Gerim

Gerim (Hebrew plural: גרים "converts", singular masculine: גר "ger", singular feminine: גייורת "giyoret") also known as gerey tzedek (גְּיֵירֵי צֶדֶק righteous proselytes) are non-Jews who have converted to Judaism and have become "naturalized" Jews according to Jewish Law. A ger acquires a Jewish soul upon the completion of the conversion known as גִּיּוּר ("giur") or גֵּרוּת ("geirut") in the process of conversion to Judaism.

It is important to note that there is a distinction between a "ger tzedek" and a "ger toshav" (גר תושב), who is a "resident alien" and is bound only to the Seven Laws of Noah.

Overview

Being Jewish is a combination of both an ethnicity and of the religion of Judaism. The religion of Judaism does not seek converts, prospective converts must complete the arduous process without the support present in universalist religions like Christianity or Islam. It is traditional for an individual requesting to begin the process to be denied three times by a rabbi to test their sincerity or even be denied entirely. Even once the conversion process has begun, an individual is not guaranteed to be converted if they do not meet the expectations and requirements of their sponsoring rabbi and Jewish court. Other reasons for denial include a lack of sincerity, mental or physical illness, or living in a place where adhering to Jewish law is impossible. Once a halakhically valid conversion is completed, it can never be undone and the ger is forever considered to be Jewish, even if their observance wavers or they attempt to convert to another religion. However, some rabbis have ruled that revocation of a conversion is permissible if it is proven the process was not done in accordance with Jewish law or that the convert was insincere in their intentions and beliefs.

The process in which a gentile (non-Jew) becomes a Jew resembles both naturalization, as well as religious conversion. The convert accepts upon themselves the laws, culture, history, and identity of the Jewish people. As such, there is no way to become a Jew without going through a recognized Jewish court. Following the completion of the process, the convert is given several documents which validate the completion of their giyyur (conversion).

Jewish converts, unlike Christians and Muslims, are not simply considered believers in Judaism, but rather full-fledged members of the Jewish people. Due to this, some prominent rabbis, such as Rabbi Shlomo Goren, have taken the stance that religious belief and observance is not the sole determining factor in becoming a member. However, others, such as Rabbi Saadia Gaon, held that “our nation is a nation only by virtue of its religious laws”, indicating that religious belief is a core element of the Jewish nation.

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo, a prominent Dutch-Israeli rabbi and ger tzedek states, regarding conversion, that:

A Gentile who converts to Judaism miraculously becomes part of the people of Israel. Unlike with Christianity, this does not just mean that the Gentile now shares the beliefs of Judaism, but rather that he or she literally becomes the seed of the Avot forefathers"and Imahot foremothers" For this to happen, a quasi-biological miracle is required. The Gentile needs to be reborn as a direct descendant of Avraham and Sara.

Individuals from a vast array of ethnic and religious backgrounds have become Jewish throughout history, leading to a degree of genetic and racial diversity among the Jewish population as a whole. Regardless, Jewish law places no value in genetics or physical attributes in determining whether or not an individual is or is not a Jew.

History

Non-Jews have been joining the Jewish people for thousands of years, with one of the earliest instances being Ruth, a Moabite ancestor of King David. In the Book of Ruth, she declared her loyalty to the Jewish people to Naomi, her mother-in-law, by saying:

Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.

During the Roman era, it is estimated up to 10% (2-7 million) of the Roman population was Jewish, partially due to an increase in Jewish conversion. Several gerim and descendants of gerim, such as Simon bar Giora, Avtalyon, Shmaya, Onkelos, Queen Helena of Adiabene, Ben Bag Bag, and Rabbi Yochanan ben Torta were prominent in the ancient Jewish community.

It is estimated that a significant portion of the genome of diaspora Jewish groups is of non-Israelite genetic descent, indicating that these communities accepted in many converts following the expulsion of Jews from Israel by the Romans. These converts were fully assimilated into the Jewish people, adopting all aspects of Jewish culture and identity.

