This evening at T.I.- Honoring a Ger Toshav

This evening at Tifereth Israel, we are having an oneg Shabbat in honor of Kurt Knecht, the recipient of the Folsom Distinguished Thesis Award at the University of Nebraska. Kurt is well-known at Tifereth Israel. He is the father of Avi and Zach and husband of Jennifer Rosenblatt. He attends synagogue faithfully with his family and even composed a 3-part harmony rendition of Kol Nidrei that was used two years ago on our bimah. Of course it seems natural to honor him on a Shabbat.

Years ago, that would not have been so. Rabbis might have said that there was no precedence for honoring a non-Jewish spouse of a congregant at our synagogue. In the past, his honor might have been mentioned in the bulletin but certainly not as a reason to spend more time together after services.

There is a precedence, however, within Judaism to recognize that there are non-Jews in our midst who have helped raise Jewish families but have not converted to Judaism themselves. Such an individual is known as a ger toshav. Such a person lives among the Jewish people, is happy to be a part of the Jewish people and supportive of the religious and social aspects of Jewish life. This category was first established when the Israelites left Egypt and were joined by a group of Egyptians who wanted to take on their way of life. The basic assumption was that a Ger Toshav would be treated ethically and fairly by the Jewish community even though they were not obligated by the Torah's mitzvot. They are however obligated to follow the Noahide laws, 7 moral imperatives, given by G-d to Noah after the flood.

Those imperatives include:
1. Not worshiping idols;
2. Not committing murder;
3. Not stealing;
4. Not being sexually promiscuous;
5. Not blaspheming G-d's name;
6. Not eating flesh from an animal while it is alive; and
7. Establishing just laws and having a governing body of law.

In looking at our present congregation and other Conservative congregations across the country, it is not at all unusual to extend a warm hand to the spouses of congregants who have not chosen to convert to Judaism but who have definitely contributed to the raising of Jewish children. In light of recognizing their importance, you will be seeing some changes in our protocol at Tifereth Israel. When the child of a Jewish father is converted to Judaism, the mother will be on the bimah holding the baby while the father is called to the Torah. Of course the aliyah will go only to the Jewish spouse, but I feel this recognizes the importance of the non-Jewish parent in making it possible for the child to be raised Jewishly.

So Kurt, we officially applaud your academic achievements this evening and we recognize equally importantly how much you have contributed to the Jewish family you have helped establish. Mazel Tov.