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"Righteous gentiles" redirects here. See Righteous among the Nations for the honorary title awarded by Israel in connection with the Holocaust.

Ger toshav (Template:Lang-he-n), is a term used in rabbinical Judaism to refer to a gentile who is a "resident alien", that is, one who lives in a Jewish state and has certain protections under Jewish law, and is considered a righteous gentile (Template:Lang-he-n).

According to Marc Kellner's interpretation of Maimonides, a ger toshav was a transitional stage on the way to becoming a full ger zedek (Template:Lang-he-n) or "righteous gentile."^[1]

Hebrew Bible

The term in not used in the Hebrew Bible. However the Hebrew Bible does contain material on conditions for proselytes, converts God-fearers, Noahide Laws, and regulations for foreigners living in the Land of Israel.

Rabbinical Definition

The term relates to conversion to Judaism. There are two kinds of ger toshav. A formal one is a Gentile who has made certain legal statements in a beth din (Jewish rabbinical court). There are three opinions (Avodah Zarah 64b) as to what those statements promise:

To abstain from idolatrous practices (detailed in Deut 29:09–30:20).
To uphold the seven Noahide Laws.
To uphold all the 613 commandments in rabbinical enumeration, except for the prohibition against eating kosher animals that died by means other than ritual slaughter.

The definition used by all authorities is the second. In all cases, the statement is a formal sign that the Gentile is on a righteous path, and as such, they must by law receive certain legal protections and special charity/financial aid from the community.

The second kind of ger toshav is an informal one, namely someone who has not sworn anything to a Beth Din (Avodah Zarah 65a). In this case, they are not formally entitled to special financial aid by law, but the attitude of a religious Jew to someone who has foregone idolatry is supposed to be much more welcoming (from the perspective of Jewish law) than to someone who has not. There is discussion among the halakhic authorities as to whether this category may be applied to some modern Gentiles and as to how this would affect the laws relating to Jewish-Gentile relations.

The procedure has been discontinued since the cessation of the Year of Jubilee, and hence, there are no formal gerei toshav extant today (although it can be argued that a great deal are "informal" ones).

In Noahidism

Nevertheless, Judaism warmly encourages non-Jews to adhere to the Noahide Laws, and some groups, notably Chabad Lubavitch, have set up classes and networks for Gentiles who commit themselves to this legal system (see Noahide Campaign). In that sense, it is possible to be a "Jewish Gentile". Others, largely among stricter students of the Rambam, sometimes inaccurately referred to as Dor Daim, have devoted a number of websites to issues of importance relating to the Noahide Laws.

References

^ Maimonides on Judaism and the Jewish people -Menachem Marc Kellner - 1991 Page 44 "Second, it is entirely reasonable to assume that Maimonides thought that the messianic conversion of the Gentiles would be a process that occurred in stages and that some or all Gentiles would go through the status of ger toshav on ..."

The Seven Laws of Noah, Lichtenstein, Aaron, New York: The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press, 1981.
The Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism, Novak, David, ISBN 0-88946-975-X, New York and Toronto: Edwin Mellen Press, 1983.
Tolerance in Judaism: The Medieval and Modern Sources, Zuesse, Evan M., In: The Encyclopaedia of Judaism, edited by J. Neusner, A. Avery-Peck, and W.S. Green, Second Edition, ISBN 90-04-14787-X, Leiden: Brill, 2005, Vol. IV: 2688-2713
Encyclopedia Talmudit, Hebrew edition, 5739/1979, entry Get Toshav

External links

[1] Maimonides on Judaism and the Jewish people -Menachem Marc Kellner - 1991 Page 44 "Second, it is entirely reasonable to assume that Maimonides thought that the messianic conversion of the Gentiles would be a process that occurred in stages and that some or all Gentiles would go through the status of ger toshav on ..."

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 '''''Ger toshav''''' ({{lang-he-n|גר תושב}}), is a term used in rabbinical [[Judaism]] to refer to a [[gentile]] who is a "resident alien", that is, one who lives in a Jewish state and has certain protections under [[Jewish law]], and is considered a '''righteous gentile''' ({{lang-he-n|חסיד אומות העולם}}).
-According to [[Maimonides]] a '''''ger toshav''''' was a transitional stage on the way to becoming a full '''''ger zedek''''' ({{lang-he-n|גר צדק}}) or "righteous gentile."<ref>Maimonides on Judaism and the Jewish people -Menachem Marc Kellner - 1991  Page 44 "Second, it is entirely reasonable to assume that Maimonides thought that the messianic conversion of the Gentiles would be a process that occurred in stages and that some or all Gentiles would go through the status of ger toshav on ..."</ref>
+According to Marc Kellner's interpretation of [[Maimonides]], a '''''ger toshav''''' was a transitional stage on the way to becoming a full '''''ger zedek''''' ({{lang-he-n|גר צדק}}) or "righteous gentile."<ref>Maimonides on Judaism and the Jewish people -Menachem Marc Kellner - 1991  Page 44 "Second, it is entirely reasonable to assume that Maimonides thought that the messianic conversion of the Gentiles would be a process that occurred in stages and that some or all Gentiles would go through the status of ger toshav on ..."</ref>
 ==Hebrew Bible==