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<p>Elisheva: /* Modern Authors */</p>
<hr />
<div>This is the beginning of a comprehensive list of literature concernign the Bnai Noach. Please add any that are missing. Eventually this literature should be broken into categories and each of publication should be made into Wikinoah pages that review the publication.<br />
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It also includes a comprehensive list of references to Bnai Noach in traditional Jewish literature. <br />
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Wikinoah makes no claims concerning these publications, and may or may not represent the position of Wikinoah and/or UNC Inc.<br />
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==Prayer Books==<br />
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* [[Seventh Day Payers|Suggested Seventh Day observance]]<br />
* [[Rosh Hashanah Prayers|Rosh Hashanah Observance]]<br />
* [[Children Prayers|Children’s book]] by Rabbi Michael Katz<br />
* [[Daily Prayers]], by Rabbi Michael Katz<br />
* [[Funeral Prayers|Funeral Service]], by Rabbi Michael Katz, <br />
* [[Suggested Prayers]] by Rabbi Bindman<br />
* [[Hanukah Prayers|Hanukah Guide]]<br />
* Oklahoma B'nai Noah Society. Prayer Book: Service From The Heart - Renewing the Ancient Path of Biblical Prayer and Service ISBN 978-0-6151-6402-1 (Paperback) - [http://www.lulu.com/content/1177327 First Ever Noahide Prayer Book]<br />
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== Modern Authors ==<br />
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* BARRE Elisheva, [[Torah for Gentiles, Modern Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws]], ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz Bookstores, Jerusalem. Online edition: http://www.scribd.com/my_document_collections/3551340 <br />
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* [[Efrayim ha-Levi Bilitser|Bilitser, Efrayim ha-Levi]]. ''Torat ben Noah''<br />
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* R. C. Berman. ''Sefer Sheva Mitzvot Hashem'', [[The Book of Seven Divine Commandments]], published by Ask Noah International, \available through Kehot.com and Judaica bookstores across the U.S.<br />
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* [[Yirmeyahu Bindman|Bindman, Yirmeyahu]]. ''(The) Seven Colors of the Rainbow: Torah Ethics for Non-Jews''. Resource Publications; 1995. Paperback. ISBN 0-893903-32-9. [A great beginning book for the non-Jew looking into Torah ethics. Explains what G-d originally required of mankind that has been kept from most for nearly 2,000 years, and the role of Gentile in the world to come.]<br />
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* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Hasgarat Posh'a Yehudi sheBarach LeEretz Yisrael'', Or Hamizrach 35:247- 269 (5747)<br />
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* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Judaism and [[natural law]]'' in ''Jewish law annual'', vol. VII 5-42<br />
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* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Mishpat Mavet Bedenai Benai Noach,'' Jubilee Volume in Honor of Rabbi Joseph D. Soloveitchik 1:193-208 (5754);<br />
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* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Tikkun Olam: Jewish Obligations to Non-Jewish Societ'' in: ''Tikkun olam: social responsibility in Jewish thought and law''. Edited by David Shatz, Chaim I. Waxman and Nathan J. Diament. Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1997. ISBN 0765759519.<br />
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* [[Alan Brill|Brill, Rabbi Dr. Alan]] ''[http://www.bc.edu/research/cjl/meta-elements/texts/cjrelations/resources/articles/Brill.htm Judaism and Other Religions: An Orthodox perspective]'' commissioned by the World Jewish Congress for the "World Symposium of Catholic Cardinals and Jewish Leaders," January 19-20, 2004 in New York City.<br />
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* [[Michael Broyde|Broyde, Michael J]]. ''[http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/noach2.html The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review]'' in ''Tikkun olam: social responsibility in Jewish thought and law''. Edited by David Shatz, Chaim I. Waxman and Nathan J. Diament. Northvale, N.J. : Jason Aronson, 1997. ISBN 0765759519.<br />
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* [[Israel Chait|Chait, Rabbi Israel]]. ''Responsibility for the Implementation of the Noachide Code'', Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva Bnei Torah, (Far Rockaway, Queens), Former advisor to the Noachide community in Athens, TN<br />
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* Clorfene, Chaim and Yaakov Rogalsky ''[http://moshiach.com/action/morality/introduction.php The Path of the Righteous Gentile: An Introduction to the Seven Laws of the Children of Noah]''. New York: Phillip Feldheim, 1987. ISBN 087306433X. also Smithfield, MI: Targum Press, 1987<br />
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* [[Yakov Dovid Cohen|Cohen, Yakov Dovid]] "Divine Image" Institute of Noahide Code 2006 ISBN 1 4243 1000 8 http://www.Noahide.org<br />
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* [[Shimon Dovid Cowen|Cowen, Shimon Dovid]]. ''Perspectives on the Noahide Laws - Universal ethics''. The Institute of Judaism and Civilization (3rd edition) 2008 ISBN 0958593388 http://www.ijc.com.au<br />
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* [[Michael Ellias Dallen|Dallen, Michael Ellias]] ''The Rainbow Covenant: Torah and the Seven Universal Laws'', Lightcatcher Books, 2003. (842 Kissinger Ave., Springdale AR 72762) ISBN 0-9719388-2-2. Easily understood book especially for the lay person, explains many of the details of the Noahide laws, and their application with the references and further explanations.<br />
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* [[David Davis|Davis, J. David]]. ''Finding The G-d of Noah: The Spiritual Journey of a Baptist Minister from Christianity to the Laws of Noah''. KTAV Publishing (900 Jefferson Street, Hoboken NJ 07030). 1996. ISBN 0-881255-35-1. <br />
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* [[Arnold Enker|Enker, Arnold]], ''Aspects of Interaction Between the Torah Law, the King's Law, and the Noahide Law in Jewish Criminal Law'', Cardozo L. Rev. 12:1137-xxxx (1991) discusses regulations based on the Noachide laws and regulations based on the law of the land or the law of the king. For more on this distinction, see Teshuvot Chachmai Provance 48 which clearly distinguishes between these regulations. <br />
<br />
* Encyclopedia Judaica, ''Noachide Laws,'' 12: 1189-1191.<br />
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* Encyclopedia Talmudit, ''Ben Noach'' 3:348-362; <br />
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* Friedman, Manis. ''Doesn't Anyone Blush Anymore? Bais Chana Press.'' Paperback ISBN 1-578870-00-3.<br />
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* Gallin, Aryeh. ''The Root and Branch Noachide Guide''. Root and Branch Association, Ltd, 504 Grand Street, #E51, New York, NY 10002-4101. http://www.rb.org.il/<br />
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* [[Yitzchak Ginsburgh|Ginsburgh, Rabbi Yitzchak]]. ''Kabbalah and Meditation for the Nations''. Publisher: Gal Einai, 2006. The covenant with the Jewish people was not the first made between the Almighty and mankind. Before the revelation at Mt. Sinai, G-d commanded Adam and then made a covenant with Noah, giving them the guidelines for the universal religion of mankind.<br />
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* [[Kimberly E. Hanke|Hanke, Kimberly E.]] ''Turning to Torah: The Emerging Noachide Movement'', Jason Aronson Publishing House (230 Livingston Street, Northvale, New Jersey 07647) and Number Seven Spectrum House (32-34 Gordon House Road London, NW5 1LP England). 1995. 250 pp. ISBN 1-568215-00-2. [One woman's path from Christianity to "Messianic" Christianity, and finally to Torah since 1988. At one point, she considers conversion to Judaism, and then learns of the Noachide Covenant, through several Jewish individuals. She then was enlightened into the writings of J. David Davis.] <br />
<br />
* Jewish Law Annual, Vols. 6 and 7 (1987 and 1988) (Vol. 6, see articles by E. Rackman, J. Dienstag, O. Leaman; Vol 7, see articles by [[J. David Bleich|J.D. Bleich]], [[David Novak|D. Novak]]). <br />
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* Kaplan, Jeffrey. ''Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Far Right to the Children of Noah''. Syracuse Univ Pr (Trade); 1997. Paperback ISBN 0-815603-96-7. <br />
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* Katz, Jacob,''The Vicissitudes of Three Apologetic Statements,'' [Hebrew], Zion 23-24 (1958-59): 174-193, (reprinted in Halakhah VeKabbalah [Heb.]). <br />
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* [[Michael Katz|Katz, Rabbi Michael]], ''The Contemporary Noachide Movement'', Former advisor to the Noachide community in Athens, TN<br />
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* Korn, Eugene, ''Gentiles, the World to Come and Judaism: The Odyssey of a Rabbinic Text,'' Modern Judaism 14 (1994): 265-287. <br />
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* [[Aaron Lichtenstein|Lichtenstein, Aaron]]. ''The Seven Laws of Noah''. New York: The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press and Z. Berman Books, 2d ed. 1986. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-69121. [http://www.judaica.com/Noah/seven.html Website] The most technical book on Noahism. It is probably not intended to be an introduction to the Noahide system, but rather a detailed scholarly analysis for those who have been Noahides for a long time or for Jewish scholars of Noahism.<br />
<br />
* Mozeson, Isaac E. ''The Origin of Speeches: Intelligent Design in Language.'' Lightcatcher Books (March 30, 2006). Paperback. ISBN: 0971938881. [This March 2006 book documents how all humans are the children of Adam and Noah, how all peoples are "Hebrews" in their innate Edenic language system. Only in the output stage, do people speak non-Edenic.]<br />
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* [[David Novak|Novak, David]], ''The Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism: An Historical and Constructive Study of the Noahide Laws'' (Lewiston, 1983), Chapter 10. ISBN 0889467595.<br />
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* [[David Novak|Novak, David]], ''Jewish-Christian Dialogue'' (New York, 1989), 26-41. [See these volumes for the scholarly debate regarding whether the Noahide covenant was a Israeli or a Diaspora development.]<br />
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* [[David Novak|Novak, David]]. ''[[Natural law]] in Judaism''. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1998. <br />
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* [[Nahum Rakover|Rakover, Professor Nahum]]. ''Hamishpat Kerech Universali: Dinim Bebnai Noach'' 15-57 (5748)<br />
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* [[Nahum Rakover|Rakover, Professor Nahum]]. ''Jewish Law and the Noahide Obligation to Preserve Social Order'', Cardozo L.Rev. 12:1073-xxxx (1991)<br />
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* [[Nahum Rakover|Rakover, Professor Nahum]]. ''Law and the Noahides: law as a universal value''. Jerusalem: Library of Jewish Law, 1998.<br />
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* [[Yoel Schwartz|Schwartz, Rabbi Yoel]], ''Or la-ʻamim: leḳeṭ be-veʾur tafḳidam ṿe-yiʻudam ha-ruḥani shel umot ha-ʻolam'' ("Light unto the Nations"), Yeshivat Dvar Yerushalayim (Israel). Available in English, Russian, French, and other languages. [http://catalog.loc.gov/ LCCN]: 84155172<br />
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* [[Yoel Schwartz|Schwartz, Rabbi Yoel]], ''The Source and Corpus of the Noachide Code'', Yeshivat Dvar Yerushalayim (Israel)<br />
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* Schwartzschild, Steven, ''Do Noahides Have to Believe in Revelation?'' Jewish Quarterly Review 52 (1962): 297-309, 53 (1962): 29-59.<br />
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* [[David Sears|Sears, Rabbi David]]. ''Compassion For Humanity In the Jewish Tradition.'' Jason Aronson; 1998. Hardcover. ISBN 0-765799-87-1. <br />
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* [[Aharon Soloveitchik|Soloveitchik,Rabbi Aharon]], ''Criminal Penalties under the Noachide Code'', Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), Yeshiva University<br />
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* [[Moshe Weiner|Weiner, Rabbi Moshe]], ''[[The Divine Code]]''<br />
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== Last Century ==<br />
<br />
* [[Aime Palliere|Pallière, Aimé]] (1868-1949). ''The Unknown Sanctuary'': A Pilgrimage from Rome to Israel. Bloch Pub Co; 1986. Paperback ISBN 0-819704-98-9. [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0819704989/socculturejewish Amazon]<br />
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* [[Henry Pereira Mendes|Mendes, Rabbi Henry Pereira]] (1852-1937) ''Orthodox or Historical Judaism'' (Chicago 1894), 217-8, There will be an era of reconciliation of all living faiths and systems.<br />
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* [[Elijah Benamozegh|Benamozegh, Elijah]] (1822-1900). ''[[Israel and Humanity]]'' Translated by Maxwell Uria, in the series Classics of Western Spirituality. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1995. [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0889467595/socculturejewish/ Amazon]<br />
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* [[Yoav Yehoshua|Yehoshua, Rabbi Yoav]], (c 1880) Chelkat Yoav Tanyana 14, it is likely that Jewish law recognizes as proper a Noachide law which provides a sanction for violations other than the death penalty. Noachide law is authorized even to execute. It is not, however, obligated to execute for all violations. In particular this must flow logically from the opinion of Nachmanides that dinim incorporates the obligation to create a system of financial law. <br />
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* [[Ezekiel Landau|Landau, Rabbi Ezekiel ben Judah]] (1713-1793), Nodah Beyehuda, Tanyana, Even haEzer 42, discusses whether Noachides must follow majority rule<br />
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* [[Yakov Yisrael Emden|Emden, Rabbi Yakov Yisrael ben Zevi Ashkenazi]] (1697-1776), appendix to "Seder 'Olam" (pp. 32b-34b, Hamburg, 1752), in a remarkable apology for Christianity contained in his, gives it as his opinion that the original intention of Jesus, and especially of Paul, was to convert only the Gentiles to the seven moral laws of Noah and to let the Jews follow the Mosaic law—which explains the apparent contradictions in the New Testament regarding the laws of Moses and the Sabbath<br />
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==References in the Acharonim==<br />
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Rabbis of 1550 to the present.<br />
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* Kesef Mishneh on [[Sanhedrin 57b]], In the case of murder, if the Noachide slay a child in its mother's womb, or kill a person whose life is despaired of ("ṭerefah"), or if he cause the death of a person by starving him or by putting him before a lion so that he can not escape, or if he slay a man in self-defense, the Noachide is guilty of murder and must pay the death-penalty, although under the same circumstances an Israelite would not be executed<br />
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* Leḥem Mishneh & Kesef Mishneh on [[Sanhedrin 74b]], The Noachid is free from punishment if he commits a sin unwittingly; ignorance of the Law, however, does not excuse him. If he commits a sin under duress, even one for which an Israelite is obliged to undergo martyrdom rather than transgress (e.g., idolatry, adultery, or murder), he is not liable to punishment<br />
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==References in the Rishonim==<br />
Rabbis of the early medieval period (1250–1550) preceding the Shulchan Aruch<br />
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* Yehudah haLevi, "Cuzari," iii. 73, although only those laws which are found in the Torah, before 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, introduced others which are not found there.<br />
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* Teshuvot Chachmai Provance 48 which clearly distinguishes between regulations based on the Noachide laws and regulations based on the law of the land or the law of the king. <br />
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* Sefer Haikarim 1:25. One finds although torah law and Noachide law differ in the details, the principles used are the same, since they derive from the same source. Moreover, the two systems exist concurrently: while Jews have torah law, the other peoples abide by the Noachide code.<br />
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* Tosefos, 'Avodah Zarah, 8(9?):4, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
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* Tosefos, [[Sanhedrin 8]]:1, He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as one of the pious of the Gentiles, and was assured of a portion in the world to come.<br />
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* '''Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides|Laws of Kings, Chapters 8-9]]'''<br />
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* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 8|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 8:11]], He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as one of the pious of the Gentiles, and was assured of a portion in the world to come.<br />
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* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:1]], enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
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* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:4]], In the case of murder, if the Noachide slay a child in its mother's womb, or kill a person whose life is despaired of ("ṭerefah"), or if he cause the death of a person by starving him or by putting him before a lion so that he can not escape, or if he slay a man in self-defense, the Noachide is guilty of murder and must pay the death-penalty, although under the same circumstances an Israelite would not be executed<br />
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* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:5-8]], Only six cases of what would ordinarily be illicit connection are forbidden to the Noachid: (1) with mother; (2) with father's wife, even after the father's death; (3) with a married woman, whether married to a Jew or to a non-Jew; (4) with sister by the same mother; (5) homosexuality; (6) bestiality. In these cases also there are differences in the punishment inflicted, dependent upon whether the offenses are committed by a Noachide or by an Israelite<br />
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* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:9-13]], The Noachide is punished with decapitation for all kinds of robbery, whether from a Jew or from a non-Jew, even though the article stolen is worth less than a peruṭah (the smallest Palestinian coin, for less than which no case can be instituted against an Israelite). The Noachide is executed also if he eat of a limb cut from a living animal, even though the quantity consumed be less than the size of an olive (the minimum portion for the eating of which an Israelite may be punished.<br />
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* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:14]], The Noachidæ are required to establish courts of justice in every city and province; and these courts are to judge the people with regard to the six laws and to warn them against the transgression of any of them<br />
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* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:14]], The many formalities of procedure essential when the accused is an Israelite need not be observed in the case of the Noachide.<br />
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* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 10:1,2]], (based on [[Sanhedrin 74b]]) The Noachid is free from punishment if he commits a sin unwittingly; ignorance of the Law, however, does not excuse him. If he commits a sin under duress, even one for which an Israelite is obliged to undergo martyrdom rather than transgress (e.g., idolatry, adultery, or murder), he is not liable to punishment<br />
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* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 10:4]], (based on [[Sanhedrin 71b]]) A Noachide who slays another Noachide, or worships idols, or blasphemes, or has illicit connection with the wife of another Noachid, and then becomes a proselyte, is free from punishment. If, however, he has killed an Israelite, or has had illicit connection with the wife of an Israelite, and then becomes a proselyte, he must submit to the punishment that is inflicted upon an Israelite found guilty of such a transgression<br />
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* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 10:9]], The principle is, one is not permitted to make innovations in religion or to create new commandments. He has the privilege to become a true proselyte by accepting the whole Law.<br />
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* Naḥmanides on Genesis 34:13 (differing with Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:14), the opinion is expressed that these courts should judge also cases other than those coming under the head of the six laws, as, for example, larceny, assault and battery, etc.<br />
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* Rashi on Yevamot 48b, Every Noahide who renounces idolatry needs to observe Shabbot (but not as Jews do), because failing to properly honor the Sabbath is itself a species of idolatry<br />
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==References in the Savoraim & Geonim== <br />
The classical Persian rabbis (500–600) and Rabbis of Sura and Pumbeditha, in Babylonia (650–1250)<br />
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* Seder 'Olam Rabbah, , ed. Ratner, ch. 5, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
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==References in the Midrashim & Tosefta==<br />
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* Genesis Rabah 16:9, 24:5, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
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* Canticles Rabah 1:16, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
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* '''Tosefta, Avodah Zarah 8(9)'''<br />
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==References in the Talmud==<br />
The sages of the Mishna (70–200) and of the Talmud (200–500)<br />
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* 'Eruvin 62a, which states that a non-Jew is to be executed for stealing even less than a Perutah and he does not have the option of returning what he stole. (see Yevamot 47b)<br />
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* Pesachim 22b, one may not enable a Noachide to sin. If absent the assistance of a Jew no violation could or would take place, it is a biblical violation of "before a blind person thou shall not put a stumbling block" for a Jew to assist a Noachide in violating his law. <br />
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* Yoma 28b, the patriarchs observed all the laws of the Torah even though they were Noahides.<br />
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* Megillah 13a, explains that Mordechai was called "Ish Yehudi" because anyone who rejects idolatry is called a "Yehudi." The Maharsha explains that within the name Yehudah is the Tetragrammaton. Therefore, righteous Gentiles should also be called with God's name.<br />
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* Yevamot 47b, part of the instruction of the candidate for conversion must include "the sin of gleaning, the forgotten sheaf, pe'ah and the indigent's tithe". Why is this asked? because [Noahide law may say that] a noahide is slain for less than a prutah and it may not be returned. Rashi comments: So that [if such a candidate is a landowner] he should not say 'these poor people who are taking the edges of my field are thieves'; he will then attack them and kill them according to their [Noahide] laws.<br />
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* Yevamot 48b, Why are proselytes at the present time oppressed and visited with afflictions? Because they had not observed the seven Noahide commandments.<br />
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* Yevamot 62a, procreation, while obligatory on non-Jews according to Rabbi Yohanan would nevertheless not to be listed in the Seven laws.<br />
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* Nedarim 31a, Jews were originally Noahides<br />
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* Bava Kama 38a, Of Gamaliel II. is recorded a conversation with two pseudo-proselyte generals, who, being sent to investigate Jewish practises, take exception only rules governing damages which were not symetrical between Jew and non-Jew. A discussion of how the mankind as stopped observing the Seven Laws and its implications for Jewish law.<br />
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* Bava Kama 38a; [[Sanhedrin 59a]], R' Meir who insisted that in Lev. xviii. 5 the word "man," not "priest," "Levite," or "Israelite," occurs, and thus claimed that a non-Jew versed in the Torah equals in rank the high priest (Sifra, 86b, where II Sam. vii. 19 ["ha-adam"]; Isa. xxvi. 2, "goi zaddik"; Ps. xxxiii. 1, "zaddikim," and cxxv. 4, "le-tovim," are similarly applied to Gentile and Jew alike)<br />
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* Bava Kama 92b, From this we can learn that a descendant of Noah may become liable to death if he had the opportunity to acquire instruction and did not do so [and so committed a crime through the ignorance of the law].<br />
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* '''[[Sanhedrin 56a-60a]]'''<br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 56a]], enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 56b]], the prohibitions against eating the blood of a living animal, against the emasculation of animals, against sorcery, against pairing animals of different species, and against grafting trees of different kinds (Tanna debe Menasseh)<br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 56b]], With regard to idolatry, he can be found guilty only if he worshiped an idol in the regular form in which that particular deity is usually worshiped; while in the case of blasphemy he may be found guilty, even when he has blasphemed with one of the attributes of God's name—an action which, if committed by an Israelite, would not be regarded as criminal<br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 57a]], The many formalities of procedure essential when the accused is an Israelite need not be observed in the case of the Noachide. The latter may be convicted on the testimony of one witness, even on that of relatives, but not on that of a woman. He need have had no warning ("hatra'ah") from the witnesses; and a single judge may pass sentence on him<br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 57b]], In the case of murder, if the Noachide slay a child in its mother's womb, or kill a person whose life is despaired of ("ṭerefah"), or if he cause the death of a person by starving him or by putting him before a lion so that he can not escape, or if he slay a man in self-defense, the Noachide is guilty of murder and must pay the death-penalty, although under the same circumstances an Israelite would not be executed<br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 58b]], This proves that one's paternal sister was forbidden to the sons of Noah.<br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 58b]], Resh Laḳish (d. 278) said, "A Gentile observing the Sabbath deserves death" <br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 59a]]; R. Jose ben Ḥanina, "Every law that was enjoined upon the Noachidæ and was repeated at Sinai is meant to apply both to Israelites and to non-Israelites; laws that were enjoined upon the Noachidæ and were not repeated at Sinai apply to Israelites only" By this principle a number of the pre-Sinaitic laws were excluded from the Noachian laws<br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 59a]]; & Ḥagigah 13a, Inasmuch as the Jews had their own distinct jurisdiction, it would have been unwise to reveal their laws to the non-Jews, for such knowledge might have operated against the Jews in their opponents' courts. Hence the Talmud prohibited the teaching to a Gentile of the Torah, R. Johanan says of one so teaching: "Such a person deserves death" (an idiom used to express indignation). "It is like placing an obstacle before the blind" <br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 71b]], A Noachide who slays another Noachide, or worships idols, or blasphemes, or has illicit connection with the wife of another Noachid, and then becomes a proselyte, is free from punishment. If, however, he has killed an Israelite, or has had illicit connection with the wife of an Israelite, and then becomes a proselyte, he must submit to the punishment that is inflicted upon an Israelite found guilty of such a transgression.<br />
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* [[Sanhedrin 91b]] & [[Sanhedrin 105a|105a]], He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as one of the pious of the Gentiles, and was assured of a portion in the world to come.<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 2b, He saw that the nations did not observe even the seven precepts which the sons of Noah had taken upon themselves,25 and seeing that they did not observe them, He stood up and released them from it. (see also Bava Kama 38a)<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 26a. I a Gentile study the Law for the purpose of observing the moral laws of Noah, R. Meïr says he is as good as a high priest, and quotes: "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them". The text does not specify an Israelite or a Levite or a priest, but simply "a man"—even a Gentile/<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 51a, cases when a defective animal was still qualified to be offered by the sons of Noah1 to G-d upon their altars<br />
<br />
* '''[['Avodah Zarah 63a]]'''<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 64b, He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as a domiciled alien ([[Ger Toshav]]). Three opinions for definition of ger toshav. 1) forgoes idolatry. 2) Takes on seven laws. 3) Takes on all laws except kosher meat.<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 71b, a non-Jewish thief is not put to death for the theft, but for the reason that he may have endangered the Jew's life; because if the owner had tried to prevent the robbery the thief might have killed him.<br />
<br />
* Makkot 9a, [[Sanhedrin 74b]], The Noachid is free from punishment if he commits a sin unwittingly; ignorance of the Law, however, does not excuse him. If he commits a sin under duress, even one for which an Israelite is obliged to undergo martyrdom rather than transgress (e.g., idolatry, adultery, or murder), he is not liable to punishment.<br />
<br />
* Makkot 9b, discusses why non-Jews are liable for the death penalty upon committing a capital crime, even if they are not exposed to Torah<br />
<br />
* Chullin 13b, Rabbi Yochanan, who taught that 'the Gentiles outside the land (of Israel) are not idolaters; they are but continuing the customs of their ancestors'.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 89b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 91a<br />
<br />
* Chullin 92a, thirty Noachian laws are mentioned.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 92b, In Talmudic times the non-Jews of Babylon were apparently sunk in the grossest immorality, so that 'Ula, one of the earlier Babylonian amoraim, complains that out of the thirty laws which the Noachidæ accept they observe only three — they do not write a marriage contract ("ketubah") for pederasty; they do not sell human flesh in their shops; and they show respect for the Torah.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 94a, Honesty and truthfulness are insisted on in all dealings, whether with a Jew or a Gentile. The Rabbis insisted that the sin known as "genebat da'at" (the stealing of another's good opinion by false representations or by the pretense of friendship and the like) be avoided in one's intercourse even with a non-Jew.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 100b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 101b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 114b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 121a<br />
<br />
* Chullin 129a<br />
<br />
* Bechorot 3b<br />
<br />
* Temurah 7a<br />
<br />
* Tohorot 43a<br />
<br />
* Yerushalmi 'Avodah Zarah 2:1, thirty Noachian laws are mentioned<br />
<br />
* Yerushalmi 'Avodah Zarah 2:1, In the Messianic age the Noachidæ will accept all the laws of the Torah, although later they will again reject them.<br />
<br />
==Biblical References==<br />
<br />
* Genesis 2:16, Declare six commandments that were enjoined upon Adam.<br />
<br />
* Genesis 2:17, Penalty for disobedience<br />
<br />
* Genesis 2:24, Institution of marriage<br />
<br />
* Genesis 6:8, Noah found favor in the eyes of G-d<br />
<br />
* Genesis 8:21, Covenant with Noah<br />
<br />
* Geneis 9:4, a seventh commandment added after the Flood—not to eat flesh that had been cut from a living animal.<br />
<br />
* Genesis 9:6, punishment for murder (and all other crimes) is capital punishment<br />
<br />
* Genesis 37:2, Joseph brought back a bad report about his brothers to their father<br />
<br />
* Exodus 21:29, Law of damages<br />
<br />
* Exodus 21:23, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth<br />
<br />
* Leviticus 19:11, You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen<br />
<br />
* Leviticus 24:16, Anyone who blasphemes the name of Hashem must be put to death.<br />
<br />
* Deuteronomy 24:1, Institution of divorce<br />
<br />
* Job 2:9-10, Job refuses to curse G-d<br />
<br />
* Psalm 117:1, Praise Hashem, all you nations! Applaud him, all you foreigners!<br />
<br />
* Psalm 119:99, I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your rules.<br />
<br />
* Proverbs 2:5, Then you will understand how to fear Hashem, and you will discover knowledge about G-d.<br />
<br />
* Isaiah 11:9, They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to Hashem’s sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea.<br />
<br />
* Isaiah 54:9, As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time, when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood would never again cover the earth. In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.<br />
<br />
* Habakkuk 3:6, He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; (understood by Baba Kama 38a as saying each nation was assigned a land and language)<br />
<br />
* Zephaniah 3:9, Know for sure that I will then enable the nations to give me acceptable praise. All of them will invoke Hashem’s name when they pray, and will worship him in unison.<br />
<br />
==Other Sources==<br />
<br />
===Non Rabbinic, Jewish Sources===<br />
<br />
* Jubilees, vii. 20-29, non standard enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* Josephus Ant. 14.7.2, discussing the ''Sebomenoi'' <br />
<br />
===Christian and Islamic Sources===<br />
<br />
* Christian Book of [[Noahide Law in the New Testament|Acts 15:19-21]], council of Jerusalem declaring what appear to be the Noahide laws as obligatory on non-Jewish converts to Christianity.<br />
<br />
* Catholic Encyclopedia: [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09076a.htm Natural Law] where Noahide law is refered to as "older traditions".<br />
<br />
* Islamic [[Noahide Law in the Qur'an|Qur'an 15:87]] makes it clear that there is a Mesanî and Qur'an, and they are separate.<br />
<br />
* Islamic [[Noahide Law in the Qur'an|Qur'an 39:23]], discussion about the "seven laws" Mesanî<br />
<br />
* The Haddith [[Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 40, Number 4579]] says that the Jewish religion was split into 72 sects, possibly a reference to the 70 Noahide nations.<br />
<br />
===Other Non-Jewish Sources===<br />
<br />
* Hindu, [[Noahide_Hindu|Upanishads]] contains a parallel which tends to support Benamozegh's argument that lawgiving would normally be a feature of the creation of the universe<br />
<br />
* Hindu, [[Noahide_Hindu|Prayer of Enheduanna]] (daughter of Sargon the Great, c. 2250 BC) possible relationship between the Seven Laws and these seven rules.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.nationalismproject.org/ NationalismProject.org] - scholarly papers on nations and nationalism without reference to any particular ideology.</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=13052
Torah for Gentiles
2011-08-11T07:45:21Z
<p>Elisheva: /* What they say about this book */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz Bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering it directly from the author at shevabar@bezeqint.net, payable through PayPal.<br />
The price is 120 shekels or equivalent of $35. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
She’s got guts, brains, looks, and faith. Any one of these features alone would make her a charming person, but all of them together make of her an explosive “impossible person to deal with”. No matter – she’s obstinate to boot! Misunderstood by her family, untamed by her teachers, rejected by society and ignored by friends, she still managed to dodge drugs, duck psychiatrists, pass over prostitution and avoid suicide – think I do not see you, Satan? And she’s got talent too. An amateur artist, self-taught scholar, and unpublished writer, she has noticeable impact wherever she goes, but receives credit from no one. Pity she doesn’t care… because you know, she’s very independent and honest too! <br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France where she studied at the University Paris VIII in the wake of the '68 revolution. In France, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, had a try in showbiz, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and submitted a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never returned to her and never published.<br />
<br />
In 1980, she came to Israel with her son, learning and then teaching Torah in various institutions. She became Rabbi Meir Kahane's assistant and after he was killed wrote a book in French about this period in Jewish History entitled KAHANE ET LE KAHANISME. She then studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years (concentrating on the Rambam and Rav Saadya Gaon), had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman where she analyzed the news in the light of Jewish Law. She obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding, who asked her to write a series of articles on the Bnei Noach commandments for his monthly magazine. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. <br />
<br />
In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel directed by Rabbi Ratson Arussi and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''directed by Professor Nachum Rakover.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person. She is an enthusiast of the Rambam and a student of Rabbi Yossef Kappach. Her understanding is unique and her world view is both nationalistic and universalist. This is what she expressed in this book. One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views. Indeed, she feels there is a leardership crisis and this is why she speaks her message like Dvorah the prophetess did in her own times. The topic of this book is worthy of proper attention and careful study. (Rabbi Ratzon Arussi) <br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern. (Rabbi Dr. Yigal Shafran) <br />
<br />
* This book is not only a challenging thesis, it is a also work of art. (Adv. E. F.) <br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (Dr. John Craig)<br />
<br />
* I am impressed by your book. Your thoughts and opinions are so well construed. I have never seen a man with a pure heart fail when on a mission to promote G-dly law. Your spirit is what the government needs (my opinion). Well you have boosted my confidence in humanity... I was hoping to find sane people somewhere. Thanks. (Charles Howell)<br />
<br />
* I have finished your book and it is a great help. There is so much to learn from it and I am sure I didn't get it all the first time, so I am going to read it again. Thank you for all your wisdom and advice. Thank you for being Jewish. (Dennis Walter)<br />
<br />
* Thus far, I've read the first five chapters. I appreciate the depth and boldness of your work, and I am looking forward to reading the rest and sharing it with the others.(Woody Gilson)<br />
<br />
* Your book is very thought-provoking! Sometimes I have to stop after a paragraph just to absorb and understand the info before I continue reading! I am thoroughly enjoying the read...learning a lot. And I love your sense of humor that you occasionally slip in. It's nice to have a chuckle while learning about serious things (Miriam Esther Eyges)<br />
<br />
<br />
Excerpt from an interview of Elisheva on IBA ENGLISH NEWS, Nov. 1st 2008<br />
<br />
Interviewer Aviva Press: <br />
<br />
Who do you hope will read this book?<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre: <br />
<br />
I think it concerns any Gentile who wants to know what the Torah really has to say. It is important because today that Israel returned to its land, it created a lot of change in world consciousness. Jews are also concerned because this change in our situation from exile to coming back to our land and trying to establish Jewish sovereignty and living here with all the problems that we have with it, also caused a change in the Jewish understanding of what the Torah means for us – which is the question, by the way, which the Pope asked Rabbi Shaar Yishuv HaCohen to answer: <br />
"What does the Torah mean for the Jews?" (I am telling Gentiles what it means for them). <br />
<br />
The Torah is a project. It is not only a book of do's and don'ts it is also the divine project in History. It is the blueprint of History under divine government.</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Publications&diff=10225
Publications
2011-01-19T12:09:36Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Modern Authors */</p>
<hr />
<div>This is the beginning of a comprehensive list of literature concernign the Bnai Noach. Please add any that are missing. Eventually this literature should be broken into categories and each of publication should be made into Wikinoah pages that review the publication.<br />
<br />
It also includes a comprehensive list of references to Bnai Noach in traditional Jewish literature. <br />
<br />
Wikinoah makes no claims concerning these publications, and may or may not represent the position of Wikinoah and/or UNC Inc.<br />
<br />
==Prayer Books==<br />
<br />
* [[Seventh Day Payers|Suggested Seventh Day observance]]<br />
* [[Rosh Hashanah Prayers|Rosh Hashanah Observance]]<br />
* [[Children Prayers|Children’s book]] by Rabbi Michael Katz<br />
* [[Daily Prayers]], by Rabbi Michael Katz<br />
* [[Funeral Prayers|Funeral Service]], by Rabbi Michael Katz, <br />
* [[Suggested Prayers]] by Rabbi Bindman<br />
* [[Hanukah Prayers|Hanukah Guide]]<br />
* Oklahoma B'nai Noah Society. Prayer Book: Service From The Heart - Renewing the Ancient Path of Biblical Prayer and Service ISBN 978-0-6151-6402-1 (Paperback) - [http://www.lulu.com/content/1177327 First Ever Noahide Prayer Book]<br />
<br />
== Modern Authors ==<br />
<br />
* BARRE Elisheva, [[Torah for Gentiles, Modern Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws]], ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz Bookstores, Jerusalem.<br />
<br />
* [[Efrayim ha-Levi Bilitser|Bilitser, Efrayim ha-Levi]]. ''Torat ben Noah''<br />
<br />
* R. C. Berman. ''Sefer Sheva Mitzvot Hashem'', [[The Book of Seven Divine Commandments]], published by Ask Noah International, \available through Kehot.com and Judaica bookstores across the U.S.<br />
<br />
* [[Yirmeyahu Bindman|Bindman, Yirmeyahu]]. ''(The) Seven Colors of the Rainbow: Torah Ethics for Non-Jews''. Resource Publications; 1995. Paperback. ISBN 0-893903-32-9. [A great beginning book for the non-Jew looking into Torah ethics. Explains what G-d originally required of mankind that has been kept from most for nearly 2,000 years, and the role of Gentile in the world to come.]<br />
<br />
* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Hasgarat Posh'a Yehudi sheBarach LeEretz Yisrael'', Or Hamizrach 35:247- 269 (5747)<br />
<br />
* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Judaism and [[natural law]]'' in ''Jewish law annual'', vol. VII 5-42<br />
<br />
* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Mishpat Mavet Bedenai Benai Noach,'' Jubilee Volume in Honor of Rabbi Joseph D. Soloveitchik 1:193-208 (5754);<br />
<br />
* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Tikkun Olam: Jewish Obligations to Non-Jewish Societ'' in: ''Tikkun olam: social responsibility in Jewish thought and law''. Edited by David Shatz, Chaim I. Waxman and Nathan J. Diament. Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1997. ISBN 0765759519.<br />
<br />
* [[Alan Brill|Brill, Rabbi Dr. Alan]] ''[http://www.bc.edu/research/cjl/meta-elements/texts/cjrelations/resources/articles/Brill.htm Judaism and Other Religions: An Orthodox perspective]'' commissioned by the World Jewish Congress for the "World Symposium of Catholic Cardinals and Jewish Leaders," January 19-20, 2004 in New York City.<br />
<br />
* [[Michael Broyde|Broyde, Michael J]]. ''[http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/noach2.html The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review]'' in ''Tikkun olam: social responsibility in Jewish thought and law''. Edited by David Shatz, Chaim I. Waxman and Nathan J. Diament. Northvale, N.J. : Jason Aronson, 1997. ISBN 0765759519.<br />
<br />
* [[Israel Chait|Chait, Rabbi Israel]]. ''Responsibility for the Implementation of the Noachide Code'', Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva Bnei Torah, (Far Rockaway, Queens), Former advisor to the Noachide community in Athens, TN<br />
<br />
* Clorfene, Chaim and Yaakov Rogalsky ''[http://moshiach.com/action/morality/introduction.php The Path of the Righteous Gentile: An Introduction to the Seven Laws of the Children of Noah]''. New York: Phillip Feldheim, 1987. ISBN 087306433X. also Smithfield, MI: Targum Press, 1987<br />
<br />
* [[Yakov Dovid Cohen|Cohen, Yakov Dovid]] "Divine Image" Institute of Noahide Code 2006 ISBN 1 4243 1000 8 http://www.Noahide.org<br />
<br />
* [[Shimon Dovid Cowen|Cowen, Shimon Dovid]]. ''Perspectives on the Noahide Laws - Universal ethics''. The Institute of Judaism and Civilization (3rd edition) 2008 ISBN 0958593388 http://www.ijc.com.au<br />
<br />
* [[Michael Ellias Dallen|Dallen, Michael Ellias]] ''The Rainbow Covenant: Torah and the Seven Universal Laws'', Lightcatcher Books, 2003. (842 Kissinger Ave., Springdale AR 72762) ISBN 0-9719388-2-2. Easily understood book especially for the lay person, explains many of the details of the Noahide laws, and their application with the references and further explanations.<br />
<br />
* [[David Davis|Davis, J. David]]. ''Finding The G-d of Noah: The Spiritual Journey of a Baptist Minister from Christianity to the Laws of Noah''. KTAV Publishing (900 Jefferson Street, Hoboken NJ 07030). 1996. ISBN 0-881255-35-1. <br />
<br />
* [[Arnold Enker|Enker, Arnold]], ''Aspects of Interaction Between the Torah Law, the King's Law, and the Noahide Law in Jewish Criminal Law'', Cardozo L. Rev. 12:1137-xxxx (1991) discusses regulations based on the Noachide laws and regulations based on the law of the land or the law of the king. For more on this distinction, see Teshuvot Chachmai Provance 48 which clearly distinguishes between these regulations. <br />
<br />
* Encyclopedia Judaica, ''Noachide Laws,'' 12: 1189-1191.<br />
<br />
* Encyclopedia Talmudit, ''Ben Noach'' 3:348-362; <br />
<br />
* Friedman, Manis. ''Doesn't Anyone Blush Anymore? Bais Chana Press.'' Paperback ISBN 1-578870-00-3.<br />
<br />
* Gallin, Aryeh. ''The Root and Branch Noachide Guide''. Root and Branch Association, Ltd, 504 Grand Street, #E51, New York, NY 10002-4101. http://www.rb.org.il/<br />
<br />
* [[Yitzchak Ginsburgh|Ginsburgh, Rabbi Yitzchak]]. ''Kabbalah and Meditation for the Nations''. Publisher: Gal Einai, 2006. The covenant with the Jewish people was not the first made between the Almighty and mankind. Before the revelation at Mt. Sinai, G-d commanded Adam and then made a covenant with Noah, giving them the guidelines for the universal religion of mankind.<br />
<br />
* [[Kimberly E. Hanke|Hanke, Kimberly E.]] ''Turning to Torah: The Emerging Noachide Movement'', Jason Aronson Publishing House (230 Livingston Street, Northvale, New Jersey 07647) and Number Seven Spectrum House (32-34 Gordon House Road London, NW5 1LP England). 1995. 250 pp. ISBN 1-568215-00-2. [One woman's path from Christianity to "Messianic" Christianity, and finally to Torah since 1988. At one point, she considers conversion to Judaism, and then learns of the Noachide Covenant, through several Jewish individuals. She then was enlightened into the writings of J. David Davis.] <br />
<br />
* Jewish Law Annual, Vols. 6 and 7 (1987 and 1988) (Vol. 6, see articles by E. Rackman, J. Dienstag, O. Leaman; Vol 7, see articles by [[J. David Bleich|J.D. Bleich]], [[David Novak|D. Novak]]). <br />
