Wednesday, October 21, 2020

The mandatory nature of the Noahide Laws

We have shown that there is no need for a Sanhedrin in order for the Noahide Laws to be implemented (here). In this section, from the quotes below, you can see that Jews are indeed obligated to enforce the Noahide Laws. Rabbi Schneerson said non-Jews should be compelled to follow the Noahide Laws by "force" if possible, if not through "pleasantness and peace". He also said non-Jews adhering to the Noahide laws would "constitute a 'complete victory' over these nations" If a non-Jew sees another non-Jew breaking a Noahide Law and does not put him to death (presumably by a Noahide court), s/he is to be put to death. Jewish courts are said to be obligated to try non-Jews. Jews say there are good reason to implement the Noahide death penalty now. Other Jews have made it clear that Judaism is not just a national religion but "universal" in the application of the Noahide Laws. Jews are also obligated to "persuade" non-Jews to keep the Noahide Laws. In the quotes below you will see a lot of the use of words like "coerce", "demand", "obligate" and other synonyms for mandatory. Some Noahide apologists will tell you that these demands do not apply in the modern age when there is no Sanhedrin, though we have already shown this is not true (here) and the current unofficial Sanhedrin is seeking international recognition (here). Another piece of misinformation is that these demands only apply within the land of Israel, but we can see from the quotes below it is repeatedly stated these demands apply to all of humanity.

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Rabbi Schneerson say Jews are obligated to make sure the Noahide Laws are kept even by "force", if not through pleasantness and peace

It is obvious that this obligation [found in Maimonides, Malachim 8:10] is not limited only to a Jewish court, since this commandment is unrelated to the presence of a ger toshav (resident alien), and thus what is the need of a beit din. . . . Thus, this obligation is in place in all eras, even the present, when no gera toshav can be accepted and it is obligatory on all individuals who can work towards this goal. So too, this commandment is not limited to using force -- where, in a situation we cannot use force, we could be excused from our obligation -- since the essence of the obligation is to do all that is in our power to ensure that the seven Noachide commandments are kept; if such can be done through force, or through other means of pleasantness and peace, which means to explain [to Noachides] that they should accept the wishes of God who commanded them in this rules. This is obviously what is intended by Maimonides.

SOURCE: Rabbi Michael J. Broyde. "The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review". Jewish Law. Retreived 10/20/20 from: https://www.jlaw.com/Articles/noach2.html

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Rabbi Schneerson again repeated that the Noahide Laws should be implemented by "force", and if not through "kindness" 

We must do everything possible to ensure that the seven Noahide laws are observed. If this can be accomplished through force or through other kinder and more peaceful means through explaining to non-Jews that they should accept God’s wishes [we should do so]…Anyone who is able to influence a non-Jew in any way to keep the seven commandments is obligated to do so, since that is what God commanded Moses our teacher (“Sheva Mitzvot Shel Benai Noach,” Hapardes 59:9 7-11, 5745) 

SOURCE: - My Jewish Learning, "The Noahide Laws", Retrieved 10/12/19 from https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-noahide-laws/

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Rabbi Schneerson says Jews have obligation to "compel" non-Jews to follow the Noahide Laws

Rabbi Schneerson’s view is unique in that he not only assumes that Maimonides is correct in ruling that there is a general obligation to compel gentiles to observe Noachide law, but he also assumes that the obligation to compel observance includes within it the obligation to persuade. Rabbi Schneerson thus extends to the obligation to cover a much greater area than any other rabbinical authority, both in terms of the responsibility to do so and in the means by which to do so,

SOURCE: Tzvi Freeman and Yaakov Ort. "Is Social Activism Destroying American Judaism?". Chabad.org. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3711443/jewish/Is-Social-Activism-Destroying-American-Judaism.htm

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A non-Jew who witnesses someone breaking a Noahide Law and does not put him to death is to be killed

[A Noahide] who witnesses a transgression of these [laws] and fails to try the perpetrator and execute him, should be put to the sword. This is why the citizens of Shekhem were condemned to death: [Prince] Shekhem committed robbery [kidnapping]; they witnessed it, knew it, and failed to try him

SOURCE: Moshe Sokolow. "The Obligation to Intervene According to Halakhah [Jewish Law] and Tradition". Prism, spring 2010, volume 1, issue 2, ISSN 1949 - 2707. Yeshiva University. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: http://www.yu.edu/sites/default/files/legacy//uploadedFiles/Academics/Graduate/Azrieli_Graduate_School/Research_and_Publications/Prism_Magazine/Prism_journal_spring10.pdf

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Jewish courts "obliged" try Noahides (non-Jews)

Nahmanides understands Maimonides to mean that Jewish courts are obliged to try descendants of Noah. 

SOURCE: Prof Nahum Rakover. "LAW and the NOAHIDES: LAW AS A UNIVERSAL VALUE". Chapter 7: JURISDICTION OVER NON-JEWS. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from:
http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/vl/noahides/noahides01.pdf

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Jewish writer says there are good reason to apply the death penalty for breaking the Noahide Laws

Like It or Not,
the Seven Noachide Laws Are Still Pending

There are many good, solid reasons to support applying the death penalty to a variety of crimes.

SOURCE: Menachem Ben-Mordechai (2013). "Like It or Not, the Seven Noachide Laws Are Still Pending". The Jewish Press. 13 October 2013. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://www.jewishpress.com/blogs/a-banner-raised-high/like-it-or-not-the-seven-noachide-laws-are-still-pending/2013/10/13/

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Jews obligated to "coerce" non-Jews to follow the Noahide Laws

Maimonides does definitively rule that Jews are obligated to teach – and even coerce – Gentiles into accepting the Seven Noahide laws of morality: not murdering, not stealing, not committing sexual immorality, not eating the limb of a living animal, not worshipping idols, not blaspheming God, and establishing courts to enforce the first six laws (Laws of Kings 8,10)

SOURCE: RABBI SHLOMO RISKIN (2012). "IS CHRISTIAN-JEWISH THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE PERMITTED? A POSTSCRIPT TO RAV JOSEPH B. SOLOVEITCHIK’S ARTICLE, 'CONFRONTATION'". The Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://www.cjcuc.org/2012/08/30/is-christian-jewish-theological-dialogue-permitted-a-postscript-to-rav-joseph-b-solovetichiks-article-confrontation/

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Noahide Law is a "demand" and "duty", no one is above the law

So here are seven fundamental demands for all of us, no matter who we are. It is our duty as human beings to observe these laws. No one is above the law, especially when it comes to these seven fundamental laws.

SOURCE: Tzemach Yehudah Richter (2020). "Seven Laws Of Noah, Many Of Which, Don’t Apply To Omar". Times of Israel. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/seven-laws-of-noah-many-of-which-dont-apply-to-omar/

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Setting up Noahide Courts in "incumbent" on humanity

She points us, the readers, to the passage in the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b, where we are taught that establishing Courts of Justice is one of the seven Noahide laws incumbent upon all humankind.

