By Frances Makarova
(Rachav)
Submitted 5/25/06
It appears to me that the subject of the Gerim –
the Bible’s “stranger,” “sojourner,”
or generally, gentile or non-Jew - and the Seven laws needs to be
re-evaluated. According to Halacha (Jewish religious law) and some
Talmudic passages, there seems to be some disagreement
regarding the role of the Ger [singular of gerim]. Some say that the gentile who keeps
the Sabbath is worthy of death, and others say that the
gentile who keeps the Torah is like a Priest. Babylonian
Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin 59a.
The great Torah commentator Rashi teaches that
a gentile who truly renounces idolatry, coming to worship God
as HaShem, the One, must [morally] keep the Sabbath [on some level]. See
Rashi on Exodus 20:10, and Rashi on Babylonian Talmud, Tractate
Yevamot 48b.
I believe that the Torah teaches that the Moedim
(Holy Days) were set at the time of Creation, and revealed in Genesis
chapter 1. On the fourth day of Creation, the principle of the mikveh or gathering of waters was also revealed at Creation.
“10
And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together
of” (mikveh) the waters called He Seas: and God
saw that [it was] good.” Gen. 1:10.
This was on the third day of Creation. The weekly
Sabbath was revealed and given on the Seventh day of Creation. Not
only was the Sabbath revealed at Creation but it was also declared
to be "blessed" and "set apart" (sanctified)
at that time.
2
And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made;
and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had
made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because
that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had
made. Gen. 2:2-3.
When the children of Israel together with the Gerim
with them were in the the wilderness, they were given the weekly
Sabbath as a test commandment to see if they would keep HaShem’s
Torah or not. The statutes, ordinances, and some commandments of
the Torah itself were revealed to them when they were at Marah.
23 And when they came to Marah,
they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.
Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24
And the people murmured against Moses, saying: 'What shall we
drink?' 25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the
LORD showed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters, and the
waters were made sweet. There He made for them a statute and an
ordinance, and there He proved them; 26 and He
said: 'If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD
thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His eyes, and wilt
give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will
put none of the diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the
Egyptians; for I am the LORD that healeth thee.' 27
And they came to Elim, where were twelve springs of water, and
three score and ten palm-trees; and they encamped there by the
waters.
25 And Moses said: 'Eat that
today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD; today ye shall not
find it in the field. 26 Six days ye shall gather
it; but on the seventh day is the sabbath, in it there shall be
none.' 27 And it came to pass on the seventh
day, that there went out some of the people to gather, and they
found none.
It was here only one month out from Egypt that
the B'nai Israel were balking at keeping the Laws (Torah) and mitzvot
(commandments) of HaShem.
Of course at this time they were also accompanied by the
Great Multitude generally referred to as Erev Rav –
i.e., gentiles who accompanied Israel out of Egypt. Ex. 12:38. The
Great Multitude would also have been keeping the weekly Sabbath
with the Jews and eating the Manna with them.
28 And the LORD said unto Moses:
'How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws? 29
See that the LORD hath given you the sabbath; therefore He giveth
you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man
in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.'
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
All this took place almost two months
before the children of Israel and the gentiles (Erev rav
- mixed multitude) who were with them arrived at Mt. Horeb (Mt.
Sinai).
The first occurrence of the word sojourner (Ger
Toshav) is Abraham, who called himself this when he was living
among the gentiles. Gen. 23:4.
Much has been written about the role of the Ger,
as defined by Halacha today. However, on studying the Tenach (the Hebrew Bible as a whole), I see several different categories
of Strangers.
There is Zar, who is a stranger - frequently
an idolater - who is not trying to serve HaShem, and who is often
seen in negative light, although it also occasionally refers even
to a Jew who is prohibited certain things. There is also the Nokri
or someone who is completely foreign to the ways and laws of
Israel, who is always an idolator.
There is “the Stranger within thy gates
[or cities].” Ex. 20:10. This person is apparently not
a resident of the land of Israel. He or she could be a tourist,
or someone who is just passing through. It is permitted to give
an animal which died of itself – meat that Israel may not
eat, non-kosher meat - to the Stranger within thy gates. In this
regard the Stranger within thy gates is in the same category as
a nokri, except that Israel may sell the meat to the nokri and may not sell it but only give it away to "the Stranger within thy gates."
