(17) Ad-nai spoke to Moses, saying: (18) Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the Israelite people, and say to them: When any person of the house of Israel or of the ger in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering for any of the votive or any of the freewill offerings that they offer to Ad-nai, (19) it must, to be acceptable in your favor, be a male without blemish, from cattle or sheep or goats. (20) You shall not offer any that has a defect, for it will not be accepted in your favor.
From our reading, what is the difference between the ger and the Israelite?
How do you understand the idea that someone who came to live here [wherever here is] has the same possibility of offering sacrifices that those who live here already have? What does it imply about community?
How do you understand the relationship of the Israelites to their gerim?
(יג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְאַבְרָ֗ם יָדֹ֨עַ תֵּדַ֜ע כִּי־גֵ֣ר ׀ יִהְיֶ֣ה זַרְעֲךָ֗ בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ לֹ֣א לָהֶ֔ם וַעֲבָד֖וּם וְעִנּ֣וּ אֹתָ֑ם אַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָֽה׃
(13) And He said to Abram, “Know well that your offspring shall be ger in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years;
(3) Then Abraham rose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying, (4) “I am a ger toshav among you; sell me a burial site among you, that I may remove my dead for burial.”
(21) Moses consented to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah as wife. (22) She bore a son whom he named Gershom, for he said, “I have been a ger in a foreign land.”
(9) You shall not oppress a ger, for you know the feelings of the ger, having yourselves been gerim in the land of Egypt.
(33) When a ger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. (34) The ger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were gerim in the land of Egypt: I Ad-nai am your God.
(23) But the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine; you are but gerim and toshavim (residents) with Me.
(ז) אַךְ־בְּצֶ֤לֶם ׀ יִֽתְהַלֶּךְ־אִ֗ישׁ אַךְ־הֶ֥בֶל יֶהֱמָי֑וּן יִ֝צְבֹּ֗ר וְֽלֹא־יֵדַ֥ע מִי־אֹסְפָֽם׃ (ח) וְעַתָּ֣ה מַה־קִּוִּ֣יתִי אדושם תּ֝וֹחַלְתִּ֗י לְךָ֣ הִֽיא׃ ... (יג) שִֽׁמְעָ֥ה־תְפִלָּתִ֨י ׀ ה' וְשַׁוְעָתִ֨י ׀ הַאֲזִינָה֮ אֶֽל־דִּמְעָתִ֗י אַֽל־תֶּ֫חֱרַ֥שׁ כִּ֤י גֵ֣ר אָנֹכִ֣י עִמָּ֑ךְ תּ֝וֹשָׁ֗ב כְּכָל־אֲבוֹתָֽי׃ (יד) הָשַׁ֣ע מִמֶּ֣נִּי וְאַבְלִ֑יגָה בְּטֶ֖רֶם אֵלֵ֣ךְ וְאֵינֶֽנִּי׃
(7) Man walks about as a mere shadow; mere futility is his hustle and bustle, amassing and not knowing who will gather in. (8) What, then, can I count on, O Lord? In You my hope lies. .... (13) Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my cry; do not disregard my tears; for I am a ger with You, a toshav, like all my forebears. (14) Look away from me, that I may recover, before I pass away and am gone.
(14) I rejoice over the way of Your decrees as over all riches. (15) I study Your precepts; I regard Your ways; (16) I take delight in Your laws; I will not neglect Your word. (17) Deal kindly with Your servant, that I may live to keep Your word. (18) Open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of Your teaching. (19) I am a ger in the land; do not hide Your commandments from me.