<br />
* Kaplan, Jeffrey. ''Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Far Right to the Children of Noah''. Syracuse Univ Pr (Trade); 1997. Paperback ISBN 0-815603-96-7. <br />
<br />
* Katz, Jacob,''The Vicissitudes of Three Apologetic Statements,'' [Hebrew], Zion 23-24 (1958-59): 174-193, (reprinted in Halakhah VeKabbalah [Heb.]). <br />
<br />
* [[Michael Katz|Katz, Rabbi Michael]], ''The Contemporary Noachide Movement'', Former advisor to the Noachide community in Athens, TN<br />
<br />
* Korn, Eugene, ''Gentiles, the World to Come and Judaism: The Odyssey of a Rabbinic Text,'' Modern Judaism 14 (1994): 265-287. <br />
<br />
* [[Aaron Lichtenstein|Lichtenstein, Aaron]]. ''The Seven Laws of Noah''. New York: The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press and Z. Berman Books, 2d ed. 1986. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-69121. [http://www.judaica.com/Noah/seven.html Website] The most technical book on Noahism. It is probably not intended to be an introduction to the Noahide system, but rather a detailed scholarly analysis for those who have been Noahides for a long time or for Jewish scholars of Noahism.<br />
<br />
* Mozeson, Isaac E. ''The Origin of Speeches: Intelligent Design in Language.'' Lightcatcher Books (March 30, 2006). Paperback. ISBN: 0971938881. [This March 2006 book documents how all humans are the children of Adam and Noah, how all peoples are "Hebrews" in their innate Edenic language system. Only in the output stage, do people speak non-Edenic.]<br />
<br />
* [[David Novak|Novak, David]], ''The Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism: An Historical and Constructive Study of the Noahide Laws'' (Lewiston, 1983), Chapter 10. ISBN 0889467595.<br />
<br />
* [[David Novak|Novak, David]], ''Jewish-Christian Dialogue'' (New York, 1989), 26-41. [See these volumes for the scholarly debate regarding whether the Noahide covenant was a Israeli or a Diaspora development.]<br />
<br />
* [[David Novak|Novak, David]]. ''[[Natural law]] in Judaism''. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1998. <br />
<br />
* [[Nahum Rakover|Rakover, Professor Nahum]]. ''Hamishpat Kerech Universali: Dinim Bebnai Noach'' 15-57 (5748)<br />
<br />
* [[Nahum Rakover|Rakover, Professor Nahum]]. ''Jewish Law and the Noahide Obligation to Preserve Social Order'', Cardozo L.Rev. 12:1073-xxxx (1991)<br />
<br />
* [[Nahum Rakover|Rakover, Professor Nahum]]. ''Law and the Noahides: law as a universal value''. Jerusalem: Library of Jewish Law, 1998.<br />
<br />
* [[Yoel Schwartz|Schwartz, Rabbi Yoel]], ''Or la-ʻamim: leḳeṭ be-veʾur tafḳidam ṿe-yiʻudam ha-ruḥani shel umot ha-ʻolam'' ("Light unto the Nations"), Yeshivat Dvar Yerushalayim (Israel). Available in English, Russian, French, and other languages. [http://catalog.loc.gov/ LCCN]: 84155172<br />
<br />
* [[Yoel Schwartz|Schwartz, Rabbi Yoel]], ''The Source and Corpus of the Noachide Code'', Yeshivat Dvar Yerushalayim (Israel)<br />
<br />
* Schwartzschild, Steven, ''Do Noahides Have to Believe in Revelation?'' Jewish Quarterly Review 52 (1962): 297-309, 53 (1962): 29-59.<br />
<br />
* [[David Sears|Sears, Rabbi David]]. ''Compassion For Humanity In the Jewish Tradition.'' Jason Aronson; 1998. Hardcover. ISBN 0-765799-87-1. <br />
<br />
* [[Aharon Soloveitchik|Soloveitchik,Rabbi Aharon]], ''Criminal Penalties under the Noachide Code'', Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), Yeshiva University<br />
<br />
* [[Moshe Weiner|Weiner, Rabbi Moshe]], ''[[The Divine Code]]''<br />
<br />
== Last Century ==<br />
<br />
* [[Aime Palliere|Pallière, Aimé]] (1868-1949). ''The Unknown Sanctuary'': A Pilgrimage from Rome to Israel. Bloch Pub Co; 1986. Paperback ISBN 0-819704-98-9. [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0819704989/socculturejewish Amazon]<br />
<br />
* [[Henry Pereira Mendes|Mendes, Rabbi Henry Pereira]] (1852-1937) ''Orthodox or Historical Judaism'' (Chicago 1894), 217-8, There will be an era of reconciliation of all living faiths and systems.<br />
<br />
* [[Elijah Benamozegh|Benamozegh, Elijah]] (1822-1900). ''[[Israel and Humanity]]'' Translated by Maxwell Uria, in the series Classics of Western Spirituality. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1995. [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0889467595/socculturejewish/ Amazon]<br />
<br />
* [[Yoav Yehoshua|Yehoshua, Rabbi Yoav]], (c 1880) Chelkat Yoav Tanyana 14, it is likely that Jewish law recognizes as proper a Noachide law which provides a sanction for violations other than the death penalty. Noachide law is authorized even to execute. It is not, however, obligated to execute for all violations. In particular this must flow logically from the opinion of Nachmanides that dinim incorporates the obligation to create a system of financial law. <br />
<br />
* [[Ezekiel Landau|Landau, Rabbi Ezekiel ben Judah]] (1713-1793), Nodah Beyehuda, Tanyana, Even haEzer 42, discusses whether Noachides must follow majority rule<br />
<br />
* [[Yakov Yisrael Emden|Emden, Rabbi Yakov Yisrael ben Zevi Ashkenazi]] (1697-1776), appendix to "Seder 'Olam" (pp. 32b-34b, Hamburg, 1752), in a remarkable apology for Christianity contained in his, gives it as his opinion that the original intention of Jesus, and especially of Paul, was to convert only the Gentiles to the seven moral laws of Noah and to let the Jews follow the Mosaic law—which explains the apparent contradictions in the New Testament regarding the laws of Moses and the Sabbath<br />
<br />
==References in the Acharonim==<br />
<br />
Rabbis of 1550 to the present.<br />
<br />
* Kesef Mishneh on [[Sanhedrin 57b]], In the case of murder, if the Noachide slay a child in its mother's womb, or kill a person whose life is despaired of ("ṭerefah"), or if he cause the death of a person by starving him or by putting him before a lion so that he can not escape, or if he slay a man in self-defense, the Noachide is guilty of murder and must pay the death-penalty, although under the same circumstances an Israelite would not be executed<br />
<br />
* Leḥem Mishneh & Kesef Mishneh on [[Sanhedrin 74b]], The Noachid is free from punishment if he commits a sin unwittingly; ignorance of the Law, however, does not excuse him. If he commits a sin under duress, even one for which an Israelite is obliged to undergo martyrdom rather than transgress (e.g., idolatry, adultery, or murder), he is not liable to punishment<br />
<br />
==References in the Rishonim==<br />
Rabbis of the early medieval period (1250–1550) preceding the Shulchan Aruch<br />
<br />
* Yehudah haLevi, "Cuzari," iii. 73, although only those laws which are found in the Torah, before 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, introduced others which are not found there.<br />
<br />
* Teshuvot Chachmai Provance 48 which clearly distinguishes between regulations based on the Noachide laws and regulations based on the law of the land or the law of the king. <br />
<br />
* Sefer Haikarim 1:25. One finds although torah law and Noachide law differ in the details, the principles used are the same, since they derive from the same source. Moreover, the two systems exist concurrently: while Jews have torah law, the other peoples abide by the Noachide code.<br />
<br />
* Tosefos, 'Avodah Zarah, 8(9?):4, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* Tosefos, [[Sanhedrin 8]]:1, He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as one of the pious of the Gentiles, and was assured of a portion in the world to come.<br />
<br />
* '''Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides|Laws of Kings, Chapters 8-9]]'''<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 8|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 8:11]], He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as one of the pious of the Gentiles, and was assured of a portion in the world to come.<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:1]], enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:4]], In the case of murder, if the Noachide slay a child in its mother's womb, or kill a person whose life is despaired of ("ṭerefah"), or if he cause the death of a person by starving him or by putting him before a lion so that he can not escape, or if he slay a man in self-defense, the Noachide is guilty of murder and must pay the death-penalty, although under the same circumstances an Israelite would not be executed<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:5-8]], Only six cases of what would ordinarily be illicit connection are forbidden to the Noachid: (1) with mother; (2) with father's wife, even after the father's death; (3) with a married woman, whether married to a Jew or to a non-Jew; (4) with sister by the same mother; (5) homosexuality; (6) bestiality. In these cases also there are differences in the punishment inflicted, dependent upon whether the offenses are committed by a Noachide or by an Israelite<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:9-13]], The Noachide is punished with decapitation for all kinds of robbery, whether from a Jew or from a non-Jew, even though the article stolen is worth less than a peruṭah (the smallest Palestinian coin, for less than which no case can be instituted against an Israelite). The Noachide is executed also if he eat of a limb cut from a living animal, even though the quantity consumed be less than the size of an olive (the minimum portion for the eating of which an Israelite may be punished.<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:14]], The Noachidæ are required to establish courts of justice in every city and province; and these courts are to judge the people with regard to the six laws and to warn them against the transgression of any of them<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:14]], The many formalities of procedure essential when the accused is an Israelite need not be observed in the case of the Noachide.<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 10:1,2]], (based on [[Sanhedrin 74b]]) The Noachid is free from punishment if he commits a sin unwittingly; ignorance of the Law, however, does not excuse him. If he commits a sin under duress, even one for which an Israelite is obliged to undergo martyrdom rather than transgress (e.g., idolatry, adultery, or murder), he is not liable to punishment<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 10:4]], (based on [[Sanhedrin 71b]]) A Noachide who slays another Noachide, or worships idols, or blasphemes, or has illicit connection with the wife of another Noachid, and then becomes a proselyte, is free from punishment. If, however, he has killed an Israelite, or has had illicit connection with the wife of an Israelite, and then becomes a proselyte, he must submit to the punishment that is inflicted upon an Israelite found guilty of such a transgression<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 10:9]], The principle is, one is not permitted to make innovations in religion or to create new commandments. He has the privilege to become a true proselyte by accepting the whole Law.<br />
<br />
* Naḥmanides on Genesis 34:13 (differing with Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:14), the opinion is expressed that these courts should judge also cases other than those coming under the head of the six laws, as, for example, larceny, assault and battery, etc.<br />
<br />
* Rashi on Yevamot 48b, Every Noahide who renounces idolatry needs to observe Shabbot (but not as Jews do), because failing to properly honor the Sabbath is itself a species of idolatry<br />
<br />
==References in the Savoraim & Geonim== <br />
The classical Persian rabbis (500–600) and Rabbis of Sura and Pumbeditha, in Babylonia (650–1250)<br />
<br />
* Seder 'Olam Rabbah, , ed. Ratner, ch. 5, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
==References in the Midrashim & Tosefta==<br />
<br />
* Genesis Rabah 16:9, 24:5, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* Canticles Rabah 1:16, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* '''Tosefta, Avodah Zarah 8(9)'''<br />
<br />
==References in the Talmud==<br />
The sages of the Mishna (70–200) and of the Talmud (200–500)<br />
<br />
* 'Eruvin 62a, which states that a non-Jew is to be executed for stealing even less than a Perutah and he does not have the option of returning what he stole. (see Yevamot 47b)<br />
<br />
* Pesachim 22b, one may not enable a Noachide to sin. If absent the assistance of a Jew no violation could or would take place, it is a biblical violation of "before a blind person thou shall not put a stumbling block" for a Jew to assist a Noachide in violating his law. <br />
<br />
* Yoma 28b, the patriarchs observed all the laws of the Torah even though they were Noahides.<br />
<br />
* Megillah 13a, explains that Mordechai was called "Ish Yehudi" because anyone who rejects idolatry is called a "Yehudi." The Maharsha explains that within the name Yehudah is the Tetragrammaton. Therefore, righteous Gentiles should also be called with God's name.<br />
<br />
* Yevamot 47b, part of the instruction of the candidate for conversion must include "the sin of gleaning, the forgotten sheaf, pe'ah and the indigent's tithe". Why is this asked? because [Noahide law may say that] a noahide is slain for less than a prutah and it may not be returned. Rashi comments: So that [if such a candidate is a landowner] he should not say 'these poor people who are taking the edges of my field are thieves'; he will then attack them and kill them according to their [Noahide] laws.<br />
<br />
* Yevamot 48b, Why are proselytes at the present time oppressed and visited with afflictions? Because they had not observed the seven Noahide commandments.<br />
<br />
* Yevamot 62a, procreation, while obligatory on non-Jews according to Rabbi Yohanan would nevertheless not to be listed in the Seven laws.<br />
<br />
* Nedarim 31a, Jews were originally Noahides<br />
<br />
* Bava Kama 38a, Of Gamaliel II. is recorded a conversation with two pseudo-proselyte generals, who, being sent to investigate Jewish practises, take exception only rules governing damages which were not symetrical between Jew and non-Jew. A discussion of how the mankind as stopped observing the Seven Laws and its implications for Jewish law.<br />
<br />
* Bava Kama 38a; [[Sanhedrin 59a]], R' Meir who insisted that in Lev. xviii. 5 the word "man," not "priest," "Levite," or "Israelite," occurs, and thus claimed that a non-Jew versed in the Torah equals in rank the high priest (Sifra, 86b, where II Sam. vii. 19 ["ha-adam"]; Isa. xxvi. 2, "goi zaddik"; Ps. xxxiii. 1, "zaddikim," and cxxv. 4, "le-tovim," are similarly applied to Gentile and Jew alike)<br />
<br />
* Bava Kama 92b, From this we can learn that a descendant of Noah may become liable to death if he had the opportunity to acquire instruction and did not do so [and so committed a crime through the ignorance of the law].<br />
<br />
* '''[[Sanhedrin 56a-60a]]'''<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 56a]], enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 56b]], the prohibitions against eating the blood of a living animal, against the emasculation of animals, against sorcery, against pairing animals of different species, and against grafting trees of different kinds (Tanna debe Menasseh)<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 56b]], With regard to idolatry, he can be found guilty only if he worshiped an idol in the regular form in which that particular deity is usually worshiped; while in the case of blasphemy he may be found guilty, even when he has blasphemed with one of the attributes of God's name—an action which, if committed by an Israelite, would not be regarded as criminal<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 57a]], The many formalities of procedure essential when the accused is an Israelite need not be observed in the case of the Noachide. The latter may be convicted on the testimony of one witness, even on that of relatives, but not on that of a woman. He need have had no warning ("hatra'ah") from the witnesses; and a single judge may pass sentence on him<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 57b]], In the case of murder, if the Noachide slay a child in its mother's womb, or kill a person whose life is despaired of ("ṭerefah"), or if he cause the death of a person by starving him or by putting him before a lion so that he can not escape, or if he slay a man in self-defense, the Noachide is guilty of murder and must pay the death-penalty, although under the same circumstances an Israelite would not be executed<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 58b]], This proves that one's paternal sister was forbidden to the sons of Noah.<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 58b]], Resh Laḳish (d. 278) said, "A Gentile observing the Sabbath deserves death" <br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 59a]]; R. Jose ben Ḥanina, "Every law that was enjoined upon the Noachidæ and was repeated at Sinai is meant to apply both to Israelites and to non-Israelites; laws that were enjoined upon the Noachidæ and were not repeated at Sinai apply to Israelites only" By this principle a number of the pre-Sinaitic laws were excluded from the Noachian laws<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 59a]]; & Ḥagigah 13a, Inasmuch as the Jews had their own distinct jurisdiction, it would have been unwise to reveal their laws to the non-Jews, for such knowledge might have operated against the Jews in their opponents' courts. Hence the Talmud prohibited the teaching to a Gentile of the Torah, R. Johanan says of one so teaching: "Such a person deserves death" (an idiom used to express indignation). "It is like placing an obstacle before the blind" <br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 71b]], A Noachide who slays another Noachide, or worships idols, or blasphemes, or has illicit connection with the wife of another Noachid, and then becomes a proselyte, is free from punishment. If, however, he has killed an Israelite, or has had illicit connection with the wife of an Israelite, and then becomes a proselyte, he must submit to the punishment that is inflicted upon an Israelite found guilty of such a transgression.<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 91b]] & [[Sanhedrin 105a|105a]], He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as one of the pious of the Gentiles, and was assured of a portion in the world to come.<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 2b, He saw that the nations did not observe even the seven precepts which the sons of Noah had taken upon themselves,25 and seeing that they did not observe them, He stood up and released them from it. (see also Bava Kama 38a)<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 26a. I a Gentile study the Law for the purpose of observing the moral laws of Noah, R. Meïr says he is as good as a high priest, and quotes: "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them". The text does not specify an Israelite or a Levite or a priest, but simply "a man"—even a Gentile/<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 51a, cases when a defective animal was still qualified to be offered by the sons of Noah1 to G-d upon their altars<br />
<br />
* '''[['Avodah Zarah 63a]]'''<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 64b, He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as a domiciled alien ([[Ger Toshav]]). Three opinions for definition of ger toshav. 1) forgoes idolatry. 2) Takes on seven laws. 3) Takes on all laws except kosher meat.<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 71b, a non-Jewish thief is not put to death for the theft, but for the reason that he may have endangered the Jew's life; because if the owner had tried to prevent the robbery the thief might have killed him.<br />
<br />
* Makkot 9a, [[Sanhedrin 74b]], The Noachid is free from punishment if he commits a sin unwittingly; ignorance of the Law, however, does not excuse him. If he commits a sin under duress, even one for which an Israelite is obliged to undergo martyrdom rather than transgress (e.g., idolatry, adultery, or murder), he is not liable to punishment.<br />
<br />
* Makkot 9b, discusses why non-Jews are liable for the death penalty upon committing a capital crime, even if they are not exposed to Torah<br />
<br />
* Chullin 13b, Rabbi Yochanan, who taught that 'the Gentiles outside the land (of Israel) are not idolaters; they are but continuing the customs of their ancestors'.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 89b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 91a<br />
<br />
* Chullin 92a, thirty Noachian laws are mentioned.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 92b, In Talmudic times the non-Jews of Babylon were apparently sunk in the grossest immorality, so that 'Ula, one of the earlier Babylonian amoraim, complains that out of the thirty laws which the Noachidæ accept they observe only three — they do not write a marriage contract ("ketubah") for pederasty; they do not sell human flesh in their shops; and they show respect for the Torah.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 94a, Honesty and truthfulness are insisted on in all dealings, whether with a Jew or a Gentile. The Rabbis insisted that the sin known as "genebat da'at" (the stealing of another's good opinion by false representations or by the pretense of friendship and the like) be avoided in one's intercourse even with a non-Jew.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 100b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 101b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 114b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 121a<br />
<br />
* Chullin 129a<br />
<br />
* Bechorot 3b<br />
<br />
* Temurah 7a<br />
<br />
* Tohorot 43a<br />
<br />
* Yerushalmi 'Avodah Zarah 2:1, thirty Noachian laws are mentioned<br />
<br />
* Yerushalmi 'Avodah Zarah 2:1, In the Messianic age the Noachidæ will accept all the laws of the Torah, although later they will again reject them.<br />
<br />
==Biblical References==<br />
<br />
* Genesis 2:16, Declare six commandments that were enjoined upon Adam.<br />
<br />
* Genesis 2:17, Penalty for disobedience<br />
<br />
* Genesis 2:24, Institution of marriage<br />
<br />
* Genesis 6:8, Noah found favor in the eyes of G-d<br />
<br />
* Genesis 8:21, Covenant with Noah<br />
<br />
* Geneis 9:4, a seventh commandment added after the Flood—not to eat flesh that had been cut from a living animal.<br />
<br />
* Genesis 9:6, punishment for murder (and all other crimes) is capital punishment<br />
<br />
* Genesis 37:2, Joseph brought back a bad report about his brothers to their father<br />
<br />
* Exodus 21:29, Law of damages<br />
<br />
* Exodus 21:23, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth<br />
<br />
* Leviticus 19:11, You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen<br />
<br />
* Leviticus 24:16, Anyone who blasphemes the name of Hashem must be put to death.<br />
<br />
* Deuteronomy 24:1, Institution of divorce<br />
<br />
* Job 2:9-10, Job refuses to curse G-d<br />
<br />
* Psalm 117:1, Praise Hashem, all you nations! Applaud him, all you foreigners!<br />
<br />
* Psalm 119:99, I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your rules.<br />
<br />
* Proverbs 2:5, Then you will understand how to fear Hashem, and you will discover knowledge about G-d.<br />
<br />
* Isaiah 11:9, They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to Hashem’s sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea.<br />
<br />
* Isaiah 54:9, As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time, when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood would never again cover the earth. In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.<br />
<br />
* Zephaniah 3:9, Know for sure that I will then enable the nations to give me acceptable praise. All of them will invoke Hashem’s name when they pray, and will worship him in unison.<br />
<br />
==Other Sources==<br />
<br />
===Non Rabbinic, Jewish Sources===<br />
<br />
* Jubilees, vii. 20-29, non standard enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* Josephus Ant. 14.7.2, discussing the ''Sebomenoi'' <br />
<br />
===Christian and Islamic Sources===<br />
<br />
* Christian Book of [[Noahide Law in the New Testament|Acts 15:19-21]], council of Jerusalem declaring what appear to be the Noahide laws as obligatory on non-Jewish converts to Christianity.<br />
<br />
* Catholic Encyclopedia: [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09076a.htm Natural Law] where Noahide law is refered to as "older traditions".<br />
<br />
* Islamic [[Noahide Law in the Qur'an|Qur'an 15:87]] makes it clear that there is a Mesanî and Qur'an, and they are separate.<br />
<br />
* Islamic [[Noahide Law in the Qur'an|Qur'an 39:23]], discussion about the "seven laws" Mesanî<br />
<br />
* The Haddith [[Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 40, Number 4579]] says that the Jewish religion was split into 72 sects, possibly a reference to the 70 Noahide nations.<br />
<br />
===Other Non-Jewish Sources===<br />
<br />
* Hindu, [[Noahide_Hindu|Upanishads]] contains a parallel which tends to support Benamozegh's argument that lawgiving would normally be a feature of the creation of the universe<br />
<br />
* Hindu, [[Noahide_Hindu|Prayer of Enheduanna]] (daughter of Sargon the Great, c. 2250 BC) possible relationship between the Seven Laws and these seven rules.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.nationalismproject.org/ NationalismProject.org] - scholarly papers on nations and nationalism without reference to any particular ideology.</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Publications&diff=10224
Publications
2011-01-19T12:08:01Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Modern Authors */</p>
<hr />
<div>This is the beginning of a comprehensive list of literature concernign the Bnai Noach. Please add any that are missing. Eventually this literature should be broken into categories and each of publication should be made into Wikinoah pages that review the publication.<br />
<br />
It also includes a comprehensive list of references to Bnai Noach in traditional Jewish literature. <br />
<br />
Wikinoah makes no claims concerning these publications, and may or may not represent the position of Wikinoah and/or UNC Inc.<br />
<br />
==Prayer Books==<br />
<br />
* [[Seventh Day Payers|Suggested Seventh Day observance]]<br />
* [[Rosh Hashanah Prayers|Rosh Hashanah Observance]]<br />
* [[Children Prayers|Children’s book]] by Rabbi Michael Katz<br />
* [[Daily Prayers]], by Rabbi Michael Katz<br />
* [[Funeral Prayers|Funeral Service]], by Rabbi Michael Katz, <br />
* [[Suggested Prayers]] by Rabbi Bindman<br />
* [[Hanukah Prayers|Hanukah Guide]]<br />
* Oklahoma B'nai Noah Society. Prayer Book: Service From The Heart - Renewing the Ancient Path of Biblical Prayer and Service ISBN 978-0-6151-6402-1 (Paperback) - [http://www.lulu.com/content/1177327 First Ever Noahide Prayer Book]<br />
<br />
== Modern Authors ==<br />
<br />
* BARRE Elisheva, [[Torah for Gentiles|Torah for Gentiles, Modern Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws]], 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz Bookstores, Jerusalem.<br />
<br />
* [[Efrayim ha-Levi Bilitser|Bilitser, Efrayim ha-Levi]]. ''Torat ben Noah''<br />
<br />
* R. C. Berman. ''Sefer Sheva Mitzvot Hashem'', [[The Book of Seven Divine Commandments]], published by Ask Noah International, \available through Kehot.com and Judaica bookstores across the U.S.<br />
<br />
* [[Yirmeyahu Bindman|Bindman, Yirmeyahu]]. ''(The) Seven Colors of the Rainbow: Torah Ethics for Non-Jews''. Resource Publications; 1995. Paperback. ISBN 0-893903-32-9. [A great beginning book for the non-Jew looking into Torah ethics. Explains what G-d originally required of mankind that has been kept from most for nearly 2,000 years, and the role of Gentile in the world to come.]<br />
<br />
* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Hasgarat Posh'a Yehudi sheBarach LeEretz Yisrael'', Or Hamizrach 35:247- 269 (5747)<br />
<br />
* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Judaism and [[natural law]]'' in ''Jewish law annual'', vol. VII 5-42<br />
<br />
* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Mishpat Mavet Bedenai Benai Noach,'' Jubilee Volume in Honor of Rabbi Joseph D. Soloveitchik 1:193-208 (5754);<br />
<br />
* [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]]. ''Tikkun Olam: Jewish Obligations to Non-Jewish Societ'' in: ''Tikkun olam: social responsibility in Jewish thought and law''. Edited by David Shatz, Chaim I. Waxman and Nathan J. Diament. Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1997. ISBN 0765759519.<br />
<br />
* [[Alan Brill|Brill, Rabbi Dr. Alan]] ''[http://www.bc.edu/research/cjl/meta-elements/texts/cjrelations/resources/articles/Brill.htm Judaism and Other Religions: An Orthodox perspective]'' commissioned by the World Jewish Congress for the "World Symposium of Catholic Cardinals and Jewish Leaders," January 19-20, 2004 in New York City.<br />
<br />
* [[Michael Broyde|Broyde, Michael J]]. ''[http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/noach2.html The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review]'' in ''Tikkun olam: social responsibility in Jewish thought and law''. Edited by David Shatz, Chaim I. Waxman and Nathan J. Diament. Northvale, N.J. : Jason Aronson, 1997. ISBN 0765759519.<br />
<br />
* [[Israel Chait|Chait, Rabbi Israel]]. ''Responsibility for the Implementation of the Noachide Code'', Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva Bnei Torah, (Far Rockaway, Queens), Former advisor to the Noachide community in Athens, TN<br />
<br />
* Clorfene, Chaim and Yaakov Rogalsky ''[http://moshiach.com/action/morality/introduction.php The Path of the Righteous Gentile: An Introduction to the Seven Laws of the Children of Noah]''. New York: Phillip Feldheim, 1987. ISBN 087306433X. also Smithfield, MI: Targum Press, 1987<br />
<br />
* [[Yakov Dovid Cohen|Cohen, Yakov Dovid]] "Divine Image" Institute of Noahide Code 2006 ISBN 1 4243 1000 8 http://www.Noahide.org<br />
<br />
* [[Shimon Dovid Cowen|Cowen, Shimon Dovid]]. ''Perspectives on the Noahide Laws - Universal ethics''. The Institute of Judaism and Civilization (3rd edition) 2008 ISBN 0958593388 http://www.ijc.com.au<br />
<br />
* [[Michael Ellias Dallen|Dallen, Michael Ellias]] ''The Rainbow Covenant: Torah and the Seven Universal Laws'', Lightcatcher Books, 2003. (842 Kissinger Ave., Springdale AR 72762) ISBN 0-9719388-2-2. Easily understood book especially for the lay person, explains many of the details of the Noahide laws, and their application with the references and further explanations.<br />
<br />
* [[David Davis|Davis, J. David]]. ''Finding The G-d of Noah: The Spiritual Journey of a Baptist Minister from Christianity to the Laws of Noah''. KTAV Publishing (900 Jefferson Street, Hoboken NJ 07030). 1996. ISBN 0-881255-35-1. <br />
<br />
* [[Arnold Enker|Enker, Arnold]], ''Aspects of Interaction Between the Torah Law, the King's Law, and the Noahide Law in Jewish Criminal Law'', Cardozo L. Rev. 12:1137-xxxx (1991) discusses regulations based on the Noachide laws and regulations based on the law of the land or the law of the king. For more on this distinction, see Teshuvot Chachmai Provance 48 which clearly distinguishes between these regulations. <br />
<br />
* Encyclopedia Judaica, ''Noachide Laws,'' 12: 1189-1191.<br />
<br />
* Encyclopedia Talmudit, ''Ben Noach'' 3:348-362; <br />
<br />
* Friedman, Manis. ''Doesn't Anyone Blush Anymore? Bais Chana Press.'' Paperback ISBN 1-578870-00-3.<br />
<br />
* Gallin, Aryeh. ''The Root and Branch Noachide Guide''. Root and Branch Association, Ltd, 504 Grand Street, #E51, New York, NY 10002-4101. http://www.rb.org.il/<br />
<br />
* [[Yitzchak Ginsburgh|Ginsburgh, Rabbi Yitzchak]]. ''Kabbalah and Meditation for the Nations''. Publisher: Gal Einai, 2006. The covenant with the Jewish people was not the first made between the Almighty and mankind. Before the revelation at Mt. Sinai, G-d commanded Adam and then made a covenant with Noah, giving them the guidelines for the universal religion of mankind.<br />
<br />
* [[Kimberly E. Hanke|Hanke, Kimberly E.]] ''Turning to Torah: The Emerging Noachide Movement'', Jason Aronson Publishing House (230 Livingston Street, Northvale, New Jersey 07647) and Number Seven Spectrum House (32-34 Gordon House Road London, NW5 1LP England). 1995. 250 pp. ISBN 1-568215-00-2. [One woman's path from Christianity to "Messianic" Christianity, and finally to Torah since 1988. At one point, she considers conversion to Judaism, and then learns of the Noachide Covenant, through several Jewish individuals. She then was enlightened into the writings of J. David Davis.] <br />
<br />
* Jewish Law Annual, Vols. 6 and 7 (1987 and 1988) (Vol. 6, see articles by E. Rackman, J. Dienstag, O. Leaman; Vol 7, see articles by [[J. David Bleich|J.D. Bleich]], [[David Novak|D. Novak]]). <br />
<br />
* Kaplan, Jeffrey. ''Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Far Right to the Children of Noah''. Syracuse Univ Pr (Trade); 1997. Paperback ISBN 0-815603-96-7. <br />
<br />
* Katz, Jacob,''The Vicissitudes of Three Apologetic Statements,'' [Hebrew], Zion 23-24 (1958-59): 174-193, (reprinted in Halakhah VeKabbalah [Heb.]). <br />
<br />
* [[Michael Katz|Katz, Rabbi Michael]], ''The Contemporary Noachide Movement'', Former advisor to the Noachide community in Athens, TN<br />
<br />
* Korn, Eugene, ''Gentiles, the World to Come and Judaism: The Odyssey of a Rabbinic Text,'' Modern Judaism 14 (1994): 265-287. <br />
<br />
* [[Aaron Lichtenstein|Lichtenstein, Aaron]]. ''The Seven Laws of Noah''. New York: The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press and Z. Berman Books, 2d ed. 1986. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-69121. [http://www.judaica.com/Noah/seven.html Website] The most technical book on Noahism. It is probably not intended to be an introduction to the Noahide system, but rather a detailed scholarly analysis for those who have been Noahides for a long time or for Jewish scholars of Noahism.<br />
<br />
* Mozeson, Isaac E. ''The Origin of Speeches: Intelligent Design in Language.'' Lightcatcher Books (March 30, 2006). Paperback. ISBN: 0971938881. [This March 2006 book documents how all humans are the children of Adam and Noah, how all peoples are "Hebrews" in their innate Edenic language system. Only in the output stage, do people speak non-Edenic.]<br />
<br />
* [[David Novak|Novak, David]], ''The Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism: An Historical and Constructive Study of the Noahide Laws'' (Lewiston, 1983), Chapter 10. ISBN 0889467595.<br />
<br />
* [[David Novak|Novak, David]], ''Jewish-Christian Dialogue'' (New York, 1989), 26-41. [See these volumes for the scholarly debate regarding whether the Noahide covenant was a Israeli or a Diaspora development.]<br />
<br />
* [[David Novak|Novak, David]]. ''[[Natural law]] in Judaism''. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1998. <br />
<br />
* [[Nahum Rakover|Rakover, Professor Nahum]]. ''Hamishpat Kerech Universali: Dinim Bebnai Noach'' 15-57 (5748)<br />
<br />
* [[Nahum Rakover|Rakover, Professor Nahum]]. ''Jewish Law and the Noahide Obligation to Preserve Social Order'', Cardozo L.Rev. 12:1073-xxxx (1991)<br />
<br />
* [[Nahum Rakover|Rakover, Professor Nahum]]. ''Law and the Noahides: law as a universal value''. Jerusalem: Library of Jewish Law, 1998.<br />
<br />
* [[Yoel Schwartz|Schwartz, Rabbi Yoel]], ''Or la-ʻamim: leḳeṭ be-veʾur tafḳidam ṿe-yiʻudam ha-ruḥani shel umot ha-ʻolam'' ("Light unto the Nations"), Yeshivat Dvar Yerushalayim (Israel). Available in English, Russian, French, and other languages. [http://catalog.loc.gov/ LCCN]: 84155172<br />
<br />
* [[Yoel Schwartz|Schwartz, Rabbi Yoel]], ''The Source and Corpus of the Noachide Code'', Yeshivat Dvar Yerushalayim (Israel)<br />
<br />
* Schwartzschild, Steven, ''Do Noahides Have to Believe in Revelation?'' Jewish Quarterly Review 52 (1962): 297-309, 53 (1962): 29-59.<br />
<br />
* [[David Sears|Sears, Rabbi David]]. ''Compassion For Humanity In the Jewish Tradition.'' Jason Aronson; 1998. Hardcover. ISBN 0-765799-87-1. <br />
<br />
* [[Aharon Soloveitchik|Soloveitchik,Rabbi Aharon]], ''Criminal Penalties under the Noachide Code'', Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), Yeshiva University<br />
<br />
* [[Moshe Weiner|Weiner, Rabbi Moshe]], ''[[The Divine Code]]''<br />
<br />
== Last Century ==<br />
<br />
* [[Aime Palliere|Pallière, Aimé]] (1868-1949). ''The Unknown Sanctuary'': A Pilgrimage from Rome to Israel. Bloch Pub Co; 1986. Paperback ISBN 0-819704-98-9. [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0819704989/socculturejewish Amazon]<br />
<br />
* [[Henry Pereira Mendes|Mendes, Rabbi Henry Pereira]] (1852-1937) ''Orthodox or Historical Judaism'' (Chicago 1894), 217-8, There will be an era of reconciliation of all living faiths and systems.<br />
<br />
* [[Elijah Benamozegh|Benamozegh, Elijah]] (1822-1900). ''[[Israel and Humanity]]'' Translated by Maxwell Uria, in the series Classics of Western Spirituality. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1995. [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0889467595/socculturejewish/ Amazon]<br />
<br />
* [[Yoav Yehoshua|Yehoshua, Rabbi Yoav]], (c 1880) Chelkat Yoav Tanyana 14, it is likely that Jewish law recognizes as proper a Noachide law which provides a sanction for violations other than the death penalty. Noachide law is authorized even to execute. It is not, however, obligated to execute for all violations. In particular this must flow logically from the opinion of Nachmanides that dinim incorporates the obligation to create a system of financial law. <br />
<br />
* [[Ezekiel Landau|Landau, Rabbi Ezekiel ben Judah]] (1713-1793), Nodah Beyehuda, Tanyana, Even haEzer 42, discusses whether Noachides must follow majority rule<br />
<br />
* [[Yakov Yisrael Emden|Emden, Rabbi Yakov Yisrael ben Zevi Ashkenazi]] (1697-1776), appendix to "Seder 'Olam" (pp. 32b-34b, Hamburg, 1752), in a remarkable apology for Christianity contained in his, gives it as his opinion that the original intention of Jesus, and especially of Paul, was to convert only the Gentiles to the seven moral laws of Noah and to let the Jews follow the Mosaic law—which explains the apparent contradictions in the New Testament regarding the laws of Moses and the Sabbath<br />
<br />
==References in the Acharonim==<br />
<br />
Rabbis of 1550 to the present.<br />
<br />
* Kesef Mishneh on [[Sanhedrin 57b]], In the case of murder, if the Noachide slay a child in its mother's womb, or kill a person whose life is despaired of ("ṭerefah"), or if he cause the death of a person by starving him or by putting him before a lion so that he can not escape, or if he slay a man in self-defense, the Noachide is guilty of murder and must pay the death-penalty, although under the same circumstances an Israelite would not be executed<br />
<br />
* Leḥem Mishneh & Kesef Mishneh on [[Sanhedrin 74b]], The Noachid is free from punishment if he commits a sin unwittingly; ignorance of the Law, however, does not excuse him. If he commits a sin under duress, even one for which an Israelite is obliged to undergo martyrdom rather than transgress (e.g., idolatry, adultery, or murder), he is not liable to punishment<br />
<br />
==References in the Rishonim==<br />
Rabbis of the early medieval period (1250–1550) preceding the Shulchan Aruch<br />
<br />
* Yehudah haLevi, "Cuzari," iii. 73, although only those laws which are found in the Torah, before 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, introduced others which are not found there.<br />
<br />
* Teshuvot Chachmai Provance 48 which clearly distinguishes between regulations based on the Noachide laws and regulations based on the law of the land or the law of the king. <br />
<br />
* Sefer Haikarim 1:25. One finds although torah law and Noachide law differ in the details, the principles used are the same, since they derive from the same source. Moreover, the two systems exist concurrently: while Jews have torah law, the other peoples abide by the Noachide code.<br />
<br />
* Tosefos, 'Avodah Zarah, 8(9?):4, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* Tosefos, [[Sanhedrin 8]]:1, He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as one of the pious of the Gentiles, and was assured of a portion in the world to come.<br />
<br />
* '''Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides|Laws of Kings, Chapters 8-9]]'''<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 8|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 8:11]], He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as one of the pious of the Gentiles, and was assured of a portion in the world to come.<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:1]], enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:4]], In the case of murder, if the Noachide slay a child in its mother's womb, or kill a person whose life is despaired of ("ṭerefah"), or if he cause the death of a person by starving him or by putting him before a lion so that he can not escape, or if he slay a man in self-defense, the Noachide is guilty of murder and must pay the death-penalty, although under the same circumstances an Israelite would not be executed<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:5-8]], Only six cases of what would ordinarily be illicit connection are forbidden to the Noachid: (1) with mother; (2) with father's wife, even after the father's death; (3) with a married woman, whether married to a Jew or to a non-Jew; (4) with sister by the same mother; (5) homosexuality; (6) bestiality. In these cases also there are differences in the punishment inflicted, dependent upon whether the offenses are committed by a Noachide or by an Israelite<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:9-13]], The Noachide is punished with decapitation for all kinds of robbery, whether from a Jew or from a non-Jew, even though the article stolen is worth less than a peruṭah (the smallest Palestinian coin, for less than which no case can be instituted against an Israelite). The Noachide is executed also if he eat of a limb cut from a living animal, even though the quantity consumed be less than the size of an olive (the minimum portion for the eating of which an Israelite may be punished.<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:14]], The Noachidæ are required to establish courts of justice in every city and province; and these courts are to judge the people with regard to the six laws and to warn them against the transgression of any of them<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:14]], The many formalities of procedure essential when the accused is an Israelite need not be observed in the case of the Noachide.<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 10:1,2]], (based on [[Sanhedrin 74b]]) The Noachid is free from punishment if he commits a sin unwittingly; ignorance of the Law, however, does not excuse him. If he commits a sin under duress, even one for which an Israelite is obliged to undergo martyrdom rather than transgress (e.g., idolatry, adultery, or murder), he is not liable to punishment<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 10:4]], (based on [[Sanhedrin 71b]]) A Noachide who slays another Noachide, or worships idols, or blasphemes, or has illicit connection with the wife of another Noachid, and then becomes a proselyte, is free from punishment. If, however, he has killed an Israelite, or has had illicit connection with the wife of an Israelite, and then becomes a proselyte, he must submit to the punishment that is inflicted upon an Israelite found guilty of such a transgression<br />
<br />
* Maimonides, [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides#Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10|Mishneh Torah, Melachim 10:9]], The principle is, one is not permitted to make innovations in religion or to create new commandments. He has the privilege to become a true proselyte by accepting the whole Law.<br />
<br />
* Naḥmanides on Genesis 34:13 (differing with Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:14), the opinion is expressed that these courts should judge also cases other than those coming under the head of the six laws, as, for example, larceny, assault and battery, etc.<br />
<br />
* Rashi on Yevamot 48b, Every Noahide who renounces idolatry needs to observe Shabbot (but not as Jews do), because failing to properly honor the Sabbath is itself a species of idolatry<br />
<br />
==References in the Savoraim & Geonim== <br />
The classical Persian rabbis (500–600) and Rabbis of Sura and Pumbeditha, in Babylonia (650–1250)<br />
<br />
* Seder 'Olam Rabbah, , ed. Ratner, ch. 5, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
==References in the Midrashim & Tosefta==<br />
<br />
* Genesis Rabah 16:9, 24:5, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* Canticles Rabah 1:16, enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* '''Tosefta, Avodah Zarah 8(9)'''<br />
<br />
==References in the Talmud==<br />
The sages of the Mishna (70–200) and of the Talmud (200–500)<br />
<br />
* 'Eruvin 62a, which states that a non-Jew is to be executed for stealing even less than a Perutah and he does not have the option of returning what he stole. (see Yevamot 47b)<br />
<br />
* Pesachim 22b, one may not enable a Noachide to sin. If absent the assistance of a Jew no violation could or would take place, it is a biblical violation of "before a blind person thou shall not put a stumbling block" for a Jew to assist a Noachide in violating his law. <br />
<br />
* Yoma 28b, the patriarchs observed all the laws of the Torah even though they were Noahides.<br />
<br />
* Megillah 13a, explains that Mordechai was called "Ish Yehudi" because anyone who rejects idolatry is called a "Yehudi." The Maharsha explains that within the name Yehudah is the Tetragrammaton. Therefore, righteous Gentiles should also be called with God's name.<br />
<br />
* Yevamot 47b, part of the instruction of the candidate for conversion must include "the sin of gleaning, the forgotten sheaf, pe'ah and the indigent's tithe". Why is this asked? because [Noahide law may say that] a noahide is slain for less than a prutah and it may not be returned. Rashi comments: So that [if such a candidate is a landowner] he should not say 'these poor people who are taking the edges of my field are thieves'; he will then attack them and kill them according to their [Noahide] laws.<br />
<br />
* Yevamot 48b, Why are proselytes at the present time oppressed and visited with afflictions? Because they had not observed the seven Noahide commandments.<br />
<br />
* Yevamot 62a, procreation, while obligatory on non-Jews according to Rabbi Yohanan would nevertheless not to be listed in the Seven laws.<br />
<br />
* Nedarim 31a, Jews were originally Noahides<br />
<br />
* Bava Kama 38a, Of Gamaliel II. is recorded a conversation with two pseudo-proselyte generals, who, being sent to investigate Jewish practises, take exception only rules governing damages which were not symetrical between Jew and non-Jew. A discussion of how the mankind as stopped observing the Seven Laws and its implications for Jewish law.<br />
<br />
* Bava Kama 38a; [[Sanhedrin 59a]], R' Meir who insisted that in Lev. xviii. 5 the word "man," not "priest," "Levite," or "Israelite," occurs, and thus claimed that a non-Jew versed in the Torah equals in rank the high priest (Sifra, 86b, where II Sam. vii. 19 ["ha-adam"]; Isa. xxvi. 2, "goi zaddik"; Ps. xxxiii. 1, "zaddikim," and cxxv. 4, "le-tovim," are similarly applied to Gentile and Jew alike)<br />
<br />
* Bava Kama 92b, From this we can learn that a descendant of Noah may become liable to death if he had the opportunity to acquire instruction and did not do so [and so committed a crime through the ignorance of the law].<br />
<br />
* '''[[Sanhedrin 56a-60a]]'''<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 56a]], enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 56b]], the prohibitions against eating the blood of a living animal, against the emasculation of animals, against sorcery, against pairing animals of different species, and against grafting trees of different kinds (Tanna debe Menasseh)<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 56b]], With regard to idolatry, he can be found guilty only if he worshiped an idol in the regular form in which that particular deity is usually worshiped; while in the case of blasphemy he may be found guilty, even when he has blasphemed with one of the attributes of God's name—an action which, if committed by an Israelite, would not be regarded as criminal<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 57a]], The many formalities of procedure essential when the accused is an Israelite need not be observed in the case of the Noachide. The latter may be convicted on the testimony of one witness, even on that of relatives, but not on that of a woman. He need have had no warning ("hatra'ah") from the witnesses; and a single judge may pass sentence on him<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 57b]], In the case of murder, if the Noachide slay a child in its mother's womb, or kill a person whose life is despaired of ("ṭerefah"), or if he cause the death of a person by starving him or by putting him before a lion so that he can not escape, or if he slay a man in self-defense, the Noachide is guilty of murder and must pay the death-penalty, although under the same circumstances an Israelite would not be executed<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 58b]], This proves that one's paternal sister was forbidden to the sons of Noah.<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 58b]], Resh Laḳish (d. 278) said, "A Gentile observing the Sabbath deserves death" <br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 59a]]; R. Jose ben Ḥanina, "Every law that was enjoined upon the Noachidæ and was repeated at Sinai is meant to apply both to Israelites and to non-Israelites; laws that were enjoined upon the Noachidæ and were not repeated at Sinai apply to Israelites only" By this principle a number of the pre-Sinaitic laws were excluded from the Noachian laws<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 59a]]; & Ḥagigah 13a, Inasmuch as the Jews had their own distinct jurisdiction, it would have been unwise to reveal their laws to the non-Jews, for such knowledge might have operated against the Jews in their opponents' courts. Hence the Talmud prohibited the teaching to a Gentile of the Torah, R. Johanan says of one so teaching: "Such a person deserves death" (an idiom used to express indignation). "It is like placing an obstacle before the blind" <br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 71b]], A Noachide who slays another Noachide, or worships idols, or blasphemes, or has illicit connection with the wife of another Noachid, and then becomes a proselyte, is free from punishment. If, however, he has killed an Israelite, or has had illicit connection with the wife of an Israelite, and then becomes a proselyte, he must submit to the punishment that is inflicted upon an Israelite found guilty of such a transgression.<br />
