If Drew Barrymore Converts to Judaism, Will the Jewish Community Accept Her?
Recent rumors suggest the Drew Barrymore will attempt to convert to Judaism for her new fiancé Will Kopelman. However the Jewish community is very strict about whom they allow to convert and Barrymore may not have the cleanest of records.
Will Kopelman proposed to Barrymore in December, not even a year after they began dating. The actress has released very few plans about her wedding, telling "Good Morning America" that she was still caught in a sort of daze. "I'm like, oh goodness, it just happened a month ago! Do I not have it together or is it OK to keep daydreaming?" she said.
New rumors however, have suggested that part of the actress' plans will involve converting to Judaism. It has not been confirmed whether Barrymore's mother is Jewish or not, which would make Barrymore a Jew naturally in the eyes of most of the Jewish community, however she is unlikely to be able to convert without a great sincerity for the religion. In the past, Barrymore has not been known for her long commitments to relationships and converting to Judaism would require an even more serious commitment.
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This will be the actress' third marriage and fifth engagement. In 1991 at the age of 16, Barrymore became engaged to the grandson of Hollywood producer Leland Hayward but called it off after only a couple of months. A year later she became engaged again to Jamie Walters, which was called off in 1993. In 1994 she married bar owner Jeremy Thomas and got a divorce less than two months later. In 2001 she married comedian Tom Green and divorced him before the year was over.
The new engagement news comes before the couple has even celebrated their first year anniversary. According to In Touch magazine, Adam Sandler will be helping the actress convert. In addition to helping her down the aisle the source reported to In Touch, "He's even helping her with the process of converting to Judaism." The source added, "Those two absolutely adore each other, so it only made sense to Drew that he will be right by her side playing an important role at her wedding.
The source also claimed that Barrymore had promised the future in-laws she would raise the couple's children Jewish, a claim that was denied by her rep. According to Judaism 101 "traditional Judaism maintains that a person is a Jew if his mother is a Jew, regardless of who his father is."
BeingJewish.com elaborated the difficulties of becoming Jewish. "Becoming Jewish is, as you realize, a significant and life-changing event. It is not a small matter by any means," the site states. "When a Gentile wants to become Jewish, the Rabbis are required to try to dissuade him. Only the very sincere make it through the entire process. And the process can take a long while. It may not turn out to be easy."
