DEUT1211 No man of the nations of Amon or Moav may enter Hashem's congregation. Jewish women are not allowed to marry men of the nations of Amon or Moav, even if the men are converts to Judaism. On the other hand, Jewish men are allowed to marry women of these nations, provided that the women have converted. The reason for the distinction is that when our forefathers approached the Holy Land after the forty-year sojourn in the desert, no one from the nations of Amon or Moav came out to offer them bread or water. Guilt for this offense rests only with the men, for it is the way of women to remain at home. Key concept: The Torah explains, “Because they did not come forward to offer you bread or water.” Here, the Holy Torah informs us of the great value of the trait of kindness, and the great shamefulness of the trait of stinginess. By shunning the men of Amon and Moav, we stir ourselves to despise stinginess and heartlessness. We publicize to the world the great sin that was committed when the men of these nations ignored millions of weary travelers and failed to offer them either bread or water. What is more, the men of these nations hired Bilaam to curse our nation. As to why Hashem did not command as similarly regarding Egyptians, even though Egypt tortuously enslaved us for hundreds of years, the reason is that one ugly, unabashed sin against millions of people is much more telling than continuous wrongs spanning hundreds of years. The one cold, cruel act disclosed that the nature of these people is incurably evil. This sort of human being cannot be allowed to mix with the Jewish nation, for ours is a holy nation.