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Adoption in Judaism

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DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6385.2012.00701.x

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276 Dialog: A Journal of Theology • Volume 51, Number 4 • Winter 2012 • December

Adoption in Judaism
By Ophir Yarden
Abstract: This article examines of the place of adoption in Jewish thought and law. Adoption is undocu-
mented in the Hebrew Bible, but some verses suggest—or have been said to describe—realities similar to
adoption. Beginning with a discussion of the immutability of the relationships in the biological family,
this article discusses the merits of caring for orphans and the special halakhic situations that arise for
a Jewish family that pursues a civil adoption. The article concludes with a discussion of adoption as a
metaphor for a convert’s relationship with the ancestors of the Jewish people.

Key Terms: adoption, conversion, parenting, orphan, halakha, Maimonides, Talmud

The Paradox of Adoption “Since You have granted me no offspring,

my steward will be my heir” (Gen 15:2–3
NJPS).

Adoption in Judaism is a paradox. Unlike the
New Testament, adoption is not mentioned in the
Jewish Bible or any other early sources. It often is
claimed that adoption has been practiced from bib-
lical times, and it seems well regarded in rabbinic
sources. However, Judaism has no halakhic (that is,
referring to Jewish law) structure for adoption, and
the Hebrew language didn’t even have a term for
it until modernity.
While the focus here will be on adoption in
Jewish thought and practice, I begin with some
examples from the Israelite-biblical era. There are
several biblical verses that often are regarded as de-
scribing adoption, but they do not do so without
ambiguity or, possibly, eisegesis.
Following the chronology of the biblical text we
first encounter the situation of Abram. Having been
promised great reward by God, Abram expresses
concern that a reward that cannot be passed on to
one’s offspring is fruitless:
But Abram said, “O Lord God, what can
You give me, seeing that I shall die child-
less, and the one in charge of my household
is Dammesek Eliezer!” Abram said further,
Here we see a confirmation that the question of
inheritance is central to many conceptions of adop-
tion. Before God’s subsequent promise to Abram,1
he may have adopted, or considered adopting, his
servant Eliezer.
Due to temporary barrenness experienced both
by Sarai and her grandson’s wife Rachel each
woman suggests to her husband that he take her
maidservant to beget a child. In both cases the wife
expresses the wish that she may have children in
this way:
Sarai: Consort with my maid; perhaps I shall
have a son through her (Gen 16:2).
Rachel: Here is my maid Bilhah. Consort
with her, that she may bear on my knees and
that through her I too may have children
(Gen 30:3).
Translations often obscure a biblical word play that
is present in both verses. In both cases the hopeful
mother-to-be uses the word hnba (ibaneh), which
is variously translated as “have a son/children,” or
“obtain children,” with the word play relegated to
the notes. The Hebrew letters bet and nun give us
the word for son or child (ben), hence we might

Ophir Yarden teaches interdisciplinary Jewish studies. He is a Senior Lecturer at Brigham Young University’s Jerusalem Center. He also teaches
at the School for Overseas Students of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in the Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland’s Studium in Israel
program at the Hebrew University, and at the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem.


C 2012 Wiley Periodicals and Dialog, Inc.
 Adoption in Judaism
render Sarai’s and Rachel’s wish more literally as
“that I may be son-ed through her.”
After the birth Rachel regards herself as having
been given a son, which she so desperately desired:
Rachel had said to Jacob, “Give me children, or
I shall die” (Gen 30:1). These episodes are im-
portant not because they depict adoption—this is
unproven—but because they introduce the element
of desire to become a parent that underlies many
cases of adoption as we know it today.
