Verified answer

Why do Jews make it such a big deal to convert? Why the tradition of turning people away until we are certain they are genuine? You see- converting others isn't just about them- it has implications to the person who does the conversion! Converting others to Judaism is actually a massive responsibility for the person who is doing the conversion- and an activity which can lead them to erring and sinning themselves! Why? There is a commandment "Do not place as tumbling block before the blind" Its easy enough to understand at a literal level, but at a deeper level it also means to not do something that will cause another person to err and thus be worse off than they were before.

Where this comes into play is as follows: Everyone, regardless of religion, has a path to righteousness and a place in the world to come. For the non-Jews, if they behave in a manner that is in line with the 7 Noahide laws, then they will be righteous and merit a place in the world to come- for Jews, it is through the 613 commandments.

So, coming back to the first point- what is easier, to follow 7 laws or 613 laws? Its a no brainer- 7 laws are much easier to follow. So, when we convert somebody, we are giving them an additional 606 laws that previously did not apply to them previously. Its not just a stumbling block- its a concrete barrier across the road! The person doing the conversion has to educate the convertee well enough that they will know enough about the laws to undertake to follow them, and know how to do so at a practical level- if they don't, the person is going to err and thus the teacher is in violation of the commandment!

So making sure someone is serious about conversion is imperative. Turning people away, testing their commitment through lengthy classes and immersion into Judaism; testing their desire, and commitment thus becomes an essential part of the process- ensuring their, and their future teachers, spiritual health. If the person is not serious, and the teacher has not tested them, the teacher is in violation of the commandment and, additionally, has caused another person to sin. If the person is serious- then it is a massive mitzvah to bring them into Judaism.

Judaism is pluralistic in that it teaches that there are different paths for different people. Judaism is simply the path for us Jews. The Tanach (Jewish Bible) does say that we exist to show others how to live righteously. However, this does not mean our preaching to others. Rather, this means that we are to show others through our behaviour. To support this, the Temple in Jerusalem had place of prayer specifically for non-Jews so they would also have a place to worship HaShem.

It might interest you to know that even though we don't seek converts, the number of people choosing to become Jews has been on a steady rise over the last few decades.

Judaism maintains that the righteous of all nations have a place in the world to come. This has been the majority rule since the days of the Talmud. Judaism generally recognizes that Christians and Moslems worship the same G-d that we do and those who follow the tenets of their religions can be considered righteous in the eyes of G-d.

The following was my answer to a similar question

=====

Judaism is based on the concept of covenat relationships.

Jews believe that there is a covenant between God and the whole of humanity - this is the covenant of Noah

and there is a separate covenant between God and the Jewish nation ("you shall be a nation of priests, a nation set apart")

Jews also firmly believe that the Hebrew Bible is a set of Jewish books -- the expressions of Jewish law, history, poetry, etc.

The books therefore only discuss other nations first as a matter of introduction (starting with a brief description of the universal creation, zeroing on the global creation, then zeroing on the Mesopotamian, then further on the children of Abraham -- and finaly focusing solely on the nation of Israel)

and then to the degree that the nation of Israel has interacted with the other nations.

ie: JEWISH BOOKS tell the JEWISH STORY

the expectation is that other nations have their own stories and that they tell these in their own books

==

So - Prosthelitism -- trying to convert people

So again - Judaism believes that the "Jewish religion" is a covenant with the Jewish nation.

There is no reason to Prostelytise this

However - the covenant of Noah is binding on all -- and the covenant of Noah is fundamentaly about charity, kindness, a government of fair minded laws --

and therefore

Jews DO prostelytise (when they are not kept down by anti-Jewish laws) - but we prostelytise about the covenant of Noah -- to improve the world through human rights and justice.

When rabbi Heschel marched arm in arm with reverend Martin Luther King Jr. -- that was Jewish prostelytising.

When AJWS (American Jewish World Service) created the Sudan Action Campaign - working to end genocide in Sudan -- that is Jewish prostelytising.

Israel's Hadassah hospital's policy to treat Palestinian citizens regardless of membership in any anti-Israel organizations, and Hadassah's pioneering work in battling eye diseases endemic solely in the Arab Palestinian population ...

etc.

And

This is the same thing that Jonah did when he went to Nineveh.

Note that the story says that God sent him to Nineveh and he preached to them and they repented and were saved from the intended destruction. But also notice that Nineveh was the capital of Assyria -- they most certainly never even entertained conversion to Judaism.

Jonah's preaching and their repentence had nothing to do with conversion -- it was about human justice, human kindness, human charity.

====

Um

Prophets among other nations -

The Hebrew Bible actualy teaches specificaly that there were prophets and priests of God among other nations.

This is largely the point of the stories with Melkhizedek and Balaam,

and therefore Jewishly, we have no reason to firmly reject all of the affirmation of another religion.

Just as there was Balaam - there is no reason to outright reject that any one or another non-Jew was not a prophet to his nation.

Likewise, there is no reason to outright reject the assertions of another religion to some relationship with God.

The only thing Jews would have to reject is those assertions by other religions which directly reject and contradict the truth of Judaism.

