Editing Ger toshav

{{distinguish|Gerim}}
{{Short description|Non-Jewish resident in the Land of Israel}}
{{About|resident aliens in the Land of Israel according to the Jewish tradition|discussion of the "stranger" in the Bible|Proselyte}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Rainbow123.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[rainbow]] is the unofficial symbol of Noahidism, recalling the [[Genesis flood narrative]] in which a rainbow appears to [[Noah]] after the Flood; it represents [[God in Judaism|God]]'s promise to Noah to refrain from [[Divine retribution#Hebrew Bible|flooding the Earth and destroying all life again]].<ref name="Segal 1993">{{cite book |author-last=Segal |author-first=Alan F. |author-link=Alan F. Segal |year=1993 |chapter=Conversion and Universalism: Opposites that Attract |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5-7eBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA178 |editor-last=McLean |editor-first=Bradley H. |title=Origins and Method: Towards a New Understanding of Judaism and Christianity |location=[[Bloomsbury]] and [[Sheffield]] |publisher=[[Sheffield Academic Press]] |series=Journal for the Study of the New Testament: Supplement Series |volume=86 |pages=177–178 |isbn=9780567495570 |quote=Furthermore, the sign of the Noahide covenant, the [[rainbow]], is available to all humanity to symbolize [[God in Judaism|God]]'s promise of safety. And it is completely outside of the special [[Abrahamic covenant|covenant with Abraham and his descendants]]. The covenant with [[Noah]] is expanded to the entire [[Antediluvian|primeval period]], encompassing all the revealed commandments preceding [[Ten Commandments|Sinai]].}}</ref>]]

