When a beautiful Gentile woman is taken captive, she is left to mourn her family for 30 days before marrying her Jewish captor. The rabbis find ways to interpret the 30 days to be 90 days. Three month allow us to know with some certainty whether she is pregnant and whether or not the father is a Gentile from her life before captivity. This assumes that she is not raped by her Jewish captor, of course. And that last comment is my own - the Gemara does not mention the possibility of rape in this circumstance.
What is done to her hair and her nails? The rabbis agree that her hair is cut, just like others prepare for spiritual renewal through shaving their heads. They do not agree about her nails. Some rabbis, including Abaye, believe that her nails are left to grow long, which is unattractive. Others believe that her nails are cut short while she is in mourning, for her hair and her nails are treated similarly and her hair is cut. The halacha is in accordance with Abaye. It is fascinating to note the differences in standards of attractiveness depending on place and time. In Western society today, long nails on women are considered to be far more attractive than nails cut short.
What do we do about slaves who are not interested in conversion? Do we coerce them to immerse and accept the mitzvot? Do we allow them to live in Jewish homes with converting? The rabbis debate their options. It is noted that mistrust is appeased through conversion. A slave who has converted will not cause utensils that are susceptible to ritual impurity to become impure through their touch. A slave who has converted can be trusted to keep secrets from foreign enemies.
A slave is allowed to resist conversion for up to twelve months. If that slave continues to resist conversion, s/he is sold to a Gentile at that time. It seems that the assumption is that slaves will see the benefits of becoming Jewish. Conversion will be something appealing to them within one year of living in a Jewish home. Could this be? I wonder how slavery might be different in Jewish and Gentile homes.
The Gemara speaks of the mitzvot kept by slaves who do not choose to convert. A person who is called a ger toshav observes at least some of the mitzvot of Shabbat.* Perhaps, it is suggested, a ger toshav keeps Shabbat as we keep Festivals.
Our daf ends with a conversation about why people who convert at this time (a time when Jews are persecuted and oppressed) are subject to so much torment. First, this assumes that those who have converted are suffering at least as much, if not more, than those who are born Jewish. Second, the rabbis agree that conversion absolves people of any sins (against G-d) that they might have committed prior to conversion; any sins done by their parents. Why so much suffering? Perhaps they should have converted earlier. Perhaps they are performing the mitzvot out of fear of punishment rather than out of love for G-d.
I can't help but wonder what torment was suffered by those who chose Judaism. Did back luck seem to befall them? Did they suffer because of prejudice, or because they were not trusted? For the rabbis to discuss the torment of those who have converted, their hardships must have been significant. Again I am reminded that our rabbis looked for a logical explanation for everything that happened in their world. G-d had a hand in their circumstances. This world view is so jarringly different from my own that I continue to react to our rabbis' questions.
* A ger tzedek, a righteous stranger, is like a Jew in all senses. Is this another word for someone who has converted? Or is this person still considered to be a Gentile?
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