For knowledgeable Jews: Is there a theological argument against proselytizing?

Question

Why wouldn't Jews want to spread the word about God's message to humanity if the Torah is the only message out there? From what I've read, it is more out of fear of anti-semitism. Is that true?

I am asking sincerely and not trying to offend, but to understand.

Answer 1

Yes, there is a theological reason for not proselytizing.

Judaism has never held that people need to convert to Judaism in order to "be saved". Judaism doesn't even have such a concept.

Judaism believes that the Righteous of ALL nations will have a place in the World To Come, and that it is not necessary for anyone to convert to Judaism.

The means for attaining Righteousness can be had by anyone, and the Torah is full of examples of men and women who did this very thing, so we know well that it can indeed be done, and is.

This is done for non-Jews by following the 7 Noahide Laws. These are straight out of the Torah, not the Talmud as many Christians say (in error):

These are basic Universal Laws which are found in every society, in every culture, and in every era.

These laws teach:
1. not to blaspheme God,
2. not to steal,
3. not to have any other god before God,
4. not to engage in sexual immorality,
5. not to murder.
6. to set up courts in society to have a fair, just system of justice for all
7. not to tear limbs to eat from living animals. In ancient times, people apparently did this. It simply means "no cruelty to animals".

As you can see, 5 of the 7 laws are found in the Ten Commandments, and the other two are found elsewhere in the Torah.

Those who follow these laws, which are paths for making a truly just, fair society for ALL its people, and for the world as a whole, and for their relationship between God and mankind, become righteous individuals and merit a place in the World To Come.

It is like....the more a person follows the path of Selfishness, the more he BECOMES that.

The more a person follows the path of SelfLESSness, the more he becomes THAT.

And this is how a person becomes Righteous and merits a place in the World To Come. Anyone can do it, of any religion or nationality.

Judaism doesn't have the concept of Original Sin, either. We believe that all souls are born pure and clean, and we give thanks for this three times a day in our prayers. "Thank you God, the soul you put within me is pure."

It is what we do AFTER we are born and attain the age of responsibility that determines whether we will become Righteous. And a person can always repent of their ways and begin walking the path of Righteousness and will also become Righteous that way.

So, as for teaching this to non-Jews, we DID. Also, in case you didn't realise it, when the Temples were standing, we did the sacrifices for ALL the nations, we didn't just do them for ourselves.

So, we taught the 7 Noahide Laws until Christianity came along and we started getting burned at the stake for it, our synagogues burned down (many times with us and our children inside), our books ripped apart, etc. because these teachings directly contradict the idea of having to worship a bloody human virgin sacrifice for sin as the way to The World To Come. Or "salvation" as the Christians call it.

At that point, the rabbis said Enough. We will all be dead if we continue. BUT, there were still those who taught the non-Jews, even so.

So, this went on like this for a long time until late last century when Chabad (an Orthodox Jewish organization) began it's Outreach Program to non-Jews and began teaching the 7 Noahide Laws all over again, in full force, all around the world. You can see their website: http://www.noahide.org

It was decided that the time was right to do this, we are nearing the time when Moshiach (messiah) is going to come, and the non-Jews MUST have their means to worship God alongside us as equals.

Some listen, some don't. Thats the way it is.

Anyway, hope this has helped answer your question. Be well.

Answer 2

Yes, there is a theological argument against proselytizing.

Its quite simple: G-d did not say so.

In other words, Christians who are missionaries derive their mandate directly from their bible. However, there is no source, either in the written or the oral Torah to say that Jews should prosletize.

In addition, the story of Ruth is viewed as a template for accepting converts. In her case, her mother in law Naomi tried to convince her NOT to come with her, i.e. to go back to her family and not be Jewish. It was only after her persistence was she accepted. In other words, if after a few rejections a potential convert still wants to convert, they will be accepted. Such notions go against basic proselytizing.

In addition, although the Torah is true, nevertheless, a non Jew can still live his life as a non Jew fulfilling the seven Noachide laws. Thus, there is nothing similar to some Christian's beliefs in that if one does not accept their religion in totality they will be damned.

As to anti semitism, in the middle ages (and beyond) it was a risky business accepting converts, both for the convert and for the rabbis and community involved. However, such issues haven't been relevant for at least 200 years (depending on what country you are dealing with).

Answer 3

We don't have to spread the word -- we are to live as an example to others.

In addition, we don't believe that it's necessary to be Jewish in order to have a share in the world-to-come. Non-Jews have only the seven Noahide laws to follow. Jews have 613 commandments.
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Answer 4

Would you want someone from a different religion coming and trying to pursued, and bother you to join their religion? What if they believe, as you do, that their book is the true word of the divine, what do you say to them? How do you argue against them if their logic is the same as yours? Isn't the highest moral code of all humanity to treat others as you would want to be treated? Doesn't proselytizing break this rule? Think about this, and you will know.

Answer 5

As everyone alse said, you don't need to be Jewish to get into the World-to-Come.

It's actually a lot harder for a Jew, since we have 613 commandments, and gentiles only have 7. It would be counterproductive to take a gentile who does very well with 7 mitzvot, and turn him into a Jew who is unable to to deal with 613. We only take converts if we know they can handle it. We are looking for quality, not quantity.

Answer 6

As the great Rabbi Hillel said when confronted by a man who challenged Hillel to teach him the entire Torah while standing on one foot: "That which is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. All the rest is commentary. Now go and learn."

One reason we do not proselytize is that we realize that Judaism is not for everyone. It is not "the only answer" nor is it "the only path to G-d." Everyone has a path to G-d, Judaism is just another one for a specific group of people; those who want to follow those laws. People don't NEED to be Jewish to get to heaven. The other reason is that we don't want people coming up to us thinking they know better than us and trying to change our belief systems, so we don't do it to other people.

Peace

Answer 7

jews do not believe it necessary to spread the religion of judaism. we don't believe that judaism was intended to be a "world religion". judaism definitely promotes helping non-jews come to believe in G-d, however. but they don't have to follow the religion of judaism to believe in G-d.