Instances of Conversion in the Torah

תנו רבנן מעשה בגוי אחד שבא לפני שמאי אמר לו כמה תורות יש לכם אמר לו שתים תורה שבכתב ותורה שבעל פה אמר לו שבכתב אני מאמינך ושבעל פה איני מאמינך גיירני על מנת שתלמדני תורה שבכתב גער בו והוציאו בנזיפה בא לפני הלל גייריה יומא קמא אמר ליה אב גד למחר אפיך ליה אמר ליה והא אתמול לא אמרת לי הכי אמר ליה לאו עלי דידי קא סמכת דעל פה נמי סמוך עלי: שוב מעשה בגוי אחד שבא לפני שמאי אמר לו גיירני על מנת שתלמדני כל התורה כולה כשאני עומד על רגל אחת דחפו באמת הבנין שבידו בא לפני הלל גייריה אמר לו דעלך סני לחברך לא תעביד זו היא כל התורה כולה ואידך פירושה הוא זיל גמור שוב מעשה בגוי אחד שהיה עובר אחורי בית המדרש ושמע קול סופר שהיה אומר ואלה הבגדים אשר יעשו חושן ואפוד אמר הללו למי אמרו לו לכהן גדול אמר אותו גוי בעצמו אלך ואתגייר בשביל שישימוני כהן גדול בא לפני שמאי אמר ליה גיירני על מנת שתשימני כהן גדול דחפו באמת הבנין שבידו בא לפני הלל גייריה אמר לו כלום מעמידין מלך אלא מי שיודע טכסיסי מלכות לך למוד טכסיסי מלכות הלך וקרא כיון שהגיע והזר הקרב יומת אמר ליה מקרא זה על מי נאמר אמר לו אפילו על דוד מלך ישראל נשא אותו גר קל וחומר בעצמו ומה ישראל שנקראו בנים למקום ומתוך אהבה שאהבם קרא להם בני בכורי ישראל כתיב עליהם והזר הקרב יומת גר הקל שבא במקלו ובתרמילו על אחת כמה וכמה בא לפני שמאי אמר לו כלום ראוי אני להיות כהן גדול והלא כתיב בתורה והזר הקרב יומת בא לפני הלל אמר לו ענוותן הלל ינוחו לך ברכות על ראשך שהקרבתני תחת כנפי השכינה לימים נזדווגו שלשתן למקום אחד אמרו קפדנותו של שמאי בקשה לטורדנו מן העולם ענוותנותו של הלל קרבנו תחת כנפי השכינה:

Shabbat 31a:5-9

The Sages taught: There was an incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai. The gentile said to Shammai: How many Torahs do you have? He said to him: Two, the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. The gentile said to him: With regard to the Written Torah, I believe you, but with regard to the Oral Torah, I do not believe you. Convert me on condition that you will teach me only the Written Torah. Shammai scolded him and cast him out with reprimand. The same gentile came before Hillel, who converted him and began teaching him Torah. On the first day, he showed him the letters of the alphabet and said to him: Alef, bet, gimmel, dalet. The next day he reversed the order of the letters and told him that an alef is a tav and so on. The convert said to him: But yesterday you did not tell me that. Hillel said to him: You see that it is impossible to learn what is written without relying on an oral tradition. Didn’t you rely on me? Therefore, you should also rely on me with regard to the matter of the Oral Torah, and accept the interpretations that it contains. There was another incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai and said to Shammai: Convert me on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot. Shammai pushed him away with the builder’s cubit in his hand. This was a common measuring stick and Shammai was a builder by trade. The same gentile came before Hillel. He converted him and said to him: That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study. There was another incident involving one gentile who was passing behind the study hall and heard the voice of a teacher who was teaching Torah to his students and saying the verse: “And these are the garments which they shall make: A breastplate, and an efod, and a robe, and a tunic of checkered work, a mitre, and a girdle” (Exodus 28:4). The gentile said: These garments, for whom are they designated? The students said to him: For the High Priest. The gentile said to himself: I will go and convert so that they will install me as High Priest. He came before Shammai and said to him: Convert me on condition that you install me as High Priest. Shammai pushed him with the builder’s cubit in his hand. He came before Hillel; he converted him. Hillel said to him, to the convert: Is it not the way of the world that only one who knows the protocols [takhsisei] of royalty is appointed king? Go and learn the royal protocols by engaging in Torah study. He went and read the Bible. When he reached the verse which says: “And the common man that draws near shall be put to death” (Numbers 1:51), the convert said to Hillel: With regard to whom is the verse speaking? Hillel said to him: Even with regard to David, king of Israel. The convert reasoned an a fortiori inference himself: If the Jewish people are called God’s children, and due to the love that God loved them he called them: “Israel is My son, My firstborn” (Exodus 4:22), and nevertheless it is written about them: And the common man that draws near shall be put to death; a mere convert who came without merit, with nothing more than his staff and traveling bag, all the more so that this applies to him, as well. The convert came before Shammai and told him that he retracts his demand to appoint him High Priest, saying: Am I at all worthy to be High Priest? Is it not written in the Torah: And the common man that draws near shall be put to death? He came before Hillel and said to him: Hillel the patient, may blessings rest upon your head as you brought me under the wings of the Divine Presence. The Gemara relates: Eventually, the three converts gathered together in one place, and they said: Shammai’s impatience sought to drive us from the world; Hillel’s patience brought us beneath the wings of the Divine Presence.