'''''Ger toshav''''' ({{langx|he|גר תושב}}, ''ger'': "foreigner" or "alien" + ''toshav'': "resident", lit. "[[Alien (law)|resident alien]]"){{refn|<ref name="Bromiley 1986">{{cite book |last=Bromiley |first=Geoffrey W. |author-link=Geoffrey W. Bromiley |title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia |year=1986 |edition=Fully Revised |volume=3 |publisher=[[Wm. B. Eerdmans]] |location=[[Grand Rapids, Michigan]] |page=1010 |isbn=0-8028-3783-2 |quote=In [[rabbinic literature]] the ''ger toshab'' was a Gentile who observed the [[Seven Laws of Noah|Noachian commandments]] but was not considered a convert to Judaism because he did not agree to circumcision.  …some scholars have made the mistake of calling the ''ger toshab'' a "proselyte" or "semiproselyte." But the ''ger toshab'' was really a resident alien in Israel. Some scholars have claimed that the term "[[God-fearer|those who fear God]]" (''yir᾿ei Elohim''/''Shamayim'') was used in rabbinic literature to denote Gentiles who were on the fringe of the [[synagogue]]. They were not converts to Judaism, although they were attracted to the Jewish religion and observed part of the law.}}</ref><ref name="Bleich 1995">{{cite book |last=Bleich |first= J. David |author-link=J. David Bleich |year=1995 |title= Contemporary Halakhic Problems |volume=4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IOqQrPlc9ggC&pg=PA161 |location= [[New York City|New York]] |publisher= [[KTAV Publishing House]] ([[Yeshiva University Press]]) |page= 161 |isbn=0-88125-474-6 |quote=[[Rashi]], ''Yevamot'' 48b, maintains that a resident alien (''ger toshav'') is obliged to observe ''[[Shabbat]]''. The ''ger toshav'', in accepting the Seven Commandments of the Sons of Noah, has renounced idolatry and […] thereby acquires a status similar to that of [[Abraham]]. […] Indeed, [[Nissim of Gerona|Rabbenu Nissim]], ''Avodah Zarah'' 67b, declares that the status on an unimmersed convert is inferior to that of a ''ger toshav'' because the former's acceptance of the "yoke of the commandments" is intended to be binding only upon subsequent immersion. Moreover, the institution of ''ger toshav'' as a formal halakhic construct has lapsed with the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destruction of the Temple]].}}</ref><ref name="Novak 1992">{{cite book |last=Novak |first=David |author-link=David Novak |year= 1992 |origyear= 1989 |chapter=The Doctrine of the Noahide Laws |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mhvd8geFHoIC&pg=PA26 |title= Jewish-Christian Dialogue: A Jewish Justification |location= [[Oxford]] & [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=26–41 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195072730.003.0002 |isbn=978-0-19507273-0}}</ref><ref name= "JE">{{cite encyclopedia |last1= Jacobs |first1=Joseph |author1-link=Joseph Jacobs |last2= Hirsch |first2=Emil G. |author2-link= Emil G. Hirsch |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12391-proselyte#anchor4 |title=Proselyte: Semi-Converts |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]] |year=1906 |publisher= [[Kopelman Foundation]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120531104704/http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12391-proselyte |archive-date=31 May 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=9 November 2020 |quote=In order to find a precedent the rabbis went so far as to assume that [[proselyte]]s of this order were recognized in [[Mosaic Law|Biblical law]], applying to them the term "toshab" ("sojourner," "aborigine," referring to the [[Canaanites]]; see [[Maimonides]]' explanation in "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 7; see Grätz, l.c. p. 15), in connection with "ger" (see Ex. xxv. 47, where the better reading would be "we-toshab"). Another name for one of this class was "proselyte of the gate" ("ger ha-sha'ar," that is, one under Jewish civil jurisdiction; comp. Deut. v. 14, xiv. 21, referring to the stranger who had legal claims upon the generosity and protection of his Jewish neighbors). In order to be recognized as one of these the neophyte had publicly to assume, before three "ḥaberim," or men of authority, the solemn obligation not to worship idols, an obligation which involved the recognition of the seven Noachian injunctions as binding ('Ab. Zarah 64b; "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 7). [...] The more rigorous seem to have been inclined to insist upon such converts observing the entire Law, with the exception of the reservations and modifications explicitly made in their behalf. The more lenient were ready to accord them full equality with Jews as soon as they had solemnly forsworn idolatry. The "via media" was taken by those that regarded public adherence to the seven Noachian precepts as the indispensable prerequisite (Gerim iii.; 'Ab. Zarah 64b; Yer. Yeb. 8d; Grätz, l.c. pp. 19–20). The outward sign of this adherence to Judaism was the observance of the Sabbath (Grätz, l.c. pp. 20 et seq.; but comp. Ker. 8b).}}</ref>}} is a [[Halakha|halakhic term]] used in [[Judaism]] to designate the legal status of a [[Gentile#Judaism|Gentile]] (non-Jew) living in the [[Land of Israel]] who does not want to convert to Judaism but agrees to observe the [[Seven Laws of Noah]],{{refn|<ref name="Bromiley 1986"/><ref name="Bleich 1995"/><ref name="JE"/><ref name="Vana 2013">{{cite journal |last=Vana |first=Liliane |date=May 2013 |title=Les lois noaẖides: Une mini-Torah pré-sinaïtique pour l'humanité et pour Israël |editor-last=Trigano |editor-first=Shmuel |journal=Pardés: Études et culture juives |publisher=Éditions In Press |location=[[Paris]] |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=211–236 |language=fr |doi=10.3917/parde.052.0211 |doi-access= |eissn=2271-1880 |isbn=978-2-84835-260-2 |issn=0295-5652 |via=[[Cairn.info]]}}</ref>}} a set of imperatives which, according to the [[Talmud]], were given by [[God in Judaism|God]] as a binding set of [[Universal morality|universal moral laws]] for the "[[sons of Noah]]"—that is, all of [[Humans|humanity]].