Don’t Oppress the Ger

Ben Zion Katz

The Torah in Motion blog by Rabbi Jay Kelman[1] discusses the daily daf as well as the parashah of the week. When reviewing Baba Metzia 59, Rabbi Kelman mentioned that the Talmud stated that there were 36 or 46 places where the Torah commands not to oppress the stranger/convert[2] (ger), but that he was not aware of any list of the verses in question. This paper is an attempt to generate such a list.

We will begin with the Talmudic discussion itself, which is not completely straight forward. The gemara (Bab Metzia 59b) begins (my translation): “Our rabbis taught: One who oppresses a stranger/convert verbally (from the root aleph-nun-heh) violates three negative commandments, and one who oppresses a stranger/convert financially (from the root lamed-chet-tzadi)[3] violates two negative commandments.”

One would expect the Talmud now to bring three prooftexts for the former and two for the latter statement. Instead, the Talmud brings three prooftexts for each, the third in each case not even using the word ger!

The three prooftexts for the first statement are Exod. 22:20, Lev. 19:33 and Lev. 25:17. All three verses use the root aleph-nun-heh, but only the first two use the word ger; the third verse uses the word amito, which could be translated as his fellow citizen. The Talmud excuses the latter anomaly by claiming that certainly a ger is a fellow citizen!

The three prooftexts for the second statement are (again) Exod 22:20 (this verse uses the verb lamed-chet-tzadi as well as the root aleph-nun-heh, so it can be used as proof for both statements), Exod. 23:9 (which uses the root lamed-chet-tzadi) and Exod. 22:24 which again is missing the word ger (and also does not use the root lamed-chet-tzadi) – the verse simply states You shall not be a usurer to him, the Talmud again stating that the ger is included in the generic “him”. The Talmud then concludes that with either type of oppression (financial or verbal) one is actually violating three negative commandments.

The Talmud then continues: “We learned in a baraita: Rabbi Eliezer the Great stated: Why did the Torah warn us 36 times, and some say 46 times, about the ger?” Before analyzing the verses referred to by Rabbi Eliezer the Great, we will conclude the Talmud’s discussion of the ger. The Talmud answers Rabbi Eliezer’s question by saying “because their inclination is bad.”[4] The most charitable way to explain this seemingly harsh response is that the convert has more temptations to sin because he or she wasn’t brought up with Torah values and/or has no religious family for support, so it is easier for them to backslide; consequently we must be especially careful in our dealings with them. The Talmud then asks one final, obvious question: Why are we reminded not to verbally or financially oppress the convert because we were strangers in the land of Egypt? Why is our being strangers in the land of Egypt thousands of years ago a reason for not oppressing a convert today? The answer is taken from a baraita of Rabbi Nathan, which explains that one should not gloat about a past defect in yourself that is (still) present in another. Presumably Rabbi Nathan felt that converts may feel like strangers even after their conversion. The Talmud then concludes this discussion with a reminder not to offend anyone even inadvertently.[5]

Now we will analyze the purported 36 or 46 verses to which Rabbi Eliezer the Great (Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus – a second generation tanna[6]) referred. The word ger appears in the Torah 68 times in 61 verses according to the Evan Shoshan concordance.[7] Six verses can be eliminated from consideration because they are either referring to Israelites, they are in a narrative and not a legal context or there is simply no oppression of any kind mentioned or implied in the verse. For example, when Abraham is attempting to purchase a burial plot for his recently departed wife Sarah from the people of Chet he says to them “ I am a stranger and a sojourner with you” (Gen. 23:4). A second verse using the word ger unrelated to Rabbi Eliezaer’s statement is when God says to Abraham that his children will be strangers in a land not theirs (Gen. 15:13)[8]. Moses says twice he is a stranger in a strange land (Exod. 2:22 and 18:3). God warns us of strangers rising up against us if we disobey the Torah (Deut. 28:43). Finally we are told not to sell property forever because all land belongs to God and we are merely strangers and sojourners before Him (Lev. 25:23).

Of the remaining verses, 9 specifically state to be good to the stranger/convert because we were strangers in the land of Egypt.[9] These 9 verses (or sets of verses) are the three to which the Talmud already called our attention (Exod. 22:20, Lev. 19:33-34 [these two adjacent verses make a single point, so they will be counted as a single instance] and Exod. 23:9), as well as Deut. 5:13-15 (the Sabbath commandment in the second set of the Ten Commandments,[10] which commands that even the stranger/convert needs to rest on the Sabbath because we [lit. you] were slaves in Egypt), Deut. 10:18-19 (commands to love the stranger because we [lit. you] were strangers in Egypt), Deut. 16:11-12 (the stranger should rejoice on Shavuot because we [lit. you] were strangers in Egypt),[11] Deut. 23:8 (don’t hate the Egyptians because you were once strangers in his land) Deut. 24:17-18 (don’t pervert judgment against the stranger because we [lit. you] were strangers in Egypt), and immediately following, Deut. 24:19-22 (crops that should be left for the stranger [and others] because we [lit. you] were strangers in Egypt. (These last 3 verses list three types of crops to be left for the stranger, but give a single reason at the end, so are counted as a single reference.)

The next set of 6 verses or sets of verses parallel the ones just brought, but omit the reason (because we [lit. you] were strangers/slaves in Egypt) presumably because the rationale was already stated in the parallel verse. For example, in the first set of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:10) the stranger/convert is also commanded to rest, but a different reason is given (because God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, although as Ibn Ezra points out [long commentary on Exod. 20:1] that is not a specific reason why the stranger/convert should rest; only the reason given in Deut. explains that part of the command.) Another verse also commands to allow the stranger/convert to rest on the Sabbath (Exod. 23:12). Lev. 19:10 mirrors Deut. 24:21, but again sans raison. Lev. 23:22 parallels Deut. 24:19-21 in idea, but without the reason or the linguistic parallels of the previous example. Two verses/sets of verses parallel Deut. 16:11-12 re the stranger being joyous on holidays: Deut. (16:13-14) command the stranger to be happy on Succot and Deut. 26:11 reiterates the command for the stranger to be joyous on Shavuot; in both of these cases, however, the reason (because we [lit. you] were strangers in Egypt) is lacking. This brings the total number of verses or sets of verses warning not to oppress the stranger to 15.

Six more verses remind us to be good to the ger in different situations, or warn us not to oppress the ger, without the reason being given anywhere: Lev. 25:35 (do not lend money with interest even to a ger), Lev. 25:47 (redeem the property of a ger as you would a kinsman), Deut. 14:29 (regarding a tithe that includes distribution of benefits to the ger), Deut. 24:14 (you may not withhold anyone’s wages, including those of the ger), Deut. 26:12-13 (the declaration given when the tithe from Deut. 14:29 is brought to Jerusalem), and Deut. 27:19 (a curse for someone who subverts the rights of the ger). This brings the verse count to 21.

The next set of 23 verses/sets of verses state that the ger should be treated the same as an Israelite and has similar obligations and punishments. Exod. 12:19 forbids the ger from consuming leaven on Passover (Hag HaMatzot). Exod. 12:48-49 commands that a circumcised ger can share in the paschal offering and then states more generally that one set of laws (torah achat) should apply to the circumcised ger and us (lit. you). Num. 9:14 in the discussion of the second Passover, parallels both the specific command regarding the stranger celebrating the pesach offering and equality before the law (chukah achat), although the requirement for circumcision is lacking, likely because it is understood. Lev. 16:29 includes the ger in the Yom Kippur commemoration. Lev. 17:8 equates the obligations of two kinds of sacrifices (the olah and zevach) for the ger and Israelite, while verse 17:9 commands the ger too upon the proper, applicable sacrificial procedure. Verses 17:10-12 enjoin the ger as well as the Israelite from consuming blood. Verse 17:13 instruct the ger and Israelite how to hunt. Verses 17:14-16 again forbid the consumption of animal blood but add prohibitions for both Israelite and ger about how the meat must be consumed and what to do if the meat is not consumed properly.[12] Lev. 22:18 equates the ger and Israelite regarding freewill offerings. Num. 15:14-16 in general equates the sacrificial laws for Israelites and gerim. Lev. 20:2 forbids a certain kind of idolatry (Molech worship) equally for gerim and Israelites. Lev. 18:26 and 24:22 again make general statements about equality under the law for gerim. Lev. 24:16 enjoins both ger and Israelite from blasphemy. Num. 19:10 and 35:15 equate Israelite and ger regarding the exculpatory ceremony of the red heifer (for an unsolved murder) and cities of refuge (for one who commits accidental homicide). Num. 15:26 includes the ger in the communal sin offering ritual, while Num. 15:27-29 includes the ger in the individual sin offering ritual. Num. 15:30-31 includes the ger in the punishment (karet) meted out for the willful violation of commandments. Deut. 1:16 commands that judges treat gerim as they would their (Israelite) brethren. Deut. 29:19 includes gerim in the second covenant between God and the Israelites at the end of the forty years of desert wandering, while Deut. 31:12 includes gerim in the obligation to hear the public recitation of the Torah every seven years on Sucot (Hakhel).

This brings the total verse/set of verses count to 44. Presumably, there were some Rabbis who were “lumpers” and may have included some of the duplicate verses above as single instances when interpreting the list of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, making the list total 36, while others were “splitters” and divided some of the verses above considered a set, making the total 46. In any event, I submit that the list of verses generated above is likely similar to the one compiled by Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus.

[1] TIM.org

[2] While ger (plural gerim) is usually translated as stranger or foreigner, in Rabbinic parlance it often means a convert. I will use the term ger or translate as either stranger or stranger/convert unless it becomes obvious from the context (see below) that the Talmud is referring to a convert. See also below, footnote 12.

[3] Probably because both roots are found in the same verse (Exod. 22:20 – see below) the Rabbis assumed they referred to different types of oppression. These two definitions are already found in the Tannaitic literature (Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, ed. JZ Lauterbach, vol. 3, Jewish Publication Society, 1935, 1961, p. 137).

[4] Here it is obvious the Talmud is referring to a convert.

[5] The expression used in the Talmud is not to mention to someone to “hang something up” if someone in that person’s family had been hung.

[6] M Margolioth. Encyclopedia of Talmudic and Geonic Literature. Joshua Chachik. Tel Aviv. 1970. vol. 1. Pp. 92-101 (Hebrew).

[7] Avraham Even Shoshan. A New Concordance of the Bible. Kiryat Sefer, Jerusalem. 1990, 1997. Pp 242-3.

[8] While clearly this verse provides the moral basis for not oppressing the ger, since it is referring to descendants of Abraham, it cannot be part of a list warning not to oppress the “other”.

[9] Based on the Talmudic discussion, it is surprising there aren’t more verses such as these in the Torah.

[10] Ten Statements is probably a better translation for the way the expression is used in the Torah (e.g., Deut. 4:13).

[11] Perhaps because the pilgrimage festivals all are tied in to leaving Egypt, strangers also need to rejoice on those festivals, for we too were also once strangers (although it is odd that this injunction is not found in relation to Passover, only for Shavuot and Succot – see below).