SOURCE: Neal Borovitz (2017). "What is our responsibility for choosing leaders?". Times of Israel. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-is-our-responsibility-for-choosing-leaders/

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Chabad says all of humanity "must keep" the Noahide Laws

The 7 Noahide Laws are rules that all of us must keep, regardless of who we are or from where we come. Without these seven things, it would be impossible for humanity to live together in harmony.

SOURCE: "The 7 Noahide Laws: Universal Morality". Chabad.org. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/62221/jewish/The-7-Noahide-Laws-Universal-Morality.htm

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Chabad says non-Jews are "required" to follow Noahide Laws

A few years ago I was taking a train home. A Chabad student comes by, hands me a b’nei noach card that explains the seven Noachide mitzvot required of non-Jews.

SOURCE: LARRY YUDELSON (2019). "New shul, New City". The Jewish Standard. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/new-shul-new-city/

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God "legislated" the Noahide Laws for non-Jews

Is that good? Hardly. The dropouts from Christianity did not convert to Judaism or become pious followers of the Seven Noachide Laws that G-d legislated for the non-Jewish world. 

SOURCE: Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein (2019). "Should Jews Be Happy About The Notre-Dame Fire?". The Jewish Press. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/should-jews-be-happy-about-the-notre-dame-fire/2019/04/28/

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Noahide courts are a "requirement"

One of the seven Noachide laws requires every person to live within a system of courts and judges.

SOURCE: Rabbi Binny Freedman (2017). "Is it possible for us to be truly impartial?". The Jewish Star. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://www.thejewishstar.com/stories/is-it-possible-for-us-to-be-truly-impartial,14346

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Moses was commanded to "compel" the whole world to follow the Noahides Laws

The Rambam rules that “Moses was commanded by the Almighty to compel/inspire all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments given to Noah’s descendants” (Laws of Kings, ch. 8). The essential theme of the Seven Noahide Laws is living a moral and ethical life and building a world based on respect of G-d, life, property, relationships, and justice.

SOURCE: Jewish Press Staff (2020). "Is It Proper…? What should one do if one hears about persecution of a people in a foreign land?". The Jewish Press. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://www.jewishpress.com/judaism/halacha-hashkafa/is-it-proper-what-should-one-do-if-one-hears-about-persecution-of-a-people-in-a-foreign-land/2020/08/05/

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Jews are "responsible even to coerce" the world to follow the Noahide Laws

Probably during the Roman period of Hadrianic persecutions (circa 136-140 CE ), we dropped the ball and ceased to attempt to fulfill this aspect of our mission (despite Maimonides' Laws of Kings, where he rules that just as we bear responsibility to teach our fellow Jews 613 commandments, we are likewise responsible even to coerce, if necessary, the Gentiles of the world to accept the 7 Noahide laws of morality). Thankfully, this function was provided by the Christians, who brought to all the Gentiles of the globe the seven Noahide laws of morality, the Ten Commandments and the belief in a God of love, compassion and peace. 

SOURCE: SHLOMO RISKIN (2007). "In praise of Christian-Jewish interfaith dialogue". The Jewish Post. 24 July 2007. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/op-ed-contributors/in-praise-of-christian-jewish-interfaith-dialogue

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Rabbi Schneerson said non-Jewish observance of the Noahide Laws would "constitute a 'complete victory' over these nations"

[Rabbi Schneerson] believed that non-Jews’ observance of the Noahide Laws would affirm their recognition of God’s kingship, just as it would attest to the divine mission of God’s messenger, the messiah. Such a feat would thus constitute a “complete victory” over these nations, hastening, if not actually bringing about, the redemption

SOURCE: Tomer Persico (2009). "Chabad’s Lost Messiah". Azure. No. 38. Autumn 5770 / 2009. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: http://azure.org.il/include/print.php?id=519

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Judaism is not only a national religion but univeral in the Noahide Laws

"The Lubavitcher Rebbe of Chabad Chassidism made this claim that Judaism is not only a national religion but also universal when he instituted the spreading to the world of the seven commandments of the children of Noah. He spread these teaching to the White House and in many nations in the world where there are Chabad representative." 

SOURCE: David Wexelman (2020). "Passover Night, Corona and the Universal faith". Communal News. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://communalnews.com/passover-night-corona-and-the-universal-faith/

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Jews are God's representative to influence non-Jews to follow the Noahide Laws

And you will be for Me a kingdom of kohanim” – meaning (as our Sages explain), a nation of Hashem’s representatives. By observing His mitzvos, we bring Divine holiness into the world, eventually influencing even non-Jews to rise higher through the observance of the seven Noachide commandments (see Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Melachim 8:10).

SOURCE: Rabbi Shmuel Butman (2019). "Shluchim – A Model For All Jews". The Jewish Press. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: https://www.jewishpress.com/judaism/parsha/shluchim-a-model-for-all-jews/2019/11/21/

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Jews are "obligated" to promote the Noahide Laws among non-Jews

Chapter One:
Classic Teachings on the Obligation for Jews
 to Promote Belief in G-d and the Noahide Code


Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos, Positive Mitzvah 3
... “And you shall love the L-rd your G-d”[1] ... They [our Sages] said that this Commandment also includes calling upon all people to serve G-d (exalted be He) and have faith in Him. For just as when you love someone, you will praise and extol him, and call upon others to love him, so by analogy, when you truly love G-d through grasping His truth, you will undoubtedly call [others] ... to the true knowledge which you have already grasped. As the Sifré says:[2] “‘And you shall love the L-rd’ – you should make Him beloved of mankind as Avraham your father did, as it says,[3] ‘And the souls that they made in Charan.’ ” That is to say, just as Avraham, for the sake of his love of the L-rd – as Scripture testifies, “Avraham who loved Me”[4] – summoned mankind to believe, by the power of his conception of G-d and the greatness of his love for Him, so too, you must love Him to the extent that you will call mankind to Him.


Rambam, Hilchos Melachim 8:10-11[5]
Moshe was commanded by the Almighty to compel all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments given to Noah’s descendants. ... Anyone who accepts upon himself the fulfillment of these seven commandments and is precise in their observance is considered one of “the pious among the Gentiles,” and will merit a share in the World to Come. This applies only when he accepts them and fulfills them because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and informed us through Moshe, our teacher, that Noah’s descendants had been commanded to fulfill them previously.


Tosefos Yom Tov on Pirkei Avos 3:14
[Rabbi Akiva used to say,] “Beloved is man, for he was created in the image [of G-d]. It is an even greater love [that it was made known to him that he was created in the image], as it is written: For in the image of G-d He made man”: Rabbi Akiva intended to straighten the ways of all Gentiles, as we [the Jewish people] were commanded by Moshe our teacher, according to the words of Rambam [loc. cit.]. And if we are commanded to compel them ... how much more so should this be done through verbal persuasion, to draw their hearts to [follow] the will of their Creator and the desire of their Rock.


