When a student registers for Souled, she is asked to identify her Jewish affiliation. If she chooses “Not Jewish” or “In conversion process”, she is shown a message explaining that the program is not for her. Souled does not, however, ask any questions about her yichus (whether her mother or grandmother were born Jewish or whether there was a conversion). Therefore, you may end up with a student who is not Jewish but considers herself Jewish. This video (and the explanation below) is a comprehensive guide to dealing with these students. Please watch the whole video and read all the text below, which has some additional points.

New students who are already converting

If a student enters Souled already in the process of conversion (she bypassed the registration filter), she should be told that Souled is not for her. Souled is not a conversion program and there are better resources for someone going through that process.

You find out that your student is not halachically Jewish

When a student is not halachically Jewish (her mother is not Jewish and she did not have an Orthodox conversion) but she considers herself Jewish, you should meet with her with the goal of her reaching the point of wanting to do an Orthodox conversion. Like any Souled student, you want to assess whether she is growing in her appreciation of Judaism and observance. If you feel that she is not growing, or that there are too many obstacles in her life to get to the point of converting Orthodox (e.g. she has a non-Jewish boyfriend, she lives far from a Jewish community), you should exit her from the program. If you are unsure, reach out to your manager for guidance.

• One exception: A student who is the product of a Conservative conversion is looked at, according to the ruling of Rav Asher Weiss for Olami, as safek being Jewish (Reform conversion, on the other hand, is definitely not valid). Therefore, she should only be exited from the program if she is not growing. If she is progressing, she should not be exited even if it seems like she will never have an Orthodox conversion.

You spoke to your student about Orthodox conversion… now what?

If you speak to a student about having an Orthodox conversion and she says that she is not interested, as long as she is growing and taking on mitzvah observance, you should continue meeting with her.

If you speak to a student about having an Orthodox conversion and she says that she is interested, you should connect her with a local beis din. This document will be updated in the near future with details regarding Souled protocol for how to connect a student to a beis din, what batei din to send to, etc. You should also make sure she is connected to a local family and an organization, and that she has a mentor who went through the conversion process. When your student is in a strong position in these areas, you can let her know that since Souled is not a conversion program, you are handing her off to the best resources for her. If she isn’t strong enough to be independent through the conversion process even with these resources, you should consult with your manager about retaining her as your student. What we want to avoid is a Souled coach being used as a free personal tutor for the conversion syllabus.  

Additional Resources

https://online.olami.org/main/s/library/a2v5f000000p8jOAAQ/how-to-deal-with-a-student-that-is-not-halachically-jewish

https://online.olami.org/main/s/library/a2vRi000000Jc3BIAS/1-what-are-the-signs-a-student-is-ready-for-a-conversation-about-her-not-being-jewish-and-2-should-i-be-concerned-with-setting-her-up-with-local-resources-if-she-isnt-halachically-jewish

https://online.olami.org/main/s/library/a2vRi000000JbtVIAS/i-feel-that-my-student-is-ready-to-have-the-conversation-about-her-not-being-halachically-jewish-and-she-wants-to-apply-to-jinternships

https://online.olami.org/main/s/library/a2v5f000000p9YTAAY/what-do-i-do-with-a-student-that-had-a-nonhalachic-conversion-who-is-not-interested-in-judaism