In the last session, we studied the classical Biblical and Rabbinic Sources, laying the foundation for our understanding of the core principles of the conversion discourse in Judaism. In this more historical session, we are going to look at 'the long present', from the early Middle Ages to Modernity, and see how both attitudes towards and practices of conversion have shifted in line with the broader societal context.
Question: how do you think conversion to Judaism has shifted through the centuries? What do you think have been its main obstacles and opportunities?
At this point in our learning, what is a 'truth' and a 'lie' you know about conversion to Judaism?
Part 2: The (Long) Jewish Present - Closing & (Re)Opening the Gates
- Examining the scholarship: 'Jews don't proselytize...' or did they?
- Closing the gates: the Edict of Constantine & the long Middle Ages
- Reopening the Gates: Jewish emancipation, Classical Reform and a universal mission (mid19th to mid20thcenturies)
- Modernity & a new Jewish landscape: social integration and sharing)
Did Jews Proselytize? Myth versus Fact
We will examine this statement:
"There is a common understanding that Jews don’t encourage conversion, but during early Jewish history Jews did engage in missionary activities. In fact, during the Greco-Roman period of Jewish history, thousands of non-Jews living in Asia Minor embraced Judaism. The destruction of the Roman Empire and mortal threats against Jews who sought converts marked the end of formal, organized efforts to proselytize."
Source: “Conversion - Choosing Judaism”: http://www.reformjudaism.org/choosing-judaism-0
Some questions to ask ourselves:
- Is it really true that 10% of the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity was Jewish or 'Jewish adjacent'?
- It is often said in Jewish spaces that 'Jews don't proselytize': is this historically or textually accurate?
- How do we define 'proselytizing' or 'missionary activity'?
"By the 1st century C.E. perhaps 10 percent of the Roman Empire, or about 7 million people, were Jews, with about 2.5 million in Palestine. These population figures are very unreliable, but they are probably fairly accurate in regard to percentages. Such an explosion in population could not have been caused entirely by natural birthrate, but conversion must have played an important part." p. 67
Source: Pasachoff, Naomi E.; Littman, Robert J. (1995). A Concise History of the Jewish People. Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield (published 2005).
- Why are the historical questions of Jewish conversion and Jewish mission linked? Are they the same phenomenon? Is it a given that one gives rise to the other? Mission is the 'cutting edge' of the conversionary discourse in Judaism, the 'bubbles' in the mikveh water of conversion.
- What is proselytizing? Identifying different types/taxonomy of (soft or hard) missionary activity: informative, educational, apologetic, proselytizing (as per Martin Goodman in 'Mission and Conversion: Proselytizing in the Religious History of the Roman Empire')
"In principle, [all] four types of mission—informative, educational, apologetic, and proselytizing—could be aimed either at all humans or only at a selected few. If some groups tried to inform, educate, or recruit into their membership specific individuals, such as relatives… or friends, with whom they already had social relations, such cementing of social bonds cannot be taken as evidence that they would also have a missionary impulse towards total outsiders."
p. 5
(Goodman takes 'minimalist' position)
"Previous scholarship on this topic is relatively easy to divide up into a taxonomy of views. Essentially there are those who maintain that Judaism was a missionary religion and those who argue that it was not. Around the turn of the twentieth century, it was common to argue that Judaism was indeed a missionary religion. This view found notable expression in the works of Adolf von Harnack, Emil Schurer, Julius Wellhausen, and T. Mommsen. The position
was reinforced by several scholars well versed in Jewish sources, including G.F. Moore, B.J. Bamberger, W.G. Braude and S. Sandmel…"
p. 8
"Did Jews proselytize Gentiles? Undoubtedly so, according to the results of this investigation. Several Jewish groups and individuals actively facilitated the conversion of Gentiles to a form of Judaism and even incorporated them into Jewish communities.... was Second Temple Judaism, in its diversity, a missionary religion? The evidence presented above seems to vindicate the growing consensus that the Judaism of the period was not by and large a missionary religion. What evidence does exist for it is either ambiguous... spasmodic... or exceptional. There is no evidence for an organized campaign or a widely held ethos that endeavored to recruit Gentiles to Judaism via the process of proselytizing. But this conclusion bust be qualified considerable. First, as we have seen, it depends entirely on how one defines mission and conversion... Second, in the Second Temple period, different Jewish communities and individuals and wide-ranging views on the fate of the Gentiles, the role of the synagogue in a pagan city, and the means and necessity of Gentiles entering into Israel. Some groups were more interested in proselytes than others. This generated a constellation of views and practices towards Gentiles." pp. 149-150
Source: Michael Bird, Crossing Over Sea and Land - Jewish Missionary Activity in the Second Temple Period
What are some of your reactions to this historical context? Is this what you expected or is it surprising?
