[Avodah] Pre-Sinaitic conversions

[saul mashbaum]

 RDaniel Eidensohn quoted the Griz:
>>
*Griz Halevi **(Bereishis 16:5):  
The world asks a question – how could Avraham keep Shabbos before the mitzva was given at Sinai 
since he had the status of a non‑Jew and Sanhedrin(58b) states that a non‑Jew who observes Shabbos is liable to the death penalty?
>>
It has always seemed to me that there is a simple answer to this question. The principle that "a non‑Jew who observes Shabbos is liable to the death penalty" applies only after Matan Torah. Once the Shabbat was given to B'nei Yisrael, the gentiles were forbidden to observe it (parallel to the idea that a gentile is prohibited to learn Torah. since it was given exclusively to the Jews, such that a gentile learning it impinges on the Jews' unique connection to it). Thus, before the Shabbat was given to the Jews, a gentile who kept it was not in violation of  the stated prohibition.
Indeed, the above explanation "works better" for a non-Jew learning Torah before Matan Torah than keeping Shabbat, but I think it makes sense regarding the latter case as well.
Saul Mashbaum
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