{{refn|<ref name="Vana 2013"/><ref name="Barnes2021">{{cite journal |author-last=Barnes |author-first=Bruce R. |year=2021 |title=The Noahide Laws and the Universal Fellowship with God |url=https://repozytorium.uwb.edu.pl/jspui/bitstream/11320/12441/1/RTK_20_2021_B_R_Barnes_The_Noahide_Laws_and_the_Universal_Fellowship_with_God.pdf |url-status=live |editor-last=Wierciński |editor-first=Andrzej |editor-link=Andrzej Wierciński |journal=Rocznik Teologii Katolickiej |location=[[Białystok]] |publisher=[[International Institute for Hermeneutics]] on behalf of the [[University of Białystok]] |series=Biblical Hermeneutics |volume=XX |pages=5–32 |doi=10.15290/rtk.2021.20.01 |hdl=11320/12441 |s2cid=246335626 |issn=1644-8855 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519125721/https://repozytorium.uwb.edu.pl/jspui/bitstream/11320/12441/1/RTK_20_2021_B_R_Barnes_The_Noahide_Laws_and_the_Universal_Fellowship_with_God.pdf |archive-date=19 May 2022 |access-date=19 March 2023}}</ref><ref name="Schwarzschild 2006">{{cite encyclopedia |author-first=Steven S. |author-last=Schwarzschild |author-link=Steven Schwarzschild |year=2006 |title=Noachide Laws |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/noachide-laws |url-status=live |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]] |edition=2nd |location=[[Farmington Hills, Michigan]] |publisher=[[Macmillan Reference USA]]/Keter Publishing House |volume=15 |page=284 |isbn=978-002-865-928-2 |via=[[Encyclopedia.com]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012190506/https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/noachide-laws |archive-date=12 October 2022 |access-date=19 March 2023}}</ref><ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |title=Noahide Laws |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Noahide-Laws |date=14 January 2008 |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |location=[[Edinburgh]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121153759/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Noahide-Laws |archive-date=21 January 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=10 November 2020 |quote='''Noahide Laws''', also called '''Noachian Laws''', a [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[Talmud|Talmudic designation]] for seven biblical laws given to [[Adam]] and to [[Noah]] before the [[Ten Commandments|revelation to Moses]] on [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|Mt. Sinai]] and consequently binding on all mankind. Beginning with [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] [[Genesis 2 (Bible)|2:16]], the Babylonian Talmud listed the first six commandments as prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, and robbery and the positive command to establish courts of justice (with all that this implies). After [[Genesis flood narrative|the Flood]] a seventh commandment, given to Noah, forbade the eating of flesh cut from a living animal (Genesis 9:4). Though the number of laws was later increased to 30 with the addition of prohibitions against castration, sorcery, and other practices, the “seven laws,” with minor variations, retained their original status as authoritative commandments and as the source of other laws. As basic statutes safeguarding [[monotheism]] and guaranteeing proper [[ethical conduct]] in society, these laws provided a legal framework for alien residents in Jewish territory. [[Maimonides]] thus regarded anyone who observed these laws as one “assured of a portion in the [[World to Come#Jewish eschatology|world to come]].”}}</ref><ref name="JE2">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9679-laws-noachian |title=Noachian Laws |last1=Singer |first1=Isidore |last2=Greenstone |first2=Julius H. |author1-link=Isidore Singer |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Kopelman Foundation]] |year=1906 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205022051/http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9679-laws-noachian |archive-date=5 February 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=10 November 2020 |quote='''The Seven Laws.''' Laws which were supposed by the Rabbis to have been binding upon mankind at large even before the [[Mosaic authorship|revelation at Sinai]], and which are still binding upon non-Jews. The term ''Noachian'' indicates the universality of these ordinances, since the whole human race was supposed to be descended from the three [[sons of Noah]], who alone survived [[Genesis flood narrative|the Flood]]. [...] Basing their views on the passage in Genesis 2:16, they declared that the following six commandments were enjoined upon Adam: (1) not to worship idols; (2) not to blaspheme the name of God; (3) to establish courts of justice; (4) not to kill; (5) not to commit adultery; and (6) not to rob (Gen. R. xvi. 9, xxiv. 5; Cant. R. i. 16; comp. Seder 'Olam Rabbah, ed. Ratner, ch. v. and notes, Wilna, 1897; Maimonides, "Yad," Melakim, ix. 1). A seventh commandment was added after the Flood—not to eat flesh that had been cut from a living animal (Genesis 9:4). [...] Thus, the [[Talmud]] frequently speaks of "the seven laws of the sons of Noah," which were regarded as obligatory upon all mankind, in contradistinction to those that were binding upon Israelites only (Tosef., 'Ab. Zarah, ix. 4; Sanh. 56a et seq.). [...] He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as a domiciled alien, as one of the pious of the Gentiles, and was assured of a portion in the [[World to Come#Jewish eschatology|world to come]] (Tosef., Sanh. xiii. 1; Sanh. 105a; comp. ib. 91b; "Yad," l.c. viii. 11).}}</ref><ref name="Talmudica">{{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Berlin |editor1-first=Meyer |editor2-last=Zevin |editor2-first=Shlomo Yosef |editor2-link=Shlomo Yosef Zevin |title=BEN NOAH |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkLnwuXpbl4C&pg=PA360 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Talmudica|Encyclopedia Talmudica: A Digest of Halachic Literature and Jewish Law from the Tannaitic Period to the Present Time, Alphabetically Arranged]] |volume=IV |year=1992 |orig-year=1969 |publisher=Yad Harav Herzog (Emet) |location=[[Jerusalem]] |pages=360–380 |isbn=0873067142}}</ref><ref name="myjewishlearning.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-noahide-laws/ |title=The Noahide Laws |last=Spitzer |first=Jeffrey |date=2018 |website=My Jewish Learning |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>}} A ''ger toshav'', especially one who decides to follow the Noahic covenant out of religious belief rather than ethical reasoning, is commonly deemed a "Righteous Gentile" ({{langx|he|חסיד אומות העולם}}, ''Chassid Umot ha-Olam'': "Pious People of the World"),{{refn|<ref name="JE2"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="ET1">{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Zevin |editor-first=Shlomo Yosef |editor-link=Shlomo Yosef Zevin |title="Ger Toshav", Section 1 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Talmudit]] |year=1979 |publisher=Yad Harav Herzog (Emet) |location= [[Jerusalem]] |edition=4th |language= he}}</ref><ref name= "Sefaria">{{cite book |author= Moses Maimonides |author-link= Maimonides |year=2012 |chapter-url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Kings_and_Wars.8?lang=bi |chapter=Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars) |title=[[Mishneh Torah]] |page=8:1–11 |translator-last= Brauner |translator-first=Reuven |publisher=[[Sefaria]] |access-date= 10 November 2020}}</ref>}} and is assured of a place in the [[World to Come#Jewish eschatology|World to Come (''Olam Ha-Ba'')]].<ref name="Schwarzschild 2006"/><ref name= "JE2"/><ref name= "Sefaria" />

