The Convert as the Most Jewish of Jews?

On the Centrality of Belief (the Opposite of Heresy) in Maimonidean Judaism

Abstract

In his writings, Maimonides appears to go out of his way to emphasize that a number of central figures among the talmudic rabbis were either proselytes or descended from proselytes. Why? The tradition seems to offer two possible understandings of the essential element in Jewish identity: either there is something inherent in one’s very nature that makes one a Jew, or being Jewish is primarily a matter of commitment. According to the latter view, Jews in the fullest sense are those who have made a particular intellectual commitment, while Gentiles are those who have not (yet) done so. Since the nature of being Jewish in this sense is predicated upon the acceptance of certain views, and since Maimonides expected that in the Messianic Era all human beings would come to accept these views as true, Maimonides could not but view conversion in a positive light. It turns out that, for Maimonides, one cannot really be born Jewish in the fullest sense of the term. Ideally, Judaism is not something that can be inherited passively; it must be achieved. This pattern was established by Abraham and then again by his descendants and those who joined them at Sinai. The most Jewish Jews, therefore, are not those whose biological “yichus” is impeccable, but those who choose to be Jews: converts.