(ל) אָ֣ז יִבְנֶ֤ה יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ מִזְבֵּ֔חַ לַֽה' אֱלֹקֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל בְּהַ֖ר עֵיבָֽל׃ (לא) כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּה֩ מֹשֶׁ֨ה עֶֽבֶד־ה' אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל כַּכָּתוּב֙ בְּסֵ֙פֶר֙ תּוֹרַ֣ת מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִזְבַּח֙ אֲבָנִ֣ים שְׁלֵמ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹֽא־הֵנִ֥יף עֲלֵיהֶ֖ן בַּרְזֶ֑ל וַיַּעֲל֨וּ עָלָ֤יו עֹלוֹת֙ לַֽה' וַֽיִּזְבְּח֖וּ שְׁלָמִֽים׃ (לב) וַיִּכְתָּב־שָׁ֖ם עַל־הָאֲבָנִ֑ים אֵ֗ת מִשְׁנֵה֙ תּוֹרַ֣ת מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר כָּתַ֔ב לִפְנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (לג) וְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֡ל וּזְקֵנָ֡יו וְשֹׁטְרִ֣ים ׀ וְשֹׁפְטָ֡יו עֹמְדִ֣ים מִזֶּ֣ה ׀ וּמִזֶּ֣ה ׀ לָאָר֡וֹן נֶגֶד֩ הַכֹּהֲנִ֨ים הַלְוִיִּ֜ם נֹשְׂאֵ֣י ׀ אֲר֣וֹן בְּרִית־ה' כַּגֵּר֙ כָּֽאֶזְרָ֔ח חֶצְיוֹ֙ אֶל־מ֣וּל הַר־גְּרִזִ֔ים וְהַֽחֶצְי֖וֹ אֶל־מ֣וּל הַר־עֵיבָ֑ל כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֜ה מֹשֶׁ֣ה עֶֽבֶד־ה' לְבָרֵ֛ךְ אֶת־הָעָ֥ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בָּרִאשֹׁנָֽה׃ (לד) וְאַֽחֲרֵי־כֵ֗ן קָרָא֙ אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֣י הַתּוֹרָ֔ה הַבְּרָכָ֖ה וְהַקְּלָלָ֑ה כְּכָל־הַכָּת֖וּב בְּסֵ֥פֶר הַתּוֹרָֽה׃ (לה) לֹֽא־הָיָ֣ה דָבָ֔ר מִכֹּ֖ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֣ה מֹשֶׁ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־קָרָ֜א יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַ נֶ֣גֶד כָּל־קְהַ֤ל יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְהַנָּשִׁ֣ים וְהַטַּ֔ף וְהַגֵּ֖ר הַהֹלֵ֥ךְ בְּקִרְבָּֽם׃ (פ)
(30) At that time Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, (31) as Moses, the servant of the LORD, had commanded the Israelites—as is written in the Book of the Teaching of Moses—an altar of unhewn stone upon which no iron had been wielded. They offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, and brought sacrifices of well-being. (32) And there, on the stones, he inscribed a copy of the Teaching that Moses had written for the Israelites. (33) All Israel—gerim and citizen alike—with their elders, officials, and magistrates, stood on either side of the Ark, facing the levitical priests who carried the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant. Half of them faced Mount Gerizim and half of them faced Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded them of old, in order to bless the people of Israel. (34) After that, he read all the words of the Teaching, the blessing and the curse, just as is written in the Book of the Teaching. (35) There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua failed to read in the presence of the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and children and the gerim who accompanied them.
(א) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר דָּוִ֤יד הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ לְכָל־הַקָּהָ֔ל שְׁלֹמֹ֨ה בְנִ֥י אֶחָ֛ד בָּֽחַר־בּ֥וֹ אֱלֹקִ֖ים נַ֣עַר וָרָ֑ךְ וְהַמְּלָאכָ֣ה גְדוֹלָ֔ה כִּ֣י לֹ֤א לְאָדָם֙ הַבִּירָ֔ה כִּ֖י לַה' אֱלֹקִֽים׃... (י) וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ דָּוִיד֙ אֶת־ה' לְעֵינֵ֖י כָּל־הַקָּהָ֑ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר דָּוִ֗יד בָּר֨וּךְ אַתָּ֤ה ה' אֱלֹקֵי֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל אָבִ֔ינוּ מֵעוֹלָ֖ם וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם׃ (יא) לְךָ֣ ה' הַגְּדֻלָּ֨ה וְהַגְּבוּרָ֤ה וְהַתִּפְאֶ֙רֶת֙ וְהַנֵּ֣צַח וְהַה֔וֹד כִּי־כֹ֖ל בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם וּבָאָ֑רֶץ לְךָ֤ ה' הַמַּמְלָכָ֔ה וְהַמִּתְנַשֵּׂ֖א לְכֹ֥ל ׀ לְרֹֽאשׁ׃ (יב) וְהָעֹ֤שֶׁר וְהַכָּבוֹד֙ מִלְּפָנֶ֔יךָ וְאַתָּה֙ מוֹשֵׁ֣ל