Before leaving the Israelite period, allow me to
note briefly four more examples, which may reflect
something akin to adoption, or were taken as such
in the Jewish tradition. First, Jacob seems to adopt
Joseph’s two sons born in Egypt: “Now, your two
sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt
before I came to you in Egypt, shall be mine;
Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine no less than
Reuben and Simeon. But progeny born to you after
them shall be yours . . .” (Gen 48:5–6).2
Second, the life-saving adoption of Moses by
the daughter of Pharoah: “And Pharaoh’s daughter
said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me,
and I will pay your wages.’ So the woman took
the child and nursed it. When the child grew up,
she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who made
him her son” (Ex 2:9–10a). In this case, the Bible’s
words may be translated over-literally as “and he
became to her [as] a son.”3
Third, there is a peculiar instance with elements
of adoption in the case of levirate marriage dis-
cussed in Deuteronomy (25:5–6), which also un-
dergirds the stories of Judah and Tamar (Gen 38),
as well as that of Ruth. In this case a widow is
to marry her deceased husband’s brother. “The first
son that she bears shall be accounted to the dead
brother—that his name may not be blotted out in
Israel” (Deut 25:6). Here we find what may be
termed a case of posthumous adoption in which
the child will carry on the name of the deceased
brother and possibly serve as his heir.4
The last case from the Israelite period serves as a
bridge to Rabbinic materials on adoption. Second
Samuel (21:8) speaks of the “five sons of Michal,”
but earlier we are told that “to her dying day
Michal daughter of Saul had no children” (2 Sam
6:23). How is this contradiction to be resolved?
• Ophir Yarden 277
While some manuscripts replace Merab for her sis-
ter Michal,5 the Talmud resolves this contradiction
by positing something similar to adoption:
Was it then Michal who bore them? Surely
it was rather Merab who bore them! But
Merab bore and Michal brought them up;
therefore they were called by her name. This
teaches that whoever brings up an orphan
in his home, Scripture ascribes it to him as
though he had begotten him.6
I explore some implications of this text
below.
Entering the period in which one may speak of
a Jewish rather than an Israelite reality, one may
readily recall the relationship between Esther and
her cousin Mordecai described in Esther 2:7, but
we cannot understand that relationship without am-
biguity. The text reads (translated over-literally):
And [Mordecai] was raising Hadassah—that
is, Esther—daughter of his uncle for she had
no father or mother . . . and when her father
and her mother died Mordechai took her, to
himself, as a daughter.
While some translations render this verse as a
foster/adoptive relationship,7 this is probably not
justified. The phrase that approaches adoption—
“took her, to himself, as a daughter”—has a history
of alternative interpretation. The Septuagint renders
“he trained her for himself as a wife.” The Greek is
echoed in a remark roughly 500 years later, in the
Talmud. Taking homiletic license based on the flex-
ibility of the Bible’s consonantal text, Rabbi Meir
adds the letter yod 8 and reads ‫( ְל ַביִת‬lvayit) rather
than ‫( ְל ַב ת‬lvat),9 which yields “Mordecai took her
to him [to be] as wife.”10
Rabbinic Views on Adoption
As already noted, adoption per se was not prac-
ticed in Judaism until modernity. Nevertheless, sit-
uations approximating adoption were widespread.
In addition to the previously mentioned motiva-
tions for adoption—seeking an heir and the desire
for children—a third was probably more prevalent:
278 Dialog: A Journal of Theology
providing a home for orphans. Consistent with
many biblical texts that portray God as a father,11
and that often are concerned with the welfare of
orphans, widows, and other disadvantaged members
of society, the Rabbis expressed a very favorable at-
titude toward those who cared for orphans. As we
saw above in the Talmud: “[W]hoever brings up an
orphan in his home, Scripture ascribes it to him as
though he had begotten him.”12 In a similar spirit,
the Talmudic sage Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani in-
terpreted “who do right at all times” (Ps 106:3b)
to mean, “This is one who raises an orphan in
one’s home through to his/her marriage.”13 In a
homily weaving together two verses: “How abun-
dant is the good that You have in store for those
who fear You,” and “I will make all My goodness
pass before you,” Rabbi Assi said: “When the Holy
One of Being showed [Moses] all the treasures that
were in store as rewards for the righteous He asked
[rhetorically], ‘And for whom is this treasure? For
those who raise orphans.’”14 Based on texts like
these and contemporary attitudes, some refer to
adoption as a mitzvah, though possibly in the loose
sense of the word meaning “good deed” rather than
“commandment.”15
Some rabbinic authorities have opined that an-
other commandment can be fulfilled by adoption.
