Sounds like something straight out of X-Files! [cue haunting X-Files theme song]
I was sitting down to make a new installment of the Greatest Commandments hierarchy project this week, reviewing the commandments added by Kineti reader Nathan Tuggy.
(Nathan, by the way, is a rockstar programmer.
I sat down and reviewed commandment #14:
And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.
-Deuteronomy 10:19 (10:20 in Hebrew bibles)
Now, before I tell you how Judaism interprets this commandment, answer to youself, “what does this mean?” Yep. Go for a Joe Shmo’s simpleton interpretation for a moment.
Really. Answer it. Then scroll down.
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Did you answer it? Good.
Now here’s a prevailing interpretation of this commandment in Judaism:
“Be kind to the convert.”
Yep. Maimonides and other great and respected sages of Judaism claims this commandment means “be kind to the convert”.
Hrmmm.
If “alien” (or “sojourner” in some texts) is to mean “convert”, a literal reading would go like this:
And you are to love those who are [converts], for you yourselves were [converts] in Egypt.
It becomes a non-sequitur.
I know it is popular in Messianic Judaism to respect mainstream Judaism as an “essential point of reference”, and I am really hesitant to buck mainstream interpretation in favor of Joe Shmo’s plain English interpretation, but after having read some commentary and investigating several different translations, I think this is one of those times where Judaism’s traditional interpretation might just have it wrong here.
Maybe I’m missing something. Any comments from you fine blog readers?
The ger is the stranger/foreigner in the midst of Israel ("the alien within your gates"). In the diaspora, however, the roles are reversed--once again, the Jews become the strangers/aliens "within the gates" of the dominant culture/society.
ReplyDeleteYet despite this reversal, the category of ger sojourning with Israel continues to exist in the diaspora--in the case of the convert. In Maimonides' day, who else but a convert would live in and among the Jewish people? I believe this is what the Rambam meant.
Interesting observation, Yahnatan.
ReplyDeleteIf that is the case, in this modern day it would not be safe to assume all aliens are converts to Judaism. Thus we would ought to return to the plain meaning of the commandment.
Thanks for your thoughts.
In the Hebrew language there are many idioms and idiomatic usage of words which defy their literal translations.
ReplyDeleteFor example, "shem" means literally name but is often figurative, being an idiom for one's authority, that which one stands for rather than one' literal name.
"Davar" means literally "word", but idiomatically also means "thing" or "matter". If I say "ani lo yode`a harbe devarim" in Hebrew it is NOT understood as "I don't know many words" but it is properly understood as "I don't know many things" even though "devarim" also means "words" and "matters".
In this case "ger" which means "sojourner" has the connotation (acquired meaning) of "convert" because in this case the only Egyptians among Israel would obviously be those sojourning (gerim) with Israel.
ANYONE living among the Israelite community is a ger of some level, and there are two kinds of gerim (plural of ger), a ger toshav which is one who takes on the Noahide Laws but is not joined to the people of Israel, only living among them, and there is a ger tzedek which is one who joins himself to Israel and adopts all the commandments of Torah.
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteFor Deut. 10:19 (10:20 in Hebrew bible), how would you translate it?
"If that is the case, in this modern day it would not be safe to assume all aliens are converts to Judaism. Thus we would ought to return to the plain meaning of the commandment."
ReplyDeleteI think you are correct here, Judah. Israel as a nation, for a time being, is not a theocracy / theocratic monarchy that it should be - so, viewing any foreigners residing today in the Land in religious terms is not very helpful. Moreover, the bulk of the aliens living in Israel today resent her very existence and would probably side with her enemies if given a chance (as happened before when enemy armies attacked). As such, they are hardly worthy of the "be kind to stranger" commandment, but should rightfully be viewed with suspicion.
I liked Yahnatan's explanation as well.
Judah,
ReplyDeleteCan you spell out what you mean by "the plain meaning of the commandment"?
As I read it, if ger means alien/stranger, then Maimonides' interpretation continues to fit in the Diaspora (where Jews are aliens/strangers).
On the other hand, in a Jewish state like Israel, the command to love the alien/stranger applies in the more straightforward sense (for example, towards the Palestinians).
Torah distinguished between a ger ha-gor (same as ger tzedek) in Num. 9:14, 35:15 and a ger ha-toshav in Ex. 12:45 and Num. 35:15. Torah also distinguished distinguishes between Hebrew and non-Hebrew `avad (Ex. 12:44), a shakhir (12:45), and a nokhri (Lev. 22:25; Dt. 14:21) without explaining what each of these statuses are, although we are told that a ger ha-gor (same as ger ha-tzedek) is obligated to all of the Torah like a native-born Israelite in contrast to a ger ha-toshav who is exempt from certain commands (Dt. 14:21), yet the Written Torah does not clarify what the obligations of the latter are, or how to change from one status to another, or whether this is even possible.
ReplyDeleteThe explanation to the Written Torah, the Jewish Oral Tradition, explains all of this.
I would translate like this:
ReplyDeleteוַאֲהַבְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־הַגֵּ֑ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
"And you are to love [he who] sojourns [with you (Israel)], because you were sojourners in the land of Egypt."
In his article titled: "An assesment of the "divine invitation" teaching," Tim Hegg shows the bias interpretation of the Stone Tanach to Lev. 19:34; 'THE PROSELYTE (GER) WHO DWELLS WITH YOU SHALL BE LIKE THE NATIVE AMONG YOU, AND YOU SHALL LOVE HIM LIKE YOURSELF, FOR YOU WERE ALIENS (GERIM) IN THE LAND OF EGYPT...'
ReplyDeleteThe obvious reason for translatin גר (ger) as "proselyte" in the first half of the verse, and the same word גר (ger) as "alians" in the second half, is to conform the verse to fit the translator's theology. it would clearly not do to designate Israel as a "proselyte" in the land of Egypt! But "proselyte does fit their needs in the first clause because they want only a convert to be fully accepted within the boundaries of Judaism. so they translate the same word two different ways in the same verse to fit their theology rather than being honest with the text itself. (P. 22).
@Yahnatan,
ReplyDeleteThe plain meaning, as I read it, is:
"Be kind to the foreigner among you. After all, you were foreigners in Egypt."
@Dan,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! Thanks for this.
Yahnatan,
ReplyDeleteYou said, "On the other hand, in a Jewish state like Israel, the command to love the alien/stranger applies in the more straightforward sense (for example, towards the Palestinians)."
I would love to have Arabs living in Israel who obey at least Noahide Laws and are not hostile to the Jewish people. However, those who hate and want to destroy the people of Israel must be treated, eventually, as how the Israelites handled under Joshua the inhabitants of the Land when they first entered in after leaving Egypt.
While I've had Muslim and Arab friends (I've been friends with Druz and Bedouin Arabs, Bedouin are Muslim, Druzim are not) in Israel, I am not for loving people who hate the Jewish people and constantly seek our destruction.
@Aaron,
ReplyDeleteThanks for interpreting from the Hebrew.
It seems to me a valid summary would be, "Be kind to the foreigner."
Dan,
ReplyDeleteTorah distinguished between a ger ha-gor (same as ger tzedek) in Num. 9:14, 35:15 and a ger ha-toshav in Ex. 12:45 and Num. 35:15. Torah also distinguished distinguishes between Hebrew and non-Hebrew `avad (Ex. 12:44), a shakhir (12:45), and a nokhri (Lev. 22:25; Dt. 14:21) without explaining what each of these statuses are, although we are told that a ger ha-gor (same as ger ha-tzedek) is obligated to all of the Torah like a native-born Israelite in contrast to a ger ha-toshav who is exempt from certain commands (Dt. 14:21), yet the Written Torah does not clarify what the obligations of the latter are, or how to change from one status to another, or whether this is even possible.
The explanation to the Written Torah, the Jewish Oral Tradition, explains all of this.
@Aharon You're right. I wrote "[In Israel the command applies] in a more straightforward sense"...in the case of the Palestinians, but actually the problem is very complex--straightforward is hardly a fair word.
ReplyDelete@Judah I agree that it's not safe to assume that all aliens are converts to Judaism. I guess I'm curious about whether you see the locational context in the commandment the way I do (i.e. that we should see Jews in the Diaspora as gerim themselves too).
יגור (yagur) does not mean צדק (tzedek).
ReplyDeleteThe term Ger Tzedek is a later introduction by the Rabbis. it is not found in the Tanach or the Mishnah. it was introduced because the Rabbis were concerned with the designation "ger toshav<" (resident alien), for fear that this might construe a non-Jew who was given covenant privileges without converting.
Dan,
ReplyDeleteYou're completely misunderstanding the point of what I'm saying, so I'll reiterate in plain terms in a minute. Its also very sad the Talmud bashing has begun already, and its so indicative of the Israelites who rebelled against the Jewish House of David and set up their own areas and methods of worship and observance similar to but in rebellion against the correct path, Judaism.
The point is that there are two kinds of gerim specified by the Torah. Some are those who keep all the commands; others do not. "Ger tzedek" is indeed a created term (nobody's arguing that, stop with the defensive Judaism-bashing attitude), and "ger tzedek" is a term used to describe the gerim in the Torah who do keep all the commandments.
Please read over my last message addressed to you, read the Torah verses. Anyone with a sane, rational mind will acknowledge after reading them that we cannot say a whole lot with the Written Torah alone on this issue; therefore you have the choice of adopting the ancient Jewish interpretation or making up your own.
Aharon,
ReplyDeletewhat does all this have to do with the biased translation of the Stone Tanach? And why are you getting so defensive when one just points to facts?
Can you explain the seeming discrepency between Deut. 14:21 and Lev. 17:15?
"Can you explain the seeming discrepency between Deut. 14:21 and Lev. 17:15?"
ReplyDeleteThis can be explained by the fact that there are different types of strangers living in Israel. This particular law (prohibition against eating animals found dead) would most likely only apply to those who underwent circumcision. We know that DIFFERENT types of strangers did indeed exist, e.g. those aliens who chose to submit to circumcision in order to eat the Paschal lamb (Exodus 12:48). The same Exodus verse clearly differentiates between circumcised and uncircumcised.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThis is why the meaning of the word Ger must be determined by the wider context in which it is used. This is also why Aharon's point that we must follow established halacha in interpretation is with no basis.
it is clear that the word ger is used throughout the Tanach to designate various classes of foreigners within Israel. But the primaqry meaning of the word is "one who does not enjoy citizenship through birth in the clan." this is seen by the fact that the word is used to Characterize Israel while in Egypt. Does Aharon think that Israel were converts in Egypt?
The basic meaning in the Tanach is sociological, not theological.
> Does Aharon think that Israel were converts in Egypt?
ReplyDeleteDan, doesn't Ex. 12:43-48 suggest something like this?
Yonathan,
ReplyDeleteI think you are mixing things up. does it state that the descendants of Jacob who lived in Egypt were worshiping the gods of the Egyptians?
Dan,
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I totally misread you (and even quoted what I misread)!
I do agree with you that ger has a sociological basis.
"I am really hesitant to buck mainstream interpretation in favor of Joe Shmo’s plain English interpretation"
ReplyDeleteSuch modesty in the face of the Sages wont disappoint. :)
Ger in its basic sense means foreigner, no on is going to disagree with that. However, just because the Israelites didn't assimilate (at least not entirely) into Egyptian culture doesn't mean that a foreigner in Israel doesn't have an expectation to do so according to the Torah (at least with respect to idolatry). Otherwise they incur the punishment of the Torah, not special protections.
A convert may be more than a simple foreigner, but the difficulty of his situation is that of a foreigner nonetheless, and native born Israelites should be able to have empathy on their situation.
And while I'm sure that we can find support for understanding this verse as applying to foreigners who have accepted the entire Torah, as opposed to those who simply have rejected idolatry, the Sefer HaChinuch understands that we can apply the underlying reasoning to all who have [legitimately] come to dwell among the Jews.
Reviewing all the comments thus far, I still find the basic interpretation, "Be kind to the foreigner, because you were foreigners in Egypt", to be a solid one.
ReplyDeleteI don't deny there are complex meanings behind the passage. It's just that those deeper meanings should never betray the basic meaning. Saying this verse applies only to converts betrays the basic meaning, IMO.
Shoot. I wish I had read this earlier and commented.
ReplyDeleteWhen you regularly read the medieval commentators of Judaism, you find they disagree with each other and some are more literal than others. Also, going back earlier to Talmud, there is much discussion and room for disagreement.
So, there is no "main opinion of Judaism" about the meaning of most texts.
Rambam and any interpreter is fallible. Judaism (except for extreme Orthodoxy) does not require uncritical acceptance of ancient interpreters.
Derek,
ReplyDeleteSo why the anger on the interpretation of one law or two house? Why are they excluded from interpreting the way they see it?
Derek,
ReplyDeleteYeah, there definitely are dissenting opinions. I've just found that it is generally a "mainstream" view. From my short bit of research, anyways.
Good heavens,
ReplyDeleteShmot 23:4-6 "If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him."
If you must not forebear from helping your enemy's animal, how much more him? "I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us." Yes, we are to love our enemies. How much more then should we be kind to the stranger and sojourner. . . under any interpretation.
Shalom
David
(Wow--has it really been a year and a half?)
ReplyDeleteResurrecting an old thread: I was recently reading a paper by James Dunn on the Incident at Antioch in Galatians 2:11-18 in which he observes that "by the first century AD these commands concerning the ger had been referred almost completely to the proselyte: already in the LXX the regular translation of ger is προσήλυτος [proselutos, i.e. "proselyte"]; and in rabbinic Judaism ger always means a Gentile won over to Judaism."
All this means is that the ger/proselyte equivalency can't be attributed to rabbinic exegesis or innovation, since it dates to the Second Temple period and is present in the ancient Greek translation of the Bible used and quoted extensively by the apostles of Yeshua.
(Wow--has it really been a year and a half?)
ReplyDeleteResurrecting an old thread: I was recently reading a paper by James Dunn on the Incident at Antioch in Galatians 2:11-18 in which he observes that "by the first century AD these commands concerning the ger had been referred almost completely to the proselyte: already in the LXX the regular translation of ger is προσήλυτος [proselutos, i.e. "proselyte"]; and in rabbinic Judaism ger always means a Gentile won over to Judaism."
All this means is that the ger/proselyte equivalency can't be attributed to rabbinic exegesis or innovation, since it dates to the Second Temple period and is present in the ancient Greek translation of the Bible used and quoted extensively by the apostles of Yeshua.
Trolling necromancer, are we? :-D
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to follow up on this post so long after the fact.
Interesting information. I'd like to verify it; were is James Dunn getting his information?
Derek Leman said..."Judaism (except for extreme Orthodoxy) does not require uncritical acceptance of ancient interpreters."
ReplyDeleteYes Derek, but it still requires the utter rejection of phony conversions and any sort of discussion of a triune G-d or worship of a pagan G-d man!!!