Q&A: A Convert Serving as a Judge on a Conversion Court
A Convert Serving as a Judge on a Conversion Court
Question
Can a convert who is a rabbi serve as a judge on a religious court for someone converting?
Answer
Yes. A convert is fit to judge his fellow converts. Especially since nowadays there are no ordained judges, and all judges are inherently disqualified according to the strict letter of the law.
Discussion on Answer
Where do these questions come from? According to Jewish law, a convert can judge his fellow converts but cannot judge a regular Jew from Israel. If that is indeed the law, then it is forbidden to sit with him on a panel that is judging a Jew who is not a convert.
In my opinion, though, there is apparently no barrier to a convert judging, as I explained in my article on the halakhic status of a convert. But that is a different discussion.
"In my opinion, though, there is apparently no barrier to a convert judging, as I explained in my article on the halakhic status of a convert"
Where is that?
Can a convert serve as a judge in monetary cases involving a full-born Jew without telling them that one of the judges is a convert?