Giyyur 010

1:
In our discussions so far we have addressed the motivations that might prompt a non-Jew to seek to join the Jewish people and the Jewish religion and we have examined the manner in which the sages viewed conversions that proved to be less than perfect. We have also addressed the issue of how the Bet Din should interview a candidate for conversion. We must now turn our attention to the conversion process itself as required by the sages.

2:
No Jewish male is born into the covenant, but must be initiated into the covenant by circumcision at the age of eight days. Similarly, no non-Jewish male can enter the covenant except by way of circumcision. But is circumcision a sufficient requirement or 'just' a necessary requirement? The sages discuss this issue in a barayta [Yevamot 46a]:

Our ancestors when in Egyptian bondage were members of the Israelite people but were not yet part of the covenant between Israel and Israel's God. They only entered into that covenant when they experienced the theophany at Sinai. But, in order to experience that theophony they had to prepare themselves, just as a would-be convert must prepare himself. We read in the Torah [Exodus 19:9-11]:

Furthermore, we learn from the book of Joshua [Joshua 5:2-5] that the generation that left Egypt were circumcised:

Thus we learn from scripture that at the time of the theophany at Sinai our male ancestors were circumcised and both the males and the females had washed their clothes.

3:
If we return to the barayta we see that there appears to be a maĥloket [difference of opinion] between Rabbi Eli'ezer and Rabbi Yehoshu'a, the two great rabbinic giants of the generation that came after the destruction of the Bet Mikdash in the year 70 CE. But the Gemara [Yevamot 46b] points out that their disagreement is not necessarily complete:

Rabbi Eli'ezer is of the opinion that all we know of the males who left Egypt and stood at Sinai is that they were circumcised, as reported in the book of Joshua. The book of Exodus only tells us that the people washed their clothes and says nothing about the people being required to wash their bodies. This is eminently logical and explains why, in the original barayta Rabbi Eli'ezer holds that "If a convert has been circumcised but has not bathed … he is a convert" – following the paradigm of our male ancestors. The ball is now in the court of Rabbi Yehoshu'a.

The Gemara explains that Rabbi Yehoshu'a cannot argue that when Moses orders the people to wash their clothes it implies that they are to wash themselves as well (for what point would there be in having clean clothes if the body underneath was still unclean?) He can't use this argument with regards to conversion because it could well be that the people were required to wash themselves clean which is not the same as being ritually clean after bathing in a mikveh.

4:
The Gemara continues:

So far, Rabbi Yehoshu'a has justified, as it were, his view that our male ancestors who left Egypt were not only circumcised (as all agree) but also were required to bathe in a mikveh before entering the covenant (because the incident of the sprinkling of the blood is specifically referred to as the blood of the covenant). The Gemara now addresses another aspect of the reasoning of Rabbi Yehoshu'a. He has 'proven' his point only regarding half the people!

Women cannot be circumcised, therefore it is but logical that bathing in a mikveh is the manner in which they enter the covenant.

5:
But let us not forget that neither the opinion of Rabbi Eli'ezer nor the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshu'a was the final opinion in the original barayta. Therefore, the Gemara now continues:

But, the Gemara points out, the teaching of Rabbi Yoĥanan is superfluous. We can derive this law from the fact that in the barayta it is the opinion of "the rest of the sages" and we have a golden rule that halakhah is decided by the majority opinion of the sages. "The rest of the sages" is certainly more numerous than either Rabbi Eli'ezer or Rabbi Yehoshu'a!

However, this comment of Rabbi Yoĥanan is not as trite as it would at first appear and from it the Gemara will proceed to derive some very serious consequences. As we shall see.

(If you would like to read the Hebrew text of the barayta and the Gemara please click here.)

To be continued.