Conclusion: if we define 'proselytizing' in a narrow sense, often informed by an anachronistic, colloquial and Christian understanding, then the answer is no. If we see mission in its historical context as a diverse set of actions and attitudes as seen through a Jewish theological lens, then the answer may very well be yes.
The Stuff They Don't Tell You About Hanukkah
The forced conversion of the Idumeans (Edomites) by the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus as described by Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in his 'Antiquities'
"In Ant. XIII 257, Josephus refers to John Hyrcanus' (reigned ca. 135-134 - 104 BCE) final conquest of Idumea... the submission of all Idumeans, as well as their forcible conversion to Judaism... At the same time, for the two events - the capture of Marissa and the conversion of the Idumeans - we have parallel literary and archeological material." p. 177
"Namely, according to Ant. XIII 257, on hearing of Antiochus VII's death, Hyrcanus undertook a number of campaigns against the cities of Transjordan, Samaria and Idumea; accordingly, scholars have traditionally dated the conquest of Idumea to ca. 129 BCE... The conquest of the Idumean territory was also accompanied by significant political and social measures undertaken by John Hyrcanus. According to Ant. XIII 257, the Idumeans were offered the choice between expulsion and (what is frequently labelled as) conversion to Judaism. Josephus' picture of a compulsory conversion of the Idumeans (including the rite of circumcision) aroused a great deal of controversy among scholars, as it is thought to be contradicted by the testimony of Strabo but supported by that of Ptolemy the Historian." p. 178 (Strabo considered the conversion voluntary; Ptomely considered it forced).
Source: Michal Marciak, Idumea and the Idumeans in Josephus' Story of Hellenistic-Early Roman Palestine , Aevum, Anno 91, Fasc. 1 (Gennaio-Aprile 2017), pp. 171-193 (23 pages)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26477573
In the last session, we talked about 'the good, the bad and the ugly' in the conversionary narrative. Forced conversions in Jewish history - whether by the sword or for the sake of political expediency - is part of an ugly heritage of power and oppression. How does this make you feel? What is your response?
The Empire Strikes Back: Roman and Christian responses to Judaism and Jewish conversion.
Tacitus (c. 56-120 CE), Roman Historian, on the Jews
"...Circumcision was adopted by them as a mark of difference from other men. Those who come over to their religion adopt the practice, and have this lesson first instilled into them, to despise all gods, to disown their country, and set at nought parents, children, and brethren. Still they provide for the increase of their numbers... the Jews have purely mental conceptions of Deity, as one in essence...their religion is mean and tasteless..."
What is Tacitus accusing Jews of? What do you make of Tacitus' (hostile) characterization of the Judaism of his day?
The Edict of Constantine
"In 329, however, the Jews were forbidden to perform the rite of circumcision on slaves or to own Christian slaves; the death penalty was ordained for those who embraced the Jewish faith, as well as for Jews versed in the Law who aided them. On the other hand, Jewish converts to Christianity were protected against the fanaticism of their former coreligionists. Simultaneously with this an edict was issued forbidding marriages between Jews and Christians, and imposing the death penalty upon any Jew who should transgress this law. Some of these enactments were affirmed in 335. Noteworthy is the hostile language of several of these laws, in which Judaism is spoken of as an ignominious or as a bestial sect ("secta nefaria" or "feralis")."
Source: The Jewish Encyclopedia
https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4620-constantine-i-flavius-valerius-aurelius-constantinus
What do you think the impact was of the Edict of Constantine on Jewish conversionary activity?
Hard Times: Conversion in the Middle Ages
"During the early Middle Ages, under Charlemagne, and later during the 'Golden Age' under Islamic rule in Spain, the Jews lived more or less in peace among their Christian neighbors. Their situation deteriorated severely at the turn of the millennium, particularly during the Crusades. Increasingly, the writings of the first theologians of the Church had stirred up enmity against the Jews among the masses... [Ignorance and fear] were then used as the basis of false accusations against the Jews and a justification for their torture, massacre, and persecution. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the few remaining Jewish communities of Europe were in ruins, and 'the Jew' had become so demonized in the imagination of the general populace that he was the ideal scapegoat for almost everything. In spite of this parlous situation, conversions to Judaism still occurred in the Middle Ages, although they were less frequent than in the biblical and Talmudic periods." p. 23-24
Why did conversions still continue? Why wasn't there an all-out ban, in the name of Jewish self-preservation? What are your thoughts?