<br />
* [[Sanhedrin 91b]] & [[Sanhedrin 105a|105a]], He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as one of the pious of the Gentiles, and was assured of a portion in the world to come.<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 2b, He saw that the nations did not observe even the seven precepts which the sons of Noah had taken upon themselves,25 and seeing that they did not observe them, He stood up and released them from it. (see also Bava Kama 38a)<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 26a. I a Gentile study the Law for the purpose of observing the moral laws of Noah, R. Meïr says he is as good as a high priest, and quotes: "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them". The text does not specify an Israelite or a Levite or a priest, but simply "a man"—even a Gentile/<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 51a, cases when a defective animal was still qualified to be offered by the sons of Noah1 to G-d upon their altars<br />
<br />
* '''[['Avodah Zarah 63a]]'''<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 64b, He who observed the seven Noachian laws was regarded as a domiciled alien ([[Ger Toshav]]). Three opinions for definition of ger toshav. 1) forgoes idolatry. 2) Takes on seven laws. 3) Takes on all laws except kosher meat.<br />
<br />
* 'Avodah Zarah 71b, a non-Jewish thief is not put to death for the theft, but for the reason that he may have endangered the Jew's life; because if the owner had tried to prevent the robbery the thief might have killed him.<br />
<br />
* Makkot 9a, [[Sanhedrin 74b]], The Noachid is free from punishment if he commits a sin unwittingly; ignorance of the Law, however, does not excuse him. If he commits a sin under duress, even one for which an Israelite is obliged to undergo martyrdom rather than transgress (e.g., idolatry, adultery, or murder), he is not liable to punishment.<br />
<br />
* Makkot 9b, discusses why non-Jews are liable for the death penalty upon committing a capital crime, even if they are not exposed to Torah<br />
<br />
* Chullin 13b, Rabbi Yochanan, who taught that 'the Gentiles outside the land (of Israel) are not idolaters; they are but continuing the customs of their ancestors'.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 89b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 91a<br />
<br />
* Chullin 92a, thirty Noachian laws are mentioned.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 92b, In Talmudic times the non-Jews of Babylon were apparently sunk in the grossest immorality, so that 'Ula, one of the earlier Babylonian amoraim, complains that out of the thirty laws which the Noachidæ accept they observe only three — they do not write a marriage contract ("ketubah") for pederasty; they do not sell human flesh in their shops; and they show respect for the Torah.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 94a, Honesty and truthfulness are insisted on in all dealings, whether with a Jew or a Gentile. The Rabbis insisted that the sin known as "genebat da'at" (the stealing of another's good opinion by false representations or by the pretense of friendship and the like) be avoided in one's intercourse even with a non-Jew.<br />
<br />
* Chullin 100b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 101b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 114b<br />
<br />
* Chullin 121a<br />
<br />
* Chullin 129a<br />
<br />
* Bechorot 3b<br />
<br />
* Temurah 7a<br />
<br />
* Tohorot 43a<br />
<br />
* Yerushalmi 'Avodah Zarah 2:1, thirty Noachian laws are mentioned<br />
<br />
* Yerushalmi 'Avodah Zarah 2:1, In the Messianic age the Noachidæ will accept all the laws of the Torah, although later they will again reject them.<br />
<br />
==Biblical References==<br />
<br />
* Genesis 2:16, Declare six commandments that were enjoined upon Adam.<br />
<br />
* Genesis 2:17, Penalty for disobedience<br />
<br />
* Genesis 2:24, Institution of marriage<br />
<br />
* Genesis 6:8, Noah found favor in the eyes of G-d<br />
<br />
* Genesis 8:21, Covenant with Noah<br />
<br />
* Geneis 9:4, a seventh commandment added after the Flood—not to eat flesh that had been cut from a living animal.<br />
<br />
* Genesis 9:6, punishment for murder (and all other crimes) is capital punishment<br />
<br />
* Genesis 37:2, Joseph brought back a bad report about his brothers to their father<br />
<br />
* Exodus 21:29, Law of damages<br />
<br />
* Exodus 21:23, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth<br />
<br />
* Leviticus 19:11, You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen<br />
<br />
* Leviticus 24:16, Anyone who blasphemes the name of Hashem must be put to death.<br />
<br />
* Deuteronomy 24:1, Institution of divorce<br />
<br />
* Job 2:9-10, Job refuses to curse G-d<br />
<br />
* Psalm 117:1, Praise Hashem, all you nations! Applaud him, all you foreigners!<br />
<br />
* Psalm 119:99, I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your rules.<br />
<br />
* Proverbs 2:5, Then you will understand how to fear Hashem, and you will discover knowledge about G-d.<br />
<br />
* Isaiah 11:9, They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to Hashem’s sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea.<br />
<br />
* Isaiah 54:9, As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time, when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood would never again cover the earth. In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.<br />
<br />
* Zephaniah 3:9, Know for sure that I will then enable the nations to give me acceptable praise. All of them will invoke Hashem’s name when they pray, and will worship him in unison.<br />
<br />
==Other Sources==<br />
<br />
===Non Rabbinic, Jewish Sources===<br />
<br />
* Jubilees, vii. 20-29, non standard enumeration of the seven Noachide laws<br />
<br />
* Josephus Ant. 14.7.2, discussing the ''Sebomenoi'' <br />
<br />
===Christian and Islamic Sources===<br />
<br />
* Christian Book of [[Noahide Law in the New Testament|Acts 15:19-21]], council of Jerusalem declaring what appear to be the Noahide laws as obligatory on non-Jewish converts to Christianity.<br />
<br />
* Catholic Encyclopedia: [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09076a.htm Natural Law] where Noahide law is refered to as "older traditions".<br />
<br />
* Islamic [[Noahide Law in the Qur'an|Qur'an 15:87]] makes it clear that there is a Mesanî and Qur'an, and they are separate.<br />
<br />
* Islamic [[Noahide Law in the Qur'an|Qur'an 39:23]], discussion about the "seven laws" Mesanî<br />
<br />
* The Haddith [[Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 40, Number 4579]] says that the Jewish religion was split into 72 sects, possibly a reference to the 70 Noahide nations.<br />
<br />
===Other Non-Jewish Sources===<br />
<br />
* Hindu, [[Noahide_Hindu|Upanishads]] contains a parallel which tends to support Benamozegh's argument that lawgiving would normally be a feature of the creation of the universe<br />
<br />
* Hindu, [[Noahide_Hindu|Prayer of Enheduanna]] (daughter of Sargon the Great, c. 2250 BC) possible relationship between the Seven Laws and these seven rules.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.nationalismproject.org/ NationalismProject.org] - scholarly papers on nations and nationalism without reference to any particular ideology.</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=10223
Torah for Gentiles
2011-01-19T11:45:53Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz Bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering it directly from the author at shevabar@bezeqint.net, payable through PayPal.<br />
The price is 120 shekels or equivalent of $35. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
She’s got guts, brains, looks, and faith. Any one of these features alone would make her a charming person, but all of them together make of her an explosive “impossible person to deal with”. No matter – she’s obstinate to boot! Misunderstood by her family, untamed by her teachers, rejected by society and ignored by friends, she still managed to dodge drugs, duck psychiatrists, pass over prostitution and avoid suicide – think I do not see you, Satan? And she’s got talent too. An amateur artist, self-taught scholar, and unpublished writer, she has noticeable impact wherever she goes, but receives credit from no one. Pity she doesn’t care… because you know, she’s very independent and honest too! <br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France where she studied at the University Paris VIII in the wake of the '68 revolution. In France, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, had a try in showbiz, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and submitted a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never returned to her and never published.<br />
<br />
In 1980, she came to Israel with her son, learning and then teaching Torah in various institutions. She became Rabbi Meir Kahane's assistant and after he was killed wrote a book in French about this period in Jewish History entitled KAHANE ET LE KAHANISME. She then studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years (concentrating on the Rambam and Rav Saadya Gaon), had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman where she analyzed the news in the light of Jewish Law. She obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding, who asked her to write a series of articles on the Bnei Noach commandments for his monthly magazine. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. <br />
<br />
In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel directed by Rabbi Ratson Arussi and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''directed by Professor Nachum Rakover.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person. She is an enthusiast of the Rambam and a student of Rabbi Yossef Kappach. Her understanding is unique and her world view is both nationalistic and universalist. This is what she expressed in this book. One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views. Indeed, she feels there is a leardership crisis and this is why she speaks her message like Dvorah the prophetess did in her own times. The topic of this book is worthy of proper attention and careful study. (Rabbi Ratzon Arussi) <br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern. (Rabbi Dr. Yigal Shafran) <br />
<br />
* This book is not only a challenging thesis, it is a also work of art. (Adv. E. F.) <br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (Dr. John Craig)<br />
<br />
* I am impressed by your book. Your thoughts and opinions are so well construed. I have never seen a man with a pure heart fail when on a mission to promote G-dly law. Your spirit is what the government needs (my opinion). Well you have boosted my confidence in humanity... I was hoping to find sane people somewhere. Thanks. (Charles Howell)<br />
<br />
* I have finished your book and it is a great help. There is so much to learn from it and I am sure I didn't get it all the first time, so I am going to read it again. Thank you for all your wisdom and advice. Thank you for being Jewish. (Dennis Walter)<br />
<br />
* Thus far, I've read the first five chapters. I appreciate the depth and boldness of your work, and I am looking forward to reading the rest and sharing it with the others.(Woody Gilson)<br />
<br />
<br />
Excerpt from an interview of Elisheva on IBA ENGLISH NEWS, Nov. 1st 2008<br />
<br />
Interviewer Aviva Press: <br />
<br />
Who do you hope will read this book?<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre: <br />
<br />
I think it concerns any Gentile who wants to know what the Torah really has to say. It is important because today that Israel returned to its land, it created a lot of change in world consciousness. Jews are also concerned because this change in our situation from exile to coming back to our land and trying to establish Jewish sovereignty and living here with all the problems that we have with it, also caused a change in the Jewish understanding of what the Torah means for us – which is the question, by the way, which the Pope asked Rabbi Shaar Yishuv HaCohen to answer: <br />
"What does the Torah mean for the Jews?" (I am telling Gentiles what it means for them). <br />
<br />
The Torah is a project. It is not only a book of do's and don'ts it is also the divine project in History. It is the blueprint of History under divine government.</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=10222
Torah for Gentiles
2011-01-19T11:44:21Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a directly from the author at shevabar@bezeqint.net, payable through PayPal.<br />
The price is 120 shekels or equivalent of $35). <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
She’s got guts, brains, looks, and faith. Any one of these features alone would make her a charming person, but all of them together make of her an explosive “impossible person to deal with”. No matter – she’s obstinate to boot! Misunderstood by her family, untamed by her teachers, rejected by society and ignored by friends, she still managed to dodge drugs, duck psychiatrists, pass over prostitution and avoid suicide – think I do not see you, Satan? And she’s got talent too. An amateur artist, self-taught scholar, and unpublished writer, she has noticeable impact wherever she goes, but receives credit from no one. Pity she doesn’t care… because you know, she’s very independent and honest too! <br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France where she studied at the University Paris VIII in the wake of the '68 revolution. In France, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, had a try in showbiz, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and submitted a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never returned to her and never published.<br />
<br />
In 1980, she came to Israel with her son, learning and then teaching Torah in various institutions. She became Rabbi Meir Kahane's assistant and after he was killed wrote a book in French about this period in Jewish History entitled KAHANE ET LE KAHANISME. She then studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years (concentrating on the Rambam and Rav Saadya Gaon), had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman where she analyzed the news in the light of Jewish Law. She obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding, who asked her to write a series of articles on the Bnei Noach commandments for his monthly magazine. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. <br />
<br />
In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel directed by Rabbi Ratson Arussi and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''directed by Professor Nachum Rakover.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person. She is an enthusiast of the Rambam and a student of Rabbi Yossef Kappach. Her understanding is unique and her world view is both nationalistic and universalist. This is what she expressed in this book. One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views. Indeed, she feels there is a leardership crisis and this is why she speaks her message like Dvorah the prophetess did in her own times. The topic of this book is worthy of proper attention and careful study. (Rabbi Ratzon Arussi) <br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern. (Rabbi Dr. Yigal Shafran) <br />
<br />
* This book is not only a challenging thesis, it is a also work of art. (Adv. E. F.) <br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (Dr. John Craig)<br />
<br />
* I am impressed by your book. Your thoughts and opinions are so well construed. I have never seen a man with a pure heart fail when on a mission to promote G-dly law. Your spirit is what the government needs (my opinion). Well you have boosted my confidence in humanity... I was hoping to find sane people somewhere. Thanks. (Charles Howell)<br />
<br />
* I have finished your book and it is a great help. There is so much to learn from it and I am sure I didn't get it all the first time, so I am going to read it again. Thank you for all your wisdom and advice. Thank you for being Jewish. (Dennis Walter)<br />
<br />
* Thus far, I've read the first five chapters. I appreciate the depth and boldness of your work, and I am looking forward to reading the rest and sharing it with the others.(Woody Gilson)<br />
<br />
<br />
Excerpt from an interview of Elisheva on IBA ENGLISH NEWS, Nov. 1st 2008<br />
<br />
Interviewer Aviva Press: <br />
<br />
Who do you hope will read this book?<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre: <br />
<br />
I think it concerns any Gentile who wants to know what the Torah really has to say. It is important because today that Israel returned to its land, it created a lot of change in world consciousness. Jews are also concerned because this change in our situation from exile to coming back to our land and trying to establish Jewish sovereignty and living here with all the problems that we have with it, also caused a change in the Jewish understanding of what the Torah means for us – which is the question, by the way, which the Pope asked Rabbi Shaar Yishuv HaCohen to answer: <br />
"What does the Torah mean for the Jews?" (I am telling Gentiles what it means for them). <br />
<br />
The Torah is a project. It is not only a book of do's and don'ts it is also the divine project in History. It is the blueprint of History under divine government.</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=9030
Torah for Gentiles
2010-07-22T08:56:33Z
<p>Elisheva: /* What they say about this book */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@bezeqint.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or equivalent of $40) and it includes air mailing, payable through PayPal. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
She’s got guts, brains, looks, and faith. Any one of these features alone would make her a charming person, but all of them together make of her an explosive “impossible person to deal with”. No matter – she’s obstinate to boot! Misunderstood by her family, untamed by her teachers, rejected by society and ignored by friends, she still managed to dodge drugs, duck psychiatrists, pass over prostitution and avoid suicide – think I do not see you, Satan? And she’s got talent too. An amateur artist, self-taught scholar, and unpublished writer, she has noticeable impact wherever she goes, but receives credit from no one. Pity she doesn’t care… because you know, she’s very independent and honest too! <br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France where she studied at the University Paris VIII in the wake of the '68 revolution. In France, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, had a try in showbiz, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and submitted a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never returned to her and never published.<br />
<br />
In 1980, she came to Israel with her son, learning and then teaching Torah in various institutions. She became Rabbi Meir Kahane's assistant and after he was killed wrote a book in French about this period in Jewish History entitled KAHANE ET LE KAHANISME. She then studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years (concentrating on the Rambam and Rav Saadya Gaon), had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman where she analyzed the news in the light of Jewish Law. She obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding, who asked her to write a series of articles on the Bnei Noach commandments for his monthly magazine. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. <br />
<br />
In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel directed by Rabbi Ratson Arussi and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''directed by Professor Nachum Rakover.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person. She is an enthusiast of the Rambam and a student of Rabbi Yossef Kappach. Her understanding is unique and her world view is both nationalistic and universalist. This is what she expressed in this book. One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views. Indeed, she feels there is a leardership crisis and this is why she speaks her message like Dvorah the prophetess did in her own times. The topic of this book is worthy of proper attention and careful study. (Rabbi Ratzon Arussi) <br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern. (Rabbi Dr. Yigal Shafran) <br />
<br />
* This book is not only a challenging thesis, it is a also work of art. (Adv. E. F.) <br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (Dr. John Craig)<br />
<br />
* I am impressed by your book. Your thoughts and opinions are so well construed. I have never seen a man with a pure heart fail when on a mission to promote G-dly law. Your spirit is what the government needs (my opinion). Well you have boosted my confidence in humanity... I was hoping to find sane people somewhere. Thanks. (Charles Howell)<br />
<br />
* I have finished your book and it is a great help. There is so much to learn from it and I am sure I didn't get it all the first time, so I am going to read it again. Thank you for all your wisdom and advice. Thank you for being Jewish. (Dennis Walter)<br />
<br />
* Thus far, I've read the first five chapters. I appreciate the depth and boldness of your work, and I am looking forward to reading the rest and sharing it with the others.(Woody Gilson)<br />
<br />
<br />
Excerpt from an interview of Elisheva on IBA ENGLISH NEWS, Nov. 1st 2008<br />
<br />
Interviewer Aviva Press: <br />
<br />
Who do you hope will read this book?<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre: <br />
<br />
I think it concerns any Gentile who wants to know what the Torah really has to say. It is important because today that Israel returned to its land, it created a lot of change in world consciousness. Jews are also concerned because this change in our situation from exile to coming back to our land and trying to establish Jewish sovereignty and living here with all the problems that we have with it, also caused a change in the Jewish understanding of what the Torah means for us – which is the question, by the way, which the Pope asked Rabbi Shaar Yishuv HaCohen to answer: <br />
"What does the Torah mean for the Jews?" (I am telling Gentiles what it means for them). <br />
<br />
The Torah is a project. It is not only a book of do's and don'ts it is also the divine project in History. It is the blueprint of History under divine government.</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=9029
Torah for Gentiles
2010-07-22T08:55:52Z
<p>Elisheva: /* What they say about this book */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@bezeqint.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or equivalent of $40) and it includes air mailing, payable through PayPal. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
She’s got guts, brains, looks, and faith. Any one of these features alone would make her a charming person, but all of them together make of her an explosive “impossible person to deal with”. No matter – she’s obstinate to boot! Misunderstood by her family, untamed by her teachers, rejected by society and ignored by friends, she still managed to dodge drugs, duck psychiatrists, pass over prostitution and avoid suicide – think I do not see you, Satan? And she’s got talent too. An amateur artist, self-taught scholar, and unpublished writer, she has noticeable impact wherever she goes, but receives credit from no one. Pity she doesn’t care… because you know, she’s very independent and honest too! <br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France where she studied at the University Paris VIII in the wake of the '68 revolution. In France, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, had a try in showbiz, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and submitted a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never returned to her and never published.<br />
<br />
In 1980, she came to Israel with her son, learning and then teaching Torah in various institutions. She became Rabbi Meir Kahane's assistant and after he was killed wrote a book in French about this period in Jewish History entitled KAHANE ET LE KAHANISME. She then studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years (concentrating on the Rambam and Rav Saadya Gaon), had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman where she analyzed the news in the light of Jewish Law. She obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding, who asked her to write a series of articles on the Bnei Noach commandments for his monthly magazine. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. <br />
<br />
In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel directed by Rabbi Ratson Arussi and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''directed by Professor Nachum Rakover.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person. She is an enthusiast of the Rambam and a student of Rabbi Yossef Kappach. Her understanding is unique and her world view is both nationalistic and universalist. This is what she expressed in this book. One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views. Indeed, she feels there is a leardership crisis and this is why she speaks her message like Dvorah the prophetess did in her own times. The topic of this book is worthy of proper attention and careful study. (Rabbi Ratzon Arussi) <br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern. (Rabbi Dr. Yigal Shafran) <br />
<br />
* This book is not only a challenging thesis, it is a also work of art. (Adv. E. F.) <br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (Dr. John Craig)<br />
<br />
* I am impressed by your book. Your thoughts and opinions are so well construed. I have never seen a man with a pure heart fail when on a mission to promote G-dly law. Your spirit is what the government needs (my opinion). Well you have boosted my confidence in humanity... I was hoping to find sane people somewhere. Thanks. (Charles Howell)<br />
<br />
* I have finished your book and it is a great help. There is so much to learn from it and I am sure I didn't get it all the first time, so I am going to read it again. Thank you for all your wisdom and advice. Thank you for being Jewish. (Dennis Walter)<br />
<br />
* Thus far, I've read the first five chapters. I appreciate the depth and boldness of your work, and I am looking forward to reading the rest and sharing it with the others.(Woody Gilson)<br />
<br />
<br />
Excerpt from an interview of Elisheva on IBA ENGLISH NEWS, Nov. 1st 2008<br />
<br />
Interviewer Aviva Press: <br />
<br />
Who do you hope will read this book?<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre: <br />
<br />
I think it concerns any Gentile who wants to know what the Torah really has to say. It is important because today that Israel returned to its land, it created a lot of change in world consciousness. Jews are also concerned because this change in our situation from exile to coming back to our land and trying to establish Jewish sovereignty and living here with all the problems that we have with it, also caused a change in the Jewish understanding of what the Torah means for us – which is the question, by the way, which the Pope asked Rabbi Shaar Yishuv HaCohen to answer: <br />
"What does the Torah mean for the Jews?" (I am telling Gentiles what it means for them). <br />
The Torah is a project. It is not only a book of do's and don'ts it is also the divine project in History. It is the blueprint of History under divine government.</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=9028
Torah for Gentiles
2010-07-22T08:52:16Z
<p>Elisheva: /* What they say about this book */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@bezeqint.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or equivalent of $40) and it includes air mailing, payable through PayPal. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
She’s got guts, brains, looks, and faith. Any one of these features alone would make her a charming person, but all of them together make of her an explosive “impossible person to deal with”. No matter – she’s obstinate to boot! Misunderstood by her family, untamed by her teachers, rejected by society and ignored by friends, she still managed to dodge drugs, duck psychiatrists, pass over prostitution and avoid suicide – think I do not see you, Satan? And she’s got talent too. An amateur artist, self-taught scholar, and unpublished writer, she has noticeable impact wherever she goes, but receives credit from no one. Pity she doesn’t care… because you know, she’s very independent and honest too! <br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France where she studied at the University Paris VIII in the wake of the '68 revolution. In France, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, had a try in showbiz, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and submitted a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never returned to her and never published.<br />
<br />
In 1980, she came to Israel with her son, learning and then teaching Torah in various institutions. She became Rabbi Meir Kahane's assistant and after he was killed wrote a book in French about this period in Jewish History entitled KAHANE ET LE KAHANISME. She then studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years (concentrating on the Rambam and Rav Saadya Gaon), had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman where she analyzed the news in the light of Jewish Law. She obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding, who asked her to write a series of articles on the Bnei Noach commandments for his monthly magazine. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. <br />
<br />
In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel directed by Rabbi Ratson Arussi and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''directed by Professor Nachum Rakover.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person. She is an enthusiast of the Rambam and a student of Rabbi Yossef Kappach. Her understanding is unique and her world view is both nationalistic and universalist. This is what she expressed in this book. One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views. Indeed, she feels there is a leardership crisis and this is why she speaks her message like Dvorah the prophetess did in her own times. The topic of this book is worthy of proper attention and careful study. (Rabbi Ratzon Arussi) <br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern. (Rabbi Dr. Yigal Shafran) <br />
<br />
* This book is not only a challenging thesis, it is a also work of art. (Adv. E. F.) <br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (Dr. John Craig)<br />
<br />
* I am impressed by your book. Your thoughts and opinions are so well construed. I have never seen a man with a pure heart fail when on a mission to promote G-dly law. Your spirit is what the government needs (my opinion). Well you have boosted my confidence in humanity... I was hoping to find sane people somewhere. Thanks. (Charles Howell)<br />
<br />
* I have finished your book and it is a great help. There is so much to learn from it and I am sure I didn't get it all the first time, so I am going to read it again. Thank you for all your wisdom and advice. Thank you for being Jewish. (Dennis Walter)<br />
<br />
* Thus far, I've read the first five chapters. I appreciate the depth and boldness of your work, and I am looking forward to reading the rest and sharing it with the others.(Woody Gilson)<br />
<br />
<br />
Excerpt from an interview of Elisheva on IBA ENGLISH NEWS, Nov. 1st 2008<br />
Interviewer Aviva Press: <br />
Who do you hope will read this book?<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre: <br />
I think it concerns any Gentile who wants to know what the Torah really has to say. It is important because today that Israel returned to its land, it created a lot of change in world consciousness. Jews are also concerned because this change in our situation from exile to coming back to our land and trying to establish Jewish sovereignty and living here with all the problems that we have with it, also caused a change in the Jewish understanding of what the Torah means for us – which is the question by the way which the Pope asked Rabbi Shaar Yishuv HaCohen to answer: "What does the Torah mean for the Jews?" The Torah is a project. It is not only a book of do's and don'ts it is also the divine project in History. It is the blueprint of History under divine government.</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=9027
Torah for Gentiles
2010-07-22T08:43:35Z
<p>Elisheva: /* About the author */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@bezeqint.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or equivalent of $40) and it includes air mailing, payable through PayPal. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
She’s got guts, brains, looks, and faith. Any one of these features alone would make her a charming person, but all of them together make of her an explosive “impossible person to deal with”. No matter – she’s obstinate to boot! Misunderstood by her family, untamed by her teachers, rejected by society and ignored by friends, she still managed to dodge drugs, duck psychiatrists, pass over prostitution and avoid suicide – think I do not see you, Satan? And she’s got talent too. An amateur artist, self-taught scholar, and unpublished writer, she has noticeable impact wherever she goes, but receives credit from no one. Pity she doesn’t care… because you know, she’s very independent and honest too! <br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France where she studied at the University Paris VIII in the wake of the '68 revolution. In France, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, had a try in showbiz, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and submitted a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never returned to her and never published.<br />
<br />
In 1980, she came to Israel with her son, learning and then teaching Torah in various institutions. She became Rabbi Meir Kahane's assistant and after he was killed wrote a book in French about this period in Jewish History entitled KAHANE ET LE KAHANISME. She then studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years (concentrating on the Rambam and Rav Saadya Gaon), had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman where she analyzed the news in the light of Jewish Law. She obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding, who asked her to write a series of articles on the Bnei Noach commandments for his monthly magazine. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. <br />
<br />
In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel directed by Rabbi Ratson Arussi and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''directed by Professor Nachum Rakover.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern… (''Rabbi Yigal Shafran'')<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person… One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views… (''Rabbi Ratzon Arussi'')<br />
<br />
* I am a Christian gentile in Texas. I appreciate your combative passion for the truth. Keep it up. (''From the emails we received'')<br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (''Dr. John Craig'')<br />
<br />
* You did it! I am proud you are my little sister. (''Painter Michael Weston'')</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=9026
Torah for Gentiles
2010-07-22T08:41:34Z
<p>Elisheva: /* About the author */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@bezeqint.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or equivalent of $40) and it includes air mailing, payable through PayPal. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
She’s got guts, brains, looks, and faith. Any one of these features alone would make her a charming person, but all of them together make of her an explosive “impossible person to deal with”. No matter – she’s obstinate to boot! Misunderstood by her family, untamed by her teachers, rejected by society and ignored by friends, she still managed to dodge drugs, duck psychiatrists, pass over prostitution and avoid suicide – think I do not see you, Satan? And she’s got talent too. An amateur artist, self-taught scholar, and unpublished writer, she has noticeable impact wherever she goes, but receives credit from no one. Pity she doesn’t care… because you know, she’s very independent and honest too! <br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France where she studied at the University Paris VIII in the wake of the '68 revolution. In France, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, had a try in showbiz, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and submitted a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never returned to her and never published.<br />
<br />
In 1980, she came to Israel with her son, learning and then teaching Torah in various institutions. She became Rabbi Meir Kahane's assistant and after he was killed wrote a book in French about this period in Jewish History entitled KAHANE ET LE KAHANISME, ISBN 978-965-71329-1-1. She then studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years (concentrating on the Rambam and Rav Saadya Gaon), had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman where she analyzed the news in the light of Jewish Law. She obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding, who asked her to write a series of articles on the Bnei Noach commandments for his monthly magazine. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. <br />
<br />
In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel directed by Rabbi Ratson Arussi and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''directed by Professor Nachum Rakover.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern… (''Rabbi Yigal Shafran'')<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person… One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views… (''Rabbi Ratzon Arussi'')<br />
<br />
* I am a Christian gentile in Texas. I appreciate your combative passion for the truth. Keep it up. (''From the emails we received'')<br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (''Dr. John Craig'')<br />
<br />
* You did it! I am proud you are my little sister. (''Painter Michael Weston'')</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=9025
Torah for Gentiles
2010-07-22T08:35:54Z
<p>Elisheva: /* About the author */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@bezeqint.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or equivalent of $40) and it includes air mailing, payable through PayPal. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
She’s got guts, brains, looks, and faith. Any one of these features alone would make her a charming person, but all of them together make of her an explosive “impossible person to deal with”. No matter – she’s obstinate to boot! Misunderstood by her family, untamed by her teachers, rejected by society and ignored by friends, she still managed to dodge drugs, duck psychiatrists, pass over prostitution and avoid suicide – think I do not see you, Satan? And she’s got talent too. An amateur artist, self-taught scholar, and unpublished writer, she has noticeable impact wherever she goes, but receives credit from no one. Pity she doesn’t care… because you know, she’s very independent and honest too! <br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France. There, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, had a try in showbiz, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and submitted a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never returned to her and never published.<br />
In 1980, she came to Israel with her son, learning and teaching Torah in various institutions. She was Rabbi Meir Kahane's assistant and after he was killed wrote a book in French about this period in Jewish History entitled KAHANE ET LE KAHANISME. She then studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years (concentrating on the Rambam and Rav Saadya Gaon), had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman where she analyzed the news in the light of Jewish Law. She obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding, who asked her to write a series of articles on the Bnei Noach commandments for his monthly magazine. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. <br />
In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel directed by Rabbi Ratson Arussi and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''directed by Professor Nachum Rakover.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern… (''Rabbi Yigal Shafran'')<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person… One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views… (''Rabbi Ratzon Arussi'')<br />
<br />
* I am a Christian gentile in Texas. I appreciate your combative passion for the truth. Keep it up. (''From the emails we received'')<br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (''Dr. John Craig'')<br />
<br />
* You did it! I am proud you are my little sister. (''Painter Michael Weston'')</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=9024
Torah for Gentiles
2010-07-22T08:35:16Z
<p>Elisheva: /* About the author */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@bezeqint.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or equivalent of $40) and it includes air mailing, payable through PayPal. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
She’s got guts, brains, looks, and faith. Any one of these features alone would make her a charming person, but all of them together make of her an explosive “impossible person to deal with”. No matter – she’s obstinate to boot! Misunderstood by her family, untamed by her teachers, rejected by society and ignored by friends, she still managed to dodge drugs, duck psychiatrists, pass over prostitution and avoid suicide – think I do not see you, Satan? And she’s got talent too. An amateur artist, self-taught scholar, and unpublished writer, she has noticeable impact wherever she goes, but receives credit from no one. Pity she doesn’t care… because you know, she’s very independent and honest too! <br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France. There, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, had a try in showbiz, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and submitted a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never returned to her and never published.<br />
In 1980, she came to Israel with her son, learning and teaching Torah in various institutions. She was Rabbi Meir Kahane's assistant and after he was killed wrote a book in French about this period in Jewish History entitled KAHANE ET LE KAHANISME. She then studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years (concentrating on the Rambam and Rav Saadya Gaon), had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman where she analyzed the news in the light of Jewish Law. She obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding, who asked her to write a series of articles on the Bnei Noach commandments for his monthly magazine. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. <br />
In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel directed by Rabbi Ratson Arussi and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''directed by Professor Nachum Rakover.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern… (''Rabbi Yigal Shafran'')<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person… One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views… (''Rabbi Ratzon Arussi'')<br />
<br />
* I am a Christian gentile in Texas. I appreciate your combative passion for the truth. Keep it up. (''From the emails we received'')<br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (''Dr. John Craig'')<br />
<br />
* You did it! I am proud you are my little sister. (''Painter Michael Weston'')</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=9023
Torah for Gentiles
2010-07-22T08:23:14Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, 2008, 285 pages, available at Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@bezeqint.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or equivalent of $40) and it includes air mailing, payable through PayPal. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France. There, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and created a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never published.<br />
In 1980, she returned to Israel with her son, learning and teaching Torah in various institutions. She studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years, had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman, analyzing the news in the light of Jewish Law. Somehow, she obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern… (''Rabbi Yigal Shafran'')<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person… One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views… (''Rabbi Ratzon Arussi'')<br />
<br />
* I am a Christian gentile in Texas. I appreciate your combative passion for the truth. Keep it up. (''From the emails we received'')<br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (''Dr. John Craig'')<br />
<br />
* You did it! I am proud you are my little sister. (''Painter Michael Weston'')</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Barre_Elisheva&diff=7954
Barre Elisheva
2009-01-11T10:03:05Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>ELISHEVA BARRE studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years, teaches Torah Law according to Maimonides, obtained the diploma of the Biblical Polemics Institute, had a radio show in Hebrew and English analyzing the news in the light of Jewish Law, studied at Bar Ilan University and is a regular attendant to the seminars of Machon Moshe (Rabbi Ratson Arussi) and Mishpat HaIvri (Professor Nachum Rakover). She authored "Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws", published in 2008, ISBN 978-965-91329-0-4, and represented by Pomeranz bookstores. <br />
<br />
OPEN LETTER TO BNEI NOAH<br />
<br />
Dear Bnei Noah,<br />
<br />
I understand your desire to follow HaShem's commandments and find merit and favor in His eyes. I appreciate your commitment to the study of Torah, and I know you are sincerely committed. I realize your desire to express this commitment by taking upon yourself even those Mitzvot which are not an obligation for you. I value your compliance to the instructions you receive from the rabbis you turn to and I respect those rabbis. The last thing I want to do is undermine the trust you have in them. <br />
<br />
The Torah is a divine Law. What you learn is between you and God. In it, we are told that even if the King (who has the power to put to death anyone he wants at his discretion by simply raising his finger) commands a Jew to do something which is against the Torah, we do not obey him. And in case the Sanhedrin itself orders something we know for sure to be wrong ("for sure" is a very high requirement), we are not to obey because it is a mistake to think that in such a case, the authority of the Sanhedrin supercedes the knowledge someone himself has of the Law. All the more so, the halachic authority of rabbis and teachers who are not the Sanhedrin. <br />
<br />
Not everyone and certainly not a Ben Noah, can judge what is correct and what is not, which makes him dependent on a teacher. Many Bnei Noah have been learning and following rabbis before the Bnei Noah laws became public knowledge in the wake of the Lubavitch Rebbe's campaign. Rabbi Yoel Schwartz is one of the rabbis who has been teaching Bnei Noah with great dedication for decades. I know him to be a learned man and a kind person too and I respect him. <br />
<br />
Now that halachic questions come up in public forums for discussion, you, dear Bnei Noah, are confronted with different opinions to choose from, and in certain cases this clashes with what you believed to be true so far. Creating doubt in your mind is, according to Jewish Law a grave sin, because it causes uncertainly as to your very commitment and it undermines the foundation of your faith. That is the sin for which Moses was punished when he hit the rock instead of speaking to it. Alternately, it will bring you to judge and reject the voice of a certain scholar which does not fit in the teachings of your rabbi and that is yet another dreadful consequence of our own divisions and the fact we do not have a united Code of Law accepted all Jews. <br />
<br />
To say the Law is divine is to say it has to be taken very seriously. That is why a Jew is obliged to rebuke and correct a fellow-Jew who has misconceptions and makes mistakes – on condition that person is willing to accept the rebuke and correct his ways. We have no such obligation towards Bnei Noah because towards them, we do not have such a responsibility (unless they live as Resident Strangers in our land, under Jewish sovereignty and Torah Law, which is not the case today). If Gentiles copy Jewish practices forbidden to them, we may ignore them as long as they don't cause any harm to us. However, when a Gentile turns to a Jew with a question about the Torah and what mitzvot he may or may not take upon himself to observe voluntarily, and if that Jew is well enough informed to give an answer, it is polite to give it and obligatory do so honestly, even in case it might clash with other opinions. <br />
