eikev love the proselyte

8/9/2019 Eikev Love the Proselyte

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LovetheConvert:How?Youshalllovetheconvert(Devarim10:19)

Inrecentyears, intandemwithemergenceof largescalecharityorganizations,wehavebecomeaccustomedto

"charitypamphlets"

that

bring

individual

cases

of

poverty

and

tragedy

to

the

attention

of

potential

donors.

True

to

theirpurpose,thesepamphletsutilizethemediaofgraphics,prose,anddrama,inseekingtoarousethereaders'

compassion for the specific cause. At the same time, accompanying halachic material is often presented,

highlightingthegreatvirtueofdonatingtothecause.

Oneofthequestionsthatarises inthisconnection ishowtopresentcases involvingagertzeddektheconvert

withinIsrael.Ontheonehand,wearecommandedinaspecificinstructiontolovetheconvert,astheverseinour

Parashahclearlystates:"Youshalllovetheconvert"(Devarim10:19).Naturally,thisversehasbeenusedbycharity

organizationsinpromptingpotentialdonorstocontributetothecauseofneedygereitzeddek.

Ontheother,aswewillseebelow,theinstructiontolovetheconvertdoesnotnecessaryhavedirectimplications

concerningtheorderinwhichcontributionstocharityshouldbegiven.Themitzvah,aswillbeshown,requiresa

certainamount

of

elucidation.

TheOrderofDonationAsnoted,theTorahexplicitlyinstructsusinlovingtheconvert:"Youshalllovetheconvert."Inlightofthisexplicit

mitzvah,wemightthink it incumbentonustogivepreferencetotheconvert ineveryformofdonation.Where

limitedcharityfundsareavailable(thisisusuallythecase),wewouldhavetogivethepoorconvertinadvanceof

those born to Jewishparentage. Likewise,where there is onlyone gift to give, and the choicemust bemade

betweenaJewfrombirthandagertzeddek,theverdictwouldfallinfavoroftheconvert.

Indeed, at least with regard to giving gifts, this is the ruling issued by Rabbi Eliyahu Kushlevsky (Davar

Shebeminyan,mitzvah17).DiscussingacaseinwhichbothaJewfrombirthandaconvertrequireaspecificitem,

oracase

in

which

aperson

has

achoice

of

whom

to

conduct

his

business

dealings

with,

Rabbi

Kushlevsky

writes

thattheconvertshouldbepreferred.Thelogicofthisdecisionissimple:althoughweareobligatedtoloveallJews,

ParshasEikev 5770 20This week's Parashah includes the mitzvah of loving the convert--a mitzvah that requires much clarification.

Does the mitzvah imply an obligation to give precedence to a convert over a Jew from birth? Does it include

an instruction to accept converts? And how does the love of a convert differ from the love of all Jews? These

issues, and more, are discussed in the weekly article. This week's "laws of charity" covers the obligation of a

poor person, a debtor, and an employer, to donate to charity.


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theobligation to love theconvert isdoubled,givinghimpreferenceoverhis Jewishbrethren.RabbiKushlevsky

proceeds tociteanexampleof this in the taleofRuth,wherewe find thatBoazpreferredRuth theconvert to

Jewishpoor.

However, incontrast to this rationale,we find that inquestionsofsaving livesand returning lostproperty, the

Mishnah(Horios13a)clearlyplacesaJewfrombirthbeforetheconvert:"Akohenprecedesalevi,aleviprecedesa

yisrael,ayisraelprecedesamamzer,amamzerprecedesanasin,anasinprecedesager,andagerprecedesa

freed slave." TheMishnah concludes that this order of preference only applies among equals;when they are

unequal,amamzerTorahscholartakesprecedenceevenovertheKohenGadol!

JustastheordinaryJewisgivenpreferencewithregardtosustaininghislife,so,itwouldseem,theJew istobe

given preference with regard to donations, gifts, and regular dealingsthe difference is merely quantitative.

Moreover,thisrulingisclearlyimpliedinthewordsofRambamandShulchanAruch:"Ifseveralpaupersarebefore

him, or several captives, and there is insufficient funding to sustain or clothe or redeem all of them, a kohen

precedesalevi,aleviprecedesayisrael,ayisraelprecedesachalalandanasinprecedesager"(MatnosAniyim

8:17).