Radak on Yeshayahu 42:6
“I [G-d] will set you [the Jews] for a covenant to the people, for a light to the nations”: For on account of the Jewish people, the Gentiles will observe the Seven Commandments and go on the good path.


Sforno on Shmos 19:6
“You will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”: Through this they will be My beloved people [in Hebrew, am segulah] and [recognized as] a kingdom of priests, by under-taking to teach all of mankind to call upon the Name of G-d and to serve Him with one purpose, as it is said,[6] “And you, priests of G-d, shall call out,” and as it is said,[7] “From Zion the Torah will go forth” [to the whole world].

Chasam Sofer on Choshen Mishpat #85
We are commanded to guide Gentiles [in the service of G-d].

Sefer Chassidim
No. 360: A Gentile who is enthusiastic in observing the Seven Noahide Commandments ... should be honored more than a Jew who doesn’t occupy himself with learning Torah.
No. 1124: If one sees a Gentile committing a sin and can object, then one should, for G-d sent Yonah to Nineveh to influence them to abandon their sins.


Baal HaTurim on Shmos 20:14[8]
The 620 [Hebrew] letters of the Ten Commandments correspond to the 613 Commandments for Jews and the Seven Noahide Commandments.


Footnotes:
[1] Devarim 6:5.
[2] Sifré, ibid.
[3] Bereishis 7:5.
[4] Yeshayahu 41:8.
[5] Translation from Mishneh Torah, Moznaim Publishing.
[6] Yeshayahu 61:6.
[7] Ibid. 2:3.
[8] See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 26, p. 132. See also Hisvaaduyos 5749, Vol. 2, p. 156, fn. 94, that this underlines how the effect of Torah upon the Gentile nations is a fundamental part of the Torah.

Additionally 

"Any person who has already worked successfully in this area should try to influence other Jews to do likewise. Resistance should not deter one when attempting to influence a further individual to accept upon himself the task of disseminating the Noahide Laws amongst the nations." (Hisvaduyos 5750 2:18-19)

SOUCE: Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver (2016). "To Perfect the World: The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Call to Teach the Noahide Code to All Mankind". Sichos in English. 2016.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Can the Noahide Laws be applied now without a Sanhedrin?


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Noahide apologists will often times tell non-Jews that they need not worry about the Noahide Laws because they cannot be enforced now because there is no Sanhedrin, the highest legal court of the Jewish religion. We have already spoken about the unofficial Sanhedrin in Israel which is seeking legal recognition and which also seeks to replace the United Nations (here), they are also involved in converting Noahides (here). But that Sanhedrin is not an official Sanhedrin says the Noahide apologist, so stop worrying about the enforcement of the Noahide laws now in our era.

Do you remember Rabbi Schneerson, the Rabbi who said non-Jewish souls come from "satanic spheres" (here)? He was also elevated to the leader of world Jewry in more than one of the United States public laws and international scrolls recognizing the Noahide Laws (here). According to Rabbi Schneerson there is no need for a Sanhedrin in order to "force" the Noahide Laws on non-Jews and that they are applicable "in all eras".

This statement comes from the idea of the Ger Toshav. A Ger Toshav is simply a legal designation for a Noahide who lives inside the land of Israel. According to Jewish law, a Ger Toshav is not to be accepted if there is no Jubilee which cannot be announced except by a Sanhedrin, so if there is no Sanhedrin there can be no Ger Toshav, again a legal designation for a Noahide who lives within the borders of Israel. But Rabbi Schneerson makes it clear that there is no relationship between the acceptance of a Ger Toshav and the application of Noahide Law by "force" if possible. The Noahide Laws can be enforced now.

However, the Jewish state of Israel seems unconcerned about religious technicalities in accepting a Ger Toshav either. Jews are commanded to adhere to the Shemitta year, this is a yearly Sabbath every 7 years where Jews are forbidden from growing in the soil of their fields, a yearly rest. However, the Jew may sell the land to a non-Jew for a year to till the soil for him or her, however, the person to whom they sell the land to cannot be an "idolator" and so they need to be a Noahide who lives inside the land of Israel or a Ger Toshav. In order to upkeep with the religious scrupulous of some Jews, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel which is an official body gave the status of Ger Toshav to a man living in Israel so that he could till the soil for Jews during the Shemitta year. Influential people in Israel are willing to circumvent their religious laws, so why can't they also implement Noahide Laws if they choose? But we have seen Rabbi Schneerson said we don't even need a Sanhedrin for this anyway... and he again is recognized as the leader of Jewry both in the USA and by international scroll.

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A Ger Toshav is a non-Jew who follows the Noahide Laws and lives in Israel, a Ger Toshav is a special designation for a Noahide living inside Israel as opposed to a Noahide not living inside the state of Israel

Ger Toshav-A Non-Jew who resides in the land of Israel

...

The term ger, from the Hebrew root gar, meaning “to sojourn,” refers to an alien, a stranger, or an immigrant. Toshav means “reside.” A ger toshav is, therefore, a resident alien: a non-Jew who resides in the land of Israel among the Jewish people. However, the Torah tells us:

They [idolaters] shall not dwell in your land lest they cause you to sin against Me and worship their gods.6

We see that a ger toshav must give up his idolatrous beliefs and practices in order to live in Israel.

How is this accomplished practically? How far must a non-Jew go in disavowing idolatry so that he may reside in Israel? The Talmud7 explains that the prospective ger toshav must come before a Beis Din (Jewish religious court) and accept upon himself to faithfully observe the seven Noahide laws.

However, the Talmud8 tells us that there is no status of ger toshav in our days.

SOURCE: "WHAT IS A GER, GER TOSHAV, GER TZEDEK?". Noahide Nations. Retrieved 10/20/20 from: https://www.noahidenations.com/index.php/academy-of-shem/more-torah-wisdom/795-what-is-a-ger-ger-toshav-ger-tzedek

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Common Opinon: Ger Toshav [plural Geirim Toshavim] can only be accepted at a Jubilees and a Jubilee can only take place under a Sanhedrin, without a true Sanhedrin, no Jubilee and thus no Ger Toshav

The procedure has been discontinued since the cessation of the Year of Jubilee, and hence, there are no formal geirim toshvim (plural) extant today. However, it can be argued that a great deal are "informal" ones,[1] especially since it is possible to be a chasid umot ha'olam even when the Jubilee Year is not observed. - Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin, ed. (1979). "Ger Toshav, Section 1". Encyclopedia Talmudit (in Hebrew) (Fourth Printing ed.). Jerusalem, Israel: Yad Harav Herzog (Emet).

