To Proselytize, or Not To Proselytize
By Michelle Albert
The CCAR, a group that represents over 2000 Reform rabbis, decided to turn the trend of interfaith marriage to their advantage by promoting conversion of non-Jewish spouses, reports the Washington Post. Though this seems a step in a favorable direction for intermarried couples, other rabbis and Jews are questioning whether they have the have the right to call people into the tribe, so to speak.
Jews do not have a history of proselytization. Unlike Christianity or Islam, which stress that a person can be saved from eternal damnation by converting, Judaism does not believe a person is doomed if they are not Jewish. And conversion to Judaism is a difficult process - potential converts are refused three times before they can begin the process. Sincerity is carefully gauged, and the learning process doesn't stop...