This has already become a regular campaign ahead of Shavuot. The regular religious tattooists brandish the Book of Ruth to attack the laws of conversion: Look, Ruth the Moabite, the grandmother of King David, did not have to go through a arduous conversion process. It was enough to tie her fate to her Jewish mother-in-law. They mockingly declare that if Ruth had wanted to convert today, the rabbis would have set a mountain of demands before her.
These statements indicate basic ignorance. One can equally mock the laws of Shabbat and claim that the Torah says something very simple: "You shall not do any work." But every child knows that the written Torah does not specify all the details. Only when one is thoroughly familiar with the rules of the Torah do we know that many laws are implied in single words, and are interpreted in the Oral Torah.
Don't rush to accept.
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Look, it's amazing, the laws of foreigners are learned from that simple and beautiful story of Ruth. From Naomi's behavior we learn that the convert must be initially rejected, as the Sages say: "In three places it is written here, 'Sobna benothai,' corresponding to three times that the foreigner is rejected, and if he bothers more than this - he is accepted.".
In the short sentences spoken by Ruth, there was a complete acceptance of the tenets of Judaism: "For whithersoever thou goest, I will go" - observance of the Sabbath, and the prohibition of walking outside the boundaries of the Sabbath; "And where thou goest, I will not go" - prohibitions related to modesty and uniqueness; "Your people are my people" - acceptance of the 313 commandments; "And your God is my God" - the prohibition of idolatry. There are also things implied in her words, "Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.".
Ruth is an example and role model of a true convert, one who fully accepts the entire Jewish experience. And truly, a convert is not required to do more than that. The essence of conversion is the same mental commitment to the entire system of obligations imposed on a Jew. If he wants to be a Jew – he must commit to everything that is imposed on a Jew.
It is a mistake to think that the essence of conversion is study and exams. Studies are merely training for the application of the true essence of conversion. A person needs to know what he is accepting and what the system of obligations derived from conversion are. However, the essence of conversion is the mental joining of the covenant that God made with the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. The convert must sincerely and willingly accept all the obligations of a Jew, according to the commandments of the Torah.
Without this acceptance, there is no conversion. A person can be an expert in Jewish history, and not be a Jew. Only if he accepts all the duties and responsibilities of a Jew – then he receives from God the Jewish soul and becomes a Jew in his inner essence.
Foreign motives
Today's reality actually requires that we adhere to the principles of conversion with extreme caution. There were days when conversion did not bring a person any material benefits, but usually the opposite. Nowadays, the desire to convert can be driven by completely foreign motives. The blurring of Israeli and Jewish identity also complicates the matter.
For thousands of years, since the time of Mount Sinai, we have given our lives for our Jewish identity. It is too precious to us to sell it cheaply.
• The column is published in 'The Conversation of the Week'.'