==Definition==
{{Main|Seven Laws of Noah}}
{{Further|Covenant (biblical)#Noahic covenant}}

A ''ger toshav'' ("resident alien") is a [[Gentile#Judaism|Gentile]] (non-Jew) living in the [[Land of Israel]] who agrees to follow the [[Seven Laws of Noah]].{{refn|<ref name="Bromiley 1986"/><ref name="Bleich 1995"/><ref name="JE"/><ref name="JE2"/><ref name="ET1"/><ref name="Reiner 1997">{{cite book |author-last=Reiner |author-first=Gary |chapter=Ha-Me'iri's Theory of Religious Toleration |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AnYSxFMq48gC&pg=PA86 |editor1-last=Laursen |editor1-first=John Christian |editor2-last=Nederman |editor2-first=Cary J. |year=2011 |orig-year=1997 |title=Beyond the Persecuting Society: Religious Toleration Before the Enlightenment |location=[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]] |pages=86–87 |doi=10.9783/9780812205862.71 |isbn=978-0-8122-0586-2}}</ref><ref name="Hayes 2017">{{cite book |author-last=Berkowitz |author-first=Beth |chapter=Approaches to Foreign Law in Biblical Israel and Classical Judaism through the Medieval Period |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RdccDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA147 |editor-last=Hayes |editor-first=Christine |editor-link=Christine Hayes |year=2017 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Judaism and Law |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=147–149 |isbn=978-1-107-03615-4 |lccn=2016028972}}</ref>}} The theological basis for the [[Seven Laws of Noah|seven commandments]] of the [[Covenant (biblical)#Noahic covenant|Noahic Covenant]] is said to be derived interpretatively from demands addressed to [[Adam]]<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|2:16|HE}}</ref> and to [[Noah]],<ref>See Genesis Rabbah 34; Sanhedrin 59b</ref> who are believed to be the progenitors of humankind in [[Judaism]], and therefore to be regarded as [[Universal morality|universal moral laws]].<ref name="Barnes2021"/><ref name="Schwarzschild 2006"/> The seven commandments of the Noahic Covenant to which the ''ger toshav'' agrees to be bound are enumerated in the [[Babylonian Talmud]] (''[[Avodah Zarah]]'' 8:4, ''[[Sanhedrin (tractate)|Sanhedrin]]'' 56a-b):{{refn|<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="JE2"/><ref name="Talmudica"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="Reiner 1997"/><ref name="Hayes 2017"/>}}
# Do not worship [[Idolatry|idols]].{{refn|<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="JE2"/><ref name="Talmudica"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="Reiner 1997"/><ref name="Hayes 2017"/>}}
# Do not [[Blasphemy|curse]] [[God in Judaism|God]].{{refn|<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="JE2"/><ref name="Talmudica"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="Reiner 1997"/><ref name="Hayes 2017"/>}}
# Do not [[murder]].{{refn|<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="JE2"/><ref name="Talmudica"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="Reiner 1997"/><ref name="Hayes 2017"/>}}
# Do not commit [[adultery]] or [[Fornication#Judaism|sexual immorality]].{{refn|<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="JE2"/><ref name="Talmudica"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="Reiner 1997"/><ref name="Hayes 2017"/>}}
# Do not [[Theft|steal]].{{refn|<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="JE2"/><ref name="Talmudica"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="Reiner 1997"/><ref name="Hayes 2017"/>}}
# Do not [[Eating live animals|eat flesh torn from a living animal]].{{refn|<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="JE2"/><ref name="Talmudica"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="Reiner 1997"/><ref name="Hayes 2017"/>}}
# Establish [[Judicial system|courts of justice]].{{refn|<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="JE2"/><ref name="Talmudica"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="Reiner 1997"/><ref name="Hayes 2017"/><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.halakhah.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_56.html| work= Babylonian Talmud | title = Sanhedrin 56 | publisher = Halakhah}}</ref>}}

