אי הכי לכתחלה נמי משום דרב אסי דאמר רב אסי (משלי ד, כד) הסר ממך עקשות פה ולזות שפתים וגו'
Our Rabbis learnt: No proselytes will be accepted in the days of the Messiah.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' When Israel will be Prosperous and Prospective proselytes will be attracted by worldly considerations.
');"><sup>24</sup></span> In the same manner no proselytes were accepted in the days of David nor in the days of Solomon.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' During Israel's heyday. V. previous note.
');"><sup>25</sup></span> Said R. Eleazar: What Scriptural [support is there for this view]? — Behold he shall be a proselyte who is converted for my own sake,'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Or who is converted while I am not with you (v. Rashi, a.l.) i.e., while Israel is in exile and forsaken by God.
');"><sup>26</sup></span> he who lives with you shall be settled among you,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Isa. LIV, 15, according to the Midrashic interpretation of R. Eleazar. The rt. [H] which E.V. renders 'to gather' is here interpreted 'to become a proselyte', 'to be converted'.
');"><sup>27</sup></span>
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
I have explained the word סם-אל as being composed of סם, poison, something harmful and of א-ל, something godly, i.e. good and wholesome. We can divide the expression מלאך המות, angel of death, similarly. The מות, i.e. death part of the expression is something negative, whereas the מלאך, i.e. angel part of the word is something good, positive. The good is mixed in with the bad. This is the mystical dimension of Esau's offer in 33, 15: אציגה נא עמך מן העם אשר אתי, "Let me assign you some of the people who are with me." There is a hidden reference in this to the proselytes and their influence on the Jewish people. Esau made this suggestion after Jacob had said to him in verse 14: עד אשר אבא אל אדוני שעירה, "until I come to my lord in Se'ir." Jacob's comment was a reference to Messianic times described in Ovadiah 1, 21, where Israel is described as ascending the mountain of Se'ir, home of Esau, preparing to execute final judgment on Esau. When we look at the respective last letters in the words אבא אל אדוני שעירה, we have the word אליה, as pointed out by Baal Haturim. This was Jacob's reply to Esau's suggestion for his people to convert to Judaism at the time the Messiah would arrive. Jacob hinted that we have a rule that we do not accept converts when there is reason to suspect that these converts only want to reap the benefit of a period of good fortune of the Jewish people (Yevamot 24). Jacob answered at the end of verse 15: למה זה אמצא חן בעיני אדוני The word חן is an allusion to the potential convert's motivation for becoming a גר, proselyte.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