<br />
On a public forum, such questions are not asked privately, and the one who asks them publicly (not knowing who the person who relates to his question will be) will receive as many different and contradictory answers as there are different and contradictory opinions and levels of understanding of the Law. I wish to add, to make the picture complete, that many responses posted on these forums stem from people who just think they know something. The advantage to be derived from an exposition of multiple opinions is that it gives the Ben Noah who asked a multiple choice. Considering he is ignorant of the sources and the intricacies of the Law, he is left with his own judgment and conscience to weigh for himself which reply is best sustained and therefore most reliable. And he can always go on asking questions to clarify what is not clear and get further information. This is how one learns, when the aim is to observe the Torah Law as God commanded it. In case one has a doubt, it is preferable to abstain than to act on "blind" faith. <br />
<br />
In weighing opposing opinions, the last thing you want to do is rely on the mere reputation of the person who expresses a certain view, without considering the value of the arguments he puts forward. To give a parallel, that is the difference between a doctor who prescribes a certain drug without informing his patient what it is and how it works, and the doctor who bothers to explain this to his patient, as much as any layman can understand. It has been proven that the doctors who explain this to their patients get the best results. And in the same way as a patient may change doctors, consult another specialist, even drop conventional medicine and seek relief with naturopaths, so too a Ben Noah who wishes to fulfill his commandments to the best in order to properly serve the God who dictated them, is allowed – nay encouraged – not to stop half way and go on investigating the truth he dedicated his life to. <br />
<br />
He will be rewarded not for the perfection or lack of perfection of his deeds, but for his intention because "God wants the sincerity of man's heart". Your very search for truth is what gives you great merit, there is absolutely no doubt about that. But the Torah is very demanding, for Jews as well as Gentiles. And it is, first and foremost, a challenge and an invitation for every man to perfect his ways, clear his mind, purify his heart, and elevate himself. The Law's instructions are the way to achieve this goal by dictating commandments and prohibitions and any diverging from them will miss the goal, but it does not request an immediate and instant result. It is a lifetime project. The promise of a great reward is the compassionate God's encouragement to every man to be his best. <br />
<br />
Considering the Torah is a political project since it postulates a Supreme Sovereign, the laws and jurisdiction it dictates for Bnei Noah also have political implications. As things stand today, the confrontation between "Athens" and "Jerusalem" whereby when the one is up the other is down, seems to turn around this pivot. By adhering to the Torah's Bnei Noah Laws, you have an important role to play in this scenario. <br />
<br />
With blessings and best wishes of success to everyone,<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Leaders&diff=7953
Leaders
2009-01-11T09:20:53Z
<p>Elisheva: /* General Approach */</p>
<hr />
<div>This is the beginning of a comprehensive directory of leaders and teachers in the Bnai Noach community. Please add any that are missing. Eventually these leaders should be broken into categories and each of these names of leaders should be made into Wikinoah pages give some biographical information and/or contact information.<br />
<br />
Listed from A-Z of last name: (BN) means Bnei Noach, (BI) means Bnei Israel.<br />
<br />
==General Approach==<br />
*[[Zvi Aviner|Aviner, Rabbi Zvi]] Rabbi and Physician, author of Sod-Siach, a series of Torah Parsha classes. Engaged in the teaching of Torah to both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences for years. (BI)<br />
*[[Yoel David Bakst|Bakst, Rabbi Yoel David]] (BI)<br />
*[[Barre Elisheva]] Teaching the Bnei Laws according to Rambam (BI)<br />
*[[Miriam Ben Yaacov|Ben Yaacov, Miriam]] (BI)<br />
*[[J. David Bleich|Bleich, Rabbi J. David]], Yeshiva University, Cordoza School of Law, New York, NY (BI)<br />
*[[Michael Broyde|Broyde, Rabbi Prof. Michael]], Professor of Law, Emory Univ. School of Law, Atlanta, GA (BI)<br />
*[[Alan W. Cecil|Cecil, Alan]] (BN)<br />
*[[Israel Chait|Chait, Rabbi Israel]] Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva B’Nai Torah in Far Rockaway, New York, and has collaborated closely with the Noahide Movement. (BI)<br />
*[[Michael Dallen|Dallen, Michael]] started the First Covenant Foundation (originally, the Rainbow Covenant Foundation) (BI)<br />
*[[David Davis|David, Davis]] former ordained Baptist Minister, graduated from Tennessee Temple University of Chattanooga in 1972. Noahide speaker & lecturer. (BN)<ref name="leaders">These Noachide are known to have directed a noachide community of noachide. If you know of someone else who has had the experience please let us know.</ref><br />
*[[Billy Jack Dial|Dial, Billy Jack]] Noahide Leader. Founder of the United Noachide Council, Acworth Georgia (BN)<ref name="leaders"/><br />
*[[Roger Grattan|Grattan, Roger]] Emissary of the ''nascent'' Sanhedrin North American Affairs & Official UNC, Inc. Advisor Bangor, Maine (BN)<br />
*[[Vendyl Jones|Jones, Vendyl]] an American religious scholar who has directed archaeological searches for Biblical artifacts such as the Ark of the Covenant. (BN)<ref name="leaders"/><br />
*[[Michael Katz|Katz, Rabbi Dr. Michael]] rabbinic consultant and adviser to Noahides since 1989. He has been a First Covenant Foundation trustee and director since the foundation's beginning. (BI)<br />
*[[Terry Lanham|Lanham, Terry]] Director of Chavurath B’nai Noach Fort Worth, Texas (BN)<ref name="leaders"/><br />
*[[Kazik Libey|Libey, Kazik]] PGS Religion in Late Antiquity. Researches the history of Noahism at Cardiff University, UK. UNC Global Relations President and Policy Strategist. (BN)<br />
*[[Aaron Lichtenstein|Lichtenstein, Aaron]] Ph.D., teaches at the City University of New York (CUNY), and has taught at New York University, Yeshiva University, University of Denver, Jews' College (London), and Yeshiva Hechal HaTorah. He is the author of "The Seven Laws of Noah", "Noachide Communities Throughout the Ages", was staff editor at the Encyclopedia Judaica. (BI)<br />
*[[Jim Long|Long, Jim]] journalist, Radio personality, combines his love of archaeology, writing and film-making with teaching about Noahides (BN)<br />
*[[Eugene Narrett|Narrett, Eugene]]<br />
*[[Ray Pettersen|Pettersen, Ray]] part of instructional staff of NoahideNations.com (BN)<br />
*[[Adam Penrod|Penrod, Adam]] (BN)<br />
*[[Yehuda Ribco|Ribco, Yehuda]](BI)<br />
*[[Anna Roth|Roth, Dr. Anna]] (BI)<br />
*[[Nahum Rakover|Rakover, Prof. Nachum]], Bar Ilan University, Israel (BI)<br />
*[[Jack Saunders|Saunders, Jack]] began his professional career as a Baptist pastor, is the president and lector (principal teacher) of Frazier's Chapel, a Noahide center near Cleveland, Tennessee (BN)<ref name="leaders"/><br />
*[[James D. Tabor|Tabor, Dr. James D.]] a leading scholar on the Dead Sea Scrolls, on the Second Temple period, and on the origins of Christianity. James D. Tabor is a professor in the Department of Religious Studies, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His specialty is ancient Judaism, and early Christianity in the context of Hellenistic culture and religions. He has published a study of Paul titled Things Unutterable (University Press of America, 1986) (BN)<br />
*[[Doug Taylor|Taylor, Doug]] (BN)<br />
*[[Joseph Weiss|Weiss, Rabbi Joseph]] part of instructional staff of NoahideNations.com (BI)<br />
*[[Saul Zucker|Zucker, Rabbi Saul]] principal of the Mesivta of New Jersey in Teaneck, New Jersey. (BI)<br />
*[[Solomon Zweitter|Zweitter, Rabbi Solomon]] Professor of Talmudic Literature at Bar Ilan University in Israel, and a graduate of the Rabbi Isaac Elhanan Seminary at Yeshiva University in New York. (BI)<br />
<br />
==Chabad Approach==<br />
*[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson|Schneerson, Rabbi Menachem Mendel]] (BI)<br />
*[[Nachman M. Bernhard|Bernhard, Rabbi Nachman M.]], Johannesburg, South Africa (BI)<br />
*[[BenZion Friedman|Friedman, Rabbi BenZion]], Overland Park, KS (BI)<br />
*[[Dovid Goldstein|Goldstein, Rabbi Dovid]], Head Rabbi, Texas State Prison System, Houston, TX (BI)<br />
*[[Nosson Sachs|Sachs, Rabbi Nosson]], Chaplain Lt. Colonel, United States Army Reserve, Pittsburgh, PA (BI)<br />
*[[Immanuel Schochet|Schochet,Rabbi Immanuel]], Toronto, Canada (BI)<br />
*[[Yonah Avtzon|Avtzon, Rabbi Yonah]], Director, Sichos in English, Brooklyn, NY (BI)<br />
*[[Berel Lazar|Lazar, Rabbi Berel]], Chief Rabbi of Russia, Moscow (BI)<br />
*[[Zalman Posner|Posner, Rabbi Zalman]], Nashville, TN (BI)<br />
*[[Menachem Burstein|Burstein, Rabbi Menachem]], Chairman, Puah Institute, Jerusalem, Israel (BI)<br />
*[[Shimon Cowen|Cowen, Rabbi Shimon]], Director, Institute for Judaism and Civilization, Melbourne, Australia (BI)<br />
*[[Zelig Sharfstein|Sharfstein, Rabbi Zelig]], Cincinnati, OH (BI)<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references /></div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Christianity_and_Noahide_Law&diff=7918
Christianity and Noahide Law
2008-10-12T17:53:14Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Bibliography */</p>
<hr />
<div>Within [[Judaism]] it is a matter of debate whether all Christians should be considered Noahides. <br />
<br />
While Christianity appears to conform to six of the seven Noahide laws, an informal comparison of the [[Nicene Creed#The Nicene Creed, A Noahide Review|Nicene Creed and Noahide Law]] reveals that three major theological teachings may involve a violation of the Noahide prohibition against idolatry. <br />
*Equating Jesus with G-d<br />
*Equating the Holy Spirit with G-d<br />
*Jesus as Savior (in his proposed capacity as G-d)<br />
However, these theological issues do not fit the classical [[Noahide Law on Idolatry|Jewish definition of idolatry]]. This has caused disagreement among rabbinic authorities on the question of the permissibility of Christianity for non-Jews. (All authorities forbid Christianity for Jews).<br />
<br />
Another consideration would be that even if Christians are considered at least partially observant Noahides, are they [[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]] or [[Chochmei Umos HaOlam]]? The former are considered to have a share in the world to come because they recognize [[Noahide Law]] as being revealed through mosaic (rabbinic) tradition, the latter are not considered to have a share in the world to come because they follow [[Noahide Law]] based on intellectual expediency.<ref>Maimonides in the Laws of Kings 8:11</ref><br />
<br />
In summary, classical idolatry has been clearly defined by Jewish Law. Christianity, however, has been defined as something less. The problem is defining how much less, and for what purposes. <br />
<br />
==Legal Opinions==<br />
<br />
The Talmud makes no clear reference to Jesus or Christianity.<ref>[http://www.angelfire.com/mt/talmud/jesus.html Historical Analysis: The Talmud neither disparaged nor even mentions Jesus]</ref> Various attempts to equate ''minim'' with early Christians are tenuous at best because there seems to be no relationship between the teachings of the ''minim'' and Christian teachings. Christianity is first discussed in detail in terms of Jewish law by the ''rishonim'' (Rabbis of the early medieval period (1250–1550))<br />
<br />
===Forbidden===<br />
<br />
The strict view, typified by [[Maimonides]], is that Christian theology is considered ''avodah zarah'' (loosely translated as "idolatry") for all people, both Jew and non-Jew, 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 a deity would still be considered Noahides.<br />
<br />
Maimonides was clearly of the opinion that Christianity was idolatry. He is believed to have ruled in three places that Christianity is idolatry and forbidden to non-Jews:<br />
:''[[Ger Toshav]]'', one who accepts upon himself the seven laws as we have explained -- his wine is forbidden to drink, but permitted to benefit from. He can be appointed over wine, but wine is not deposited by him. Such it is with all non-Jews that are not idolators, such as the Muslims -- their wine is forbidden to drink, but permitted to benefit from; This is also how we were instructed by the Gaonim. However the Christians -- since they are idolators, one is even prohibited from benefiting from their wine.<ref>Mishneh Torah, Ma'achalos Asuros 11:7</ref><br />
And also<br />
:Know that this Christian nation, who advocates the messianic claim in all their various sects, all of them are idolaters. On all their various festivals it is forbidden for us to deal with them. And all Torah restrictions pertaining to idolaters pertain to them... We deal with them as we would deal with any idolaters on their festival.<ref>Commentary on Mishnah, Avodah Zarah 1.3</ref><br />
And also<br />
:Christians are idolaters and Sunday is their holy day. Accordingly it is forbidden to buy and sell with them on Thursday, Friday or every Saturday within the Land of Israel. Of course Sunday itself [is forbidden to buy and sell with them], which is forbidden in every location. This is also our custom for all their holidays.<ref>Mishneh Torah, Avodah Kochavim 9:4</ref><br />
<br />
However Jewish Law disagrees with this opinion, as seen by the fact that Jews are not required to avoid Christians the days before and after Sunday or other holidays, as would be required of full idolaters. <br />
<br />
It is implied by Maimonides in his "Laws of Kings":<br />
:Even Jesus the Nazarene, who imagined himself as messiah, and was executed by the court -- was already prophesied about by Daniel "Those who are violent among your own people will rise up in confirmation of the vision, but they will falter." (Daniel 11:14). There was a great stumbling in this. All the prophets spoke of messiah as redeemer and saviour of the Jewish people, who will gather the exiles, and strengthen their laws. But this one has caused the destruction of Israel by the sword, the dispersal of the remnant, the exchange of the Torah for another, the misleading of most of the world to worship a god other than the L-rd.<ref>Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings and their Wars 11:4</ref><br />
<br />
Most of these texts are missing from the the standard Vilna edition of these works, and are assumed to have been deleted by the censors. For whatever reason, the Code of Jewish Law has not made use of these supporting texts.<br />
<br />
In Moreh Nevuchim, Maimonides writes that Christianity has a mistaken understanding of G-d, similar to those who assign attributes to Him.<ref>Moreh Nevuchim (1:50)</ref> This might imply that Christianity is a min (deviant sect), which is perhaps a step up from idolatry.<br />
<br />
In his Epistles to Yemen, Maimonides implied that Christianity was idolatry, but he also says Christianity has a role to play in G-d's plan by "preparing the way for the Messiah's coming and the improvement of the entire world..."<ref>Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Melachim U'Milchamoteihem</ref><br />
<br />
===Permitted===<br />
<br />
Rabbenu Tam and his fellow Tosafists did not condemn Christianity as idolatry. "The fact that most people do business with the non-Jews on their holy days is problematic... It would seem that the reason for this permissiveness is that the non-Jews among whom we live are not to be considered idolaters..".<ref>Tosafot to Avodah Zarah 2a</ref> Rabbenu Tam was of the opinion that the prohibition of doing business with idolaters before and during their holy days was only meant to apply to items that they might use in their worship, and did not apply to buying from them.<br />
<br />
When a certain rabbi in Europe prohibited all contact with Christians on their holy days (which was more often than not when the great fairs were held) Rabbenu Gershom objects, "But in [the Land of] Israel it is already customary to barter with non-Jews on their holy days, and we should not forbid this. It is better that [the Jews] contravene the law in ignorance than that they should do so knowingly, [which they will inevitably do] since their livelihood depends on their wares and most days of the year are [Christian] holy days."<br />
<br />
The position of the Tosafists is complex. It is generally held that the Tosafists, particularly the Ri and possibly also Rabbeinu Tam, considered Christian belief to be "the partnering of the Name of Heaven with something else", and that as Noachides (i.e. non-Jews) are not forbidden to engage in such partnering; Christian belief and worship is permitted for non-Jews, and it is permitted for Jews to cause them to actively express that belief or engage in such worship. However, this judgement is not followed through in other areas. It seems from the words of Tosafot to Bechorot 2a and Sanhedrin 63b that their comments are limited to the case of oathtaking, i.e. partnering the Name of Heaven with something else while taking an oath. The halachic context would not be the prohibitions against idolatrous worship but rather the prohibition "Let them not be heard as a result of you", which would be understood as "let them not be heard as the exclusive guarantors of an oath as a result of you. Several great acharonim, including Shaar Efraim, Noda B'Yehudah, Meil Tzedakah, Olat Tamid, and Chazon Ish, understood Tosafot in this fashion. Some of them also interpreted Ramo, who cites Tosafot, the same way. But there are also those, including Shach and Seder Mishnah, who read Tosafot broadly, as referring to all prohibitions associated with Christian faith. But according to either reading of Tosafot, Jews holding Christian beliefs are violating ''avodah zarah'' prohibitions. Even Meiri, who assigns Noachides "bound by the ways of religion" (which presumptively includes Christians) a status equivalent to Jews for several legal purposes, probably believes that they are nonetheless worshipers of ''avodah zarah''<br />
<br />
In general Jewish law follows Tosafos and rules that Christian theology is only considered ''avodah zarah'' for Jews, but it is permissible for gentiles. The Tosafist [[Rabbeinu Tam|Rabbi Jacob Tam]] ([[Rashi]]'s grandson) ruled that trinitarianism could be permitted to gentiles as a form of ''shittuf'' ("association").<ref>Bekhorot 2b and Sanhedrin 63b</ref> This view was echoed by Rabbi Isaac ben Sheshet (''Rivash'', responsa 119) and accepted by Rabbi Moses Isserles (''Rema'').<ref>Orah Hayyim 156:1</ref> However, no Jewish source allows the worship through any form of ''shittuf''; rather, all worship must be directed to the one and only Creator. In this view Christian theology is not forbidden to gentiles, and all Christians are Noahides.<br />
<br />
===Other factors===<br />
<br />
Even if one concludes that Christianity is ''avodah zarah'' for non-Jews, it is not clear that most non-Jews are deeply attached to their ''avodah zarah'' beliefs, and further more there are Christian groups whose beliefs differ greatly in areas touching the halachic definition of ''avodah zarah''. See the contemporary Rabbi Henkin's citation in Bnei Banim 35 of Rabbeinu Yerucham's (1290-1350) description of the non-Jews of his time as "not deeply attached to ''avodah zarah''", and the Rabbi Eliezer ben Natan (''Ra'avan'' of Mainz) (1090-1170) spoke about this as well, and Rabbi Henkin sees in him grounds for distinguishing among the various churches.<br />
<br />
It has been noted that in the Maimonides' day and Islamic environment, it was just as dangerous to say that Christianity was not idolatry as it was for in Tosefos day to say that it was.<br />
<br />
===Historical Reconstruction===<br />
<br />
Attempts to reconstruct Rabbinic opinion of the early Christians based on New Testament, Josephus and other nearly contemporary writing is problematic, and has never been fully attempted, but may yet yield fruitful results. Josephus generally portrays the Sadducees as antagonistic to early Christianity<ref>Ant. 20:9, etc</ref>, while the New Testament portrays Pharisees as being tolerant.<ref>John 3:2, Acts 5:34, etc</ref> Neither Jesus, nor the early Christians were accused of idolatry. Instead they were apparently executed on the basis of blasphemy<ref>Mathew 26:65, Mark 14:64 and John 10:33</ref>, or given corporal punishment based on disobedience to the directives of a court<ref>2 Corinthians 11:24.</ref><br />
<br />
==Other Rabbinic Views of Christianity==<br />
<br />
===Rabbi Menahem Ha-Meiri (d. 1315)===<br />
Rabbi Menahem Ha-Meiri, the fourteenth century Provencal scholar, introduced a new perspective in framing relations between Jews and the wider Christian or Islamic societies in which they lived:<br />
<br />
:It has already been stated that these things [laws relating to gentiles] were said concerning periods when there existed nations of idolaters, and they were contaminated in their deeds and tainted in their dispositions . . . but other nations, which are restrained by the ways of religion and which are free from such blemishes of character - on the contrary, they even punish such deeds - are, without doubt, exempt from this prohibition.<ref>Meiri, Bet Habechirah, Avodah Zarah, 53. See also, ibid., 39, 46, 48, 59 and in many other places in his writings.</ref> <br />
<br />
According to Meiri, all mishnaic rules circumscribing business and other transactions with non-Jews are to be understood as referring to pagan or polytheistic cultures, no longer extant, which in addition to being idolatrous were also unprincipled in their dealings with people. That has now changed. The nations amongst whom Jews lived were now "restrained by the ways of religion" and were therefore to be regarded as on a par with the ''[[Ger Toshav]]'' of biblical times, namely as ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]''.<ref>Much has been written about Meiri's conceptual leap in relation to non-Jews: see Jacob Katz, Exclusiveness and Tolerance, New York, Behrman House, 1961, 114-128; Ephraim Urbach, "Shitat Hasovlanut shel Rabbi Menahem Hameiri," in E. Etkes (ed), Perakim beToldot haHevrah haYehudit, Jerusalem, 1980, 34-44; M. Halbertal, Bein Torah leChokhmah, Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 2000, 80-108.</ref><br />
<br />
===Rabbi Moses Rivkes (Lithuania, 17th century)===<br />
Rabbi Moses Rivkes gives halakhic expression to the difference between pagan and monotheistic gentile cultures:<br />
<br />
:The rabbis of the Talmud meant by the term 'idolators' the pagans who lived in their time, who worshipped the stars and the constellations and did not believe in the Exodus from Egypt and in the creation of the world out of nothing. But the nations under whose benevolent shadow we, the Jewish nation, are exiled and are dispersed among them, they do believe in the creation of the world out of nothing and the Exodus from Egypt and in the essentials of faith, and their whole intention is toward the Maker of heaven and earth, as other authorities have said . . . these nations do believe in all of this<ref>R. Moses Rivkes (Lithuania, 17th century), Be'er haGolah to Choshen Mishpat 425:5).</ref><br />
<br />
===Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschutz (1690-1764)===<br />
So does the introduction to Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschutz's halakhic commentary, ''Kreti uPleti'':<br />
<br />
:The Christian nations among whom we live, generally observe the principles of justice and righteousness, believe in the creation of the world and the existence and providence of G-d, and in the Law of Moses and the prophets, and oppose the Sadducean view that denies the resurrection of the dead and the immortality of the soul. Therefore it is fitting to be thankful to them, to praise and extol them, and to bring upon them blessings and not, G-d forbid, curses.<ref>Introduction to Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschuetz, Kreti uPleti, s.v. ein.</ref><br />
<br />
===Rabbi Yaakov Emden (1697-1776)===<br />
Rabbi Yaakov Emden wrote: <br />
<br />
:"We should consider Christians and Moslems as instruments for the fulfillment of the prophecy that the knowledge of G-d will one day spread throughout the earth. Whereas the nations before them worshipped idols, denied G-d's existence, and thus did not recognize G-d's power or retribution, the rise of Christianity and Islam served to spread among the nations, to the furthest ends of the earth, the knowledge that there is One G-d who rules the world, who rewards and punishes and reveals Himself to man. Indeed, Christian scholars have not only won acceptance among the nations for the revelation of the Written Torah but have also defended G-d's Oral Law. For when, in their hostility to the Torah, ruthless persons in their own midst sought to abrogate and uproot the Talmud, others from among them arose to defend it and to repulse the attempts."<ref>Commentary to Pirkey Avot, 4:13</ref><br />
<br />
In perhaps the most significant analysis of Christianity, Rabbi Emden says:<br />
<br />
:The writers of the Gospels never meant to say that the Nazarene came to abolish Judaism, but only that he came to establish a new religion for the Gentiles from that time onward. Nor was it new, but actually ancient; they being the Seven commandments of the sons of Noah, which were forgotten. The Apostles of the Nazarene established them anew . . . It is therefore a habitual saying of mine . . . that the Nazarene brought about a double kindness in the world. On the one hand, he strengthened the Torah of Moses majestically, as mentioned earlier, and not one of our sages spoke out more emphatically concerning the immutability of the Torah. And on the other hand he did much good for the gentiles . . . by doing away with idolatry and removing the images from their midst. He obligated them with the seven commandments . . . and also bestowed on them ethical ways, and in this respect he was much more stringent with them than the Torah of Moses, as is well known.<ref>Rabbi Yaakov Emden, [[Yaakov_Emden_on_Noahides#Rabbi_Jacob_Emden.27s_Letter_.28Seder_Olam_Rabbah_Vezuta.29|Seder Olam Rabbah ve-Zuta]], Appendix. Translation, H. Falk, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 19:1 [Winter 1982], 105-111).</ref><br />
<br />
Citing Acts 15, Emden argues that the founders of Christianity were not engaged in creating a new religion but rather bringing the Noahide covenant and its seven laws to the gentiles. That is why they did not require their followers to observe the Sabbath or the command of circumcision (which do not apply to non-Jews). Only later did Christians (mistakenly, Emden argues) see their faith as a rival to and [[Replacement theology|replacement]] of Judaism. Emden urges Christians to go back to their own first principles. If they did so they would "bring their people to love the ancient Children of Israel who remain loyal to their G-d, as indeed commanded to Christians by their original teachers."<br />
<br />
===Rabbi Israel Lipschutz (1782-1860)===<br />
Rabbi Israel Lipschutz suggested that there are broad parameters of religious belief which lead to ethical conduct and are universal among civilized societies. He called such belief "torah" in an extended sense:<br />
<br />
:R. Elazar ben Azaryah said, "If there is no Torah there is no culture [derekh eretz]" - The word "Torah" here cannot be meant literally, since there are many ignorant people who have not learned it, and many pious among the gentiles who do not keep the Torah and yet are ethical and people of culture. Rather, the correct interpretation seems to me to be that every people has its own religion [dat Eloki] which comprises three foundational principles, [a] belief in a revealed Torah, [b] belief in [Divine] reward and punishment, and [c] belief in an afterlife (they disagree merely on the interpretation of these principles). These three principles are what are called here "Torah".<ref>Tiferet Yisrael to Avot 3:17.</ref> <br />
<br />
===Rabbi Henry Pereira Mendes (1852-1937)===<br />
Rabbi Henry Pereira Mendes said that:<br />
<br />
:There is a midrash that, when Adam and Eve were turned out of Eden or earthy paradise, an angel smashed the gates, and the fragments flying all over the earth are the precious stones. We can carry the midrash further. The precious stones were picked up by the various religions and philosophers of the world. Each claimed and claims that its own fragment alone reflects the light of heaven, forgetting the setting and incrustations which time has added. Patience my brother. In G-d's own time we shall, all of us, fit our fragments together and reconstruct the gates of paradise. There will be an era of reconciliation of all living faiths and systems, the era of all being in at-one-ment, or atonement, with G-d. Through the gates shall all people pass to the foot of G-d's throne.<ref>Orthodox or Historical Judaism" (Chicago 1894), 217-8</ref><br />
<br />
===Rabbi Zevi Yehudah Kook (1891-1982)===<br />
Rabbi Zevi Yehudah Kook was a rabbi, leader of the Religious Zionist, Mizrachi movement in Israel, on the other hand resurrects many of the classic anti-Christian polemics with a vigor not seen for centuries. Among them: Christianity should be dismissed as an internal Jewish heresy; G-d the creator clearly cannot be a man; the Jewish G-d is alive whereas the Christian’s is dead. Christianity is the refuse of Israel, in line with the purported ancient Talmudic portrayals of Jesus as boiling in excrement.<ref>Zevi Yehudah Kook, Judaism and Christianity [Hebrew] (Beit El: 2001).</ref><br />
<br />
===Harvey Falk===<br />
Harvey Falk, who is a contemporary orthodox Jew, in his book ''Jesus the Pharisee'' proposes that the spread of the Noahide laws may have been an important part of Jesus' intentions, as well as those of his early followers (see also [[Council of Jerusalem]]).<br />
<br />
===Jerusalem Court for Bnei Noah (2007)===<br />
[[Image:BDBN.gif|right]]<br />
A [[The Noahide Oath#Jerusalem Court for Bnei Noah|recent ruling]] by the [[Jerusalem Court for Bnei Noah]] has ruled that it will not allow people from a Christian background to take the [[The Noahide Pledge]] if they believe that Jesus was Messiah. However they state that this is based on procedural and not halachic considerations. They state that another court may accept the Noahide pledge from such a person and it may be completely valid.<br />
<br />
==Christian Views of Noahides==<br />
<br />
===Christian opposition===<br />
<br />
The major Christian bodies (e.g. the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Protestant Churches) believe the Ten Commandments to be binding on them and would regard 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 Ten Commandments). Some critics of the Noahide laws contend that insisting upon a basic set of moral laws is contrary to [[religious pluralism]]. <br />
<br />
Some Christians believe that their existence implies that Jews may set up a legal system that would effectively outlaw Christianity. Based on the out-of-context claims that the "all Christians are idolators", and "punishment for idolatry is the death penalty", and that "the Rabbis have absolute control and authority over Noahides", some Christian groups has generated a lot of noise against the Noahide community. <br />
<br />
The Jewish community responds by noting that:<br />
<br />
* Noahide Law, with its minimal threshold of morality, law may be compared to Catholic social teachings, especially [[natural law]] theory.<br />
<br />
* Judaism 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. <br />
<br />
* This is not the ruling according to the Code of Jewish law. If Christian were idolators - in the full sense - it would be forbidden to do business with them on the days before and after Sunday as well as any Christian holidays, as well as several other legal rulings would come into effect. This is not the case, however. Jewish Law holds that Christian is similar to idolatry, but not full idolatry, and may even be completely permitted for non-Jews. <br />
<br />
* Jewish scholars also by note 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. Most Jewish authorities believe that penalties are a detail of the Noahide Laws and that Noahides themselves must determine the details of their own laws for themselves. According to this school of thought - see N. Rakover, Law and the Noahides (1998); M. Dallen, The Rainbow Covenant (2003)- the Noahide Laws offer mankind a set of absolute values and a framework for righteousness and justice, while the detailed laws that are currently on the books of the world's states and nations are presumptively valid. <br />
<br />
* Lastly, the Rabbis have no control over Noahides, only the ability to interpret the Bible and give rulings in Jewish law. Even in theory, the Rabbis cannot enforce their decisions on non-Jews anywhere outside of the Land of Israel.<br />
<br />
===Christian support===<br />
<br />
[[Image:Noahide Christian.png|right]]<br />
Several Christian congregations have abandoned traditional Christianity (rejecting the [[Nicene Creed]]) and adopted the First Covenant or Noahism in recent years. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} In the United States a few organized movements of non-Jews (primarily of Christian origin) have either chosen to reject mainstream religious affiliation and live by the [[Apostolic Decree]], which they view as the original Christian observance of Noahide Laws, or, under the influence of Orthodox Judaism, adhere to the Talmud's listing of the Laws (without converting to Judaism).<br />
<br />
Some Christian writers [http://www.haydid.org/spirit2.htm], particularly those affiliated with [[Primitive Apostolic Christianity]] see the verses in Acts of the Apostles|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".<ref>KJV, Acts 15:20</ref> 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". The evidence of these Noachian inclusions to primitive Christian observance were in addition to the moral Ten Commandments given to Moses at Sinai, which covers the most essential requirements of the Noachian covenant. The additions of the four cited above were to complete the requirements of the new Gentile converts to [[primitive Christianity]]. <br />
<br />
[[Jubilees]], part of the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible, generally considered to be a 2nd century BCE Jewish apocrypha, [http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/noncanon/ot/pseudo/jubilee.htm Chapter 7, verses 20-33] states: "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."<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
* [[Noahide Law in the New Testament]]<br />
* [[Tosofos and Christianity]]<br />
* [[Primitive Apostolic Christianity]]<br />
* [[Nicene Creed]] (rejected by the Noahide laws)<br />
* [[Apostolic Decree]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
==Bibliography==<br />
* [http://www.chiefrabbi.org/dd/views.html Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Judaic Views of Christianity and Islam] (Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom)<br />
* [http://www.bc.edu/research/cjl/meta-elements/texts/cjrelations/resources/articles/Brill.htm Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill, Judaism and Other Religions: An Orthodox perspective]<br />
* Jacob Katz, Exclusiveness and Tolerance, New York, Behrman House, 1961, 114-128<br />
* Ephraim Urbach, "Shitat Hasovlanut shel Rabbi Menahem Hameiri," in E. Etkes (ed), Perakim beToldot haHevrah haYehudit, Jerusalem, 1980, 34-44<br />
* M. Halbertal, Bein Torah leChokhmah, Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 2000, 80-108.<br />
* Alon Goshen-Gottstein, "Jewish-Christian Relations: From Historical Past to Theological Future" Ecumenism No. 146 (2002).<br />
* Elisheva Barre, Torah for Gentiles, 2008<br />
[[Category:Christian Religion]]<br />
[[Category:Jerusalem Court for Bnei Noah]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=7917
Torah for Gentiles
2008-10-12T17:45:22Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
2008, 285 pages, available at Shorashim and Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@hotmail.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or $40) and includes air mailing. <br />
<br />
==The Bnei Noach Commandments==<br />
<br />
AT ANY TIME, ever since the day the epitome of humanity was created and in any place, even in as perfect a habitat as the Garden of Eden, man needs to be limited in his most fundamental urges. If uncontrolled and unrestrained, instead of yielding goodness, these basic drives become the cause of mankind’s sufferings and destructions. In the story of Creation, every sin is meant by the prohibition of “eating”, singled out because the need for food is the most urgent and basic of all needs. <br />
The prohibition of idolatry limits man’s ambition to possess divine omniscience, as was the snake’s tempting promise to Adam. Such an ambition stems from a presumptuous self-image. The prohibition of blasphemy limits the rebelliousness of the creature towards his Creator – itself an inherent consequence of his having free will. The prohibition of murder limits man’s violence, in itself a vital necessity in his fight for life. The five Ls of murder being Love, Loathing, Lust, Loot, and Lack, any transgression of one of the prohibitions is an opening to murder. Forbidden relations put a limit to man’s sexual drive, which as the luring song has it, is what makes the world go round.<br />
The prohibition of theft limits man’s greed and trains him to respect his fellow’s property, which is the stuff societies are made of. The prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living animal inhibits man’s ferocity inherent to hunger, as witnessed in times of distress and starvation when man would feed on anything that is not bread. The obligation to establish courts to judge and punish transgressors not only serves the need to do justice and maintain order, it is the necessary condition which seals the moral intention of those prohibitions into a living reality.<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France. There, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and created a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never published.<br />
In 1980, she returned to Israel with her son, learning and teaching Torah in various institutions. She studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years, had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman, analyzing the news in the light of Jewish Law. Somehow, she obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern… (''Rabbi Yigal Shafran'')<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person… One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views… (''Rabbi Ratzon Arussi'')<br />
<br />
* I am a Christian gentile in Texas. I appreciate your combative passion for the truth. Keep it up. (''From the emails we received'')<br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (''Dr. John Craig'')<br />
<br />
* You did it! I am proud you are my little sister. (''Painter Michael Weston'')</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=7916
Torah for Gentiles
2008-10-12T17:42:50Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
2008, 285 pages, available at Shorashim and Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@hotmail.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or $40) and includes air mailing. <br />
<br />
<br />
==From the Introduction==<br />
<br />
AN EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE in world affairs happened in our times, when the Jews returned to their homeland to conquer it and settle it and establish there a Jewish state. The step that follows is to reinstate the Sanhedrin, restore the Kingdom and rebuild the Temple and with that, usher in the millennium of peace which is the happy end of History. This is the divine plan as foretold by our prophets and fixed in the Law. No nation and no man can prevent it. Of course, this project cannot come about easily. We know there are many men and many nations who are intent in thwarting the divine project and who will try to do so with all the means available to them. We do not deny that we will have to fight opposition. Like Yehoshua, we offer peace, but we are prepared for war. In the same way as Yehoshua publicized the Law in seventy languages by engraving them on stone monuments when he entered the land (Deut. 27:8), so too, today’s media provide a basis for publicizing the Constitution and Laws of Israel.<br />
We are not begging for the support of the world because we are weak or afraid to fight, neither are we stretching our hands to the nations because we plead for recognition and love. We are not selling Yiddishkeit or denying that we are a separate, holy, people. What we are saying is that since the Torah and the Laws it contains also concern Gentiles (because they were dictated by the One who created the world and is Master over all that is in it), they too are part of the divine project in History. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France. There, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and created a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never published.<br />
In 1980, she returned to Israel with her son, learning and teaching Torah in various institutions. She studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years, had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman, analyzing the news in the light of Jewish Law. Somehow, she obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern… (''Rabbi Yigal Shafran'')<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person… One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views… (''Rabbi Ratzon Arussi'')<br />
<br />
* I am a Christian gentile in Texas. I appreciate your combative passion for the truth. Keep it up. (''From the emails we received'')<br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (''Dr. John Craig'')<br />
<br />
* You did it! I am proud you are my little sister. (''Painter Michael Weston'')</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Torah_for_Gentiles&diff=7915
Torah for Gentiles
2008-10-12T17:40:22Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Torah for Gentiles, the Messianic and Political Implications of the Bnei Noah Laws'''<br><br />
Author: Elisheva Barre<br><br />
2008, 285 pages, available at Shorashim and Pomeranz bookstores in Jerusalem, <br />
or by ordering a '''dedicated copy''' directly by emailing the author at shevabar@hotmail.com<br />
The price is 140 shekels (or $40) and includes air mailing. <br />
<br />
<br />
The Jews have returned to their land to conquer it and settle it. The step that follows is to rebuild the Temple and restore the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem and with it, usher in the millenium of peace called the days of the reign of the Messiah. This is Gd’s plan in History as announced to us by our true prophets. No nation and no man can prevent it.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Table of Contents==<br />
<br />
1. Introduction<br><br />
2. The Guiding Principles of our Study<br><br />
3. Do Gentiles have Torah Obligations?<br><br />
4. Each Nation in the Name of its God<br><br />
5. Is the Lord Amongst Us?<br><br />
6. Permitted and Prohibited Relations<br><br />
7. The Prohibition of Stealing<br><br />
8. Murder and the Preservation of Life<br><br />
9. The Torn Limb Prohibition<br><br />
10. The Prohibition of Idolatry<br><br />
11. The Prohibition of Blasphemy<br><br />
12. The Obligation to Institute Courts<br><br />
13. Other Obligations<br><br />
14. Jews and Gentiles – Separation<br><br />
15. The US Joint Congress Resolution<br><br />
16. The DNA of History<br><br />
17. Interview of Vennie Jones and Adam Penrod<br><br />
18. Mails we Received on our Website<br><br />
19. Glossary<br><br />
Bibliography<br><br />
Illustration Credits<br />
<br />
==About the author==<br />
<br />
Elisheva Barre was born in Jerusalem but she grew up in France. There, she worked as translator and interpreter for Unesco and the British Council, and participated in cultural programs sponsored by the French Ministry of Education in high schools – some of which in Louisiana and Martinique. In 1979, she published two booklets of poems PRIERE A UN ABRE SOLITAIRE and FRANCHE CANCAN ET PAS DE QUOI, and created a collection of three hundred illustrated maxims for the newspaper Le Monde that were never published.<br />
<br />
In 1980, she returned to Israel with her son, learning and teaching Torah in various institutions. She studied with Rabbi Yossef Kappach for 8 years, had a weekly radio show in Hebrew and English sponsored by Shifra Hoffman, analyzing the news in the light of Jewish Law. Somehow, she obtained the Diploma of the Jerusalem Institute of Biblical Polemics directed by Shmuel Golding. A few of her political articles were published in the Bulletin of Yemin Israel in Russian translation. In 2000, Elisheva produced the website TORAH FOR GENTILES for the Evelyn Torah Center which was removed after one year when the money dried out. This book expands and elaborates the articles that were published there. She is currently studying Islam and Talmud at Bar Ilan University and is a regular auditor at the seminars of Halichot Am Israel and ''Moreshet HaMishpat HaYivri''.<br />
<br />
==What they say about this book==<br />
<br />
* Thank you for sharing your manuscript with me. It has great passion and reflects serious research and concern… (''Rabbi Yigal Shafran'')<br />
<br />
* Mrs. Barre is a special person… One cannot agree with everything she says, but we must value her knowledge and her courage to express her views… (''Rabbi Ratzon Arussi'')<br />
<br />
* I am a Christian gentile in Texas. I appreciate your combative passion for the truth. Keep it up. (''From the emails we received'')<br />
<br />
* Your book is a treasure. Opening it is like being seated at a fine meal where all the dishes are ones never enjoyed, new aromas, new tastes. Each page has to be chewed very carefully, and then again. It will take me quite a while to read it at the pace I enjoy. (''Dr. John Craig'')<br />
<br />
* You did it! I am proud you are my little sister. (''Painter Michael Weston'')</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7777
Dor Daim
2008-06-04T12:01:11Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Practices */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of the original tradition as transmitted by the [[Sanhedrin]] through the chain of ordination which started with Moses at Sinai, one generation after the next.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
<br />
In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
<br />
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
<br />
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
<br />
==Practices==<br />
<br />
Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
<br />
* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
<br />
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
<br />
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
<br />
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
<br />
* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
<br />
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
<br />
* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
<br />
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and it does not contain any Kabbalistic insertions or additions. The song welcoming the Shabat "Lecha Dodi" does not have its orgin in the Zohar, but in the Talmud, BK 32a. What stems from Kabala is the way of saying it with one's back turned to the Holy Arch as one faces the entrance of the synagogue, and the Dardaim do not turn their backs to the Ark containing the Torah scroll.<br />
<br />
==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
<br />
===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
<br />
Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
<br />
Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
<br />
===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
<br />
Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
<br />
In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
<br />
Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
<br />
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah based on "most" manuscripts, using Frankel's scholarly version rather than the "Dardai" Qafah's version. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
<br />
===Gaonists===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
<br />
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
<br />
In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
<br />
Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
<br />
There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
<br />
Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
<br />
===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
<br />
The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
<br />
==Criticisms==<br />
<br />
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism, binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption (whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah) because it is not sustained by any testimony in the Talmud or other sources that Shimon ben Yochai authored the Zohar.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it is authentic Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah teaches laws that contradict Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
<br />
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because they do so in a way contrary to the way dictated by the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
<br />
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