The ''[[Encyclopedia Talmudit]]'', edited by rabbi [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]], states that after the giving of the [[Torah]], the Jewish people were no longer included in the category of the sons of Noah; however, [[Maimonides]] (''[[Mishneh Torah]]'', ''Hilkhot M'lakhim'' 9:1) indicates that the seven commandments are also part of the Torah, and the [[Babylonian Talmud]] (''[[Sanhedrin (tractate)|Sanhedrin]]'' 59a, see also [[Tosafot]] ad. loc.) states that Jews are obligated in all things that Gentiles are obligated in, albeit with some differences in the details.<ref name="Talmudica"/> According to the ''Encyclopedia Talmudit'', most [[Rishonim|medieval Jewish authorities]] considered that all the seven commandments were given to [[Adam]], although [[Maimonides]] (''[[Mishneh Torah]]'', ''Hilkhot M'lakhim'' 9:1) considered the dietary law to have been given to [[Noah]].<ref name="Talmudica"/>

The term ''ger toshav'' may be used in a formal or informal sense. In the formal sense, a ''ger toshav'' is a Gentile who officially accepts the seven Noahide laws as binding upon themself in the presence of three ''haberim'' (men of authority),<ref name="JE"/> or, according to the [[Rabbinic Judaism|rabbinic tradition]], before a ''[[beth din]]'' (Jewish rabbinical court).<ref name="ET1"/> In the [[Talmud]] there are two other, differing opinions (''[[Avodah Zarah]]'', 64b) that pertain to which commandments the ''ger toshav'' is required to follow:{{refn|<ref name="Reiner 1997"/><ref name="Hayes 2017"/><ref name="ET1"/>}}
# To abstain from [[Idolatry|idolatrous]] practices of any kind (detailed in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] {{bibleverse-nb||Exodus|20:2–4|HE}} and [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]] {{bibleverse-nb||Deuteronomy|5:6–8|HE}}).<ref name="JE"/>
# To uphold all the [[613 Mitzvot|613 commandments]] in rabbinical enumeration,<ref name="JE"/> except for the prohibition against eating kosher animals that died by means other than ritual slaughter, or possibly<ref name="ET1"/> (Meiri) any prohibition not involving ''[[kareth]]''.

The accepted opinion is that the ''ger toshav'' must accept the Seven Laws of Noah before a rabbinical court of three.<ref name="JE"/><ref name="ET1"/> They will receive certain legal protection and privileges from the community, the rules regarding Jewish-Gentile relations are modified, and there is an obligation to render him aid when in need. The restrictions on [[Shabbos goy|having a Gentile do work for a Jew on the Shabbat]] are also greater when the Gentile is a ''ger toshav''.<ref name="ET1"/>

In the informal sense, a ''ger toshav'' is a Gentile who agrees to follow the seven Noahide laws on his own,<ref name="JE2"/> or alternatively, simply rejects idolatry<ref name="JE"/><ref name="ET1"/> (the latter issue is in particular brought up regarding [[Muslims]]).<ref name="ET1"/> According to the [[Rabbinic Judaism|rabbinic tradition]], a Gentile who agrees to follow the seven Noahide laws, although not before a ''beth din'', is still regarded as ''Chassid Umot ha-Olam'' ("Pious People of the World"),{{refn|<ref name="JE2"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="ET1"/><ref name="Sefaria"/>}} and the observance of the Seven Laws of Noah grants them a place in the [[World to Come#Jewish eschatology|World to Come (''Olam Ha-Ba'')]].{{refn|<ref name="JE2"/><ref name="myjewishlearning.com"/><ref name="Sefaria"/>}} There is a debate among the [[Posek|halakhic authorities]] as to whether the rules regarding a ''ger toshav'' would apply to the informal case.<ref name="JE"/><ref name="ET1"/>

The procedure to officially recognize the legal status of ''ger toshav'' has been discontinued since the cessation of the year of [[Jubilee (biblical)|Jubilee]] with the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destruction of the Second Temple]] of [[Jerusalem]];<ref name="Bleich 1995"/> hence, there are no formal ''gerim toshavim'' extant today.<ref name="Bleich 1995"/> However, it can be argued that a great deal are "informal" ones,<ref name="ET1"/> especially since it is possible to be a ''Chassid Umot ha-Olam'' even when the Jubilee year is not observed.

== Modern times and views ==
{{Main|Noahidism|Religious Zionism}}
{{Further|Jewish fundamentalism|Jewish supremacism}}

