Contemporary Issues In Halakha: Conversion In Jewish Law, Sources Part 2

5) Rabbi Avraham Isaac Kook, Da’at Kohen, No. 154

By the help of God, the holy city of Jerusalem, may she be she rebuilt and established speedily in our days, 9 Nisan, 5688 (1928)

Greetings and blessings to the honorable Rabbi, the one who is wise and splendid in Torah and fearful of God, he who puts a fence around God’s orchard, our teacher, Rabbi Shaul Sit-hon, may he live to longevity, the shepherd of the holy community of our Sephardic brothers, may God guard them and redeem them, in Buenos Aries, Argentina.

The sages said explicitly in Bekhorot 30b that a gentile that comes to accept the words of the Torah except for one item, we do not accept him; Rabbi R. Yossi the son of R. Yehudah says: even if the exception be one of the minutiae of the Scribes (i.e. the Sages). How can we accept converts if we clearly know that after their conversion they will transgress the words of the Torah? (Truth be told, it is surprising that the poskim[decisors] omitted this halakhah entirely. In any case, “the mishna does not budge” and no-one disagrees with it, at least with the tanna kamma (the first opinion, that of the sages), that if the convert refuses to accept one Torah law, we do not accept him).

The diminutive one, Avraham Isaac HaKohen

P.S. Regarding the female proselytes that have deficiencies that the honorable one delineated in his letter, God forbid that one should be lenient and treat them as converts who have entered into the Jewish people. It is clear that we must be stringent. At any rate, we can’t be completely sure across the board as to permit them to separate from their husbands without a Get (Jewish divorce writ), until we examine each and every case individually.

6) (Igrot Moshe, Yoreh Deah, Part I, No. 157)

The 7^th of the 10 days of Teshuva (Repentance), 5689 (1929), Luban

The honorable, my friend, the Rabbi the genius and the renown, our teacher and Rabbi Shimon Trebnik, may he live a life of longevity, the Head of the Bet Din of Haditch.

Regarding what his honor had a doubt, if a convert who did not accept the mitzvot is considered a convert, it is simple and clear that he is not a convert at all even after the fact. Thus instructed my father and teacher the master (may the memory of a righteous one be for the next world), as law in Strabin regarding a similar case.

Even if he said that he accepts the commandments, if we witness that he doesn’t truly accept it, it is nothing.

In general, I don’t know the reason why Rabbis err in this for even according to their understanding, what benefit do they bring to the people of Israel by accepting converts like this since certainly it is not to the liking of God, blessed be He, and to the people of Israel, that these types of converts will mix in Israel.

The judgment rendered is clear that this person is not a convert at all.

His friend, Moshe Feinstein

6) Responsa Piskey Uziel, No. 65)

Regarding the matter of Jews who are not Torah observers who wish to convert their gentile wives and children.

The 13^th of Nissan, 5711 (1951) to the honorable and distinguished, our Rabbi and teacher Yehuda Leon Kalfon, may God keep him, the Rabbi of the holy community of Titwan.

Warm greetings and blessings.

Reply:

Furthermore, a gentile who comes to convert, he is given instruction regarding the main principals of the religion such as the unity of God and the forbidden nature of idol worship, and one speaks with him at length about these matters, and one informs him of some of the minor and some of the major commandments. He is also told of the punishment for the transgression of the commandments: “Be it known to you that before you came to this condition, if you have eaten suet you would not have been punishable with karet [divine punishment through premature death], but now were you to eat suet you would be punished with karet”. One doesn’t overburden him nor is overly detailed by outlining the minutia of the punishments, etc. for his intent may very well be pure (Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh Deah 268:2 and the Sh”kh subparagraph 5)

It is clear from here that we do not demand of him to observe the mitzvot and it is also not necessary that the Bet Din know that he will observe them, for if not, no converts will be accepted in Israel, for who will guarantee that this gentile will be loyal to all the mitzvot in the Torah. Rather, they instruct him in some of the mitzvot so that if he wants he should go away and so that he can not say later “if I had known I would not have converted”. And this is before the fact, but after the fact – if they did not instruct him, it is not indispensable (Sh”kh to Yoreh Deah, subparagraph 3).

From everything stated we have learned that the condition of fulfilling the commandments does not negate a conversion, even if it is a priori.

Another conclusive proof is from our teacher (Yosfe Kairo, the author of the Shulhan Arukh), may his memory be for a blessing: Since he immersed, he is now Jewish, and if he returns to his former ways he is like a Jewish person who has gone astray, if he betroths a woman she is betrothed. Even if he returned to idol worship he is still considered a Jew who has gone astray and if he betroths a woman she is betrothed (paragraph 2 and paragraph 12).

From all this the Torah emerges that it is permissible and a mitzvah to accept converts even though we know that they will not observe all the mitzvot because in the end they will observe them. And we are commanded to give them an opening like this, and if they don’t observe the mitzvot, we are absolved [of any guilt] . . .

Kabbalat Hamitzvot does not mean that he is required to accept all the mitzvot to observe them, but to accept all the mitzvot of the Torah and, if he transgresses, he accepts upon himself to be punished by the punishments he deserves. [He then quotes the baraita in Yevamot.] Therefore, we do not care if at the hour that he accepts the mitzvot he has decided to transgress a specific mitzvah and to receive the punishment. This is not considered a deficiency in kabbalat mitzvot.