בַּכֹּ֔ל וּבְיָדְךָ֖ כֹּ֣חַ וּגְבוּרָ֑ה וּבְיָ֣דְךָ֔ לְגַדֵּ֥ל וּלְחַזֵּ֖ק לַכֹּֽל׃ (יג) וְעַתָּ֣ה אֱלֹקֵ֔ינוּ מוֹדִ֥ים אֲנַ֖חְנוּ לָ֑ךְ וּֽמְהַֽלְלִ֖ים לְשֵׁ֥ם תִּפְאַרְתֶּֽךָ׃ (יד) וְכִ֨י מִ֤י אֲנִי֙ וּמִ֣י עַמִּ֔י כִּֽי־נַעְצֹ֣ר כֹּ֔חַ לְהִתְנַדֵּ֖ב כָּזֹ֑את כִּֽי־מִמְּךָ֣ הַכֹּ֔ל וּמִיָּדְךָ֖ נָתַ֥נּוּ לָֽךְ׃ (טו) כִּֽי־גֵרִ֨ים אֲנַ֧חְנוּ לְפָנֶ֛יךָ וְתוֹשָׁבִ֖ים כְּכָל־אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ כַּצֵּ֧ל ׀ יָמֵ֛ינוּ עַל־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְאֵ֥ין מִקְוֶֽה׃ (טז) ה' אֱלֹקֵ֔ינוּ כֹ֣ל הֶהָמ֤וֹן הַזֶּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הֲכִינֹ֔נוּ לִבְנֽוֹת־לְךָ֥ בַ֖יִת לְשֵׁ֣ם קָדְשֶׁ֑ךָ מִיָּדְךָ֥ היא [ה֖וּא] וּלְךָ֥ הַכֹּֽל׃ (יז) וְיָדַ֣עְתִּי אֱלֹקַ֔י כִּ֤י אַתָּה֙ בֹּחֵ֣ן לֵבָ֔ב וּמֵישָׁרִ֖ים תִּרְצֶ֑ה אֲנִ֗י בְּיֹ֤שֶׁר לְבָבִי֙ הִתְנַדַּ֣בְתִּי כָל־אֵ֔לֶּה וְעַתָּ֗ה עַמְּךָ֙ הַנִּמְצְאוּ־פֹ֔ה רָאִ֥יתִי בְשִׂמְחָ֖ה לְהִֽתְנַדֶּב־לָֽךְ׃ (יח) ה' אֱ֠לֹקֵי אַבְרָהָ֞ם יִצְחָ֤ק וְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֲבֹתֵ֔ינוּ שֳׁמְרָה־זֹּ֣את לְעוֹלָ֔ם לְיֵ֥צֶר מַחְשְׁב֖וֹת לְבַ֣ב עַמֶּ֑ךָ וְהָכֵ֥ן לְבָבָ֖ם אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
(1) King David said to the entire assemblage, “God has chosen my son Solomon alone, an untried lad, although the work to be done is vast—for the temple is not for a man but for the LORD God. ...(10) David blessed the LORD in front of all the assemblage; David said, “Blessed are You, LORD, God of Israel our father, from eternity to eternity. (11) Yours, LORD, are greatness, might, splendor, triumph, and majesty—yes, all that is in heaven and on earth; to You, LORD, belong kingship and preeminence above all. (12) Riches and honor are Yours to dispense; You have dominion over all; with You are strength and might, and it is in Your power to make anyone great and strong. (13) Now, God, we praise You and extol Your glorious name. (14) Who am I and who are my people, that we should have the means to make such a freewill offering; but all is from You, and it is Your gift that we have given to You. (15) For we are gerim with You, mere transients like our fathers; our days on earth are like a shadow, with nothing in prospect. (16) O LORD our God, all this great mass that we have laid aside to build You a House for Your holy name is from You, and it is all Yours. (17) I know, God, that You search the heart and desire uprightness; I, with upright heart, freely offered all these things; now Your people, who are present here—I saw them joyously making freewill offerings. (18) O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, remember this to the eternal credit of the thoughts of Your people’s hearts, and make their hearts constant toward You. ...
(32) No ger spent the night in the open; I opened my doors to the road.
Who is the ger?
What is that concept?
Where in society is the ger?
Where in economics is the ger?
Requirements of gerim in the Torah:
Gerim must not eat hametz during Pesach (Exodus 12:19).
Gerim must “afflict their souls” and refrain from work on Yom Kippur (Lev. 16:29).
Gerim must not worship other Gods (Lev. 17:8-9).
Gerim must not eat blood, just like Israelites (Lev. 17:10).
Leviticus 18 lists an entire series of sexual prohibitions and concludes that they apply both to the citizen and to the ger (Lev. 18:26).
Gerim may not sacrifice their children to Molech (Lev. 20:1-5).
Gerim may not curse God (Lev. 24:16).
Gerim who become ritually impure must be purified (Numbers 19:10).
Gerim may not commit murder (Numbers 35:15 ff.)
(21) You shall not eat anything that has died a natural death; give it to the ger in your community to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people consecrated to Ad-nai your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.