Based on the statement cited above, that when one
raises an orphan, “Scripture ascribes it to him as
though he had begotten him,” some have ruled that
one may fulfill the commandment of procreation
through adoption.16 One modern authority wrote:
[Regarding] “[w]hoever brings up an orphan
in his home (specifically in his home, personally
fulfilling ‘our labor—that is children’ rather than
in another’s home at his expense) it is as though
he had begotten him.” There is an equiva-
lence between the grief of raising an orphan
in one’s home and the grief of pregnancy
and the pain of giving birth. The mercy of
a man of charity who deals mercifully with
children not of his seed and the mercy of a
merciful woman who bears on her arms ‘like
a weaned child with its mother’ (Ps 131:2a)
with love and hard work for many days is
equivalent to the mercy of a father for his
offspring and the mercy of a mother for the
• Volume 51, Number 4 • Winter 2012 • December
fruit of her womb . . . even if one adds to
them the nine months of pregnancy and the
mother’s ensuing birth pangs.17
Characteristics of Adoption in
Judaism
As indicated earlier, adoption is new to Judaism.
Those who raised orphans in their homes were,
from the perspective of Jewish law, apotropos
(guardians). Though possibly more likely to be a
permanent arrangement, the status of apotropos is
similar to that of a foster parent in that it is super-
vised by the court or extra-familial agency. Only in
the modern age was a Hebrew word coined for the
concept. The term is $wmya (‘immuts), which derives
from Psalm 80, verses 16 and 18, both of which
contain a phrase that can be rendered: “the son
(of man) you have taken as your own.” The root
xma (‘mts) also has the connotation of strength—
certainly a quality that is needed for adoption.
The Hebrew word for parent is related to the
word for pregnancy.18 Parenthood is not a legal
construct but an outcome of a biological process. In
contrast to Roman law, in Judaism adoptive parents
do not entirely replace biological parents; the fam-
ily connection is not abrogated. Adoptive parents’
roles are different, which leads to some unique fea-
tures and to some questions and challenges. There
is no mechanism in Judaism that severs the con-
nection with the biological parents and family. A
child’s identity is based on his birth father; the bi-
ological father determines a child’s Jewish “tribal”
status as Kohen, Levi, or Israel.19 The adopted child
inherits from the biological parents and does not
inherit from the adoptive parents.20 Furthermore,
definitions of incest and other related issues are
governed by the biological family rather than the
adoptive family. An example of what this means in
practice is that an adopted child may marry his/her
adopted siblings but not his/her biological siblings.
I now examine some of the unique aspects of adop-
tion in Jewish law as discussed in primary sources
and responsa literature.21
 Adoption in Judaism
Issues in Adoption
The Child’s Name and Family Identity
Commenting on the case of the five children of
Michal/Merab mentioned above, the preeminent
biblical commentator Rashi notes: “Merab bore
them and Michal raised them; and one who raises
an orphan in one’s home—[the orphan] is named
after him.”22
Jewish names traditionally are patronymic. One
is called X, son or daughter of Y. Even in moder-
nity when surnames are functionally used, in Jewish
ritual the patronymic (and matronymic in some
progressive denominations) is used. On marriage
and divorce documents, and especially when one is
called up to read from the Torah, the patronymic
is used. For converts, the question arises as to
whether one properly can be called X child of Y,
where Y is the adoptive parent. Jews widely follow
the tradition of referring to converts as X child of
Abraham to whom the epithet “our father” is fre-
quently added,23 but some authorities permit using
the name of the adoptive father.24
There are also cases where the parents cannot
relate to an adopted child as their natural child.
Pidyon Haben (redemption of the first born), a
biblically mandated ceremony25 that takes place
when a woman’s first (vaginal) birth is a son,
is such a case. For this purpose, older adopted
children are not reckoned. If a couple has an
adopted child and the mother subsequently gives
birth to a boy, the Pidyon Haben ceremony will take
place.
An adopted child does not truly carry on the
name of his adoptive father. Hence in the case of
the father’s death without another son the man
would be regarded as childless in regard to the
obligation of levirate marriage.
Knowledge that One is Adopted
The names of one’s birth parents should be pre-
served, and one is required to fulfill the com-
mandment to honor them (as well as one’s adop-
tive parents) and perform mourning rituals upon
• Ophir Yarden 279
their death. Knowledge of one’s biological family
is essential also to prevent forbidden marriage.26
Nonetheless is it permitted for the adopting par-
ents to refer to the child as their son/daughter.
