Ger toshav
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Ger toshav (pl. geirei toshav, Hebrew: גר תושב), according to Judaism and the Torah, is a Gentile who is a "resident alien," that is, one who lived in the ancient kingdoms of Israel under certain protections of the system, considered a righteous Gentile.
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 mitzvot, except for the prohibition against eating neveilos (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 financial aid by law, but the attitude of a religious Jew to someone who has forgone idolatry is supposed to be much more welcoming (from the perspective of Jewish law) than to someone who has not. Furthermore, the restrictions that pertain to an idolater (in terms of business and doing things that might be aiding idol worship) are forgone.
The procedure has been discontinued since the cessation of the Yovel (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). 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. 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.