איזהו גר תושב כל שקיבל עליו בפני ג' חברים שלא לעבוד עבודת כוכבים דברי ר"מ וחכ"א כל שקיבל עליו שבע מצות שקבלו עליהם בני נח אחרים אומרים אלו לא באו לכלל גר תושב אלא איזהו גר תושב זה גר אוכל נבילות שקבל עליו לקיים כל מצות האמורות בתורה חוץ מאיסור נבילות
The Gemara raises an objection from a baraita: Who is a ger toshav? It is anyone who has accepted upon himself before three ḥaverim, i.e., people devoted to the meticulous observance of mitzvot, especially halakhot of ritual purity, teruma, and tithes, not to worship idols. This is the statement of Rabbi Meir. And the Rabbis say: Anyone who has accepted upon himself observance of the seven mitzvot that the descendants of Noah accepted upon themselves is a ger toshav. Others say: These have not entered the category of ger toshav. Rather, who is a ger toshav? This is a convert who eats unslaughtered animal carcasses, which are not kosher, but who has accepted upon himself to observe all of the mitzvot that are stated in the Torah except for the prohibition against eating unslaughtered carcasses.
Yevamot 47a bids us to explain to the aspirant how hard it is to be a Jew – explain a few of the easy mitzvot and some of the more difficult ones. i.e. the ethical agricultural mitzvot is used as an example. Tell the essence of who we are. This is not the ger toshav, but the ger tzedek.
(20) You shall not wrong a ger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (21) You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan. (22) If you do mistreat them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me, (23) and My anger shall blaze forth and I will put you to the sword, and your own wives shall become widows and your children orphans.
(1) And a ger – once the ger accepts not to worship idolatry, you cannot oppress him in your country/land, because you are more powerful than him. And remember! You were gerim like him. And the same way that the text reminds you that the ger does not have power, so too the widow and the orphans, who are Israelites, have no power. And after the text says you shall not wrong, it uses the plural form, but then it says if you do wrong them, uses the singular. This is because whoever sees a person oppressing an orphan or a widow and does not help the orphan and the widow, he too is considered as an oppressor.
§ The Sages taught: One who verbally mistreats the convert violates three prohibitions, and one who oppresses him in other ways violates two. The Gemara asks: What is different with regard to verbal mistreatment, that three prohibitions are written concerning it: “And you shall neither mistreat a convert” (Exodus 22:20); “And when a convert lives in your land, you shall not mistreat him” (Leviticus 19:33); “And you shall not mistreat, each man his colleague” (Leviticus 25:17), and a convert is included in the category of colleague? With regard to one who also oppresses a convert as well, three prohibitions are written: “And you shall neither mistreat a convert, nor oppress him” (Exodus 22:20); “And you shall not oppress a convert (Exodus 23:9); “And you shall not be to him like a creditor” (Exodus 22:24). This last prohibition is a general prohibition, in which converts are included. Consequently, it is not correct that one who oppresses a convert violates only two prohibitions. Rather, both this one, who verbally mistreats a convert, and that one, who oppresses him, violate three prohibitions. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: For what reason did the Torah issue warnings in thirty-six places, and some say in forty-six places, with regard to causing any distress to a convert? It is due to the fact that a convert’s inclination is evil, i.e., he is prone to return to his previous way of living. What is the meaning of that which is written: “And you shall not mistreat a convert nor oppress him, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20)? We learned in a baraita that Rabbi Natan says: A defect that is in you, do not mention it in another. Since the Jewish people were themselves strangers, they are not in a position to demean a convert because he is a stranger in their midst. ....
(א) אלה הדברים רמז ג''פ. נאמרו כסיני ונשנו באהל מועד ונשלשו בערבות מואב ועל כל מצוה ומצוה נכרתו י''ו בריתות בסיני וי''ו באהל מועד וי''ו בערבות מואב שהן מ''ח וכנגדן הזהיר מ''ח פעמים בתורה על ע''ג והזהיר מ''ח פעמים בתורה על הגר שבא לדבק בתורה שנכרתו עלי' מ''ח בריתות:
These are the words (1:1) - This is a hint for three times [eleh = 1 word, devarim, which is plural, counts as two]. They were said in Sinai, and were repeated in the Tent of Meeting and were said a third time in the wilderness of Moav, and on each mitzvah 16 covenants were established: 16 on Sinai, 16 in the Tent of Meeting and 16 in the Wilderness of Moav, and that makes for 48; and there are 48 warnings against them in the Torah regarding gerim and 48 times regarding the ger that comes to cling to Torah in which 48 covenants were established.
Shai Held:
Many ancient societies were preoccupied with proper treatment of the "widow" and the "orphan." But the Bible goes one step further, focusing on the widow and the orphan but also on the ger—the stranger, the immigrant, the refugee. In the Bible's vision, vulnerable insiders are to be protected from exploitation, but so also are vulnerable outsiders. The Bible is insistent we both protect and love the ger. Jewish memory and Jewish theology come together to yield a call to radical empathy.