For example, if one refers to an adopted child as
son/daughter in a legal document it does not in-
validate the document.27
Most Jewish families that adopt a non-Jewish
baby intend to convert the child. This is a rela-
tively simple procedure involving circumcision (for
a male, and a symbolic taking of a drop of blood
for a boy who has already been circumcised) and
immersion in a mikve (ritual bath). The command-
ment of circumcision pertains primarily to the bi-
ological father. Therefore, in the absence of the
father (and mother)—virtually always the case with
the circumcision of an adopted child—some au-
thorities suggest that certain prayers and ritual for-
mulas not be recited.28 Examples of texts not re-
cited are “Sustain this child for his father and his
mother,” and “May the father be joyful with the
fruit of his loins and the mother rejoice with the
fruit of her womb.”29
A minor may be converted by his/her adoptive
parents. License to do so is based on a Talmudic
teaching that sees Judaism as a gift given to the
adopted child:
Rab Huna said: A minor proselyte may be
ritually immersed by the authority of the
beth din (court). What does this teach us?
That [conversion to Judaism] is a benefit,
and one may benefit another in his absence.
Rabbi Joseph says: And when s/he comes
of age s/he may protest [the conversion and
cease to be Jewish].30
Obviously this situation requires that the child
know that s/he was converted at a younger age,
which in turn demands that the child be apprised
of the adoption. Lastly, it is important to know
that one is adopted so that one can be careful with
issues of yih.ud.
The Issue of Yih.ud (Being Alone
Together)
Jewish chastity law forbids individuals who are pos-
sible marriage partners31 from being alone together
280 Dialog: A Journal of Theology
or from having physical contact, even in pub-
lic. The prohibited situation is known as yih.ud.32
Adoption presents a serious challenge in this re-
gard. Adoptive parents and their adopted children
are, legally speaking, strangers, not part of the same
biological family. For those scrupulously observant
of halakha an issue would arise for a father to be
alone with his adopted daughter or a mother with
her son.33 The prohibition of touching would pro-
hibit hugging and kissing in these circumstances,
severely restricting parents’ ability to nurture. For
the community that adheres to these strictures some
rabbinic leniency has been found based on the de-
tail that these rules only apply after a child reaches
a certain age.34 Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, a promi-
nent contemporary decisor of Jewish legal ques-
tions, has written a lengthy responsum on yih.ud
with adopted children. His conclusion is that there
is room to adopt a lenient position on this is-
sue “so as not to close the door in the face of
wretched children; so that they will not be un-
wanted in homes that will educate them in the lap
of Torah and the tradition.” His suggestion is that
adoption should take place while the children are
very young, before the limitations of yih.ud apply,
at which time embracing and being alone together
are permitted. When the child grows older s/he will
permissibly grow into a situation that would have
been problematic had the adoption take place at an
older age.35
The interesting aspect of this challenge is its
novelty.36 In pre-modern times, when a child was
raised in an adoptive family, guardians were moti-
vated primarily to address the needs of the child.
In these cases the non-biological relationship was
known to all. Today, when adoption also addresses
the desires of would-be parents,37 there are those
who are inclined to keep the adoption secret from
the child.
Adoption in Israel
Adoption has become widespread in the State of
Israel, developing over the past seven decades. The
• Volume 51, Number 4 • Winter 2012 • December
desire for adoption increased after the Holocaust
when many foster parents sought to adopt the chil-
dren placed in their care.38
An interesting example of the impact of Jewish
law is the case of Israel’s Adoption of Children Law,
adopted by the Knesset, Israel’s legislature, in 1960.
