[Avodah] Stam yeinam of Giyur Candidates

[Michael Makovi]

At my yeshiva, there is a situation of many people in the process of
doing giyur. Now then, we have an issue of yayin nesech; students
bring wine to the communal Shabbat meal, and then we have a whole
thing about making sure that no non-Jews touch the wine, or pour
seconds into their cups without washing their cups out first, etc.
It's like walking on eggshells. But surely, we don't want to embarrass
these people!

(Whether or not the averah of shaming a ger technically applies to
these people, I don't see a need to exploit loopholes and be a
scoundrel with the Torah's permission; "Do what is good and right in
the eyes of G-d". In any case, it is an averah to shame people in
general, gerim or not. And even if one says this mitzvah (to avoid
shaming) only applies to Jews, again, why should we exploit loopholes?
Plus, there's always Meiri, who seems to be halacha l'maaseh according
to R' Hirsch, R' Kook, R' Ahron Soloveichik, R' Herzog, R' Yosef
Eliyahu Henkin, R' Yehiel Weinberg, R' Hayim David Halevi...etc. etc.
according to Rabbi Dr. David Berger.)

I asked Rabbi Marc Angel if he knew a solution. He said he knew no
halachic solution, other than a teshuva of the Rambam that honey
renders wine impervious to nesech. He suggested that people put a
smidge of honey (the tiniest little insignificant bit will do) into
their wine before any gentiles have a chance to handle it.

Later, I was speaking to a rabbi of mine, and he told me that Rabbi
Nathan Lopes Cardozo had showed him, a few years ago, a teshuva of
Dayan Grossnass of England, Shu"t Leib Arye volume One or Two (he
didn't remember which, and I haven't had a chance to investigate),
that ruled that once a person commits to doing giyur, his yayin is no
longer a halachic issue; he is a yehudi as far as his yayin is
concerned.

A question that's occurred to me, and which I have sent to Rabbi Angel
(so his reply is pending): what of people who have not committed to
doing Orthodox giyur, but only because they already (wrongly) believe
themselves to be Jews. That is, people with a Jewish father, people
with non-Orthodox giyur, etc. These people honestly believe they are
Jewish, and were they to be convinced that they truly are NOT Jewish,
they'd of course commit to doing Orthodox giyur. The only reason they
don't pursue Orthodox giyur is that they don't realize they need it to
be Jewish. Now then, should these people be any worse than a stam
non-Jew who's committed to giyur? It seems to me that these people's
wine should be kosher just as the Orthodox giyur candidate's is.

(While on the subject of people doing giyur: many Israelis seem to
think it is perfectly alright to treat these people as shabbos goyim,
asking giyur candidates to turn on their lights. I hope I don't need
to explain why I find this utterly disgusting, revolting, wretched,
and putrid. These people exploiting the giyur candidates have no
derech eretz, have no humanity. I have spoken to giyur candidates
about this; almost invariably, they find this extremely embarrassing.
I cannot understand why these people will come to my yeshiva and ask,
"Do you have any non-Jews here?"; it's absolutely horrible, and as far
as I'm concerned, these people are rejecting the mitzvot bein adam
l'havero bichlal; these people, as far as I'm concerned, may as well
come up to the faces of these giyur candidates, spit, kick, throw mud,
and taunt and laugh and mock and deride; it's all the same in the end.
I do not understand how anyone who fears G-d can behave in such a
manner.)

Michael Makovi

-- 
Michael Makovi
מיכאל מאקאווי
mikewinddale at gmail.com
http://michaelmakovi.blogspot.com