To love converts

Love – אַהֲבָה

• Rambam (Hilchot De’ot 6:4) rules that the convert is loved twice: once under the general mitzvah of “love your fellow” and again under “love the convert.” Rashi (Deut. 10:19) explains that this reflects Hashem’s own love for converts. Sefer HaChinuch (431) stresses that this love must be active, expressed in warmth, embrace, and care.

Kindness – חֶסֶד

• Talmud (Bava Metzia 59b) emphasizes repeated commands to act kindly toward converts because they are more vulnerable. Rambam (De’ot 6:4) highlights that acts of kindness — hospitality, inclusion, support — are the living proof of love. Midrash (Mishpatim §9) teaches that Israel’s kindness to the convert mirrors Hashem’s kindness in sustaining the stranger.

Compassion – רַחֲמִים

• Ramban (Deut. 10:19) teaches that recalling Israel’s own exile fosters compassion, for having been strangers, we know their pain. Talmud (Bava Metzia 59b) insists that harming a convert awakens Divine judgment, showing that compassion is not optional but covenantal. Sefer HaChinuch explains that compassion here means anticipating and easing the convert’s loneliness.

Community – קְהִלָּה

• Midrash Tanchuma (Mishpatim §9) describes the convert as one who joins Israel’s covenant, requiring the kehilla to enfold them fully. Rambam adds that to fulfill this mitzvah, the community must treat converts not as outsiders but as integral members. Sefer HaChinuch stresses that love of converts strengthens Israel’s unity.

Humility – עֲנָוָה

• Talmud (Pesachim 49b) warns against arrogance toward converts, stressing that humility is essential to welcome them sincerely. Rambam (De’ot 2:3) teaches humility as the root of all virtues, which here expresses itself in sensitivity and inclusion. Rashi notes that arrogance undermines love, while humility opens the heart.

Faith – אֱמוּנָה

• Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim III:32) connects this mitzvah to faith by noting that converts testify to Hashem’s truth through their choice to join Israel. Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 19:4) praises converts for embracing Torah not by inheritance but by conviction. Loving them affirms our own faith in Hashem’s covenant.

Convert – גֵּר

• Talmud (Bava Metzia 59b) states that the Torah warns about the convert more than any other category, showing their centrality in Hashem’s eyes. Rambam notes that they stand as living symbols of Israel’s mission: to spread Divine truth. Sefer HaChinuch (431) explains that this mitzvah preserves their dignity and strengthens their identity within Israel.

Bein Adam L’Chavero – בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ

• Rambam (Hilchot De’ot 6:4) codifies that love of converts is fulfilled in interpersonal acts of respect, support, and inclusion. Midrash Tanchuma highlights that to wrong a convert is to wrong the covenant itself. Sefer HaChinuch notes that this mitzvah sets a standard of interpersonal ethics rooted in empathy and fairness.

Bein Adam L’Makom – בֵּין אָדָם לְמָקוֹם

• Rashi (Deut. 10:18–19) connects love for the convert to Hashem’s love, for He Himself sustains and protects them. Rambam teaches that by loving converts, Israel imitates Hashem’s own actions, making this mitzvah a form of Divine service. Ramban explains that this deepens Israel’s relationship with Hashem, for welcoming converts is honoring His will.