RambamthusrulesthattheJewfrombirthprecedestheconvertevenconcerning"clothing"arulingalsofound

inShulchanAruch(YorehDe'ah,251:9).Thesameorderofpreferencewouldpresumablyapplytoallotherforms

ofgiving,forwhichpreferenceisgiventoJewsfrombirth(unliketheaboverulingofDavarShebeminyan).

Thequestion

we

must

ask

is

how

this

order

of

preference

can

be

resolved

with

the

special

mitzvah

to

love

the

convert.Surely,inviewofthespecialmitzvahtolovethegertzeddek,heshouldbegivenpreferenceovertheJew

frombirth,andnotviceversa?

LoveoftheConvertInhislettertoObadiahtheconvert,Rambamopenswithwordsofpraisethataregenerallyunfoundinhisother

writings:"IreceivedthequestionofthemasterObadiah,thewiseandlearnedconvert,mayHashemrewardhim

forhiswork,mayaperfectrecompensebebestoweduponhimbytheGdof Israel,underwhosewingshehas

soughtcover."

Rambam'sadmiration for theconvert isapparent throughout the letter.After ruling that theconvertmaypray

withthe

same

words

as

aJew

from

birth,

Rambam

concludes

with

the

following

words:

"Do

not

consider

your

ori

ginas inferior.Whileweare thedescendantsofAvraham,Yitzchak,andYaakov,youderive fromHim through

whosewordtheworldwascreated."

Inanother lettertoObadiah,Rambamreveals thecoreofourrelationshipwithconverts:arelationshipof love.

"KnowthattheobligationwhichtheTorahhasplaceduponuswithrespecttoconverts isgreat:withrespectto

fatherandmother,wehavebeencommandedwithrespecttohonorandawe,andwithrespecttoprophets,to

obey them,and it ispossible forone tohonor,hold inawe,andobeyonewhomonedoesnot love;butwith

respecttoconverts,wehavebeencommandedconcerninglove,somethingwhichisgivenovertotheheart"You

shalllovetheconvert,"aswehavebeencommandedtoloveHisName"YoushallloveHashem,yourGd,"and

theHolyOne,blessedbeHe,lovestheconvert,asitsays,'andlovestheconvert,ingivinghimfoodandclothing

(Shemos

10:18)."

ItisnoteworthythatRambamwritesthatoneisnotobligatedtoloveonefatherandmother,ortheprophet.This

statementdemandsscrutiny:surely,theobligationto"loveyourfellowasyourself"(Vayikra19:17)appliesevento

fatherandprophet?Whyistheobligationoflovereservedfortheconvertalone?

Moreover,thecomparisonofloveoftheconvertwiththeloveofHashemisparticularlystriking,andisrepeated

byRambaminhisHilchosDe'os(6:4).Rambamwritesthatalthoughapersonisobligatedtoloveeachandevery

Jew,theobligationtolovetheconvertisdoubled.Heproceedstoconcludethat"Hehasinstructedusinthelove

oftheconvertasinHisownlove,asitiswritten,"YoushallloveHashem,yourGod."Whatissospecialaboutthe

loveoftheconvert?

TwoFormsofLove


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Wemayglean someunderstandingof thematterbymeansof introducing thecommentaryofRambam to the

mitzvahof"loveyouneighborasyourself."Rambanwritesthattheobligationcannotbeunderstoodona literal

level. It is impossible foraperson to loveanother to thedegreehe loveshimself.Rather, the intentionof the

instruction is that a person should act towards his fellow with love, just as he acts towards himself: "The

instructionoftheTorahistoloveone'sfellowineverymatter,justasheloveshimselfwithallgoodness."

Rambanproceedstobasethisunderstandingonthewordingoftheverse:"Itispossiblethatsincetheversesays

"toyourneighbor" (lere'acha) tomakethe loveofbothcomparable inhismind.Forsometimesone loveshis

neighborwiththe things thatareknown toenhancehismaterialhappiness,butnotwithwisdom,andqualities

thatare

similar

to

it.