Though extremely uncommon, entire people groups have converted to Judaism throughout history, notably the Subbotnik Jews, Bene Menashe, Jews of San Nicandro, and the Himrayite Kingdom. Many of these groups have gone on to intermarry with the predominately Israelite-descended Jewish community.

Alleged forced conversion of the Edomites

The only recorded case of alleged forced conversion to Judaism was John Hyrcanus' forced conversion of the Edomites during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. However, some scholars believe this conversion to have been voluntary.

Conversion

Process

Prospective Jewish converts must undergo a rigorous process which bears similarity to both naturalization and a religious conversion. Traditionally, this involves moving into a Jewish community, a year or more of Jewish education under a rabbi, meeting with a recognized beit din (Jewish court), and going through with the final rituals (which differ between males and females slightly).

Other requirements generally include forming bonds within the Jewish community, learning Hebrew, demonstrating ethical behavior, involvement in Jewish communal life, and maintaining a positive relationship with their sponsoring rabbi.

Married couples must convert together and commit to sending their children to 12 years of Jewish schooling.

Adoption of minhag (customs)

Converts generally are advised to adopt the minhagim (such as Ashkenazi or Sephardi) of their sponsoring rabbi or community, however many also choose their own minhag independently.

Opposition

Throughout history, there have always been Jewish figures who opposed conversion and converts for a variety of reasons. As Jewish conversion is not a right, but rather a privilege, arguments against conversion range in reasoning from the possibilities of watering down traditional Judaism to issues regarding the absorption of newcomers into an identity and culture entirely foreign to them. Other arguments cite convert's potential zealotry when observing mitzvot (commandments), thus creating an atmosphere of denigration towards born-Jews who aren't as stringent.

Identity

Names of converts

Throughout Jewish history converts have been referred to by a variety of names and titles. Ancient sources and tombstones regularly refer to them as "proselytes", "righteous proselytes", "converts", and some even refer to them using their former identity. For instance, in Mishnah Yadayim 4:4, a convert is referred to as Yehudah Ger Ammoni (Yehudah the Ammonite convert).

Ethnicity and race

Traditionally, there exists no distinction between ethnicity and religion in Jewish culture. Even the modern concepts of ethnicity and religion were not present when Jewish civilization first emerged, making concepts such as "ethnic Jews" and "religious Jews" nonexistent in ancient sources.

Similar to the concept of Roman citizenship and Hellenic identity, Jewish identity is one that encompasses a wide range of ethnic, religious, tribal, and national concepts which work together in tandem to form the entire framework of Jewish identity. As such, Jewish identity is regularly categorized as an ethnic, religious, or mixed identity when utilizing modern Western understandings of peoplehood.

In Israel, all Jews are defined as ethnic Jews, regardless if the individual was born Jewish or converted.

Race, much like ethnicity, is not a concept found in traditional Judaism. The concept of a Jewish race is one that emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries. Skin color and other physical features are not determining factors in regards to Jewishness.

Negation of familial relationships

Per Jewish law, a convert is like a newborn child, and thus biological parental ties are severed upon their conversion. Despite this, a convert is still required to honor their parents, as mandated by Jewish law. They are to not, however, maintain close contact.

Converts are not required to mourn the deaths of their gentile parents.

Distinctions between born-Jews and gerim

There is no distinction between born-Jews and gerim in the eyes of traditional Jewish law, in most cases. The few distinctions that do exist are that a ger cannot sit on a Jewish court in many cases, a ger cannot marry a Kohen (Jewish priest), and a ger can never be in a position of absolute authority over born-Jews (such as becoming a monarch).

Convert status does not extend to the children of converts, as they would be considered born-Jews.

Around the world

Russian Empire and Soviet Union

Groups of Slavic Christian peasants began to appropriate certain elements of Jewish culture and religion beginning in the 19th century, resulting in persecution and deportation under Tsar Alexander I. Called Subbotniks, many eventually converted to Judaism, and settled in the Land of Israel.

Groups of Subbotnik Jews still exist in formerly Soviet countries, such as in the village of Privolnoye, Azerbaijan.

