Midras Yesaya 56:3: Bamidbar Rabbah, Shemot Rabbah, Midrash Tanchuma & Midrash Tanchuma Buber

Another matter, “do not cut off,” that is what is written: “But the Lord had not spoken to erase the name of Israel from beneath the heavens” (II Kings 14:27). The Holy One blessed be He does not seek that any one of them should die. See what is written: “The foreigner who accompanies the Lord shall not say: [The Lord will separate me from His people]” (Isaiah 56:3). If regarding a foreigner, I said not to disqualify him, all the more so Israel, who are My children. That is, “but the Lord had not spoken to erase…”
Likewise, the Givonites, who were unsought proselytes, and were not sincere proselytes, but rather they converted due to fear, and I accepted them. And because Saul sought to confront them and killed the priests who would provide their sustenance, I killed him. Moreover, I brought three years of famine on their account, as it is stated: “There was a famine in the days of David [for three years…the Lord said: For Saul, and for the bloody house, in that he put the Givonites to death]” (II Samuel 21:1). If the Givonites, who came to you, I did not disqualify, will I disqualify My children? That is, “But the Lord had not spoken to erase…” This is true all the more so regarding the Levites, who are servants before Me. That is, “Do not cut off.”
“Do not cut off,” that is what is written: “The Lord is good; He is a stronghold on the day of trouble” (Nahum 1:7). The attributes of the Holy One blessed be He are not like the attributes of flesh and blood. A flesh and blood king against whom the province rebelled, he initiates chaos and kills the good with the bad. The Holy One blessed be He is not so. When the generation angers Him, he spares the righteous and eradicates the wicked. The generation of Enosh sinned; He eradicated them, but spared Ḥanokh: “Ḥanokh walked [with God and he is not, as God took him]” (Genesis 5:24). Why? “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him” (Nahum 1:7). The generation of the Flood angered Him and He eradicated them, but He spared Noah: “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” The people of Sodom angered Him and He eradicated them, but He spared Lot, as it is stated: “It was when God destroyed the cities of the plain…[He sent Lot from the midst of the upheaval]” (Genesis 19:29). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” He brought darkness upon the Egyptians, “But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (Exodus 10:23). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” Israel departed from Egypt, came to the wilderness, and performed that act,⁴The making of the Golden Calf. except for the tribe of Levi, as it is stated: “Whoever is for the Lord, to me, and all the sons of Levi gathered to him” (Exodus 32:26). Immediately, Moses stood and killed the sinners by means of the tribe of Levi, as it is stated: “The sons of Levi acted in accordance with the word of Moses, [and some three thousand men fell from the people on that day]” (Exodus 32:28). And the Lord afflicted those who performed the act of the calf, but He did not afflict the tribe of Levi, as it is stated: “The Lord afflicted [the people, because they made the calf that Aaron had made]” (Exodus 32:35). That is, “[He is a stronghold] on the day of trouble and knows those who take refuge in Him.” The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘The tribe of Levi took shelter in Me and sanctified Me with the calf, by right, I should acknowledge them for good and rescue them from trouble.’ That is why He cautioned Moses and Aaron regarding the sons of Kehat, who were Levites, so they would not be eradicated on account of the Ark. That is what is written: “Do not cut off…”

