https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_George_Gordon
In 1787, at the age of 36, Lord George Gordon converted to Judaism in Birmingham,[dubious ] and underwent brit milah (ritual circumcision; circumcision was rare in the England of his day) at the synagogue in Severn Street now next door to Singers Hill Synagogue. He took the name of Yisrael bar Avraham Gordon ("Israel son of Abraham" Gordon—since Judaism regards a convert as the spiritual "son" of the Biblical Abraham). Gordon thus became what Judaism regards as, and Jews call, a "Ger Tsedek"—a righteous convert.
Thank you for posting this, but you left out the best parts:
ReplyDeleteGordon associated only with pious Jews; in his passionate enthusiasm for his new faith, he refused to deal with any Jew who compromised the Torah's commandments. Although any non-Jew who desired to visit Gordon in prison (and there were many) was welcome, he requested that the prison guards admit Jews only if they had beards and wore head coverings.
He would often, in keeping with Jewish "chesed" [...], go into other parts of the prison to comfort prisoners by speaking with them and playing the violin. In keeping with "tzedaka" [...] laws, he gave what little money he could to those in need.
Charles Dickens, in his novel Barnaby Rudge, which centres around the Gordon Riots, describes Gordon as a true tzadik [...] among the prisoners:
"The prisoners bemoaned his loss, and missed him [after his passing]; for though his means were not large his charity was great, and in bestowing alms among them he considered the necessities of all alike, and knew no distinction of sect or creed ..."
If memory serves, the reason for his arrest was his conversion, wasn't it?
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