[Be-Ahavah U-Be-Emunah – Naso 5773
– translated by R. Blumberg]
Question: In our
country, there are 300,000 immigrants who are non-Jews. It isn’t clear who was
responsible for this bizarre phenomenon, but it’s a fact that we cannot ignore. 99% of them are uninterested in Mitzvah
observance, so perhaps we must enact a mass conversion of whoever is interested
in converting, rendering them part of the Jewish People, without Torah and
Mitzvot, and make do with that.
Answer: Conversion
in our generation is like conversion throughout the generations, for the Torah
has not changed. Quite the contrary, according to the Torah, we have to be more
careful about accepting converts in our generation than in previous
generations, since the situation in our country is good, thank G-d. Hence we
have to consider the possibility that whoever sets out to convert is not doing
so out of love of the Torah of Israel, but for his own benefit. As Rambam said:
“The correct way of effecting conversion, is that when a prospective convert approaches
us, we investigate whether that candidate is seeking conversion for monetary
benefits, power or even out of fear. And we also investigate whether or not
that candidate has set his eyes on a Jewish person of the opposite sex… The Rabbinical courts rejected converts throughout
the entire time of King David and King Shlomo. During the time of the former,
converts were rejected lest they were coming out of fear, and during the latter
they were rejected lest they were attracted by the great monarchy and bounty
that Israel enjoyed. Whoever applies for conversion out of ulterior motives is
not considered a righteous convert” (Hilchot Isurei Bi'ah 13:14-15).
Indeed, in
our own times, whoever sets out to convert is suspected of being insincere, making
us wonder, “Why are you coming now? Why didn’t you come during the Crusades,
during the Chelminski pogroms or during the Holocaust, but only to a fine,
wealthy country?!” (see Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 268:2). It may very well be
that the candidate is sincere, but he certainly should have to prove it.
There are
discussions within Jewish law about whether or not Mitzvot have to be performed
with sincere intent (Orach Chaim 60), but with conversion it’s different. It’s
not enough to proclaim, “Your people are my people”. Rather, the candidate must
say, “Your people are my people and your G-d is my G-d,” as Rut did (Rut 1:16).
Otherwise, the candidate is referring to a different Jewish People, one that
has no G-d that revealed Himself to them at Sinai and gave them Torah and
Mitzvot. He is then not a “righteous convert” [Ger Tzedek], to use Rambam’s
term. He’s got the wrong address. He has converted to a different Jewish
People. Thus, changing the definition of a convert is tantamount to changing
the definition of the Jewish People.
How then
did Hillel the Elder accept the candidate who said to him, “Convert me with the
intent of making me the High Priest” (Shabbat 31a). How could that be? Surely
that candidate was seeking power and privilege! Rather, the Tosafot explain
that Hillel knew that that convert was on his way towards being a total convert
(Yevamot 109b, s.v., “Ra’a”). It was
clear to Hillel that his insincerity would develop into sincerity.
In our day
as well, if a court is convinced and certain that the conversion candidate will
ultimately be G-d fearing, the Rabbinic court justice can accept him on his own
discretion (Beit Yosef 61, Yoreh Deah 268).
Nonetheless,
in our day the reality is the opposite. In many cases, when someone sets out to
convert, the court is convinced that he is not going to keep Torah and Mitzvot.
Moreover,
if people seek to convert under such circumstances, we have to wait and see
what is going to happen. As Rambam wrote: “And despite that [suspicion we
harbor regarding the attractiveness of King David’s era], many converts still
converted during the days of Kings David and Shlomo before laymen’s courts, and
the Sanhedrin suspected them. All the same, since they had immersed in the
ritual bath they wouldn’t reject them, but they would not accept them until
they saw what became of them.” (Hilchot Isurei Biah 13:15)
Likewise,
Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Avraham Shapira explained that it does not suffice for the convert
to say that he accepts the yoke of Mitzvot. Rather, as long as it is not yet
clear to us that he truly intends to keep Torah and Mitzvot fully, he is a “Safek
Ger” [a convert of doubtful status] (Menachem Avraham 1, pp. 69-70. And if
there is a clear assessment that he has not undertaken the yoke of Mitzvot,
then there is no value to his declaration, and his conversion does not take
hold (Shut Achiezer 3:26, at the start of paragraph 3. Shut Da’at Cohian 153, d.h.
vatimhenu me’od).