This law created a compromise between halakha
and the approaches of other legal systems based
on Roman law regarding the future relationship
between an adopted child and his/her biological
parents. The legislation stipulated that adoption—
while severing the normal reciprocal rights between
parents and children—would not affect the reli-
gious laws pertaining to marriage and divorce.39
The 1981 Law on Adoption of Children stip-
ulated that no adoptions would take place across
religious lines: “No one may adopt who is not of
the same religion as the adopted [child].” In the
1980s and 1990s couples seeking children to adopt
began to seek abroad. Obviously most of these chil-
dren were not Jewish; many—though not all—were
converted to Judaism. As a result of the new real-
ity the previous law was modified in 1996 so as to
give the court the power to “issue an adoption de-
cree [even when not of the same religion] in special
circumstances and . . . when it is in the best inter-
est of the child.” Interestingly, the religious par-
ties and the state rabbinate did not object to this
change, apparently as they were aware that many
of the adopters would be non-religious Jews, and
the resultant pressure for many conversions might
lead to improper conversions, which they sought to
avoid.40
Adoption as Metaphor
Conversion and adoption intersect again in the
realm of adoption as metaphor. What is the sta-
tus of the convert and—as we have seen—what is
s/he to be called? Who are one’s ancestors when
one is adopted or converted?
The question is ancient; it is discussed in
the third century Mishna in the context of the
Deuteronomic commandment to bring first fruits
to the Temple:
 Adoption in Judaism
You shall go to the priest in charge at that
time and say to him, “I acknowledge this
day before the LORD your God that I have
entered the land that the LORD swore to
our fathers to assign us.” . . . You shall then
recite as follows before the LORD your God:
“My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went
down to Egypt. . . . We cried to the LORD,
the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard
our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and
our oppression” (Deut 26:3–7).41
According to the Mishna, the convert’s Temple
(and synagogue) ritual differs from that of a born
Jew:
The proselyte brings [first fruits] but does
not recite, for he is unable to say “that the
LORD swore to our fathers to assign us.” . . .
When he prays privately he should say “God
of the fathers of Israel,” and when he prays
[publicly] in synagogue he should say “God
of your fathers.”42
But the great medieval philosopher and legal codi-
fier Maimonides ruled contrary to the Mishna:43
The convert brings [first fruits] and recites,
as [God] said to Abraham, “You shall be
the father of a multitude of nations” (Gen
17:4b). Behold he is the father of the en-
tire world which gathers under the wings of
Shekhina, and it was Abraham who first re-
ceived the promise that his children would
inherit the land.44
One of the most famous converts to Judaism is
known as Ovadiah Hager, Obadiah the Proselyte.
Obadiah converted during the era of Maimonides.
Obadiah’s distress regarding his new adopted iden-
tity is expressed in a well-known shelah (halakhic
query), which he posed to Maimonides. Restating
Obadiah’s question, Maimonides writes:
You ask me if you, too, are allowed to say
in the blessings and prayers you offer alone
or in the congregation: . . . “God of our fa-
thers,” . . . “You who have chosen us,” . . .
“You who have brought us out of the land
of Egypt,” “You who have worked miracles
to our fathers,” and more of this kind. 45
• Ophir Yarden 281
From the question we can see that Obadiah was
concerned with the liturgical phrase “God of our
fathers,” for his biological father and ancestors were
not worshippers of the God of Israel.
Maimonides’ response is unequivocal. Far too
long to cite in its entirety, Maimonides wrote, in
part:
Yes, you may say all this in the prescribed
order and not change it in the least. In the
same way as every Jew by birth prays and re-
cites blessings. . . . [W]hoever converts . . . is
counted among the disciples of Abraham our
Father. . . . These men are Abraham’s house-
hold. . . . Thus Abraham our Father . . . is
the father of his pious posterity who keep
his ways, and the father of his disciples and
of all proselytes who adopt Judaism. There-
fore you shall pray, “Our God” and “God
of our fathers,” because Abraham . . . is your
father . . .46
Maimonides’ response is consistent with his writing
elsewhere. In his commentary on Mishna Bikkurim
he writes:
A convert brings the first-fruits and recites
[the passage, including the phrase “our fa-
thers”]. Why? [For God] said to Abraham,
“You shall be the father of a multitude of
nations” (Gen. 17:4b).
The force of Maimonides’ authority—and perhaps
his compassion for the converts in their capacity as
orphans—overcame previous objections and led to
the adoption of his position throughout the Jew-
ish world. This trend reached its pinnacle in the
consenting ruling in the Shulhan Arukh.47
Naturally, Jews see themselves as God’s chil-
dren.48 Judaism also equips converts with a spir-
itual lineage of adopted ancestors, who are shared
with their adopted sisters and brothers.
Endnotes
1. “That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue
shall be your heir” (Gen 15:4).
