Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan, known as the Chofetz Chayim (the title of his first book), is one of the seminal rabbis of the twentieth century… perhaps the most renowned of all rabbinic ethicists. His final book, Sefer Ha-Mitzvot Ha-Katzar, details every Commandment practicable in modernity. The first Commandment is to believe in God’s existence; the second, to acknowledge God’s unity (that there is one and only one God).
Corollary to these fundamentals is the third Commandment: to love God “with all one’s heart, spirit, and might.” The Chofetz Chayim includes in this Mitzvah the obligation “to bring human beings closer to God’s service… as Abraham our father did.” He cites Genesis 12:5 as proof-text – “The souls they had acquired in Haran.”
It seems clear that “human beings” is meant to include non-Jews… Genesis 12:5 has a long association with conversion. Rashi explains: “’The souls they had acquired’ …Abraham converted the men and Sarah converted the women.” By so prominently making reference to this text, the Chofetz Chayim boldly suggests that proselytizing, welcoming converts, is – for modern Jews – among the most urgent of Mitzvot.
How actively we should proselytize is open to debate. But lovingly welcoming those who would join us (or have already done so) is – for the love of God – an inviolable, sacred trust.
(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting)
Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan, known as the Chofetz Chayim (the title of his first book), is one of the seminal rabbis of the twentieth century… perhaps the most renowned of all rabbinic ethicists. His final book, Sefer Ha-Mitzvot Ha-Katzar, details every Commandment practicable in modernity. The first Commandment is to believe in God’s existence; the second, to acknowledge God’s unity (that there is one and only one God).