The Proposal For Jewish Proselytization And John Crocker...

One can draw interesting parallels between the proposal for Jewish proselytization and John Crocker’s biography of Samuel Johnson. To quote the remarks of one reviewer of Crocker’s book, â€Å"the merits of Mr. Crocker s performance are on a par with those of a certain leg of mutton on which Dr. Johnson dined, while travelling from London to Oxford, and which he, with characteristic energy, pronounced to be as bad as bad could be, ill fed, ill killed, ill kept, and ill dressed. Similarly, the aforementioned proposal is ill-conceived, ill- advised, and unfortunately, illness-inducing. It bears mentioning that the ardent advocates of Jewish proselytization are not pious Haredim—men who spend their days poring over the timeless texts of tradition—nor are they of the Modern Orthodox persuasion, a coterie who attempts the Sisyphean task of synthesizing values both ancient and modern. No, these zealous purveyors of Judaism have emerged from the lonely pews and desolate temples of the more progressive Reform and Conservative movements, a truth which is acutely revelatory. Salvific imperialism is a notion foreign to both Judaism and a historically conscious conservatism. As Jewish apathy to conversion is a subject well tread, it suffices to repeat that there remains no indication whatsoever within the Bible that the Jews sought out converts. This inattention to missionizing reflects Jewish recognition that Gentiles could achieve moral perfection outside the suffocating strictures