"In the face of such opposition and oppression, it is surprising that there were nonetheless converts to Judaism among Christians... in France, Rabbi Isaac Males of Toulouse was burnt by the Inquisition on the grounds of having presided over conversions to Judaism... During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a number of Englishmen were attracted to the Jewish religion and became converts... one such case is the Deacon of Oxford who converted to Judaism and married a Jewess. He was condemned and burnt in public in 1222... In Germany the names of the victims of the Crusades were preserved... where converts are described as 'the son (or the daughter) of our Father Abraham.' The Memorbuch of Mainz lists then proselytes, seven men and three women, who were killed by the Crusaders." pp. 26-27
Medieval Jewish attitudes towards converts
"One of the strictest and most negative attitudes against converts was held by Rabbi Salomon Luria in the 16th century: even if a convert were to insist stubbornly, he should be turned down, because the Jews were not living in their own land and because conversions to their religion might endanger the Jewish communities at large... Perhaps the attitude of the Rashal was influenced by the accusation against the Jews of Cracow in 1539: they were said to have encouraged Christians to convert to Judaism. As a result the Jewish community of Cracow was punished by a withdrawal of their legal protection. More encouraging was Rabbi Gershom ben Jacob's ruling in the 13th century. Although one should take care to avoid hurting the feelings of non-Jews, a proselyte should be accepted if he or she has been told that a conversion to Judaism could mean possible death... such a proselyte should be rejected three times, but thereafter he or she must be accepted. Such careful measures... were in the interest of both Christians and Jews throughout the Middle Ages... Those who converted out of genuine conviction were not only taken into the Jewish fold as gerri tzeddek ('righteous proselytes') but were also honored as witnesses to the One God of Israel. According to Rabbi David Kimchi in southern France (1160 - 1235) converts should be welcomed with great joy... Rabbi Moses of Coucy (13th century) exhorted all Jews to behave in a morally exemplary way, as according to the Talmud, the dispersion of the Jews all over the world would serve to gain more proselytes.' pp. 32-33
Esther Seidel, 'From the Golden Age to the Inquisition - Conversion during the Middle Ages', as in 'Not By Birth Alone - Conversion to Judaism', Walter Homolka, Water Jacob, Esther Seidel.
New Challenges & Opportunities: The Rise of (Early) Modernity
"The Reformation created a climate of a pluralism of faith, so that different sects emerged within Christianity... Thus it was that during the sixteenth century a broader section of society defined itself for the first time as belonging to a specific church with the result that every dissentient was condemned as an enemy of the Church. These newly drawn demarcation lines may have influenced Judaism to become less supportive of conversions. Nonetheless, individual and even group conversions to Judaism still occurred... those who 'apostatized from the truth faith' were accused of having 'Jewish tendencies', because it frequently happened that doubts and criticism of Christian dogma led straight to Judaism." p. 40
How do you think the Reformation and the rise of the Renaissance/Early Modernity impacted Jewish conversion?
A Notable Mass Conversion: Sabbatarians in religiously diverse Transylvania:
"...the scholar Simon Pechi (c. 1567-1639) who translated many Hebrew texts, among them the Siddur into Hungarian. Under his leadership, the Sabbatarians moved closer towards Judaism: they accepted only the Old Testament and denied Jesus any significance at all. By about 1635 it was said that some 20,000 Transylvanian peasants of Szekely descent had converted to Judaism. But during the reign of Rakoczi II, the Jewish missionary enterprise came to an end... the embers of the sect required under a new law, punishable by death, to revert to Christianity within a year... However, the history of the Sabbatarian movement does not end there. When Transylvania became a part of Hungary in 1868, the inhabitants were granted full religious freedom, and thousands of crypto-Jews openly declared their allegiance to Judaism... in 1869 the State regularized their conversion by referring to them as the proselyte community of Bozodujfalu. This Orthodox community flourished until it was completely annihilated by the Nazis during World War II." p. 42
What struck you as unique or interesting about this story of 'mass conversion'? What does it suggest to you about the social context this happened in and the Jewish response?
