<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">For purposes of halacha I was under the impression the relationship is the same as one between biological parents and children, (and if the biological parents are unknown</font></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">then there should be a conversion).</font></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial">However, according to Sota 49a</font><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"> </font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;">the biblical obligation to honor one's parents applies only to biological parents, not to adoptive parents.</span></font></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;">And yet Megilla 13a states: "Whoever raises an orphaned boy or girl in his home is viewed by the Torah as if he himself had brought the child into the world."</span></font></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;">Sh'mos Rabbah 456 asserts that God possesses treasuries from which he rewards the righteous, and amongst these treasuries there is a special treasury reserved </span></font></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;">for those who take in and raise orphaned children. And it is proper for an adopted child to say kaddish for his adoptive parents, especially if they expressed the desire</span></font></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;">for their adoptive child to say kaddish.</span></font></span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 22px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 22px;">It would seem to me that if the biological parents have abandoned their baby, the child has no obligation to seek them out. </span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 22px;"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="5"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 22px;">I'm sure there will be much disagreement, however.</span></font></div></div></body></html>