Deuteronomy 14.
21 Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of
itself; thou mayest give it unto the stranger that is within thy
gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto a foreigner [nokri];
for thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not
seethe a kid in its mother's milk.
Sometimes it says in the scriptures that a Ger
may eat that which died of itself, and at others the Stranger who
sojourns with the children of Israel may not eat of it. I believe
that this is because the Ger Toshav has a different status halachically
to someone who is merely a 'stranger'. I have been informed that
at the present time it is not possible for a Noahide to become a
Ger Toshav, because there is no universal Beis Din, authorized Court
of Jewish Law or Sanhedrin, which could accept us, until the Temple
is rebuilt.
However, there is nothing preventing us from taking
a ‘vow’ with suitable conditions, such as taking upon
ourselves Israel’s 13 Principles of Faith (The Rainbow
Covenant enumerates them and describes them well at the end,
in the Appendix) as well as listing the 7 Noahide laws. It would be a sort of
Ketubah (a marriage contract, always in writing) if you will, for
the purposes of showing one's own readiness to be recognized as a Ger
Toshav when the time is right.
The Stranger who sojourns or dwells (Ger Toshav)
with the children of Israel falls under stricter guidelines. This
person is NOT permitted to eat any animal which died of itself.
He must ensure that the flesh that he consumes has been correctly
slaughtered, and the blood has been poured on the earth.
Leviticus 17:12 Therefore I
said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood,
neither shall any 'stranger that sojourneth among you'
eat blood.
Under the laws of the Righteous gentile it is made
clear that this means that the animal must be correctly slaughtered.
Since the slaughter must be done by someone who knows exactly how
it is done, the meat must be slaughtered by either a Jew who is
a Shochet (a trained and certified slaughterer), or, perhaps, by a Muslim halal slaughterer;
most butchered meat that is slaughtered in gentile countries would be prohibited
because the animal was injured - stunned - before slaughter, or killed improperly, the meat being full of blood and the animal itself often
even alive and kicking (!) when it is being butchered.
Hence the meat eaten by a Ger Toshav would have
to be Kosher or Halal.
How many Jewish Shochets, or Muslim slaughterers,
would be willing to slaughter an unclean animal? Not very many!
Since the laws of the clean and the unclean were
known to Noah, or Noach, I submit that he kept these laws, and did
not defile himself by eating unclean flesh.
As proof of the antiquity of this teaching for
the gentiles, let me refer to the Christian Scriptures,
also known as the New Testament or NT). Under the subject of not
eating food offered to idols, the gentiles who were Ger Toshav were
instructed that they were to buy their meat at a "shambles":
in both Greek and Hebrew, makellon - the word has the same
meaning in both languages.
1 Corinthians 10:25 Whatsoever is sold in the **shambles,**
[that] eat.
According to this, the gentiles there were considered
to be Gerim Toshavim [plural of ger toshav], and were not permitted to eat 'unclean –
akathartes (the Greek word akaqarth (sp?)
means physically moral, foul or impure flesh.) In a letter to the
Corinthians, they are instructed to buy their meat at a Makellon/Makellom.
The great translator H. Jastrow defines this as a butcher shop which
is owned by a gentile in a gentile country, but which employed a
Jewish Shochet to slaughter the meat. Since the gentiles who were
at that stage in history still attached to the synagogues in some way were
commanded to eat meat bought from a Makellon, and since this permission
is also given for the Jews in diaspora, it would seem that both
are commanded to eat only 'clean meat' and without blood.
Christian New Testament
Acts 15:19: [Paul writes:] Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them,
which from among the gentiles are turned to God: 20 But that we
write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of
idols, and [from] fornication, and [from]
things strangled, and [from] blood.
21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him,
being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Acts 21:25: As touching the gentiles which believe,
we have written [and] concluded that they observe no such thing,
save only that they keep themselves from [things] offered
to idols, and from blood, and from strangled,
and from fornication.
I also contend that the ruling about gentiles who
have turned to God comes from the laws as given in Leviticus. Clearly here
the gentiles who accompanied the children of Israel were also commanded
to be immersed in a Mikveh in order to be cleansed.
Leviticus 17:10 And whatsoever
man [there be] of the house of Israel, or of **the strangers that
sojourn among you**, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even
set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut
him off from among his people.
Leviticus 17:15 And every soul
that eateth that which died [of itself], or that which was torn
[with beasts, whether it be] one of your own country, or a stranger,
he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water,
and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.
The laws regarding 'fornication' and 'sexual immorality'
are defined in Leviticus 18, and are part of the Noahide Law. In
Numbers 19 even the ordinance of the Torah regarding the red heifer
is applied to the Stranger (Ger Toshav) also.
Numbers 19:2
This [is] the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded,
saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee
a red heifer without spot, wherein [is] no blemish, [and] upon
which never came yoke:.........
Numbers 19:10
And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes,
and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children
of Israel, and unto **the stranger that sojourneth**
among them, for a statute for ever.
Noah would have been offering the Tahor
clean animals as sacrifices prior to the flood, as would Adam and
his sons Abel and Seth. To do this they would have needed to know
how to tell the difference between the clean and the unclean.
Genesis 7:1-5.
1 And the LORD said unto Noah: 'Come thou and
all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before
Me in this generation. 2 Of every clean beast
thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, each with his mate; and
of the beasts that are not clean two [and two], each with his
mate; 3 of the fowl also of the air, seven and
seven, male and female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all
the earth. 4 For yet seven days, and I will cause
it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every
living substance that I have made will I blot out from off the
face of the earth.' 5 And Noah did according unto all that the
LORD commanded him.
The Torah clearly defines one of the differences
between the Stranger in the gates/cities, and the stranger who dwells
among/sojourns with the children of Israel.
The stranger who dwells among / sojourns with the
children of Israel cannot be an idolator. Such an idolator is liable
to the death penalty. One of the signs which determines which G-d
a Jew worships is the weekly Sabbath, because it points to the Creator.
I submit that unless the strangers who dwelt with the children of
Israel were demonstrating their submission to HaShem by keeping
the weekly Sabbath and acknowledging the Creator, that any day that
they designated to worship Him would be paganism. As indeed the
Sunday worship of the gentile Christians is.
Leviticus 20:1-4.
1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2
Moreover, thou shalt say to the children of Israel: Whosoever
he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn
in Israel, that giveth of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely
be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
3 I also will set My face against that man, and
will cut him off from among his people, because he hath given
of his seed unto Molech, to defile My sanctuary, and to profane
My holy name. 4 And if the people of the land
do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his
seed unto Molech, and put him not to death; Lev.
The stranger / Ger who sojourns with Israel is
permitted to 'keep the the days of unleavened bread' but unless
he is circumcised he is not permitted to eat the Pesach Lamb. As
there is no Beis HaMikdash, there is no passover lamb today either.
Abraham, Sarah and Lot clearly kept the "days
of unleavened bread". It was during this 'moed' that Abraham
and Sarah were promised that they would have a son. Lot was a Ger.
Genesis 18.
21 But My covenant will I establish with Isaac,
whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time
(moed) in the next year.'
As the word 'moed' implies an appointed
time, and also an assembly it is clear that this is the day which
HaShem has designated for those who love Him should assemble together
to worship Him.
Genesis 18:6.
6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah,
and said: 'Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead
it, and make cakes.'
Since these cakes were made quickly they were clearly
unleavened. The events in chapters 18 and 19 of Genesis are contemporary
with each other. It is a 'moed' as HaShem has told Abraham.
Gen. 18:13-14
13 And the LORD said unto Abraham: 'Wherefore
did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I of a surety bear a child, who
am old? 14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD.
At the set time (moed) I will return unto thee,
when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son.'.
Not only was Abraham keeping the 'moed'
of the days of unleavened bread, but so also was his nephew Lot
who was a Ger because he made a feast and baked unleavened bread
to feed his guests.
Genesis 19.
1 And the two angels came to Sodom at even; and
Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot saw them, and rose up to
meet them; and he fell down on his face to the earth; 2
and he said: 'Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray
you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash
your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way.' And
they said: 'Nay; but we will abide in the broad place all night.'
3 And he urged them greatly; and they turned
in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast,
and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
Gen. 19:1-3.
14 And if a stranger shall sojourn
among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD: according
to the statute of the passover, and according to the ordinance
thereof, so shall he do; ye shall have one statute, both for the
stranger, and for him that is born in the land.' Num. 9:14.
The "Ger Toshav" is commanded to be circumcised
if he wishes to eat the Passover sacrifice. Demonstrating that a
Ger Toshav is not usually circumcised.
Exodus 12.
43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron: 'This
is the ordinance of the passover: there shall no alien eat thereof;
44 but every man's servant that is bought for
money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not
eat thereof. Ex.12:43-45.
46 In one house shall it be
eaten; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out
of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. 47
All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 And when
a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover
to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him
come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in
the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. 49
One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the
stranger that sojourneth among you.' Ex. 12:46-49.
The Stranger who sojourns (Ger Toshav) may make
an olah offering. There is One Torah and one ordinance for the Ger
who dwells with you.
Num.15:14-15.
14 And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever
may be among you, throughout your generations, and will offer
an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; as
ye do, so he shall do.
15 As for the congregation,
there shall be one statute both for you, and for the stranger
that sojourneth with you, a statute for ever throughout your generations;
as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. 16
One law and one ordinance shall be both for you, and for the stranger
that sojourneth with you.
The sins of the stranger who sojourns (Ger Toshav)
among Israel are forgiven if they are committed in ignorance.
Num. 15:24-25.
24 then it shall be, if it be done in error by
the congregation, it being hid from their eyes, that all the congregation
shall offer one young bullock for a burnt-offering, for a sweet
savour unto the LORD--with the meal-offering thereof, and the
drink-offering thereof, according to the ordinance--and one he-goat
for a sin-offering.
25 And the priest shall make atonement for all
the congregation of the children of Israel, and they shall be
forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering,
an offering made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin-offering
before the LORD, for their error. 26 And all the congregation
of the children of Israel shall be forgiven, and
the stranger that sojourneth among them; for in respect
of all the people it was done in error.
The stranger (Ger) and the sojourner (Ger Toshav)
are clearly two different categories here, but both may seek refuge
in one of the cities of refuge if they accidentally kill someone.
These two separate categories are clearly delineated in Numbers.
The Stranger within thy gates is not affected by the same laws as
the "Ger who sojourns". But certain laws are applicable
to both.
Numbers 35:15.
15 For the children of Israel, and for the stranger
and for the settler among them, shall these six cities be for
refuge, that every one that killeth any person through error may
flee thither.
Even the Ger who is 'within thy gates' is commanded
to keep the Sabbath. 'The Ger who is within thy gates' has a different
status to a Ger Toshav, a Ger who dwells with you,
because he is permitted to eat something that died of itself, and
also unclean flesh, but with regard to the cities of refuge he is
permitted to seek sanctuary, there if he accidentally kills someone.
Regarding the Seventh day Sabbath. Neither the
stranger within thy gates, nor the Ger Toshav is permitted to break
the Sabbath.
I am not suggesting that the Ger should observe
all of the rabbinical rules with regard to the weekly Sabbath, but
that the Torah indicates that they should be keeping it as a day
of rest from labour, and keeping it Holy and they should not be
buying or selling on that day. Here is what Nehemiah said.
Nehemiah 9.9-15.
9 And Thou sawest the affliction of our fathers
in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea; 10
and didst show signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his
servants, and on all the people of his land; for Thou knewest
that they dealt proudly against them; and didst get Thee a name,
as it is this day. 11 And Thou didst divide the
sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea
on the dry land; and their pursuers Thou didst cast into the depths,
as a stone into the mighty waters. 12 Moreover
in a pillar of cloud Thou didst lead them by day; and in a pillar
of fire by night, to give them light in the way wherein they should
go. 13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai,
and spokest with them from heaven, and gavest them right ordinances
and laws of truth, good statutes and commandments; 14
and madest known unto them Thy holy sabbath, and didst command
them commandments, and statutes, and a law, by the hand of Moses
Thy servant;
15 and gavest them bread from heaven for their
hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for
their thirst, and didst command them that they should go in to
possess the land which Thou hadst lifted up Thy hand to give them.
