BeJewish.org’s main purpose on the internet is to reach out to the world with the
message that was delivered to Israel at Mount Sinai. The later being a message of Hope, Peace and Love for our creator and
for each other. We believe that this message being the Torah itself does not nor has ever discriminated due to ones
past or present, but rather has had the power to lighten ones future through the conversion into the faith of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. Repenting from ones past and setting sail into ones future through the connection one receives
through Belief in G-d and the observances of his Holy Commandments (Mitzvot). What will you find in this website? Material Countering: • Christianity • Islam • Buddhism • Mormonism • Satanism • Atheism • Paganism. BeJewish.org is
website affiliated with Orthodox Judaism.
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Why
be a Noachide? When you can be Jewish!
Jewish Proselytizing Sources
"He has
commanded us to sanctify the name of G-d . . . to proclaim (le-farsem) this true faith to the world." Rambam
'Sefer ha-Mitsvot'
It is permitted (muttar) to teach the commandments to Christians (notsrim) and draw them
to our law (datenu). Rambam 'Teshuvot ha-Rambam'
R. Hunia in the Midrash on Bereshet 12:5 comments,
Abraham converted the men and Sarah the women. Jacob too made converts: Then
Jacob said unto his household,
and to all that were with him, 'Put away the
strange gods that are among you.…And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign
gods.r>
The commentary goes on to demonstrate that Isaac was a missionary as well. This
theme of seeking converts
and impressing the gentiles runs through the whole of
the Hebrew Scripture.
Rabbi Johanan, and agreed with
by Rabbi Eleazar ben Pedat, in which it is
asserted that God exiled Jews from their homeland for only one reason, to
increase the number of converts. ~Pesachim 87b
Be of the Sons of Aaron.....Bringing Humanity closer to
Torah!
Pirke Avot
Abraham is described was so successful in Bringing in Non-Believers that G-d
became known as King of the earth as well as King of heaven.
Sifre Deuteronomy, 313, on Deuteronomy
32:10
Jews are urged to bring people "beneath the wings of the Divine Presence"
exactly as Abraham
had done.
Avot de-Rabbi Nathan, 23a
Rabbi Hoshaya believed that Isaac sought converts.
Midrash
Hagadol
Yaacov used to proselytize.
Genesis Rabbah 84:4
Joseph would not distribute food to
the Egyptians unless they became
circumcised
Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman Genesis Rabbah 90:6 and
91:5
Moses expounded the Torah in seventy languages, according to one midrash,
because the Torah was meant to
be heard and embraced by all humans.
Midrash Hagadol
Prior to slaying the Egyptian taskmaster, Moses
foresaw that there would not
be a single convert from the among the taskmaster's posterity; it was this
perception
that justified the death.
Exodus Rabbah 1:29
Historical Sources
Claudio Expelled Jews over
proselytizing ~Josephus Antiquities
Cicero, a lawyer, and Juvenal, a satirist, are bitter and serious
about
denouncing Jewish proselytizing activities.. ~Tacitus
Horace (in Satires 1.4 142-143) makes
fun of Jewish proselytizing efforts
Why
Did Missionary
Activity Stop?
There were many impediments and obstacles to Jews seeking proselytes, including
external pressures. At best, Jews lived in gentile communities at the suffrage
of the people and rulers. The Jewish
way of life was one of anxiously watching
events in the dominant culture, ready to leave as soon as the tenuous welcome
was withdrawn.
The Roman Empire seemed to favor the Jewish people over other conquered people;
however, that tolerance was always precarious. The Roman leaders realized that
Jewish people had a loyalty to their
own identity that was far stronger than any
allegiance to Rome. They also realized that a convert to Judaism was not
merely
voicing a change in his or her religious opinion:
The Romans knew that conversion to Judaism
meant adherence not merely to a
religion but also to a political state; hence, once Judaea was annexed,
conversion
had dangerous political overtones the Romans could hardly
tolerate.?"8
Roman
intolerance took two forms, the first of which was simply to expel Jewish
people from certain provinces. However the
Romans rethought that strategy,
inasmuch as they did not necessarily wish to lose the benefits that Jewish
people
normally bring to society. Rather than expulsion, a more workable
strategy was to prohibit Jews from making converts.