Although the laws of shemittah are observed in Israel to this very day, the Jubilee year is not designated or observed. There are many reasons for this. Some of them: a) The Jubilee only affected the shemittah cycle when the shemittah was established and declared by the Sanhedrin, as opposed to today when it is automatically programmed into the perpetual Jewish calendar. b) The observance of shemittah today is only a rabbinic decree, and therefore the Jubilee year does not affect its cycle. c) No commemoration is in order when there is no Sanhedrin, whose participation in the declaration of the Jubilee year was integral. In fact, it was the Sanhedrin’s blast of the shofar (ram's horn) on Yom Kippur which signaled the entry of the Jubilee year.

SOURCE: Baruch S. Davidson. "When Is the Next Jubilee Year?" Chabad. Retrieved 10/20/20 from: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/513212/jewish/When-is-the-next-Jubilee-year.htm

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Rabbi Schneerson says that the Noahide Laws can be enacted through force or pleasantry even when there is no Jewish court (beit din) and a Ger Toshav cannot be accepted (no Jubilee or Sanhedrin), the Noahide laws can be enforced "in all eras"

It is obvious that this obligation [found in Maimonides, Malachim 8:10] is not limited only to a Jewish court, since this commandment is unrelated to the presence of a ger toshav (resident alien), and thus what is the need of a beit din. . . . Thus, this obligation is in place in all eras, even the present, when no gera toshav can be accepted and it is obligatory on all individuals who can work towards this goal. So too, this commandment is not limited to using force -- where, in a situation we cannot use force, we could be excused from our obligation -- since the essence of the obligation is to do all that is in our power to ensure that the seven Noachide commandments are kept; if such can be done through force, or through other means of pleasantness and peace, which means to explain [to Noachides] that they should accept the wishes of God who commanded them in this rules. This is obviously what is intended by Maimonides.

SOURCE: Rabbi Michael J. Broyde. "The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review". Jewish Law. Retreived 10/20/20 from: https://www.jlaw.com/Articles/noach2.html

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Chief Rabbis pronounce a Ger Toshav

Rav Oury Cherki comments on the recognition of a “Ger Toshav” by the Chief Rabbinate: For the very first time in 2,500 years, a man was pronounced a “Ger Toshav” – a resident alien – by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. A Ger Toshav is a non-Jew who lives among the people of Israel in its Land, accepts the Torah, loves Israel, and observes the seven mitzvot of Bnei Noach. For reasons connected to the Shemitta year, the Chief Rabbinate has taken an innovative step of accepting a Ben Noach who lives in Israel as a Ger Toshav. This can be seen as a symbolic act showing that the nation of Israel has a truly universal mission, to be officially and openly involved with humanity as a whole and not to be restricted to its own narrow interests. 

SOURCE: Rabbi Oury Cherki (2014). "Chief Rabbinate Recognizes a Ger Toshav". Brit Olam Noahide World Center. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 10/20/20 from: https://noahideworldcenter.org/wp_en/chief-rabbinate-recognizes-a-ger-toshav/

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The Israeli Ministry for Religious Services and the Israel Lands Administration were involved in the sale of the land

Two hundred and five hundred years after the Israeli court granted the man the status of a "resident ger," the tradition was renewed: a court headed by Chief Rabbi David Lau, Rabbi Zion Boaron, and Rabbi Zion Algrabali this week granted the unique status to a native of Ukraine

...

The ceremony took place on Wednesday at the Jerusalem Rabbinate, and was attended by Chief Rabbi David Lau, Deputy Minister for Religious Services Eli Ben Dahan, Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Rabbi Avraham Yosef and Israel Lands Administration Director Bentzi Lieberman. The sale included both the fields of the farmers who chose the "sale permit" and the state land. Over the past few weeks, the parties have signed forms according to which they transfer their rights to the Chief Rabbis, who for their part transferred the rights to the ILA, and Lieberman sold them together with state lands to Streichman.

SOURCE: Mndi Grozmn (2014). "After 2500 years: the rabbinate granted the status of 'resident ger'". NRG. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 10/21/2020 from: http://www.nrg.co.il/online/11/ART2/624/640.html#.VCBNpdLV0F4.facebook 

Friday, October 9, 2020

Attempts to make Christianity Noahide compliant

 See Table Of Contents (Here)


SIGN THE PETITION 

We have seen how there are attempts by both Jews and Muslims to bring Islamic Sharia Law under the rubric of Noahide Law which could prove to be a dangerous synthesis (here). We have also seen how there is a "shituf deception", Noahide apologists saying that Christians and other non-Jews are not "idolators" and can practice their own religion, which is not true (here). However, there are also attempts to state that Christianity is a Noahide religion on the part of both Jews and Christians, that Christianity teaches and demands the Noahide Laws. The Noahide Laws do not come from the Bible but the Talmud (here). Below are some quotes from both Christians and Jews which seek to paint Christianity as demanding Noahide Law, they want the Christian seal of approval. Like shituf, this is another deception, Christianity can very easily be construed as idolatry (here).

Jewish Groups 
Noahidizing Christianity

Jewish group The Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding (CJCUC) presumes to speaks for Christians, they are Noahides?

Christians see themselves not merely as members of the Noahide covenant, but as spiritual partners within the Jewish covenant.  At the same time, they believe that God does not repent of his covenantal gifts and that the Jewish people continues to enjoy a unique covenantal relationship with God in accordance with its historical 2000 year traditions.

SOURCE: "CJCUC’S STATEMENT ON A JEWISH UNDERSTANDING OF CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIANITY". THE CENTER FOR JEWISH–CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING & COOPERATION. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 10/09/2020 from: https://www.cjcuc.org/2011/05/24/cjcuc-statement-on-a-jewish-understanding-of-christians-and-christianity/

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Arthur Goldberg, Co-Director of the American based Jewish Institute for Global Awareness says Christianity and Islam teach Noahide Law is "imperative"

Individuals within the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) are taught that all of humanity should follow the Noahide Code, a set of imperatives given by G-d as a binding set of laws for the Children of Noah and which serves as the foundational premise of their individual faiths.

SOURCE: Arthur Goldberg (2019). "Sight and sound: A US appeals court upholds use of technology to inform choice in abortion". Mercatornet. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 10/09/2020 from: https://mercatornet.com/sight-and-sound-a-us-appeals-court-upholds-use-of-technology-to-inform-choi/24278/

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Rabbi says goal of Christian founders was to institute the Noahide Laws

Rabbi Eisen gives a Biblical tour to Christians in Jerusalem
...
Because most people don’t realize that when Jews teach the Bible (in its original form) to Christians, it’s actually a form of returning Christianity to its roots. That’s because one of the goals of the original founders of Christianity was to “institute the Noahide covenant for non-Jews” 

SOURCE: Israel365 (2020). "ONE RABBI OFFERS CHRISTIANS THE CHANCE TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE FROM ITS ORIGINAL HEBRAIC ORIGINS". Breaking Israel News. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 10/09/2020 from: https://www.israel365news.com/144535/one-rabbi-offers-christians-the-chance-to-understand-the-bible-from-its-original-hebraic-origins/

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The Institute of Christian Jewish Studies - Jewish led interfaith group pushes the Noahide Laws for Christians

At an earlier meeting led by Rabbi Lehmann, group members learned Jews believe non-Jews are bound by the seven Noahide laws -- the commandments that God gave to the sons of Noah. Jewish tradition holds that these laws, which include prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, sexual immorality, murder and robbery, provide a way for anyone to earn salvation.

