[Avodah] Heter mechira

[Chana Luntz]

RMM writes:

> I believe, but I'm not sure, that there's a view that selling 
> it to a ger toshav is permitted.

Rav Hertzog says this explicitly in T'chuka L'yisroel al pi Hatorah (p15
of my edition in perek sheni under the heading lo techanem b'yachid
ub'uma sheana ovedet avodah zara) - indeed he states barur shelo ne'emar
lav zeh shel lotechanem al ger toshav. He goes on to say that what is
not clear is whether one can say this about a goy who does not worship
avodah zara but is not in the status of a ger toshav because he has not
accepted the sheva mitzvos benei noach before beis din or it it is like
today when beis din does not accept such declarations.  However he
brings Rav Kook as having stated in Mishpat Cohen that not only is this
issur not chal on a ger toshav in the times of yovel, but also upon
Arabs of the Muslim faith because this is a people that is mukzak that
they do not worship avodah zara - even if you hold that these are not
strictly speaking be gerei toshav.

 Though we don't have gerei 
> toshav today, there's an opinion (again, AFAIK) that any ben 
> Noach is a ger toshav.

Well you don't need to go as far as this.  If you look at the discussion
that Rav Hertzog brings a couple of paragraphs before (on p11) he brings
the opinion of the Rambam that now that beis din does not accept gerei
toshav non Jews are not permitted to live in Eretz Yisroel, and he
brings the counter opinions of the Ra'avad and the Shulchan Aruch that
disagree and say that this only applies to somebody who is an oved
avodah zara and that if somebody is not an oved avodah zarah, they are
allowed to live in Eretz Yisroel.  And given the paragaph I discuss
above, he appears to hold that even if you do not hold that such people
have the status of gerei toshav, the issur of selling land to them in
Eretz Yisroel does not apply.

Note however that he himself appears to go further than this.  As he
then brings (again) what I think is Rav Kook (a position with which he
is clearly in agreement) that if a complete people is mekabel upon
themselves to accept the sheva mitzvos also bezman hazeh they have the
din of gerei toshav.  He therefore concludes (and appears to indicate
that Rav Kook concluded) that therefore at least the Muslims have the
din of gerei toshav today.

He then goes on to have a discussion about Christians, and the whole
question of shituf.  And while again bringing both sides and clearly
finding the whole discussion a bit more difficult than vis a vis the
Muslims, concludes that non Jews are not commanded in the issur of
shituf and ultimately that they too fall within the same category as
Muslims.

> Mikha'el Makovi


Regards

Chana

PS I think in general you would like T'chuka L'yisroel al pi Hatorah