The first specific ban on proselytizing was by the Emperor Septimius Severus in
198/199 C.E.
Severus gave no reason for the edict, and the ban was not
effective. Jewish missionary endeavors were specifically
banned when Rome
adopted Christianity as the official state religion. In 329, a law was passed
that Christians who
joined the "nefarious sect" were to suffer the same
"deserved" punishment as those responsible for
the conversion. The punishment
was not spelled out, but apparently left to the discretion of individual judges.
Constantius II was more specific in meting out punishment. In edicts beginning
in 339, Jewish men were
prohibited from marrying non-Jewish women. In 353
Constantius specified that all Christians who converted to Judaism
would have
all their property confiscated. Thirty years later, Gratian made it illegal to
bequeath anything to
converts to Judaism. In 388 it became a crime punishable by
death for Christian men to marry Jewish women.
Several of the early church leaders seemed determined to prevent the spread of
Judaism. Though they
could not pass laws, their anti-Jewish propaganda was used
to justify ill treatment of Jews and presumably of Jewish
proselytes. The
vitriolic anti-Jewish diatribes of some of the early church fathers might well
have been, in part,
a reaction to the success that Judaism enjoyed in making
converts of people who formerly professed to be Christians.
The rise of Islam in the seventh century added other obstacles to the
missionizing efforts of Jews.
In 624 Mohammed began his persecution of the
Arabian Jews. By 628, the death sentence was decreed for those Jews who
accepted
a Moslem convert to Judaism. Moslems who converted on their own would have their
earthly possessions
confiscated.
The Jewish religion did not respond immediately to these measures; however,
centuries
of suffering and persecution took their toll. Proselytizing was
"dangerous." It was not something done by a
Jew who wanted to survive. And the
Jewish people are survivors.
Once our leadership saw the high
cost of proselytizing, we began to acquire a
nonproselytizing stance. We started boasting that we do not proselytize
and it
became part of our identity. Today we see the internalization of the once
external prohibitions in a comment
like this:
But just because Jews actively proselytized long ago does not mean it is correct
to do
so now. The times are obviously different, and?hopefully?religious
"etiquette" also is different.9
Is it really a matter of religious etiquette or concern for Christians who might
abandon their roots?
The underlying supposition is that if we don't missionize
gentiles, they won't missionize us. The converse of that
supposition is that if
we invite gentiles to become Jews, we will be inviting either (1) their anger
and a backlash
of anti-Semitism or (2) their enthusiasm as we enter a playing
field of proselytizing on which they have the bigger
team.
Either way, there is the idea that if Jews do not proselytize, others won't
either. And if
they try, they can be shamed by a cry of "Unfair! You are doing
something we would never do to you!"
But why would anyone think that non-Jews would follow the example of Jews in not
proselytizing? More
likely they would conclude that Jews simply didn't have
anything to offer. Rabbi Schindler advocates that after
centuries of barely
missionizing and persuading ourselves that it is un-Jewish to seek converts, we
need to focus
once again on reaching out.
Schindler rightly asserts that the external pressures of persecution
doesn't
exist in our pluralistic society. Yet those who oppose this view seem unwilling
to invest in outreach.
Why?
Perhaps some of us stopped caring about what G-d wants for others, reducing
religion to a
matter of human preference.
Have we accepted a "to each his own" mentality? Could it be that
the real reason
Jewish people resist being proselytizers is that we stopped thinking about what
G-d wants for us
and for others?
The original Jewish missionaries were prophets who knew they were sent by G-d
and
that their fate was in G-d's hands. Whether or not their message brought
earthly retribution, keeping silent was not a
real option; it was a rebellion.
They feared (in the biblical sense), trusted and loved G-d. They simply cared
far
too much to be silent.
