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Behatz, I facepalm you. talk2hand

You should know by now that the internet is tough for sarcasm, especially for 'Aspies' like me.

Hmm.... neutral ninja

I didn't say Orthodox is intolerant, or anything else about Orthodox. Next time, read my words before replying. I might pay you a little respect instead of calling you a ******** retard.

I think the fact that Orthodox rabbis don't recognise Reform and Conservative conversions as valid (often coupled with not recognising Reform/Conservative rabbis as real rabbis), even if done with all the traditional stuff, is rather intolerant.

Modern Orthodox Jews are by and large fine people though. I just wish they'd be more accepting of other streams of Judaism.

There is really never a situation where it matters how you converted. If someone who is Orthodox doesn't approve, let them not approve. As someone who found Judaism on your own you** are considered beloved and dear whether an Orthodox Jew believes it or not.

That being said:
Orthodox Jews believe the whole Torah was written by G-d meaning that the 613 mitzvot were also written by G-d. The Reform movement believes in the exact opposite, that G-d did not write the Torah so therefore the 613 mitzvot are not as binding. It is safe to say then that a Reform convert doesn't commit to their new Jewish identity as an Orthodox convert would. Should they be viewed differently? Well liberal Jews do want to be distinguished from Orthodox Jews, so maybe it makes sense that a liberal conversion be distinguished from an Orthodox one.

As far as rabbis go, I never learned much about that process...

**not necessarily you personally, Danski

Liberal Jews (or at least myself and the ones I know) do not want to REFORM Judaism, we simply believe that the Torah can be interpreted differently. I still keep as many mitzvahs as possible. However, it is my belief that the Torah, which, by and large, is the work of G-d, has been added to or changed in certain parts, which explains many contradictions.

Hey, not all Orthodox conversions are recognized, either. In fact, the Syrian Jewish community asked for, and were granted, the right to consider ALL CONVERSIONS invalid, and all descendants of all converts married to Jews as bastards. The rest of us purse our lips tightly and say "That's their right," and we leave them alone because a great many Jews are descended from converts -- including Rabbi Akiva, who converted at the age of forty and since became one of the greatest rabbanim of all time.

EVERY community of Jews has some other group that they don't consider Jews. Reform don't accept Messianic "Jews" as Jews (ahem, because they're not), and some also don't consider the stricter of the Orthodox to be acting in a Jewish way by not recognizing non-Orthodox conversions.

The Sephardi, Mizrachi, Teimani, Ethiopian, and Indian Jewish communities never split into factions of Reform/Conservative/Orthodox, so rather than looking at what movement a person came from, they look for two things: (1) Did the person's rabbi demand of them the observance of all mitzvot? All Orthodox and some Conservative rabbis do demand this. (2) Did the person agree to it? (3) Did the person fully intend to do it? (3) Did the person then go about living in a Judaically authentic way, after promising and intending to do so? -- Accordingly, the Sephardi (and the rest) rabbis will accept some conversions, and reject others, no matter what community the person converted in. All they want to know is whether the rabbi demanded mitzvot-keeping and whether the convert then went about keeping the mitzvot.