{"id":65581,"date":"2019-11-11T19:00:11","date_gmt":"2019-11-11T17:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=65581"},"modified":"2023-06-05T16:28:26","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T13:28:26","slug":"what-of-converts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/what-of-converts\/","title":{"rendered":"What Of Converts?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Any impartial survey of Jewish literature on the topic of converts to Judaism is forced to admit to an unsteady ambivalence. Not that any particular thinker is ambivalent; no, each has very strong opinions on the subject. It\u2019s that the strong opinions are mutually incompatible. Converts are as bad for the Jewish people as fleas on a dog, says one sage. No, converts are as good for the Jewish people as ribbons on a stallion, says another. Everyone knows what Judaism says about converts, but no one agrees as to what that is.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Isaiah 14, we see the prophet of comfort weigh in on the topic: when Israel is once again favored, says Isaiah, \u201cthe proselyte will join them and be attached to the House of Jacob.\u201d That seems pretty clear and unambiguous: non-Jews will join us, and they will become part of the House of Jacob.<\/span><\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, I think Isaiah is the view to follow. Converts appear scattered throughout ancient Israel\u2019s history in surprisingly positive and prominent places. Ruth is understood to be a convert, and through her we receive King David and eventually the Messiah. The great sages Shemaiah and Avtalion, leading lights of their generation, were both converts to Judaism.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Judaism that is based on courage, expansive vision, and hope, is one that embraces and welcomes those people who see themselves as sharing our destiny, even if their ancestors did not share our history.<\/span><\/p>\n

That expansive view enters Jewish law with the edit that it is prohibited to remind a convert of their having converted (presumably as a way of disparaging their view or way of practicing Judaism).<\/span><\/p>\n

In our own day, we have a similar choice to make. Do we retreat to a \u201ccircle the wagons\u201d kind of Judaism in which outsiders are treated with suspicion and the bar to joining is raised impossibly high?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Or dare we stand with Isaiah and live in the light, welcoming anyone brave enough to stand with us, and grateful for any fellow travelers who can share our love for the God of Israel and an embrace of the mitzvot that have elevated Jewish living across the ages?<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Rabbi Gershom Sizomu leads the men and boys to the Mikvah to complete their conversion to Judaism in the Abayudaya village of Nabogoye Uganda. 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