[Avodah] Child Convert

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 09:38:25AM -0400, Joel Rich via Avodah wrote:
> A non-Jewish baby boy is adopted by Jewish parents and converted by
> the beit din. As per halacha when he reaches 13 he is asked whether he
> wants to be Jewish...

Lemaaseh, this is not actually what happens. Geirus is deOraisa, and
therefore becoming an adult is a matter of shenei sa'aros, not age.
And it's impossible to ask a question within tokh kedei dibbur of that
second hair emerging. (Emerging? Reaching a minimum shiur as per peiyos?

Instead, if the geir qatan was living an observant life (plus or minus
normal adolescent and usual human weaknesses) during those months of
their life, the geirus is chal.

Some batei din may make a ceremony out of qabbalas ol mitzvos to solemnize
the event. But halachically, such a question has little merit. And what
if the answer doesn't match the action? According to R Zvi Flaum (who
headed the beis din in my son's case), it can only complicate the issue.

As for what I think is the real question:
>            When he later makes up his mind, What is his status at that
> later time? does it depend whether he decides to be Jewish or not? is
> there a retroactive impact?

Yes, it is lemafreia. The case in the gemara is a giyores qetana who
converted before 3 years and then marries a kohein while still a qetanah.
(According to R Shimon who holds this is allowed.) She is allowed to
eat terumah, because there is a chazaqah (or was it a rov?) that she
would accept her geirus since that's the life she is growing up in. But
regardless of the chazaqah or rov, you see that she is Jewish even before
qabbalas ol mitzvos as long as the qabbalah (implicitly) happens.

See the Minchas Chinukh 283, par. "vehinei leshitas haRa"m".

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 The Maharal of Prague created a golem, and
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   this was a great wonder. But it is much more
Author: Widen Your Tent      wonderful to transform a corporeal person into a
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF    "mensch"!     -Rav Yisrael Salanter