Noahide Laws: Encyclopedia - Noahide Laws

Noahide Laws

The Noahide Laws (Hebrew: שבע מצוות בני נח -- Seven Noahide Laws), also called the Brit Noah ("Covenant [of] Noah") are the mitzvot (commandments) and halakhot ("laws") that Judaism teaches that all non-Jews are morally bound to follow.

They are listed in the Talmud and elaborated on by post-Talmudic authorities. Opinions differ on the reach of these commandments and the laws derived from them, but all contemporary authorities agree that there are seven commandments. These commandments and laws are based on exegesis of Genesis 2:16 and 9:4-6.

Noahide Laws - Origin

According to the Biblical narrative, the Deluge covered the whole world killing everyone except Noah and his family and the creatures of the ark. After the flood, God seals a convenant with Noah with the following admonitions (Genesis 9):

• Food: "Also, flesh with the life -the blood- in it do not eat." (9:4)
• Murder: "I will also inquire about your blood, your life, from all animals, and from each human I will inquire about his brother's blood. Who sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed, because in the image of God was man made."

The Talmud (tractate Sanhedrin 56a/b, quoting Tosefta Sanhedrin 9:4) states that the instruction to not eat "flesh with the life" was given to Noah, and that Adam and Eve had already received six other commandments. The remaining six are derived from a seemingly superfluous sentence in Genesis 2:16.

Noahide Laws - The seven laws

The seven laws are:

1. Avodah zarah - Do not worship false gods/idols.
2. Shefichat damim - Do not murder.
3. Gezel - Do not steal.
4. Gilui arayot - Do not be sexually immoral (forbidden sexual acts are traditionally interpreted to include incest, sodomy, male homosexual sex acts and adultery.)
5. Birkat Hashem - Do not blaspheme.
6. Ever min ha-chai - Do not eat anything of the body of a living animal (given to Noah and traditionally interpreted as prohibition of cruelty towards animals)
7. Dinim - Set up righteous and honest courts and apply fair justice in judging offenders and uphold the principles of the last six.

The Talmud also states: "Righteous people of all nations have a share in the world to come" (Sanhedrin 105a). Any non-Jew who lives according to these laws is regarded as one of "the righteous among the gentiles". Maimonides states that this refers to those who have acquired knowledge of God and act in accordance with the Noahide laws.

Noahide Laws - Definition of Noahides

According to rabbinic Judaism, as expressed in the Talmud, the Noahide Laws apply to all humanity through their descent from one paternal ancestor who in Hebrew tradition is called Noah (the head of the only family to survive during The Flood). In Judaism, B'nai Noach (Hebrew, "Descendants of Noah", "Children of Noah") refers to all of mankind.

Judaism holds that gentiles (non-Jews) are not obligated to adhere to all the laws of the Torah (indeed, they are forbidden to fulfill some laws, such as keeping of Sabbath). Rabbinic Judaism and its modern-day descendents discourage proselytization. The Noahide Laws are regarded as the way through which non-Jews can have a meaningful relationship with God or at least comply with a minimum threshold of Divine law.

Maimonides states in his work Mishneh Torah (The laws of kings and their rulership 8:11) that a Ger Toshav who is precise in the observance of these Seven Noahide commandments is considered to be a Righteous Gentile and has earned the afterlife. This follows a similar statement in the Talmud (tractate Sanhedrin 105b). However, according to Maimonides, a share in the World to Come is only earned if a person follows the Noahide laws specifically because they consider them to be of divine origin (through the Torah) and not if they simply consider them a good way to live (in which case they would simply be wise, a Nochri). Other authorities do not make this distinction.

Noahide law differs from the Roman law for gentiles (ius gentium) because the latter was an enforceable judicial policy. Rabbinic Judaism has never adjudicated any cases under Noahide law (per Novak, 1983:28ff.), although scholars disagree about whether the Noahide law is a functional part of Halakha (cf. Bleich).

In recent years, Noahide has come to refer to non-Jews who strive to live in accord with the seven Noahide Laws; the term "observant Noahide" would be more precise but is infrequently used. The rainbow is the symbol of many organised Noahide groups, and the best-known group is probably the one led by Vendyl Jones. A non-Jewish person of any ethnicity or religion is refered to as a bat (daughter)/ben (son) of Noah but usually an organization calling itself B'nai Noach would most likely be composed of gentiles believing that they are keeping the Noahide Laws. There is some controversy concerning whether or not a gentile may declare him/herself to be a keeper of the Noahide Laws or whether such a qualification can only be bestowed upon a gentile by a Beth Din (rabbinical court). Those adamant that B'nei Noah can only refer to Noahides who believe they are keeping the Brit Noah take the stance that a Gentile can declare oneself to be a keeper of the Brit, while more Orthodox parties feel rather than deciding for themselves Gentiles must submit themselves to the qualification stipulated in revelation but this consequently leads to the necessity for Torah Scholars (usually 3) to test identify and confer such status upon them.^{[citation needed]}

