Dear Rabbi
Why does the Torah refer to converts as strangers? Doesn’t this imply inferiority? Are they not considered fully-fledged Jews upon conversion?
Dasa
Dear Dasa,
In Judaism, a convert is called a “stranger” for two reasons: because he comes a foreign culture and foreign beliefs, and because he comes outside the socio-ethnic and racial gene pool that Jews have maintained between themselves over the centuries – physically he often appears different (he’s the one with the better nose). He is most certainly not treated differently. On the contrary: Torah emphasizes the fact that though he may be perceived as a stranger, standard ‘love your fellow Jew’, in all its detailed glory, applies to him as well.
In Judaism, a convert is called a “stranger” for two reasons: because he comes a foreign culture and foreign beliefs, and because he comes outside the socio-ethnic and racial gene pool that Jews have maintained between themselves over the centuries – physically he often appears different (he’s the one with the better nose). He is most certainly not treated differently. On the contrary: Torah emphasizes the fact that though he may be perceived as a stranger, standard ‘love your fellow Jew’, in all its detailed glory, applies to him as well.