starting it on 11^th, and even on 6^th August we are reading Masei when most congregations are reading Mattot-Masei?  

The short and easy answer is that we follow the Israeli Torah readings.  The more involved explanation is that the tradition developed that outside of Israel, where Jews were uncertain of exactly whether the new moon had been sighted and thus a new month declared in Israel, would mark two first days of festivals.  If one was not correct, it must be the other.  So each festival became a day longer, the one day Shavu’ot of became two, and the seven day festivals of Pesach and Sukkot became eight days.  This also explains second night seder – it is really the first night (Seder night), but repeated on the next night in case that was really the first night!   

By two thousand years ago, astronomers (some of whom were the Rabbis themselves) were able to determine exactly when the new moon would appear and produced detailed tables years in advance.  But tradition had taken hold, and that was that!  Until the Progressive movement came along and said ‘we know when the new moon is, and we only need observe festivals as instructed in the Torah!’.

But how does this explain why we are a week ahead in our Torah readings at the moment?  Because for us the seven days of Pesach started on 22^nd April and concluded on the sunset of 29^th April, whereas the orthodox (outside of Israel) continued to celebrate Pesach until the end of Shabbat on 30^th April.  So Shabbat was not Pesach for us (and hence we returned to the regular Torah reading cycle) but it was for the orthodox (who instead read special readings for the last day of Pesach).

Actually this happens in many years, but usually only for a few weeks at a time.  But because this is a leap year in the Hebrew (as well as Gregorian) calendar, there is only one ‘doubled-up’ Torah reading, Matot-Ma’asei.  (Doubled-up readings ‘take up the slack’ in a normal year, so that there are enough Torah readings to go around even in a leap year with an extra month in it).  So from Shabbat 30^th April, all the way through to Shabbat 30^th July, we will be a week ahead – so if you want to know what happens next in the Torah story, come and hear it at LBC!

(You can get the Progressive Torah reading calendar on Google calendar by searching PROGRESSIVE JUDAISM CALENDAR WITH SHABBAT AND FESTIVALS or by using the link oi25cfvcm19vdoquc8p3abif68@group.calendar.google.com).