Does Truth Need Missionaries?

If a religion believes it possesses the ultimate truth, must it convince the world to adopt it?

Judaism occupies a distinctive place among the world’s religions, besides for not pursuing converts, but it also discourages anyone who wishes to convert to Judaism, as the Talmud (Yevamot 47a) and Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Issurei Biah 14:1) write, “a gentile that comes to the Jewish court and wishes to convert, the court acts with caution and asks him “What motivated you to become Jewish? Aren’t you aware that the Jews are afflicted, crushed, harassed and supressed?” In Judaism missionizing was never practiced or encouraged, converts are welcome, but a large emphasis is made prior to conversion- on informing the challenges of being a Jew.

We see the opposite in other major world religions, where missionizing the nations is considered a core religious responsibility.

In Christianity we see it, where Jesus says- “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Mathew 28:19).

Similarly in Islam there is a concept of Daʿwah- Invitation to Islam, otherwise known as missionizing, as it says in the Quran, where Allah (God) tells the prophet Mohamed- “Invite (all) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction” (Quran 16:125).

Throughout the ages missionizing was very common amongst Christianity and Islam, either by encouragement or by force, however this was never practiced in Judaism.

A religion which knows it’s the truth, does not feel the need to go and missionize the other nations.

Jewish conversion is permitted only when rooted in authentic belief, not in the pursuit of success, status, or material gain. Once converted, Jewish law not only grants converts equal status, but repeatedly commands their protection as it says in the Bible- “You too must befriend the stranger” (Deuteronomy 10:19), and “You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger” (Exodus 22:20).

Nations often interpret this as- “the Jews think they are ultimate, and all other nations are evil”, in reality it’s the complete opposite, Judaism is the only major world religion which has a program for all nations, and through fulfilling the “Seven laws of Noah”, not just are they considered righteous, but they also have a portion in the world to come, even without being Jewish (Talmud, Sanhedrin 56a) (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 8:11).

Judaism’s reluctance to missionize stems not from indifference, but from a theological conviction that has never required universal conversion. By affirming that righteousness is accessible to all humanity, it presents a vision of faith defined not by expansion, but by responsibility. Its history reflects that religious confidence is not always expressed through growth, but through the strength of a covenant sustained without seeking to universalize it.