It depends what is meant by “half kiruv.” If it means “half observance,” well, most BTs don’t keep everything all at once. Could be they’re not required to “take the plunge” and as of tomorrow morning to behave like 100% frum Jews. All the experts recommend taking things slowly . So, in that sense, the “all or nothing approach” is not a good idea.
But, if we’re talking about “half commitment” in terms of what the potential BT should be taught, this is where the question arises. Teach them “halfway,” but teenage boys and girls mingling socially is not a problem, well, I’d say that the “mekarever” himself needs “kiruv.” Here we are getting back to the old saw about “one man’s extremist is the other man’s ehrlicher Yid.”
It’s one thing to teach total commitment even if observance is presently only at half or quarter-throttle. It’s quite another to teach someone from the outset that certain halachos, customs and behavior is just for “those fanatics or extremists.” The former is OK, The latter is a reprehensible distortion of Torah.
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