2. Space does not permit the discussion of inheritance as a factor
here, though verse 6 continues: “they shall be recorded instead of their
brothers in their inheritance.” For inheritance see at n. 20 infra.
282 Dialog: A Journal of Theology • Volume 51, Number 4
3. The rabbis linked this verse to 1 Chronicles 4:18, “These
were the sons of Bithiah daughter of Pharaoh” (See Babylonian
Talmud [hereafter cited as “b”], Sanhedrin 19b).
4. Jeffrey Howard Tigay, Ben-Zion Schereschewsky, and Yisrael Gilat,
“Adoption,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 22 vols., ed. Michael Berenbaum and
Fred Skolnik (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007), 1: 415–420.
5. Two manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, one version of the Sep-
tuagint, and the Peshitta and Targum Yonatan read Merab rather than
Michal.
6. See b. Sanhedrin 19b.
7. “Brought up” is reasonable; cf. Numbers 11:12. For foster and/or
adoption see: NJPS, RSV, NRSV as well as LXX.
8. In his work Torah Temima, the nineteenth- and twentieth-century
Lithuanian scholar, Baruch Ha-levi Epstein, points to several other biblical
examples of consonantal yod that do not appear in the Masoretic Text.
See Torah Temima, ad Esth, ch. 2 n. 20 in Baruch Ha-levi Epstein, Torah
Temima (Tel Aviv: Am Olam and Or Torah, 1957).
9. While vat (or bat without the prefix) means “daughter,” vayit (or
bayit) means “house” or “home,” a well-known rabbinic expression, based
on Mishnah (hereafter cited as “m”), Yoma 1:1, refers to a man’s wife as
his home.
10. For an elaborate discussion of Mordecai’s relationship to Esther,
see Barry Dov Walfish, “Kosher Adultery? The Mordecai-Esther-Ahasuerus
Triangle in Midrash and Exegesis,” Prooftexts 22 (Fall 2002): 305–333.
11. “Israel is My first-born son” (Ex 4:22); “You are children of the
LORD your God” (Deut 14:1); “I reared children and brought them up”
(Isa 1:2); “Surely You are our Father” (Isa 63:16; 64:7); “For I am ever
a Father to Israel” (Jer 31:9); “I have called [him] My son” (Hos 11:1);
“father of orphans” (Ps 68:6 MT).
12. In addition to b. Sanhedrin 19b, this statement is found in b.
Meg 13a.
13. See b. Ketubbot 50a.
14. See Psalm 31:20a and Exodus 33:19a (NJPS); see also Exod Rab,
45:6 in Midrash Rabbah, trans. S.M. Lehrman, ed. H. Freedman and M.
Simond (1939, reprint London: Soncino Press, 1961), 524.
15. Avraham S. Avraham uses the term mitzvah but does not ground
it in any biblical verse. See “Adoption of Children,” Ha-Ma’ayan (June-
July 1994), http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/kitveyet/hamaayan/imuts-2.htm (ac-
cessed July 25, 2012) and Michael Gold, And Hannah Wept: Infertility,
Adoption and the Jewish Couple (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society,
1988), 157.
16. Rabbi Shlomo Kluger (1785–1869, Poland) in Hokhmat Shelomo
ad Shulhan Arukh Even HaEzer, 1:1 (common printed edition). However
he points to an earlier disagreement on the meaning of wlyak (kilu) “as
though” where David ha-Levi Segal (seventeenth-century Poland, in his
work the Taz) claims that “as though” means “is equivalent to” (see
David ha-Levi Segal, Taz), while Rabbi Joshua ben Alexander Hacohen
Falk (1555–1614, Poland) in his work Drisha claims that “as though” is
hyperbole.
17. Hazon Yehezkel, Introduction to the Tosefta Yevamot. See Yehezkel
. this argument at length in Various Aspects, 36–41.
Abramsky, Tosefta with the commentary Hazon
. Yehezkel (Jerusalem: pub-
lished by the author’s children, 1986–1997). Rabbi Ezekiel Abramsky
(1886–1976) was head of the London Rabbinical Court (Beth Din). The
emphasis is in the original. This pale translation echoes the original in
repeating the word mercy due to a subtlety in the Hebrew text. The
word !ymjr (rah.amim), meaning mercy, is derived from the Hebrew !jr
(reh.em), which means womb.
