Ask The Rabbi
5 September 1998
Issue #205
Parshas Ki Seitzei
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This publication is available in HTML format at
http://www.ohr.org.il/ask/ask205.htm
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Researched at Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem
This Issue Contains:
1.  A Question of Conversion 	3. Yiddle Riddle
2.  Public Domain
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A Question of Conversion

"ASK THE RABBI" receives many questions regarding conversion to Judaism. 
The following are some sample questions we have received:

Jim from Roberts, Washington <613@usa.net> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

If a Gentile feels compelled to Torah observance, is this inappropriate 
because he is not Jewish and without the leadership (or at least advice) of 
a local rabbi? Should this person be encouraged only to follow the Noachide 
laws, or to consider conversion?


Rick email@withheld wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

My name is Rick, and I'm 16 (very soon to be 17) years old. I have studied 
Judaism through books, the help of my Jewish neighbors and I manage to 
attend shul every so often. Soon, I'll be entering the Air Force. I have 
wanted to convert for three years, and want to get converted before I enter 
the service. I want my belief and religion to be official. I don't want to 
die (G-d forbid) in combat without having my spiritual belief official. 
What should I do, and how should I go about it? Shalom.


Christoph M. Kubiak <cmk17358@cca.munet.edu> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Shalom Rebbe. What are the writings in the Torah or Midrashim concerning 
the treatment of converts from a rabbinical perspective and from the 
community's perspective? I know a guy who wants to convert, and I am 
curious what ceremonies or rules that apply to his conversion. Will he be a 
True Jew and will his children? I don't know this kind of stuff so I want 
to help him find out. He has studied Torah for many years so he is sure 
that Hashem guides him this way for a good reason.


Mark Zuckerbraun <markz@msmailgw.idsnet.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I know that Orthodox conversions typically require about two years' time to 
be complete. I had heard that there were some Orthodox rabbis who have 
converted people in less than this time, sometimes in only ten days! 
Therefore, my question is, if such a conversion would normally be 
considered invalid, but three truly Orthodox rabbis ruled the conversion to 
be valid and signed the certificates, would that in and of itself be enough 
to allow the conversion to be considered valid by Am Yisrael?


John Ross, Kadena Air Base, U.S. <rossj@kic.or.jp> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I'm interested in becoming a ger (convert to Judaism). However, I'm in the 
US Air Force and so can't have a beard. Plus, my fiancee and I honestly do 
not know if we could be faithful to all the requirements. Are both of those 
requirements necessary before any Beit Din would recognize me as Torah 
observant (and thus eligible to become a ger)?


Nicole Blake from Woodbridge, Ontario <blake1@idirect.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I am a 17 yr. old African-American Christian girl. I recently started to 
read the Bible, and I've had deep thoughts of converting to the Jewish 
religion. Although I have a lot of friends that are Jewish, I've never 
shared my thoughts of converting with them, because I'm afraid that I won't 
be accepted by the Jewish community because I'm black. Can you please help 
me to make the right decision of converting, by telling me how I too can be 
a faithful believer in Judaism?


Name@Withheld from Florida wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I'm having a problem with my daughter-in-law who converted to Judaism and 
has a son, and now can't accept the fact she can't celebrate Xmas. What do 
you do?


Name@Withheld from UK wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I am an English girl who would like to convert to Orthodox Judaism (I have 
already converted to Reform Judaism). I would be grateful if you could tell 
me the best way of going about this, and which authorities are halachically 
acceptable.

************

IMPORTANT NOTE: Each of the above individuals has already received a 
personal reply from "ASK-THE-RABBI." Each reply is different and attempts 
to address each person's specific situation. What follows is a general 
essay on conversion which answers some of the above questions. The 
following essay was not sent to the above individuals.

Before the giving of the Torah there was no strict legal definition of a 
Jew, because the law had not yet been given. This means that the people who 
came to Mt. Sinai were not Jews (in a legal sense) yet. In fact, the 
Revelation at Mt. Sinai can be viewed as a mass conversion to Judaism of 
millions of descendants of Abraham. In this sense, every Jew is descended 
from a convert; some go back to Sinai, and some later in history. The idea 
of conversion after Mt. Sinai is mentioned in the Torah itself and we are 
exhorted more than thirty times (!) not to oppress a convert. For instance, 
"And when a convert lives amongst you in your land do not oppress him. The 
convert shall be like one of your citizens and you shall love him as 
yourself, for you were strangers in the Land of Egypt..." (Leviticus 19:33-
34)

We derive our obligation to welcome a convert from one of the most famous 
converts in history, Yitro, the father-in-law of Moses. As the Midrash 
states: "I am the One who drew Yitro near and did not reject him. You also, 
when a person comes to convert and does this for the sake of Heaven, draw 
him near and do not reject him."

