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Adoption does not exist formally as a practice in Jewish Law (Halacha), although rabbinic texts were not uniform on whether or not they recognized the validity of adoption and several examples of adoption take place in the Hebrew Bible and texts from the Second Temple Judaism.[1] The Hebrew word for adoption ‘אימוץ’ (immutz), which derives from the verb ‘אמץ’ (amatz) in Psalm 80 verse 16 and 18[2][3][4][5] meaning ‘to make strong’, was not introduced until the modern age.[5] Jewish perspectives towards adoption promote two contradictory messages towards nurture and nature.[4] On the one hand, Judaism expresses favourable attitudes towards adoption across religious movements and is widely viewed as a good deed (mitzvah).[5] Based on the Talmudic teachings that when one raises an orphan in their home, "scripture ascribes it to him as though he had begotten him,"[6] rabbis have argued that the commandment of procreation can also be fulfilled through the act of adoption.[5] However, this interpretation raises a number of questions in relation to lineage and biological status, which is a core value in Halacha.
Adoption that is practiced in modern secular society derives from Roman law. The secular procedure for adoption involves the removal of all rights and responsibilities from the biological parents, which are then transferred onto the adoptive parent/s. Judaism contrasts to Roman law, in that the adoptive parents do not entirely replace the role of the biological parents.[5] Jewish Law aligns closer with British common law, within which the importance of royal bloodlines and class meant that an adoption procedure was never introduced.[4] Similarly, in Judaism, genealogy determines the status of the child, which cannot be removed by a legal procedure.[4]
:2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).:4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).