<br />
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual and halachic tangles.<br />
<br />
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7776
Dor Daim
2008-06-04T11:59:48Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Practices */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of the original tradition as transmitted by the [[Sanhedrin]] through the chain of ordination which started with Moses at Sinai, one generation after the next.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
<br />
In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
<br />
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
<br />
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
<br />
==Practices==<br />
<br />
Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
<br />
* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
<br />
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
<br />
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
<br />
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
<br />
* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
<br />
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
<br />
* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
<br />
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and it does not contain any Kabbalistic insertions or additions. The song welcoming the Shabat "Lecha Dodi" does not have its orgin in the Zohar, but in the Talmud, BK 32a. What stems from Kabala is the way of saying with one's back turned to the Holy Arch as one faces the entrance of the synagogue, and the Dardaim do not turn their backs to the Ark.<br />
<br />
==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
<br />
===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
<br />
Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
<br />
Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
<br />
===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
<br />
Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
<br />
In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
<br />
Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
<br />
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah based on "most" manuscripts, using Frankel's scholarly version rather than the "Dardai" Qafah's version. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
<br />
===Gaonists===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
<br />
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
<br />
In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
<br />
Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
<br />
There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
<br />
Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
<br />
===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
<br />
The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
<br />
==Criticisms==<br />
<br />
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism, binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption (whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah) because it is not sustained by any testimony in the Talmud or other sources that Shimon ben Yochai authored the Zohar.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it is authentic Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah teaches laws that contradict Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
<br />
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because they do so in a way contrary to the way dictated by the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
<br />
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
<br />
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual and halachic tangles.<br />
<br />
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7775
Dor Daim
2008-06-04T11:46:10Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Formation of movement */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of the original tradition as transmitted by the [[Sanhedrin]] through the chain of ordination which started with Moses at Sinai, one generation after the next.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
<br />
In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
<br />
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
<br />
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
<br />
==Practices==<br />
<br />
Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
<br />
* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
<br />
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
<br />
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
<br />
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
<br />
* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
<br />
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
<br />
* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
<br />
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.<br />
<br />
==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
<br />
===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
<br />
Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
<br />
Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
<br />
===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
<br />
Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
<br />
In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
<br />
Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
<br />
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah based on "most" manuscripts, using Frankel's scholarly version rather than the "Dardai" Qafah's version. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
<br />
===Gaonists===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
<br />
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
<br />
In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
<br />
Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
<br />
There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
<br />
Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
<br />
===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
<br />
The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
<br />
==Criticisms==<br />
<br />
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism, binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption (whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah) because it is not sustained by any testimony in the Talmud or other sources that Shimon ben Yochai authored the Zohar.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it is authentic Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah teaches laws that contradict Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
<br />
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because they do so in a way contrary to the way dictated by the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
<br />
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
<br />
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual and halachic tangles.<br />
<br />
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7774
Dor Daim
2008-06-04T11:42:55Z
<p>Elisheva: /* ''Talmide ha-Rambam'' */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism as codified by the [[Sanhedrin]] during the 1st century through 3rd century centuries.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
<br />
In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
<br />
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
<br />
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
<br />
==Practices==<br />
<br />
Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
<br />
* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
<br />
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
<br />
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
<br />
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
<br />
* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
<br />
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
<br />
* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
<br />
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.<br />
<br />
==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
<br />
===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
<br />
Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
<br />
Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
<br />
===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
<br />
Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
<br />
In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
<br />
Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
<br />
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah based on "most" manuscripts, using Frankel's scholarly version rather than the "Dardai" Qafah's version. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
<br />
===Gaonists===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
<br />
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
<br />
In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
<br />
Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
<br />
There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
<br />
Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
<br />
===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
<br />
The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
<br />
==Criticisms==<br />
<br />
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism, binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption (whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah) because it is not sustained by any testimony in the Talmud or other sources that Shimon ben Yochai authored the Zohar.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it is authentic Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah teaches laws that contradict Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
<br />
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because they do so in a way contrary to the way dictated by the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
<br />
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
<br />
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual and halachic tangles.<br />
<br />
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Talk:Dor_Daim&diff=7773
Talk:Dor Daim
2008-06-03T23:33:42Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>The position of the Dardayim is presented from the view point of a non-Dardai, and therefore it is misrepresented, notwithstanding the desire to be balanced and fair. If the reader will bother to read for himself the arguments of Milchamot Hashem, and the counter-arguments of Emunat Hashem, he will clearly understand what the whole issue is about, why it is such an important issue, and what makes it so impassioned to the point of violence. Elisheva</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7772
Dor Daim
2008-06-03T23:16:01Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Criticisms */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism as codified by the [[Sanhedrin]] during the 1st century through 3rd century centuries.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
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In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
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Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
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There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
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==Practices==<br />
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Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
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* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
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* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
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* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
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* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
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* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
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* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
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* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
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* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
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Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.<br />
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==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
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===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
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Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
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Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
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===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
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Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
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Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
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*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
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*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
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In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
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Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
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As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah according to Rabbi Qafahh and its own accurate and scholarly text, intended to be beneficial to all. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
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Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
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===Gaonists===<br />
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Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
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===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
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In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
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Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
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There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
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Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
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===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
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Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
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Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
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Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
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The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
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==Criticisms==<br />
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1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism, binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption (whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah) because it is not sustained by any testimony in the Talmud or other sources that Shimon ben Yochai authored the Zohar.<br />
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The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it is authentic Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah teaches laws that contradict Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
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2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because they do so in a way contrary to the way dictated by the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
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3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
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The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
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4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
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The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual and halachic tangles.<br />
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5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
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The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
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==Endnotes==<br />
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<references /><br />
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[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7771
Dor Daim
2008-06-03T23:07:20Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Criticisms */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
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<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
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Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
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This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
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In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
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Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
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===Formation of movement===<br />
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''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism as codified by the [[Sanhedrin]] during the 1st century through 3rd century centuries.<br />
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The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
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From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
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An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
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===Dor Daim today===<br />
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There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
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Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
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==Beliefs==<br />
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===Theology===<br />
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Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
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* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
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===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
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In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
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The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
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Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
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What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
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The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
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Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
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===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
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Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
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Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
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===Jewish law===<br />
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Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
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In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
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Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
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There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
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==Practices==<br />
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Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
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* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
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* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
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* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
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* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
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* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
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* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
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* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
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* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
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Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.<br />
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==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
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===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
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Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
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Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
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===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
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Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
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Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
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*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
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*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
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In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
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Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
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As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah according to Rabbi Qafahh and its own accurate and scholarly text, intended to be beneficial to all. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
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Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
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===Gaonists===<br />
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Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
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===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
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In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
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Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
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There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
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Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
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===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
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Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
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Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
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Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
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The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
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==Criticisms==<br />
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1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism, binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption (whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah) because it is not sustained by any testimony in the Talmud or other sources that Shimon ben Yochai authored the Zohar.<br />
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The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it is authentic Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah teaches laws that contradict Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
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2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because they do so in a way contrary to the way dictated by the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
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3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
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The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
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4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
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The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual tangles.<br />
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5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
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The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7770
Dor Daim
2008-06-03T23:03:14Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Criticisms */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism as codified by the [[Sanhedrin]] during the 1st century through 3rd century centuries.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
<br />
In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
<br />
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
<br />
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
<br />
==Practices==<br />
<br />
Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
<br />
* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
<br />
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
<br />
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
<br />
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
<br />
* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
<br />
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
<br />
* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
<br />
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.<br />
<br />
==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
<br />
===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
<br />
Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
<br />
Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
<br />
===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
<br />
Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
<br />
In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
<br />
Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
<br />
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah according to Rabbi Qafahh and its own accurate and scholarly text, intended to be beneficial to all. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
<br />
===Gaonists===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
<br />
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
<br />
In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
<br />
Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
<br />
There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
<br />
Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
<br />
===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
<br />
The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
<br />
==Criticisms==<br />
<br />
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism, binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption (whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah) because it is not sustained by any testimony in the Talmud or other sources that Shimon ben Yochai authored the Zohar.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it is authentic Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah teaches laws that contradict Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
<br />
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because these are dedicated to the service of a concept distinct from the Unfathomable Almighty Creator and therefore are not dedicated for serving the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
<br />
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
<br />
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual tangles.<br />
<br />
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7769
Dor Daim
2008-06-03T22:57:48Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Criticisms */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism as codified by the [[Sanhedrin]] during the 1st century through 3rd century centuries.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
<br />
In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
<br />
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
<br />
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
<br />
==Practices==<br />
<br />
Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
<br />
* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
<br />
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
<br />
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
<br />
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
<br />
* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
<br />
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
<br />
* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
<br />
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.<br />
<br />
==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
<br />
===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
<br />
Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
<br />
Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
<br />
===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
<br />
Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
<br />
In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
<br />
Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
<br />
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah according to Rabbi Qafahh and its own accurate and scholarly text, intended to be beneficial to all. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
<br />
===Gaonists===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
<br />
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
<br />
In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
<br />
Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
<br />
There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
<br />
Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
<br />
===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
<br />
The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
<br />
==Criticisms==<br />
<br />
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism, binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption (whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah) because it is not sustained by any testimony in the Talmud or other sources that Shimon ben Yochai authored the Zohar.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it must be an acceptable way of doing Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah cannot be interpreted as actually requiring belief in anything approaching Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
<br />
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because these are dedicated to the service of a concept distinct from the Unfathomable Almighty Creator and therefore are not dedicated for serving the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
<br />
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
<br />
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual tangles.<br />
<br />
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7768
Dor Daim
2008-06-03T22:56:46Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Criticisms */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism as codified by the [[Sanhedrin]] during the 1st century through 3rd century centuries.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
<br />
In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
<br />
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
<br />
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
<br />
==Practices==<br />
<br />
Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
<br />
* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
<br />
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
<br />
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
<br />
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
<br />
* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
<br />
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
<br />
* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
<br />
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.<br />
<br />
==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
<br />
===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
<br />
Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
<br />
Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
<br />
===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
<br />
Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
<br />
In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
<br />
Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
<br />
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah according to Rabbi Qafahh and its own accurate and scholarly text, intended to be beneficial to all. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
<br />
===Gaonists===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
<br />
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
<br />
In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
<br />
Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
<br />
There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
<br />
Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
<br />
===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
<br />
The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
<br />
==Criticisms==<br />
<br />
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism, binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption (whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah) because it is not sustained by any testimony in the Talmud that Shimon ben Yochai authored the Zohar.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it must be an acceptable way of doing Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah cannot be interpreted as actually requiring belief in anything approaching Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
<br />
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because these are dedicated to the service of a concept distinct from the Unfathomable Almighty Creator and therefore are not dedicated for serving the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
<br />
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
<br />
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual tangles.<br />
<br />
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7767
Dor Daim
2008-06-03T22:52:35Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Criticisms */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism as codified by the [[Sanhedrin]] during the 1st century through 3rd century centuries.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
<br />
In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
<br />
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
<br />
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
<br />
==Practices==<br />
<br />
Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
<br />
* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
<br />
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
<br />
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
<br />
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
<br />
* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
<br />
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
<br />
* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
<br />
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.<br />
<br />
==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
<br />
===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
<br />
Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
<br />
Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
<br />
===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
<br />
Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
<br />
In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
<br />
Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
<br />
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah according to Rabbi Qafahh and its own accurate and scholarly text, intended to be beneficial to all. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
<br />
===Gaonists===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
<br />
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
<br />
In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
<br />
Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
<br />
There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
<br />
Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
<br />
===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
<br />
The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
<br />
==Criticisms==<br />
<br />
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim is based on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism, binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption, whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it must be an acceptable way of doing Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah cannot be interpreted as actually requiring belief in anything approaching Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
<br />
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because these are dedicated to the service of a concept distinct from the Unfathomable Almighty Creator and therefore are not dedicated for serving the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
<br />
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
<br />
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual tangles.<br />
<br />
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7766
Dor Daim
2008-06-03T22:42:54Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Gaonists */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism as codified by the [[Sanhedrin]] during the 1st century through 3rd century centuries.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
<br />
In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
<br />
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
<br />
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
<br />
==Practices==<br />
<br />
Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
<br />
* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
<br />
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
<br />
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
<br />
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
<br />
* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
<br />
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
<br />
* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
<br />
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.<br />
<br />
==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
<br />
===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
<br />
Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
<br />
Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
<br />
===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
<br />
Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
<br />
In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
<br />
Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
<br />
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah according to Rabbi Qafahh and its own accurate and scholarly text, intended to be beneficial to all. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
<br />
===Gaonists===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to their understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
<br />
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
<br />
In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
<br />
Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
<br />
There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
<br />
Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
<br />
===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
<br />
The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
<br />
==Criticisms==<br />
<br />
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim depends on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption, whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it must be an acceptable way of doing Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah cannot be interpreted as actually requiring belief in anything approaching Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
<br />
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because these are dedicated to the service of a concept distinct from the Unfathomable Almighty Creator and therefore are not dedicated for serving the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
<br />
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
<br />
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual tangles.<br />
<br />
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Dor_Daim&diff=7765
Dor Daim
2008-06-03T22:33:40Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Jewish law */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Dor Daim''', sometimes known as '''Dardaim''', are adherents of the '''Dor Deah''' movement in [[Judaism]]. That movement was founded in nineteenth century Yemen by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, and had its own network of synagogues and schools. Its objects were:<br />
#to combat the influence of the Zohar and subsequent developments in modern [[Kabbalah]], which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and which the Dor Daim believed to be irrational and idolatrous;<br />
# to restore (what they believed to be) a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially [[Maimonides]]; <br />
#to safeguard the older (''Baladi'') tradition of Yemenite Jewish observance, which they believed to be based on this approach. <br />
<br />
Today there is no official Dor Dai movement, but the term is used for individuals and synagogues within the Yemenite Jews community (mostly in Israel) who share the original movement's perspectives. There are also some groups, both within and outside the Yemenite community, holding a somewhat similar stance, who describe themselves as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of Maimonides) rather than ''Dor Daim''.<br />
<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
===Background: ''Baladi'' and ''Shami'' rituals===<br />
<br />
Since the early Middle Ages the Yemenite Jewish community generally followed the teachings of [[Maimonides]] on all legal issues, and their prayer book was substantially identical to the text set out in his "Laws of Prayer". This is attested by the writings of several well known Rabbis such as the [[Ramban]], Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham and the Yihhyah Salahh [http://www.chayas.com/tamirfolder/ramtemenglish.htm]. The Yemenite tradition is therefore separate from both the Sephardic Judaism and the Ashkenazi Jews streams in Judaism.<br />
<br />
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the teachings of the [[Kabbalah]], especially in the form advocated by [[Isaac Luria]] and his school, became increasingly popular in Yemen as in other countries. This did not always mean a change in the liturgy: Luria himself held that it was essential to keep to the form of prayers inherited from one's ancestors, so that one's prayers reached the gate in Heaven appropriate to one's tribe. However, many individuals and communities round the world (principally Mizrahi Jews but also Hasidic Judaism) discarded their ancestral rites in favour of the modified Sephardic Judaism#Lurianic Kabbalah used by Luria and his immediate circle, on the reasoning that this form of prayer reached a "thirteenth gate" for those who did not know their tribe.<br />
<br />
This division was reflected among Yemenite Jews. Some retained the ancestral liturgy, while others adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic liturgy. This did not necessarily reflect a disagreement about Kabbalah as such: many Yemenite Jews believed in the Kabbalah but considered that retaining their ancestral liturgy, as recommended by Luria, was the Kabbalistically correct thing to do.<br />
<br />
In the 18th century Rabbi Yihhyah Salahh, known as the Maharitz, introduced a new edition of the Yemenite Jewish prayer book which he created in order to lessen the schism between the two groups. This substantially followed the traditional Yemenite (Maimonidean) ritual, but made some concessions to the Kabbalists, for example by incorporating the hymn Lekhah Dodi. This new standard became known as ''Baladi'' (meaning "of the country", i.e. Yemen). The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as ''Shami'' (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascus). The distinction also affected questions of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], the Baladi community following Maimonides almost exclusively while the Shami community also accepted the [[Shulchan Aruch]].<br />
<br />
Over time more and more Kabbalistic practices became popular among the Yemenite Jews to the point that the ''Baladi'' community became localized as a significant population only around the area of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Today, with the majority of Yemenite Jewry being outside of Yemen and in closer contact with Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, it could be perceived that the proportion with which the Dor Daim perspective is spreading (though in a milder form than the original) is not much different from the rate at which Yemenite Jews as a whole are giving up their unique traditions and assimilating into mainstream [[Judaism]].<br />
<br />
===Formation of movement===<br />
<br />
''Dor Daim'' emerged as a recognizable force in the early part of the 19th century. The Dor Daim movement was formed by individuals who were displeased by the influence of Kabbalah which had been introduced to Yemen in the 1600s. They believed that the core beliefs of [[Judaism]] were rapidly diminishing in favor of the mysticism of the Kabbalah. Displeased by the direction that education and the social development of Yemen was taking, they opened their own educational system in Yemen. They were also unhappy with the influence that Kabbalists (mystics) were having on various customs and rituals (e.g. the text of the prayer-book), in addition to a strong superstitious influence, which they saw as working against social and scientific improvement in Jewish Yemen.<br />
<br />
The Dor Daim consider(ed) the Kabbalists to be irrational, anti-scientific, and anti-progressive in attitude and felt that they were thereby contributing to a decline in the social and economic status of the Yemenite Jews. The above-mentioned issues led Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh to spearhead the Dor Daim movement. Among its goals was the revival and protection of what it saw as the original form of Judaism as codified by the [[Sanhedrin]] during the 1st century through 3rd century centuries.<br />
<br />
The movement was not well received by some scholars in Yemen and Israel. Especially controversial were the views of the Dor Daim on the important book of Kabbalah known as the Zohar. These views are put forth in a book called ''Milhamoth Hashem'' (Wars of the Lord) [http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm] which was written by Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. A group of Jerusalem rabbis published an attack on Rabbi Qafahh under the title of ''Emunat Hashem'' (Faith of the Lord), and measures were taken to ostracize members of the movement.<br />
<br />
From this time Yemenite Jews may be classified as Shami, mainstream Baladi and Dor Dai or "Rambamist". A term frequently used by Dor Daim for Yemenites who accept the Zohar is ''Aqashim'', meaning "obscurantists".<br />
<br />
An important later Yemenite authority was Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh's grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who edited many important works by [[Maimonides]] and Saadia Gaon as well as issuing two new editions of the Baladi prayer book.<ref>''Shivat Tziyon'' (1950s, 3 vols.); ''Siahh Yerushalayim'' (1993, 4 vols.).</ref> Unlike his grandfather he avoided expressing any opinion on the Zohar, beyond saying that it was preferable to draw one's spiritual sustenance from the works of [[Maimonides]]. There is therefore some doubt about whether Rabbi Qafahh junior should be regarded as a Dor Dai or as a mainstream Baladi. His intention was probably to reconcile the two groups, in the same way as the Maharitz tried to reconcile traditionalists and Kabbalists.<br />
<br />
===Dor Daim today===<br />
<br />