Some, like the prophet Jonah, might have preferred to be insulated from the
outer world. He had no reason, humanly speaking, to care what the people of
Nineveh knew or believed about G-d. But
apparently, G-d cared. And if Jonah had
cared a little bit more about G-d, he would been motivated by G-d's concern
for
Nineveh. Jonah, the lapsed prophet, needed a nudge to get back on track.
Elijah, one of the
greatest prophets, also had moments of uncertainty when he
felt that all he had to show for his efforts was
persecution. He, too, was a
lapsed prophet who needed a nudge from G-d.
Is it possible that we have
become a nation of lapsed prophets who need to get
reacquainted with G-d in order to get back on track?
If we could know that G-d truly cares for all people and has a very specific
plan for world reconciliation in
which we have a key role, how could we possibly
advocate that everyone mind their own spiritual business? Wouldn't it
be logical
for us to want to reach out?
New Beginningsby Asher Meza
Days come and go, we search for meaning and purpose and end up empty. You
feel
as though you have failed and spend your time in walking in hopeless apathy
looking for what might put your
soul at peace.
G-d thinks your special and he has a great plan for your life.
The first reason we can know that G-d loves us individually, is because He
says so in His Word.
I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness I
have drawn
thee."
(Jeremiah 31:3) "Since you are precious in my sight...and I have loved
thee...Fear not: for I
am with you."
(Isaiah 43:4-5)
An example of G-d's Love
Let me share a beautiful example of someone
who learned not only how much G-d
loved her, but also went on to experiencing G-d loving others through her.
Linda was brought up in broken home, she was taught that G-d was a G-d
of
Righteousness, Justice and Judgment - not a G-d of Love, but One to be feared.
(The truth is, of course, that G
-d is a G-d not only of Righteousness, Justice
and Judgment, but also of Love, Mercy and Compassion.)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all
your
heart." Jeremiah 29:13
Therefore, when Linda's personal life began to fall apart, she found no
consolation from a G-d of Justice and Holiness. She needed Someone who
personally loved her and cared for her.
Finally, one of her Jewish friends
showed her from Scripture, that G-d is a G-d not only of Holiness, Justice and
Righteousness, but also a G-d of Love, Compassion, Forgiveness and Mercy. He
told her that G-d not only loved her
and would forgive her for all her previous
transgressions, but that He also wanted to heal her broken heart and
fill her
with His Love so that she could pass it on to others.
"Come now, and
let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be
red like crimson,
they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:18
Her Jewish friend
told her about how Abraham first embraced the oneness of G-d
and the true eternal Justice that only G-d could
establish, and how G-d credited
him with being the father of Jewish people and that through his descendants all
the
world would be blessed. Her friend told her that she also could reach out to
G-d and convert and be a part of his holy
lineage.
"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty
things which thou knowest not." Jeremiah 33:3
Linda
could hardly believe what she heard; it was too wonderful to even
comprehend. Was G-d really like this? Did He really
love her like that? Could
she really learn to love others with His Love?
The first few weeks after that conversation, Linda tried to believe in a
G-d
who loved her. Each time she was confronted by a situation she acted like
she had every-time before.
She slowly began to feel life's problems begin to overwhelm her again, she began
to lose the connection she had
first felt. Linda later learned that G-d in his
immaculate love for us had given us commandments contained in the bible
by which
to connected to him and others on a daily basis.
I have set before you life
and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose
life in order that you may live, you and your descendants. Deuteronomy
30:19
"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but
thou shalt
meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all
that is written therein:
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then
thou shalt have good success." Joshua 1:8
Linda chose to seek G-d just as Abraham did, she went to her local synagogue
and asked the
Rabbi to tell her more:
Would you be interested in hearing more, visit our website
BeJewish.org
Over 3000 years ago our father Abraham embraced the oneness of our creator, He
choose G-d and by doing so became the first Hebrew and the father of the Jewish
people.
Today
his legacy lives on through his descendants, the People of Israel, you too
can be Jewish and be one
of his descendants though conversion.
According to the Talmud, the souls of all
converts
were actually present at Mount Sinai when the Torah was given (Talmud - Shavuot
39a).