A few years ago, in the Noahide world came a new concept: the Ger. This has been an ongoing controversy ever since. The odd thing about this is that the terms “Noahide” and “Bnai Noah,” as used today for the righteous Gentile, are not Biblical terms. The Biblical term is: Ger. So, what is the objection? It seems to be a problem of understanding what the terms mean in the first place, and whether we are yet in that place in history in which they may be used appropriately.
The term “ger,” literally meaning “stranger,” appears many times in the Hebrew text of the Torah, and in the different contexts it has different meanings. The most accepted understanding through the centuries has been “proselyte” or “convert.” However, seen in context of each case, this is not the accurate translation every time—in fact, it could be argued that this is only accurate a minority of the time. Yet this translation appears the majority of the time, even when it is clearly inaccurate.
When Abraham went to the elders of Hebron to ask to buy Machpelah as a burial place for Sarah, he told them: ”I am a foreigner (ger) and a sojourner (toshav) among you.” (Genesis 23:4) He was not a proselyte; he was a foreigner, a stranger. Sometimes the term used is “ger toshav.” These are two separate terms in the text: a foreigner AND a sojourner—“toshav” (sojourner) emphasizing the status of a foreign “resident,” as opposed to a citizen.
In Leviticus 19:34 the people of Israel were told: “As one of your native born he shall be considered by you, the ger who lives with you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were gerim in the land of Egypt…” The people of Israel, just like Abraham, were strangers in a foreign land. They were not proselytes in Egypt; they were strangers. An argument can be made that the “stranger” Israel is being commanded to love is a proselyte. Perhaps and perhaps not; that is debatable. However, the text makes clear these people were not “native born” in the nation.
Several times King David referred to himself as a stranger (ger). Was he a convert?—no. He was talking about feeling himself to be an outsider, like he did not belong. Yet he was the king of Israel!
It is quite clear that there are different categories of ger—different ways the term is used. In the case of Israel in Egypt and of King David, they were “strangers,” people who did not fit in with those around them. Then there are those who are not native born, but who wish to embrace the God of Israel. The most well understood meaning of this usage of ger is the proselyte (convert). These people became part of the House of Israel. There are also others—those not inside the House, but inside the Gate. These, too, embrace the God of Israel and the Torah. They are the Righteous among the Nations.
Where do we hear of the “ger in the gate”? Every Shabbat we sing the blessing at our table: “But the seventh day is Shabbat to HaShem your God. You must not do any manner of work—you, your son, your daughter, your slave, your maid, your animal, and the ger within your gates.” (Exodus 20:10) Clearly, the person who has converted is obligated to keep Shabbat, so this is not a reference to him. Here, we are told that the ger, the stranger who has come near to us, is to be included under the cover of Shabbat rest. As we honor Shabbat by protecting the nefesh (soul) of our children, our servants, and even our animals, we are to also include this ger in our gate.
Not only is there a lot of confusion around the ger in the gate, but also about the ger in the house—the convert. Some people will say that a person who converts is the same as one born Jewish. Of course, this should be the case when talking about the treatment of people in a community. Technically, however, it should be noted that there are halachic (legal) differences. A ger (convert) woman may not marry a kohen under any conditions, so in this way she is different from a Jewess, who is permitted to do so, under certain conditions. A person born Jewish may not marry a mamzer (one born of a forbidden relationship), but a convert may do so, and this even serves as a type of redemption for the status of the mamzer’s children. And, of course, at the time of the Tribal division of the Land, the convert has no Tribe and is thus ineligible for an allotment. The bottom line is that the status of a convert (proselyte) is not Jew, but a category of ger.
It is very noteworthy that for a person to convert, he must go before a bet din, a legal court made up of three Torah observant Jews (not necessarily rabbis, but that is preferred today). The vows he takes are not just before men, but before the Court of Heaven they represent. Taking a vow is a very serious matter, according to the Torah. These are forever binding and have an eternal, altering effect on his soul. In our time, non-Jewish people have disavowed idolatry before a bet din in a similar way. The vow is different from that of a proselyte, but it is as binding and has as much impact on his soul. Both cases are ger, but each category is on a different level of Torah obligation.