What does the conversion process involve? It requires that the non-Jew go 
through a re-enactment of the revelation at Mt. Sinai. As Maimonides 
writes: "The Israelites entered into the covenant with three things; 
circumcision, immersion, and sacrifices. Circumcision was performed in 
Egypt, as it is written `and all uncircumcised (males) shall not eat of it 
(the paschal lamb).' Immersion (purification) was performed in the desert 
before the giving of the Torah, as it is written `and you shall sanctify 
yourselves today and tomorrow.' And at this time sacrifices were also 
brought...So too for all generations, a gentile who wishes to enter into 
the covenant, to find shelter under the wings of the Shechina (Divine 
Presence) and to accept upon himself the yoke of Torah, requires 
circumcision, immersion and acceptance of a sacrifice (at the time of the 
Temple)."

There are three basic components to the contemporary conversion process: 
Circumcision (for males), immersion in a mikveh and as Maimonides mentions, 
the acceptance of the "yoke of Torah." This is just like the Jews at Sinai 
who unconditionally accepted all the commandment when they said "We will do 
and we will listen." All the above must be done in the presence of a Beit 
Din (Jewish court) because they are the representatives of Moses, the 
lawgiver.

If any one of the above three things is omitted, the conversion is invalid. 
A convert to Judaism must be prepared to accept all the commandments of the 
Torah without exception. If there is no acceptance of the commandments, 
even if three Orthodox Rabbis rule that the person is Jewish, he is not 
Jewish. Without acceptance of the Torah's commandments, the conversion 
would just be a sham.

Once a person sincerely converts to Judaism, they are 100% Jewish, and we 
are obligated to love, welcome and accept them into our people. When they 
recite the prayers, they refer to the Patriarchs and Matriarchs as "our 
fathers" and "our mothers." At the Passover Seder they say "G-d took our 
fathers out of Egypt." They are full-fledged members of the Community of 
Israel.

In general, we do not encourage someone to convert. There are two reasons 
for this:

First of all, we believe that when a gentile keeps the seven Noachide laws, 
he merits a portion in the World-to- Come, and therefore there is no 
imperative for him to become Jewish. If, like the Christians and Moslems, 
we believed that those of other religions are condemned to damnation, then 
we also would desire to convert people. However, we believe that a person 
can be completely righteous and merit the World-to-Come without conversion, 
by adhering to the basic moral laws revealed to Noach. Therefore we feel no 
compulsion to convert others, unless they show a desire to convert.

Secondly, since sincerity is one of the criteria for conversion, one way in 
which we can determine that the candidate is sincere is by discouraging him 
from converting. If he persists and does so for the love of Judaism, then 
we accept him with open arms.

It's interesting to note that some of our most famous scholars were 
converts, or descendants of converts. Rabbi Akiva was the son of Yosef the 
ger tzedek, the righteous convert. The Talmud states that some of the 
greatest rabbis were descendants of Haman! The standard Aramaic translation 
of the Torah that is printed in most Chumashim was written by a convert, 
Onkelos.

Sources:

* Yalkut Shimoni Yitro 268
* Mishneh Torah, Laws of Forbidden Relationships, 13:1-4
* Tractate Sanhedrin 66b

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Yiddle Riddle

Last week we asked: Which weekly Torah portion don't we read this year?

Answer: Parshat Vayelech. In the year 5757, Parshat Vayelech was read 
before Rosh Hashana (25 Elul 5757). The next reading of Parshat Vayelech is 
in 5759, just after Rosh Hashana (6 Tishri 5759). In 5758 it is not read at 
all.

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The Public Domain

Comments, quibbles, and reactions 
concerning previous "Ask-the-Rabbi" features


Re: Sherlox (Parsah Q&A, Parshas Balak):

I enjoyed (as always) the Sherlox Holmes section, and would like to tell 
you about an interesting alternative explanation (that I heard) for Rashi's 
comment that Bilaam's statement was self-indicting: Balak offered Bilaam 
honor (which is taken literally, instead of meaning money), and Bilaam 
replied that "Even if you offered me all your silver and gold...." The word 
"even" implies that Bilaam considered the money an even greater reward than 
honor. Thus Bilaam's statement could read: "Not only will I refuse to do 
this for honor, but even if you offered me all the gold, I still would not 
transgress Hashem's word..." placing money above honor, and giving a little 
insight into Bilaam's perspective. Thank you for the fascinating DTs! Keep 
them coming!

A. Ziskind, Cape Town SA <az@uctvms.uct.ac.za>

**********

Re: Yiddle Riddle (Ask #196):

You asked a riddle regarding a person performing two identical acts, the 
first time it's a mitzvah and the second time it's a sin: Here's another 
answer: It's a mitzvah to circumcise an eight-day old baby, even on 
Shabbat. However, if a baby is nine days old or older, it is forbidden to 
circumcise him on Shabbat. So, if on Shabbat a person circumcises an eight-
day old baby and then a nine-day old baby, the first one would be a mitzvah 
and the second one would be a sin. Looking forward to more riddles.

Ravi Shahar <ravis@writemail.com>

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