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This is a hypothetical with a fact pattern that has not been answered by any previous questions.

Generally, a non-Jew adoptee in a Jewish family will be Jewish by halachic upbringing.

If a child of a non-Jewish mother is adopted by a mother who is, by blood line, Jewish; however, she failed to follow the Torah and live by halachic rules because of her parents having converted out in fear of and as a result of actual past persecution, the mother would be considered Jewish regardless. But would a child adopted by her immediately after birth be also considered Jewish in recognition of the maternity of an adopting mother or not?

To further complicate the question: Does it make a difference that the adopting mother is the actual paternal grandmother of the orphan?

In other words: Is the above generic statement based on a theory of recognition of the mother’s autonomy or merely reflecting that one may convert and a child may be converted on his behalf?

Andras Emet
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    The first line isn't necessarily correct. A non-Jew who is adopted by a Jewish family is in somewhat of a "gray area". At their bar or bat mitzvah they make the decision whether to stay in the Jewish community and be Jewish or leave (and they would have to convert to rejoin the community). In such a case the child would have to have a Jewish upbringing. In this case the adopted child will not be raised in a Jewish environment so they would not have the same status. – ezra Oct 10 '21 at 05:22
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    See this article from DinOnline, especially the paragraph "Jewish or Non-Jewish Child". – ezra Oct 10 '21 at 05:25
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    @ezra I don't see how a non-Jew adopted automatically becomes a Jew. (s)he needs to convert like every other person. This is also clearly stated in the article you refer to: "As part of adoption the child undergoes conversion". Or am I misunderstanding your comments? – mbloch Oct 10 '21 at 06:14
  • @mbloch In no way did I say they were automatically Jewish. It's difficult to summarize these challenging halachic situations in a comment box. Such a person does undergo a conversion as a baby, but they are still in a "gray area" where they are considered potentially Jewish, perhaps even presumed Jewish but it's not confirmed until they make the choice themselves at their bar/bat mitzvah. – ezra Oct 10 '21 at 06:45
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    OK. Agreed. Then clearly the first line in the question is wrong. One doesn’t become Jewish by upbringing but rather by conversion. The whole question is therefore based on a false premise. – mbloch Oct 10 '21 at 06:48
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    Hi Andras, can you explain in what way is this not answered by the linked question? – Double AA Oct 10 '21 at 17:09
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    It's not the adoption or the being-raised-Jewish that makes an adopted child Jewish. Shortly after a Jewish family adopts a child, they are expected to have the child undergo a conversion ceremony before 3 rabbis -- mikvah either way; circumcision for males; we can't ask a minor to accept mitzvah observance, so the parents are asked to commit to raising the child with mitzvahs, and the child is asked to reaffirm at bar/bat mitzvah. If the adoptive parents were halachically Jewish but totally unaffiliated, odds are they didn't convert the baby, so the child isn't Jewish at all. – Shalom Oct 10 '21 at 19:09

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