And

that

his

beloved

friend

should

be

blessed

with

happiness,

property,

honor,

knowledge

andwisdom,whilenotcomparinghimselftohisfriend,bywishinginhisheartthathehimselfshouldbemorethan

hisfriendinallthatisgood.Forthereshouldnotbethiskindofpettyjealousy,astheversecommands,"likeone

doesforone'sself,"andthusheshouldnotmakelimitstohislove."

ThedistinctionmadebyRambanwillallowustounderstandthepuzzlingstatementsofRambamconcerninglove

oftheconvert.Thescripturalcommandto love"toone'sneighbor"expressesanobligationtoactwithlove,but

doesnotdescribean instructionto love inone'sheartfor it is impossibleto loveanotherasone lovesoneself.

Withregardtoaconvert,however,RabbiYaakovKaminetzky(EmesLe'Yaakov,Vayikra19:17)haspointedoutthat

theverseusestheexpressionoftruelove:notlove"totheconvert"(leger),but"oftheconvert"(eshager).One

mustlovetheconvertinthefullsenseoftheword:notmerelyloveofdeed,butaprofoundloveoftheheart.

In thisthe loveoftheconvert iscomparableto loveofHashem,ofwhichtheverseusesthesameterminology:

"YoushallloveHashem,yourGd."JustasthereisanobligationtoloveHashemnotaloveofdeedbutaloveof

heart,whichRambamdescribesasattainingclosenesswithand"knowledgeof"Gd (HilchosDe'os,chap.2)so

weare instructed to love theconvert inaconceptualsense.Wemustendearhissacrifice;weareobligated to

mentallyembracehisentrybeneaththewingsoftheShechinah;andourheartsmustbefulloflovetowardshim.

Thus,inhislettertoObadiahtheconvert,Rambamwritesthatwhereasoneisnotobligatedtoloveone'sfather

andmother,one isobligatedto lovetheconvert.The loveofeachandeveryJewcanbeexpressed intermsof

deeds;theloveoftheconvertmustfindexpressioninthedepthsoftheheart.Theyaredifferentformsoflove.

Onlythelatter,concludesRambamtheloveoftheconvertiscomparabletotheloveofHashem.

LoveoftheHeartInthelightoftheaboveunderstanding,wecanperhapsfindananswertotheseemingcontradictionbetweenthe

obligation to love theconvert,and theorderofprecedence thatplaces the Jewbefore theconvert.Surely the

obligationtolovetheconvertshouldgivehimprecedenceovertheJewfrombirth?

Yet,although theconvert is included in themitzvah to loveone'sneighborasone'sown self (anexplicitverse

includes him in this instruction), theMishnah teaches that there aredistinctionsbetweenone "neighbor" and

another.Akohentakesprecedenceoveralevi,alevioverayisrael,andaJewfrombirthoveraconvert.AllJews

form the limbsof a singlebody; yet this doesnotmean that there are no distinctionsbetweenone limb and

another.

Withregard

to

this

question,

the

special

mitzvah

of

love

unique

to

the

convert

does

not

affect

his

placement

on

the ladder of preference. The mitzvah is not to love "to the convert"to act towards himwith lovebut to

"actually"lovetheconvertaconceptuallovereservedfortheconvertalone.Theinstructiontolovetheconvert

accentuateshisunparalleledsacrificeanddrawsusclosetohisheroicdeed,yetmakesnoimpactontheorderof

donation.

Thisdoesnotmeanthatitiswrongtomentionthemitzvahoflovingtheconvertinrequestforcharitydonations.

Onewhogivescharitytoaconvert,heighteninghisappreciationoftheconvert'sdeedandbringinghisloveofthe

converttothefore,hasfulfilledthemitzvahof"youshalllovetheconvert."However,itisimportanttonotethat

intermsoforderofprecedence,itistheJewfrombirthwhocomesfirst.


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AcceptingConvertsIt is interesting tonote that there isnoexplicitmitzvah in theTorah toacceptconverts.However, theGemara

states (Yevamos47b), inconnectionwith thejudicialprocessofacceptingconverts, that"onedoesnotdelaya

mitzvah," which implies that accepting converts does fulfill a mitzvah (as pointed out by Rashbatz, inZohar

Harakia).IfnomitzvahismentionedbytheTorah,whichmitzvahdoestheGemarareferto.