The Emancipation and (Re)opening the gates
"Jews were granted civil rights in the aftermath of the Emancipation and became full citizens in France in 1789, but not until 1871 in Germany. Although traditional antisemitism still existed, Jews increasingly felt themselves a part of the nations in which they lived... While the number of mixed marriages continued to rise, the question of conversion because of intermarriage once more became a major concern. During the last two centuries, different traditions had been developing within Judaism which, eventually, resulted in different views not only about intermarriage, but also about the ritual of conversion itself... Leading American representatives of Liberal Judaism attempted during the nineteenth century to make it easier for potential converts and to welcome them publicly. The leading American Reform rabbi David Einhorn (18-0-79) was the first to include in his prayer book a service for the acceptance of converts... Two other leading Reform leaders, Isaac M. Wise and Kaufmann Kohler, advanced their view that circumcision was not essential for conversion. Yet it would be wrong to suggest that Reform Judaism tried to gain converts by encouraging active proselytizing. Missionary tendencies were short-lived and rare, and the idea to promulgate the teachings of Judaism worldwide by developing institutionalized missionary activities has not been effective." p. 47
In the 19th century, Liberal Judaism evolves its unique ethos & outlook, especially as Liberal Judaism spread from its cradle in Germany to its successful existence in the United States. What do you think happens next?
Source: Esther Seidel, Out of the Ghetto and into the Open Society: Conversion from the Renaissance to the Twentieth Century, in 'Not By Birth Alone: Conversion to Judaism.'
Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler (1843-1926) interpretation of Talmud Bavli Pesachim 87b ('God sent Israel among the nations that it might win a rich harvest of proselytes.')
"Thus the leaders of progressive Judaism also have stepped out of the dark prison walls of the Talmudic Ghetto and reasserted the humanitarian principles of the founders of the Synagogue, who welcomed the proselytes into Israel and introduced special blessings for them into the liturgy. They declare again, with the author of Psalm LXXXVII, that Zion, the “city of God,” should be, not a national center of Israel, but the metropolis of humanity, because Judaism is destined to be a universal religion.
Not that Judaism is to follow the proselytizing methods of the Church, which aims to capture souls by wholesale conversion without due regard for the attitude or conviction of the individual. But we can no longer afford to shut the gate to those who wish to enter, impelled by conviction or other motives having a religious bearing, even though they do not conform to the Talmudic law. This attitude guided the leaders of American Reform Judaism at the rabbinical conference under the presidency of Isaac M. Wise, when they considered the admission of proselytes at the present time. In their decision they followed the maxim of the prophet of yore: “Open the gates (of Judaism) that a righteous nation may enter that keepeth the faith.”
Source: Kaufmann Kohler, Jewish Theology - Systematically and Historically Considered, 1918
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32722/32722-h/32722-h.html#toc7
Kohler seems to make a distinction between (church-like) proselytization and Jewish mission. What do you think that distinction is and why is it important? Think back to the taxonomy of Late Antiquity at the beginning of this source sheet.
"Mankind is hungry and thirsty for that which Judaism can say, what Jews full of Judaism can say... Should we not send out missionaries to Asia... and to other places to the people there waiting for us? We are in need of expansion for our own sake.
Our destiny puts this question. There is an old story in the Talmud that the sanctuary was destroyed by reason of the little-minded people...We must begin to hold the great ideas... We should understand what the present time speaks to us, what it asks from us."
Source: Rabbi Leo Baeck, The Mission of Judaism – Its Present Day Application, Report of the Sixth International Conference of the World Union of Progressive Judaism (1949).
Rabbi Leo Baeck's speech is probably one of the boldest ones on Jewish mission. He had survived perilous years in Theresienstadt (Terezin concentration camp) only a few years earlier. What do you think drives him to take this position? What is your response to it?
"I have a third proposal to make on the subject of our declining Jewish population in America and it is this: I believe it is time for our movement to launch a carefully conceived Outreach Program aimed at all Americans who are unchurched and who are seeking roots in religion... Unabashedly and urgently, I call on our members to resume their time-honoured vocation and to become champions for Judaism...
For such [non-Orthodox] Jews, proselytizing is a symptom of an intolerant, even immoral theology of exclusion. While Reform Judaism has, after much soul-searching, affirmed the desirability of outreach to non-Jews with the hope of attracting them to Judaism, these efforts are restricted to “unchurched” gentiles... Committed Christians remaining within their own community remain beyond the scope of such initiatives for reasons not only of pragmatism but of principle.
Source: Rabbi Alexander Schindler, Outreach Address, Presented to the Board of Trustees: December 2, 1978 in Houston, Texas
https://urj.org/rabbi-schindler-1978-speech-establishing-outreach
In contemporary Jewish history, Rabbi Alexander Schindle's outreach speech r is known for (1) encouraging Reform Judaism to accept patrilineal descent and (2) for welcoming and supporting interfaith families. He also was instrumental in establishing the years-long Outreach initiative, laying the basis for most modern 'Introduction to Judaism programs' that we are familiar with today and consider normative and conventional. However, the third part of his outreach speech - cited above - is much less well-known. What is your response to it and how do you think it has shaped non-Orthodox Jewish attitudes towards conversion in the last four decades?
