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Increasing number of Gentiles adopted as children dropping their Jewish status

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wonga66:
Is a gentile child adopted by Jewish parents and raised as an Orthodox Jew Halachically required:

1. To be informed of his origins once he reaches adulthood ie 13?

2. Is he required to make a formal declaration affirming his Jewish status?

3. If so, does that formal affirmation to be done in front of a Beth Din? Or are any two witnesses enough?

The reason I ask is because there has been a recent spate of many adopted male and female gentile people, adopted in the 80s, who even though raised Orthodox, even becoming top in their yeshivas and seminaries, who when informed of their gentile origin, have immediately, voluntarily, spontaneously, rancourlessly & calmly relinquish their Jewish status, and happily become Noahides i.e. reverted to being gentiles who believe in Hashem and the Torah, but who are not obligated to keep the 613 mitzvos, and who still love and belong to their adoptive family!

Kahane-Was-Right BT:

--- Quote from: wonga66 on September 18, 2010, 06:34:33 PM ---

The reason I ask is because there has been a recent spate of many adopted male and female gentile people, adopted in the 80s, who even though raised Orthodox, even becoming top in their yeshivas and seminaries, who when informed of their gentile origin, have immediately, voluntarily, spontaneously, rancourlessly & calmly relinquish their Jewish status, and happily become Noahides i.e. reverted to being gentiles who believe in Hashem and the Torah, but who are not obligated to keep the 613 mitzvos, and who still love and belong to their adoptive family!

--- End quote ---

By a "recent spate," you mean you know personally of about 2-4 anecdotal cases like this, or you actually have seen a statistically documented trend of this occurring, demonstrated by a study?   That there would be systematic study of this particular tiny subsection of the population would be surprising to me, but I'd love to see it if there is one.   

From what I understand, the child as soon as he becomes "of age" (bnay mitzvot) must then "protest" (ie, say he doesn't want to be Jewish), and then he's not Jewish.    Otherwise, if they are seen doing a Jewish custom (gemara gives an example for a woman "dat yehudit" I believe was the term used, and gives the example of "separating challah" - ie some custom you find commonly with Jewish women but not some foundational mitzvah or what have you -  it means the person has conceded to their Jewishness and now loses ability to protest.   So it would seem it needs to be done right away if they are thinking about dropping when they are nearing the age of mitzvah obligation, and the gemara I was learning in kethuvoth was in the context of a beth din, but I'm not sure if it just requires a few people to see it, an actual beth din, local rabinnic council, or what.

Kahane-Was-Right BT:
Also, it would seem unfair to wait that long to inform him of his origins.   But if he was never informed, then certainly it can't be considered he is conceding to being Jewish!   So that must also factor into the time limit, how long they waited to let him know he was an adopted gentile.     If they tell him at 15, and right away he says, I'm not Jewish, or whatever,  you would think that's a valid protest because at age 13 he simply didn't know.    Good question though.

MassuhDGoodName:
All I know, is that if one day my parents called me into their room and informed me that I had been adopted from a family of genitals, I would be furious!     >:(

Chai:

--- Quote from: MassuhDGoodName on September 18, 2010, 11:45:20 PM ---All I know, is that if one day my parents called me into their room and informed me that I had been adopted from a family of genitals, I would be furious!     >:(

--- End quote ---
Why?
Because deep down you really hate Judaism? :laugh:

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