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Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi B"H D'var Torah on Noach
What does Judaism expect from Gentiles?
In this week's Torah portion, Noach, Noah and his family survive the Flood in the Ark
full of animals. After the Flood, God makes a covenant with Noah, a covenant binding on
all mankind: God will never again flood the earth, but people must observe certain commandments:
I establish My covenant with you, and with your seed after you ... for perpetual generations...
You shall not eat flesh with its life-blood [in it]. Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood
shall be shed by man; for God made Man in His image... I have set My bow in the cloud,
and it shall be the token of a covenant between Me and the earth. [Genesis 9:4-13]
The Talmud derives seven laws that are applicable to all mankind. They are called the Noahide
Laws. We read in Tractate Sanhedrin: Our Rabbis taught: Seven precepts were the
sons of Noah commanded: To establish courts of justice, and refrain from blasphemy, idolatry,
adultery, ***, stealing, and eating the flesh of live animals. [Sanhedrin 56a-b]
The Talmud then explains how these laws are derived. Curiously, the Sages derived them
from a single line in Genesis: And the Lord God commanded the man saying,
'of every tree of the garden you may freely eat'. [Gen. 2:16]
Here is how:
-"Establish courts of justice" is derived from "And the Lord God commanded", because
"command" relates to justice and judgment.
-"No blasphemy" is derived from the words "The Lord", which are used in connection with
blasphemy in Leviticus: And he who blasphemes the name of the Lord,
he shall surely be put to death. [Lev. 24:16]
-"No idolatry" is derived from the word "God", because the word "God" is used in that context
in Exodus: You shall have no other gods before Me. [Ex.
20:3]
-"No ***" is derived from "the man", because the word "man" is used in that context in
Genesis: Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his
blood be shed. [Gen. 9:6]
-"No adultery" is derived from the word "saying", because it used in that context in Jeremiah:
They say, 'If a man puts away his wife, and she go from him, and became another man's...'
[Jer. 3:1]
-"No stealing" is derived from "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat". Since it
was necessary to authorize Adam to eat of the trees of the garden, it follows that without
such authorization it was forbidden, since the trees did not belong to him.
-"No eating flesh from live animals" is derived from "You may freely eat", because it implies
"You may eat only what is ready for eating, which is not the case while the animal is
alive."
A commentator marveled that a verse giving permission to enjoy was interpreted as a series
of prohibitions. This is a common theme in the Talmud: Freedom to enjoy is limited by
ethical considerations, and only attains its value when so limited. The Mishna says:
No man is free but he who labors in the Torah. [Avot 6:2]
The question now arises: Jews have 613 commandments in the Torah, but Gentiles have only seven.
Should Gentiles keep some of the other laws, such as eating only kosher food, observing
Shabbat, honoring parents, affixing a mezuzah, refraining from certain mixtures, etc.? It's
up to them. There is no merit or demerit if they do. There are, however, two notable exceptions.
First, there are restrictions on Gentiles studying the Torah. The Talmud says [Sanhedrin
59a]: Rabbi Yochanan said: A Gentile who studies
the Torah deserves death ["chayyav mita" in Aramaic].
It must be noted that the phrase "deserves death" just expresses disapproval, and is
not to be taken literally. Certainly, no action is called for. The phrase is common in the
Talmud. Another example is: He who transgresses the words of the Sages
deserves death. [Ber. 6b]
Now, what is the Talmud's reasoning for forbidding Gentiles from studying Torah? It is written
in Deuteronomy: Torah tzivah lanu Moshe, morasha kehillat
Yaakov Moses commanded us the Torah, the inheritance
of the congregation of Jacob. [Deut. 33:4] The implication is understood to be: It is
our inheritance, not theirs.
In that case, the Talmud continues, why is this [prohibition] not included in the Noahide
laws? It is, the Sages argued! If you take someone's inheritance, you steal it, and one
Noahide law is not to steal.
But objections were raised. Rabbi Meir went so far as to say: A Gentile who studies the
Torah is like a High Priest. We learn that from the verse [in Leviticus]:
Keep my statutes and my judgments, for the man who obeys them will live by them. [Lev.
18:5]. It does not say "Priest, Levite, or Israelite",
but "man". So we learn that even a Gentile who studies [and observes] the Torah is like
a High Priest! But another rabbi countered that Gentiles should study only the parts
of the Torah that pertain to their own seven Noahide laws, not the rest. [Sanhedrin 59a,
Bava Kama 38a]
Why this restriction? One can only speculate. Studying Torah yields knowledge that can be
used against Jews, especially if it can easily be misinterpreted. For a long time the Talmud
was not translated for that reason. Also, we don't want others to take our rituals and
twist their meaning, as Messianics sometimes do.
Second, there are restrictions on Gentiles keeping Shabbat in full. The argument is that
Shabbat is a sign between God and Jews only. In Exodus, we read the Veshamru, recited at
every Shabbat: The Children of Israel shall observe Shabbat,
to make Shabbat an eternal covenant for generations. It is a sign between Me and the Children of
Israel forever... [Exodus 31:16-17] The Talmud adds:
Resh Lakish also said: A Gentile who keeps a day of rest deserves death... Ravina said:
Even if he rested on a Monday. [Sanhedrin 58b-59a]
The Talmud asks again: If so, why is this prohibition not included in the seven Noahide
laws? The Sages replied that the Noahide laws include only negative injunctions, and "Don't
observe Shabbat" means "Do work", which is a positive commandment. If so, then why is
the positive commandment to establish social laws included in the Noahide laws? The Sages
replied: It is both positive and negative. Positive in the sense of: 'Dispense justice'
and negative in the sense of: 'refrain from injustice'.
For this reason, candidates for conversion to Judaism are instructed to violate some
rules of Shabbat privately as they practice observance.
One possible concern was that Early Christians observed Shabbat (and some current Messianic
Jews also do it), and the rabbis did not want faithful Jews confused with them.
The Rambam summed it up by saying: The principle is that one may not make innovations
in religion or create new commandments. [Any Gentile] has the opportunity to become a true
convert [to Judaism] by accepting the whole law. [Yad. Melakim, X, 9]
So Judaism is a package deal: No picking some parts of it and rejecting the rest.
Now, Gentiles are by no means disparaged in Judaism. A well-known principle is:
The righteous of all nations have a share in the World to Come. [Tosefta Sanhedrin 13,
based on Sanhedrin 105a]
The Mishna says: Do not hate any man, and do not discriminate
against any thing, for there is no man that does not have his hour, and there is no thing
that does not have its place. [Pirkei Avot 4:3]
A commentator wrote: I call heaven and earth as witnesses: Any
individual, whether Gentile or Jew, man or woman, servant or maid, can bring the Divine
Presence upon himself in accordance with his deeds. [Tana Deei Eliahau Rabba 9]
Consequently, Judaism also holds that no proselytizing among Gentiles is necessary. Judaism is not
an "upgrade".
So, let us summarize. Jews must observe the 613 commandments in the Torah. Gentiles must
observe the seven Noahide laws. Gentiles may study Torah or observe Shabbat only partially.
For all other commandments, it is up to them whether to observe them or not.
Shabbat shalom.