Ask him if his mother was Jewish?
but not the most important part of being a Jew. There are also a number of rulings that affect Jewish practice in Prison. In Ross v. Coughlin 669 F. Supp 1235 (S.D.N.Y. 1987), the key points were (1) that a prisoner can wear a beard but should shave for an ID photo; (2) yarmulke, tallith & tallith katan are allowed; and (3) Kosher food is allowed. Young v. Lane 922 F. 2d 370 (7th Cir. 1991) also ruled that a prisoner may wear yarmulka Ward v. Walsh 1 F. 3rd 873 (9th Cir. 1992) was a case where Kosher food was requested, but the request was remanded to District Court for more facts. Candles were not allowed because of security. Transferring the prisoner on Shabbat was permitted, because forcing prison not to transfer would be too much of a burden. There was also no obligation to get a rabbi. In Best v. Kelly 879 F. Supp 305 (W.D.N.Y. 1995), the prison chaplain said the plaintiff was not Jewish, and the court held he could not wear a yarmulke. In Thomas v. Lord 174 Misc.2d 461, 664 N.Y.S