The laws on ritual slaughter are very strict, forbidding a Jew to eat meat of an animal that is not slaughtered properly. The animal’s death must be instant and painless. Deuteronomy 14:21 instructs: “Do not eat any carcass; to the ger in your cities give it and he will eat it, or sell it to the nochri (non-Jew)….” The ger here is clearly not a proselyte, for a convert is under the same obligation of kosher eating as the Jew. This passage refers to the ger in the gate, who is in a closer position to Israel than the non-Jew who has not fully joined himself to Israel. The command acknowledges the distinction in status, in that, while the meat is to be given to the ger, it may be sold to the nochri.
The Sages after the destruction of the Temple seem to have encountered none who could truly be called “Righteous among the Nations”—who yearned to know the God of Israel and to live according to the Torah. So, the writings of Maimonides and other great rabbis in previous centuries elaborated law for a hypothetical person in the Nations. In our time, this phenomenon has exploded across the world! There are more conversions in our time than in any other period in history! And alongside this, there are non-Jewish people (of all different languages of the Nations) who desire to “take hold of the corner of the garment of a Jewish man saying: ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!’” (Zechariah 8:23)
When the Prophets speak about non-Jewish people who desire to cling to the God of Israel, they are speaking of the time of Redemption. This reference appears so many times and in so many places, that this ger phenomenon is clearly inseparable from Redemption and is actually one of its harbingers. In 1990 the rabbis of Israel officially recognized Bnai Noah as a reality in our time. 1990 (5750) has been known to Israel’s sages as a benchmark year for the Redemption process. The Vilna Gaon (Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman) compared the six days of Creation to 6000 years of history (a day being as a thousand years (Psalm 90:4)). He then broke the millennium’s years comparable to hours of the day. The year 5750 (1990) is the 18th hour of the 24 hour day—late afternoon on Erev Shabbat. As we get closer to the end of the sixth day, Shabbat is increasingly imminent.
Even those accepting that ger may be a status of actual people in our time challenge: Can those people who have disavowed idolatry and satisfied every other condition, but live outside Eretz Yisrael, be called ger? Must this person be actually “toshav” (resident) as well to qualify for this status? The question may be answered with a question: Is a Jew living outside the Land of Israel still a Jew? Or, rather, are both part of greater Israel, even outside the Land?
Thus said the God, HaShem, Who created the heavens and stretched them forth; Who firmed the earth and its produce. Who gave a soul to the people upon it, and a spirit to those who walk on it: I am HaShem; I have called you with righteousness; I will strengthen your hand; I will protect you; I will set you for a covenant to the people, for a light to the nations; to open blind eyes; to remove a prisoner for confinement, dwellers in darkness from a dungeon. I am HaShem; that is My Name; I shall not give My glory to another, not My praise to graven idols. ~Isaiah 42:5-8
What does it mean to be a “light to the nations”? How do we “open blind eyes” or “remove a prisoner for confinement,” or release “dwellers in darkness from a dungeon”? This is HaShem’s covenant with Israel. This is the mandate Israel accepted with the Torah. This is the reason men of the Nations will “take hold of the corner of the garment of a Jewish man saying: ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!’” (Zechariah 8:23)
Notice that Isaiah refers to Creation and that God “gave a soul to the people upon (the earth).” The soul God breathed into Adam made him unlike any creature on earth or in heaven, for he was uniquely connected to the Essence of the Creator. This is the heritage of every single descendant from Adam—all Mankind. The object of Redemption is the rectification of the damage to the earth, the creatures of the earth, and a return to the Creation state. This requires that the “soul given to the people” be rectified and elevated back to the Adamic soul consciousness, for all people in the world have a role to play in the process. The special role of Israel is to lead in the release of the souls of Mankind from the bondage of darkness, helping each one to rise into the fullness of who he is in the Soul of Adam. This liberation from darkness is accomplished through the illumination of the Torah. This is the “light” Israel is meant to share with the Nations.
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Copyright©2023 Miriam Ben-Yaacov
Healing Well of Miriam 
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