Nehemiah 13.
14 In those days saw I in Judah some treading
winepresses on the sabbath, and bringing in heaps of corn, and
lading asses therewith; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all
manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath
day; and I forewarned them in the day wherein they sold victuals.
Neh. 13:15
Nehemiah 22.
22 And I commanded the Levites that they should
purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates,
to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember unto me, O my God, this
also, and spare me according to the greatness of Thy mercy.
If the Nations honor the weekly Sabbath they would
not tempt the children of Israel to break it. Similarly It also
seems to me that a Jew may not keep a resident "Sabbath
Goy," because Torah expressly forbids it. Even the
animals are given a Sabbath rest from their labours.
Deuteronomy 5.
12 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy
work; 13 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto
the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work,
thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor
thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy
cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that
thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.
14 And thou shalt remember that thou was a servant
in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God brought thee out thence
by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD
thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
The Ger Toshav has an inheritance in the
land of Israel.
Ezekiel 47.
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according
to the tribes of Israel. 22 And it shall come to pass, that ye
shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you and to the
strangers that sojourn among you, who shall beget children among
you; and they shall be unto you as the home-born among the children
of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes
of Israel.
23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe
the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance,
saith the Lord GOD.
The sons of the Ger who join themselves to the
LORD to be His servants are commanded to keep the Sabbath day holy.
Clearly the thing which sets the Ger Toshav apart from the "goy"
is that the Ger Toshav loves and obeys HaShem.
Now here is a prophecy in Isaiah regarding the
alien who has joined himself to HaShem.
Isaiah 56.
3 Neither let the alien (hanekar), that hath
joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying: 'The LORD will surely
separate me from His people'; neither let the eunuch say: 'Behold,
I am a dry tree.'
6 Also the aliens (nekar),
that join themselves to the LORD, to minister unto Him, and to
love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, every one
that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast by
My covenant: 7 Even them will I bring to My holy mountain,
and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings
and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon Mine altar; for
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. 8
Saith the Lord GOD who gathereth the dispersed of Israel:
Yet I will gather others to him, beside those of him that are
gathered. 9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour,
yea, all ye beasts in the forest.
These gerim who keep the Sabbath day Holy are referred to as being
'gathered with Israel.' HaShem makes it clear that the Sabbath is
His Holy day, it does not belong to man but to G-d Himself.
Isaiah 56:
8 Saith the Lord GOD who gathereth the dispersed
of Israel: Yet I will gather others to him, beside those of him
that are gathered. 9 All ye beasts of the field,
come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.
Isaiah 58
13 If thou turn away thy foot because of the
sabbath, from pursuing thy business on My holy day;
and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of the LORD honourable;
and shalt honour it, not doing thy wonted ways, nor pursuing thy
business, nor speaking thereof; 14 Then shalt
thou delight thyself in the LORD, and I will make thee to ride
upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed thee with the
heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken
it.
Since the weekly Sabbath was given to Adam at Creation it was intended
for all mankind. But the sons of Adam disobeyed HaShem, and walked
astray both before and after the Flood of Noah.
The Ger Toshav is also commanded to observe Yom
Kippur.
Levitcus 16:29-31.
29 And it shall be a statute for ever unto you:
in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall
afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the home-born,
or the stranger that sojourneth among you. 30 For
on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from
all your sins shall ye be clean before the LORD. 31
It is a sabbath of solemn rest unto you, and ye shall afflict
your souls; it is a statute for ever.
In the Messianic era the Gerim will have to keep the Sabbath day,
the festival of Succot, and the New Moons.
Since Shavuot is linked so closely
with the story of the gentile Ruth who first became a Ger Toshuv
and then a convert, and subsequently an ancestor of King David and
thus the Messiah.
I believe that this day which also comemorates the giving of the
Torah on Mt. Sinai is also for the Ger Toshav.
Gentiles who refuse to keep the Feast of Succot
will be punished.
Zechariah 14:
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one
that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall
go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts,
and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall be, that
whoso of the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem
to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, upon them there shall
be no rain. 18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come
not, they shall have no overflow; there shall be the plague, wherewith
the LORD will smite the nations that go not up to keep the feast
of tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and
the punishment of all the nations that go not up to keep the feast
of tabernacles. 20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of
the horses: HOLY UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house
shall be like the basins before the altar. 21 Yea, every pot in
Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy unto the LORD of hosts; and
all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe
therein; and in that day there shall be no more a trafficker in
the house of the LORD of hosts.
Hence I contend that the things which are prohibited to the Ger
Toshav in the positive mitzvot of the Tenach are the eating of the
Paschal Lamb, and entering the Beis HaMikdash past the Soreg or
trying to assume the roles of Leviim, or High Priest, or a woman
doing those things which are for men or vice versa.
Since during the Messianic era even the Gerim will
have some chosen to be or assist priests and Levites on their behalf
and since no uncircumcised person will be permitted on the Holy
Mountain of Jerusalem, these Gerim will have to be circumcised also.
Ezekiel 44.
5 And the LORD said unto me: 'Son of man, mark well, and behold
with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee
concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all
the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with
every going forth of the sanctuary. 6 And thou shalt say to the
rebellious, even to the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord GOD:
O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,
7 in that ye have brought in aliens, uncircumcised in heart and
uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary, to profane it, even
My house, when ye offer My bread, the fat and the blood, and they
have broken My covenant, to add unto all your abominations. 8 And
ye have not kept the charge of My holy things; but ye have set keepers
of My charge in My sanctuary to please yourselves. {S} 9 Thus saith
the Lord GOD: No alien, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised
in flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, even any alien that is
among the children of Israel.
The Righteous Gentiles will bring the children
of Israel home.
It also appears that some Gentiles will be chosen as to act in a
role of similar to that of the
priests and Levites in their own nations.
Isaiah 66.
18 For I [know] their works and their thoughts; [the time] cometh,
that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come,
and shall see My glory. 19 And I will work a sign among them, and
I will send such as escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish,
Pul and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the isles
afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seen My glory;
and they shall declare My glory among the nations.
20 And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations
for an offering unto the LORD, upon horses, and in chariots, and
in fitters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain
Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring their
offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. 21 And of
them also will I take for the priests and for the Levites, saith
the LORD.
The commentary in the Stone Edition of the Tenach
says that this is that this is speaking of the children of Israel
who the righteous gentiles will bring back to the land of Israel.
Stone Edition Tenach Commentary Isaiah
66.21 Many of the Jews who will arrive from the remote corners of
the world will not know that they are Kohanim or Levites, but I
will assign them to the Temple service. (Rashi)
In the Messianic era all flesh will keep the New
Moon and the weekly Sabbath.
Isaiah 66.
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make,
shall remain before Me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your
name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon
to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come
to worship before Me, saith the LORD. 24 And they shall go forth,
and look upon the carcasses of the men that have rebelled against
Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched;
and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
The righteous gentiles will not be permitted to
come near to the Sanctuary of HaShem.
Ezekiel 44.
9 Thus saith the Lord GOD: No alien, uncircumcised in heart and
uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, even any
alien that is among the children of Israel.
15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok,
......
23 And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy
and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and
the clean. 24 And in a controversy they shall stand to judge; according
to Mine ordinances shall they judge it; and they shall keep My laws
and My statutes in all My appointed seasons, and they shall hallow
My sabbaths.
We Noahides do not believe that we will replace
the roles assigned by HaShem to the people Israel to serve Him,
in His Holy House. However, we do believe that some of us will have
the role of judges and to create civil laws in our own nations,
advised, perhaps, by the Priests and Levites in messianic days,
as revealed by Hashem.
Isaiah 2.
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that
the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the top
of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all
nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many peoples shall go and say:
'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house
of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will
walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And He shall judge between
the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat
their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war any more.