Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn The king of Conversion to Judaism.

Jan. 21, 2010 - PRLog -- In a time when religious fundamentalism seems to be in the news everyday, an Orthodox ordained rabbi is having a lot of success with a very pluralistic approach in both his congregation, Adat Achim Synagogue in Sunny Isles Beach, FL, and his Jewish conversion program. Perhaps you have heard about him on CNN or read his op-ed in the Jerusalem Post. His program has been featured in the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune. The reality is that, as the Miami-Dade Jewish Journal once said in an article about him, "There is a new rabbi in town." Different than in old times, when one used to say that there is a new sheriff in town, the town used to be a one-street strip, while Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn's little town extends into your living room.

Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn's not only the first rabbi in history to create and copyright a long-distance conversion program, he is also the only rabbi in the world with active and welcoming places of worship in several cities all over the world and who actively advocates for the equal rights of all Jews no matter their background, ethnicity, or nationality. He has performed the first conversions in history in China and also in Vietnam. He has brought light to The Kehlsteinhaus, Adolf Hitler's infamous "Eagle's Nest," and his most prized residence, and conducted a conversion seminar there in 2007. As a first mitzvah (commandment) his students participated in a memorial service in honor of the Jews that were killed by Hitler. According to a great article from the August 7, 2007 issue of Sueddeutsche Zeitung." A New Life Will Arrive," it's exactly a conversion to Judaism that is the topic that made Rabbi Cukierkorn so well known.

The Pluralism Project at Harvard University is making a wonderful show about his conversions depicting professors' artwork demonstrating his popularity. Currently there is a documentary that was filmed in Florida by a movie producer who made Rabbi Cukierkorn's program the thesis of her Master's degree at Colombia University and featured some of his students and current members of Adat Achim Synagogue.

However, who is Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn and what does he believe? Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn was born in Brazil and has only one brother who is also a rabbi. He came from a very impressive rabbinical dynasty. His grandmother's grandfather was the Kotske Rebbe. Besides the Rebbe of Kotske, he is also related to Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin, the founder of Yeshiva Chochme Lublin and who was also the president of Agudat Israel political party. Rabbi Cukierkorn is also a descendent of Pinchas of Koretz and studied at Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, NJ at the Aleph Institute in Philadelphia, PA, and at Yeshiva Ayshel Avrham in Monsey, N Y.

Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn said that Judaism is a philosophy that must empower individuals to be better. Many religious leaders believe that their parishioners need to be good but in Judaism, he feels that followers believe that we need to be better. He believes that The Torah is the toolbox where each of the tools to fix the world are stored and that God has given it to us and the ability to solve the problems. He also said that before anyone would set themselves to fix the problem, they first need understand if there is a problem to solve and that we then need to ask ourselves, 'does my solution make me a better person and will it make the world a better place?' He also believes in a concept that he has created called "multisemitism" and that it should be at the forefront of all Jewish organizations. Rabbi Cukierkorn said "The messianic time will exist in the day NOT when everyone will look Jewish but in the day when everyone will act Jewish."

For more information on his synagogue and conversions, contact Rabbi Cukierkorn at 305-510-8111 or at myrabbi@msn.com. His synagogue's website is www.adatachim.org and www.convertingtojudaism.com

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