Rav and Shmuel both maintain: Even a child who was taken captive among Gentiles [תינוק שנשבה] or a proselyte who became converted in the midst of Gentiles is as one who knew [about Shabbos] but subsequently forgot, and so he is liable [a korban for chilul shabbos]. But R. Yochanan and Resh Lakish maintain: Only one who knew but subsequently forgot [is liable], but a child who was taken captive among Gentiles, or a proselyte who became converted in the midst of Gentiles, is not culpable.
Here we have a case of a person who live among Gentiles, never even heard of Shabbos and yet converted. How is it possible to convert if one doesn't know something as fundamental as Shabbos?? Or at LEAST Shabbat. But to know about neither of them....... Dos heist a yid? That's a Jew??? I mean even if he speaks Yiddish he is a goy!
From here we see that to convert one need not know about all of the mitzvos. The halacha is that a convert must be told about only a few of the mitzvos and accept upon himself in principle to follow everything. This is a huge topic beyond the scope of one post. See for example Igros Moshe Yo"d 1/160, Chemdas Shlomo Yo"d 29 and Achiezer 3/26.
Here we have a case of a person who live among Gentiles, never even heard of Shabbos and yet converted. How is it possible to convert if one doesn't know something as fundamental as Shabbos?? Or at LEAST Shabbat. But to know about neither of them....... Dos heist a yid? That's a Jew??? I mean even if he speaks Yiddish he is a goy!
From here we see that to convert one need not know about all of the mitzvos. The halacha is that a convert must be told about only a few of the mitzvos and accept upon himself in principle to follow everything. This is a huge topic beyond the scope of one post. See for example Igros Moshe Yo"d 1/160, Chemdas Shlomo Yo"d 29 and Achiezer 3/26.
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Rav Zeitchik in his Chaye Nefesh asks how a תינוק שנשבה can be liable a korban when he finds out that he was mechalel Shabbos? He never heard of Shabbos and grew up on a farm in South Dakota where even Chabad didn't arrive [yet:-)].
He answers that this person over time certainly had inner stirrings of Teshuva to which he didn't pay enough heed and for that he is liable.
I direct you to a wonderful article written by Mo"V Rav Yeshayahu Shteinberger Shlita called המצפון כצו הלכתי מחייב - 'The Conscience As A Halachikally Binding Force' in his sefer אשי יובל.
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Another note - This gemara is the source for the concept of תינוק שנשבה. The context of the gemara is the obligation of a person who was literally taken captive by the Gentiles as a baby to bring a korban. Today this has been extended by some to include every irreligious Jew and to absolve him from any wrongdoing and [among other things] remove from him the halachic status of Mechalel Shabbos [שדינו כגוי]. I am also on the מלמד זכות team but I question how broadly we can apply this term. Of course this is an extremely broad topic and requires a lot more that the few words I devoted to it. See the interesting remarks of Rabbi Henkin in the Bnei Banim 4 page 110. [During the course of the piece, he discusses the question he was asked by a Jew who wanted to watch the וורלד סיריז - World Series, on Motzei Shabbos when the game was being televised from California where it was still Shabbos. When the final credits appear there is invariably a Steinberg and Goldberg listed and that means Shabbos was being desecrated. Go Angels!]
