PRE-CONVERTS PARTICIPATING IN SERVICES

Women who are under instruction to become converts have the various religious ceremonies explained to them. Before the process of conversion is completed, may they, for the purpose of learning, light the Sabbath candles and recite the blessing over them? (From Chaplain Hirshel L. Jaffe, Travis AFB, California.)

THE main objection is the question of “a blessing in vain,” (beracha l’vatala). When a blessing is not required and is nevertheless recited, it is, in a sense, using the name of God in vain. Is the Gentile, while still a Gentile, able to say, “Who has commanded us to light the Sabbath lights,” and to use the name of God in such a blessing? The answer to this question depends upon whether Gentiles, while still Gentiles (i.e., “Children of Noah”) are in duty bound to keep the Sabbath. Clearly the Sabbath is not one of the seven commandments which “Sons of Noah,” i.e., Gentiles, are in duty bound to observe. In fact, there is a rather harsh Aggadic saying to the effect that a Gentile who observes the Sabbath does not deserve to live ( Sanhedrin 58b). However, this statement, being Aggadic, is not to be taken too seriously. They also say, for example, in Berachos 4b that he who transgresses the words of the sages deserves death. The stern expression in Sanhedrin simply indicates that the rabbis disapproved of the Gentile observing the Sabbath since he is not commanded to do so. Since that is the case, we may take this to be an objection to having these candidates for conversion (while they are still Gentiles) recite the blessing. It would be a beracha l’vatala.

Yet aside from the question of beracha l’vatala, there is basically no objection in general to a Gentile reciting blessings. What objection there does exist is to a Samaritan reciting a blessing (Berachos VIII:8). The reason is that the Samaritan was suspected of praying to Mount Gerizim. When the Tosefta repeats this law (Berachos V: 21) it says that when a Gentile (i.e., not a Samaritan) blesses, using God’s name, we say “Amen” after his blessing. So this law is carried all the way through the literature and is found actually codified in the Shulchan Aruch, Orah Hayyim 215:2, where it is clearly said that we do not answer “Amen” after a blessing of a Samaritan, etc.; to which Isserles says that after a Gentile, we may say “Amen” if we have heard the whole blessing. Therefore, except for the consideration of “a blessing in vain,” there is no real objection to a Gentile reciting the blessing.

There is, of course, a fairly simple way out of the objection against the violation involved in beracha l’vatala. This is illustrated by the decision of Moses Isserles to Orah Hayyim 225:2, where there is some doubt as to the validity of the blessing to be recited by the father at the son’s Bar Mitzvah. Here, there is danger of a beracha l’vatala if, after all, the blessing is really not required. Therefore Isserles solves the problem by having the blessing recited, leaving out the words, “O Lord, our God, King of the universe.” This is the method that the rabbis often follow when they are uncertain as to whether the blessing is required or not. They have the blessing recited without using the Name of God, or as they say, “b’li Shem u-malchus, ” because the real objection to the “wasted” blessing is using the name of God in vain. When you leave out the name of God, the objection to reciting the blessing virtually vanishes.

There is, perhaps, another consideration which might lead you to allow the woman to recite the blessing. We train children in preparation for their observance of the commandments which they will not be in duty bound to observe until they are thirteen, and certainly we teach them to recite the blessings which will be required six months later. Of course, there is some weakness in this argument, namely, that according to many authorities, any young child who can take good care of tefillin is already in duty bound to put them on. Also, according to the Talmud, Megilla 23 a, even minors may be called up to the Torah. However, to us, to whom Bar Mitzvah begins actually at thirteen, there is certainly a fairly strong analogy in letting children under training pronounce the blessings before they are legally due.

To sum up: The objection to these candidates reciting the Friday evening blessing is that the Sabbath is not one of the commandments incumbent upon Gentiles and, therefore, a blessing recited by them over the Sabbath lights would be “a blessing in vain.” However, in general, Gentiles may recite the blessings and we may recite “Amen” after them. When there is doubt about the validity of the blessing, we can leave out the name of God. Since, however, this would shorten the blessing, too, and not constitute an adequate training, we may rely upon the analogy of the training of pre-Bar Mitzvah boys and allow these candidates to recite the blessing.