Laundry List of Sources Relating to Giyur

What is ironic is that the rabbis being strict on conversion, are violating halakhah as egregiously as those who permit pork consumption or flagrant Shabbat violation. One wonders why these rabbis are even considered Orthodox in the first place.

Yevamot 24b explicitly rules that conversion for marriage, even withou acceptance of being observant is valid. Only two authorities have ever reinterpreted this Gemara: Hagahot Mordechai (who himself said his opinion is contrary to that received from his teachers, and that his opinion should not be relied on), and Rabbi Yitzhak Shmelkes (in the 1870s, who explicitly says that he is ignoring Hagahot Mordechai's instructions not to rely on him).

Every other halakhic opinion in history, and I mean every single other one (except those relying on Rabbi Shmelkes), including Rambam, Shulhan Arukh, etc., said that while we may have standards for who gets to convert, ultimately, once a person converts, the conversion is valid.

For example, King Solomon forbade conversion, because people were converting for ulterior motives. But guess what? Those who found ad-hoc batei din to convert them, their conversions were valid. Heck, according to Rambam (Issurei Biah), King Solomon's ostensibly gentile wives were actually women who simply got ad-hoc batei din to convert them, without asking them to stop believing in idolatry. Since they violated the gezera against conversion, and moreover, they continued to believe in idols, the Tanakh, says Rambam, continued to call them gentiles, as an insult, even though really, in truth, they were actually Jews, and King Solomon did not intermarry.

Try reconciling that ruling of Rambam (which is seconded by the Shulhan Arukh) with what rabbis are doing today.

My sources:

Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel, "Conversion to Judaism: Halakha, Hashkafa, and Historic Challenge", Hakira volume 7, http://www.jewishideas.org/min-hamuvhar/conversion-judaism-halakha-hashkafa-and-histori, http://www.hakirah.org/Vol%207%20Angel.pdf

Professor Zvi Zohar, "Halakhic conversion of non-religious candidates", http://www.jewishideas.org/responsa/halakhic-conversion-of-non-religious-candidates

Professor Zvi Zohar, "Retroactive Annulment of Giyyur (Conversion)?", http://www.jewishideas.org/articles/retroactive-annulment-giyyur-conversion

Rabbi Yehuda Herzl Henkin, "On the Psak Concerning Israeli Conversions", Hakira volume 7, http://www.hakirah.org/Vol%207%20Henkin.pdf (This URL contains but two pages of the whole five page article, but luckily, these two pages are the most crucial. The last three pages contain some less important tangents on conversion, plus some Hoshen Mishpat analysis of invalidating a sinful dayan, unrelated to conversion per se.)

Rabbi Dr. Isaac Sassoon, "Let No Ger Spend the Night Outdoors", http://www.jewishideas.org/articles/let-no-ger-spend-night-outdoors

Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel, "The responsa of Rabbi Uziel" [On conversion], http://www.jewishideas.org/responsa/responsa-of-rabbi-uziel

Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel, "Another Halakhic Approach to Conversions" (Concerning Rabbi Uziel. This is actually Rabbi Angel's first ever publication on a halakhic topic.),
(1) A for-fee download is available at http://www.traditiononline.org/news/article.cfm?id=103898,
(2) An abridged version is available for free at http://www.myjewishlearning.com/life/Life_Events/Conversion/Contemporary_Issues/Leniency_in_Orthodoxy.shtml?LFLE

Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel, Choosing to Be Jewish, http://www.jewishideas.org/store

Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel, Loving Truth and Peace: The Grand Religious Worldview of R. Benzion Uziel, http://www.jewishideas.org/store

Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel, The Rhythms of Jewish Living, http://www.amazon.com/Rhythms-Jewish-Living-Sephardic-Exploration/dp/0765799839/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241014827&sr=8-1

Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel, "The Conversion Crisis and Challenge", http://www.jewishideas.org/min-hamuvhar/conversion-crisis

Rabbi Alan Yuter, "Conversions, Covenant and Conscience", http://www.jewishideas.org/articles/conversions-covenant-and-conscience

Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel, "The Conversion Crisis", http://www.jewishideas.org/minhamuvhar/conversion-crisis

Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel, "Slamming the Door on Converts", http://www.jewishideas.org/minhamuvhar/slamming-the-door-on-converts

Professor Marc B. Shapiro, "Responses to Comments and Elaborations of Previous Posts III", s.v. "6. I have been asked to say something about the current conversion controversy. ... There have been a number of people who have stated that the lenient approach often associated with R. Uziel is a singular opinion, or that this view was original to him. That this is mistaken can be seen by anyone who examines Avi Sagi's and Zvi Zohar's book Giyur u-Zehut Yehudit. In fact, throughout most of Jewish history a lenient approach to conversion was the mainstream approach." (Professor Shapiro proceeds to cite and quote a dazzling number of sources to corroborate that last sentence, that Rabbi Uziel's approach was the normative one.), http://seforim.traditiononline.org/index.cfm/2008/8/29/Responses-to-Comments-and-Elaborations-of-Previous-Posts-III

Rabbi Dr. Binyamin Lau, "Prophetic Morality as a Factor in R. Uziel’s Rulings on Conversion : A Case Study of Halakhic Decision-Making from a Zionist Perspective", http://yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/730116/Rabbi_Dr._Binyamin_Lau/Prophetic_Morality_as_a_Factor_in_R._Uziel’s_Rulings_on_Conversion_:_A_Case_Study_of_Halakhic_Decision-Making_from_a_Zionist_Perspective (I think I'd disagree slightly with Rabbi Lau's conclusion, and say that Rabbi Uziel was motivated as much by love and peace and mercy (as suggested by Rabbi Angel's works) as he was by Zionism and Geula (Rabbi Lau's thesis), but the gist remains the same; Rabbi Uziel was driven by meta-halakhic issues and "the spirit of the law".)

If I may humbly add what I have written on this subject:
Michael Makovi, "Vexing of Converts", http://michaelmakovi.blogspot.com/2009/04/vexing-of-converts.html