The giur factory rolls into Boston

On the subject of mentalblog.com: A transatlantic love story:

Yidden pay attention. A major well financed effort is afoot to change the procedural course of the orthodox conversions as the Eternal Jewish Family opens its third conference this afternoon in Boston.

Background:
Jewish Press: The Eternal Jewish Family.
FailedMessiah.com: New Orthodox Conversion Effort Aimed At Intermarried.
Canonist: �Eternal Jewish Family� and the Chief Rabbinate Conversion Issue.
Adderabbi: The Rabbanut and RCA Conversions: Clarifications and Response.
Jewish Press: Progress On Conversions.
Dei'ah veDibur: Maranan Verabonon Direct it to Go Ahead.
Interfaithfamily.com: Outreach, from Reform to Orthodox.

Money: Obviously the big money push behind the effort. Let me tell you Rabbi Amar might go for fun to meet the Kazakh Mufti, but Rabbi Amar, Rabbi Lau and other dignitaries will not come to the farkakte city with a quarter million Jews like Boston for nothing. Honestly people here do not understand why they have chosen the Bean Town as the venue. Officially the effort is supported by Lillian Jean Kaplan Foundation and Tom Kaplan. Its been alleged that Rabbi Leib Tropper who runs BT yeshiva in Monsey Kol Yaakov helped convert one of Tom Kaplan�s family relatives. Mr. Kaplan in turn recognized the need for progress.

Allegedly Rabbi Leib Tropper was married to a daughter of Rav Margolin, the student of Rav Aaron Kotler, who used to live in Crown Heights. He divorced his first wife and shortly married a woman whom he was mekarev to Yiddishkeit. Some say that this resume should disqualify Rabbi Leib Tropper from spearheading this global organization. I thought about this and decided that it is not a problem, this is in the spirit of our forefathers. You want a man who understands love not some eunuch lawyer geek from Lakewood.

Leadership: The conferences are careful to put a video of Rav Elyashuv at the head of the table witch makes other orthodox denominations apprehensive. Perhaps this is some Yeshivish conspiracy to the exclusion of other groups. It would be interesting to examine the standing of the participants visa vi Mi Hu Yehudi campaign by the Rebbe. Wasn�t the halachic standard that the Rebbe wanted to introduce is in essence what is attempted now by the Eternal Jewish Family together with the Rabbanut?

Goals: What does Eternal Jewish Family has in mind, a centralized list of Rabbis who can and who can�t perform orthodox conversions? The conversion fees must be a tremendous temptation. Understandably some families will spare no expense to rectify their grave personal anomaly. Is it the plan of the Eternal Jewish Family to standardize fees? More importantly are they trying to say that only Rabbis on their list can be paid to perform the immersion?

Rabbinic politics: One of the Rabbis on Boston Beis Din already indicated that he was slighted and he will not attend the conference. The following questions are of interest. Is it true that R. Aharon Feldman from Baltimore withdrew his participation in this event, and if so, why? Also, why the leadership of the Chicago Rabbinical council will not attend?

I took this photo half an hour ago. Rabbi Tropper with Harav Herschel Schachter in the foreground (I think).

Schneur Zalman of NY commenting: Frankly this conference does not interest me as Orthodoxy is so loosely organized and there are so many Lone Ranger Orthodox and (not so) Orthodox rabbis that very little control can be exerted over them. But as far as rabbi Tropper goes, let us not become callous to some serious issues. Obviously a Jewish layman can do whatever he wants as long as its legal and moral. But lets face it a Rabbi and leader is held to a higher standard. This woman he married was not only someone who he was involved in bringing to orthodoxy, she was also a very attractive model, if my memory serves me correctly. A long story about her appeared in the Women's section of the JEWISH PRESS about 10 years ago. There are many stories about Orthodox Rabbis in good standing who divorced their wives to marry girls who they converted or helped in bringing to Judaism. Nothing wrong, but how does the former wife feel, how do the children feel, when mommy is dumped by a "sexy newcomer" to Judaism? You are right romance is important, but the alternative to Rabbi T. is not a eunech, there are numerous Rabbis, etc. from all sorts of Yeshivoth with "no history " who have the guts, ideals and ability to lead such an organization. Should Orthodoxy reward the concept trophy wives too?

grose commenting: Schneur, go ask Rav Tropper for Mechilah. You all got your facts wrong. Rabbi Tropper was divorced a LONG time before he was mekarev his current wife. He was not mekarev her for the sake of marrying her. He gave a class in NYC that she attended and she (and I know her personally) decided to marry him. In fact, Rabbi Tropper's rebbetzin is an amazing human being (and yes, she was beautiful enough to model - but she also graduated Ivy League with a degree in psychiatry and ran a successful business) who happens to be on very good terms with his ex-wife. The divorce had NOTHING to do with the current rebbetzin.

Schneur Zalman of NY commenting: If the facts about R. Tropper are not as I stated (and nowhere did I accuse him of any moral, or halachic misdeeds), then I apologize to the readers for misleading and potentially hurtful information. As I said rabbis have to be held to a higher standard. If in fact he was long divorced etc, I am wrong and apologize to him and the readers. As Reb Yoel Kahan said - "taisi" and I am sorry.

Participants: Harav Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, the Bostoner Rebbe, Harav Reuven Feinstein, the well known Rosh Yeshiva and posek, Harav Shlomo Amar, Chief Rabbi of Israel, Harav Yisroel Meir Lau, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Harav Herschel Schachter, Harav Nachum Eisenstein, Harav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi, Harav Shmuel Dishon and Harav Moshe Soloveitchik.

Harav Pinchas Goldschmidt, Chief Rabbi of Moscow; Harav Yaacov Katz, Rosh Kollel Yad Chaim Mordechai, Cleveland; Harav Shmuel Lazer Stern, Chief Dayan, Beit Din of Harav Shmuel Wosner Shiita, Bnei Brak; Harav Pesach Lemer, Executive Vice President, National Council of Young Israel; Harav Mordechai Neugroschel, noted international lecturer; Harav Shlomo Rybak, Rabbinical Council of America; Mr. Tom Kaplan and Yehuda Dovid Kaplan, EJF Chairmen; Mr. Dovid Rosengard, Esq. - Master of Ceremonies; Mr. Marvin Jacob, Esq., Conference Chairman; Mr. Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Conference co-chairman and Mr. Nathan Lewin, noted Washington constitutional attorney, Conference co-chairman.

Not a single Chabad Rabbi (unless you count Nathan Lewin as a honorable chabadnik)

Eternal Jews Family future conferences:
March 2007, Amsterdam, Holland
October 2007, Washington, DC
January 2008, Buenos Aires, Argentina
June 2008, Jerusalem

UPDATE: mentalblog.com: Forgetfulness