The Talmud on Conversion

Our rabbis taught: If someone approaches now to be a proselyte, they ask him, “Why have you come to be a proselyte? Don’t you know that Israel is currently persecuted and oppressed, hated, harassed, and overcome with afflictions?” If he says, “I know, and I am not worthy,” he is welcomed immediately and is taught some of the minor and major commandments. He is informed of the sin [of neglecting the commandments of] gleanings, the forgotten sheaf, the corner [of the field left to the poor], and the poor man’s tithe. He is also told of the punishment for transgressing commandments. They tell him, “Know that before you came here, if you had eaten fat [reserved for the priests], you would not have been punished with annihilation; if you had profaned the Sabbath, you would not have been punished with stoning; but now, if you eat fat, you will be punished with annihilation; if you profane the Sabbath, you will be punished with stoning.” And just as they tell him the punishment for transgressing the commandments, so they tell him the reward for fulfilling them. They say to him, “Know that the world to come was made only for the righteous, and that Israel is currently unable to bear either too much goodness or too much suffering.” But they are not to elaborate too much or demand too much from him. If he accepts, he is circumcised immediately. If shreds of skin remain, making the circumcision invalid, they circumcise him a second time. As soon as he has healed, they immerse him, and two sages stand by his side and teach him some of the minor and major commandments. Once he has been immersed and emerged, he is considered to be an Israelite in all respects.