[Avodah] Child Convert

[Akiva Miller]

R' Micha Berger wrote:

> We aren't depriving the bar/t mitzvah of their say as to
> whether to accept ol mitzvos or not.
> ...
> But they are choosing to behaviorally be observant.

Are they really *choosing* to behaviorally be observant?

To me, this seems to be a case of UNinformed consent, and I can't
understand why this would be considered a legally valid consent. (I *DO*
understand that in Chazal's view, there is a presumption that being Jewish
is a zechus. The part I don't get is why we don't verify the presumption
once the child is old enough.)

> The real question is more the qabbalas ol mitzvos of someone
> we cannot know of whether they're meqavel ol mitzvos or just
> socially Orthoprax. A problem in general with geirus, until
> beis din or their eidim can read minds...

I will concede that we cannot read minds, and that it is possible for a
ger-applicant to fool the Beis Din of their sincerity. But you can at least
see that this ger-applicant verbalized his willing acceptance of the
mitzvos. He was fully informed, and had the ability to say "no", and yet
went through the procedure anyway. This is a good example of "devarim
shebalev aynam devarim" - the legal system can't care about what you're
hiding in your head.

But the ger katan had none of this.

> ... all it will do will create a halachic mess about how
> much to doubt those actions.

It is so easy for me to imagine a ger katan who was never told that he/she
was adopted, kvetching to a friend, "I really don't like all these mitzvos.
I wish there was a way to opt out. I had a dream that I was adopted and
converted as a baby, and that I really *could* opt out, but those are my
real birth parents, so I'm stuck."

Talk about messes, what is that kid's status? Has he retroactively undone
the geirus? Does it make a difference if that friend happens to know the
truth about the adoption?

If/when such a mess arises, then deal with it. It's not the only sort of
mess that results from mixing halacha with free-willed choices. Meanwhile,
denying this option seems very cruel to me.

Akiva Miller
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