Yevamot 47b (מז:) — the Talmud in English

And Jews in this era -

are unable to accept

either an abundance of goodness,

for if they were to live exceptionally good lives, there would be concern that they would become haughty and sin, since the evil inclination particularly pursues them in order to cause them to sin.

Nor an abundance of calamity.

And one should not burden him

with words, threatening him so that he will refrain from his desire to convert,

and one should not scrutinize him.

If he accepted

what they told him concerning the mitzvot, their punishments and rewards, and concerning the Jewish people, and agreed to become Jewish -

they circumcise him immediately!

If there remained on him

at the site of the circumcision

strips of flesh,

pieces of flesh from the foreskin, because the foreskin had not been completely uncovered, and these were

strips that invalidate the circumcision

[and, as will be explained below in the Gemara, these are the strips referred to] -

they circumcise him a second time.

And they wait until the site of the circumcision heals, so that they can immerse him.

Once he has healed, they immerse him immediately.

And two Torah scholars stand over him

at the time of the immersion, through which he enters the status of conversion, and at that moment he must accept upon himself the yoke of the mitzvot,

and they inform him of some minor mitzvot and some major mitzvot.

He immersed and emerged -

he is like a Jew in every respect.

And when

a woman

immerses for conversion -

women seat her in the water up to her neck.

And two Torah scholars stand outside her, and they inform her of some minor mitzvot and some major mitzvot.

One who is a convert and one who is an emancipated slave

have the same status with regard to this as conversion, as will be explained below.

And in the place where a menstruating woman immerses,

in a ritual bath containing forty se'a,

there a convert and an emancipated slave immerse,

even though their immersion is not at all for the sake of ritual purity.

And anything that forms a barrier

between his flesh and the water

during immersion

ordinary immersion, which is for the sake of purification from ritual impurity, so that a ritually impure person will not render pure things impure through contact -

it

forms a barrier

also

in

the immersion of

a convert, an emancipated slave, and a menstruating woman

who immerses in order to become pure for her husband, even though none of these immerse so that they will not render pure things impure through contact.

The Master said

in the beraita on the previous page:

“With regard to a convert who comes to convert, they say to him: What did you see that made you come to convert?”

“And they inform him of some minor mitzvot and some major mitzvot.”

What is the reason

that they say this to him?

If he withdraws

from converting -

let him withdraw,

for we have no interest in his converting.

Because of

what Rabbi Helbo said: Converts are as difficult for the Jewish people as

a

scab,

which is a lesion.

As it is written

[Isaiah 14]:

“And the convert shall join himself to them, and they shall attach themselves to the house of Jacob.”

Thus Scripture referred to them using the expression “scab.”

The reason for this is that they continue their former practices even after their conversion, and thereby exert a negative influence on Jews who learn from them or rely on them in determining what is prohibited and what is permitted.

We also learned there in the beraita:

“And they inform him of the sin of

the failure to give

gleanings, forgotten sheaves, the corner of the field, and the poor man’s tithe.”

And the Gemara explains:

What is the reason

that they inform him specifically of the sin concerning this mitzva?

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yohanan said:

Since gentiles are extremely particular about their money, they inform them about the matter of the gifts to the poor, lest they withdraw from converting because they will be concerned about their property.

And we find that gentiles are so particular about their money that they are unwilling to forgo even less than the value of a peruta.

Therefore, the law is that

a descendant of Noah

who robbed, for which he is liable to death, since descendants of Noah are punished by death for violating the seven mitzvot that they are obligated to observe -

he

is executed

even

for

robbing

less than the value of a peruta,

because they are particular even about less than the value of a peruta.

And the robbery cannot be

restored

for atonement

among the descendants of Noah, who cannot rectify the matter by returning the stolen item, because it is only with regard to Jews that the Torah states that returning the stolen item rectifies the sin of robbery, but not with regard to descendants of Noah.

We also learned in the beraita:

“And one should not burden him, and one should not scrutinize him.”

Rabbi Elazar said: What is the verse?

As it is written

in the Scroll of Ruth [chapter 1]:

“And she saw

Naomi

that she was determined

[Ruth]

to go with her -

and she ceased speaking to her.”

She said to her

Naomi to Ruth:

We are prohibited,

it is prohibited for us to walk on Shabbat beyond the

Shabbat boundary!

Ruth answered her:

“Wherever you go -

I will go.”

Naomi said to her:

“We are prohibited from seclusion

with a married woman’s husband!

Ruth answered her:

“Wherever you lodge -

I will lodge.”

Naomi said:

“We are commanded to observe six hundred thirteen mitzvot!”

Ruth answered:

“Your people -

are my people.”

Naomi said:

“We are prohibited from idolatry!”

Ruth answered:

“And your God -

is my God.”

Naomi said:

“Four forms of execution have been entrusted to the court!”

Ruth answered:

“Wherever you die -

I will die.”

Naomi said:

“Two graves

[cemeteries]

have been designated for the court!”

One for those liable to the more severe forms of execution, namely, those who are burned and those who are stoned, because they committed severe transgressions.

And the other for those liable to the less severe forms of execution, namely, those who are killed by the sword and those who are strangled.

Ruth answered:

“And there I will be buried.”

Immediately, “And she saw that she was determined

to go with her - and she ceased speaking to her.”

We also learned in the beraita:

“If he accepted” -

they circumcise him immediately.

What is the reason

that they hasten to accept him immediately?

Regarding delaying a mitzva -

we do not delay it.

We also learned in the beraita:

“If there remained on him strips that invalidate the circumcision,

they return and circumcise him a second time.”

As we learned

in tractate Shabbat [137a]:

“These are the strips that invalidate the circumcision,”

and he remains uncircumcised if they are not removed:

If there remained

flesh

from the foreskin

that covers most of the corona.

And

if he is a kohen,

he may not eat teruma,

because an uncircumcised kohen is prohibited from eating teruma.

And Rav Yirmeya bar Abba said that Rav said:

The Mishna does not mean that only if flesh remains that covers most of the circumference of the corona is he considered uncircumcised.

Rather, even if flesh remains in one place

that covers

the

majority of the height of the corona, although it does not cover most of its circumference, he is considered uncircumcised.

We also learned in the beraita:

“Once he has healed, they immerse him immediately.”

And the Gemara infers:

“Once he has healed, yes,

then they immerse him.

But if

the site of the circumcision has not healed,

they do not

immerse him.

What is the reason? -

Because water,

which

aggravates

the illness of the

wound.

We also learned in the beraita:

“And two Torah scholars stand over him.”

And we raise an objection:

“But Rabbi Hiyya said that Rabbi Yohanan said: A convert requires three,”

who constitute a court for his conversion!?

And we answer:

This is what Yohanan said to the tanna,

who was reciting the beraitot before him:

“Teach

in this beraita:

three

Torah scholars stand over him.”

We also learned in the beraita:

“He immersed and emerged” -

“he is like a Jew in every respect.”

And we consider this: Since from now on he is a Jew,

for what halakhic purpose

does it state that he is like a Jew “in every respect”? And we answer: “In every respect” teaches us

that if he retracts,

if he regrets his conversion, he cannot retract from it.

And

if he

betroths a Jewish woman

after reverting and changing his religion to become a gentile -

he is considered a “Jewish apostate,” and his betrothal is a valid betrothal.

We also learned in the beraita:

“One who is a convert and one who is an emancipated slave.”

It might have been understood

that the intent of the beraita is to equate a convert who immerses with a Canaanite slave who immerses for his emancipation, such that he must be informed of some mitzvot at the time of immersion, in order

to accept upon himself the yoke of the mitzvot

at that time.

And we raise a contradiction

from another beraita:

As it is taught:

“When is this statement said,

that he must accept upon himself the yoke of the mitzvot at the time of immersion? -

With regard to a convert.

But with regard to an emancipated slave,

who immerses for his emancipation -

he need not accept

the yoke of the mitzvot at that time, since when they immersed him for the sake of servitude he had already become obligated in mitzvot like a woman!

Rav Sheshet said: It is not difficult:

This

the beraita that requires an emancipated slave to accept the mitzvot upon himself at the time of immersion for his emancipation -

is the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar

.

This

the beraita in which we learned that an emancipated slave need not accept the yoke of the mitzvot at the time of his immersion for emancipation, because he had already accepted the mitzvot at the time of his immersion for servitude -

is the opinion of the Sages

.

As it is taught

regarding the verse about the beautiful captive woman [Deuteronomy 21]:

“And she shall weep for her father and her mother

for a month.”

When is this statement said,

that he must wait for her to weep for a month -

when she has not accepted upon herself

conversion.

But if she has accepted upon herself

conversion immediately -

he immerses her

for Judaism,

and he is permitted to her immediately.

Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: Even though she has not accepted upon herself

conversion, if he wishes, he

may compel

her against her will,

and immerse her

first

for the sake of servitude.

For in his view, he may immerse her for the sake of a Canaanite maidservant against her will, even though she does not accept upon herself some mitzvot as a woman does, and she becomes obligated in them against her will!

For according to his view, all immersions of slaves are performed against their will!

And he immerses her again

against her will

for the sake of emancipation, and emancipates her.