There is no official Dor Dai organization, and no watertight test for distinguishing who is a Dor Dai: many individuals are reluctant to identify themselves by that name for fear of persecution. Some of the original Dor Dai synagogues in Israel survive, but have moved nearer to the mainstream Baladi tradition in the same way as Rabbi Yosef Qafahh. Similarly there is no universally recognised leader for the movement. The successor of Rabbi Yosef Qafahh as leader of the Yemenite community as a whole is generally considered to be Rabbi Ratzon Arusi of Qiryat Ono.<br />
<br />
Today there exists a tendency with views similar to the original Dor Daim, but, while its adherents have great respect for the Yemenite tradition in general and the Dor Daim in particular, they are not exclusively Yemenite in origin and generally describe themselves as "talmide ha-Rambam" (disciples of Maimonides) rather than as "Dor Daim". In 2005 there was a widely publicized gathering of hilltop Israeli settlement of Yemenite descent describing themselves as "Dor Daim", but it is unclear how far these represent the historic Dor Dai movement.<br />
<br />
==Beliefs==<br />
<br />
===Theology===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim place particular importance on the Jewish doctrine of the absolute unity of God, which they believe has been compromised by the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today. In support of this, they appeal to the Jewish philosophy writings of various Geonim and Rishonim such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbenu Bahya ibn Paquda, Rabbi Judah Halevi and [[Maimonides]]. The following points concerning the Almighty's Unity are emphasized in particular:<br />
<br />
* He is Incomparable to any created thing<br />
* He is neither male nor female, but due to the limitations of human speech we must use certain terms allegorically and metaphorically to some extent in order to convey the fact that He DOES exist<br />
* His existence is qualitatively different from all other existences, and all other existences depend upon Him and are sustained by Him, while He remains infinitely and unfathomably distinct and independent from all creation<br />
* He is ONE Unity unlike any unity in creation; His Oneness is not a unity which can be divided or which is composed of parts, both of which could only be the case with a unity that is subject to time/space; Nor is His Oneness a one in the sense of a species or type.<br />
* No quality of creation applies to Him: not space, not time, not change, no concept of a body, form, or image, no concept of filling a body, form, or any location, nor any other factor of creation - for He is Perfect and Sufficient in Himself and has no need for any of these. He is not a force or a power which possess or fills something else, nor is there any aspect of multiplicity in Him - as would be the case were the world literally to be within Him. Any Biblical or Talmudic phrases which seem to imply that any quality of creation applies to Him must be understood as having some meaning other than its literal meaning, for He transcends all aspects of creation. None of them are applicable to Him.<br />
* The Splendor of the Reality of His Being is so great that no mind can grasp even the smallest part of it, for He has no parts, as it says, "..and to His Greatness there is no investigating." (Psalms 145:3) Therefore one must always be aware that the sublime Truth of His Being transcends anything we can ever express, but that all references to Him are either by speaking of what He is not or by way of literary tools such as metaphor.<br />
<br />
===Attitude to [[Kabbalah]]===<br />
<br />
In the book ''Milhamoth HaShem'', one finds that possibly the most fundamental issue the Dor Daim had (and have) with the popularly accepted understanding of [[Kabbalah]] concerns the absolute transcendent Singularity/Oneness of the Creator and the laws against ''avodah zarah'' (forbidden forms of devotion/idolatry). The Dor Daim believe that the popular forms of Kabbalah prevalent today are contrary to the absolute and incomparable Unity of the Creator and violate various laws against idolatry and polytheism. <br />
<br />
The issue is not the existence of Kabbalah as such. The ''word'' "Kabbalah" is used in older Jewish sources to mean simply "tradition" and need not refer to mysticism of any kind.<br />
Furthermore, Dor Daim accept that in Talmudic times there was a secret mystical tradition in Judaism, known as ''Maaseh Bereshith'' (the work of creation) and ''Maaseh Merkavah'' (the work of the chariot); and Maimonides interprets these as respectively referring to something similar to Aristotle physics and metaphysics as interpreted in the light of Torah. They simply reject the notion that this tradition is represented by the ideas popularly referred to as Kabbalah in our days.<br />
<br />
Similarly a Dor Dai is not bound to reject the theory of the ten [[Sefirot]]: these figure in a respectable book of ancient Jewish mysticism called the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', which was commented on by Saadia Gaon. In the ''Sefer Yetzirah'', however, unlike in later Kabbalah, there is no question of the Sefirot being Divine entities or even attributes: they are simply the numerals, considered as the dimensional parameters used in the creation of the world, and the theory probably goes back to Pythagoras.<br />
<br />
What they view as the problem comes in with the Bahir and the Zohar, where the Sefirot have become hypostatized as Divine attributes or emanations, and it seems that religious devotions can never be addressed directly to the ''En Sof'' (the Absolute) but only through one or other of the Sefirot; and in modern ''Edot ha-Mizrach'' prayer books each occurrence of the Tetragrammaton is vocalized differently in a kind of code to show which Sefirah one should have in mind. This problem is compounded in the teachings of [[Isaac Luria]] as found in the writings of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, where it is held that as a result of some catastrophe in Heaven the Sefirot have fractured and re-formed into three, or possibly five, personalities within the Godhead known as ''partzufim'' (from Greek προσωπαι, faces), and that the purpose of each religious observance is to assist in their reunification. This is felt as being uncomfortably close to the Christian Trinity, or indeed to Greek polytheism. More specifically, it violates the prohibition against ''Ribbuy Reshuyoth'' (worshipping or conceiving of a multiplicity of reigns) referred to by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
The original Dor Daim, such as Yihhyah Qafahh, condemned the Zohar as an outright forgery and as filled with idolatry, and even organized ceremonial public burnings of the book. Today's Dor Daim usually take a somewhat more moderate stance, and allow that the Zohar may contain elements of authentic Midrash together with a great deal of later interpolation. They still consider the Zohar in its present form to be an unsafe guide, both to theology and to practice.<br />
<br />
Other segments of Orthodox Judaism which share this perspective of the Dor Daim, while not necessarily rejecting the Zohar itself, include most ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (disciples of [[Maimonides]]) and some followers of the Vilna Gaon, as well as portions of the Modern Orthodox community and others. Those among these groups who do not reject the Zohar assert that the Kabbalah as popularly taught today represents a distortion of the Zohar's intended teachings. However, the specific issues identified by the Dor Daim remain in all current and older editions of the Zohar.<br />
<br />
===Reincarnation; invocation of saints===<br />
<br />
Another matter of dispute between Dor Daim and the Kabbalists concerns the Dor Daim's rejection of reincarnation. It should be pointed out that as early as Saadia Gaon (892-942), reincarnation had already been rejected as an authentic Jewish belief. This perspective is shared not only by non-Dor Dai disciples of [[Rambam]] ([[Maimonides]]) but also by many in mainstream Orthodox Judaism. <br />
<br />
Dor Daim also disapprove of the practice of praying at the tombs of saints and sages to seek their intercession. Dor Daim, indeed all ''Meqoriim'', consider such practices absolutely antithetical to the most essential principles of what they believe to be historical Judaism: to serve the One Incomparable Creator without joining partners or mediators together with Him in our prayers and worship. This is based on their understanding of the books mentioned above, and specificially on the laws concerning mediator (''sarsur'') or an advocate (''melitz'') mentioned in the Mishneh Torah and the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith.<br />
<br />
===Jewish law===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim disapprove of what they believe to be an abandonment of a number of Talmudic practices on the part of a large portion of the Jewish world in favor of newer customs and innovations, some of which, in their opinion, are even contrary to Talmudic law. In particular this disapproval is aimed at customs derived from the Kabbalah, but it is not confined to them.<br />
<br />
In their view, the Mishneh Torah of [[Maimonides]] is the most accurate and therefore most authoritative statement of Talmudic law, and is in itself a sufficient reference without resort to any other source. According to the arguments of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, it is unnecessary to consult the Talmud in order to understand the Mishneh Torah, as the Mishneh Torah was written to elucidate the Talmud and not vice versa. Furthermore, the current text of the Talmud is fairly corrupt with numerous textual variants; from this, coupled with [[Maimonides]]' indications that he had far more accurate and complete Talmudic texts available to him<ref>[http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/4111.htm Hilkhot Ishut 11]:13; [http://kodesh.snunit.k12.il/i/d315.htm Hilkhot Malveh v'Loveh 15]:2.</ref>, they conclude that the Mishneh Torah provides the best access to what the Talmud must originally have intended.<br />
<br />
Unlike many of the later ''talmide ha-Rambam'', the original Dor Daim were not committed to the view that all local Minhag, whether Sephardic Judaism or Ashkenazi Jews or from any other source, is totally illegitimate to the extent that it differs from the exact views of Maimonides, so they preserved certain non-Maimonidean Yemenite peculiarities in minor matters. However they did believe, in reliance on old authorities such as Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, that the views of Maimonides ought to be authoritative not only in Yemen but also in Eretz Yisrael, Egypt and the Near East generally.<br />
<br />
There is a link between the Dor Daim's stance on Jewish law and on the other issues, as one argument for accepting the Mishneh Torah as the best restatement of Jewish law is that most of the later codifiers, including Joseph Caro, were believers in Kabbalah and should therefore not be accepted as authorities. As against this, many would argue that Caro and the others were operating within the rigorous rules of [[Halakha|halachic]] reasoning and that their conclusions were in no way affected or invalidated by their personal theological views (just as, from the opposite perspective, Maimonides' status as a halachic authority is not affected by what they think is his acceptance of Greek philosophy).<br />
<br />
==Practices==<br />
<br />
Those aspects of Jewish/Talmudic law which Dor Daim may emphasize, be particularly passionate about, and/or consider to have been cast aside by large portions of the Jewish world include:<br />
<br />
* laws on 'avodah zarah' (forbidden forms of worship/idolatry) which they hold prohibits any use of intermediaries or mediators between oneself and the One Creator, prohibits praying or making requests to unseen forces such as past Rabbis or Sefirot, or supplicating to any unseen being other than the One Absolute Being - Y/H/W/H, and not doing any specific acts of religious devotion to any thing other than He; <br />
<br />
* laws of legislation relating to the function and necessity of the Great Court (the [[Sanhedrin]])<br />
<br />
* laws concerning the settlement of the Land of Israel by the People of Israel as elaborated upon in Hilkhoth Melakhim u'Milhamotheham in the Mishneh Torah;<br />
<br />
* certain laws concerning kashruth, such as Halita - immersing meat into boiling water before cooking;<br />
<br />
* laws on certain aspects of prayer such as prostration during Tachanun and the manner in which to bow during the Shemoneh Esreh. Concerning bowing during the Shemoneh Esreh there are two almost opposite views: one is that only a slight nod of the head is required, the other is that one must literally go down to the floor upon his knees and make his upper body bowed over like an arch, similar to Muslims, though not exactly in the same manner. It is hard to know the percentage of those who hold by the latter view, the likelihood being that most who accept such a view usually only do so in private or when praying among likeminded people. It is interesting to note that traditionally and even today Ashkenazi Jews bow similarly, though only during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; <ref>See the popular book ''To Pray as a Jew'' by Hayim Halevy Donin or ''Rite and Reason'' on pages 528 & 529</ref><br />
<br />
* preservation of proper and exact pronunciation of all the Hebrew letters and Hebrew grammar (although there are minute differences even amongst the Dor Daim);<br />
<br />
* emphasizing memorization of the Humash (the Torah/Law of Moses); for example, each of the 7 individuals called up to read from a [[Sefer Torah]] (Torah scroll) reads out loud the particular section of that week's parasha (section) upon which he said a blessing;<br />
<br />
* that one should strive to wear a Tallit Gadol and or Tefillin as much as permitted by Talmudic law whenever possible. In various areas of Israel, including Jerusalem, one may see individuals wearing the Tallit Gadol during 'Erev Shabbat' (Friday night) hanging over or wrapped over their shoulders in a manner distinct from the majority custom, when almost no other Jews would be wearing a Tallit Gadol. Even children under 13 can be seen wearing a Tallit Gadol among them.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim usually use Yosef Qafih's edition of the Baladi Siddur#Yemenite Jews (Teimanim). This is on the lines of the prayer book of the Maharitz, and therefore contains some Kabbalistic insertions, enabling the book to be used by mainstream Baladi Jews. However, these insertions are clearly marked by footnotes as being later additions. Dor Daim can therefore use this prayer book and simply omit these additions.<br />
<br />
==Similarities and differences with other groups==<br />
<br />
===Mainstream Baladi Jews===<br />
<br />
Outwardly the practices of Baladi Jews and Dor Daim are almost identical, apart from some Kabbalistic insertions to be found in the Baladi prayer book. However most Baladim, while holding that the Mishneh Torah is the best interpretation of Jewish law, are content to preserve it as the particular custom of their group and do not seek to delegitimize the customs of other Jewish communities.<br />
<br />
Several of the above-listed distinctions between Dor Daim and the majority of world Jewry are shared by all traditional Baladi Yemenite Jews, and not just by Dor Daim. Aside from possibly the first few in the list, the only difference between Dor Daim and the rest of Baladi Yemenite Jews appears to be the level of zeal in preserving the above listed practices, although exceptions do exist.<br />
<br />
===''Talmide ha-Rambam''===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim are regarded as part of a wider trend within Judaism known as ''talmide ha-Rambam'' (pupils of Maimonides), not necessarily confined to the Yemenite community. It is important to note that although Dor Daim always identify with the [[Rambam]]'s legal and theological perspectives on Judaism (''hashkafa''), Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are not necessarily one and the same. That is, a disciple of the Rambam may or may not be a Dor Dai; however, a Dor Dai will always be (in a broader sense) a disciple of the Rambam. <br />
<br />
Today's ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from the original Dor Daim in two ways.<br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' do not necessarily reject the Zohar. However, their interpretation may differ more or less drastically from the [[Isaac Luria|Lurianic]] school or the currents of thought popularly referred to as "Kabbalah" today. <br />
<br />
*''Talmide ha-Rambam'' tend to hold that the Mishneh Torah is the sole binding codification of Talmudic law, and that every divergence from it is logically inferior if not actually illegitimate. On points not explicitly covered by Maimonides, such as the exact mode of prostration during prayers, there is considerable competition to unearth the most authentic mode from among the various Yemenite practices found in recorded history. Dor Daim, by contrast, do retain some current Yemenite practices, even when (according to the ''talmide ha-Rambam'') these diverge from the views of Maimonides. For example, they do not follow Maimonides' recommendation to eliminate all prayers prior to the Kaddish and Shema in order to avoid 'unnecessarily burdening the congregation'. <br />
<br />
In short, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' are less extreme than Dor Daim about the Zohar and more extreme about "Maimonides-only" jurisprudence. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two groups, as expressed in the list of beliefs and practices above, overwhelmingly outnumber the differences.<br />
<br />
Many members of the small and slowly growing Dor Dai community claim a fear of persecution and therefore maintain an almost secret existence. It is very likely that the entire movement of Dor Daim, together with some of their well-known leaders, has helped, and continues to help, fuel the rapidly growing community of ''talmide ha-Rambam''. It is undeniable that, while there are sometimes differences between Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'' as a whole--over certain details of practical Jewish law and the issue of the Zohar--the two communities continue to have strong links. <br />
<br />
As stated, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' differ from Dor Daim in that they are not confined to the Yemenite community and need not be committed to specifically Yemenite customs. Nonetheless Yemenite scholarship and practice are still a major resource for them. Two good examples of this are seen in the works of the Rabbi Mori Yosef Qafih (Kapach) and of Mechon-Mamre.org. <br />
*Rabbi Yosef Qafahh has made various contributions to Dor Daim, ''talmide ha-Rambam'' and the Jewish world as a whole. Examples of his contributions include his encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah set to the renowned Yemenite text of the Mishneh Torah, his translation of all of [[Maimonides]]' Commentary on the Mishnah from Arabic into modern Hebrew, as well as translations of the Guide for the Perplexed, Duties of the Heart, Sefer [[Kuzari]], and a number of other works. <br />
*Mechon-Mamre.org has produced Torah databases for learning the Humash, Tanakh, Mishna, the Talmudic texts, as well as the Mishneh Torah according to Rabbi Qafahh and its own accurate and scholarly text, intended to be beneficial to all. The Mechon-mamre.org website's "About" section states that most participants in the work of Mechon-Mamre are Baladi Yemenite Jews, although some of the more impacting individuals of Mechon-Mamre.org are not Yemenite or Dor Daim at all, but merely promote observance of Talmudic law as codified in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and "Rambamists" are most easily recognized by the manner in which their Tzitzit are tied (according to the Rambam, despite slight variations in understanding). Temani/Rambam Tzitzit can be distinguished from those of the many 'knitted kippa' youths who have adopted the same style, but have added Tzitzit#Tekhelet. Rambamists and Baladim are also noticeable by the fact that they wear their Tallit in a different manner from other Orthodox Jews, and even wear it on Friday nights/Erev Shabbath, which is unheard of in the Orthodox world (apart from a handful of Hasidic Judaism in Jerusalem, referred to as ''Yerushalmis'', who wear it very discreetly so as to not look arrogant).<br />
<br />
===Gaonists===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim as well as non-Yemenite or non-Dor Dai students of the [[Rambam]] all find a certain level of commonality with individuals who sometimes call themselves ''Gaonists''. ''Gaonists'' aim at applying Jewish law in every day life according to the writings of the Geonim as a whole without singling out any one particular Gaon or codification of Jewish law over another. The commonality between all of these groups is sourced in their shared pursuit of living according to the original understanding of Talmudic law as much as possible with as little influence from the effects of almost 2,000 years of exile as possible. These groups together are sometimes referred to as ''Meqoriim'' (originalists/followers of the originals).<br />
<br />
===Mitnaggedim and followers of the Vilna Gaon===<br />
<br />
In many respects, the dispute between Dor Daim and ''Aqashim'' is similar to that between Misnagdim and Hasidic Judaism, with the Vilna Gaon standing for strict Torah observance and rational scholarship in much the same way as Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh. It is doubtful, however, whether the Vilna Gaon in fact rejected Lurianic Kabbalah ''in toto'', though he was accused of this by the Hasidim: see in particular the letters of the Shneur Zalman of Liadi.<br />
<br />
Those of the Vilna Gaon's successors who were associated with the Volozhin yeshiva, such as the Brisk yeshivas and methods group and in particular Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, had a very high regard for the Mishneh Torah and regarded it as the best tool for the theoretical understanding of the Talmud and of Jewish law generally. When however it came to practical Posek, an activity of which they steered clear when possible, they adhered to the normative Ashkenazi Jews version of [[Halakha|Jewish law]], as set out in the [[Shulchan Aruch]] and the glosses of Moses Isserles. On the whole they accepted the Zohar, but had a distinctive "intellectualist" understanding of it.<ref>Lamm, Norman, ''Torah Lishmah: Torah for Torah's Sake in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his Contemporaries'': New York 1989, hardback ISBN-10: 0881251178, ISBN-13: 978-0881251173, paperback ISBN-10: 088125133X, ISBN-13: 978-0881251333.</ref><br />
<br />
There are various groups in Israel today which claim to follow the Vilna Gaon: these may be found in places as diverse as the Neturei Karta and the fringes of Religious Zionism. In some ways their perspective is similar to that of the Dor Daim.<br />
<br />
Some Modern Orthodox thinkers of a ''mitnagged'' cast of thought, such as Yeshayahu Leibowitz, also reject Zoharic Kabbalah and praise the work of Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh.[http://www.radicaltorahthought.com/idol%20worship%20is%20still%20within%20us.htm]<br />
<br />
===Spanish and Portuguese Jews===<br />
<br />
Dor Daim and other Yemenite ''talmide ha-Rambam'' like to compare themselves to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, and think of them as "the other Rambam Jews". This is largely because of their shared scepticism about the Zohar. The resemblance has however been exaggerated.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews preserve an early form of the Sephardic liturgy from before the expulsion from Spain, which reflected some, but only very limited, influence from the Kabbalah and the Zohar. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries they adopted a certain number of Lurianic observances in a piecemeal fashion, for example the Tu Bishvat#The Tu Bishvat Seder. After the Sabbatai Zevi debacle these observances were largely dropped, because it was felt that Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the disaster. The arguments against the authenticity of the Zohar advanced by Jacob Emden and Leon of Modena were also influential. At the present day the general Spanish and Portuguese attitude to the Kabbalah is one of indifference rather than hostility. As Spanish and Portuguese communities act as hosts for Sephardic Jews of many other backgrounds, there would be no bar on individuals regarding Kabbalah more positively. The community's closest resemblance would therefore be not to Dor Daim but to mainstream Baladi Yemenites.<br />
<br />
Spanish and Portuguese Jews admire [[Maimonides]] and identify with the Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula. However, they cannot be classified as "Rambamists" in the sense required, as their religious law is based squarely on the ''Bet Yosef'' of Joseph Caro. It could even be argued that they follow Caro more closely than any other group, as many other Sephardim regard [[Isaac Luria]] as having equal or even greater authority than Caro.<br />
<br />
The above describes the attitude of traditional communities such as London and Amsterdam. In some newer communities a more purist and principled attitude has evolved, in particular among the followers of José Faur and Yaakov Oliveira [http://www.judaismo-iberico.org], though they too accept the [[Shulchan Aruch]] rather than the Mishneh Torah as their authority on practical Jewish law.<br />
<br />
==Criticisms==<br />
<br />
1. There are those who would claim that Dor Daim and even all students of the [[Rambam]] are heretics by reason of their non-acceptance of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah.<ref>See for example Chaim Kanievsky, ''Derech Emunah'' p.30.</ref> This claim depends on the assumption that the [[Isaac Luria|Luria]]nic [[Kabbalah]] is a dogma of Judaism binding upon all Jews. Not only the Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam'', but many other Orthodox groups, such as the followers of the Vilna Gaon and many Modern Orthodox, would disagree with this assumption, whether or not they personally accept the Lurianic Kabbalah.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response is that whether a person or school is heretical is a question of law, to be decided according to authoritative works of halakha: one is not a heretic simply for disagreeing with a widely held Aggadah interpretation, unless the ''halakha'' specifically says so. The Mishneh Torah is comprehensive in scope and is, at the very least, ''one'' of the authoritative sources of ''halakha'', so to follow it must be an acceptable way of doing Judaism. Accordingly, since the Dor Daim assert nothing that is not found within the four corners of the Mishneh Torah, and the Mishneh Torah cannot be interpreted as actually requiring belief in anything approaching Zoharic or Lurianic Kabbalah, they cannot be heretics - unless the Mishneh Torah itself is heretical, which is not held by any mainstream Jewish group.<br />
<br />
2. Others believe that the main problem is not that Dor Daim do not follow Kabbalah for themselves, but that they delegitimize those who do follow it. Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, for instance, held that one must not use parchments written by, or eat meat slaughtered by, believers in Kabbalah because these are dedicated to the service of a concept distinct from the Unfathomable Almighty Creator and therefore are not dedicated for serving the Almighty Creator. This distinct concept to which Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, based on certain popular Kabbalistic works, warned that such parchments etc. are dedicated is called ''Zeir Anpin'' (one of the ''partzufim'' of the 10 sephirot). Few Dor Daim take such an extreme view today, as most consider that the above reasoning makes Jewish law too uncertain in practice.<br />
<br />
3. A third criticism is that Dor Daim take works of Kabbalah too literally: it is intended to be myth and metaphor, and to subject it to rigorous analysis as the Dor Daim do is like trying to construe a Keats sonnet as if it were an Act of Parliament. Works of Kabbalah themselves contain warnings that the teachings should not be exposed to common view or read too realistically, and that to do so is indeed to incur the danger of falling into heresy or idolatry.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that, however this may be in theory, these warnings have not been observed. Kabbalah has in fact been extensively popularised, with the result that many otherwise pious Jewish groups are now permeated with superstition, so that the whole enterprise is now more trouble than it is worth. Further, the claim that these works, on their true interpretation, are harmless metaphorical imagery fully compatible with monotheism is disingenuous: the origins of most Kabbalistic concepts in pagan systems such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism are too glaringly obvious to be ignored. (Dor Daim do not claim that Kabbalists are in fact polytheists: only that they are inconsistent.)<br />
<br />
4. A fourth criticism is that it is a stultification of Jewish law to regard any authority, even one as eminent as Maimonides, as final. The essence of Oral Law is that it is case law rather than code law, and needs to be interpreted in each generation: otherwise the Mishneh Torah could simply have been handed down as part of the written Torah. For this reason, it is a principle of Jewish law that "Jephthah in his generation is as Samson in his generation": one is bound by the current authorities, rather than by previous authorities however objectively superior.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that the acceptance of Maimonides in the Yemenite community has always been regarded as a legitimate version of Jewish law, and that they are no more stultified by the authority of Maimonides than other Jewish communities are by the authority of the Shulchan Arukh. From the practical point of view Jewish law as codified by Maimonides is as compatible with modern conditions as any later code: if anything more so, as later Jewish law has become enmeshed in many unnecessary intellectual tangles.<br />
<br />
5. A final criticism is that the Dor Dai version of Judaism is disquietingly reminiscent of militant Islamic trends such as Salafism. Both started out as modernising movements designed to remove some of the cobwebs and allow the religion to compete in the modern world, and both have ended up as fundamentalist groups lending themselves to alliances with political extremism. Both disapprove of mysticism (Kabbalah or Sufism) and praying at tombs; both tend to dismiss more moderate coreligionists as unbelievers (see Takfir); both cut out centuries of sophisticated legal scholarship in favour of an every-man-for-himself "back to the sources" approach.<br />
<br />
The Dor Dai response to this is that political militancy is no more characteristic of Dor Daim than of many Kabbalistically-inspired branches of Religious Zionism (e.g. the followers of Zvi Yehuda Kook). In fact the conditions for political or military action, as laid down in the Mishneh Torah, are extremely strict.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com Torath Mosha] Information about Torath Moshe (Judaism) in general, but specifically students of the [[Rambam]], Baladim, and Dor Daim.<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/milhamoth.htm Milhamot Hashem] Original text by Yihhyah Qafahh. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.seforimonline.org/seforim/emunas_hashem.pdf Emunat Hashem] Reply to Milhamot Hashem by pro-Zohar Jerusalem rabbis. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/about.htm Mechon-Mamre.org] The Mamre Institute, by one particular group of students of the [[Rambam]]; includes an especially accurate text of the Mishneh Torah, as well as all of the Tanakh, Mishnah, and other Talmudic texts.<br />
*[http://yediah.blogspot.com/ Believing is Knowing] A blog by a student of the Rambam which expresses sympathy towards the more common practices of Ashkenazi Jews<br />
*[http://www.machon-moshe.co.il/ Machon Mishnat HaRambam] Rabbi Ratzon Arusi's ''Machon Mishnat haRambam'' (Maimonides Institute) website. Rabbi Ratzon Arusi is chief rabbi of the Israeli town of Qiryat Ono as well as head of the Israeli Rabbinate's department of marriage. ''Hebrew''<br />
*[http://sagavyah.tripod.com/id8.html Biblical Monotheism] contains information on [[Noahide Laws]] and reflective of philosophical beliefs in common with Dor Daim and ''talmide ha-Rambam''<br />
*[http://www.chayas.com/kabramb.htm Anti-Maimonidean Demons] Article by José Faur on the Maimonist/Anti-Maimonist controversy<br />
*[http://www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/2006/issue1/kellner.html Maimonides Agonist: Disenchantment and Reenchantment in Modern Judaism] Article by Menachem Kellner contrasting Maimonidean with Zoharic Judaism.<br />
<br />
==Endnotes==<br />
<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Legal_Rulings&diff=7755
Legal Rulings
2008-05-19T19:08:22Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>The following is a collection of legal rulings concerning the Bnei Noach from a wide variety of sources. The only requirement is that they must be given by a Rabbi who follows [[halakha]]. They may not agree with each other and no context for the ruling is given.<br />
<br />
These rulings are collected here for information puposes only, you should consult your own Rabbi before relying on any opinion stated here.<br />
<br />
The intention is to list the rulings in the same order as topics in the [[Shulchan Aruch]]. It should reflect the daily, yearly and lifetime cycles of personal living. The events occuring more frequently coming before events occuring rarely. National issues which account for the status of Bnei Noah are not dealt with here. <br />
<br />
==Types of Rulings==<br />
<br />
Noahide legal rulings are composed of three kinds of rulings.<br />
* [[The Seven Laws]] - the basis of proper belief and conduct.<br />
* [[Subdividing the Seven Laws|Expansion of the Seven Laws]] - details concerning the application of the basic seven Bnei Noah commandments, as well as injunctions of the Jewish law which Bnei Noah are allowed to take upon themselves, or forbidden.<br />
* [[Civil laws]] - Areas not covered by the Bnei Noah commandments such as inheritances,contracts and other civil matters are left to be adjudicated, each nation according to its own laws and customs. <br />
<br />
There is an opinion that there should not be one Code of Law for Noahides, but perhaps 'seventy' codes of law for each of the ''[[seventy nations]]'', where each Code of Law would reflect the national character of that nation. In this case, the details of the decisions -- where they concern the third type of Noahide law above -- may be different from nation to nation.<br />
<br />
Rabbi [[Yaakov Anatoli]] (1194-1256) in ''HaMelamed'' put it this way: When the Noahites were enjoined concerning Justice, they were put under obligation to create legal arrangements .... It is incumbent on the judges to draw up rules of equity that shall be appropriate for that particular country, as exemplified by the manner in which this matter is handled currently by the nations, severally. Likewise, it is incumbent upon merchants and upon the members of the trades to establish regulations for themselves... and whatever emerges as the law in this manner is law, as much as that which is written in the Bible. Furthermore, anyone violating this law violates Scripture, because Scripture commands the individual to accept the decisions of the contemporary jurists. The dictum, "The law of the land is the Law," relates to this concept.<ref>Quoted by Reuben Margolioth, Margolioth Hayarn. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1958, volume 11, page 20. (Sanhedrin 56b, section 9.)</ref><br />
<br />
==Format of Legal Rulings==<br />
<br />
The Wikinoah page name is generally "XYZ in Noahide Law". Where rabbinic opinions differ, all opinions are presented, and no attempt to arbitrate between the opinions is attempted. Rulings belonging to a specific [[Approaches|approach]] are generally marked with a Category or Image. <br />
<br />
When possible, the rulings are made up of three or four parts. <br />
<br />
# ''Introduction'': This section introduce the concept and gives general background information.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Jewish Law (for Jews)'': This optional section describes a particular legal ruling as it applies in Jewish law for Jews. According to [[Maimonides]] the Noahides are free to borrow any ruling from Jewish law, provided it is not specified as applying only to the Jewish people. Maimonides also rules that it is forbidden for Noahides to create their own religion.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Jewish Law (for Noahides)'': This section lists the various rabbinical opinions on how the law applies to Noahides. These rulings are for the most part based on logic, linguistic definitions and comparisons, and comparison to Jewish law. Nahmanides disagreed with Maimonides and felt that Noahide law would include an extensive body of expanded versions of the seven laws, and other interpolations which may differ from Jewish law.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Noahide Law'': This section lists the various national court opinions on a given law. They may or may not be consistent with the [[Seven Laws]], and the differences and discrepancies with Jewish Law for Noahides are noted. Most ''[[Achronim]]'' and the [[Shulchan Aruch]] generally holds that these laws are valid and authoritative laws where they do not conflict with the [[Seven Laws]].<br />
<br />
==Education==<br />
*[[May a Jew may instruct Christians in Hebrew?]]<br />
*[[Can Righteous Gentiles study the Torah?]]<br />
<br />
==Prayer==<br />
*[[Prayer under Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prayer garments for non-Jews must not have the Tzitzit]]<br />
*[[Covering one’s head during prayer]]<br />
<br />
==Daily Living==<br />
*[[Commandments Dealing with Personal Matters in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Concerning Food in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Naturalist in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Vegetarianism in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Keeping Healthy in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Ethical Behavior and Moral Values in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Marriage and Sex in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Arts in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Pastime and Recreation in Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
*[[Working For A Living in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Studying Science in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Patriotism in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Vows, Oaths and Pledges in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Embarrassing in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Hitting another person in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Property, Goods and possessions of others in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Returning lost property in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition against cheating in business and weights in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Coveting other person’s property in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Bribery in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Charity in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition of kilayim and Bnei Noach]]<br />
<br />
==Holiday Customs==<br />
*[[Commandments Concerning Honoring G-d in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Sabbath in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Candles lit in the home]]<br />
*[[Washing hands for bread]]<br />
*[[Yom Kippur in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Succot in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Hanukah in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Passover in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Shavuot in Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==General==<br />
*[[Mitvot in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Commandments between Man and G-d]]<br />
*[[The Laws of Belief]]<br />
*[[The Prohibition Against Doing Anything that Contradicts the Belief in One God]]<br />
*[[Explanations and Philosophy in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition Against Influencing Others to Sin]]<br />
*[[Grace, Mercy, Charity, Kindness and Benevolence]]<br />
*[[Gossip in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Divorce in Noahide law]]<br />
*[[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]<br />
*[[Martyrdom under Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==Interaction with Jewish Law==<br />
*[[The Noahide Oath]]<br />
*[[Noahide Oath before a Rabbinical Court]]<br />
*[[Noahide doing Melacha on Shabbat for a Jew]]<br />
*[[Non-Jews are assumed to be Noahides by Jewish law]] now-a-days.<br />
*[[One is not allowed to create a new religion]]<br />
*[[Optional observances for non-Jews]] Which parts of Torah observance are forbidden to non-Jews?<br />
*[[Non-Jew in Jewish Law]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Legal Rulings]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Legal_Rulings&diff=7754
Legal Rulings
2008-05-19T18:53:34Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>The following is a collection of legal rulings concerning the Bnei Noach from a wide variety of sources. The only requirement is that they must be given by a Rabbi who follows [[halakha]]. They may not agree with each other and no context for the ruling is given.<br />
<br />
These rulings are collected here for information puposes only, you should consult your own Rabbi before relying on any opinion stated here.<br />
<br />
The intention is to list the rulings in the same order as topics in the [[Shulchan Aruch]]. It should reflect the daily, yearly and lifetime cycles of personal living. The events occuring more frequently coming before events occuring rarely. National issues which account for the status of Bnei Noah are not dealt with here. <br />
<br />
==Types of Rulings==<br />
<br />
Noahide legal rulings are composed of three kinds of rulings.<br />
* [[The Seven Laws]] - the basis of all proper religion and belief<br />
* [[Subdividing the Seven Laws|Expansion of the Seven Laws]] - derived laws from the first seven, either through logic or comparison with Jewish law.<br />
* [[National Laws]] - The Bnei Noah legislation does not regulate inheritances and civil matters which are left for a particular country to judge according to their own laws and customs. <br />
<br />
There is an opinion that there should not be one Code of Law for Noahides, but perhaps 'seventy' codes of law for each of the ''[[seventy nations]]'', where each Code of Law would reflect the national character of that nation. In this case, the details of the decisions -- particularly where they concern the third type of Noahide law above -- may be different from nation to nation.<br />
<br />
Rabbi [[Yaakov Anatoli]] (1194-1256) in ''HaMelamed'' put it this way: When the Noahites were enjoined concerning Justice, they were put under obligation to create legal arrangements .... It is incumbent on the judges to draw up rules of equity that shall be appropriate for that particular country, as exemplified by the manner in which this matter is handled currently by the nations, severally. Likewise, it is incumbent upon merchants and upon the members of the trades to establish regulations for themselves... and whatever emerges as the law in this manner is law, as much as that which is written in the Bible. Furthermore, anyone violating this law violates Scripture, because Scripture commands the individual to accept the decisions of the contemporary jurists. The dictum, "The law of the land is the Law," relates to this concept.<ref>Quoted by Reuben Margolioth, Margolioth Hayarn. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1958, volume 11, page 20. (Sanhedrin 56b, section 9.)</ref><br />
<br />
==Format of Legal Rulings==<br />
<br />
The Wikinoah page name is generally "XYZ in Noahide Law". Where rabbinic opinions differ, all opinions are presented, and no attempt to arbitrate between the opinions is attempted. Rulings belonging to a specific [[Approaches|approach]] are generally marked with a Category or Image. <br />
<br />
When possible, the rulings are made up of three or four parts. <br />
<br />
# ''Introduction'': This section introduce the concept and gives general background information.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Jewish Law (for Jews)'': This optional section describes a particular legal ruling as it applies in Jewish law for Jews. According to [[Maimonides]] the Noahides are free to borrow any ruling from Jewish law, provided it is not specified as applying only to the Jewish people. Maimonides also rules that it is forbidden for Noahides to create their own religion.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Jewish Law (for Noahides)'': This section lists the various rabbinical opinions on how the law applies to Noahides. These rulings are for the most part based on logic, linguistic definitions and comparisons, and comparison to Jewish law. Nahmanides disagreed with Maimonides and felt that Noahide law would include an extensive body of expanded versions of the seven laws, and other interpolations which may differ from Jewish law.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Noahide Law'': This section lists the various national court opinions on a given law. They may or may not be consistent with the [[Seven Laws]], and the differences and discrepancies with Jewish Law for Noahides are noted. Most ''[[Achronim]]'' and the [[Shulchan Aruch]] generally holds that these laws are valid and authoritative laws where they do not conflict with the [[Seven Laws]].<br />
<br />
==Education==<br />
*[[May a Jew may instruct Christians in Hebrew?]]<br />
*[[Can Righteous Gentiles study the Torah?]]<br />
<br />
==Prayer==<br />
*[[Prayer under Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prayer garments for non-Jews must not have the Tzitzit]]<br />
*[[Covering one’s head during prayer]]<br />
<br />
==Daily Living==<br />
*[[Commandments Dealing with Personal Matters in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Concerning Food in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Naturalist in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Vegetarianism in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Keeping Healthy in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Ethical Behavior and Moral Values in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Marriage and Sex in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Arts in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Pastime and Recreation in Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
*[[Working For A Living in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Studying Science in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Patriotism in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Vows, Oaths and Pledges in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Embarrassing in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Hitting another person in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Property, Goods and possessions of others in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Returning lost property in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition against cheating in business and weights in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Coveting other person’s property in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Bribery in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Charity in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition of kilayim and Bnei Noach]]<br />
<br />
==Holiday Customs==<br />
*[[Commandments Concerning Honoring G-d in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Sabbath in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Candles lit in the home]]<br />
*[[Washing hands for bread]]<br />
*[[Yom Kippur in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Succot in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Hanukah in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Passover in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Shavuot in Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==General==<br />
*[[Mitvot in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Commandments between Man and G-d]]<br />
*[[The Laws of Belief]]<br />
*[[The Prohibition Against Doing Anything that Contradicts the Belief in One God]]<br />
*[[Explanations and Philosophy in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition Against Influencing Others to Sin]]<br />
*[[Grace, Mercy, Charity, Kindness and Benevolence]]<br />
*[[Gossip in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Divorce in Noahide law]]<br />
*[[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]<br />
*[[Martyrdom under Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==Interaction with Jewish Law==<br />
*[[The Noahide Oath]]<br />
*[[Noahide Oath before a Rabbinical Court]]<br />
*[[Noahide doing Melacha on Shabbat for a Jew]]<br />
*[[Non-Jews are assumed to be Noahides by Jewish law]] now-a-days.<br />
*[[One is not allowed to create a new religion]]<br />
*[[Optional observances for non-Jews]] Which parts of Torah observance are forbidden to non-Jews?<br />
*[[Non-Jew in Jewish Law]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Legal Rulings]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Legal_Rulings&diff=7753
Legal Rulings
