Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Can the Noahide Laws be applied now without a Sanhedrin?


Join Facebook Group | Like Facebook Page
Subscribe To Youtube | Support Me On Patreon

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.

-

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

-

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

-

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

-

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/

-
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 

No comments:

Post a Comment