18. Parent is hrwh (horeh) to be pregnant is hrh (harah). See Genesis
16:11.
• Winter 2012 • December
19. For some ritual purposes Jews maintain their identity as (a) Ko-
hen – descendants of the clan of Aaron, the High Priest, (b) Levi –
descendants of the tribe of Levi, and (c) Yisrael – all other Jews.
20. Unless specified otherwise in a will; i.e., it is not prohib-
ited. Melech Schachter cites the authority of Chaim Hezekiah Medini
(nineteenth-twentieth century, Israel, Crimea) to posit that “[a]dopting a
child through a civil court may be considered equivalent to the writing
of a will.” See “Various Aspects Of Adoption,” Journal of Halacha and
Contemporary Society, 4 (Fall 1982): 93–110; reprinted in Alfred S. Co-
hen, ed., Halacha and Contemporary Society (New York: KTAV Publishing
House, 1984), 33.
21. The issues are too numerous all to be addressed. Among topics
not discussed here are: (a) marriage and the formulation of the ketuba
(marriage contract); (b) the status of mamzer, that is, the product of a
forbidden sexual union (not to be confused with bastard, i.e., born out
of wedlock); (c) the formulation of a get (divorce document); (d) claims
to recoup the costs for raising an orphan in one’s home (this is a clear
indication that the case is not adoption). These are issues of halakha,
Jewish law. It is not to be assumed that all adopting Jewish families
are concerned with these questions. Some of these issues, esp. yih.ud ,
are present in foster or guardianship situations as well. The concerns
regarding yih.ud ignore the issues of incest and sexual molestation, which,
of course, can take place amongst those to whom the restrictions of yih.ud
do not apply.
22. Rashi ad 2 Samuel 21:8.
23. Some feel that calling any convert X, child of Abraham “our
father,” marks the convert as such and is therefore insensitive and should
be avoided.
24. See the responsum of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895–1986, New
York), Igrot Moshe, Yoreh Deah 1:161. Sometimes the epithet hamgadlo (the
one who is raising him) is added.
25. Numbers 18:15–16.
26. Igrot Moshe, Even Haezer, 4:64:2.
27. Rabbi Moshe Isserles (1520–1572, Cracow), gloss on Shulhan
Arukh, Hoshen Mishpat, 42:15.
28. Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Circumcision, 3:1.
29. Siftey Kohen (Rabbi Shabbatai ha-Kohen, 1621–1662, Eastern Eu-
rope) Yoreh Deah 265:6. Some of this discussion is based on a child
whose father had died before his eighth day and is indirectly applied to
an adopted child. Customs and halakhic opinions vary on these practices.
30. See b. Ketubbot 11a. Some authorities challenge this. Perhaps
motivated by b. Sanhedrin 19b, “Whoever teaches his fellow’s son Torah,
Scripture ascribes it to him as though he had begotten him,” one might
reason that not teaching an adopted child Torah contradicts parental
responsibility. Solomon B. Freehof cites the reasoning of Rabbi Joshua
Henkin (HaPardes 32:4, Jan 1958), “When the Talmud and Shulhan
Arukh permit the conversion of a Gentile infant, it is because it is a
benefit to be a Jew, and you may benefit someone without his express
consent. But nowadays, with so many Jewish homes not Orthodox, what
benefit is it for a child to be a Jew of that kind?” See “Adoption,” Reform
Responsa (Cincinnati: HUC Press, 1960), 200–206. Schachter develops
31. That is, for whom sexual relations would not be incest.
32. djy (yah.ad ) means together, cf. Ps 49:3 MT (49:2 English). This
is grounded in b. Avodah Zarah 36b–37a.
33. This would also prohibit a natural child from being alone with
an adopted sibling, or for two non-bio-related adopted children to be
together.
34. The age range discussed varies from 3 to 9 years old.
 Adoption in Judaism
35. Responsa Tzitz Eliezer 6:40:21. The entire 1,700 words of his
chapter 21 are addressed to analysis of this question. We present only the
conclusion here.
