To convert or not to convert: the appropriation of Jewish rituals, customs and beliefs by non-Jews

Abstract

: In Antiquity, non-Jews appropriated Jewish rituals, customs and beliefs in a way that defied clear-cut categorization and thus challenged group boundaries. Whereas the scholarly debate has traditionally focused on whether the term “ Godfearers ” (theosebeis, metuentes) was adequate to describe such individuals, and whether such a category or group existed at all in the ancient world, my aim in this paper is different. I examine how ancient literary and epigraphic sources differentiate between converts (or proselytes) and Judaizers, what kind of ritual practices or beliefs are attributed to these Judaizers, and whether they are described as participating in the life of local Jewish communities. Finally, I look at what rabbinic writings have to say about this phenomenon. Only some of the sources provide information on Judaizing practices; in some cases we can merely conclude that certain non-Jews showed devotion toward the God of Israel, without being able to specify how this devotion mani-fested itself. It is highly probable that Judaizers were sometimes connected with a particular Jewish community, but not all Judaizers were necessarily taking part in synagogal or community activities. Judaizing attitudes belonged first and foremost to the realm of individual religious practices and were not codified by any particular group. As such, they were rejected by the rabbis, who praised the gentiles who venerated the God of Israel and were benevolent towards the Jews, but considered that the commandments of the Torah such as the Sabbath were given to Israel alone, and were not to be observed or imitated by non-Jews.