[Avodah] Geirut for marriage

[Micha Berger]

Reawakening this thread again, to point people to an article I just found
from R' Joshua E Broyde and RMJBroyde on the subject in the Latest Meorot
(a YCT publication, part of Edah's legacy)
<http://www.yctorah.org/content/view/739/10>.

The article itself is at 
<http://www.yctorah.org/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,1774>

Abstract:
    There has been quite a bit of discussion in the academic and rabbinic
    communities regarding Maimonides' view regarding acceptance of
    the commandments as a requirement for conversion. Some assume that
    Maimonides requires acceptance of commandments virtually no different
    than the Tosaphists, while others assume that Rambam does not require
    acceptance of commandments at all in the conversion process. This
    paper argues that texts in the Maimonides' Mishnah torah demonstrate
    that he indeed requires acceptance of the commandments for conversion,
    and that his omission of this requirement from the central discussion
    in Hilchot issurai bi'ah raises a literary, not a legal question.

Teaser from near the end, to show how the post revolves around the same
point that was at the focus of this thread:
    One last question remains: Why doesn't Rambam explicitly state in
    Chapter 13 of Hilkhot issurei bi'ah that acceptance of commandments
    is needed? Stylistically, this is the most logical place to say so,
    since the entire chapter is devoted to other requirements prior
    to conversion. We have no answer and leave it to future students
    of Rambam to answer the following perplexing stylistic question:
    Given that Rambam very clearly maintains that qabbalat ha-mitsvot
    is necessary for a valid conversion, why does he not record that
    ruling in Chapter 13 rather than in Chapters 12 and 14?

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             When you come to a place of darkness,
micha at aishdas.org        you don't chase out the darkness with a broom.
http://www.aishdas.org   You light a candle.
Fax: (270) 514-1507        - R' Yekusiel Halberstam of Klausenberg zt"l