Q&A: Conversion
Conversion
Question
Hello and blessings!
I saw your article about conversion, in which you argued that the content of accepting the commandments is a willingness to be among those who receive reward and punishment, etc. I did not understand how this is possible in practical terms. After all, if the person knows that in practice he is not going to keep the Sabbath, how can one believe him when he says he is willing to be punished for that with terrible suffering? Apparently he does not really understand the meaning of his words, and there is a deficiency in his full intent. No?
Answer
If you do not believe him, then rule that he is not a convert. But the fact that he is not a convert is not because he does not observe, but because the non-observance indicates that he did not accept the obligation upon himself. If so, then you also agree that this is the essence of conversion. The question of how and when one decides whether he accepted the commandments or did not accept them is a question entrusted to the religious court, and I was not dealing with it.
Discussion on Answer
Where did you see that I disagree? I explained that in my remarks I did not get into that question. I’m done.
It is indeed true that I was not challenging your very definition of the conversion process, but this is a more fundamental claim—I do not think there is any person whom one can actually believe in such a case, for the reasons I explained. Why do you disagree?