1.
The matter of converting to Judaism is complicated. I could never do the subject justice in a post.
That said, there are good people in the world whom I would love to welcome into the Peoplehood of Israel.
2.
Conversion to Judaism these days is very problematic. Too many of the wrong people are converting, and for the wrong reasons.
In too many countries, I have seen Jews sideline their own brothers and sisters while welcoming into their congregations people who “become jewish” for entire social reasons.
This state of affairs is a desecration of the name Jew and of the name of the God of the Jews.
3.
Rabbi Noach Weinberg, the creator of Aish HaTorah told me personally that he originally attempted to teach his understanding of Judaism to people who were born and raised Orthodox Jews only to discover that the historically stubborn Sons of Israel remained stubborn. So he went ahead and began appealing to Judaically-ignorant Jews and to non-Jews with Jewish ancestry or a yearning for his Judaism who had not yet been brainwashed into a version of Judaism wrought with superstition and the belief in the righteousness of suffering.
Sanctifying the name of the God of Abraham Isaac, and Jacob is a necessity, and converting anybody to a Judaism with fundamental problems is not that kind of sanctification.
However, informing the world entire about our Judaism, and allowing them to ask about it to their heart's content is the healthy human process which will allow them to:
A) Understand us and
B) Decide whether they would like to apply for conversion into our people or to accept the 7 Laws of Noah [or to go their own way]
is a Kiddush Hashem, a Sanctification of the name of My God, and something that should be done if it can be done right.
4.
There's no question that descent from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is valuable in some manner that I can't speak to.
It's also obvious by even a cursory glance at my skin tone, never mind my genetic code, that neither I nor anybody else is entirely descended from the ancient Jews.
Even King David had non-Jewish ancestry and there's an entire book of the Jewish Bible dedicated to expressing that point and to the point of the importance of bringing righteous converts into the fold and “under the wing of the divine presence”.
5.
There is a beautiful letter from Maimonides to a convert who asked him whether in his prayers he should refrain from saying expressions such as “God of Our Fathers”, and “who bequeathed to us” the land of Israel, and “who chose us”...
Maimonides responds with more than a few words but the jist of it is that Abraham is his father, and that through his choice to join us Our God did choose him, and that he does inherit The Land and that there is no difference in Jewish status between him, Maimonides, the most important leader of World Jewry alive at that time and him, Ovadiah, a fellow born and raised a Non-Jew, who converted to Judaism as an adult, whom he, Maimonides, refers to as, “our Master and Rabbi Ovadiah, the Enlightened and Understanding Righteous Convert may Y-H-W-H repay him for his work, and may his reward from Y-H-W-H the God of Israel - under whose wings he has come for shelter - Be Complete”.
I have inherited certain valuable truths and understandings from my literal and spiritual ancestors and would very much enjoy seeing all good people understand and engage in them as well.
6.
I was going to share Maiminides’ letter to Ovadiah but I think this is more important.
Under no circumstances am I interested in (God Forbid) encouraging conversion.
This post originated via a confluence of two factors.
A) How dare I not inform good people about this good religion and invite them to to find out about it so that they can choose ehether to join my family or not?
and
B) Yesterday I briefly mentioned Arab Israelis* some of whom have been overwhelmingly identifying with the People of Israel. This brought to mind the most important thing I know about Maimonides’ view regarding conversion to Judaism and that is:
That we must not accept for conversion someone with a theological or personal interest in converting to Judaism for his or her own increased spiritual attainment.
Here's how to receive a Righteous Convert. When an individual comes to convert from the nations who worship false gods, after you’ve investigated and found that his reasons for conversion aren’t due to any pretext (such as wanting to marry somebody Jewish) you should say to him: ”Why would you want to convert? Are you not aware that Jews these days are oppressed, overwhelmed, hurt, pressured and suffering?” If he responds with, “I know, and I wish I were worthy” then he is accepted for consideration immediately.
Maimonides’ next paragraph begins by saying, “now you tell him the basics of the faith, such as that there is One God”.
In other words, it isn't theological depth that's most valuable. And it isn't theological depth that gets you in.
7.
These days Maimonides would be very very cautious about accepting converts. After all, Jews are not being pushed around and made to suffer for being Jews.
According to Maimonides, during periods that it is plainly beneficial to be Jewish, converts are not accepted because there's no way to know for sure whether they are worthy.
There is even a small community of Syrian Jews in New York who decided nearly a hundred years ago that they would not accept converts for this reason. Their children were mingling comfortably with Non-Jews and there were therefore young men and women applying to convert in order to marry a Jewish boy or a Jewish girl from their community. In such an atmosphere it's obvious that Jews aren't suffering too terribly and that therefore potential righteous converts couldn't be distinguished from converts of convenience and that therefore Maimonides’ ONLY interview hurdle before deciding whether to consider an individual for conversion could not be utilized and did not apply.
But you know for whom this does apply?
Those Arab-Israelis who put their lives on the line on October 7th to save their Jewish brothers and sisters from slaughter.
_____________________________
*See here: