*** Welcome to piglix ***

Righteous gentiles


Ger toshav (Hebrew: גר תושבger "foreigner" or "alien" + toshav "resident", lit. "resident alien") is a term in Judaism for a gentile (non-Jew) living in the Land of Israel who accepts upon him/herself (and observes) the Noahide Laws (the minimum set of imperatives which in Jewish tradition are said to be applicable to non-Jews, consisting of seven out of the 613 commandments in Judaism) and certain other religious and cultural traditions under Jewish law. A ger toshav is therefore commonly deemed a righteous gentile (Hebrew: חסיד אומות העולםchassid umot ha-olam "Pious People of the World").

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 (Jewish rabbinical court). In the Talmudic discussion regarding the ger toshav, there are two other, differing minority opinions (Avodah Zarah 64b) as to what the ger toshav accepts upon himself:

The accepted legal definition is the majority opinion that the ger toshav must accept the seven Noahide Laws before a rabbinical court of three. Such a ger toshav receives certain legal protections and privileges from the community, the rules regarding Jewish-Gentile relations are modified, and there is a Biblical obligation to render him aid when in need. The restrictions on having a Gentile do work for a Jew on the Sabbath are also stricter when the Gentile is a ger toshav.


...
Wikipedia

...