Kenneth Cohen

Entering the Congregation of Hashem

The Torah lists various individuals who are not allowed to “enter the congregation of Hashem.” This means that they are not permitted to marry a Jewish girl of proper lineage.
They are only allowed to marry a convert or a woman known as “Mamzeret,” the product of a forbidden or incestuous relationship. This demonstrates that it is a privilege to be part of the Jewish people, and the law makes very clear rules as to whom may marry whom.
An example of the prohibition of “entering the congregation of Hashem,” applies to a male convert from Ammon and Moav. They may only marry a convert or Mamzeret. An Egyptian convert must wait until the third generation before they are allowed to marry any Jewish girl.
In the case of the Egyptian convert, they showed cruelty to the Jewish people by enslaving them, but they were kind to them before the slavery began.
Ammon and Moav were connected to the curse of Bilaam. They were cruel people and they were ingrates. They were descendants of Lot, the nephew of Avraham Avinu, who went to battle to rescue him when he was taken captive.
The combination of cruelty and ingratitude make it difficult for us to accept such people into our congregation. Pharoah was also an ingrate to the Jewish people because Yosef turned Egypt into the superpower of the world.
He did not acknowledge Yosef or the G-d of the Jewish people. We are a nation that is merciful, modest, and does acts of kindness. We have great difficulty tolerating cruelty and ingratitude. We must distance ourselves from individuals that demonstrate these negative characteristics. We must keep our sanctity intact and not allow such negativity to infiltrate our lives.

About the Author
Rabbi Cohen has been a Torah instructor at Machon Meir, Jerusalem, for over twenty years while also teaching a Talmud class in the Shtieblach of Old Katamon. Before coming to Israel, he was the founding rabbi of Young Israel of Century City, Los Angeles. He recently published a series of Hebrew language-learning apps, which are available at www.cafehebrew.com
Sign in or Register
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.