Ci ludzie przynoszą, ale nie recytują: nawrócony przynosi, ale nie recytuje, bo nie może powiedzieć [w recytacji biblijnej] „[ziemi], którą Bóg przysiągł naszym ojcom, że nam ją da”. A jeśli jego matka pochodziła z Izraela, on przynosi i recytuje. A kiedy modli się sam, mówi [w miejsce „Boga naszych ojców”] „Boga ojców Izraela”. A kiedy jest w synagodze, mówi: „Bóg waszych ojców”. A jeśli jego matka pochodziła z Izraela, mówi: „Bóg naszych ojców”.
Bartenura on Mishnah Bikkurim
שאינו יכול לומר "אשר נשבע לאבותינו לתת לנו" – Since his ancestors were not from Israel and converts did not take a portion in the land. But Maimonides wrote that the Halakha is not like this Mishnah; rather, the convert brings [the First Fruits] and recites [Deuteronomy 26:5-10] and is able to say, “to our fathers to assign us” (Deuteronomy 26:3), because the Land was given to Abraham and he was the father of converts, as he was for Israel, as it states (Genesis 17:5): “for I make you the father of a multitude of nations.” But we [the Rabbis] expound upon it {Berakhot 13a): “In the past, you were the father of Aram; now you are the father of the entire world.” And similarly, when he [the convert] prays, whether on his own or in the synagogue, he says, “the God of our fathers” even if his mother was not an Israelite.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Bikkurim
Introduction
Our mishnah continues to explicate mishnah one by providing an example of someone who brings the bikkurim but does not read the declaration when he gives them to the priest.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Bikkurim
These bring [bikkurim] but do not read the declaration: The convert, since he cannot say: “Which the Lord has sworn to our fathers, to give to us” (Deuteronomy 26:3). The first example of a person who brings but does not recite is a convert. This mishnah might shock the reader who is accustomed to the attitude that a convert is a “full Jew” and that the law does not discriminate against him/her. While this is largely true, and when it comes to legal rights, one cannot discriminate against a convert, the Mishnah does not accord full liturgical equality to the convert. The convert cannot recite “the Lord has sworn to our fathers” because his father was not an Israelite.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Bikkurim
If his mother was an Israelite, then he brings bikkurim and recites. If his mother was an Israelite then he can make the declaration because he is not really a convert. It is interesting to note that the Mishnah does not take for granted that the reader knows that a person whose mother is Jewish is not a convert. It needs to clarify the matter perhaps because this law was not yet firmly established at the time when the Mishnah was composed.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Bikkurim
When he prays privately, he says: “God of the fathers of Israel,” but when he is in the synagogue, he should say: “The God of your fathers.” The liturgical inequality extends to prayer as well. The convert cannot state “Our God and the God of our fathers” which is in the opening lines of the Amidah because our God was not the God of his fathers. Rather, when he prays on his own he should say “our God, God of the fathers of Israel” and when he prays in the synagogue, probably as the prayer leader, he should say, “The God of your fathers.” I should note that this is no longer practiced. A convert recites the same Amidah as does every other Jew.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
English Explanation of Mishnah Bikkurim
But if his mother was an Israelite, he says: “The God of our fathers’. Again, if his mother was an Israelite he is not a convert and therefore he can say “Our God, and the God of our fathers.”
