As a Christian reader of Scripture I have observed such a mission for the Jews. As I read your posts, I see that perhaps I’m not just imposing a Christian reading on the text (though my perverse imagination can imagine some folks accusing you of allowing yourself to read the text from a Christian point of view).

No, I still don’t believe that Jews are running around trying to convert people to their way of life to try to prevent them from falling into the fiery pit that is Hell. No, I don’t. This, though, was one of things I liked about it when I finally converted to Judaism.

I’m not a Jew, Aliza, (and I’m not David either), but my guess is that he’d define the mission of the Jews not as prevent people “from falling into the fiery pit that is Hell,” but as extending the blessings of God to outsiders (remembering David’s starting point at Ex 19:5-6 – & Gen 12:1-3).

Thanks, Richard, yes that’s exactly right — and I appreciate Aliza’s prompting me to clarify. The Jewish mission isn’t to save people from damnation by turning them into Jews but to save the culture of nihilism and meaninglessness by seeking to help people clarify ultimate questions with the help of the moral, spiritual, intellectual framework given in Torah for non-Jews, namely the Noachide code.

All religions attempt to convert others to their way of thinking. But one must remember that the mind dies with the body…so thoughts are short term..thank Wakanda.
Religion is Man’s view of God.
Spirituality is God’s view of God.
As a breed Ponca elder and healer, I seek to convert no one for I have no religion, just my own spiritual connection to Wakanda (God)…which I cannot share with anyone and I cannot take their spiritual connection to God…whatever that may be.
Be at peace now, for soon your mind will die and your soul will be free to live in peace, harmony and love with the Universe.
I have said enough, for my words are beginning to sound like a religion…aho…

I am a converted Jew…I wasn’t pursued, I chose…I’ve found TRUTH in Judaism…Judaism is a difficult path and isn’t easy…but I am happier than in Christianity!

My life was transformed by Judaism, I still have to convert. My first conection with Judaism was because of my granfather that was a Jew. First time I heard the Shema was from my granma that was a non jew.

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him:
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
(Matthew 22: 36-40)

A rising tide of righteousness elevates all souls, eh? A concept.
More simply put, everthing which adds goodness, add it for all. It may be worth recognizing that this is no less true of what non-Jews contribute.
Just an opinion.

Judaism does not only not have a mission to convert others, we actively try to dissuade those who come to us stating their wish to convert. It is only after the third time that they state their intention and desire to convert that we begin teaching our way of life to a stranger who would like to become one of Klal Yisrael.

Rebecca, the issue isn’t converting people to Judaism. It’s awakening them to spiritual realities as framed by the Torah. Big difference!

I would characterize the external mission of Judaism as converting the gentiles into Noachides. Elijah Benamozegh (e.g., “Israel and Humanity”) is excellent on this topic.

Judaism recognizes the fine line between respecting the beliefs of all good people and the desire to show our way to those interested in conversion. We believe all good moral humans are deserving of respect regardless of their religious beliefs. If they choose to join us out of a sincere belief that our belief systems is the one closest to their own, then we have no right to send this person away.

Mission? No. We have no mission to convert others to our way of life. Not having a mission doesn’t mean we can’t do so. There is a difference between mission and permission, and we are not forbidden from “welcoming the stranger”. But we tend to lead by example, to live our lives in such a way that others want what we have.

I’m not a Jew and I am searching for information and trying to learn about the jewish life style (To Convert to Judaism )
I would appreciate all the help and advice I can get to reach my goal

You should read “The Lord Will Gather Me In” by the author of this blog!!!

i read in the torah that ishmael was a son of Abraham . a promise made by god that his descendants would be a great nation. i do not see that this promise has been realised.

Isaac (such an ironic name, given your post),
Assuming the we can identify the descendants of Ishmael as the Moslems, I suppose I see your point. However, at /one time/ in history, the Moslems were relatively great. (I’m not sure if the promise must be that they’d be /eternally/ great. I guess this greatness was before a certain type of fundamentalism set in, though.