"We Jews believe all humankind has a message to offer the world," Rabbi Loeb told the meal-time membership. "If we are faithful to our respective covenants, we are all the children of God."
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The institute's Christian groups study the history of the early church and Jesus in a Jewish context. They also examine why the church became anti-Jewish and how its early polemics paved the way for persecutions -- including the Nazi genocide.

SOURCE: Diane Winston (1991). "Christian and Jewish study groups nourish interfaith understanding--with lunch". The Baltimore Sun. 7 July 1991. Retrieved 10/09/2020 from: https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-07-07-1991188056-story.html

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Jewish professor of Christianity David Flusser says the church asked Christians to follow Noahide Law

V The Law 

The first adherents to the new faith among the Gentiles were recruited from among non-Jews who were already close to Judaism. These were the “Godfearers”,16 who accepted certain basic Jewish obligations, at least the so-called Noachide precepts; I hope to show elsewhere that the western text of Acts 15:29, giving the decree of the Apostles, is the original one. According to this, idolatry, shedding of blood, and grave sexual sins were forbidden to Gentile believers. These were originally the Noachide precepts accepted also by the Synagogue on which the Gentiles were obliged.17 It is logical that the Apostolic Church of Jerusalem should accept the view of the Synagogue on the conditions which Gentiles needed to fulfill in order to be saved. It can easily be shown that, according to Jewish opinion, the fulfilment of other commandments of Judaism was not prohibited to Gentiles. On the contrary, the Noachide precepts were only seen as the minimal condition for Gentiles to be recognized as God-fearers. They were so understood by the God-fearers themselves, who were attracted to the Jewish way of life and accepted many Jewish commandments without becoming full proselytes. This was also the attitude of Christian God-fearers, as may be seen from the Epistle to the Galatians;18 many of them wished to observe as many Jewish precepts as they could. It is evident that, while the leadership of the Mother Church decided to lay no burden upon the Gentile believers beyond the Noachide precepts (Acts 10:28-29; see Gal. 2:6), it did not object to their voluntarily observing more. Among the figures of the primitive Church who instructed Gentile Christians to observe more precepts than these essential ones was Peter, as we know from Paul’s criticism of him for demanding that Gentiles live like Jews (Gal. 2:14). Rather than interpreting the apostolic decree as a minimum, Paul evidently saw in the Noachide precepts the maximal obligations of Gentile Christians,19 even if he always strongly recommended a sympathetic understanding of individual Christians who observed personal restrictions. But at the same time, speaking about the incident with Peter at Antioch, he says (Gal. 2:15-21), among other things, that “no man is ever justified by doing what the law demands, but only through faith in Christ Jesus: so we too have put our faith in Jesus Christ, in order that we might be justified through this faith, and not through deeds dictated by law; for by such deeds, Scripture says, no mortal man shall be justified... If righteousness comes by law, than Christ died for nothing.” If this was what Paul thought about the Jewish way of life and of worship, we can easily understand why he did not accept the view that Gentile Christians should or could accept Jewish ritual obligations.

SOURCE: David Flusser. "THE JEWISH CHRISTIAN SCHISM (PART I)". NEW TESTAMENT AND FIRST CENTURIES JUDAISM. Retrieved 08/12/2020 from: http://www.etrfi.info/immanuel/16/Immanuel_16_032.pdf

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Christians Noahidizing Christianity

Presbyterian pastor, like Vatican, claims the Noahide Laws are in the New Testament, but they aren't [The Noahide Laws do not come from the bible, see (here)]

Ty Silzer, a former pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America, responds:
...
Paul expounds on the Jewish teaching of Noahide Laws (whereby the ‘outsiders’ enter heaven) in Romans 2, speaking that even Torah, by which the world is put back together, is written on their hearts, much like eternity (Ecclesiastes 3) and the Golden Rule (Matthew 7, Luke 6)."

SOURCE: Rabbi David J.B. Krishef (2011). "Ethics and Religion Talk: What happens to a Secular Humanist who lives by the Golden Rule?". The Rapidian. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 10/09/2020 from: https://www.therapidian.org/ethics-and-religion-talk-what-happens-secular-humanist-who-lives-golden-rule

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Christian Action Institute says Noahide Laws are a revelation from god

If we desire to develop a positive habit, we need to perform an action repeatedly, over time, until it becomes an automatic reflex. The same process occurs when we fall into sin. When we sin, we reject God’s authority. If we repeat our sin, over time, the rejection of God’s authority becomes an automatic reflex.

Even unbelievers, who innately know God’s general revelation, such as his invisible attributes, the creation ordinances, and the Noahide Laws, begin to deny such knowledge because of sin. Paul says that by our unrighteousness we suppress the truth. They think they are wise, but their sin makes them foolish. Eventually, God gives them over to their debased minds. (Rom. 1:24)

SOURCE: JOE CARTER (2016). "What Christians (Should) Mean When We Talk About Conscience". Action Institute. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 10/09/2020 from: https://blog.acton.org/archives/86311-what-christians-mean-by-conscience.html

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In the 2019 Volume 31 of the "Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal" writer Nicholas Taylor makes it clear that according to him non-Jewish Christians are bound to the Noahide Laws through the Apostolic Decree (Acts 15:23-29) and that early Christians followed the Noahide Laws.

