According to Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin, in "To Be A Jew: A Guide to Jewish
Observance in Contemporary Life" which is written from an orthodox
perspective:

"Adult conversions . . . must be preceded by study of Judaism, by an
affirmation of its basic principles of faith and by a sincere resolution
of heart and mind to observe its precepts and practices in everyday life.

"'To accept the yoke of the Kingdom of God' and 'to accept the yoke of
the commandments' are the pivotal requirements upon wich the validity of
the conversion ritual hinges for an adult. The lack af such an acceptance
makes the conversion a farce and a meaningless exercise. Acceptance, on
the other hand, not only gives meaning to but validates the required
ritual. It is the acceptance of the 'yoke of the commandements' which
determines whether a proselyte is a righteous proselyte (ger tzedek)."

To Be A Jew
Basic Books, A Division of Harper Collins Publishers
1972

I hope this lays the question to rest. Next time please check your local
library before arguing.

On Sun, 14 Aug 1994, Yael S Avissar wrote:

> To Be A Jew
> Basic Books, A Division of Harper Collins Publishers
> 1972
>
> I hope this lays the question to rest. Next time please check your local
> library before arguing.

First of all, thank you. Second, if we would check sources before arguing
we would not be Hungarians. After all, it takes 2 Hungarians to come up
with 3 opinion.


                                                Attila "belagana" Hun

On Sun, 14 Aug 1994 08:23:24 -0700 Attila Gabor said:
>
>First of all, thank you. Second, if we would check sources before arguing
>we would not be Hungarians. After all, it takes 2 Hungarians to come up
>with 3 opinion.
>
--And it is this that makes Hungarians one of the most interesting
peoples of the world!

Charles

Jeliko commented on my earlier posting:

>> I have several interesting bits and pieces from *168 ora* which might
>help to
>> evaluate the state of certain segments of the Hungarian media. Here is
>the
>> first one.

>> Adam Sztankay published a piece of investigative journalism in *168 ora*
>the
>> title of which was "The Technomark Scandal" (July 26, 1994, pp. 6-9).


>Eva, was it printed on yellow paper?

It sure borders on yellow journalism. But this is not the end of the story.
Pe1ter Vada1sz, vice-president of the Magyar Gya1riparosok Orsza1gos
Szo2vetse1ge (GYOSZ; National Association of Manufacturers), wrote a letter
to the editor concerning Sztankay's piece on "The Technomark Scandal" (*168
o1ra,* August 9, 1994, p. 37). He notices, just as I did, that it is not at
all clear what Tibor To1th did wrong. He also comments on the fact that Tibor
To1th's case is still pending in the courts, while Adam Sztankay is declaring
him to be guilty. He wants to know how could the editor-in-chief let this
piece go. "Does he [A1kos Mester] hate the members of the former government
so much that he forgot about ethics which he had always professed?--asks
Vada1sz. I might mention that this letter had been written before it became
clear that the Ge1za letter did not come from Ge1za Jeszenszky. The whole
thing reminds Vada1sz of trials for economic crimes during the Rakosi and
Kadar regimes of which this is just the preamble.

A1kos Mester, the editor-in-chief, answers (and I will translate the whole
short piece in its entirety):

Dear Mr. Vada1sz:

Your are correct on a number of your observations. You are even correct in
addressing your letter to me and not to Adam Sztankay, a young and talented
journalist. Here, in the editorial office, we had a little inside discussion
about this report and although the opinions were divided, everybody agreed
that these delicate matters need special attention. You know, Hungarian
journalism is still not quite at home with investigate reporting. To be quite
honest, we are just learning the genre, and it may happen that our
informers--perhaps not deliberately--mislead us, and we swallow it hook,
line, and sinker [in the original: "mi pedig ne1ha a1rnye1kra ugrunk."] In
that case, it [the truth?] will be discovered only at the trial and then we
will certainly return to the subject [this makes as much sense in Hungarian
as it does in English!]. Of course, it will not be the verdict of the judge
which will determine whether your observations are correct or not, because
what you write about goes beyond this concrete case and contains truth which
has universal applicability.

Thanking for your letter,

Sincerely yours,

A1kos Mester

Well, this is not exactly an admission of guilt but it is better than
nothing. What really boggles the mind is that there had been an in-house
 discussion of the report before it was published. Yet, the editor-in-chief
opted to publish it without further investigation. Surely, Mester's hatred of
the former government must be clouding his judgment. Eva Balogh