[Avodah] Chiyuv l'kabel gerim

[Daniel Eidensohn]

R' Michael Makovi wrote:
> Rabbi Henkin just emailed me the following. Direct quote:
> Tosafot Yevamot 109b and Zohar HaRakia (Rashbatz) write that it is a
> mitzva (Tosafot--"yesh lanu lekablam") to accept geirim if their
> sincerity is clear (and no danger or loss to Jews is involved, an
> unstated but obvious condition), 
>   
I don't understand how this Tosfos is understood as saying there is a 
mitzva to accept geirm and therefore there is a sin for not accepting 
them? He seems simply to make a pragmantic caution that we should avoid 
having the love of the Jewish people turned to hatred. However clearly 
there is also the danger from accepting certain converts who end up 
causing problems as converts. Thus the benefits and dangers of accepting 
each convert has to be carefully weighed. This is irrelevant as to 
whether there is a mitzva to accept them.

*Tosfos[1] <#_ftn1>(Yevamos 109b): Evil upon evil comes to those who 
accept converts *– The Ri explained that that is only when the non‑Jews 
are proselytized to convert or they are accepted prematurely before they 
are ready. However if they themselves strongly want to convert we should 
accept them. The reason that they should be accepted is that we find 
that Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov were punished because they didn’t 
accept Timna when she came to convert and so instead she went and became 
Esav’s son Eliphaz ’s concubine (pilegesh). Their offspring was Amalek 
who embittered the life of Israel  as we  see in Sanhedrin (99b). 
Yeshoshua  also accepted Rachav the Zona. Naama and Ruth the Moabite 
[were accepted as converts]. We also see in Shabbos (31a) that Hillel 
converted someone who came to him and said, “convert on the condition 
that I serve as high priest” and another one who said, “convert me on 
the condition that you teach me the entire Torah.” Even though these 
people were obviously not fully committed to convert nevertheless Hillel 
know that eventually they would be proper converts as indeed happened.**


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[1] <#_ftnref1>  *תוספות (יבמות קט:):* *רעה אחר רעה תבא למקבלי גרים* - 
אמר ר"י דהיינו היכא שמשיאין אותן להתגייר או שמקבלין אותן מיד אבל אם הן 
מתאמצין להתגייר יש לנו לקבלם שהרי מצינו שנענשו אברהם יצחק ויעקב שלא קבלו 
לתמנע שבאתה להתגייר והלכה והיתה פלגש לאליפז בן עשו ונפק מינה עמלק 
דצערינהו לישראל כדאמרינן בהגדת חלק (סנהדרין צט:) וגם יהושע קבל רחב הזונה 
ונעמה ורות המואביה ובריש פרק במה מדליקין (שבת לא.) שגייר הלל אותו שאמר 
גיירני על מנת שתשימני כ"ג ואותו דעל מנת שתלמדני כל התורה כולה ואע"פ שלא 
היו מתאמצין להתגייר יודע היה הלל בהן שסופם להיות גרים גמורים כמו שעשה לבסוף.