“Woe is to us that this occurs in our days!”
Handwritten Letter by Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach Regarding Insincere Converts
“With an anguished heart, I write these words at a time when our holy Torah has been fraudulently presented before the world, and we are to become a mockery and disgrace by performing illegitimate conversions by calling people who neither accept upon themselves the yoke of mitzvos or fear of heaven, converts…Woe to the ears that hear this; and woe is to us that this occurs in our days. At this time, we are obligated to inform those who adhere to Torah that this is not our way, and these are not the teachers, and Yisrael is not lacking those who engage in Torah LiShma, and rule in halacha LeShem Shamyim.
Writing with pain,
Elazar Menachem Man Shach
This letter was valiantly penned by Harav Shach following the ruling of Rishon Lezion Rabbi Bentzion Meir Chai Uziel that it is a mitzvah to accept and welcome converts even if it is known that they shall not fulfill all the mitzvos. He justified his statement with the explanation that these converts will ultimately come to fulfill the mitzvos, and that we are obliged to open a window of opportunity for them to do so.
Bnei Brak, 1970. Handwritten on personal stationery. Page size: 24×17 cm. Fold mark.
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