2008-05-19T18:45:42Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>The following is a collection of legal rulings concerning the Bnei Noach from a wide variety of sources. The only requirement is that they must be given by a Rabbi who follows [[halakha]]. They may not agree with each other and no context for the ruling is given.<br />
<br />
These rulings are collected here for information puposes only, you should consult your own Rabbi before relying on any opinion stated here.<br />
<br />
The intention is to list the rulings in the same order as topics in the [[Shulchan Aruch]]. It should reflect the daily, yearly and lifetime cycles of personal living. The events occuring more frequently coming before events occuring rarely. National issues which account for the status of Bnei Noah are not dealt with here. <br />
<br />
==Types of Rulings==<br />
<br />
Noahide legal rulings are composed of three kinds of rulings.<br />
* [[The Seven Laws]] - the basis of all proper religion and belief<br />
* [[Subdividing the Seven Laws|Expansion of the Seven Laws]] - derived laws from the first seven, either through logic or comparison with Jewish law.<br />
* [[National Laws]] - rules that are appropriate for a particular country, merchants and trades regulations to promote justice.<br />
<br />
There is an opinion that there should not be one Code of Law for Noahides, but perhaps 'seventy' codes of law for each of the ''[[seventy nations]]'', where each Code of Law would reflect the national character of that nation. In this case, the details of the decisions -- particularly where they concern the third type of Noahide law above -- may be different from nation to nation.<br />
<br />
Rabbi [[Yaakov Anatoli]] (1194-1256) in ''HaMelamed'' put it this way: When the Noahites were enjoined concerning Justice, they were put under obligation to create legal arrangements .... It is incumbent on the judges to draw up rules of equity that shall be appropriate for that particular country, as exemplified by the manner in which this matter is handled currently by the nations, severally. Likewise, it is incumbent upon merchants and upon the members of the trades to establish regulations for themselves... and whatever emerges as the law in this manner is law, as much as that which is written in the Bible. Furthermore, anyone violating this law violates Scripture, because Scripture commands the individual to accept the decisions of the contemporary jurists. The dictum, "The law of the land is the Law," relates to this concept.<ref>Quoted by Reuben Margolioth, Margolioth Hayarn. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1958, volume 11, page 20. (Sanhedrin 56b, section 9.)</ref><br />
<br />
==Format of Legal Rulings==<br />
<br />
The Wikinoah page name is generally "XYZ in Noahide Law". Where rabbinic opinions differ, all opinions are presented, and no attempt to arbitrate between the opinions is attempted. Rulings belonging to a specific [[Approaches|approach]] are generally marked with a Category or Image. <br />
<br />
When possible, the rulings are made up of three or four parts. <br />
<br />
# ''Introduction'': This section introduce the concept and gives general background information.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Jewish Law (for Jews)'': This optional section describes a particular legal ruling as it applies in Jewish law for Jews. According to [[Maimonides]] the Noahides are free to borrow any ruling from Jewish law, provided it is not specified as applying only to the Jewish people. Maimonides also rules that it is forbidden for Noahides to create their own religion.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Jewish Law (for Noahides)'': This section lists the various rabbinical opinions on how the law applies to Noahides. These rulings are for the most part based on logic, linguistic definitions and comparisons, and comparison to Jewish law. Nahmanides disagreed with Maimonides and felt that Noahide law would include an extensive body of expanded versions of the seven laws, and other interpolations which may differ from Jewish law.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Noahide Law'': This section lists the various national court opinions on a given law. They may or may not be consistent with the [[Seven Laws]], and the differences and discrepancies with Jewish Law for Noahides are noted. Most ''[[Achronim]]'' and the [[Shulchan Aruch]] generally holds that these laws are valid and authoritative laws where they do not conflict with the [[Seven Laws]].<br />
<br />
==Education==<br />
*[[May a Jew may instruct Christians in Hebrew?]]<br />
*[[Can Righteous Gentiles study the Torah?]]<br />
<br />
==Prayer==<br />
*[[Prayer under Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prayer garments for non-Jews must not have the Tzitzit]]<br />
*[[Covering one’s head during prayer]]<br />
<br />
==Daily Living==<br />
*[[Commandments Dealing with Personal Matters in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Concerning Food in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Naturalist in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Vegetarianism in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Keeping Healthy in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Ethical Behavior and Moral Values in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Marriage and Sex in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Arts in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Pastime and Recreation in Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
*[[Working For A Living in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Studying Science in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Patriotism in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Vows, Oaths and Pledges in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Embarrassing in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Hitting another person in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Property, Goods and possessions of others in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Returning lost property in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition against cheating in business and weights in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Coveting other person’s property in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Bribery in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Charity in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition of kilayim and Bnei Noach]]<br />
<br />
==Holiday Customs==<br />
*[[Commandments Concerning Honoring G-d in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Sabbath in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Candles lit in the home]]<br />
*[[Washing hands for bread]]<br />
*[[Yom Kippur in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Succot in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Hanukah in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Passover in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Shavuot in Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==General==<br />
*[[Mitvot in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Commandments between Man and G-d]]<br />
*[[The Laws of Belief]]<br />
*[[The Prohibition Against Doing Anything that Contradicts the Belief in One God]]<br />
*[[Explanations and Philosophy in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition Against Influencing Others to Sin]]<br />
*[[Grace, Mercy, Charity, Kindness and Benevolence]]<br />
*[[Gossip in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Divorce in Noahide law]]<br />
*[[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]<br />
*[[Martyrdom under Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==Interaction with Jewish Law==<br />
*[[The Noahide Oath]]<br />
*[[Noahide Oath before a Rabbinical Court]]<br />
*[[Noahide doing Melacha on Shabbat for a Jew]]<br />
*[[Non-Jews are assumed to be Noahides by Jewish law]] now-a-days.<br />
*[[One is not allowed to create a new religion]]<br />
*[[Optional observances for non-Jews]] Which parts of Torah observance are forbidden to non-Jews?<br />
*[[Non-Jew in Jewish Law]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Legal Rulings]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Legal_Rulings&diff=7752
Legal Rulings
2008-05-19T18:44:55Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>The following is a collection of legal rulings concerning the Bnei Noach from a wide variety of sources. The only requirement is that they must be given by a Rabbi who follows [[halakha]]. They may not agree with each other and no context for the ruling is given.<br />
<br />
These rulings are collected here for information puposes only, you should consult your own Rabbi before relying on any opinion stated here.<br />
<br />
The intention is to list the rulings in the same order as topics in the [[Shulchan Aruch]]. It should reflect the daily, yearly and lifetime cycles of personal living. The events occuring more frequently coming before events occuring rarely. National issues which account for the status of Bnei Noah relevant are not dealt with here. <br />
<br />
==Types of Rulings==<br />
<br />
Noahide legal rulings are composed of three kinds of rulings.<br />
* [[The Seven Laws]] - the basis of all proper religion and belief<br />
* [[Subdividing the Seven Laws|Expansion of the Seven Laws]] - derived laws from the first seven, either through logic or comparison with Jewish law.<br />
* [[National Laws]] - rules that are appropriate for a particular country, merchants and trades regulations to promote justice.<br />
<br />
There is an opinion that there should not be one Code of Law for Noahides, but perhaps 'seventy' codes of law for each of the ''[[seventy nations]]'', where each Code of Law would reflect the national character of that nation. In this case, the details of the decisions -- particularly where they concern the third type of Noahide law above -- may be different from nation to nation.<br />
<br />
Rabbi [[Yaakov Anatoli]] (1194-1256) in ''HaMelamed'' put it this way: When the Noahites were enjoined concerning Justice, they were put under obligation to create legal arrangements .... It is incumbent on the judges to draw up rules of equity that shall be appropriate for that particular country, as exemplified by the manner in which this matter is handled currently by the nations, severally. Likewise, it is incumbent upon merchants and upon the members of the trades to establish regulations for themselves... and whatever emerges as the law in this manner is law, as much as that which is written in the Bible. Furthermore, anyone violating this law violates Scripture, because Scripture commands the individual to accept the decisions of the contemporary jurists. The dictum, "The law of the land is the Law," relates to this concept.<ref>Quoted by Reuben Margolioth, Margolioth Hayarn. Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1958, volume 11, page 20. (Sanhedrin 56b, section 9.)</ref><br />
<br />
==Format of Legal Rulings==<br />
<br />
The Wikinoah page name is generally "XYZ in Noahide Law". Where rabbinic opinions differ, all opinions are presented, and no attempt to arbitrate between the opinions is attempted. Rulings belonging to a specific [[Approaches|approach]] are generally marked with a Category or Image. <br />
<br />
When possible, the rulings are made up of three or four parts. <br />
<br />
# ''Introduction'': This section introduce the concept and gives general background information.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Jewish Law (for Jews)'': This optional section describes a particular legal ruling as it applies in Jewish law for Jews. According to [[Maimonides]] the Noahides are free to borrow any ruling from Jewish law, provided it is not specified as applying only to the Jewish people. Maimonides also rules that it is forbidden for Noahides to create their own religion.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Jewish Law (for Noahides)'': This section lists the various rabbinical opinions on how the law applies to Noahides. These rulings are for the most part based on logic, linguistic definitions and comparisons, and comparison to Jewish law. Nahmanides disagreed with Maimonides and felt that Noahide law would include an extensive body of expanded versions of the seven laws, and other interpolations which may differ from Jewish law.<br />
# ''Law of XYZ in Noahide Law'': This section lists the various national court opinions on a given law. They may or may not be consistent with the [[Seven Laws]], and the differences and discrepancies with Jewish Law for Noahides are noted. Most ''[[Achronim]]'' and the [[Shulchan Aruch]] generally holds that these laws are valid and authoritative laws where they do not conflict with the [[Seven Laws]].<br />
<br />
==Education==<br />
*[[May a Jew may instruct Christians in Hebrew?]]<br />
*[[Can Righteous Gentiles study the Torah?]]<br />
<br />
==Prayer==<br />
*[[Prayer under Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prayer garments for non-Jews must not have the Tzitzit]]<br />
*[[Covering one’s head during prayer]]<br />
<br />
==Daily Living==<br />
*[[Commandments Dealing with Personal Matters in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Concerning Food in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Naturalist in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Vegetarianism in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Keeping Healthy in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Ethical Behavior and Moral Values in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Marriage and Sex in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Arts in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Pastime and Recreation in Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==Work==<br />
*[[Working For A Living in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Studying Science in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Patriotism in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Vows, Oaths and Pledges in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Embarrassing in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Hitting another person in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Property, Goods and possessions of others in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Returning lost property in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition against cheating in business and weights in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Coveting other person’s property in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Bribery in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Charity in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition of kilayim and Bnei Noach]]<br />
<br />
==Holiday Customs==<br />
*[[Commandments Concerning Honoring G-d in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Sabbath in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Candles lit in the home]]<br />
*[[Washing hands for bread]]<br />
*[[Yom Kippur in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Succot in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Hanukah in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Passover in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Shavuot in Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==General==<br />
*[[Mitvot in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Commandments between Man and G-d]]<br />
*[[The Laws of Belief]]<br />
*[[The Prohibition Against Doing Anything that Contradicts the Belief in One God]]<br />
*[[Explanations and Philosophy in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Prohibition Against Influencing Others to Sin]]<br />
*[[Grace, Mercy, Charity, Kindness and Benevolence]]<br />
*[[Gossip in Noahide Law]]<br />
*[[Divorce in Noahide law]]<br />
*[[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]<br />
*[[Martyrdom under Noahide Law]]<br />
<br />
==Interaction with Jewish Law==<br />
*[[The Noahide Oath]]<br />
*[[Noahide Oath before a Rabbinical Court]]<br />
*[[Noahide doing Melacha on Shabbat for a Jew]]<br />
*[[Non-Jews are assumed to be Noahides by Jewish law]] now-a-days.<br />
*[[One is not allowed to create a new religion]]<br />
*[[Optional observances for non-Jews]] Which parts of Torah observance are forbidden to non-Jews?<br />
*[[Non-Jew in Jewish Law]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
[[Category:Legal Rulings]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Websites&diff=7751
Websites
2008-05-17T20:51:48Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Websites (listed A-Z) */</p>
<hr />
<div>This is the beginning of a comprehensive list of all noahide website on the internet. Please add any that are missing. Eventually these sites should be broken into categories and each of these links should be made into Wikinoah pages that review the websites. See also [[Maillists & Forums]]<br />
<br />
==General Approach==<br />
<br />
===Websites (listed A-Z)===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.1stcovenant.org 1stCovenant.org & RainbowCovenant.org: The First Covenant Foundation] Michael Dallen, a longtime writer and attorney, Jack E. Saunders, who began his professional career as a Baptist pastor, and Rabbi Michael Katz provide a wide variety of information on the Noahide Covenant, which they also call the Rainbow Covenant or Universal Covenant. Michael Dallen's book can be found [http://rainbowcovenant.org/pages/thebook.htm here]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.7commands.com 7commands.com: World Outreach] by Dr. Akiva Gamliel Belk, Discussions from the Universe's Original Belief System.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.7for70.com 7for70.com: Seven Noahide Laws: The Seventh Era]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.7lawsforhumanity.org 7 Laws for Humanity] is a non-profit association run by Meyer Tangi in Paris which aims at supporting the diffusion and the transmission of the values related to Judaism and the culture in general. <br />
<br />
* [http://http://www.7loispourlhumanite.org 7 Lois Pour Humanite]L’association dénommée Institut de Recherche Francophone d’Histoire Juive éditrice du site 7loispourlhumanite.org - est une association à but non lucratif qui a pour objectifs de soutenir la diffusion et la transmission des valeurs relatives au Judaïsme et de la culture en général. Meyer Tangi de Paris.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.benenoach.info BeneNoach.info Italian Bnai Noach Site] See the [[Sito Noachide (Italian Website)|review on this site]].<br />
<br />
* [http://www.beni-noah.com/ Beni-noah.com: Website of Rabbi Yoel Shwartz] vice-chairman of the Sanhedrin & head of the Court for Bnei Noach.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.bnainoach.com BnaiNoach.com: B'nai No'ach Friends and Social network]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.bnainoachnews.com BnaiNoachNews.com: News & Information] This website presents a public news, information and forums to link communities belonging to the Noahide Movement around the world. Billy Jack also hosts the [http://wikinoah.org/ Noachide Wikipedia], the online encyclopedia of the Noahide movement, as well as a [http://www.bnainoach.com/ Bnai Noach friends social site] and the [http://www.unitednoachidecouncil.com/ United Noachide Council]. <br />
<br />
* [http://www.bnainoah.net BnaiNoah.net & BneiNoah.net: Agudat B'nai Noach]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.bnainoah.org BnaiNoah.org] Information on the Noahide laws in a well-presented and thorough manner, especially the more involved aspects of their practice and interface with Judaism, and also to be a general resource to Noahides and other interested parties. Hashkafically aligned with centrist modern Orthodoxy in the Jewish world, especially with grand tradition of the Rav, Rabbi Joseph B. Solovetichik ז''ל.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.bnei-noach.net Bnei-Noach.net & BneiNoah.org: Judaism for non-jewish people (Russian)] This site collects materials in russian about Bnei Noach and laws of Torah for non-jewish people.<br />
<br />
* [http://bnei-noach.de Bnei-noach.de] Verein B´nei Noach. Informationen über das Judentum für Juden und Noachiden. Schwabach - Germany<br />
<br />
* [http://bneinoahdobrasil.com.br Bnei Noah do Brasil] é um centro de estudos virtual comprometido em facilitar o acesso a todas as pessoas, aos conhecimentos acerca do Judaísmo praticado por não judeus: “As 7 Leis do Pacto de Noah” - Courses offered are from United Noahide Academies/asknoah.org - (Portuguese)<br />
<br />
* [http://www.bnti.us BNTI.us: B’nai Noach Torah Institute] Where we offer courses in Judaism, Spirituality {7 Noaich Commands}, Noahide, Torah, Returning to Judaism, Discussions on Conversion to Judaism, Cholake, Bnai Noach, Congregation Leadership, Self Improvement, Weekly Torah Parsha and much more..<br />
<br />
* [http://webpages.charter.net/chavurathbneinoach Chavurath B'nei Noach]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.chayas.com/isnoach.htm Chayas.com: Discussion about Noahide Muslims]<br />
<br />
* [http://fulvida.com Fulvida.com] Bienvenidos al sitio oficial de FULVIDA, Fundacio'n Luz de Vida Internacional. Esperamos que vuestra visita en nuestro sitio sea de bendicio'n y edificacio'n. Disfruten los textos que les presentamos y no duden en hacernos llegar sus comentarios edificantes.<br />
<br />
* [http://brit.bnainoach.com/ Brit.BnaiNoach.com: Rabbi Moshe Kerr's B'nai No'ach Alliance]<br />
<br />
* [http://eduplanet.net/ Eduplanet: Torah Educational Community for Jews and Bnei Noah] Tape library. Mostly in Spanish, also Hebrew, English, German, Italian, and Portuguese. Directed by Rabbi Daniel I. Ginerman, including EduplaNet.Net, Ieshivah.Net, Iahadut.Net, Carmiel.Net, KolIsrael.TV, KolIsrael.Info<br />
<br />
* [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2883 Geocities: Bnei Noach Information Home Page]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/3232 Geocities: Myth-conceptions About B'nai Noach Page!]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.geocities.com/~alyza/noachide/n-posts.htm Geocities: Bnai-Noach: The Seven Laws of Noach]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.geocities.com/rachav Geocities: Rachav's B'nai Noah Page]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.geocities.com/the_uk_ark Geocities: These are the generations of Noah]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.geocities.com/vidanoajica Geocities: Vida Noajica (español)]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.hamikdash.com/Rambam.html HaMikdash.com: The Responsibilities of the Gentiles]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.hasidicgentile.org HasidicGentile.org: Yehido Shel Olam (The Unique One of the Universe - The Only One of Being)]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.highcouncilofbnainoach.org High Council of Bnai Noach]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.jewishbrazil.com/fnoe.htm JewishBrazil.com: A TORA' PARA OS NAO JUDEUS - OS FILHOS DE NOE'. (portuguese)]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.kinder-noah.de Kinder-Noah.de] Gemäß der Bibel sind wir alle Nachkommen eines einzigen Mannes – Noah. G-tt schloss mit ihm und allen Menschen einen Bund und gab ihm sieben biblische Gesetze, wie sie Adam und Noah – vor der Offenbarung G-ttes gegenüber Moses am Berg Sinai – gegeben wurden. (deutsch)<br />
<br />
* [http://www.7loispourlhumanite.org La Charte des Nations. 7 lois pour l'Humanite] Notre ambition est la diffusion du titre gratuit 7 lois pour l’Humanité sur l’ensemble du territoire français à plus de 1 million d’exemplaires par grande ville. La distribution sera assurée, soit par une distribution directe devant les sorties de Métro ou dans les grandes gares du pays, soit dans les boîtes aux lettres. Meyer Tangi.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.milechai.com/judaism/bnai-noach.html MileChai.com: (Mile High) Bnai Noah Classes in Colorado]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.noach.com Noach.com: Derech Ben Noach] also [http://www.noach.com/emmanuel Emmanuel study center]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.noahidenations.org NoachideNations.org & NoachideNations.com & BneiNoach.com & BneiNoah.com: The Noahide Nations] The Noahide Nations web community sponsored and created by Torah Centered Noahides, and is dedicated to Torah Centered Noahides as well as those who wish to become Torah Centered Noahides, providing many articles as well as virtual online study courses.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.printfection.com/noahgear Noah Gear] Clothing designs for Noahides (Bnei Noah).<br />
<br />
* [http://www.noahide-laws.com Noahide-laws.com] A list of the seven laws.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.noahide.us Noahide.us] A list of the seven laws.<br />
<br />
* [http://noahidesevencommandments.com NoahideSevenCommandments.com] Learn here about the Story of Creation, Noah’s Flood, and Noah’s Seven Commandments in a personal, compassionate way. Rabbi Zvi Aviner.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.okbns.org/ Oklahoma B'nai Noach Society] An autonomous Noahide Group located in Tulsa, Oklahoma: Calendar/Events, Reading Room, Noahide Shoppe.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.qumran.org/bnainoach Qumran.org: Bnai Noach Deutschland]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.rb.org.il/Fellowship%20Noahide/noahcom.htm RB.org: Noah Institute] Rabbi Yehoshua Friedman, Founder and Chairman<br />
<br />
* [http://www.thesanhedrin.org/en/courtbneinoah/ TheSanhedrin.org: Special Court for Matters Concerning Bnei NoaH] under the auspices of the [http://TheSanhedrin.org/en nascent Sanhedrin]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.torah4noahides.i8.com/ Torah4Noahides.i8.com: Reaching Out to the Non-Jew]<br />
<br />
* [http://torontonoahides.blogspot.com/ --- Toronto, Canada --- Toronto Noahides - Toronto Bnai Noah]<br />
<br />
* [http://redneck_rastafarian.tripod.com Tripod: "The Redneck Rastafarian"]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.unitednoachidecouncil.org UnitedNoachideCouncil.org] United Noachide Council, Inc was founded in 2006 by Billy Jack Dial to serve the needs of Noachides worldwide. One of the primary organization’s goals and future purpose is to support a democratically run General Noachide Council that represents the interests and needs of "All" Noachide Communities throughout the world, and ultimatly to support a Supreme United Noachide Council composed of only qualified Noachide judges which will have graduated from a yeshiva for B'nei Noach in Israel. <br />
<br />
* [http://noahchat.virtualyeshiva.com VirtualYeshiva.com: Noah Chat, part of the VirtualYeshiva.com]<br />
<br />
===Blogs===<br />
<br />
* [http://breslov.spaces.live.com/ Bnei Noah do Brasil]Bnei Noah do Brasil Por Bentzion Rodrigues., with United Noahide Academies (asknoah.org) Breve Introduc,a~o ao Pacto de Noah, breslov<br />
<br />
* [http://www.childofnoah.info/ Child of Noah] The Children of Naoh is a part of the Noahide movement that is also affiliated with, but not a part of, Judaism. <br />
<br />
* [http://community.livejournal.com/bnai_noah/ Community of Noahides] The Livejournal community dedicated to the Children of Noah everywhere. Intended to as a conduit for Noahide friendship and edification,to build our faith in today's world. We will also strive to educate others about our beliefs and convictions.<br />
<br />
* [http://noah.ilovetorah.com/blog/ ilovetorah Sons of Noah] This site is meant to be an information center and community for those that follow the 7 commandments of Noah. What are the 7 commandments? How do they apply to us and our everyday lives? Why are they so important and why should we follow them instead of an other religion such as xtianity?<br />
<br />
* [http://hagoyim.blogspot.com/ Noachides' Abode] including [http://noachides-abode.googlegroups.com/web/Noachide%20Prayerbook.pdf Noahide Prayer Book]<br />
<br />
* [http://noahide-newsandviews.blogspot.com/ Noahide News and Views]<br />
<br />
* [http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/bnai_noach/index.html Noahide Reflections] Lazer Brody dedicates his time to Jewish Outreach and supporting the Noahide movement, and particularly to spreading the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslev.<br />
<br />
==Chabad Approach==<br />
<br />
===Websites (listed A-Z)===<br />
<br />
* [http://www.asknoah.org AskNoah.org: United Noahide Academies]<br />
<br />
* [http://bneinoach.wmghonline.com B'nei Noach 2008] Dedicated to informing fellow Noachides of the Truth of Torah and encouraging them to follow Torah and not men.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.chabad.org.br/tora/7leis/index2.html Chabad Portugal, Bnei Noach] As sete leis de Nôach Este Código de Sete Leis Fundamentais é tão abrangente que dá estrutura e propósito à vida para todos os tempos, guiando a humanidade a perceber seu potencial máximo e sua semelhança com o Criador.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.freeyellow.com/members5/cfmbnainoach Christians for Moses/Ex-Christians and Noahide Ministry of South Florida]A group of Noachides who, like Jews for Judaism, work to provide information to assist in countering missionary efforts.<br />
<br />
* [http://id-chabad-noahide.wikispaces.com In-do-ne-si-a Chabad Noahide] This is a community place to learn and share your interest in Noahide Movement (also known as Bnei Noach). The local Noahide movement is supported and strictly supervised by Chabad In-do-ne-si-a.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.noahide.org Noahide.org: Institute of Noahide Law]<br />
<br />
* [http://moshiach.com/action/morality/in-depth.php Moshiach.com: Free Online Book: 'The Path of the Righteous Gentile']<br />
<br />
* [http://www.noachide.net/ Noachide.net & Noachide.info & Noachide.org.uk] The New Noachide Study Group of Great Britain. A new group has started up in the UK for Bnai Noach, under the direction and supervision of Rabbi Yitzchok Sufrin, shlit'a (Director of the Friends of Small Communities, which is a division of Chabad-Lubavitch UK), with the help and support of the Director of the 'United Noahide Academies' (www.asknoah.org). <br />
<br />
* [http://www.noachide.eu Noachide.eu: The New Noachide Study Group of Great Britain] Serving a small group of Noachides from all over Great Britain, who meet on a monthly basis to study the Seven Laws of Noah with an orthodox Chabad Rabbi.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.noahsons.com NoahSons.com: NOAH's SONS]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.novanoahides.org/ NOVANoahides.org: a Noahide community in N. Virginia] NOVA Noahides is a small group of Noachide Chassids in Northern Virginia who seek to connect with others in our area interested in learning about the Seven Noahide Laws.<br />
<br />
* [http://academyofshem.com/ AcademyOfShem.com] Noahide website disputing Christianity<br />
<br />
* [http://www.noahide.com Noahide.com: Jews & Hasidic Gentiles - United to Save America]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.wmghonline.com WmGHOnline.com: Noahide Information and Community]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.tumms.org/nonjews/ Yiddishkeit 101, Especially for Non-Jews]<br />
<br />
===Blogs===<br />
<br />
* [http://noahide.typepad.com/noahide_reflections/ Noahide Reflections] dedicated to inspiring fellow Noahides to do all they can to bring Moshiach into the world. Noahide Reflections also serves as an oasis for individuals who have left Christian organizations with more questions than answers.<br />
<br />
* [http://newnoahide.blogspot.com/ New Noahide blogspot]<br />
<br />
==Theosebeia==<br />
<br />
* [http://theosebeia.org Theosebeia.org] (theosebeia.com, godfearers.com, godfearers.org), is an educational project of the UNC dedicated to investigating the manifestation of "Noahism" throughout the ages from an historical perspective. It is similiar to wikinoah.org, which covers the same information from a Rabbinical perspective.<br />
<br />
* [http://sebomenoi.org Sabians - Sebomenoi.org] is a website about Kenite Sabiism for Kenites and is affiliated with UNCinc.org. Kenite Sabiism is only one branch of the universal Noahism. (Kenites are another name for the children of Jethro).<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
* [[Maillists & Forums]]<br />
<br />
==Resources & Research==<br />
* [http://www.WikiNoah.org WikiNoah.org: Your Wiki Noachide Information Source]<br />
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noahide Wikipedia.org: Noahide Laws]<br />
* [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=113&letter=L&search=noahide%20laws Jewish Encyclopedia: Noachian Laws]<br />
* [http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/noach2.html JLaw: The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review]<br />
* [http://www.inner.org/noahide/noach1.htm Inner.org: The Seven Principles of Divine Service for Righteous Gentiles]<br />
* [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/gentiles.htm Gentiles and Idolatry] - How Torah applies to Gentiles<br />
* [http://www.panix.com/~jjbaker/MadaAkum.html The Laws on Idol Worship] - A translation of 'The Laws on Idolatry' in the Mishneh Torah.<br />
* [http://program.ouradio.org/audio/savitsky/atdrt_36.mp3 OU Radio show on Bnei Noah - The Jew, The Minister and The Bnei Noah]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Benamozegh Approach]]<br />
[[Category:Chabad Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Maimonides%27_Law_of_Noahides&diff=7750
Maimonides' Law of Noahides
2008-05-17T20:36:20Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>Please note when reading this translation that while [[Maimonides]] is the major source of a comprehensive Code of Jewish Law, not all authorities follow his rulings and other opinions have made their way as law. <br />
<br />
Concerning Maimonides obligation of Jews to seek (or force) observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles. A simple reading of the rules of Maimonides' would indicate that Jews or a Jewish court are obligated to coerce Noachides to observe their laws. Such is not the only way, however, to interpret Maimonides' statements. See Rabbi Michael J. Broyde in his "The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review" where the conclusion is that such a view is not supported by Jewish Law.<ref>[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]</ref>. The book "Torah For Gentiles" by Elisheva Barre makes a clear point that the "coercion" Maimonides talks about applies only to the Canaanite nations, as a condition for their becoming Resident Strangers (see page 22-29 and page 171 note 18). <br />
<br />
Concerning Maimonides exclusive use of capital punishment for Noahide violations: most rabbinic authorities disagree with Maimonides, and hold that it means "punishments up to and including capital punishment"; that a system of fines is meant to be set up; and courts set up by Noahides themselves, not Jewish law, should determine the structure and severity of Noahide punishments in whatever manner best serves justice for their particular country.<ref>[[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</ref>. Barre's book "Torah for Gentiles" analyzes the application of the Noahide laws according to Maimonides. <br />
<br />
The question as to what constitutes idolatry today, and whether Christianity constitutes idolatry or a lesser form of ''partnership'', became a matter of debate in Jewish halachic literature. In any event, it has never, at any time in our history, been suggested that Christians be prosecuted according to these laws. <ref>[[Christianity and Noahide Law]]</ref><br />
<br />
== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 8 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big>הלכות מלכים ומלחמותיהם פרק ח</big></div></td><br />
</tr><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''9''' A ''[[Yefas to'ar]]'' that does not want to put down idolatry, after the twelve month<ref>The [[Kesef Mishneh]] asks why a ''Yefas to'ar'' is allowed to worship for such a long period of time when this tolerance is not shown in any other case. The commentaries suggest that this leniency was granted because she was taken by force as prisoner during battle.</ref> receives capital punishment.<ref>Devarim 21:14 says that if the ''Yefas to'ar'' is released, "send her to herself". On this the [[Midrash HaGadol]] comments "send her to herself, but not to her gods", i.e. she must be executed if she remains in idolatry.</ref> Likewise with the city that submits, no treaty is made with them until they have denounced idolatry, destroyed all its places, and have taken upon themselves the rest of the commandments<ref>Here it refers to idolatry, hence the reference to the "other" six commandments. See Law of Kings and their Wars 6:1</ref> that were commanded to ''[[Bnei Noah|Noahides]]''. Any non-Jew who does not accept the laws that were commanded to Noahides receives capital punishment<ref>See Law of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> if he is within our jurisdiction.<ref>Commentaries: our ''undisputed'' authority. In Laws of Idolatry 10:6, the Rambam says that no idolaters should be allowed to live among Jews "when the hand of Israel is powerful over them." The extent of the authority, or under what conditions, is a matter of dispute among the commentaries. During the Second Temple period, it appears that the Sages did not exercise this authority. The consensus of halachic opinion holds that this ruling of the Rambam does not apply today, and may require further clarification and limitation.</ref><br />
:See also: [[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; יפת תואר שלא רצת להניח עבודה זרה לאחר השנים עשר חודש, הורגין אותה. וכן עיר שהשלימה, אין כורתין להן ברית, עד שיכפרו בעבודה זרה, ויאבדו כל מקומותיה, ויקבלו שאר המצוות שנצטוו בני נח: שכל גוי שלא קיבל מצוות שנצטוו בני נח, הורגין אותו, אם ישנו תחת ידינו.</big></div></td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td valign="top" width="50%">'''10''' ''[[Moshe Rabbenu]]'' gave the Torah and the commandments as an inheritance only to Israel<ref>See Laws of Kings and their Wars 10:9 where is explains that a non-Jew who studies Torah is worthy of death at the hand of Heaven, under certain conditions.</ref>, as it is written: "[The Torah is...] an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:4). Anyone who wants to may convert from the other nations, as it is written "as with you, [the same shall be] as with the convert" (Numbers 15:15). Anyone who does not wish to is not compelled to accept the Torah and commandments. Instead ''Moshe Rabbenu'' commanded, at the word of the Almighty, to compel all those who come into the world to accept the commandments which were commanded to Noah.<ref>Tosefos Yom Tov (Avos 3:14) writes "as the Rambam writes, we were commanded by Moses [to compel the non-Jews to accept the Seven Laws]. If this applies to compulsion at the point of the sword, with threats of execution,... it surely applies regarding compulsion through persuasion, to lead their hearts to the will of their Creator." The Chasam Sofer (Choshen Mishpat, responsum 85) writes that it is a mitzvah to guide the gentiles in the service of G-d. However some authorities disagree and hold that the obligation is only moral, not a legal requirement, see introduction above.</ref> Anyone who will not accept, receives capital punishment.<ref>In contrast to the guidance mentioned previously, this law only applies when the Jews have undisputed authority of the Land of Israel, See Laws of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> One who accepts these [basic laws] is called: ''[[Ger Toshav]]'' in every place.<ref>According to the Rambam, the laws concerning ''Ger Toshav'' only applies when the entire (or majority) of Jewish people live in the Land of Israel (see Laws of Idolatry 10:6) and at that time non-Jews can become a ''Ger Toshav'' in any land. Other authorities disagree and hold that one may become a ''Ger Toshav'' today. Some authorities require the non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel to be considered a ''Ger Toshav''.</ref> It is necessary to receive him in front of three Torah Scholars.<ref>Three Torah Scholars constitute a rabbinical court. Some commentaries have noted that this is the same requirement for a non-Jews conversion to Judaism, inviting comparison between conversion and a "partial conversion" of the ''Ger Toshav''. Other authorities view the requirement to appear before the court as performing a legal, rather than spiritual function, pointing out that here the non-Jew is re-affirming their covenant rather than 'switching' covenants.</ref> And all who have taken upon themselves to circumcise, and twelve months have past without circumcision, behold this person is like a heretic among the nations.<ref>The Rambam, in the Laws of Kings and their Wars 10, outlines the rules governing our relationship with Jews and non-Jews. A distinction is made between non-Jews who uphold a recognized legal system based on the Seven Laws and those who are outside any recognized legal system. A non-Jew who belongs to a nation who has taken on circumcision (generally understood to refer to the Arabs), but fails to do so falls outside the relationship defined by the Seven Laws. Other texts read "this person is like the other nations", which is understood to imply that someone who agrees to circumcise himself, i.e. convert to Judaism, but twelve months elapse without circumcising himself, his original commitment to convert is no longer taken seriously and he reverts to an ordinary non-Jew.</ref><br />
:See also:''[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]''</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; משה רבינו לא הנחיל התורה והמצוות אלא לישראל, שנאמר "מורשה, קהילת יעקוב" (דברים לג,ד), ולכל הרוצה להתגייר משאר האומות, שנאמר "ככם כגר" (במדבר טו,טו). אבל מי שלא רצה, אין כופין אותו לקבל תורה ומצוות. וכן ציווה משה רבינו מפי הגבורה, לכוף את כל באי העולם לקבל כל מצוות שנצטווה נח, וכל מי שלא קיבל, ייהרג. והמקבל אותם, הוא הנקרא גר תושב בכל מקום. וצריך לקבל עליו בפני שלושה חברים. וכל המקבל עליו למול, ועברו עליו שנים עשר חודש ולא מל, הרי זה כמין שבאומות.</big></div></td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td valign="top" width="50%">'''11''' Everyone who accepts the [[Seven Laws]] and is careful to do them, this person is one of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'' (very pious of the nations of the world), and he has portion in the world to come. This applies to one who accepts them and will do them because the ''[[Kodosh Baruch Hu]]'' commanded them in the Torah, and informed us by means of Moshe Rabbenu, that Noahides were previously commanded concerning these laws. But if he does them because of an intellectual decision, then he is not a ''Ger Toshav'', and is not of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'', he is [only] one of their ''[[Chochmei Umos HaOlam]]'' (wise men of the nations of the world).</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; כל המקבל שבע מצוות ונזהר לעשותן, הרי זה מחסידי אומות העולם, ויש לו חלק לעולם הבא. והוא שיקבל אותן ויעשה אותן מפני שציווה בהן הקדוש ברוך הוא בתורה, והודיענו על ידי משה רבינו, שבני נח מקודם נצטוו בהן. אבל אם עשאן מפני הכרע הדעת, אין זה גר תושב, ואינו מחסידי אומות העולם אלא מחכמיהם.</big></div></td><br />
</tr><br />
</table><br />
<br />
== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9 ==<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" width="100%"><br />
<tr><br />
<td valign="top" width="50%"></td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE">הלכות מלכים ומלחמות פרק ט</div></td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td valign="top" width="50%">'''1''' ''Adam HaRishon'' was commanded in six things: <br />
* [the prohibition] concerning idolatry<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning blasphemy<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning spilling of blood<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning forbidden relations<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning robbery<br />
* and [the injunction of establishing courts of] justice. <br />
Even though all these were received into our hands from ''Moshe Rabbenu'', and the intelect naturally inclines towards them – from a general reading of the words of Torah, they can see that they were commanded in these. [G-d] added to Noah [the commandment] concerning a torn limb, as it is written "From the flesh, its life is in the blood, do not eat" (Genesis 9:4). This makes seven commandments. This is how matters stood in the world until Avraham. Avraham came and was commanded other things beyond this, in circumcision and he prayed the morning prayers. Yitzchak began tithing, and added the afternoon prayers. Yaakov added [the prohibition of not eating] the sciatic nerve and prayed the evening prayers. In Egypt, Amram was commanded other things, until ''Moshe Rabbenu'' came and completed [the giving] of the Torah, by his hand.<br />
:See also: [[Chart of Maimonides' Noahide Laws]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp; על שישה דברים נצטווה אדם הראשון: על עבודה זרה, ועל ברכת השם, ועל שפיכות דמים, ועל גילוי עריות, ועל הגזל, ועל הדינים. אף על פי שכולן קבלה הן בידינו ממשה רבינו, והדעת נוטה להן, מכלל דברי התורה, ייראה שעל אלו נצטוו. הוסיף לנח אבר מן החי, שנאמר "אך בשר, בנפשו דמו לא תאכלו" (בראשית ט,ד). נמצאו שבע מצוות. וכן היה הדבר בכל העולם, עד אברהם נצטווה יתר על אלו במילה, והוא התפלל שחרית. ויצחק הפריש מעשר, והוסיף תפילה אחרת לפנות היום. ויעקוב הוסיף גיד הנשה, והתפלל ערבית. ובמצריים נצטווה עמרם במצוות יתרות, עד שבא משה רבינו ונשלמה תורה על ידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top" width="50%">'''2''' A Noahide that serves idolatry – is liable. Who [are we refering to]? One that serves idolatry in the normal way. All who serve idolatry and would be given capital punishment by a Jewish court, a Noahide is also given capital punishment. All who a Jewish court would not give capital punishment, neither is a Noahide given capital punishment. Nevertheless, even though [a Noahide] would not be executed [for these forms of worship], he is forbidden [to engage] in all of them. It is not allowed for them to erect an monument, plant a 'holy tree', nor to make images [of people] and the like, [even though they are only] for the sake of decoration.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>בן נח&nbsp; שעבד עבודה זרה, חייב, והוא? שיעבוד כדרכה. וכל עבודה זרה שבית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, בן נח נהרג עליה. וכל שאין בית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, אין בן נח נהרג עליה; ואף על פי שאינו נהרג, אסור בכל. ואין מניחין אותם להקים מצבה, ולא ליטע אשרה, ולא לעשות צורות וכיוצא בהן לנואי.</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top" width="50%">'''3''' A Noahide who curses G-d's name, whether by the particular name of G-d, or another name, in any language – is liable, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, בין שבירך בשם המיוחד, בין שבירך בכינוי, בכל לשון, חייב: מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top" width="50%">'''4''' A Noahide that murdered someone, even if it was a fetus in its mother's womb – he is given capital punishment [in retribution] for its [death]. Even if the person killed was terminally ill, or bound and placed before a lion, or allowed him to die of starvation – since he caused someone to die in some manner, he is given capital punishment. Even if someone kills a pursuer, when he could have been saved by [simply wounding] one of [the pursuer's] limbs, he is given capital punishment, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שהרג נפש, אפילו עובר במעי אימו, נהרג עליו. וכן אם הרג טריפה, או שכפתו ונתנו לפני הארי, או שהניחו ברעב עד שמת, הואיל והמית מכל מקום, נהרג. וכן אם הרג רודף שיכול להצילו באחד מאבריו, נהרג עליו, מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top" width="50%">'''5''' Six illicit relations are forbidden to a Noahide: his mother, wife of his father, a married woman, his maternal sister, a male, or a beast, as it is written "Therefore, a man shall leave his father" (Genesis 2:24) this is <br />
* ["his father"] - the wife of his father <br />
* "and his mother" – as understood<br />
* "and cleave to his wife" - not the wife of his neighbor<br />
* "his wife [woman]" - not a male<br />
* "and they shall become one flesh" - to exclude beasts, animals or birds, that cannot be "one flesh"<br />
* ["materal sister"] - that is to say "She is my sister, my father's daughter, but not my mother's. [Thus,] she became my wife." (Genesis 20:12)</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;שש עריות אסורות על בני נוח, האם, ואשת האב, ואשת איש, ואחותו מאימו, וזכור, ובהמה: שנאמר "על כן, יעזוב איש, את אביו" (בראשית ב,כד), זו אשת אביו; "ואת אימו", כמשמעה; "ודבק באשתו", ולא באשת חברו; "ודבק באשתו", לא בזכור; "והיו לבשר אחד", להוציא בהמה חיה ועוף שאין הוא והם בשר אחד; ונאמר "אחותי בת אבי היא, אך, לא בת אימי; ותהי לי, לאישה" (בראשית כ,יב).</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top" width="50%">'''6''' A Noahide is liable [for relations with his mother even though] she was seduced or raped by his father [and never married to him], for this is [even so] his mother in every respect, and he is liable for [relations with] the wife of his father, even after the father's death. He is liable for homosexuality, whether [with someone] young or old, for bestiality, whether young or old. He is given capital punishment, but the animal is not killed – [Noahide law] was not commanded in the killing of the animal, this is only in Jewish law.<br><br />
