What Does It Take to Become a Jew? Saving Jewish Seed

And regarding our subject, we know for sure that at the time of conversion, the intention is entirely not to convert, for the other partner, that is the Jew, scoff at it all and is only Jewish by nationality, and more so his fiancé the non-Jewish woman who has come to convert. And even if we should believe her that her intentions to be a Jew are pure, at most her intentions are to be a Jew by nationality without Shabbat, Nidah (laws of Jewish sexual practices) and the rest of the commandments just like her husband. And conversion like this even after the fact has no effect.

And further, late authorities, who discussed whether it is permitted to convert them for the sake of marriage, precisely in the case where there was room to think that their intention was to be complete converts only that the impetus was for the sake of marriage. With regard to this, there is over what to debate. But when they do not want to be total converts, only Jews by nationality without any acceptance of commandments. Even if their intention is total, their conversion will be invalid even after the fact.

And with regard to the essence of the leniency of the honorable rabbi since, nonetheless, they will live in sin (because they will not observe Jewish sexual practices), when, in this case, they say [to the beit din] sin for the merit of your fellow…where there is sin one does not say to one’s fellow (the beit din) sin for the merit of your fellow.

Behold, regarding our discussion where a Jewish woman has already married according to civil law and she has already given herself over to him and is pregnant from him, it is clear that she would marry him even without conversion. If so, there is reason to believe that the conversion is for the sake of Heaven. And further, if we do not accept him then she will be married to him by transgressing a Torah commandment (cohabiting with a non-Jew). And if it is a problem that we should not say to him (the beit din): ‘Sin so that your fellow will merit.’ – How can a court transgress in accepting a convert who did not convert for the sake of Heaven in order to save a woman from a transgression as great as this (cohabitation) – that all of her days are a transgression – behold she sins in this act? With regard to this there is to say, first, that even though, initially her deeds were in sin in marrying the non-Jew, in any case, in the end, her deeds were under duress since she is pregnant from him and cannot but be married to him…And even if she marries him, her children would, according the law, be entirely Jewish, [still] they would follow their father’s non-Jewish practice, and would therefore be sinners. And these sheep, what is their sin? Therefore, it is better that the beit din perform, a small sin to accept the convert and to teach him the rudiments of the Jewish religion so that his children will be upstanding. In any case, the beit din should warn him to observe and take care with the Jewish religion and, in particular, regarding Shabbat, prohibited foods, and it is good to accept from him a promise rather than an oath regarding this.

And behold, I will copy here what I wrote on this subject regarding the question itself: regarding the acceptance of converts, the honorable sage asserted from reason saying that these days when we see and know and it is well known that most converts do not observe the commandments of the Torah even for a short time, therefore no converts should be accepted these days, and so it was written in the letter to me from the 3 of Shvat. And I say regarding this, if so you have locked the doors before converts so that Israel will not accept converts at all even if we ascertain that the conversion was entirely for the sake of Heaven. But from the words of the sages, we learn that it is a mitzvah to accept converts and to bring under the canopy of God’s presence since God loves converts and he commanded a prohibition against misleading them. And don’t answer me from what is taught that in the days of Solomon they did not accept converts for the Tospahot note that Hillel was certain that it would be for the sake of Heaven. And from their words it is enough that in the end that it will be for the sake of Heaven even if in the end they do not observe the commandments of the Torah. In any case, in the end they will observe is sufficient even if at the time of the conversion, he does not observe. And according to that conclusion, even in the days of David and Solomon, they accepted converts for they knew that in the end it would be for the sake of Heaven.

And greater than this, the sages say: God did not exile Israel to the house of the nations except in order to collect for themselves converts, as it says :’And I will sow her in the land as My own’ (Hosea 2:25) – Does a man plant a seah except in order to harvest a number of seah ? And in our generation, closing the door to conversion is very bad since the doors are wide open for men and women to change their religion and leave the Jewish people or become more among the nations (assimilate) and this is implied in the warning of the sages: One should push away with one’s right hand and bring closer with one’s left hand. And a Jew who assimilates and is rejected by the Jewish people turns into an enemy of the Jews, as history testifies in many cases through the generations. And even if we are not concerned and as it says: ‘And the rope will follow the bucket,’ in any case, with regard to their children, certainly we are obligated to draw them close, where they are the children of a Jewish mother, whose children are completely Jewish but even if they are children of as non-Jewish mother for they are “Jewish seed” and they have a sense of being “lost sheep”, and I fear that if they are pushed away entirely by not accepting their parents as converts, we will be brought to judgment and He will say with regard to us: ‘you have not brought back the strayed or looked for the lost.’ And this reproach is great regarding the acceptance of converts. And regarding situations like this it is said: ‘Reckon the loss against its reward.’ For this reason I say: It is better for us that we do not turn away from the words of our sages that passed to us this law that it is within the discretion of the court to determine if their intension is for the sake of Heaven.