Buying My Message
A wealthy gentile asked me to convert him to Judaism so that he could marry a Jewess. He was prepared to pay a fortune in return, an amount that could generously support our institutions.
“Do you honestly think that you can buy your way into Judaism?” I asked. “Are you under the impression that the Torah of the Living G-d is an auction artifact, sold to the highest bidder? Our Torah is acquired by extensive exertion. Why do you think Am Yisrael was found worthy, from among all the nations, of receiving the Torah? It is only because they agreed to toil in it, even before knowing what it entailed.
“Tehillim (147:19-20) states, ‘He relates His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel. He did not do so for any other nation, such judgments – they do not know them, Hallelujah!’ Am Yisrael are privileged, due to the fact that they uphold the Torah. Yet they maintain fear of sin.
“Only our nation has an innate sense of distancing ourselves from sin. This stems from fear of Heaven and fear of sin. When a Jew notices a plate with meat sitting near a plate with milk, he instinctively removes one of the plates, out of fear of transgressing Hashem’s word. Similarly, when it comes to performing positive mitzvot, Am Yisrael has a deep desire to do as much as possible. This desire derives from the sanctity with which they are engulfed. This holiness is exclusive to our nation.”
This was my response to the gentile who wanted to buy his way into Judaism. I hope that he bought my message.
