AT THIS POINT I am enlarging on the theme of the previous chapter. The concept of hafatsah, of bursting through borders, recognizes and enfranchises the ‘other’. Or does it? We saw the steps which Rabbi Menachem Schneerson and his Habad movement made towards the estranged Jew. But what about the non-Jew? Does he or she remain irredeemably ‘other’, beyond the sacred canopy?

REGARDING THE ROLE and status of the gentile, the heritage of the Hebrew Bible is ambiguous. There is G-d's blessing to Abraham that through him and his descendants will be blessed all families of the earth, and Abraham’s plea with G-d on behalf of the wicked inhabitants of Sodom. And there is the same Abraham being very concerned that his son Isaac should not marry a daughter of the Canaanites, but instead a member of Abraham's own family. Concern about intermarriage with other nations, often (but not always) linked with the idea that this would lead to idolatry, continues throughout the Hebrew Bible.

At the same time there is the concept of the proselyte, frequently mentioned in the Pentateuch. The rabbinic tradition, expanding on the terminology of Scripture, generally distinguishes two types of proselyte: the full proselyte, who becomes part of the Jewish people, often termed ger tsedek, ‘righteous proselyte’, or simply ger, and the ger toshav, ‘inhabiting proselyte’, who accepts the Noahide Laws but not other aspects of Jewish law. He or she remains a gentile, yet is permitted to dwell in the Holy Land. Ruth the Moabite is the foremost biblical example of the first type of proselyte, and King David is among her descendants. The second type, the ger toshav, is described by Maimonides as a category which only exists when the Jewish people are fully settled on their land and the law of the Jubilee year is maintained. It would seem to be an ambiguous category in the post-Temple period.

More significant in terms of the image of the non-Jew in Jewish eyes is the concept of a non-Jew who could be called a Noahide, the gentile who observes the seven Noahide Laws and who might be a ḥasid umot ha’olam (righteous gentile), whom the Sages describe as inheriting the World to Come, as will be discussed below.