Noahidism

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The rainbow is the unofficial symbol of Noahidism, recalling the Genesis flood narrative in which a rainbow appears to Noah after the Flood; it represents God's promise to Noah to refrain from flooding the Earth and destroying all life again.[1]
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Noahidism (

non-Jews,[9] based upon the Seven Laws of Noah[10] and their traditional interpretations within Orthodox Judaism.[11]

According to the

The Temple Institute.[2][3][7]

Historically, the Hebrew term Bnei Noach has been applied to all non-Jews as descendants of Noah.[3][12][13] However, nowadays it is primarily used to refer specifically to those "Righteous Gentiles" who observe the Seven Laws of Noah.[3][4][5] Noahide communities have spread and developed primarily in the United States, United Kingdom, Latin America, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Russia.[5] According to a Noahide source in 2018, there are over 20,000 official Noahides around the world and the country with the greatest number is the Philippines.[3][5][7]

The Noahic Covenant

Main article: Seven Laws of Noah
Further information: Covenant (biblical) § Noahic covenant

The theological basis for the

Babylonian Talmud (Avodah Zarah 8:4, Sanhedrin 56a-b) are:[24]

  1. Do not worship idols.[25]
  2. Do not curse God.[26]
  3. Do not murder.[27]
  4. Do not commit adultery or sexual immorality.[28]
  5. Do not steal.[29]
  6. Do not eat flesh torn from a living animal.[30]
  7. Establish
    courts of justice.[32]

According to the American

Jewish people as well, and remained effective for them until the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai:[13]

With the giving of the

non-Jews to follow the Noahide Laws. Righteous Gentiles were obliged to follow the Seven Commandments and, by association, the Sinaitic Commandments because the Noahide Laws were now considered subsumed into the Sinai Laws. This did not alter the distinction between the two sets of people who followed the respective laws. [...] The relationship between the Noahites and the Jews would always be similar to the relationship between a priest and a faithful layman. The obligation to follow the Noahide Laws was incumbent upon the Jews from Adam to the Revelation at Sinai. Virtually all Jewish thinkers who dealt with this issue kept this in mind.[13]

Historical precedents

Main articles: Ger toshav and God-fearer
Further information: Hellenistic Judaism and History of the Jews in the Roman Empire

The concept of "Righteous Gentiles" (gerim toshavim) has a few precedents in the

Biblical Hebrew: גר תושב, ger: "foreigner" or "alien" + toshav: "resident", lit. 'resident alien')[37] was granted to those Gentiles (non-Jews) living in the Land of Israel who did not want to convert to Judaism but agreed to observe the Seven Laws of Noah.[38] The Sebomenoi or God-fearers of the Roman Empire were another ancient example of non-Jews being included within the Jewish community without converting to Judaism.[2][39]

During the

Moses Maimonides (1135–1204) wrote in the halakhic legal code Mishneh Torah that Gentiles (non-Jews) must perform exclusively the Seven Laws of Noah and refrain from studying the Torah or performing any Jewish commandment, including resting on the Shabbat;[40] however, Maimonides also states that if Gentiles want to perform any Jewish commandment besides the Seven Laws of Noah according to the correct halakhic procedure, they are not prevented from doing so.[41] According to Maimonides, teaching non-Jews to follow the Seven Laws of Noah is incumbent on all Jews, a commandment in and of itself.[4] Nevertheless, the majority of rabbinic authorities over the centuries have rejected Maimonides' opinion, and the dominant halakhic consensus has always been that Jews are not required to spread the Noahide laws to non-Jews.[4]