Why are the rules in Torah relevant within the rules of conversion in Judaism?

What were the conditions for Hillel’s conversion to Judaism?

יבמות מ״ח ב:ט״ו

תניא רבי חנניא בנו של רבן גמליאל אומר מפני מה גרים בזמן הזה מעונין ויסורין באין עליהן מפני שלא קיימו שבע מצות בני נח רבי יוסי אומר גר שנתגייר כקטן שנולד דמי אלא מפני מה מעונין לפי שאין בקיאין בדקדוקי מצות כישראל אבא חנן אומר משום ר' אלעזר לפי שאין עושין מאהבה אלא מיראה

Yevamot 48b:15

§ It is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Ḥananya, son of Rabban Gamliel, says: For what reason are converts at the present time tormented and hardships come upon them? It is because when they were gentiles they did not observe the seven Noahide mitzvot. Rabbi Yosei says: They would not be punished for their deeds prior to their conversion because a convert who just converted is like a child just born in that he retains no connection to his past life. Rather, for what reason are they tormented? It is because they are not as well-versed in the intricacies of the mitzvot as a born Jew, and consequently they often inadvertently transgress mitzvot. Abba Ḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Elazar: It is because they observe mitzvot not out of love of God, but only out of fear of the punishments for failing to observe them.

Why does Rabbi Hananya see Jewish conversion as a persons rebirth?

דברים כ״ח:ל״ה

(לה) יַכְּכָ֨ה יְהוָ֜ה בִּשְׁחִ֣ין רָ֗ע עַל־הַבִּרְכַּ֙יִם֙ וְעַל־הַשֹּׁקַ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־תוּכַ֖ל לְהֵרָפֵ֑א מִכַּ֥ף רַגְלְךָ֖ וְעַ֥ד קָדְקֳדֶֽךָ׃

Deuteronomy 28:35

(35) The LORD will afflict you at the knees and thighs with a severe inflammation, from which you shall never recover—from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

In the context of the Tanakh, can someone still be saved for their sins if not Converted?

גיטין נ״ו א:ז׳

א"ל לינוקא פסוק לי פסוקיך אמר ליה (יחזקאל כה, יד) ונתתי את נקמתי באדום ביד עמי ישראל וגו' אמר קודשא בריך הוא בעי לחרובי ביתיה ובעי לכפורי ידיה בההוא גברא ערק ואזל ואיגייר ונפק מיניה ר"מ

Gittin 56a:7

Nero then conducted another test: He said to a child: Tell me a verse that you learned today. He said to him as follows: “And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel” (Ezekiel 25:14). Nero said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, wishes to destroy His Temple, and He wishes to wipe his hands with that man, i.e., with me. The Romans are associated with Edom, the descendants of Esau. If I continue on this mission, I will eventually be punished for having served as God’s agent to bring about the destruction. So he fled and became a convert, and ultimately Rabbi Meir descended from him.

Was it allowed for Converted Jews to become Rabbis?

Does understanding Jewish law and tradition mean that one is qualified to become a Rabbi?

Why is it so intensive for people to convert to Judaism compared to other monotheistic religions?

Does the challenge of converting to Judaism deter people from completing their conversion?

Response to Questions:

In the sheet, “Instances of Conversion in Judaism”, the passages that were selected highlight the importance of the different guidelines that allow or prohibit non-Jews from becoming apart of the Jewish faith. We chose our passages based on whether or not the source highlighted key principles in Jewish conversion, and represented the serious nature of conversion. The passage from Shabbat 31a:5-9 was chosen because it gives anecdotal evidence as to why Jews must understand the written teachings and oral teachings of Judaism. Only focusing on the written teachings obstructs a converting Jew from understanding the deep-rooted tradition of Rabbinic Judaism of teaching through their experience. In Yevamot 48b:15 the passage references the idea of a convert’s sins being expunged because a person’s conversion to Judaism represents a rebirth of a person. This passage was chosen because it highlights the idea of a converted Jew’s newfound responsibility to uphold Judaism laws because God has accepted them regardless of their past lives. The passage in Tanakh 28:35 that was chosen shows that even if you convert to Judaism by understanding its laws, it doesn’t mean you are free from the law, but rather that if you break the law you will still be saved by God. This passage was chosen because it focuses on conversions as a means of helping someone find guidance in their lives. In Yevamot 48b:15 We chose these passages by focusing on the core themes and messages that the passages were trying to teach about conversion. The passage Gittin 56a:7 shows that converting to Judaism doesn’t bar the converted from becoming a Rabbi. This guideline shows that the converted are welcomed into Judaism because converted Jews are just as worthy as those born into Judaism. Passages that represented core principles about the process and reasons for conversion were added to the sheet because they helped to highlight the complexity of Jewish conversion and the importance of it in the Jewish religion. The sheet asks these questions to show that Jewish conversion is taken seriously, and is of great importance for someone wanting to become a part of the Jewish people. Asking these questions is important because it helps people understand the intricacies of Jewish conversion and that people wanting to convert must show their devotion to Judaism.