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Why are converts from Ammon and Moab forbidden to marry into Klal Yisrael, while converts from Yishmael face no such restriction? Despite Yishmael's descendants committing worse acts of cruelty, their actions stem from a sense of victimization and perceived injustice. True cruelty lies in the coldness of Ammon and Moab's indifference to those who had helped them.
The shiur addresses a fundamental question about the Torah (תורה)'s prohibition against marrying converts from Ammon and Moab. The Torah states "Lo yavo Ammoni uMo'avi b'kahal Hashem (ה׳)" - that even after conversion, they cannot marry Jewish women who are not converts themselves. The reason given is "al devar asher lo kideinu eschem ba'lechem uva'mayim" - because they failed to offer bread and water when the Jewish people passed through the desert. The Rambam (רמב"ם) explains that this prohibition exists because these nations possess the character trait of achzariyus (cruelty). However, this raises a significant question: the descendants of Yishmael committed far worse acts. The Gemara (גמרא) relates that when the Babylonians took the Jewish people into exile, the Ishmaelites gave them salted fish and what appeared to be water, but the canteens were actually empty. This caused tremendous suffering as the Jews became parched after eating the salty fish. Yet there is no prohibition against marrying converts from Yishmael.
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Devarim 23:4, Hilchos Issurei Biah
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