And You Shall Love the Convert

By Moshe Feiglin

14 Sivan, 5771
June 16, '11

Translated from the article on Ma'ariv's NRG website

Ruth the Moabite's conversion to Judaism has become the archetypical conversion, a model for the laws of converts. There are two basic principles for conversion that we learn from Ruth. "Your nation is my nation and your G-d is my G-d," Ruth says to her mother-in-law, Naomi. In other words, I choose to cling to the Nation of Israel and the G-d of Israel.

Jewish law has never sanctioned conversion based strictly on "Your nation is my nation" without the "Your G-d is my G-d" condition. In other words, there is no basis in Jewish law for a non-Jew to join the ranks of the Nation of Israel without practical acceptance of the Jewish faith. The ongoing controversy over conversion in the Jewish world is basically the debate between those who continue to abide by the principles of conversion that we learn from Ruth, and those who would like to determine a new principle; that it is possible to separate the two conditions and to include non-Jews in the Nation of Israel on a national basis only - without having them commit to the principles of Jewish faith.

"Why don't you accept me?" I was once asked by a friendly Russian man in the audience at one of my lectures.

"Please explain the problem," I answered him. "Have you not received Israeli citizenship?"

"I have received my citizenship," the man replied.

"Are you discriminated against in any way? Is there some benefit that you do not receive?"

"No, we receive everything - above and beyond what we could expect," he answered. But I cannot marry as I wish."

"You are right!" I answered him. "We must rectify this situation. When it will be up to me, you will be able to go to the Ministry of Interior and marry in a civil marriage. The clerk will give you and your new wife an official marriage certificate with the symbol of the state on top, and we will also throw in an official red seal with ribbons. As you leave the Ministry, we will even present you with a bouquet of flowers. Does this solve the problem?"

"No," he smiled sheepishly.

"Why not?"

"Because I want to be a Jew."

"So what is the problem? You can convert!"

"But they require me to keep commandments in which I do no believe."

'What a strange situation," I said. "As an Israeli citizen you were received here with open arms."

"True" he nodded.

"Now you want to be accepted not only to the State of Israel, but to the Nation of Israel. But you are not willing to join the club according to the rules that have been in effect for the last three thousand years. You want to join the club according to new rules that you will determine. Does that sound fair?" "The truth is," I added, "that you can undergo a Reform conversion, but you understand that that would be as good as a diploma bought from the University of Latvia."

"True," he nodded again.

"You understand that the true gate into the Nation of Israel opens through Orthodox Judaism - the Judaism that carries the mainstream of the Nation of Israel, the only stream of Judaism that has successfully negotiated all the crises of history and has brought us to this point. Reform Judaism is the gate out of Judaism, not into it. But now you are attempting to force your rules on the true representative of Judaism. Does that make any sense?"

There were no more questions on conversion at that lecture.