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], the Lubavitcher Rebbe, encouraged [[Chabad-Lubavitch|his followers]] on many occasions to preach the Seven Laws of Noah, devoting some of his addresses to the subtleties of this code.<ref>{{•}} {{cite book |last=Schneerson |first=Menachem Mendel |author-link=Menachem Mendel Schneerson |year=1979 |title=[[Likkutei Sichos|Likkutei Sichot]] |volume=4 |page=1094 |trans-title=Collected Talks |language=yi |location=[[Brooklyn]] |publisher=[[Kehot Publication Society]] |isbn=978-0-8266-5722-0}}<br />{{•}} {{cite book |last=Schneerson |first=Menachem Mendel |author-link=Menachem Mendel Schneerson |year=1985 |title=[[Likkutei Sichos|Likkutei Sichot]] |volume=26 |pages=132–144 |trans-title=Collected Talks |language=yi |location=[[Brooklyn]] |publisher=[[Kehot Publication Society]] |isbn=978-0-8266-5749-7}}<br />{{•}} {{cite book |last=Schneerson |first=Menachem Mendel |author-link=Menachem Mendel Schneerson |year=1987 |title=[[Likkutei Sichos|Likkutei Sichot]] |volume=35 |page=97 |trans-title=Collected Talks |language=yi|location=[[Brooklyn]] |publisher=[[Kehot Publication Society]] |isbn=978-0-8266-5781-7}}</ref> Since the 1990s, [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] [[rabbi]]s from Israel, most notably those affiliated to [[Chabad-Lubavitch]] and [[Religious Zionism|religious Zionist]] organizations,<ref name="Feldman2018">{{cite journal|last=Feldman|first=Rachel Z.|date=August 2018|title=The Children of Noah: Has Messianic Zionism Created a New World Religion?|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/737561/pdf|format=PDF|journal=[[Nova Religio|Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions]]|location=[[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]]|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|volume=22|issue=1|pages=115–128|doi=10.1525/nr.2018.22.1.115|s2cid=149940089|issn=1092-6690|eissn=1541-8480|lccn=98656716|oclc=36349271|access-date=31 May 2020|via=[[Project MUSE]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Ilany">{{cite news |last=Ilany |first=Ofri |title=The Messianic Zionist Religion Whose Believers Worship Judaism (But Can't Practice It) |work=[[Haaretz]] |location=[[Tel Aviv]] |date=12 September 2018 |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-the-messianic-zionist-religion-that-wants-to-recruit-7-billion-members-1.6455144 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200209223631/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-the-messianic-zionist-religion-that-wants-to-recruit-7-billion-members-1.6455144 |archive-date=9 February 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref> including [[The Temple Institute]],<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Ilany"/> have set up a modern Noahide movement.<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Ilany"/> These Noahide organizations, led by religious Zionist and Orthodox Jewish rabbis, are aimed at [[Goyim|non-Jews]] in order to [[Proselytism|proselytize]] among them and commit them to follow the Noahide laws.<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Ilany"/> According to Rachel Z. Feldman,<ref name="Feldman2018"/> American anthropologist and Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at [[Dartmouth College]], many of the Orthodox Jewish rabbis involved in mentoring Noahides are supporters of the [[Third Temple#Modern rebuilding efforts|Third Temple movement]] who believe that the messianic era shall begin with the establishment of a [[Theocracy#Jewish theocracies|Jewish theocratic state]] in [[Israel]], supported by communities of Noahides worldwide:<ref name="Feldman2018"/>

{{Blockquote|text=Today, nearly 2,000 [[Filipinos]] consider themselves members of the "Children of Noah", a [[New religious movement|new]] [[Judaism|Judaic faith]] that is growing into the tens of thousands worldwide as [[Apostasy in Christianity|ex-Christians]] encounter forms of Jewish learning online. Under the tutelage of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] [[rabbi]]s, Filipino "Noahides", as they call themselves, study Torah, observe the Sabbath, and passionately support a form of [[Religious Zionism|messianic Zionism]]. Filipino Noahides [[Jewish supremacism|believe that Jews are a racially superior people]], with an innate ability to access divinity. According to their rabbi mentors, they are forbidden from performing Jewish rituals and even reading certain Jewish texts. These restrictions have necessitated the creation of new, distinctly Noahide ritual practices and prayers modeled after Jewish ones. Filipino Noahides are practicing a new faith that also [[Jewish supremacism|affirms the superiority of Judaism and Jewish biblical right]] to the [[Land of Israel]], in line with the aims of the growing messianic [[Third Temple#Modern rebuilding efforts|Third Temple Movement]] in [[Jerusalem]].<ref name="Feldman2018"/>}}

Feldman describes Noahidism as a "[[New religious movement|new]] [[world religion]]" that "carv[es] out a place for [[Goyim|non-Jews]] in the [[Religious Zionism|messianic Zionist project]]" and "[[Jewish supremacism|affirms the superiority of Judaism and Jewish biblical right]] to the [[Land of Israel]], in line with the aims of the growing messianic [[Third Temple#Modern rebuilding efforts|Third Temple Movement]] in [[Jerusalem]]."<ref name="Feldman2018"/> She characterizes Noahide ideology in the Philippines and elsewhere in the global south as having a "markedly racial dimension" constructed around "an essential categorical difference between Jews and Noahides".<ref name="Feldman2018"/> [[David Novak]], professor of [[Jewish theology]] and [[Jewish ethics|ethics]] at the [[University of Toronto]], has denounced the modern Noahide movement by stating that "If Jews are telling Gentiles what to do, it’s a form of [[imperialism]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-modern-noahide-movement/ |title=The Modern Noahide Movement |last=Kress |first=Michael |date=2018 |website=My Jewish Learning |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>

