LEV794 See [[LEV564]] Leviticus 19:17 hate COHON 213

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LEV795 The most frequently mentioned non-Israelite is the ger or "stranger," the non-Israelite resident of the land who appears mostly in the guise of the landless poor. According to the Torah, some may have left Egypt alongside Israel (Exodus 12:38, Numbers 11:4), but a more likely source is those who inhabited the land of Canaan before Israel's conquest and settlement (Joshua 9, 1 Kings 9:20–21). For reasons of religious purity, Deuteronomy demands their extermination (7:1-4, 20:16-18). At the same time, much legal rhetoric is aimed at their protection. [this and following verse]. Admonitions against abusing the ger are found four more times in the Torah (Exodus 22:20, 23:9, Deuteronomy 10:18–19, 24:17). Israel's God is praised as "the guardian of strangers" (Psalm 146:9). They are mentioned as one of the recipients of compassionate giving, along with the poor, the widow, and the fatherless (Leviticus 19:10, 23:22, Deuteronomy 14:29, 16:11, 14, etc.). The Israelite is required to afford them Sabbath rest (Exodus 20:10, 23:12). The stranger was afforded equal protection by Israel's laws regarding homicide and assault (Leviticus 24:22, Numbers 35:15), and he was obligated by all the same prohibitive or negative commandments as the Israelites, for violation of these endangered the purity of the land of Israel. For example, the ger was also required to obey the restrictions in Leviticus 18 regarding illicit sex because these "abominations" polluted the land of Israel no matter who was the perpetrator (Leviticus 18:26). However, he was not obligated to observe positive or performance commandments such as dwelling in booths during Sukkot (Leviticus 23:42). (Jacob Milgrom, The JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1989), pp. 398-402). The ger, therefore, belongs to a distinct legal category in Israelite law: he is generally subject to the same laws as the Israelite but not required to perform the same religious duties. [The rabbis of the Roman era identify the ger with the convert to Judaism because of the Torah's requirement that he observe many of the same laws as Israelites do.] At the same time, the Israelites is commanded to treat him according to the highest ethical standards, to "love him as yourself" [this verse]. (By Elaine Adler Goodfriend, “Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible)

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LEV796 Love of the stranger is the mark of a civilized society [this verse].

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LEV797 See [[EXOD1030]] Exodus 34:6 compassionate BLOCH 57-59

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LEV799 See [[LEV710]] Leviticus 19:18 love BLOCH 198

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LEV798 See [[GEN1070]] Genesis 19:9 alien DUTIES 765-7

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LEV800 This [verse] exhorts Jews to love non-Jews who live among them in peace. [Later, during the time of the Talmud, ger came to mean, and still does, a convert to Judaism, and many Jews therefore assume that the loving legislation in the Torah concerning the ger refers to converts to Judaism. But the context in which the Bible commands a fair and loving treatment of a ger -- often followed with the phrase "you were strangers (gerim) in the land of Egypt" (see, for example, [this and preceding verses] -- makes it clear that the reference is to equitable treatment of non-Israelites residing among Israelites. Otherwise, the verse's only possible meaning would be, "and you shall love the convert for you were converts in the land of Egypt," which suggests that the Israelites in Egypt had embraced the idolatrous religion of their masters. Rather, what the Torah was telling the Israelites is, in effect: "Treat the stranger well, for you were strangers in Egypt, and understand how hard it is to be a stranger, because you know from your own experience how badly you were treated." This recurrent biblical teaching," for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" (see also Exodus 22:20, Exodus 23:9, Deuteronomy 10:19; see page 287) seems to serve as an early adumbration of Hillel's first-century B.C.E. summary of Judaism's essence: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor" (Shabbat 31a; see A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 1: You Shall Be Holy, pages 10 – 11)]. Unlike the English word "stranger," which is etymologically related to "strange" and thus has a somewhat pejorative connotation, ger derives from a root meaning "to dwell among," and has a positive connotation more suggestive of residents. In addition to commanding the Israelites to love the stranger, God later and explicitly identifies Himself as One who "loves the stranger" (ve-ohev ger); Deuteronomy 10:18): "Martin Buber… noted that there is no other case of a class or persons with whom God is identified as their lover." (Ernst Simon, "The Neighbor Whom We Shall Love," In Fox, Modern Jewish Ethics, 33).

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LEV802 The Torah also gives us a specific reason why the Jew may not oppress the stranger or display any prejudice against those minorities who are different. The Torah numerous times links the commandment not to oppress the stranger [this verse; Exodus 22:20, 23:9; Deut 10:19] with the idea that you, the Jews, were also strangers in Egypt. Therefore, since you know how it feels to be a minority that is different (in language, dress, and customs) and discriminated against when you were slaves, you may not display any discrimination against anyone who is different or have prejudice against the stranger. This concept became part of the national Jewish psyche, and the Jew, based on his experience and the stress upon this mitzvah, has internalized this idea. Thus, it is no accident that it was the Jews who were at the forefront of every plight against the downtrodden, including the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and all other campaigns to defend the victims of prejudice or the weaker members of society.

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LEV801 It was taught: R. Nathan says: Do not cast up your own defects to others, as it is written: "for you were strangers" (Bava Metzia 59b)

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LEV803 (Continued from [[LEV458]] Leviticus 19:15 judgment GATES 265). Similarly, the pasuk says: [this and next verse]. "In measure" -- this refers to land measure (I.e., the method used for measuring plots of land. See Bava Basra 89b); "in weight" -- as it implies; "in volume" -- this is liquid and dry measure; "accurate weights" -- these are the balancing weights used on a scale; "eifah" --this is dry measure; "a hin"--this is liquid measure. "I am Hashem, your God, Who took you out…" -- I differentiated in Egypt between the [seminal] drop of a firstborn and that of a non-firstborn (I.e., just like Hashem differentiated who was an Egyptian first born in order to kill him, so too He will discern who is cheating and punish him), and I can be trusted to exact punishment from one who immerses his weights in salt (I.e., In order to change their weight; Rashbam and Tosafos (ibid.) in order to mislead people who are unknowledgeable in these matters.

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