I was wondering what the seforim say about being makel for a reform/conservative conversion (for example for mechiras chometz, can you sell such a "ger" your chometz). I heard there is a Rav Mohe who talks about a women who had a non-orthodox conversion and then wanted to to convert for real with a proper orthodox conversion. Rav Mohe paskened she should convert without a bracha. Is there such a Rav Moshe and if there is where is it? (I have looked or it but been unable to find it) If it there is such a Rav Moshe I find it a big chiddush. The "beis din" that "converted her" was a beis din of reshaim and the geiris is not chal. Also she did not originally have das to be mekabel ol malchus hamayim?
kerfish,
I could not find a Teshuvah of Rav Moshe Feinstein that says to redo the Gerus without a Berachah. He does say in a Teshuvah (YD 1:160) that the Gerus performed by a Conservative (and, all the more so, of a Reform) Beis Din is invalid because the rabbis on the Beis Din are not qualified to be Dayanim because they are presumed to have committed sins with intention and to have rejected the foundations of Judaism. He adds that, because the rabbis are ignorant of the laws of Gerus or negligent in keeping them, the Kabalas ha'Mitzvos by the potential Ger is also lacking (even if they sincerely intend to keep whatever they know from the Torah's laws). His language is quite strong: "Lachen Pashut she'Ein ha'Gerus she'Asah ha'Rabbi Shel Conservative Klum" - and it leads one to believe that he holds that one could indeed sell Chametz before Pesach to such a convert. However, it should be noted that Rav Feinstein is not saying that a Conservative rabbi is ipso facto disqualified from being a Dayan. If it could be determined that the rabbi was indeed a knowledgeable and fully observant Jew and was a Conservative rabbi only because he could not find a position in an Orthodox community (and the other two rabbis on the Beis Din were in the same situation), then there would be room to consider the Gerus valid (depending on the sincerity of the Kabalas ha'Mitzvos). In such a case I would imagine Rav Feinstein might have said to redo the Gerus without a Berachah.
Kol Tuv,
Yonasan Sigler
This is not a Psak Halachah