According to the Jewish philosopher and professor [[Menachem Kellner]]'s study on [[Maimonides#Other Judaic and philosophical works|Maimonidean texts]] (1991), a ''ger toshav'' could be a transitional stage on the way to becoming a "righteous alien" ({{langx|he|גר צדק}}, ''[[Conversion to Judaism#Terminology|ger tzedek]]''), i.e. a full [[Conversion to Judaism|convert to Judaism]].<ref name="Kellner1991">{{cite book |last=Kellner |first=Menachem |author-link=Menachem Kellner |year=1991 |title=Maimonides on Judaism and the Jewish people |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HBWiRKhun4oC&pg=PA44 |location=[[Albany, New York]] |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |series=SUNY Series in Jewish Philosophy |page=44 |isbn=0-7914-0691-1 |quote=against my reading of Maimonides is strengthened by the fact that Maimonides himself says that the ''ger toshav'' is accepted only during the time that the Jubilee is practiced. The Jubilee year is no longer practiced in this dispensation [...]. 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 their way to the status of full convert, ''ger tzedek''. But this question aside, there are substantial reasons why it is very unlikely that Maimonides foresaw a messianic era in which the Gentiles would become only semi-converts (''ger toshav'') and not full converts (''ger tzedek''). Put simply, semi-converts are not separate from the Jews but equal to them; their status is in every way inferior and subordinate to that of the Jews. They are separate and ''un''equal.}}</ref> He conjectures that, according to Maimonides, only a full ''ger tzedek'' would be found during the Messianic era.<ref name="Kellner1991"/> Furthermore, Kellner criticizes the assumption within [[Orthodox Judaism]] that there is an "ontological divide between Jews and Gentiles",<ref name="Kellner2016">{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishideas.org/article/orthodoxy-and-gentile-problem |title=Orthodoxy and "The Gentile Problem" |last=Kellner |first=Menachem |author-link=Menachem Kellner |date=Spring 2016 |website=[[Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals]] |publisher=[[Marc D. Angel]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801013545/https://www.jewishideas.org/article/orthodoxy-and-gentile-problem |archive-date=1 August 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref> which he believes is contrary to what Maimonides thought and the [[Torah]] teaches,<ref name="Kellner2016"/> stating that "Gentiles as well as Jews are fully [[Creationism|created]] in the image of God".<ref name="Kellner2016"/>

According to [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], the status of ''ger toshav'' will continue to exist, even in the Messianic era. This is based on the statement in ''Hilkhot M'lakhim'' 12:5 that lit. “all the world (''kol ha'olam'') will be nothing but to know G‑d." In its plain meaning, he asserts, ''kol ha'olam'' also includes Gentiles. As proof, he cites 11:4, which deals with the Messianic era, and the similar term ''ha'olam kulo'', "the world in its entirety", refers to Gentiles. Continuing the text in ''Hilkhot M'lakhim'' 12:5, Maimonides explicitly changes the topic to Jews by using the term ''Yisra'el'', explaining that "Therefore, the Jews will be great sages and know the hidden matters, grasping the knowledge of their Creator according to the full extent of human potential", indicating that Jews and Gentiles will co-exist in the time of the Messiah.<ref>Schneerson, Menachem Mendel. ''Sha'arei Ge'ulah.'' pp. 267–8 (translated from Hebrew; emphasis and round brackets, but not the square brackets, in original text): There is a further detail in the wording of the Rambam in the completion and conclusion of his book <nowiki>[</nowiki>''[[Mishneh Torah]]'', ''Hilkhot M'lakhim'' 12:5]: "And the occupation of the ''entire world'' will not be anything other than to know G‑d." Because in its plain meaning, it thereby includes the nations of the world as well (similar to what the Rambam wrote in the previous chapter, that the Messianic king will "improve ''the world in its entirety'' to serve G‑d ... I will transform the ''nations'' etc."), especially since immediately afterwards the Rambam changes [terminology] and writes "And therefore ''Israel'' will be great sages etc."{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source.|date=November 2020}}</ref> In any case, even when there is a Jewish king and a Sanhedrin, and all the twelve tribes live in the Land of Israel, Jewish law does not permit [[Forced conversion|forcing someone to convert]] and become a ''ger tzedek'' against his will.<ref>{{cite book |author=Moses Maimonides |author-link=Maimonides |year=2012 |chapter-url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Kings_and_Wars.8?lang=bi |chapter=Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars) |title=[[Mishneh Torah]] |page=8:10 |translator-last=Brauner |translator-first=Reuven |publisher=[[Sefaria]] |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>