An entire Ukrainian village near Uman converted to Judaism and became Breslov Hasidim. Many were later victims of pogroms committed against the Jewish community in the region during World War I.

Ethiopia

Many researchers believe the Beta Israel, much like the Subbotniks, adopted a Jewish identity without formal conversion or were converted by Jews from Yemen who settled in the region during the Middle Ages. Genetic research has shown the group to be closely related to the Cushitic-speaking Agaw people, however other research indicates an Israelite origin of the community.

Khazar Khaganate

During the Middle Ages, it is believed the nobility of the Khazar Khaganate converted to Judaism. However, the claim is doubted by many researchers. Though there was a confirmed presence of Jews in the kingdom and the existence of Khazar gerim, notably a diaspora community in Spain after the fall of the Khazars, there is no confirmed evidence of mass conversion to Judaism.

Myanmar and India

Some Tibeto-Burmese-speaking people on the border between India and Myanmar, such as the Kuki, have begun converting to Judaism due to a belief in descent from a Lost Tribe of Israel, specifically the Tribe of Manasseh. Due to this belief, they've adopted the name Bnei Menashe (Children of Manasseh). They number around 10,000, with half of residing in India, and the other half in Israel.

United States

According to the Pew Research Center, up to 1 in 6 (approximately 1,275,000) Jewish-Americans are gerim.

Although rare, mass conversions to Judaism have occurred in the United States. For instance, in Show Low, Arizona, 21 individuals converted in September 2023.

Some prominent American gerim include:

* Reuben Greenberg - First black police chief of Charleston, South Carolina.
* Ivanka Trump - Daughter of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump.
* Eli HaZe'ev - Vietnam War veteran and victim of the 1980 Hebron terrorist attack.
* Y-Love - Hip-hop artist.
* Louis Ferrante - Former Italian-American mobster.

Israel

Since 2016, about 3,000 people convert to Judaism every year in Israel through programs approved by the Chief Rabbinate. Between 1996 and 2021, 101,609 individuals have successfully completed approved conversion programs, with most being Soviet immigrants who were not halakhically Jewish (oftentimes only having one Jewish grandparent).

Converts are eligible under the Law of Return to become Israeli citizens, however only converts through Jewish courts recognized by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel are recognized halakhically as Jewish within the country.

Some prominent Israeli gerim include:

* Nissim Black - American-Israeli rapper.
* Amar'e Stoudemire - American-Israeli basketball player.
* Mike Flanagan - Irish-Israeli soldier who defected from the British Army.
* Anastassia Michaeli - Russian-Israeli politician.
* Reuel Abraham - German-Israeli former Luftwaffe pilot during World War II who, after witnessing a massacre of Jews during the Holocaust, feigned illness to get out of combat, donated money to Jewish victims, and made aliyah from Germany.

Palestine

Though rare, some Palestinian Arabs have joined the Jewish people.

* Baruch Mizrahi - An Arab convert to Judaism, he joined the Irgun Zionist paramilitary, and was killed in 1948 during the Israeli War of Independence by Arab forces.
* David ben Avraham - Inspired by his grandfather's actions during the 1929 Hebron massacre, in which he saved 25 Jews, Ben Avraham converted to Judaism. He was subsequently jailed for his conversion by the State of Palestine. Ben Avraham was killed by an IDF reservist who believed he was possibly a terrorist during a time of heightened tensions during the Gaza war.

Peru

The B'nai Moshe, also known as the Inca Jews, are a group of 900 Peruvian gerim in Israel, primarily Judea and Samaria. Originally from Trujillo, a significant portion of the community made aliyah in the 1990's.

South Africa

A growing number of Afrikaners have undergone conversion in recent years, with many opting to make aliyah to Israel from South Africa.

See also

* Conversion to Judaism
* Jewish identity
* Jewish peoplehood
* Sephardic Bnei Anusim
* Zera Yisrael
* Anusim

References

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Converts to Judaism
Groups claiming Jewish descent
Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law
Judaism terminology
Religious conversion