Severalapproachesaresuggestedinaddressingthisquestion(seeMishnahHalachos,vol.6,YorehDe'ah92;Sefas

Emes,Shabbos147b;GlossesofRavYosefEngel,Yevamos ibid;commentaryofRabbiYehudahPerlowtoRasag,

mitzvah19).

One,

which

is

mentioned

by

Ri

Albargaloni

(cited

by

Rabbi

Perlow),

is

that

the

acceptance

of

converts

isincludedinthemitzvahtolovetheconvert.

IfthemitzvahoflovingtheconvertwouldimplynomorethantheloveofoneJewforanother,thiswouldhardly

beavalidsourceforamitzvahofacceptingconverts.The loveofoneJewforhisfellowdoesnotobligateus in

procreation!

However,inthelightofouranalysisofthemitzvah,wecanperhapsunderstandtheconnectionbetweenthetwo.

Aswehaveseen,theloveofaconvertdoesnotmerelyimplyactingtowardstheconvertwithlove,butrathera

profoundattachmentwiththeconceptofconversionofcomingunderthewingsoftheShechinah.Thistypeof

love,wemaysuggest,includeseventhemitzvahtoacceptconverts:iftheconceptofconversionisdeartous,it

followsthatweareboundtoacceptconverts.

TheBasicObligationofGivingCharity1. Most authorities maintain that it is incumbent upon Beis Din to force a poor person, who receives his

sustenancefrom

charity,

to

give

the

required

sum

(one

third

of

ashekel)

to

charity

(Aruch

Ha

Shulchan,

Yoreh

De'ah 248:4; Derech Emunah, MatnosAniyim 7:68). However, some maintain that he retains the right to

exchangehischaritymoneywithsomeoneofsimilarstatus(thisistheopinionofBach,YorehDe'ah253;itis

possiblethatShachandAruchHaShulchanagreetotheruling).

2. Adebtorwhohasinsufficientmeanstopaybackhisdebtsshouldnotdonatemorethanonethirdofashekel(peryear)tocharityuntilhecompletedtherepaymentofhisdebts(BasedonSeferChassidim,sec.454;see

alsosec.395,397).

3. Anemployerwhoisobligatedtopayahiredlaboredforhisworkshouldnotgiveanymoneytocharityifthiswouldrenderhimunabletopaythe laborer.Onemaynotgiveadonationtocharityonaccountofpayinga

hiredlaborer,

for

doing

so

would

transgress

the

Torah

prohibition

of

lo

talin

(see

Ahavas

Chessed

9:10).

This

appliesevenwhen theprohibitionof lo talinwillnotbe transgressed, for themitzvahofpaying the laborer

takesprecedenceover themitzvahofcharity (AhavasChessedChap.9,NesivChayim28).Wemight further

suggest that themitzvahofpaying the laborer isconsideredapersonalneed,which takesprecedenceover

others'needs:"Yourlifetakesprecedence."


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Everybody has a sha'ah tovah.

It might be a business deal.It might be ashidduch.

It might be a treatment.

It might be an examination.

And it might be one of those key events

that touch our life and leave it forever

changed.

Besha'ah Tovah

We invite you to mergeyour times with ours.

Time is time.In times when all others are on

vacation, Torah study inKollel

Choshen Mishpatcontinues unabated.

The ow of time (thezeman), and

with it the sweetness of Torah study,

rarely ceases (the learning schedule

continues as usual for two of the three

bein hazemanim weeks).

Time is time; hours are hours; minutesare minutes. We aim to make the most

of them. All the time.

We invite you to enter a relationship of Torah and blessing, in which the Torah study

upheld in ourKollelbrings blessing to times that need it.

We invite you to become partners: in our special times and in yours.

There are times that can never be brought back.

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wish that their names be mentioned during Yom Kippur Kattan prayers at the Kosel on

Name: Institute For Dayanim

Address: Mr. M. Greenes

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To Donate

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eikev love the proselyte

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