===High Council of {{transliteration|he|Bnei Noah}}===
{{Main|2004 attempt to revive the Sanhedrin}}

A "High Council of {{transliteration|he|Bnei Noah}}", set up to represent Noahide communities around the world, was endorsed by [[2004 attempt to revive the Sanhedrin|a group that claimed to be the new Sanhedrin]].<ref>{{cite news |last=HaLevi |first=Ezra |date=28 September 2005 |title=Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/90646 |work=[[Arutz Sheva]] |location=[[Beit El]] |access-date=1 November 2020}}</ref> The High Council of {{transliteration|he|Bnei Noah}} consists of a group of Noahides who, at the request of the [[Modern attempts to revive the Sanhedrin|nascent Sanhedrin]], gathered in [[Jerusalem]] on 10 January 2006 to be recognized as an international Noahide organization for the purpose of serving as a bridge between the nascent Sanhedrin and Noahides worldwide.<ref name="HaLevi 2006">{{cite news |last=HaLevi |first=Ezra |date=10 January 2006 |title=A group of non-Jewish delegates have come to Jerusalem to pledge their loyalty to the Laws of Noah |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/96347 |work=[[Arutz Sheva]] |location=[[Beit El]] |access-date=1 November 2020}}</ref> There were ten initial members who flew to Israel and pledged to uphold the Seven Laws of Noah and to conduct themselves under the authority of the Noahide {{transliteration|he|[[beth din]]}} (religious court) of the nascent Sanhedrin.<ref name="HaLevi 2006"/>

=== Non-necessity of conversion ===
According to [[Christine Hayes]], an American scholar of ancient Judaism and early Christianity serving as the [[Sterling Professor]] of [[Religious studies|Religious Studies]] in Classical Judaica at [[Yale University]], the ''gerim'' were not necessarily Gentile converts in the [[Hebrew Bible]], whether in the modern or rabbinic sense.<ref name="Hayes 2002"/> Nonetheless, they were granted many rights and privileges when they lived in the [[Land of Israel]].<ref name="Hayes 2002"/> For example, they could offer sacrifices, actively participate in Israelite politics, keep their distinct ethnic identity for many generations, inherit tribal allotments, etc.<ref name="Hayes 2002">{{cite book |author-last=Hayes |author-first=Christine |author-link=Christine Hayes |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGZ0_PUBLVcC&pg=PA19 |chapter=Part I: Gentile Impurities in Biblical and Second Temple Sources — Chapter 2: Gentile Impurity in the Bible |title=Gentile Impurities and Jewish Identities: Intermarriage and Conversion from the Bible to the Talmud |year=2002 |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=19–44 |doi=10.1093/0195151208.003.0002 |isbn=9780199834273 |lccn=2001051154}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Am ha-aretz]]
* [[Conversion to Judaism]]
* ''[[Dhimmi]]'', similar concept in Islam
* [[Ethical monotheism]]
* [[God-fearer]]
* [[Noahidism]]
* [[Proselyte]]
* [[Righteous Among the Nations]]
* [[Seven Laws of Noah]]
* [[Virtuous pagan]], similar concept in Christianity

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
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*{{cite book |last=Bleich |first=J. David |author-link=J. David Bleich |year=1997 |chapter=Tikkun Olam: Jewish Obligations to Non-Jewish Society |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6by4AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 |editor1-last=Shatz |editor1-first=David |editor2-last=Waxman |editor2-first=Chaim I. |editor3-last=Diament |editor3-first=Nathan J. |title=Tikkun Olam: Social Responsibility in Jewish Thought and Law |location=[[Northvale, New Jersey|Northvale, NJ]] |publisher=[[Jason Aronson|Jason Aronson Inc.]] |pages=61–102 |isbn=978-0-765-75951-1}}
*{{cite web |url= https://wrldrels.org/2017/10/08/the-bnei-noah-children-of-noah/ |title= The Bnei Noah (Children of Noah) |last= Feldman |first=Rachel Z. |date= 8 October 2017 |website=World Religions and Spirituality Project |access-date=10 November 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200121162034/https://wrldrels.org/2017/10/08/the-bnei-noah-children-of-noah/ |archive-date=21 January 2020 |url-status=live}}
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*{{cite book |author-last=Novak |author-first=David |author-link=David Novak |year=2011 |orig-year=1983 |title=The Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism: An Historical and Constructive Study of the Noahide Laws |location=[[Toronto]] |publisher=[[Liverpool University Press]] |series=Littman Library of Jewish Civilization |doi=10.2307/j.ctv1rmj9w |isbn=9781786949820}}
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