Judaism: Why don’t you preach conversion?

~~~ The more 'secure' we are, the less 'noise' we need make about it!

"Why are there arguments for God's existence? People don't argue over things they know exist. An argument for God is simply a hidden admission that he or she doesn't know. The very fact that there is an argument at all is evidence for agnosticism and doubt." - Fr. Ignots Pistachio

Ordinarily, only those with 'penis envy' have to drive the SUVs and wear the 'bling'...

Same thing with 'spiritual penis envy'!

"Empty barrels make the most noise!"

But 'beliefs' have two drives; to survive and propagate (like viruses).

The stronger the 'belief', the less that it will not do in service to those two necessities!

No horror or genocide too great in service to the 'strong belief' in; God, Freedom, Democracy, whatever... the subject, the symptoms are always the same...

Toxic to the environment!

The Jews have nothing to prove, and just want to live in peace without being harassed and persecuted at every inch of the way!

"If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of one percent of the human race.

It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way.

Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of.

He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk.

His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine and abstruse learning are very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers.

He has made a marvellous fight in this world in all ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him.

He could be vain of himself and be excused for it.

The Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendour; then faded to dream-stuff and passed away: the Greeks and the Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.

The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, and no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind.

All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains.

What is the secret of his immortality?"

(Mark Twain – Harper’s magazine - September 1887)

the historical reason of being the only religious minority in Christendom for 2000 years

in the Islamic world religious minorities like the Druze, the Samaritans and the Yazidi are even more strict and don't convert at all.

Judaism believes it self to be a national religion, not a faith. you are either born to it or not.

it developed in the middle east when most other religions in the world were also national religions.

Christianity developed under the roman empire where exchange and spread of ideas between people of different nationalities was more acceptable, so it was natural for it to became a more global religion.

AT one point in Jewish history we did have our form of "missionary" that set out to convert others to Judaism, but it was never with the methods used by those who we see now as missionaries of Christianity or even of Islam. With the spread of Christianity and islam as a tool of conquest, jewish proselytizing became a capital offense. That’s when it ceased altogether.

Judaism does not believe one must be a Jew to have "exclusive" blessing of God. God is never exclusive to the Jews in Torah, but the eternal covenant obligates Jews to serve God exclusively. In the days of the Exodus, the Eruv Rav" or the "Mixed multitudes of people" who did not come from the Israeli tribes, but who saw the miracles that happened in Egypt and wanted to attach themselves to the covenant with God also were among the leaders of those who led some of the Israelites astray to the golden calf and wanted to return to the Egyptian gods even after hearing God and having direct encounter with God ..so Jews have historically been very cautious about the sincerity of those who wish to attach themselves to us in our obligation to keep separate from the foreign false gods of others.

There is no necessity for a non-Jew to become a Jew. Non-Jews also have an essential role in preparing this world for the world to come. They serve God through their own set of seven obligatory commandments which they must follow to ensure a place in the next world. We refer to those laws as the Noahide or the laws of Noah, given to all humanity and they are found in Genesis. here is a link that will help explain that in detail :

http://www.aish.com/jl/jnj/nj/48961716.html

Judaism however, doesn’t obsess or focus upon the world to come, but upon this world and this life. Judaism is a wold-affirming faith.

This is something I compiled from a few different sources with quotes from Talmud and Torah and great sages of Judaism regarding some of the ethical precepts of Judaism. In reading them I hope it will become clear that because Judaism is more about deed than creed, that it is how we live that we demonstrate our faith and that if it is a path that calls to another, they are also welcome to join the tribe, but it isn't mandatory to be equal before God in worth or blessing.

One can only teach so much by "preaching". A few excerpts from what I've said at http://mamaspajamaparty.blogspot.com/2009/09/some-...

The prophet Micah sums up Torah pretty well when he says," What does God require of you? To do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with thy God."

Judaism is more deed than creed. How we live and treat one another and how we care for the world and all life around us are a direct reflection of what we believe. The Jewish faith is all about the relationship of the covenant nation working side by side with God as partners in restoring the world to justice and in helping better the world for the generations to come in the ongoing creation.

The great sage Hillel and the prophet Micah summed up Torah to essentiallly declare that treating our fellow human in justice and mercy are the ultimate observance of Torah.

and Please read this past answer regarding one of the most often misunderstood and misrepresented concepts of "chosen people" http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201...

The Jews believe God chose Avraham and his descendants for a specific purpose as outlined in Torah. Judaism has teachings that every people have a purpose to exist. The concept that one has to believe in a particular dogma or suffer eternal damnation is foreign and antithetical to Judaism.

Gentiles prayed at both First and Second Temples, and the righteous seeking of all nations merit blessing according to the prophets.

"God's Chosen People" = Torah's notion of a covenant nation who took on a role of obligation to live ethically as an example to all nations and to better the world for all people in SERVICE TO others.

The redefined notion of chosen people that is ANTITHETICAL to Torah and Judaism, that only believers in one narrow dogma are capable of being good, meriting blessing and that all others deserve eternal torture in a demon deity ruled underworld hell in its extreme conclusion lead to a notion of

"The Master Race" = Hiter's Aryan ideology of a superior race of beings to rule and lord over humanity. Islam also adopted the notion that only its adherents are capable of God's blessing (Allah's blessing) and the "infidel" deserves eternal hell.

Difference: one imparts an attitude of superiority that leads to behaviors discriminating against others in harmful ways; the other is an attitude of service to humanity that leads to behaviors to benefit all other living and the lives to follow ours