Rabbi Moshe Bloom

By Rabbi Moshe Bloom
Torah VeHa’aretz Institute

Avraham: Father Of Jews And Converts

“You shall be the father of a multitude of nations …” (Bereishit 17:4–6).

We learn in the name of R’ Yehuda: “A convert who offers first fruits reads [the text], for what reason? As it is written: ‘Since I have made you the father of all nations.’ Previously you were the father of Aram, and now you are the father of all the nations.”

At first blush, it seems that this verse and its interpretation belong only to the realm of Aggada. However, R’ Yehuda extrapolates from here a halachah on a sensitive subject: the possibility for converts to offer bikkurim, the first fruit, and read out the Biblical verses associated with bikkurim just like any other Jew. Yet, the halachah that R’ Yehuda learns from this verse contradicts an explicit Mishnah (Bikkurim 1:4):

The convert offers [bikkurim] and does not read [the text], since he cannot say “that G-d swore to our forefathers to give us” (Devarim 26:3). If his mother is Jewish, he offers and reads. When he prays [the Amidah] privately, he says: “The G-d of Israel’s forefathers.” When he prays [as a chazzan] in a synagogue, he says “The G-d of your forefathers.” If his mother is Jewish, he says, “The G-d of our forefathers.”

The halachot stated in the Mishnah above label converts as second-class Jews to a certain extent. While this in no way diminishes the love we are commanded to show converts, more than all other Jews, it certainly relegates them to the sidelines: the Land of Israel was not given to them and the holy patriarchs are not truly theirs. Rabbeinu Tam rules according to this Mishnah (Bava Batra 81a).

R’ Yehuda’s approach cited by the Yerushalmi, however, represents the exact opposite approach: Converts can offer bikkurim and read out the Biblical passages, and certainly pray to “the G-d of our forefathers,” since Avraham Avinu is considered their father: “Now you are the father of all the nations.” Rambam rules according to this approach (Bikkurim 4:3), using this ruling to encourage Ovadia the convert, one of the righteous converts of his generation, in their correspondence. The Ri of the Tosafot (Bava Batra, ibid.) also rules like the Yerushalmi.

Two Sides Of The Co(i)nvert

It seems that this dispute presents two aspects of how converts belong to the Jewish People. On the one hand, converts are not biological descendants of the holy patriarchs, nor do they inherit a portion in the Land of Israel. On the other hand, converts are the spiritual children of Avraham Avinu—perhaps even more so than Jews from birth: Avraham left the false path of his forefathers and clung to the Shechinah, which is exactly what converts have done. In this way, converts are certainly worthy of being considered Avraham’s sons and daughters.

Note that the passage read when offering bikkurim fits in with the Mishnah’s approach, as it describes the land “G-d swore to our forefathers to give to us” (Devarim 26:3). This implies that converts do not receive inheritance from the forefathers, like when a rabbi has a disciple who follows in his footsteps and a son who does not, the biological son, not the disciple, receives the inheritance. However, inheriting a portion of the Land of Israel does not necessarily follow the rules of inheritance from father to son. Yishmael and Eisav did not inherit a portion of the Land of Israel. Reuven lost his double portion, the Torah-mandated inalienable right of firstborns. Even the apportioning of the country was done according to those who left Egypt and not according to the regular laws of inheritance, whereas each generation inherits from the preceding generation. For this reason, it seems that even meriting a portion of the Land of Israel does not necessarily stem from the regular laws of inheritance.

What, then, is the basis for the right to a portion of the Land of Israel? It seems that a portion of the country is much more than just a real-estate asset. It is primarily a spiritual asset, where each and every person is supposed to rectify the specific and unique aspect of the revelation of G-d’s kingship in the material world and on the Land of Israel’s physical soil. Maybe converts, who themselves have embarked on a very difficult spiritual journey, find it difficult to go the extra mile and reveal G-dliness within the material world. This is why they do not have a right to a portion of the Land of Israel. Biological Jews, born and bred on the connection between heaven and earth, who have a Jewish body that is appropriate for this mission (as an inheritance from Avraham Avinu), can go this extra mile. However, when Mashiach comes, at time when many spiritual barriers will be removed, the converts will also receive a portion in the Land of Israel and they will then be able to make this rectification as well (Kohelet Rabbah).

Avraham Avinu’s Path

The above is not only relevant to the way we relate to converts. We, too, the children and disciples of Avraham Avinu, also have to recognize both aspects ourselves: First, we must be eternally grateful to Hashem that we merited being the children of Avraham Avinu, and that we were born into a much more rectified spiritual state. Yet, we must also go in Avraham’s path of disconnecting ourselves from idol worship. Within us there is a “false god” — the evil inclination tries to persuade us to sin. While being the children of Avraham Avinu makes it easier for us to fight it, the battle with this false god cannot be won solely thanks to our pedigree. Just like our forefather Avraham, we must try to discern what the true inner voice is that guides us — if it is the voice of Hashem, or the voice of a false god. 

Rabbi Moshe Bloom is head of the English department of Torah VeHa’aretz Institute. Torah VeHa’aretz Institute (the Institute for Torah and the Land of Israel) engages in research, public education, and the application of contemporary halachic issues that come to the fore in the bond between Torah and the Land of Israel today. For additional information and inquiries, e-mail h.moshe@toraland.org.il or call 972-8-684-7325.

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