During the 1860s in

Sephardic Orthodox rabbi and renowned Jewish Kabbalist.[43] Between the years 1920s–1930s, French writer Aimé Pallière [fr] adopted the Noahide laws at the suggestion of his teacher Elijah Benamozegh; afterwards, Pallière spread Benamozegh's doctrine in Europe and never formally converted to Judaism.[2][21] Modern historians argue that Benamozegh's role in the debate on Jewish universalism in the history of Jewish philosophy was focused on the Seven Laws of Noah as the means subservient to the shift of Jewish ethics from particularism to universalism, although the arguments that he used to support his universalistic viewpoint were neither original nor unheard in the history of this debate.[42] According to Clémence Boulouque, Carl and Bernice Witten Associate Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York, Benamozegh ignored the ethnocentric biases contained in the Noahide laws, whereas some contemporary right-wing Jewish political movements have embraced them.[42]

Modern Noahide movement

Main article: Religious Zionism
Further information:
Jewish supremacism

non-Jews to proselytize among them and commit them to follow the Noahide laws.[2][3][7] According to Rachel Z. Feldman,[3] American anthropologist and Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Dartmouth College, many of the Orthodox Jewish rabbis involved in mentoring Noahides are supporters of the Third Temple movement who believe that the messianic era shall begin with the establishment of a Jewish theocratic state in Israel, supported by communities of Noahides worldwide:[3]

Today, nearly 2,000

affirms the superiority of Judaism and Jewish biblical right to the Land of Israel, in line with the aims of the growing messianic Third Temple Movement in Jerusalem.[3]

Feldman describes Noahidism as a "

Jewish theology and ethics at the University of Toronto, has denounced the modern Noahide movement by stating that "If Jews are telling Gentiles what to do, it's a form of imperialism".[4]

High Council of Bnei Noah

Main article: 2004 attempt to revive the Sanhedrin

In 2005 a "High Council of Bnei Noah", set up to represent Noahide communities around the world, was endorsed by a group that claimed to be the new Sanhedrin.[47] The High Council of Bnei Noah consists of a group of Noahides who, at the request of the nascent Sanhedrin, gathered in Jerusalem on 10 January 2006 to be recognized as an international Noahide organization for the purpose of serving as a bridge between the nascent Sanhedrin and Noahides worldwide.[48] There were ten initial members who flew to Israel and pledged to uphold the Seven Laws of Noah and to conduct themselves under the authority of the Noahide beth din (religious court) of the nascent Sanhedrin.[48]

Acknowledgment

The Temple Institute, which advocates to rebuild the Third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, started to promote the Noahide laws as well.[2][7]

The

Chabad-Lubavitch movement has been one of the most active in Noahide outreach, believing that there is spiritual and societal value for non-Jews in at least simply acknowledging the Noahide laws.[2][3][4][5] In 1982, Chabad-Lubavitch had a reference to the Noahide laws enshrined in a U.S. Presidential proclamation: the "Proclamation 4921",[49] signed by the then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan.[49] The United States Congress, recalling House Joint Resolution 447 and in celebration of Menachem Mendel Schneerson's 80th birthday, proclaimed 4 April 1982, as a "National Day of Reflection".[49]

In 1989 and 1990, they had another reference to the Noahide laws enshrined in a U.S. Presidential proclamation: the "Proclamation 5956",[50] signed by then-President George H. W. Bush.[50] The United States Congress, recalling House Joint Resolution 173 and in celebration of Menachem Mendel Schneerson's 87th birthday, proclaimed 16 April 1989, and 6 April 1990, as "Education Day, U.S.A."[50]

In January 2004, the spiritual leader of the

Shefa-'Amr (Shfaram) also signed the document.[51]

In March 2016, the

Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yitzhak Yosef, declared during a sermon that Jewish law requires that the only non-Jews allowed to live in Israel are obligated to follow the Noahide laws:[52][53]

According to Jewish law, it's forbidden for a non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel – unless he has accepted the seven Noahide laws, [...] If the non-Jew is unwilling to accept these laws, then we can send him to Saudi Arabia, [...] When there will be full, true redemption, we will do this.[52]

Yosef further added:

[N]on-Jews shouldn't live in the land of Israel. [...] If our hand were firm, if we had the power to rule, then non-Jews must not live in Israel. But, our hand is not firm. [...] Who, otherwise be the servants? Who will be our helpers? This is why we leave them in Israel.[54]

Yosef's sermon sparked outrage in Israel and was fiercely criticized by several human rights associations,

members of the Knesset;[52] Jonathan Greenblatt, Anti-Defamation League's CEO and national director, and Carole Nuriel, Anti-Defamation League's Israel Office acting director, issued a strong denunciation of Yosef's sermon:[52][54]

The statement by Chief Rabbi Yosef is shocking and unacceptable. It is unconscionable that the Chief Rabbi, an official representative of the State of Israel, would express such intolerant and ignorant views about Israel's non-Jewish population – including the millions of non-Jewish citizens.

As a spiritual leader, Rabbi Yosef should be using his influence to preach tolerance and compassion towards others, regardless of their faith, and not seek to exclude and demean a large segment of Israelis.

We call upon the Chief Rabbi to retract his statements and apologize for any offense caused by his comments.[54]

See also

References

  1. covenant with Abraham and his descendants. The covenant with Noah is expanded to the entire primeval period, encompassing all the revealed commandments preceding Sinai
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Feldman, Rachel Z. (8 October 2017). "The Bnei Noah (Children of Noah)". World Religions and Spirituality Project. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  3. ^
    Project MUSE
    .
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kress, Michael (2018). "The Modern Noahide Movement". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Strauss, Ilana E. (26 January 2016). "The Gentiles Who Act Like Jews: Who are these non-Jews practicing Orthodox Judaism?". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  6. ^
    The Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh
    . Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Ilany, Ofri (12 September 2018). "The Messianic Zionist Religion Whose Believers Worship Judaism (But Can't Practice It)". Haaretz. Tel Aviv. Archived from the original on 9 February 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  8. ^
    JWeekly. San Francisco
    . Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. ^ [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
  10. ^ [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
  11. ^ [2][3][4][5][6][7]
  12. ^
    Kopelman Foundation. Archived
    from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  13. ^
    S2CID 246335626. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  14. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8122-0586-2
    .
  15. ^ Moses Maimonides (2012). "Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars)". Mishneh Torah. Translated by Brauner, Reuven. Sefaria. p. 8:14. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  16. ^ Encyclopedia Talmudit (Hebrew ed., Israel, 5741/1981, entry Ben Noah, end of article); note the variant reading of Maimonides and the references in the footnote.
  17. ^ [3][4][12][13][14][15][16]
  18. ^ [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][13]
  19. ^ Genesis 2:16
  20. ^ See Genesis Rabbah 34; Sanhedrin 59b
  21. ^
    ISBN 978-002-865-928-2. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023 – via Encyclopedia.com
    .
  22. ^
    LCCN 2016028972
    .
  23. ^
    world to come
    ."
  24. ^ [12][14][22][23]
  25. ^ [12][14][22][23]
  26. ^ [12][14][22][23]
  27. ^ [12][14][22][23]
  28. ^ [12][14][22][23]
  29. ^ [12][14][22][23]
  30. ^ [12][14][22][23]
  31. ^ "Sanhedrin 56". Babylonian Talmud. Halakhah.
  32. ^ [12][14][22][23][31]
  33. ^
    ISBN 0-8028-3783-2. In rabbinic literature the ger toshab was a Gentile who observed the Noachian commandments but was not considered a convert to Judaism because he did not agree to circumcision. [...] some scholars have made the mistake of calling the ger toshab a "proselyte" or "semiproselyte." But the ger toshab was really a resident alien in Israel. Some scholars have claimed that the term "those who fear God
    " (yir᾿ei Elohim/Shamayim) was used in rabbinic literature to denote Gentiles who were on the fringe of the synagogue. They were not converts to Judaism, although they were attracted to the Jewish religion and observed part of the law.
  34. ^
    ISBN 0-88125-474-6. Rashi, Yevamot 48b, maintains that a resident alien (ger toshav) is obliged to observe Shabbat. The ger toshav, in accepting the Seven Commandments of the Sons of Noah, has renounced idolatry and [...] thereby acquires a status similar to that of Abraham. [...] Indeed, Rabbenu Nissim, Avodah Zarah 67b, declares that the status on an unimmersed convert is inferior to that of a ger toshav because the former's acceptance of the "yoke of the commandments" is intended to be binding only upon subsequent immersion. Moreover, the institution of ger toshav as a formal halakhic construct has lapsed with the destruction of the Temple