36. Calls by prominent rabbis to disseminate knowledge of these rules
have been issued in the late twentieth century specifically acknowledging
that adoption has become something different from “raising an orphan in
one’s home” had been in previous eras. See “Excerpts From a Letter from
the Lubavitcher Rebbe Schneerson,” and the note by Ahron Yakobovitz,
both in Isaac Halevi Herzog and Isser Zalman Meltzer, Otzar Haposkim
(Jerusalem: Treasury of Decisors, 1986), 9: 130a, 132a.
37. This is a variation on the third of the three motivations for
adoption: (1) to have an heir; (2) to care for orphans; (3) to have a child
(or provide one for their husband). Sarai and Rachel, after despairing
of a natural child, sought something akin to surrogacy, addressing their
own, female, infertility. Here we speak of adoption of a child with no
bio-relationship to either parent.
38. Menachem Elon, Jewish Law: History, Sources, Principles, 4 vols.
(Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1994), 827.
39. “[T]he adopted child still may not marry those natural relatives
forbidden to him by Jewish law (sec. 13). The law also requires that
a registry of adoptions be kept in the court, in which all information
concerning the natural parents is to be recorded (secs. 26–27).” Elon,
Jewish Law, 827–828 n. 178.
40. Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, “Conversion of Adopted Minors in Secular
Families,” Techumin: Halachic Monographs Concerning the Relationship of
Torah to Modern Society 20 (Alon Shevut, Israel: Ludwig Mayer Books,
2000), 245.
41. Emphasis added. The recitation continues through v. 10. The
rabbis understood the first fruit (bikkurim) ritual to take place on
Shavuot-Pentecost, hence the name of the tractate cited infra. This
periscope is the centerpiece of the Passover Haggadah, in which the Jewish
people remembers the Exodus—the family narrative par excellence.
42. Mishnah Torah (hereafter cited as “m”), Bikkurim 1:4.
43. His ruling is supported by another rabbinic text: A convert brings
the first-fruits and recites [the passage, including the phrase “our fathers”].
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Why? [For it is written:] “You shall be the father of a multitude of
nations” (Gen 17:4b). See Jerusalem Talmud, Bikkurim 1:4. He cites this
source in his responsum discussed infra. This is remarkable as Jerusalem
Talmud is considered less authoritative than the Mishna. Pinhas H. Peli
has pointed out that this is the only case where Maimonides ruled against
the Mishna. See Pinhas H. Peli, Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter With
Scripture (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004), 227. Shaye J. D.
Cohen suggests that Maimonides found it “intolerable [that e]very time
the congregation turns to prayer, every time Jews eat together and prepare
to recite the Grace after Meals, the convert is reminded of his foreign
extraction and anomalous status.” See Shaye J. D. Cohen, The Beginnings
of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieites, Uncertainties (Berkeley, Calif.: University
of California Press, 1999), 334. Beyond this we might speculate that
Maimonides was motivated by the verse “You shall not ill-treat any widow
or orphan” (Ex 22:21). The convert has abandoned his family and may
be compared to an orphan.
44. Mishneh Torah, Bikkurim 4:3 in The Code of Maimonides, Book VII:
The Book of Agriculture, trans Isaac Klein (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1979), 303–304. Klein’s edition cites verse 5.
45. The translation is based on that found in Isadore Twersky, ed., A
Maimonides Reader (West Orange: Behrman House, 1972), 476. The em-
phasis is Twersky’s; the translation incorporates emendations per Cohen,
The Beginnings of Jewishness, 331–332, notes 50 and 51.
46. Ibid.
47. “There are those who prohibit a convert from serving as prayer
leader, but their opinion has been rejected.” Orah Hayyim 53:19. The
sixteenth-century Shulhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law) confirmed this
ruling for the Sephardic and Oriental communities and the lack of dis-
sent from glossator Rabbi Moshe Isserles indicates its adoption in the
Ashkenazic community.
48. In addition to the Biblical examples in n. 11, post-Biblical ex-
amples include: “Our Father in Heaven” (m. Sotah 9:15); “Our Father,
our King” (b. Ta’anit 25b attributes the phrase to Rabbi Aqiva of the
2nd cent. It features in the liturgy for fast days); “He is to me a Father
and I am to Him a son” (Cant Rab 2); “We are your children and You
are our Father” (penitential poem for Yom Kippur).