AMBIVALENCE IN PROSELYTISM
Moshe Zemer
proselyte by denigrating the allegedly idolatrous practices of his Muslim ancestors. The convert, R. Obadiah Ger Zedek, complained to Maimonides , who reprimanded the rabbi and warned him that the Torah commands us treat the proselyte with tenderness and understanding.’
Eight centuries have passed and we still find that prospective converts are treated badly by official rabbinical establishments in many parts of the world. In certain countries, a candidate must traverse an arduous obstacle course before conversion. In others, rabbinic courts have stopped converting altogether.
Conversion for an Ulterior Motive
One key to the ambivalent attitude towards converts is the principle requirement for conversion, kabbalat ol hamitzvot, the sincere acceptance of the religion of Israel and its precepts. The early halakhah forbade conversion to Judaism for ulterior motives such as marriage.
A second century sage, R. Nehemiah, ruled that a man who became a proselyte for the sake of a woman and a woman who converted for the wake of a man,(or for any other extraneous reason) are not proselytes. However, later Talmudic halakhah determined in the name of the third century Amora, Rab, that even if they converted to Judaism because of an ulterior motive, nonetheless, bediavad(post factum) they are valid Jewish converts.