Some argue
that it says, “Love the convert” (Devarim 10:19). Certainly he must be loved,
brought near and accepted graciously. Yet that does not mean that we should lie
in the name of the Torah. Imagine someone telling his physician, “Please treat
me nicely. Love me. Make no demands of me. Go lightly with me. Let your
doctoring be friendly and indulgent.” If a physician conducted himself that
way, against what he was taught, he would be expelled from the medical
profession.
It is true
that the first Sephardic Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Ben
Tzion Uziel wrote that in a great emergency, one can accept converts even if it
is clear that they will not keep Torah and Mitzvoth (Piskei Uziel Bi-She’elot
Hazman 65), and he was certainly a very illustrious rabbi. Yet his was a
solitary view, and all the other halachic authorities rejected it (Achiezer
ibid., Da’at Kohen, ibid. and 143, Igrot Moshe, Minchat Yitzchak, Shevet Levi,
Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Shlomo Auerbach, Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Elyashiv, et al).
Likewise
Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Shlomo Dichovsky expressed the novel idea that if the candidate
declared that he accepts the Mitzvot, his conversion is in force even if his
behavior afterwards contradicts this, because we have to accept the idea that
at the very moment he made the declaration, there was a spark within him of intent
to keep Torah and Mitzvot. Yet that, as well, is a solitary view, with which
the other halachic authorities do not agree.
It is true
that sometimes in an emergency we rely on solitary views, but here it’s the opposite.
A convert has to be accepted as a Jew according to most opinions, even
according to all opinions. Consider the following: Suppose I came to you
suggesting that you marry a wonderful girl, but the chance that she was Jewish
was only one percent? Would you agree to marry her? Even if there was a one
percent chance that she was not Jewish, you would not agree.
Therefore,
we don’t do mass conversions, but only individual conversions, based on investigating
each candidate about whether or not he/she wishes to join the fold. True, the history
books note that there were cases of mass conversions, but it is not certain
whether this involved pristine, genuine conversion, or adoption of a few Jewish
customs. Moreover, it is not made clear what came of that afterwards. Likewise,
there is no support for any of this in our Talmudic or halachic literature.
What is clear is that from a scientific perspective, the DNA of Jews from all
ethnic groups is almost identical, which points to a low percentage of conversions.
The rule
of thumb is this: If a non-Jew converts and does not undertake to keep Mitzvot,
his conversion is no conversion (Da’at Kohen 148, Minchat Yitzchak 6:107, et al).
Moreover,
even imagining that such a conversion would be considered valid, what benefit
would we be bringing to that person who is not going to be keeping Mitzvot? We are
no missionaries, and we do not say that the World-to-Come is only for Jews.
That non- Jew, prior to his conversion, is one of the righteous gentiles who
has a heavenly portion.
Now we are
transforming him into a Jewish sinner who has no share in the World-to-Come!
(Igrot Moshe, Yoreh Deah 157. Minchat Shlomo 35:3).
If so, you
ask, what is the solution? There is no solution! It is an unsolvable problem!
After all,
we have other serious, unsolvable problems in our national lives: the
proliferation of our enemies from without and from within; large portions of
our people being estranged from the Torah; educational and legal systems that
do not conform with Jewish law; most of the Jewish People living in the Exile facing
terrible spiritual dangers. And all this without mentioning the unsolvable
problem of the Exile, which weighed heavily on us for two thousand years, and
even so, it didn’t break us, and didn’t force us to abandon our religion.
Rather, we
believed that this suffering would meet its end, and now our hope is being fulfilled.
In just
the same way, the problem of large numbers of non-Jews in Israel will be
solved. How? We don’t know. Perhaps it will happen the way our sages envision
it, or perhaps in some other way: “In the future, idolaters will come and
convert. Will we accept them? Surely we learned, ‘We don’t accept converts in
the Messianic era,’ just as we did not accept them in the times of David or of
Shlomo. Rather, they will become self-made converts, i.e., ‘they will push
their way in, even though they are not accepted’ (Rashi on Avoda Zara 22a), and
they will put Tefillin on their heads and their arms, Tzitzit on their garments
and Mezuzot on their doorposts.
“When
those converts see the War of Gog and Magog, they will ask Gog and Magog, ‘Why
have you come?’ and the answer will be, ‘To attack G-d and His anointed,’ as it
says, ‘Why are the nations in an uproar? Why do the peoples mutter in vain?’
(Tehillim 2:1). Every one of those converts will then pull off his Tefillin and
leave, as it says, ‘Let us break their bands’ (v. 3), and G-d sits and laughs:
‘He who sits in heaven laughs.’” (Avoda Zara 3b)
Let us
strengthen ourselves in the pathway of Torah. Let us not change or alter our Nation.
Your people are my people and your G-d is my G-d.
