In biblical times, the Israelites were more of a nation than a religious group. They did not have the concept of religious conversion, because it was an incoherent idea to consider religion as something separate from nationality. That is why Abraham Avinu was called «the Hebrew» (ha ivri) and his descendants «the Hebrews.» These are terms that denote a nationality and, like all nations at that time, included worship of their own particular deity, the God of Abraham.

At that time, there was no formal religious conversion, but rather a cultural integration into the group, as many non-Israelites joined the Hebrews, through marriage or by accepting their customs and their God. Abraham himself and his descendants absorbed many pagans and their own servants, thereby increasing the size of their ethnic group. At the time of the Exodus, according to the Midrash Tanhuma, those who left Egypt were not only Hebrews, but a portion—the Midrash speaks of 40,000—of non-Israelites who joined them and were also present at the reception of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Once settled in the land of Israel, the Hebrews increased their number by incorporating members of the neighboring peoples living in Canaan.

The Torah uses the terms «ezrakh» when referring to someone who is an Israelite by birth; «nochri» when referring to a foreigner living among them but maintaining political, cultural, and religious ties with their native people; and «ger,» meaning resident or proselyte, for those who, although not born Hebrew, have integrated into their culture, customs, and beliefs.

The «gerim» often joined the Israelite group through intermarriage. Pagan women married Hebrew men and automatically accepted belonging to their clan and practicing their religion. The resulting marriages were viewed positively, because by marrying, the pagans exchanged an idolatrous practice for the God of Abraham.

The Gerim were permanent residents and enjoyed many of the privileges of the native Israelites. All non-Israelites who joined a family or tribe were given equal rights and responsibilities, although their participation in religious rituals occurred in stages. The Torah commanded love for the stranger because the people of Israel had been strangers in Egypt. It is written in Numbers 15:16: “One law (Torah) and one right shall you have, you and the stranger who sojourns with you.”

Cultural integration occurs when someone joins a majority group and acquires its characteristics or customs, losing or relegating what distinguished them. The best-known biblical case is that of Ruth. It is written: (Ruth 1:16) “And Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from you, for wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my God.’” Just as Ruth, the Moabite from whom King David is descended, so did Ziporah, the Midianite, wife of Moses, integrate herself into the people of Israel by accepting their customs and their God.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: The Theory and Practice of Welcoming Converts to Judaism by Lawrence J. Epstein and other sources.