[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":121},["ShallowReactive",2],{"topic-studyingtalmudasagentile":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":113,"extension":114,"meta":115,"navigation":116,"path":117,"seo":118,"stem":119,"__hash__":120},"topics\u002Ftalmudic-topics\u002Fstudyingtalmudasagentile.md","Are Gentiles Put To Death For Studying Talmud?",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":109},"minimark",[9,29,52,75,78],[10,11,12,13,17,18,21,22,24,25,28],"p",{},"Gentiles are not put to death for studying or learning Talmud. The accusation rests on a single line of ",[14,15,16],"em",{},"Sanhedrin 59a"," — \"Rabbi Yochanan said: A gentile who studies Torah is liable for death\" — quoted in isolation. The very same passage immediately presents Rabbi Meir's opposing view: \"Even a gentile who engages in the study of Torah is like a Jewish high priest\" (citing Leviticus 18:5, \"which ",[14,19,20],{},"man"," shall do them and live by them\" — ",[14,23,20],{},", meaning all of humanity). The Gemara then resolves the apparent contradiction by clarifying that a gentile is ",[14,26,27],{},"praised"," for studying the Noahide laws and the parts of Torah relevant to his own role. Anti-Talmud polemics quote the first sentence and silently drop the rest.",[10,30,31,32,35,36,39,40,43,44,47,48,51],{},"The \"death penalty\" is also not what the polemic implies. Maimonides (",[14,33,34],{},"Hilkhot Melakhim"," 10:9) does not treat it as a literal court-imposed execution, and the Meiri (",[14,37,38],{},"Beit HaBechirah"," on ",[14,41,42],{},"Sanhedrin"," ad loc.) holds there is ",[14,45,46],{},"no intrinsic prohibition"," at all — the concern is only that observers might mistake a learned gentile for a Jew and be misled in halakhic practice. Maimonides himself (Responsum #249, Blau ed.) explicitly ruled that ",[14,49,50],{},"one may teach Torah to Christians",", since they accept the divine authority of Tanakh.",[10,53,54,55,58,59,62,63,66,67,70,71,74],{},"Major authorities narrow the rule further still. Maharatz Chajes, Yehuda Ya'aleh (OC 1:4), and the Netziv (",[14,56,57],{},"Meshiv Davar"," 2:77) limit it to the ",[14,60,61],{},"Oral"," Torah; the Written Torah may be taught freely. ",[14,64,65],{},"Tiferet Yisrael"," (",[14,68,69],{},"Zevachim"," 14:36) and ",[14,72,73],{},"Seridei Esh"," (2:56) hold that a non-Jew who studies without in-depth halakhic analysis — for example, attending a lecture — is not included at all. The only thing the sugya actually restricts is a non-Jew claiming the specifically Jewish covenantal commandments as though he were already a Jew, when the proper path for someone seeking that role is conversion. There is no record of any rabbinic court ever executing a gentile for Torah study.",[10,76,77],{},"Sources:",[79,80,81,91,102],"ul",{},[82,83,84],"li",{},[85,86,90],"a",{"href":87,"rel":88},"http:\u002F\u002Ftalmud.faithweb.com\u002Farticles\u002Fshort.html",[89],"nofollow","Rabbi Gil Student – Refuting various claims about the Talmud",[82,92,93],{},[85,94,97,98,101],{"href":95,"rel":96},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tabletmag.com\u002Fsections\u002Fbelief\u002Farticles\u002Fdaf-yomi-212-anti-semite-can-cite-talmud",[89],"Adam Kirsch, ",[14,99,100],{},"Tablet Magazine"," – \"The Anti-Semite Can Cite Talmud for His Purpose\"",[82,103,104],{},[85,105,108],{"href":106,"rel":107},"https:\u002F\u002Fetzion.org.il\u002Fen\u002Fhalakha\u002Fstudies-halakha\u002Fphilosophy-halakha\u002Fnon-jews-and-talmud-torah",[89],"Yeshivat Har Etzion – \"On Non-Jews and Talmud Torah\"",{"title":110,"searchDepth":111,"depth":111,"links":112},"",2,[],"Examining Sanhedrin 59a and the rabbinic record on whether non-Jews face capital punishment for engaging in Torah study.","md",{},true,"\u002Ftalmudic-topics\u002Fstudyingtalmudasagentile",{"title":5,"description":113},"talmudic-topics\u002Fstudyingtalmudasagentile","iZasIqP7tHYGI5DluvOuLRStq8trIQD3vOFXO9htIlc",1778048375466]