Another interpretation: “This is the statute of the paschal offering [no foreigner shall eat of it]” – that is what is written: “The foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord shall not speak, saying: The Lord has separated me from His people” (Isaiah 56:3).⁶The verse quoted prohibits foreigners from partaking of the paschal offering. However, a later verse presents the possibility of that foreigner joining himself to Israel and then partaking of the offering: “When a stranger will reside with you, and will perform the paschal offering to the Lord, circumcise all his males, and then he may draw near and perform it; and he will be like a native of the land; and all uncircumcised shall not eat of it. There shall be one law for the native, and for the stranger who resides with you (Exodus 12:48–9). Job said: “The stranger shall not spend the night outside” (Job 31:32). The Holy One blessed be He does not reject any creature, but rather, He accepts everyone. The gates open at all times, and anyone who seeks to enter may enter. That is why it says: “The stranger shall not spend the night outside,” corresponding to: “The stranger who is within your gates” (Deuteronomy 31:12). “I opened My doors to the road” (Job 31:32), [is said] of the Holy One blessed be He, that He tolerates His creations.
Rabbi Berekhya said: Corresponding to whom did He say: “The stranger [hager] shall not spend the night outside” (Job 31:32)? Rather, converts [gerim]⁷The Biblical word for stranger, ger, also means convert in Rabbinic Hebrew. are destined to be priests serving in the Temple, as it is stated: “The stranger [hager] will join himself with them, and they will be appended to the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 14:1). Appended [venispeḥu] means nothing other than priesthood, as it is stated: “Append me [sefaḥeni], please, to one of the priestly watches” (I Samuel 2:36). They are destined to partake of the showbread, for their daughters will marry into the priesthood.
And so did Akilas the proselyte ask our Rabbis. He said to them: ‘That which is written: “He loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18) – are all the promises that He promised to the stranger that He would give him food and clothing?’ One [of the Rabbis] said to him: ‘That is what Jacob, whose name is Israel, requested from the Holy One blessed be He: “…and will give me food to eat, and clothing to wear” (Genesis 28:20). You, who have come among us, it is not enough for you that you are like us, but it should be sufficient for you to be like Jacob, the firstborn of the Holy One blessed be He.’ Ultimately, you should not suppose that Jacob requested food and clothing. Rather, Jacob said: The Holy One blessed be He promised me that He will be with me, and that He will establish the world from me. When will I know that He is with me and that he is protecting me? When He establishes from me sons who are priests partaking of the showbread and wearing priestly vestments, as it is stated: “And will give me food to eat,” that is the showbread; and clothing to wear, those are the priestly vestments, as it is stated: “You shall clothe Aaron in the holy vestments” (Exodus 40:13). Here, too, “He loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing” – in other words, He provides children to the stranger who will eat showbread and wear priestly vestments. That is, “the stranger shall not spend the night outside.”
The Holy One blessed be He said: After all the honor that I am destined to accord to the penitents, you are complaining? That is: “The foreigner, who has joined himself to the Lord, shall not speak…” (Isaiah 56:3). Alternatively, “the foreigner…shall not speak” – that is what is written: “Sing and rejoice daughter of Zion” (Zechariah 2:14), and it is written: “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord” (Zechariah 2:15). The Holy One blessed be He said: If I say so about converts, all the more so about Zion and Israel. “The foreigner…shall not speak.” The Holy One blessed be He said to the converts: You are concerned because I disqualified you and said regarding the paschal offering: “No foreigner shall eat of it?” Why don’t you ask the Givonites how I acted favorably to them? They are people who behaved deceitfully; acting out of fear [they] approached My children and took an oath to them. [Nevertheless,] what did I do to Saul and his household because he sought to kill them [the Givonites]?⁸See II Samuel 21:1 and Yevamot 78b. They [the Givonites] killed seven of his descendants, as it is stated: “The king took the two sons of Ritzpa…and the five sons of Mikhal” (II Samuel 21:8).⁹These descendants of Saul were handed over to the Givonites to be executed. The Holy One blessed be He said: If regarding the Givonites, who were Emorites, who acting out of fear behaved deceitfully with Israel, I accepted them, acted favorably to them, and I gave them satisfaction from My children; the converts who come in love, and serve for the sake of My name, won’t I accept them and exalt them?
Therefore, “the foreigner, who has joined himself to the Lord shall not say” (Isaiah 56:3) – these are the circumcised converts. The idolaters, however, have uncircumcised hearts, for thus the Holy One blessed be He disqualifies those with uncircumcised hearts and takes them down to Gehenna, as it is stated: “Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and take them down” (Ezekiel 32:18). Likewise, Isaiah says: “Therefore, the grave expanded itself, and opened its mouth without measure [ḥok]” (Isaiah 5:14) – for an idolater who scorns the statute [ḥok] of circumcision, as it is stated: “He established it for Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant” (Psalms 105:10). Israel, who are circumcised, do not go down to Gehenna.
Rabbi Berekhya said: In order that the heretics and the wicked of Israel will not say: ‘Since we are circumcised, we will not descend to Gehenna,’ what does the Holy One blessed be He do? He sends an angel who extends their foreskin [rendering them uncircumcised] and they descend to Gehenna, as it is stated: “He extended his hands…profaned his covenant.” (Psalms 55:21). When Gehenna sees that the foreskin is connected to them, it opens its mouth and consumes them in fire; that is: “And opened its mouth without measure [ḥok].”

(Numb. 4:18) “Do not cut off.” See how well the text has said (in II Kings 14:27), “And the Lord did not resolve to blot out the name of Israel from under the heavens.” The Holy One, blessed be He, does not wish that anyone from Israel would die.¹²⁹Numb. R. 5:3. See what is written (in Is. 56:3), “And let not the foreigner who has attached himself to the Lord speak, saying, ‘The Lord will surely separate me from His people.’” Now if in the case of a foreigner I have promised not to reject him, how much the more so with My [own] children. Ergo (in II Kings 14:27), “the Lord did not resolve to blot out the name of Israel.” [And so it was with] the Gibeonites, who were not true proselytes, but were cursed proselytes in that they were proselytized out of fear. [Still] I accepted them. And when Saul wanted to harm them and killed some of them, I killed him.¹³⁰Lev. R. 22:5; Numb. R. 8:4; yQid. 4:1 (65c). And not only that, but I sent three years famine because of them, as stated (in II Sam. 21:1), “And there was a famine in the days of David for three years, one year after the other.” Now surely if I did not reject the Gibeonites who came to be with you, shall I reject My children? Ergo (in II Kings 14:27), “And the Lord did not resolve to blot out [the name of Israel from under the heavens].” And how much the more so in the case of the Levites, who minister before Me? Ergo (in Numb. 4:18), “Do not cut off [the tribe of the Kohathite families from the Levites].”