Ger toshav is a term in Judaism for a Gentile living in the Land of Israel who agrees to be bound by the Seven Laws of Noah, a set of imperatives which, according to the Talmud, were given by God as a binding set of laws for the "children of Noah" – that is, all of humanity. A ger toshav is therefore commonly deemed a "Righteous Gentile".
Definition
A ger toshav is a gentile who accepts the authority of the Torah and the rabbis upon himself, but specifically as applied to gentiles. 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 himself in the presence of a beth din. In the Talmud there are two other, differing opinions as to what the ger toshav accepts upon himself:
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, or possibly any prohibition not involving kareth.
The accepted opinion is that the ger toshav must accept the seven Noahide Laws before a rabbinical court of three. He 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 having a gentile do work for a Jew on the Sabbath are also greater when the gentile is a ger toshav. In the informal sense, a ger toshav is one who accepts the Noahide Laws on his own, or alternatively, simply rejects idolatry. A gentile who accepts the Seven Mitzvot, although not before a beth din, is known as chasid umot ha'olam, which means "Pious People of the World." There is a discourse among the halakhic authorities as to which of the rules regarding a ger toshav would apply to the informal case. The procedure has been discontinued since the cessation of the year of Jubilee, and hence, there are no formal gerim toshvim extant today. However, it can be argued that a great deal are "informal" ones, especially since it is possible to be a chasid umot ha'olam even when the Jubilee Year is not observed.
Judaism encourages non-Jews to adhere to the Seven Laws of Noah. Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, encouraged his followers on many occasions to teach the Seven Laws of Noah, devoting some of his addresses to the subtleties of this code. Since the 1990s, Orthodox rabbis from Israel, most notably those of the Chabad-Lubavitch and religious Zionist organizations, including The Temple Institute, have set up a modern Noahide movement. These organizations are aimed at non-Jews in order to proselytize among them and commit them to follow the Noahide legal system. According to the Jewish philosopher and professor Menachem Kellner's study on Maimonidean texts, a ger toshav could be a transitional stage on the way to becoming a "righteous alien", i.e. a full convert to Judaism. He conjectures that, according to Maimonides, only a full ger tzedek would be found during the Messianic era. Furthermore, Kellner criticizes the assumption within Orthodox Judaism that there is an "ontological divide between Jews and Gentiles", which he believes is contrary to what the Torah teaches. 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 Hilchot Melachim 12:5 that lit. “ all the world” 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 Hilchot Melachim 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 Jew and Gentile will co-exist in the time of the Messiah. 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 forcing someone to convert and become a ger tzedek against his will.