"But he [Schindler] went even further and advocated an educational programme designed to commend Judaism… to all those without religious commitment or affiliation who might find in Judaism an answer to their spiritual needs… How should we react to it? In my submission, favourably. After all, it is not new to us. Claude Montefiore, Israel Mattuck and Leo Baeck have all, in their various ways, advocated a Jewish “mission” to the larger, non-Jewish world… Moreover, it would not be a departure from Jewish tradition, if we go far enough back in time, but rather a resumption of it. For in the biblical period, and especially in the age of the Pharisees and Rabbis, Judaism was a missionary religion in a very real sense."
Source: Rabbi John Rayner, Sermon: ‘Intermarriage, Proselytism and the Jewish Future’, sermon for Parashat Yitro, 1979
"Conversion to Judaism is not for the sake of the survival of a group or for ethnic comfort… Genuine conversion affects the native born and the Jew by choice. Conversion means that Judaism is not genes and chromosomes but a free, reasoned and passional choice… Jewish mission does not mean denigration of other religions or the vulgar promotion of evangelical enthusiasm… Jewish mission means that we act out our belief that far from being a parochial, sectarian, ethnic clan, we a people whose faith and wisdom and ethics has endured for four millennia."
Source: Rabbi Harold Schulweis, Sermon: ‘The Mitzvah of Conversion’ at Temple Valley Beth Shalom, Los Angeles
Rabbi Harold Schulweis seems to echo much what earlier proponents have argued for, yet there are also subtle differences. What are some of the differences? In what way do you think his argument is unique?
"I believe we need more Jews, and more connected Jews. I believe that the time is right to make the community grow through proactive conversion… We need to think about it, talk about it, and wrestle with it, even if we decide not to take action. I wrote this book because I see people all around me who would be Jews—if we helped them… I see millions of Jewish lives unrealized. This seems to me an individual and communal shame.
Proactive conversion is not synonymous with the aggressive recruitment that characterizes proselytizing… Certainly, advertising in newspapers about Jewish learning opportunities or public service announcements on radio, television or the internet are all acceptable… Efforts can be undertaken that simply let others know that the Jewish people welcome them and facilitate their participation in Judaism.
Source: Gary Tobin, Opening the Gates: How Proactive Conversion can Revitalize the Jewish Community"
Gary Tobin fuses what he calls 'proactive conversion' (perhaps a less 'triggering' term) with the information age. In some ways, his words from the late 1990's were prophetic: much of what he proposes is actualized today. How do you respond to his vision and how do you see it in light of the digital revolution in Jewish life and the dissemination of Torah?
"God promised that the first two Jews would grow into a people more numerous than the stars in the heavens, more plentiful than the sands on the seashore.
…Doing that will require all of us, and I mean all of us, to get clear, aligned, strategic, and busy collaborating so that we can seize this moment in Jewish history - it is a moment that will never come again.
Our Judaism is for everyone. Our Judaism is inclusive, egalitarian, intellectually rigorous, joyful, passionate, spiritual, pluralistic, constantly evolving and relevant. Soul elevating spiritual practice, life-altering Torah study, courageous practice of tikkun olam, loving care for our community, especially the most vulnerable--that's what we are.
We have what people are looking for, but we've been reticent to get out and say so, partly because we have yet to articulate an audacious vision of what the world can become. It's time to speak our minds. Let's be clear about who we are and what we have to say…
…So indeed, I say to you at this beginning of a new chapter of Jewish life: chazak chazak v'nitchazek. Be strong, be strong, and let us all strengthen each other. Look to the future with confidence, for ours is an awesome agenda.
Source: Rabbi Rick Jacobs, The Genesis of Our Future, San Diego Biennial, December 12 2013-10 Tevet 5774
https://urj.org/blog/genesis-our-future
With Rabbi Rick Jacobs, we seem to have come full circle: what is the 'shift' in language between earlier proponents of conversion/mission and the sensibility he brings to it? What 'sticks out' to you about his comments?
Preliminary conclusions: is Jewish mission an eccentric idea in Judaism or a descriptor of an uneven but historically consistent pattern? How do you think has the world of conversion impacted Judaism throughout the ages, up till and including our age? What are some of the gifts of the conversionary narrative? What are some of the trends we see from the past? Can we extrapolate some of these trends into the future?
What are YOU excited about for the Jewish tomorrow of a more open Judaism?