Noahide Laws - Subdividing the seven laws

Various rabbinic sources have different positions on the way the seven laws are to be subdivided in categories. Maimonides (Melakhim 10:6) lists one additional Noahide commandment forbidding the coupling of different kinds of animals and the mixing of trees. Maimonides commentator Radbaz expressed surprise that he left out castration and sorcery which were listed in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 56b). The tenth century Rabbi Saadia Gaon added tithes and levirate marriage. The eleventh century Rav Nissim Gaon included "listening to God's Voice", "knowing God" and "serving God" besides going on to say that all religious acts which can be understood through human reasoning are obligatory upon Jew and Gentile alike. The fourteenth century Rabbi Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi added the commandment of charity. The sixteenth century work Asarah Maamarot by Rabbi Menahem Azariah of Fano (Rema mi-Fano) enumerates thirty commandments, listing the latter twenty-three as extensions of the original seven. Another commentator (Kol Hidushei Maharitz Chayess I, end Ch. 10) suggests these are not related to the first seven, nor based on Scripture, but were passed down by oral tradition. The number thirty derives from the statement of the Talmudic sage Ulla in tractate Hullin 92a, though he lists only three other rules in addition to the original seven, consisting of the prohibitions against homosexuality and cannibalism, as well as the imperative to honor the Torah. Talmud commentator Rashi remarks on this that he does not know the other Commandments referred to. Though the authorities seem to take it for granted that Ulla's thirty commandments included the original seven, an additional thirty laws is also possible from the reading.

The tenth century Shmuel ben Hophni Gaon lists thirty Noahide Commandments, based on Ulla's Talmudic statement, though the text is problematic. He includes the prohibitions against suicide and false oaths, as well as the imperatives related to prayer, sacrifices and honoring one's parents. The commandments, according to Shmuel ben Hophni Gaon, cover:

• Idolatry
  • No idolatry
  • To pray
  • To offer ritual sacrifices only to God
• Blasphemy
  • To believe in the singularity of God
  • No blasphemy
  • No witchcraft
  • No soothsayers
  • No conjurers
  • No sorcerers
  • No mediums
  • No demonology
  • No wizardry
  • No necromancy
  • To respect father & mother
• Murder
  • No murder
  • No suicide
  • No Molech worship (infant sacrifice)
• Property
  • No stealing
• Sexual Immorality
  • No adultery
  • Formal legal marriages
  • No incest with close relatives
  • No male to male anal sex
  • No bestiality
  • Not to crossbreed animals
  • No castration
• Food Laws
  • Not to eat a limb of a living creature
  • Not to eat or drink blood
  • Not to eat carrion (for those recognised by a Beth Din)
• Justice
  • To establish courts and a system of justice
  • No false oaths

The contemporary Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein counts 66 instructions but Rabbi Harvey Falk has suggested that much work remains to be done in order to properly identify all of the Noahide Commandments, their divisions and subdivisions.

Theft, robbery, and stealing covers the appropriate understanding of other persons, their property, and their rights. The establishment of courts of justice promotes the value of the responsibility of a corporate society of people to enforce these laws, and define these terms. The refusal to engage in unnecessary lust or cruelty demonstrates respect for the Creation itself, as renewed after the Flood. To not do murder would include human sacrifice as being forbidden.

Noahide Laws - Recent developments

Judaism does not usually support proselytization, but some Jewish groups have been active in promoting Noahidism among non-Jews, particularly the Chabad Lubavitch movement, and the self-styled Sanhedrin set up by Haredi rightists in Israel in 2004.

On March 20th, 1991, the 102nd Congress of the United States passed Public Law 102-14 to designate March 26, 1991, as "Education Day, U.S.A."; in the bill Congress recognized

the ... principles ... upon which our great Nation was founded ... known as the Seven Noahide Laws ... without these ... civilization stands in serious peril of ... chaos ... Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the Lubavitch movement, is universally respected and revered and his eighty-ninth birthday falls on March 26, 1991 ... in tribute to this great spiritual leader ... his ninetieth year will ... turn to education and charity to return the world to the moral and ethical values contained in the Seven Noahide Laws

In September 2005 the Israeli radio channel Arutz Sheva reported Rabbi Michael Bar-Ron's hope, on behalf of the Sanhedrin, to

transform the Noahide movement from a religious phenomenon - a curiosity many have not heard of - into a powerful international movement that can successfully compete with, and with G-d's help bring about the fall of, any religious movement but the pure authentic faith that was given to humanity through Noach, the father of us all.^[1].