 At the conclusion of the flood narrative, Noah is given a set of commandments forbidding the taking of life and the consumption of blood (Genesis 9:4-6). These were interpreted and expanded within Judaism during the Second Temple period, particularly to include moral as well as ritual prescriptions.11 The assumption was that, as Noah was the mythical ancestor of all humanity who survived the flood, prescriptions given to him by God were incumbent on all humanity. The criterion of righteousness for gentiles was therefore observance of the Noachide laws. This tradition was to play an important role in defining the place of gentiles in early Christianity, as we shall see
...
It is clear that their ethnic and cultural identity did not need to be abandoned before Gentiles could be accepted into the Church, and that, while they were not required to proselytise into Israel, they were required to bring their lives into conformity with certain cultic and moral prescriptions, presumably in the tradition of the Noahide laws27 How this was to work out in practice was very much more difficult, and it was at this point that the conflict became more serious.28

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FOOTNOTE 28: Whether the text known as the Apostolic Decree, which clearly does reflect the tradition of the Noahide laws, was formulated at the gathering reported in Galatians 2:1-10 and Acts 15:6-21, or represents a later attempt to resolve the problem, conflated into the account of this meeting, is disputed in scholarship. The majority of scholars would argue that the Apostolic Decree reflects further deliberations, after the previous agreement had been found to be inadequate, and Paul had left Antioch (cf. Galatians 2:11-14; Acts 15:36-41). Cf. Dunn, Partings of the Ways; Taylor, Paul, Antioch and Jerusalem
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....
The issue was resolved between the churches of Jerusalem and Antioch by what became known as the Apostolic Decree, an adaptation of the Noahide laws preserved in Acts 15:23-29. This includes provisions concerning idolatry, sexual morality, murder, and diet. The last two are included in the Genesis narrative, in which Noah and his descendants were forbidden to commit murder and to eat meat with the blood of the animal (symbolising its life) still in the flesh (Genesis 9:1-17)...
...The brief account in Acts gives no indication of controversy in Antioch, a city in
 which the Jewish community was well-established and accustomed to interaction with its neighbours. How the common life of a community of Jews and gentiles was ordered is not known, but we can assume that some version of the Noachide laws guided their coexistence, and that patterns of accommodation which had evolved in the Jewish community for centuries formed the basis for Christian fellowship
....
The other provisions represent developments in the Noachide traditions which are similarly not specifically Christian, but which formed the basis for fellowship between Jews and their gentile neighbours...

SOURCE: Nicholas Taylor. "Scripture and Mission". Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal. Volume 3.1 Spring 2019 ISSN 2399-8989. Retrieved 08/10/2020 from: https://www.scotland.anglican.org/wp-content/uploads/2019-31-SEI-Journal-Spring.pdf

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Church of England publishes suggestion that Christian "natural law" is Noahide Law

 One of the formative and most enduringly influential works of Anglican theology, Richard Hooker’s Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, begins with a rich exposition of the theology of law, drawing on medieval Catholic thought including that of Thomas Aquinas, which includes a specific place for the divine commandments in Scripture.139 It also articulates an understanding of natural law that is in continuity with medieval tradition. Continuing common ground between Anglicans and Catholics in this area is discussed in Life in Christ, one of the agreed statements of the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission, while it has been argued by David Novak, a Jewish scholar, that Christian conceptions of natural law parallel the Jewish idea of the Noahide laws.140 In both cases, revelation is taken to affirm the existence of moral norms that are available to all, and that people of faith can affirm both to and with those who do not share their faith.

SOURCE: "God’s Unfailing Word: Theological and Practical Perspectives on Christian–Jewish Relations". Published 2019 for the Faith and Order Commission of the Church of England by Church House Publishing. Retrieved 08/10/2020 from: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/godsunfailingwordweb.pdf

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"Richard Douglas Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth, FRSL (born 2 June 1936) is a retired bishop of the Church of England and former British Army officer. He was the Bishop of Oxford from 1987 to 2006. From 2008 until 2012 he was the Gresham Professor of Divinity." In 2016 in the House of Lords Hansard, he introduced the Noahide Laws as " imperatives given to all humanity".

This was, of course, the starting point for John-Paul Sartre and the post-war existentialists. It is not a view I share. Everyone, whatever they believe or do not believe, has some inkling of the good, some capacity for moral discernment, some ability to take others into account. It is part of what is meant by being made in the image of God, from the Christian point of view. The Jewish tradition has its own equivalent in the concept of the Noachide laws, according to the Talmud, the seven imperatives given to all humanity. So does Islam. As for humanism, the very name indicates the possibility of values and virtues simply by reason of our shared humanity, as does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

SOURCE: Lord Harries of Pentregarth (CB). "National Life: Shared Values and Public Policy Priorities". 02 December 2016. Volume 777. Retrieved 08/12/2020 from: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2016-12-02/debates/37E807CF-3A7E-4060-B139-8A30257E770F/NationalLifeSharedValuesAndPublicPolicyPriorities

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Claims Apostles Paul and James 
demanded Christians follow Noahide Law

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Claims Apostle Paul demanded Christians follow the Noahide Laws

Some Jewish Jesus-movement activists said that their pagan acolytes had to convert to Judaism before they could join the movement. Paul disagreed in the strongest possible terms (he did everything in the strongest possible terms). He maintained that these gentiles had to follow only the pre-rabbinic equivalent of the Noahide laws—the seven edicts against idolatry, adultery, etc., that all non-Jews are expected to follow. 

SOURCE: JUDITH SHULEVITZ (2009). "Was Paul a Jew?". Tablet Magazine. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 10/09/2020 from: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/who-was-paul

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Claims apostle James asked Christians to follow Noahide Laws

"The second group comprised Jewish Christians and Gentiles (led by the Apostle James) who did not insist on Mosaic Law but instead deemed the observance of the seven Noahide Laws (Genesis 9) – do not deny God; do not blaspheme God; do not murder; do not engage in illicit sexual relations; do not steal; do not eat of a live animal; and establishing a legal system to keep the law – as sufficient for acceptance as a follower of Jesus. An example of this group is found in Acts 15, during the Council in Jerusalem, which was called to resolve questions relating to whether Gentile followers of Jesus were supposed to adopt Jewish laws. The Apostle James sets down the Noahide Laws in Acts 15:13–21."

SOURCE: Tleane, L.C., 2018, ‘N.T. Wright’s New Perspective on Paul: What implications for Anglican doctrine?’, HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies 74(1), a4754. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v74i1.4754. Affiliation: 1 Change Management Unit, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, University of South Africa, South Africa

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Are the Noahide Laws really found in the Bible?

TABLE OF CONTENTS


SIGN THE PETITION 

We saw how the Catholic Church stated that the Noahide Laws are found in the Bible books of Genesis (9:9-12) and Acts (15:28-29) (see here). Others say the Noahide Laws can be found in the Book of Galatians and even the noncanonical book of Jubilees. Yet when we look up these scriptures we find that none of them contain all of the Noahide Laws (the Book of Jubilees' list of Noahide Laws differs from the Talmud's version and only lists six). Further, the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia states the Noahide Laws are not found in the Bible, Professor of Religion John W. Martens says the Noahide Laws are not in Galatians, and Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn says Noahide Laws do not come from the Bible but Jewish tradition. The Noahide Laws do not come from the Bible but come from the Talmud.

The Noahide Laws are not found in the Bible but come from the Talmud - 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia

Although only those laws which are found in the earlier chapters of the Pentateuch, before the record of the revelation at Sinai, should, it would seem, be binding upon all mankind, yet the Rabbis discarded some and, by hermeneutic rules or in accordance with some tradition (see Judah ha-Levi, “Cuzari,” iii. 73), introduced others which are not found there... Thus,the Talmud frequently speaks of “the seven laws of the sons of Noah,” which were regarded as obligatory upon all mankind, in contradistinction to those that were binding upon Israelites only (Tosef., ‘Ab. Zarah, ix. 4; Sanh. 56a et seq.).

