halacha - Am I liable to be stoned for my devotion to Hashem and the Jewish people?

I have spent over 2 years to this day praying for the Jewish people from the Koren Siddur and Machzorim. I have with my Rebbe's help tried to follow Jewish customs and laws, to my best ability. Furthermore, I and my wife give generously to Jewish orphanages in Israel. We have lost many friends over this. However, I am still a Goy.

A few days ago I came across Tractate Sanhedrin 59a which states that a gentile who studies Torah is liable for death. Am I now liable to be stoned for my devotion to Hashem and the Jewish people?

I don't like this to become an obstacle for me.

Answer

Rabbi Chaim Clorfene writes in his popular (and heavily annotated) book, The Path of the Righteous Gentile (p. 42), that B'nei Noach should learn parts of the Torah relevant to their service of God, as well as to the Torah's view on God. He adds that this can be broadly applied, as many areas of Torah "can bring one to greater knowledge concerning the performance of the Seven Noahide Commandments." He continues that "Talmudic or Halakhic study of subjects that pertain exclusively (emphasis added) to the Jew's service of God is forbidden."

The Meiri (Sanhedrin 59a), as paraphrased in this article, writes: "The seven laws of the Righteous Gentile, similar to the 613 laws for the Jew, have many different levels of understanding and many details of application. Most aspects of the Torah are therefore included in them." For example, the Rema rules that non-Jews should abide by halachah in areas of commerce (Shu"t 10). This would imply that a non-Jew should learn most of Choshen Mishpat, a massive undertaking.

The above link also cites Rabbi Eliyahu Touger as writing that, to help one "become aware of G-d's unity... a number of contemporary Sages have suggested the translation of certain basic Chassidic and Kabbalistic texts into English with the intent that they be studied by gentiles."

The linked article concludes with the statement of R' Meir (Bava Kamma 38a, referring to Torah topics that are permissible to learn): "A Gentile who studies Torah is like a High Priest."

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Also, from this article: "There is a dispute among poskim whether one may teach a non-Jew Torah if the non-Jew is planning to convert. The Meiri (Sanhedrin 58b) and Maharsha (Shabbos 31a s.v. amar lei mikra) rule that it is permitted, whereas Rabbi Akiva Eiger forbids it (Shu"t #41)." This, of course, only refers to the parts of Torah that would otherwise be forbidden to teach a non-Jew.