Question: I was converted to Judaism as a baby, but raised as a Catholic. Am I Jewish?
I was converted to Judaism as a baby - with immersion in the mikveh and with papers. My Jewish father then died when I was 2 years old. My Catholic mother raised me as Catholic religion (but I was never baptized). Now I am in my twenties and thinking about being Jewish. Am I already Jewish? Do I need to convert to be accepted as a Jew?
Answer: Thank you for your question. Your letter explains that you are a twenty-four year old woman who was converted to Judaism as a baby through the ritual of mikveh. Your father was Jewish, your mother is not. Since your father's death, when you were two years old, you have received no Jewish education and have not practiced Judaism. Your question is whether you can be "an accepted Jew" as you wish to be.
Usually, when I answer this kind of "personal status" question, I find that Jewish law is clear, but there are difficulties in making personal, practical choices. Your situation is just the opposite. The law is unclear, but my practical recommendation to you is simple and direct.
Are you Jewish according to Jewish law? It doesn't really matter. If you want to be a Jew, you must find a Jewish community that is meaningful and rewarding to you, and you must join it. That is all that really matters. Nobody is going to tell you that you don't belong or that you are not welcome. If it is the right community for you, they will welcome you with open arms. Go find them.
As for the legalities, as I said, they are complicated. You were converted as an infant. However, from a traditional point of view, such a conversion must be confirmed by your Jewish observance when you reach adulthood. Has the time for that confirmation already passed, requiring you to convert again? Different traditional authorities will have different answers to that question.
From a Reform point of view, you are a patrilineal Jew (having only a Jewish father). According to most Reform rabbis, such a Jew must confirm his or her Jewish identity with "appropriate and timely acts of identification with the Jewish faith and people." Your conversion ceremony certainly was both appropriate and timely, so you are a Jew. However, being a Jew won't mean anything unless you know something about being Jewish and are part of a Jewish community.
In either case, the prescription is the same: Find a teacher and a community and be a Jew. It should be no harder for you than for any other Jew.
Best wishes,
Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser
