Avodah Zarah, Daf Samekh Daled, Part 6
Introduction
The Talmud continues to discuss whether a ger toshav can annul idols. The first citation is a long baraita in which sages argue who exactly a ger toshav is. I should note that I do not believe the rabbis really knew people who considered themselves a ger toshav. Rather, the issue seems to be both exegetical—who is the ger toshav referred to in the Torah, and philosophical what is the status of a person who does not convert but does keep some of the commandments.
מיתיבי איזהו גר תושב כל שקיבל עליו בפני ג’ חברים שלא לעבוד עבודת כוכבים דברי ר"מ.
וחכ"א כל שקיבל עליו שבע מצות שקבלו עליהם בני נח
אחרים אומרים אלו לא באו לכלל גר תושב אלא איזהו גר תושב זה גר אוכל נבילות שקבל עליו לקיים כל מצות האמורות בתורה חוץ מאיסור נבילות מייחדין אצלו יין ואין מפקידין אצלו יין ואפי’ בעיר שרובה ישראל אבל מייחדין אצלו יין ואפי’ בעיר שרובה עובדי כוכבים
שמנו כיינו. שמנו כיינו ס"ד שמן מי קא הוי יין נסך אלא יינו כשמנו ולשאר כל דבר הרי הוא כעובד כוכבים
רבן שמעון אומר יינו יין נסך ואמרי לה מותר בשתיה
They raised a difficulty: Who is a ger toshab? Anyone who takes upon himself in the presence of three haverim not to worship idols, the words of R. Meir.
But the Sages say: Anyone who takes upon himself the seven Noahide commandments.
But others hold: These do not come within the category of a ger toshav. Rather, who is a ger toshav? A convert who eats of animals not ritually slaughtered. He took upon himself to observe all the commandments mentioned in the Torah apart from the prohibition of eating animals not ritually slaughtered. We may leave such a man alone with wine, but we may not deposit wine in his charge even in a city where the majority of residents are Israelites. We may, however, leave him alone with wine even in a city where the majority of residents are idloters. And his oil is like his wine.
(How can it enter your mind to say that his oil is like his wine; can oil become yayin nesekh)! Rather his wine is like his oil. But in every other respect he is like an idolater.
Rabban Shimon says: His wine is yayin nesekh. Other says: It is permitted to drink his wine.
There are a lot of opinions here as to what exactly constitutes a ger toshav. I will focus on the opinion of others. Basically, this person keeps the Jewish laws, he just does not want to eat kosher meat. Perhaps the issue here is that fully keeping kosher, especially only eating meat slaughtered in a kosher manner, would separate himself from other people and while he believes in the commandments, he does not want to cut himself off socially from others. This might also be why we can leave him alone with wine he does not himself make wine into yayin nesekh because he is not an idolater. But since he will have other non-Jews around him for social reasons, if we leave wine with him for a long time by depositing it, it becomes prohibited. In other words, this person believes like a Jew, mostly acts like a Jew, but wants to maintain the tribe of non-Jew. I think this has interesting implications as to what it means to be a Jew.
קתני מיהא ולשאר כל דבריו הרי הוא כעובד כוכבים
למאי הלכתא לאו דמבטל עבודת כוכבים כעובד כוכבים
In any case, it teaches that in every other respect he is like an idolater. For what practical purpose [is this mentioned]? Is it not that he can annul an idol in the same manner as an idolater?
The assumption from the baraita is that he can annul idols like an idolater. This is a difficulty against R. Nahman.
אר"נ בר יצחק לא ליתן רשות ולבטל רשות וכדתניא ישראל מומר משמר שבתו בשוק מבטל רשות שאין משמר שבתו בשוק אין מבטל רשות מפני שאמרו ישראל נותן רשות ומבטל רשות ובעובד כוכבים עד שישכור כיצד אומר לו רשותי קנויה לך רשותי מבוטלת לך קנה ואין צריך לזכות
R. Nahman b. Yitzchak said: No; it is in connection with his power to transfer or renounce ownership; As it has been taught: An apostate Jew who publicly observes Shabbat may renounce his ownership, but if he does not observe Shabbat publicly he may not renounce his ownership because [the rabbis] said: A Jew may transfer or renounce his ownership, whereas a non-Jew can do this only by renting [his property]. How so? [One Jew] can say to [another Jew], My ownership is acquired by you; my ownership is renounced in your favor and the latter has thereby acquired [the property] without the necessity of a formal assignment.
R. Nahman b. Yitzchak says that the ger toshav is considered a non-Jew with regard to the issue of the eruv. An eruv is a meal shared by all members of a courtyard and allows them to carry from the house into the courtyard. But in order for this to work all members of the courtyard must participate in the eruv. A Jew who forgot to participate in the eruv may symbolically transfer or renounce his ownership, but not an apostate Jew, who does not keep Shabbat. However, if a non-Jew lives there in the courtyard, the Jews must formally rent his place. Thus the ger toshav is considered like a non-Jew with regard to the eruv. He does not live with the Jews. However, he may not annul idols because he does not worship them. His religion is like that of the Jews.