SOURCE: Isidore Singer, Julius H. Greenstone. "LAWS, NOACHIAN". 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10/08/2020 from: http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9679-laws-noachian

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Noahide Law not found in the Book of Galatians - Professor of Religion John W. Martens

"James finally speaks on behalf of the “whole assembly” (Acts 15:12) and relates the mission to the Gentiles to a number of prophetic passages from scripture in which God calls the Gentiles to Himself (Acts 15: 16-18). James then states that Gentiles should be welcomed in if they maintain select dictates, which are similar to the Noachide laws (which Paul does not mention in Galatians 1-2) (Acts 15: 19-21) and, after “the apostles and the elders with the consent of the whole church” choose men to accompany Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:22), James sends a letter to this effect to the church in Antioch (Acts 15: 22-29)."

SOURCE: John W. Martens (2015). "A Scriptural look at Jesus' teachings on marriage and divorce". America: The Jesuit Review. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 10/08/2020 From: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2015/11/06/scriptural-look-jesus-teachings-marriage-and-divorce

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Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn says Noahide Laws do not come from the Bible but Jewish tradition

In 1773, Moses Mendelssohn, a Jewish philosopher and major figure in the Jewish enlightenment, corresponded with Rabbi Yaakov Emden, a respected rabbi and traditionalist based in Altona, Germany. At issue were the implications of a section in Maimonides’ Laws of Kings which states that non-Jews who observe the Noahide laws, which include prohibitions such as murder, incest and theft, only attain a share in the world to come if they do so because God has given those commandments through Moses. This ruling was approved by the noted halachist Joseph Karo (d. 1575).
...
Mendelssohn added that the Noahide laws are seemingly not learned by exegesis – there is no clear-cut Biblical reference to them – but only through the Jewish tradition.

SOURCE: Jonathan L. Milevsky (2015). "CAN NON-JEWS ACHIEVE ETERNAL BLISS?". The Canadian Jewish News. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 10/08/2020 from: https://www.cjnews.com/featured/jewish-learning/can-non-jews-achieve-eternal-bliss
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Genesis does not delineate the whole ff Noahide Law 

12 God said, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, 15 and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

- Genesis 9:9-12

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Acts does not enumerate all the Noahide Laws

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell.”

- Acts 15:28-29

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The Book of Jubilees contains a different set of Noahide Laws and there are only 6

"And in the twenty-eighth jubilee [1324-1372 A.M.] Noah began to enjoin upon his sons' sons the ordinances and commandments, and all the judgments that he knew, and he exhorted his sons to observe righteousness, and to cover the shame of their flesh, and to bless their Creator, and honour father and mother, and love their neighbour, and guard their souls from fornication and uncleanness and all iniquity. For owing to these three things came the flood upon the earth ... For whoso sheddeth man's blood, and whoso eateth the blood of any flesh, shall all be destroyed from the earth."

SOURCE: The Book of Jubilees. Chapter 7, verses 20-33. Wesley Center for Applied Theology. Northern Nazarene University. Retrieved May 25, 2007.

A growing alliance between Noahide Law and Muslim Sharia

SEE TABLE ON CONTENTS

 


SIGN THE PETITION 

We have already discussed how Islam can be considered idolatry under Noahide Law, and even if it is not considered idolatry, Jewish legal scholar Maimonides still said that it was illegal to practice (here). However, on the other side of the coin, there are attempts to bring Islam under the umbrella of Noahide Law. Both Muslim and Jewish scholars have stated that Islam and Noahide Law are compatible and the Noahide Laws are in the Koran... that Islam teaches all of humanity are to follow the Noahide Laws . However these Muslim scholars still state that Christianity is idolatry, a sentiment held by many Jews (here). Since both Muslim Sharia Law and Jewish Noahide Law both command death for idolators, an alliance between them could be dangerous for Christians and other religions like Hinduism and Paganism. Radical Islam could become another arm of the Noahide agenda.

Noahidism is compatible with Islam

Allah is instructing that there is no contention or dispute “between us Muslims and you Jews” because all revelations come from the same source—Allah. Some might say, but the Qur’an says that the Prophet Muhammad was sent to all mankind, to Arabs and non-Arabs, Jews and Christians, and all must follow him.[10] To that the Qur’an tells us that every prophet came with a general message and a specific message. The general message is meant for all mankind, this is the Deen (universal law) of Islam. Deen is comparable to the universal Noahide laws. In this regard there is no distinction between the prophets.
...
There is ample room in Islam to accept Jews, Christians, and Noahides fully as they are, encouraging them to cleave to their faiths and prophets.

SOURCE: Dr. Omer Salem. "Real Islam calls for peace with the Jewish people". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 10/08/2020 from: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/18295

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Islam is a fulfillment of the Noahide vision

I told him that the Torah starts with our common humanity in the story of Adam, where we are told that all of humanity is created in the image of God. Judaism sees itself as having a role to play in the story of humanity, but not that everyone should be Jewish. Our role is to awaken certain values and a connection from God to humanity, which we see for example in the seven Noahide laws. We see in Islam a fulfillment of that vision.

SOURCE: DOV LIEBER (2016). "For West Bank rabbi, a rare and risky trip to Cairo’s ivory tower of Islam". The Time of Israel. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 10/08/2020 from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-west-bank-rabbi-a-rare-and-risky-trip-to-cairos-ivory-tower-of-islam/

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Egyptian Sheikh says Muslims already keep the Noahide Laws, says Christians are idolatrous

Determined to pursue peace with the Jewish people, Egyptian Muslim sheikh, Dr. Omer Salem, just completed a whirlwind tour of Israel. 
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At his speech at the Jewish Agency, Salem stated that Islam has no theological conflict with Judaism. He notes that Islam does have a long standing dispute with Christianity over two topics. One – the trinity is viewed by believing Muslims as idolatrous. Two - Christians wish to proselytize to Muslims. Judaism is considered strictly monotheistic, and does not call for proselytizing any more than spreading the Seven Noahide Laws, which Muslims already keep.

