https://hesedyahu.wordpress.com/2019/11/25/more-ger-clarification/So again the claim is repeated that a “ger toshav” is one who keeps the seven laws.
Simple question: what does “ger toshav” mean in English? A resident alien, a foreigner who emigrates to Torah ruled Israel and resides there. So the term doesn’t apply to any Gentile in the world who keeps the seven laws but rather the “resident alien”. So sure, must a foreign resident of Torah ruled Israel keep the seven laws? Yes! But is any Gentile in the world keeping the seven laws a foreign resident of Torah ruled Israel? Hell no. Logically no! and according to Maimonides no!
Logically and realistically, if you reside in a Gentile country, even if you keep the seven, you are not a foreign resident of Torah ruled Israel; you’re not a “ger toshav”. For example, if you reside in America or France, even if you keep the seven, you’re not a “ger toshav,” you’re not a foreign resident of Torah ruled Israel. In fact, even if you live in the state of Israel but it’s not ruled by Torah (e.g., there is no Jubilee), even if you keep the seven laws, you’re not a “ger toshav,” a foreign resident of Torah ruled Israel.
Even Maimonides writing in Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings, 8:11, distinguishes between the “pious” Gentile and the foreign resident.They are not the same thing. See.
Anyone who accepts upon himself the fulfillment of these seven commandments and is precise in their observance is considered one of ‘the pious among the gentiles’ and will merit a share in the world to come.
This applies only when he accepts them and fulfills them because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and informed us through Moses, our teacher, that Noah’s descendants had been commanded to fulfill them previously.
However, if he fulfills them out of intellectual conviction, he is not a resident alien, nor of ‘the pious among the gentiles,’ but rather of their wise men.
Both the pious and the foreign resident keep the seven laws, but the one is a foreign resident of Torah ruled Israel whereas a pious Gentile resides in any country other than Israel.
The refusal to translate the term “ger toshav” in opposition to their own sources that do translate the term is a reason why the so called “ger” maintain their stance. Translate it, and it’s way easier to see the error.
Topic: More “ger” clarification (Read 1189 times)