143. The Correct Attitude to Converts
It is a mitzvah to love every single Jew as we love ourselves, “Ve’ohavtah l’reiacha kamochah.” Regarding converts to the Jewish faith, there is another mitzvah in addition to the mitzvah to love every single Jew: “Va’ahavtem es hageir”, love the convert, “ki geirim heyisem be’Eretz Mitzrayim”, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. Likewise, there is a mitzvas lo sa’asei, a negative commandment, not to harass or tease people in general. Regarding a ger, there is a separate mitzvah not to tease, harass, or ridicule a convert, “Ve’geir lo sone velo silchatz.” Sometimes people treat converts as though they are not truly Yidden, when in fact converts are equally a part of our nation, and in some ways even more so than people born Jewish. The Rambam tells us in a number of places that the mitzvah to love a convert is the same as loving Hashem Himself; “Tziva al ahavas hageir,” Hashem commands us to love a convert, “kemo she’tziva al ahavas Atzmo", the same as He commands us to love Him. The Rambam adds that Hashem has a special love for converts.