SOURCE: Rebecca Abrahamson. "Dr. Omer Salem, A Bridge for Peace?". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 10/08/2020 from: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/18199

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The Noahide Laws are in the Koran

Nevertheless, there is a minority view which believes that non-Jews can still receive prophecy. It is this position that led Natanel al-Fayyumi, a 12th-century Yemenite rabbi, to suggest that God established an eternal covenant with Moses and the Children of Israel, but that He also established a covenant with Muhammad and the Muslims.
...
Additionally, al-Fayyumi finds it critically important to reiterate the Torah's warning that if a prophet comes to change the laws of the Torah, he is not to be seen as a prophet for the Jewish people. Seeing that many of the laws and ideas in Islam are contrary to those of Judaism, and that the language of the Quran is different to that of the Torah, al-Fayyumi holds that a Jew must remain a Jew. However, the fact that the Seven Laws of Noah (a moral code passed down to Noah from God for non-Jews) are stated in the Quran, may suggest that Islam is a Noahide religion for non-Jews.

SOURCE: Sina Cohen (2014). "How should non-Jewish prophets be viewed?". The JC. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 10/08/2020 from: https://www.thejc.com/judaism/features/how-should-non-jewish-prophets-be-viewed-1.55332

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Noahidst Jew says Islam taught all humanity should follow the Noahide Code

"Individuals within the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) are taught that all of humanity should follow the Noahide Code, a set of imperatives given by G-d as a binding set of laws for the Children of Noah and which serves as the foundational premise of their individual faiths."

SOURCE: Arthur Goldberg (2019). "Sight and sound: A US appeals court upholds use of technology to inform choice in abortion". Mercatornet. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 10/08/2020 from: https://mercatornet.com/sight-and-sound-a-us-appeals-court-upholds-use-of-technology-to-inform-choi/24278/

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Noahide Law in the Arab world

Arab villages in Israel and the Golan Heights have signed declarations of the Noahide Laws and Chabad-Lubavitch, the organization behind the US recognizing the Noahide Laws (here) introduced the King of Morocco to the Noahide Laws.

Mayor of Arab village publically accepts the Noahide Laws

In Israel, there was a stir when Salim Jaber, the mayor of the Arab village of Abu Gosh near Jerusalem, made a public declaration accepting to observe the seven Noachide laws. So we are out there in various forms.

SOURCE: Rabbi Shraga Simmons. "7 Questions: The Noachide". Aish.com. Retrieved 10/07/2020 from: https://www.aish.com/jw/s/80405497.html

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Assad's cousin signs declaration of the Noahide Laws

Assad’s Cousin Approves Noahide Laws.

Imam Assam Al-Khatib, leader of the Al-Ajjar Mosque in the Golan Heights, and a relative of Syria’s Prime Minister Bashir Al-Assad, is among the many Arab leaders in Israel who signed a declaration calling on all Non-Jews to follow the Seven Noahide Laws as the path to Peace in Israel

SOURCE: "Assad’s Cousin Approves Noahide Laws". ChabadInfo.com. Retrieved 10/07/2020 from: https://chabadinfo.com/moshiach/assads-cousin-approves-noahide-laws/

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Chabad introduces the King of Morocco to Noahide Law

As Chabad emissary Israel Goldberg soon learned, the visitor was not the run-of-the-mill tourist, but Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco.
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According to Goldberg, the two discussed the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Seven Noahide Laws laid out in the Bible, and the importance of charity in Judaism.

SOURCE: "The King and the Rabbi". Arutz Sheva. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 10/07/2020 from: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/243674

The Noahide Laws in Australia

 See Table Of Contents (Here)


SIGN THE PETITION 

Australian Governor General Michael Jeffery has praised Noahid Law, Australian Senator Eric Abetz says the Noahide Laws have "universal application", the Australian government has published opinions that Christianity and Islam are Noahide religions [even though they can both be considered "idolatry (here & here)], and one Eliana Freydel Miller told Parliament they should adopt the Noahide Laws. Australia is well on its way in recognizing the Noahide Laws.

Australian Governor General Michael Jeffery praises Noahide Law

Other world leaders have joined the call for further observance and knowledge of these laws. For example, Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Union wrote (in July, 2014) that he seeks greater “dissemination of the universal values known as the Noahide Laws,” and Major General Michael Jeffery, Governor General of Australia, lamenting family breakdowns and drug and alcohol abuse in modern society in a 2008 letter, wrote that he believed that observing the fundamental values of the Noahide Laws can be an antidote to such ills of society.

SOURCE: “Have the Noahide Laws been recognized by any governments?”. Ask Noah. Retrieved 10/07/2020 from: https://asknoah.org/faq/have-the-noahide-laws-been-recognized-by-any-governments

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Australian senator says Noahide Laws have "universal application"

Senator Eric Abetz delivered the following address on the occasion of the launch of Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen’s new book, The Theory and Practice of Universal Ethics: The Noahide Laws, on November 16, 2015, at the Jewish Russian Community Centre, Balaclava, Victoria.
...
Now, out of this diversity Rabbi Dr Cowen has extracted ethics that have a very wide or universal application. Over 75 per cent of the world’s population have adopted religions that reach back to the Noahide laws, which provides a commonality among them.

SOURCE: Senator Eric Abetz (2015). "ETHICS BOOK TRACES FOUNDATIONS OF TRUE CIVILISATION". National Civic Council. Retrieved 10/07/2020 from: https://ncc.org.au/uncategorized/57184-ethics-book-traces-foundations-of-true-civilisation/

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Christianity and Islam are Noahide religions

Fundamental elements of religious freedom are the legal entitlement to beliefs, responsibilities and behaviours while exercising the normal rights to founding a family and a home. In the Australian legal, political and cultural environment, the freedom of religion, includes the reasonable public expression of universal religious teaching of heterosexual marriage, universal here indicating that it is substantially supported by the three Noahide religions of Christian, Jewish and Muslim, as well as by many other community religions, eg Sikh. It is undeniably a fundamental religious obligation of many such adherents to publicly espouse their beliefs.

SOURCE: GERARD FLOOD (2018). "Submission number: 11352". Australian Government: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 14th February 2018. Retrieved 10/07/2020 from: https://www.pmc.gov.au/domestic-policy/religious-freedom-review/submissions/gerard-flood

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Adoption of the Noahide Laws advocated in Australian Parliament

8.54 Ms Eliana Freydel Miller advocated the adoption of the Universal Laws of Ethics and Morality:

recognition of God as Sole Creator and Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, and the prohibition of idolatry;
prohibition of blasphemy;
prohibition of murder;
prohibition of incest, adultery and all forms of immorality;
prohibition of theft;
establishment of courts of justice, and
prohibition of the taking or eating from an animal while it is still alive.
8.55 Ms Miller saw these as laws of human decency for righteous humanity, given by God. They are valid for all time, but are rarely stated. She believed that Australia should be instrumental in the making of an historical and positive choice, promoting in schools and universities the teaching of the ethics and morality of these Laws.40

FOOTNOTE 40: Submissions, p. 807. These are also known as the 'Seven Universal Noahide Laws'.

SOURCE: "Conviction with Compassion: A Report on Freedom of Religion and Belief". Parlament of Australia. Retrieved 10/07/2020 from: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Completed_Inquiries/jfadt/Religion/Relch_8