In more general Jewish thinking, David Novak, among others, has proposed that Noahide Law could serve as the basis for a more universal Jewish ethics and for cross-cultural moral reasoning (at least with Christians and Muslims).

Noahide Laws - Other religions as Noahide

From the Jewish perspective, if a non-Jew keeps all of the laws entailed in the categories covered by the Seven Noahide commandments, then he or she is considered a Ger Toshav (sojourning alien) when with a congregation of Israel. In fact, this is considered the ideal level for all humanity by Jewish theology. A Ger Tzedek is a person who prefers to proceed to religious conversion, a procedure that is generally discouraged by all sects of Judaism, and allowed only after much thought and deliberation over the conversion has taken place.

The term Noahide is not the name of any specific religion but a term used to describe religions and cultures compliant with the Noahide Laws outside of Israel.

Noahide Laws - Islam

Islam has a different tradition on Noah and his descendants; the Qur'an mentions additional narrative on Noah. As stated before, the Jewish authority Maimonides has maintained that Islam is a Noahide religion, although the Medieval sage Nissim of Gerona disagrees.

Noahide Laws - Christianity

Within Judaism it is a matter of debate whether or not all Christians should be considered Noahides. The strict view is that Christian theology is considered avodah zarah (loosely translated as "idolatry") for all people, both Jew and gentile, as it subscribes to the Trinity. Therefore most Christians could not be considered Noahides. However, Unitarian Christians and other followers of Jesus who do not believe that Jesus is God would still be considered Noahides.

The liberal orthodox view is that Christian theology is only considered avodah zarah for Jews, but it is permissible for gentiles. The Tosafist (early Talmud commentators) Rabbi Jacob Tam (Rashi's grandson), in Bekhorot 2b and Sanhedrin 63b, ruled that trinitarianism could be permitted to gentiles as a form of shittuf ("association"). This view was echoed by Rabbi Isaac ben Sheshet (Rivash, responsa 119) and accepted by Rabbi Moses Isserles (Rema, Orah Hayyim 156:1.). However, no Jewish source allows the worship through any form of shittuf; rather, all worship must be directed to the one and only Creator.

The view of Maimonides is difficult to ascertain due to text alterations in different editions of his Mishneh Torah (code of Jewish law), Ma'akhalot Asurot 11:7. In any case, in this view Christian theology is not forbidden to gentiles, and all Christians are Noahides. Today most of Reform and Conservative Judaism view all Christians as Noahides.

Noahide Laws - Christian criticism

Christian critics of the Noahide laws contend that insisting upon a basic set of moral laws is contrary to religious pluralism[2]. Some believe that their existence implies that Jews may set up a legal system that would effectively outlaw Christianity. The Jewish community responds by noting that it makes laws and customs for its own members (like all faiths) and does not set up governments to force Jewish beliefs on non-Jews; in contrast, some non-Jewish faiths have carried out such actions in practice. In addition, with their minimal threshold of morality, the Noahide law may be compared to Catholic social teachings.

While many Christians would consider the Ten Commandments to be binding on them (except, for some traditions, the Sabbath commandment and sects that are antinomistic or New Covenant only) and would see some of the Noahide laws as essentially a subset of these (though the requirement to set up courts, and the dietary regulation, are not explicit in the commandments), many Jewish thinkers consider Noahide Laws as "general categories of commandments, each containing many components and details", the execution of which is left to Jewish rabbis. This, in addition to the teaching of the Jewish law that punishment for violating one of the seven Noahide Laws includes a theoretical death penalty (Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin 57a), is a factor in the opposition of the notion of a Noahide legal system. The Jewish community responds by noting that Jews today no longer carry out the death penalty, even within the Jewish community. Jewish law, in contemporary practice, sees the death penalty as an indicator of the seriousness of an offense; violators are not actually put to death.

Noahide Laws - Christian adherence

Some Christian writers[3], particularly those affiliated with Primitive Apostolic Christianity see the verses in Acts 15:19-21 as a directive from the first Council of Jerusalem to observe the basic understanding of the Noahide Laws in order to be considered righteous Gentiles, and not be required to live completely as Jews. According to Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem determined that circumcision was not required of new converts, only avoidance of "pollution of idols, fornication, things strangled, and blood" (KJV, Acts 15:20). The basis for these prohibitions as found in Acts 15:21 states only: "For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day".

Several Christian congregations have abandoned traditional Christianity (rejecting the Nicene Creed) and adopted Noahidism in recent years. In the United States a few organized movements of non-Jews (primarily of Christian origin) have been influenced by Orthodox Judaism; rather than converting to Judaism, they have chosen to abandon previous religious affiliation and live by the Noahide Laws.

Noahide Laws - Notes

• ^  Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides Arutz Sheva 29/9/2005 (English)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Noahide Laws", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki