By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER<\/p>\n
<\/noscript><\/a>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\u2026 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\u2019s existence; the second, to acknowledge God\u2019s unity (that there is one and only one God).<\/p>\nCorollary to these fundamentals is the third Commandment: to love God \u201cwith all one\u2019s heart, spirit, and might.\u201d The Chofetz Chayim includes in this Mitzvah the obligation \u201cto bring human beings closer to God\u2019s service\u2026 as Abraham our father did.\u201d He cites Genesis<\/em> 12:5 as proof-text \u2013 \u201cThe souls they had acquired in Haran.\u201d<\/p>\nIt seems clear that \u201chuman beings\u201d is meant to include non-Jews\u2026 Genesis<\/em> 12:5 has a long association with conversion. Rashi explains: \u201c\u2019The souls they had acquired\u2019 \u2026Abraham converted the men and Sarah converted the women.\u201d By so prominently making reference to this text, the Chofetz Chayim boldly suggests that proselytizing, welcoming converts, is \u2013 for modern Jews \u2013 among the most urgent of Mitzvot.<\/p>\nHow actively we should proselytize is open to debate. But lovingly welcoming those who would join us (or have already done so) is \u2013 for the love of God \u2013 an inviolable, sacred trust.<\/p>\n(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/noscript><\/a>
Corollary to these fundamentals is the third Commandment: to love God \u201cwith all one\u2019s heart, spirit, and might.\u201d The Chofetz Chayim includes in this Mitzvah the obligation \u201cto bring human beings closer to God\u2019s service\u2026 as Abraham our father did.\u201d He cites Genesis<\/em> 12:5 as proof-text \u2013 \u201cThe souls they had acquired in Haran.\u201d<\/p>\nIt seems clear that \u201chuman beings\u201d is meant to include non-Jews\u2026 Genesis<\/em> 12:5 has a long association with conversion. Rashi explains: \u201c\u2019The souls they had acquired\u2019 \u2026Abraham converted the men and Sarah converted the women.\u201d By so prominently making reference to this text, the Chofetz Chayim boldly suggests that proselytizing, welcoming converts, is \u2013 for modern Jews \u2013 among the most urgent of Mitzvot.<\/p>\nHow actively we should proselytize is open to debate. But lovingly welcoming those who would join us (or have already done so) is \u2013 for the love of God \u2013 an inviolable, sacred trust.<\/p>\n(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/noscript><\/a>
It seems clear that \u201chuman beings\u201d is meant to include non-Jews\u2026 Genesis<\/em> 12:5 has a long association with conversion. Rashi explains: \u201c\u2019The souls they had acquired\u2019 \u2026Abraham converted the men and Sarah converted the women.\u201d By so prominently making reference to this text, the Chofetz Chayim boldly suggests that proselytizing, welcoming converts, is \u2013 for modern Jews \u2013 among the most urgent of Mitzvot.<\/p>\nHow actively we should proselytize is open to debate. But lovingly welcoming those who would join us (or have already done so) is \u2013 for the love of God \u2013 an inviolable, sacred trust.<\/p>\n(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/noscript><\/a>
How actively we should proselytize is open to debate. But lovingly welcoming those who would join us (or have already done so) is \u2013 for the love of God \u2013 an inviolable, sacred trust.<\/p>\n
(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/noscript><\/a>
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