    .
  35. ^
    world to come
    (Tosef., Sanh. xiii. 1; Sanh. 105a; comp. ib. 91b; "Yad," l.c. viii. 11).
  36. ^
    Canaanites; see Maimonides
    ' explanation in "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 7; see Grätz, l.c. p. 15), in connection with "ger" (see Ex. xxv. 47, where the better reading would be "we-toshab"). Another name for one of this class was "proselyte of the gate" ("ger ha-sha'ar," that is, one under Jewish civil jurisdiction; comp. Deut. v. 14, xiv. 21, referring to the stranger who had legal claims upon the generosity and protection of his Jewish neighbors). In order to be recognized as one of these the neophyte had publicly to assume, before three "ḥaberim," or men of authority, the solemn obligation not to worship idols, an obligation which involved the recognition of the seven Noachian injunctions as binding ('Ab. Zarah 64b; "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 7). [...] The more rigorous seem to have been inclined to insist upon such converts observing the entire Law, with the exception of the reservations and modifications explicitly made in their behalf. The more lenient were ready to accord them full equality with Jews as soon as they had solemnly forsworn idolatry. The "via media" was taken by those that regarded public adherence to the seven Noachian precepts as the indispensable prerequisite (Gerim iii.; 'Ab. Zarah 64b; Yer. Yeb. 8d; Grätz, l.c. pp. 19–20). The outward sign of this adherence to Judaism was the observance of the Sabbath (Grätz, l.c. pp. 20 et seq.; but comp. Ker. 8b).
  37. ^ [33][34][35][36]
  38. ^ [33][34][35][36]
  39. S2CID 161369763
    .
  40. ^ Moses Maimonides (2012). "Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars)". Mishneh Torah. Translated by Brauner, Reuven. Sefaria. p. 10:9. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  41. ^ Moses Maimonides (2012). "Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars)". Mishneh Torah. Translated by Brauner, Reuven. Sefaria. p. 10:10. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  42. ^
    S2CID 241853880
    .
  43. S2CID 170858477
    .
  44. ISBN 978-0-8266-5722-0
    .
  45. ISBN 978-0-8266-5749-7
    .
  46. ISBN 978-0-8266-5781-7
    .
  47. ^ HaLevi, Ezra (28 September 2005). "Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides". Arutz Sheva. Beit El. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  48. ^ a b HaLevi, Ezra (10 January 2006). "A group of non-Jewish delegates have come to Jerusalem to pledge their loyalty to the Laws of Noah". Arutz Sheva. Beit El. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  49. ^ a b c Woolley, John; Peters, Gerhard (3 April 1982). "Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States: 1981–1989 – Proclamation 4921—National Day of Reflection". The American Presidency Project. University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  50. ^ a b c Woolley, John; Peters, Gerhard (14 April 1989). "George Bush, 41st President of the United States: 1989–1993 – Proclamation 5956—Education Day, U.S.A., 1989 and 1990". The American Presidency Project. University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  51. ^ "Druze Religious Leader commits to Noachide "Seven Laws"". Arutz Sheva. Beit El. 18 January 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  52. ^ a b c d Sharon, Jeremy (28 March 2016). "Non-Jews in Israel must keep Noahide laws, chief rabbi says". The Jerusalem Post. Jerusalem. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  53. ^ "Israel 2016 International Religious Freedom Report: Israel and the Occupied Territories" (PDF). State.gov. US Department of State-Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  54. ^ a b c Greenblatt, Jonathan; Nuriel, Carole (28 March 2016). "ADL: Israeli Chief Rabbi Statement Against Non-Jews Living in Israel is Shocking and Unacceptable". Adl.org. New York City: Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

Further reading

External links
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