</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על מפותת אביו, ואנוסת אביו, הרי היא אימו מכל מקום. וחייב על אשת אביו, אפילו לאחר מיתת אביו. וחייב על הזכור, בין קטן בין גדול; ועל הבהמה, בין קטנה בין גדולה. והוא נהרג לבדו, ואין הורגין את הבהמה, שלא נצטוו בהריגת בהמה, אלא ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td valign="top">'''7''' A Noahide is not liable for [breaking the law] of "neighbor's wife" unless they engage in relations in the normal manner after the marriage had been consummated. But, if she was enagaged or had undergone a wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is not liable for [capital punishment] over her, as is is written: "for she has been possessed by [her] husband." (Genesis 20:3). When do these things speak about? When a Noahide man sleeps with a Noahide woman. But, a non-Jew who sleeps with a [married] Jewish woman, in normal or even abnormal manner, is liable [and falls under the jurisdiction of Jewish law:]. If [a non-Jew slept] with an engaged woman – he is stoned to death, as per Jewish law. If he sleeps with her after she has undergone the wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is strangled to death, as per Jewish law. However, if he sleeps with a Jewish woman after her marriage has been consummated, this falls under the law of "neighbor's wife" and he executed by beheading, [as per Noahide law].<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law as International Law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp;אין בן נח חייב על אשת חברו, עד שיבוא עליה כדרכה אחר שנבעלה לבעלה. אבל מאורסה, או שנכנסה לחופה ועדיין לא נבעלה, אין חייבין עליה, שנאמר "והיא, בעולת בעל" (בראשית כ,ג). במה דברים אמורים? בבן נח שבא על בת נוח. אבל גוי שבא על הישראלית, בין כדרכה בין שלא כדרכה, חייב. ואם הייתה נערה מאורסה, נסקל עליה, כדיני ישראל; בא עליה אחר שנכנסה לחופה, ולא נבעלה, הרי זה בחנק, כדיני ישראל. אבל אם בא על אשת ישראל אחר שנבעלה, הרי זה כמי שבא על אשת גוי חברו, וייהרג בסיף.</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top">'''8''' A Noahide who singles out a maid-servants for his slave and [afterwards] sleeps with her – he is given capital punishment because of her, for [breaking the law of] "neighbor's wife". He is not liable [for sleeping] with her, until [the marriage] has been officiated and become public knowledge, and everyone refers to her as "the wife of the slave so-and-so." When do [relations with] her return to being permitted? When he separates her from his slave and uncovers her hair in the market place. When is a married [Noahide] woman considered a divorced woman as [in Jewish law]? When he removes her from his home and sends her on her own, or when she leaves his domain and goes away. [In Noahide law] there is no [requirement for] a divorce in writing, nor is the matter at the husbands sole discretion, rather anytime that either [the husband] or [the wife] decides to separate from each other – they may separated [and then, are no longer considered as married.]<br />
:See also: [[Divorce in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp;בן נח שייחד שפחה לעבדו, הרי זה נהרג עליה, משום אשת חברו. ואינו חייב עליה, עד שיפשוט הדבר ויאמרו לה העם, זו דבית עבד פלוני. ומאימתיי תחזור להיתרה, משיפרישנה מעבדו, ויפרע ראשה בשוק. ומאימתיי תהיה אשת חברו כגרושה שלנו? משיוציאה מביתו וישלחנה לעצמה, או משתצא היא מתחת רשותו ותלך לה: שאין לה גירושין בכתב; ואין הדבר תלוי בו בלבד, אלא כל זמן שירצה הוא או היא לפרוש זה מזה, פורשין.</big></div></td><br />
</tr><br />
<tr><br />
<td valign="top">'''9''' A Noahide is liable for [breaking the law of] robbery whether he stole from a non-Jew or from a Jew. One who robs [forcibly] or steals money, a kidnaper, an [employer who] withholds the wages of a worker, and the like, even a worker who eats [from his employer's produce] not during working hours – in all these, he is liable and considered a thief. This differs in Jewish law. He is liable even [for stealing something] worth less than a ''perutah''; A Noahide who stole less than the worth of a ''perutah'' and another stole it from him – they are both given capital punishment because of it.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Legal Measurements]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על הגזל, בין שגזל גוי בין שגזל ישראל. ואחד הגוזל, או הגונב ממון, או גונב נפש, או הכובש שכר שכיר וכיוצא בו, אפילו פועל שאכל שלא בשעת מלאכה, על הכל הוא חייב, והרי הוא בכלל גזלן: מה שאין כן בישראל. וכן חייב, על פחות משווה פרוטה; ובן נח שגזל פחות משווה פרוטה, ובא אחר וגזלה ממנו, שניהן נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top">'''10''' And also he is liable for [breaking the law of] "torn limb" or "torn meat" – in any amount, for [the specifications of] minimum amounts is defined only in Jewish law [and not Noahide law]. He is permitted blood from a living creature.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Blood in Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp;וכן חייב על אבר מן החי, ועל בשר מן החי בכל שהוא: שלא ניתנו השיעורין, אלא לישראל בלבד. ומותר הוא בדם מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top">'''11''' [This law applies to] a limb or meat, that is separated from a domesticated animal or a [wild] animal; However, it appears to me that a Noahide is not given capital punishment for a "torn limb" from a bird.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp;אחד האבר או הבשר, הפורש מן הבהמה או מן החיה; אבל העוף, ייראה לי, שאין בן נח נהרג על אבר מן החי ממנו.</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top">'''12''' One who slaughters a domesticated animal, even if one severs the two signs [that would make it properly killed under Jewish law], as long as it moves convulsively, the limbs and meat which are separated from it are forbidden to a Noahide because of [breaking the law of a] "torn limb"<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Kosher Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; השוחט את הבהמה, אפילו שחט בה שני הסימנין, כל זמן שהיא מפרכסת, אבר ובשר הפורשין ממנה אסורין לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''13''' Everyting that is prohibited in Jewish law concerning a "torn limb" is also prohibited according to Noahide law. There are further prohibitions in Noahide law that are not in Jewish law: Noahide law includes domesticated animals and [wild] animals whether they are from a kosher or non-kosher species. Also, a limb or meat that is separated from an animal that is [still] moving convulsively, even though it has been killed properly according to Jewish law by severing the two signs – this is forbidden to a Noahide because it is considered a "torn limb".</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יג</b>&nbsp;כל שאסור על ישראל משום אבר מן החי, אסור על בני נוח. ויש שבני נח חייבין עליו, ולא ישראל: שבני נח אחד בהמה וחיה, בין טהורה בין טמאה, חייבין עליה, משום אבר מן החי ומשום בשר מן החי; ואבר ובשר הפורשין מן המפרכסת, אף על פי ששחט בה ישראל שני הסימנין, הרי זה אסור לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top">'''14''' In what way must [Noahides] fulfill the commandment to establish courts of justice? They are obligated to set up judges and magistrates in every major city to judge according to the above six laws, to warn the nation [regarding their observance]; A noahide who breaks one of these seven laws – is executed by decapitation. [additional text: for example: an idolater, or blasphemer, or muderer, or someone who has had one of the six illicit relations according to [Noahide law], or robbed even the worth of a ''peruta'', or consumed any amount of "torn limb" or "torn meat", or witnessed someone breaking one of these laws, and did not judge and sentance him – all these people are executed by decapitation.] For this all the inhabitants of Shechem were liable for capital punishment. This was because Shechem kidnapped [someone] and they witnessed this and knew [what he had done], but did not judge him. A Noahide is [may be] executed [on the basis of the testimony of] one witness and [the verdict of] a single judge. No prior warning [is required]. Relatives may serve as witnesses. However, a woman may not serve as a witness or a judge [in Noahide law].</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יד</b>&nbsp;וכיצד הן מצווין על הדינים? חייבין להושיב דיינין ושופטים בכל פלך ופלך לדון בשש מצוות אלו, ולהזהיר את העם; ובן נח שעבר על אחת משבע מצוות אלו, ייהרג בסיף. כיצד: אחד העובד עבודה זרה, או שבירך את השם, או ששפך דם, או שבעל אחת משש עריות שלהם, או שגזל אפילו פחות משווה פרוטה, או שאכל כל שהוא מאבר מן החי או בשר מן החי, או שראה אחד שעבר על אחת מאלו ולא דנו והרגו, הרי זה ייהרג בסיף. ומפני זה נתחייבו כל בעלי שכם הריגה, שהרי שכם גזל, והם ראו, וידעו, ולא דנוהו. ובן נח נהרג בעד אחד, ובדיין אחד, בלא התראה, ועל פי קרובים; אבל לא בעדות אישה, ולא תדון אישה להם.</big></div></td><br />
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<br />
== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10 ==<br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%"></td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big>הלכות מלכים ומלחמות פרק י</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''1''' A Noahide that inadvertently violates one of the commandments given to him, is exempt from all [punishment], except for inadvertent homicide. In that case, if the redeemer of the blood killed [the inadvertent killer], he is not punished for it; nor is [may the inadvertent killer seek asylum] in a city of refuge; but their courts may not put him to death. What are we referring to? When he accidentally transgresses one of the commandments and without intent, for example one who sleeps with another man's wife, and imagines that she is his own wife or unmarried. But if he knew that it was another man's wife, but did not know that she was forbidden to him, or it arose in his heart that this was a permitted matter to him; or concerning killing, if he didn't know that it was forbidden to kill; behold this is like an intentional action, and he is given capital punishment. It is not considered as an inadvertent violation, because he must learn [these laws], and he did not.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp;בן נח ששגג באחת ממצוותיו, פטור מכלום: חוץ מרוצח בשגגה, שאם הרגו גואל הדם, אינו נהרג עליו; ואין לו עיר מקלט, אבל בתי דיניהן אין ממיתין אותו. במה דברים אמורים? בשוגג באחת ממצוות ועבר בלא כוונה, כגון שבעל אשת חברו, ודימה שהיא אשתו או פנויה. אבל אם ידע שהיא אשת חברו, ולא ידע שהיא אסורה עליו אלא עלה על ליבו שדבר זה מותר לו, וכן אם הרג, והוא לא ידע שאסור להרוג, הרי זה קרוב למזיד, ונהרג. ולא תיחשב זו להם שגגה, מפני שהיה לו ללמוד, ולא למד.</big></div></td><br />
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<tr><br />
<td valign="top">'''2''' A Noahide who is forced by compulsion to transgress one of the commandments given to him, he is permitted to transgress. Even if forced to serve idolatry, he may serve, according to [principle] that they are not commanded on ''[[Kiddush Hashem]]''. And a minor, deaf-mute or fool, are never punished, because they are not [bound by any] commandments.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>&nbsp;בן נח שאנסו אנס לעבור על אחת ממצוותיו, מותר לו לעבור: אפילו נאנס לעבוד עבודה זרה, עובד, לפי שאינן מצווין על קידוש השם. ולעולם אין עונשין מהן לא קטן, ולא חירש, ולא שוטה, לפי שאינן בני מצוות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''3''' Noahide that converts, is circumcised and immerses [in a mivkah], and afterward wants to return from [following] after Hashem [as a Jew], and to be ''Ger Toshov'' only, like he was previously, [the court] does not heed his request: Instead he must be like an Israelite in all matters, or he receives capital punishment. If he was a minor when he was immersed by the court, he may object [to his conversion] at the time that he attains majority, and he is allowed to become a ''Ger Toshov'' only. But if he does not object at the time he attains majority, he is not allowed to object at a later time, but he is considered a full convert. Accordingly if [a Jew has relations with] a young girl that was immersed by court of law, [she is entitled to all] monies specified by the ''ketubah'', or fines [according to] rape or seduction, [however these monies are] are placed under the custody of the court until she attains majority and does not object to her conversion. Lest she benefit by obtaining majority and objecting [to her conversion], in this situation she obtains monies as a non-Jew [outside of Jewish law] that she was only entitled to according to Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שנתגייר, ומל וטבל, ואחר כך רצה לחזור מאחרי ה', ולהיות גר תושב בלבד כשהיה מקודם, אין שומעין לו: אלא יהיה כישראל לכל דבר, או ייהרג. ואם היה קטן כשהטבילו אותו בית דין, יכול למחות בשעה שיגדיל, ויהיה גר תושב בלבד; וכיון שלא מיחה בשעתו, שוב אינו ממחה, אלא הרי הוא גר צדק. לפיכך אם בא לקטנה שהטבילוה בית דין, כסף כתובתה, או קנס אונס או מפתה, יהיה הכל תחת יד בית דין, עד שתגדיל ולא תמחה בגירות: שמא תיטול, ותגדיל ותמחה; ונמצאת זו אוכלת בגיותה מעות שאין לה זכות בהן, אלא בדיני ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''4''' noahide that curses and hashem , or that served idolatry , or that comes on wife of his friend , or that killing his friend , and converts , exempt . killing jew , or that comes on wife of israel , and converts , required ; and they kill him on jew , and is decapitated him on wife of israel that master of , that behold have changed the laws concerning him .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, או שעבד עבודה זרה, או שבא על אשת חברו, או שהרג חברו, ונתגייר, פטור. הרג בן ישראל, או שבא על אשת ישראל, ונתגייר, חייב; והורגין אותו על בן ישראל, וחונקין אותו על אשת ישראל שבעל, שהרי נשתנה דינו.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''5''' already we have explained that all deaths of noahides in sword , except wife of israel, betrothed maiden , he is stoned , and if another mistress that entered to canopy beforehand that consummated , he is strangled .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;כבר ביארנו שכל מיתת בני נח בסיף, אלא אם כן בעל אשת ישראל נערה מאורסה, ייסקל, ואם בעלה אחר שנכנסה לחופה קודם שתיבעל, ייחנק.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''6''' according to kaballah , that noahides are forbbiden in cross-breeding of animal , and in grafting of tree only ; and naught are killed on account of them . and non-jew that struck israel , even suffering in him , although that he required death , doesn't killed .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp; מפי הקבלה, שבני נח אסורין בהרבעת בהמה, ובהרכבת אילן בלבד; ואין נהרגין עליהן. וגוי שהכה ישראל, אפילו חבל בו, אף על פי שהוא חייב מיתה, אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' the circumcision , was commanded in it avraham and his seed only , that as it is said " ye and your seed after you , to their generations " ( genesis 17:9 ). go out his seed of ishmael , that as it is said " because in yitzkhaq , will be called to you seed " ( genesis 21:12 ). and go out esav , that behold yitzkhaq said to ya'aqov " and he will give to you and blessing of avraham , to you and to your seed " ( genesis 28:4 ), from the principle that he by himself his seed of avraham the hold in his faith and his ways the straight , and they the obligated ones in circumcision . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp; המילה, נצטווה בה אברהם וזרעו בלבד, שנאמר "אתה וזרעך אחריך, לדורותם" (בראשית יז,ט). יצא זרעו של ישמעאל, שנאמר "כי ביצחק, ייקרא לך זרע" (בראשית כא,יב). ויצא עשיו, שהרי יצחק אמר ליעקוב "וייתן לך את ברכת אברהם, לך ולזרעך" (בראשית כח,ד), מכלל שהוא לבדו זרעו של אברהם המחזיק בדתו ודרכו הישרה, והם המחוייבין במילה.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' they say sages that children of qeturah , that they his seed of avraham that they came another ishmael and yitzkhaq , are obligated in circumcision . and since and they have been mixed today children of ishmael in children of qeturah , they are obligated all in circumcision in eighth ; and naught are killed about her .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp; אמרו חכמים שבני קטורה, שהם זרעו של אברהם שבאו אחר ישמעאל ויצחק, חייבין במילה. והואיל ונתערבו היום בני ישמעאל בבני קטורה, יתחייבו הכל במילה בשמיני; ואין נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' non-jew that business in torah , required death ; not he shall busy himself except in their seven commandments only . and also non-jew that sabbath , even direction from the days of the secular , if he did him for himself aslike sabbath , required death ; and necessary naught say if he did festival for himself . like to to him of matter : naught allowing them to innovate custom , and do commandments to themselves from their intelligence , except or let there be full convert and he will receive all the commandments , or stand in his statutes and not add and not detract . and if business in torah , or sabbath , or innovated matter , beat him and they are punished him , and inform him that he required death on this ; but doesn't killed . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; גוי שעסק בתורה, חייב מיתה; לא יעסוק אלא בשבע מצוות שלהן בלבד. וכן גוי ששבת, אפילו ביום מימות החול, אם עשה אותו לעצמו כמו שבת, חייב מיתה; ואין צריך לומר אם עשה מועד לעצמו. כללו של דבר: אין מניחין אותן לחדש דת, ולעשות מצוות לעצמן מדעתן, אלא או יהיה גר צדק ויקבל כל המצוות, או יעמוד בתורתו ולא יוסיף ולא יגרע. ואם עסק בתורה, או שבת, או חידש דבר, מכין אותו ועונשין אותו, ומודיעין אותו שהוא חייב מיתה על זה; אבל אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' noahide that wants do command from rest commandments the torah , amphoral to receive reward , naught prevent him do her like required . and if he brings ascend , from receive from him . given charity , from receive from him ; and it appears me that given her to poor of israel , since and he sustained from israel , and command on to support him . but pronounced that given charity , from receive from him , and given her to poor of nations . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; בן נח שרצה לעשות מצוה משאר מצוות התורה, כדי לקבל שכר, אין מונעין אותו לעשות אותה כהלכתה. ואם הביא עולה, מקבלין ממנו. נתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו; וייראה לי שנותנין אותה לעניי ישראל, הואיל והוא ניזון מישראל, ומצוה עליהם להחיותו. אבל הגוי שנתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו, ונותנין אותה לעניי גויים.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' are obligated court of law of israel , to place judges to if only the converts the residents , to judge to them according to judgements if only , amphoral that not decadent the world . if saw court of law that they will set up their judges of them , setting up ; and if saw that they will set up to them from israel , they will set up . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; חייבין בית דין של ישראל, להעמיד שופטים לאלו [[הגרים התושבים]], לדון להן על פי משפטים אלו, כדי שלא יישחת העולם. אם ראו בית דין שיעמידו שופטיהם מהן, מעמידין; ואם ראו שיעמידו להן מישראל, יעמידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' two of nations that they came to your presence to judge in laws of israel , and they want both of them , judge to them judgement torah . the one desire , and the one doesn't desire , naught compelled him to judge except in their laws . there was israel and non-jew , if there is privilege to israel in their laws , judge to him in their laws and they say to him , so your laws ; and if there is privilege to israel in our law , judge to him judgement torah and they say to him , so our law . and it appears me that naught do thus to resident alien , except always judge to him in their laws . and also it appears me that customary nation converts of resident by way of country , and philanthropy like israel , that behold we commanded to support him , that as it is said " to proselyte that in your gates give it to them and eat it " ( deuteronomy 14:21). and this that they say sages , naught compelling to them peace , in nations , not in resident alien . even the nations , command us sages to visit their sick , and to bury their dead with dead of israel , and to support poor of at all poor of israel , because ways of peace : behold as it is said " benefit Hashem to all ; and merciful , on all actions " ( psalms 145, 9 ), and as it is said " its ways , amenity ; and all its paths , peace " ( proverbs 3 , 17 ). </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; שני גויים שבאו לפניך לדון בדיני ישראל, ורצו שניהן, דנים להם דין תורה. האחד רוצה, והאחד אינו רוצה, אין כופין אותו לדון אלא בדיניהן. היה ישראל וגוי, אם יש זכות לישראל בדיניהן, דנים לו בדיניהם ואומרים לו, כך דיניכם; ואם יש זכות לישראל בדינינו, דנין לו דין תורה ואומרים לו, כך דינינו. וייראה לי שאין עושין כן לגר תושב, אלא לעולם דנים לו בדיניהם. וכן ייראה לי שנוהגין עם גרי תושב בדרך ארץ, וגמילות חסדים כישראל, שהרי אנו מצווין להחיותו, שנאמר "לגר אשר בשעריך תיתננה ואכלה" (דברים יד,כא). וזה שאמרו חכמים, אין כופלין להן שלום, בגויים, לא בגר תושב. אפילו הגויים, ציוו חכמים לבקר חוליהם, ולקבור מתיהם עם מתי ישראל, ולפרנס ענייהם בכלל עניי ישראל, מפני דרכי שלום: הרי נאמר "טוב ה', לכל; ורחמיו, על כל מעשיו" (תהילים קמה,ט), ונאמר "דרכיה, דרכי נועם; וכל נתיבותיה, שלום" (משלי ג,יז).</big></div></td><br />
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==See Also==<br />
* [[Christianity and Noahide Law]]<br />
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==References ==<br />
<references /><br />
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'''A note on the translation.''' The English translation is entirely new, with an emphasis allowing word for word comparison with the Hebrew. The Hebrew translation is based on a comparison of three modern texts, generally favoring the most ancient Yemenite manuscripts. Hebrew is written in full (designed for reading without points) except as customary. The notes are drawn from various sources, among them the excellent work of "Maimonides Mishneh Torah: a new translation with commentaries, notes, illustrations and index" by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, Mozaim Publishing Corporation, 1978.<br />
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Copyright © 2007, UNC Inc. All Rights Reserved.<br />
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[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Maimonides%27_Law_of_Noahides&diff=7749
Maimonides' Law of Noahides
2008-05-17T20:33:25Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>Please note when reading this translation that while [[Maimonides]] is the major source of a comprehensive Code of Jewish Law, not all authorities follow his rulings and other opinions have made their way as law. <br />
<br />
Concerning Maimonides obligation of Jews to seek (or force) observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles. A simple reading of the rules of Maimonides' would indicate that Jews or a Jewish court are obligated to coerce Noachides to observe their laws. Such is not the only way, however, to interpret Maimonides' statements. See Rabbi Michael J. Broyde in his "The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review" where the conclusion is that such a view is not supported by Jewish Law.<ref>[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]</ref>. The book "Torah For Gentiles" by Elisheva Barre makes a clear point that the "coercion" Maimonides talks about applies only to the Canaanite nations, as a condition for their becoming Resident Strangers (see page 22-29 and page 171 note 18). <br />
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Concerning Maimonides exclusive use of capital punishment for Noahide violations: most rabbinic authorities disagree with Maimonides, and hold that it means "punishments up to and including capital punishment"; that a system of fines is meant to be set up; and courts set up by Noahides themselves, not Jewish law, should determine the structure and severity of Noahide punishments in whatever manner best serves justice for their particular country.<ref>[[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</ref>. Barre's book "Torah for Gentiles" analyzes and explains the application of the Noahide laws according to Maimonides. <br />
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The question as to what constitutes idolatry today, and whether Christianity constitutes idolatry or a lesser form of ''partnership'', became a matter of debate in Jewish halachic literature. In any event, it has never, at any time in our history, been suggested that Christians be prosecuted according to these laws, because "It is forbidden to kill someone who is not at war with us" (Laws of Idolatry X 1).<ref>[[Christianity and Noahide Law]]</ref><br />
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== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 8 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big>הלכות מלכים ומלחמותיהם פרק ח</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''9''' A ''[[Yefas to'ar]]'' that does not want to put down idolatry, after the twelve month<ref>The [[Kesef Mishneh]] asks why a ''Yefas to'ar'' is allowed to worship for such a long period of time when this tolerance is not shown in any other case. The commentaries suggest that this leniency was granted because she was taken by force as prisoner during battle.</ref> receives capital punishment.<ref>Devarim 21:14 says that if the ''Yefas to'ar'' is released, "send her to herself". On this the [[Midrash HaGadol]] comments "send her to herself, but not to her gods", i.e. she must be executed if she remains in idolatry.</ref> Likewise with the city that submits, no treaty is made with them until they have denounced idolatry, destroyed all its places, and have taken upon themselves the rest of the commandments<ref>Here it refers to idolatry, hence the reference to the "other" six commandments. See Law of Kings and their Wars 6:1</ref> that were commanded to ''[[Bnei Noah|Noahides]]''. Any non-Jew who does not accept the laws that were commanded to Noahides receives capital punishment<ref>See Law of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> if he is within our jurisdiction.<ref>Commentaries: our ''undisputed'' authority. In Laws of Idolatry 10:6, the Rambam says that no idolaters should be allowed to live among Jews "when the hand of Israel is powerful over them." The extent of the authority, or under what conditions, is a matter of dispute among the commentaries. During the Second Temple period, it appears that the Sages did not exercise this authority. The consensus of halachic opinion holds that this ruling of the Rambam does not apply today, and may require further clarification and limitation.</ref><br />
:See also: [[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; יפת תואר שלא רצת להניח עבודה זרה לאחר השנים עשר חודש, הורגין אותה. וכן עיר שהשלימה, אין כורתין להן ברית, עד שיכפרו בעבודה זרה, ויאבדו כל מקומותיה, ויקבלו שאר המצוות שנצטוו בני נח: שכל גוי שלא קיבל מצוות שנצטוו בני נח, הורגין אותו, אם ישנו תחת ידינו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''10''' ''[[Moshe Rabbenu]]'' gave the Torah and the commandments as an inheritance only to Israel<ref>See Laws of Kings and their Wars 10:9 where is explains that a non-Jew who studies Torah is worthy of death at the hand of Heaven, under certain conditions.</ref>, as it is written: "[The Torah is...] an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:4). Anyone who wants to may convert from the other nations, as it is written "as with you, [the same shall be] as with the convert" (Numbers 15:15). Anyone who does not wish to is not compelled to accept the Torah and commandments. Instead ''Moshe Rabbenu'' commanded, at the word of the Almighty, to compel all those who come into the world to accept the commandments which were commanded to Noah.<ref>Tosefos Yom Tov (Avos 3:14) writes "as the Rambam writes, we were commanded by Moses [to compel the non-Jews to accept the Seven Laws]. If this applies to compulsion at the point of the sword, with threats of execution,... it surely applies regarding compulsion through persuasion, to lead their hearts to the will of their Creator." The Chasam Sofer (Choshen Mishpat, responsum 85) writes that it is a mitzvah to guide the gentiles in the service of G-d. However some authorities disagree and hold that the obligation is only moral, not a legal requirement, see introduction above.</ref> Anyone who will not accept, receives capital punishment.<ref>In contrast to the guidance mentioned previously, this law only applies when the Jews have undisputed authority of the Land of Israel, See Laws of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> One who accepts these [basic laws] is called: ''[[Ger Toshav]]'' in every place.<ref>According to the Rambam, the laws concerning ''Ger Toshav'' only applies when the entire (or majority) of Jewish people live in the Land of Israel (see Laws of Idolatry 10:6) and at that time non-Jews can become a ''Ger Toshav'' in any land. Other authorities disagree and hold that one may become a ''Ger Toshav'' today. Some authorities require the non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel to be considered a ''Ger Toshav''.</ref> It is necessary to receive him in front of three Torah Scholars.<ref>Three Torah Scholars constitute a rabbinical court. Some commentaries have noted that this is the same requirement for a non-Jews conversion to Judaism, inviting comparison between conversion and a "partial conversion" of the ''Ger Toshav''. Other authorities view the requirement to appear before the court as performing a legal, rather than spiritual function, pointing out that here the non-Jew is re-affirming their covenant rather than 'switching' covenants.</ref> And all who have taken upon themselves to circumcise, and twelve months have past without circumcision, behold this person is like a heretic among the nations.<ref>The Rambam, in the Laws of Kings and their Wars 10, outlines the rules governing our relationship with Jews and non-Jews. A distinction is made between non-Jews who uphold a recognized legal system based on the Seven Laws and those who are outside any recognized legal system. A non-Jew who belongs to a nation who has taken on circumcision (generally understood to refer to the Arabs), but fails to do so falls outside the relationship defined by the Seven Laws. Other texts read "this person is like the other nations", which is understood to imply that someone who agrees to circumcise himself, i.e. convert to Judaism, but twelve months elapse without circumcising himself, his original commitment to convert is no longer taken seriously and he reverts to an ordinary non-Jew.</ref><br />
:See also:''[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]''</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; משה רבינו לא הנחיל התורה והמצוות אלא לישראל, שנאמר "מורשה, קהילת יעקוב" (דברים לג,ד), ולכל הרוצה להתגייר משאר האומות, שנאמר "ככם כגר" (במדבר טו,טו). אבל מי שלא רצה, אין כופין אותו לקבל תורה ומצוות. וכן ציווה משה רבינו מפי הגבורה, לכוף את כל באי העולם לקבל כל מצוות שנצטווה נח, וכל מי שלא קיבל, ייהרג. והמקבל אותם, הוא הנקרא גר תושב בכל מקום. וצריך לקבל עליו בפני שלושה חברים. וכל המקבל עליו למול, ועברו עליו שנים עשר חודש ולא מל, הרי זה כמין שבאומות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''11''' Everyone who accepts the [[Seven Laws]] and is careful to do them, this person is one of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'' (very pious of the nations of the world), and he has portion in the world to come. This applies to one who accepts them and will do them because the ''[[Kodosh Baruch Hu]]'' commanded them in the Torah, and informed us by means of Moshe Rabbenu, that Noahides were previously commanded concerning these laws. But if he does them because of an intellectual decision, then he is not a ''Ger Toshav'', and is not of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'', he is [only] one of their ''[[Chochmei Umos HaOlam]]'' (wise men of the nations of the world).</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; כל המקבל שבע מצוות ונזהר לעשותן, הרי זה מחסידי אומות העולם, ויש לו חלק לעולם הבא. והוא שיקבל אותן ויעשה אותן מפני שציווה בהן הקדוש ברוך הוא בתורה, והודיענו על ידי משה רבינו, שבני נח מקודם נצטוו בהן. אבל אם עשאן מפני הכרע הדעת, אין זה גר תושב, ואינו מחסידי אומות העולם אלא מחכמיהם.</big></div></td><br />
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<br />
== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE">הלכות מלכים ומלחמות פרק ט</div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''1''' ''Adam HaRishon'' was commanded in six things: <br />
* [the prohibition] concerning idolatry<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning blasphemy<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning spilling of blood<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning forbidden relations<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning robbery<br />
* and [the injunction of establishing courts of] justice. <br />
Even though all these were received into our hands from ''Moshe Rabbenu'', and the intelect naturally inclines towards them – from a general reading of the words of Torah, they can see that they were commanded in these. [G-d] added to Noah [the commandment] concerning a torn limb, as it is written "From the flesh, its life is in the blood, do not eat" (Genesis 9:4). This makes seven commandments. This is how matters stood in the world until Avraham. Avraham came and was commanded other things beyond this, in circumcision and he prayed the morning prayers. Yitzchak began tithing, and added the afternoon prayers. Yaakov added [the prohibition of not eating] the sciatic nerve and prayed the evening prayers. In Egypt, Amram was commanded other things, until ''Moshe Rabbenu'' came and completed [the giving] of the Torah, by his hand.<br />
:See also: [[Chart of Maimonides' Noahide Laws]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp; על שישה דברים נצטווה אדם הראשון: על עבודה זרה, ועל ברכת השם, ועל שפיכות דמים, ועל גילוי עריות, ועל הגזל, ועל הדינים. אף על פי שכולן קבלה הן בידינו ממשה רבינו, והדעת נוטה להן, מכלל דברי התורה, ייראה שעל אלו נצטוו. הוסיף לנח אבר מן החי, שנאמר "אך בשר, בנפשו דמו לא תאכלו" (בראשית ט,ד). נמצאו שבע מצוות. וכן היה הדבר בכל העולם, עד אברהם נצטווה יתר על אלו במילה, והוא התפלל שחרית. ויצחק הפריש מעשר, והוסיף תפילה אחרת לפנות היום. ויעקוב הוסיף גיד הנשה, והתפלל ערבית. ובמצריים נצטווה עמרם במצוות יתרות, עד שבא משה רבינו ונשלמה תורה על ידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''2''' A Noahide that serves idolatry – is liable. Who [are we refering to]? One that serves idolatry in the normal way. All who serve idolatry and would be given capital punishment by a Jewish court, a Noahide is also given capital punishment. All who a Jewish court would not give capital punishment, neither is a Noahide given capital punishment. Nevertheless, even though [a Noahide] would not be executed [for these forms of worship], he is forbidden [to engage] in all of them. It is not allowed for them to erect an monument, plant a 'holy tree', nor to make images [of people] and the like, [even though they are only] for the sake of decoration.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>בן נח&nbsp; שעבד עבודה זרה, חייב, והוא? שיעבוד כדרכה. וכל עבודה זרה שבית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, בן נח נהרג עליה. וכל שאין בית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, אין בן נח נהרג עליה; ואף על פי שאינו נהרג, אסור בכל. ואין מניחין אותם להקים מצבה, ולא ליטע אשרה, ולא לעשות צורות וכיוצא בהן לנואי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''3''' A Noahide who curses G-d's name, whether by the particular name of G-d, or another name, in any language – is liable, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, בין שבירך בשם המיוחד, בין שבירך בכינוי, בכל לשון, חייב: מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''4''' A Noahide that murdered someone, even if it was a fetus in its mother's womb – he is given capital punishment [in retribution] for its [death]. Even if the person killed was terminally ill, or bound and placed before a lion, or allowed him to die of starvation – since he caused someone to die in some manner, he is given capital punishment. Even if someone kills a pursuer, when he could have been saved by [simply wounding] one of [the pursuer's] limbs, he is given capital punishment, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שהרג נפש, אפילו עובר במעי אימו, נהרג עליו. וכן אם הרג טריפה, או שכפתו ונתנו לפני הארי, או שהניחו ברעב עד שמת, הואיל והמית מכל מקום, נהרג. וכן אם הרג רודף שיכול להצילו באחד מאבריו, נהרג עליו, מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''5''' Six illicit relations are forbidden to a Noahide: his mother, wife of his father, a married woman, his maternal sister, a male, or a beast, as it is written "Therefore, a man shall leave his father" (Genesis 2:24) this is <br />
* ["his father"] - the wife of his father <br />
* "and his mother" – as understood<br />
* "and cleave to his wife" - not the wife of his neighbor<br />
* "his wife [woman]" - not a male<br />
* "and they shall become one flesh" - to exclude beasts, animals or birds, that cannot be "one flesh"<br />
* ["materal sister"] - that is to say "She is my sister, my father's daughter, but not my mother's. [Thus,] she became my wife." (Genesis 20:12)</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;שש עריות אסורות על בני נוח, האם, ואשת האב, ואשת איש, ואחותו מאימו, וזכור, ובהמה: שנאמר "על כן, יעזוב איש, את אביו" (בראשית ב,כד), זו אשת אביו; "ואת אימו", כמשמעה; "ודבק באשתו", ולא באשת חברו; "ודבק באשתו", לא בזכור; "והיו לבשר אחד", להוציא בהמה חיה ועוף שאין הוא והם בשר אחד; ונאמר "אחותי בת אבי היא, אך, לא בת אימי; ותהי לי, לאישה" (בראשית כ,יב).</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''6''' A Noahide is liable [for relations with his mother even though] she was seduced or raped by his father [and never married to him], for this is [even so] his mother in every respect, and he is liable for [relations with] the wife of his father, even after the father's death. He is liable for homosexuality, whether [with someone] young or old, for bestiality, whether young or old. He is given capital punishment, but the animal is not killed – [Noahide law] was not commanded in the killing of the animal, this is only in Jewish law.<br><br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על מפותת אביו, ואנוסת אביו, הרי היא אימו מכל מקום. וחייב על אשת אביו, אפילו לאחר מיתת אביו. וחייב על הזכור, בין קטן בין גדול; ועל הבהמה, בין קטנה בין גדולה. והוא נהרג לבדו, ואין הורגין את הבהמה, שלא נצטוו בהריגת בהמה, אלא ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' A Noahide is not liable for [breaking the law] of "neighbor's wife" unless they engage in relations in the normal manner after the marriage had been consummated. But, if she was enagaged or had undergone a wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is not liable for [capital punishment] over her, as is is written: "for she has been possessed by [her] husband." (Genesis 20:3). When do these things speak about? When a Noahide man sleeps with a Noahide woman. But, a non-Jew who sleeps with a [married] Jewish woman, in normal or even abnormal manner, is liable [and falls under the jurisdiction of Jewish law:]. If [a non-Jew slept] with an engaged woman – he is stoned to death, as per Jewish law. If he sleeps with her after she has undergone the wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is strangled to death, as per Jewish law. However, if he sleeps with a Jewish woman after her marriage has been consummated, this falls under the law of "neighbor's wife" and he executed by beheading, [as per Noahide law].<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law as International Law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp;אין בן נח חייב על אשת חברו, עד שיבוא עליה כדרכה אחר שנבעלה לבעלה. אבל מאורסה, או שנכנסה לחופה ועדיין לא נבעלה, אין חייבין עליה, שנאמר "והיא, בעולת בעל" (בראשית כ,ג). במה דברים אמורים? בבן נח שבא על בת נוח. אבל גוי שבא על הישראלית, בין כדרכה בין שלא כדרכה, חייב. ואם הייתה נערה מאורסה, נסקל עליה, כדיני ישראל; בא עליה אחר שנכנסה לחופה, ולא נבעלה, הרי זה בחנק, כדיני ישראל. אבל אם בא על אשת ישראל אחר שנבעלה, הרי זה כמי שבא על אשת גוי חברו, וייהרג בסיף.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' A Noahide who singles out a maid-servants for his slave and [afterwards] sleeps with her – he is given capital punishment because of her, for [breaking the law of] "neighbor's wife". He is not liable [for sleeping] with her, until [the marriage] has been officiated and become public knowledge, and everyone refers to her as "the wife of the slave so-and-so." When do [relations with] her return to being permitted? When he separates her from his slave and uncovers her hair in the market place. When is a married [Noahide] woman considered a divorced woman as [in Jewish law]? When he removes her from his home and sends her on her own, or when she leaves his domain and goes away. [In Noahide law] there is no [requirement for] a divorce in writing, nor is the matter at the husbands sole discretion, rather anytime that either [the husband] or [the wife] decides to separate from each other – they may separated [and then, are no longer considered as married.]<br />
:See also: [[Divorce in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp;בן נח שייחד שפחה לעבדו, הרי זה נהרג עליה, משום אשת חברו. ואינו חייב עליה, עד שיפשוט הדבר ויאמרו לה העם, זו דבית עבד פלוני. ומאימתיי תחזור להיתרה, משיפרישנה מעבדו, ויפרע ראשה בשוק. ומאימתיי תהיה אשת חברו כגרושה שלנו? משיוציאה מביתו וישלחנה לעצמה, או משתצא היא מתחת רשותו ותלך לה: שאין לה גירושין בכתב; ואין הדבר תלוי בו בלבד, אלא כל זמן שירצה הוא או היא לפרוש זה מזה, פורשין.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' A Noahide is liable for [breaking the law of] robbery whether he stole from a non-Jew or from a Jew. One who robs [forcibly] or steals money, a kidnaper, an [employer who] withholds the wages of a worker, and the like, even a worker who eats [from his employer's produce] not during working hours – in all these, he is liable and considered a thief. This differs in Jewish law. He is liable even [for stealing something] worth less than a ''perutah''; A Noahide who stole less than the worth of a ''perutah'' and another stole it from him – they are both given capital punishment because of it.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Legal Measurements]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על הגזל, בין שגזל גוי בין שגזל ישראל. ואחד הגוזל, או הגונב ממון, או גונב נפש, או הכובש שכר שכיר וכיוצא בו, אפילו פועל שאכל שלא בשעת מלאכה, על הכל הוא חייב, והרי הוא בכלל גזלן: מה שאין כן בישראל. וכן חייב, על פחות משווה פרוטה; ובן נח שגזל פחות משווה פרוטה, ובא אחר וגזלה ממנו, שניהן נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' And also he is liable for [breaking the law of] "torn limb" or "torn meat" – in any amount, for [the specifications of] minimum amounts is defined only in Jewish law [and not Noahide law]. He is permitted blood from a living creature.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Blood in Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp;וכן חייב על אבר מן החי, ועל בשר מן החי בכל שהוא: שלא ניתנו השיעורין, אלא לישראל בלבד. ומותר הוא בדם מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' [This law applies to] a limb or meat, that is separated from a domesticated animal or a [wild] animal; However, it appears to me that a Noahide is not given capital punishment for a "torn limb" from a bird.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp;אחד האבר או הבשר, הפורש מן הבהמה או מן החיה; אבל העוף, ייראה לי, שאין בן נח נהרג על אבר מן החי ממנו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' One who slaughters a domesticated animal, even if one severs the two signs [that would make it properly killed under Jewish law], as long as it moves convulsively, the limbs and meat which are separated from it are forbidden to a Noahide because of [breaking the law of a] "torn limb"<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Kosher Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; השוחט את הבהמה, אפילו שחט בה שני הסימנין, כל זמן שהיא מפרכסת, אבר ובשר הפורשין ממנה אסורין לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''13''' Everyting that is prohibited in Jewish law concerning a "torn limb" is also prohibited according to Noahide law. There are further prohibitions in Noahide law that are not in Jewish law: Noahide law includes domesticated animals and [wild] animals whether they are from a kosher or non-kosher species. Also, a limb or meat that is separated from an animal that is [still] moving convulsively, even though it has been killed properly according to Jewish law by severing the two signs – this is forbidden to a Noahide because it is considered a "torn limb".</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יג</b>&nbsp;כל שאסור על ישראל משום אבר מן החי, אסור על בני נוח. ויש שבני נח חייבין עליו, ולא ישראל: שבני נח אחד בהמה וחיה, בין טהורה בין טמאה, חייבין עליה, משום אבר מן החי ומשום בשר מן החי; ואבר ובשר הפורשין מן המפרכסת, אף על פי ששחט בה ישראל שני הסימנין, הרי זה אסור לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''14''' In what way must [Noahides] fulfill the commandment to establish courts of justice? They are obligated to set up judges and magistrates in every major city to judge according to the above six laws, to warn the nation [regarding their observance]; A noahide who breaks one of these seven laws – is executed by decapitation. [additional text: for example: an idolater, or blasphemer, or muderer, or someone who has had one of the six illicit relations according to [Noahide law], or robbed even the worth of a ''peruta'', or consumed any amount of "torn limb" or "torn meat", or witnessed someone breaking one of these laws, and did not judge and sentance him – all these people are executed by decapitation.] For this all the inhabitants of Shechem were liable for capital punishment. This was because Shechem kidnapped [someone] and they witnessed this and knew [what he had done], but did not judge him. A Noahide is [may be] executed [on the basis of the testimony of] one witness and [the verdict of] a single judge. No prior warning [is required]. Relatives may serve as witnesses. However, a woman may not serve as a witness or a judge [in Noahide law].</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יד</b>&nbsp;וכיצד הן מצווין על הדינים? חייבין להושיב דיינין ושופטים בכל פלך ופלך לדון בשש מצוות אלו, ולהזהיר את העם; ובן נח שעבר על אחת משבע מצוות אלו, ייהרג בסיף. כיצד: אחד העובד עבודה זרה, או שבירך את השם, או ששפך דם, או שבעל אחת משש עריות שלהם, או שגזל אפילו פחות משווה פרוטה, או שאכל כל שהוא מאבר מן החי או בשר מן החי, או שראה אחד שעבר על אחת מאלו ולא דנו והרגו, הרי זה ייהרג בסיף. ומפני זה נתחייבו כל בעלי שכם הריגה, שהרי שכם גזל, והם ראו, וידעו, ולא דנוהו. ובן נח נהרג בעד אחד, ובדיין אחד, בלא התראה, ועל פי קרובים; אבל לא בעדות אישה, ולא תדון אישה להם.</big></div></td><br />
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<br />
== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10 ==<br />
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<td valign="top">'''1''' A Noahide that inadvertently violates one of the commandments given to him, is exempt from all [punishment], except for inadvertent homicide. In that case, if the redeemer of the blood killed [the inadvertent killer], he is not punished for it; nor is [may the inadvertent killer seek asylum] in a city of refuge; but their courts may not put him to death. What are we referring to? When he accidentally transgresses one of the commandments and without intent, for example one who sleeps with another man's wife, and imagines that she is his own wife or unmarried. But if he knew that it was another man's wife, but did not know that she was forbidden to him, or it arose in his heart that this was a permitted matter to him; or concerning killing, if he didn't know that it was forbidden to kill; behold this is like an intentional action, and he is given capital punishment. It is not considered as an inadvertent violation, because he must learn [these laws], and he did not.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp;בן נח ששגג באחת ממצוותיו, פטור מכלום: חוץ מרוצח בשגגה, שאם הרגו גואל הדם, אינו נהרג עליו; ואין לו עיר מקלט, אבל בתי דיניהן אין ממיתין אותו. במה דברים אמורים? בשוגג באחת ממצוות ועבר בלא כוונה, כגון שבעל אשת חברו, ודימה שהיא אשתו או פנויה. אבל אם ידע שהיא אשת חברו, ולא ידע שהיא אסורה עליו אלא עלה על ליבו שדבר זה מותר לו, וכן אם הרג, והוא לא ידע שאסור להרוג, הרי זה קרוב למזיד, ונהרג. ולא תיחשב זו להם שגגה, מפני שהיה לו ללמוד, ולא למד.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''2''' A Noahide who is forced by compulsion to transgress one of the commandments given to him, he is permitted to transgress. Even if forced to serve idolatry, he may serve, according to [principle] that they are not commanded on ''[[Kiddush Hashem]]''. And a minor, deaf-mute or fool, are never punished, because they are not [bound by any] commandments.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>&nbsp;בן נח שאנסו אנס לעבור על אחת ממצוותיו, מותר לו לעבור: אפילו נאנס לעבוד עבודה זרה, עובד, לפי שאינן מצווין על קידוש השם. ולעולם אין עונשין מהן לא קטן, ולא חירש, ולא שוטה, לפי שאינן בני מצוות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''3''' Noahide that converts, is circumcised and immerses [in a mivkah], and afterward wants to return from [following] after Hashem [as a Jew], and to be ''Ger Toshov'' only, like he was previously, [the court] does not heed his request: Instead he must be like an Israelite in all matters, or he receives capital punishment. If he was a minor when he was immersed by the court, he may object [to his conversion] at the time that he attains majority, and he is allowed to become a ''Ger Toshov'' only. But if he does not object at the time he attains majority, he is not allowed to object at a later time, but he is considered a full convert. Accordingly if [a Jew has relations with] a young girl that was immersed by court of law, [she is entitled to all] monies specified by the ''ketubah'', or fines [according to] rape or seduction, [however these monies are] are placed under the custody of the court until she attains majority and does not object to her conversion. Lest she benefit by obtaining majority and objecting [to her conversion], in this situation she obtains monies as a non-Jew [outside of Jewish law] that she was only entitled to according to Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שנתגייר, ומל וטבל, ואחר כך רצה לחזור מאחרי ה', ולהיות גר תושב בלבד כשהיה מקודם, אין שומעין לו: אלא יהיה כישראל לכל דבר, או ייהרג. ואם היה קטן כשהטבילו אותו בית דין, יכול למחות בשעה שיגדיל, ויהיה גר תושב בלבד; וכיון שלא מיחה בשעתו, שוב אינו ממחה, אלא הרי הוא גר צדק. לפיכך אם בא לקטנה שהטבילוה בית דין, כסף כתובתה, או קנס אונס או מפתה, יהיה הכל תחת יד בית דין, עד שתגדיל ולא תמחה בגירות: שמא תיטול, ותגדיל ותמחה; ונמצאת זו אוכלת בגיותה מעות שאין לה זכות בהן, אלא בדיני ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''4''' noahide that curses and hashem , or that served idolatry , or that comes on wife of his friend , or that killing his friend , and converts , exempt . killing jew , or that comes on wife of israel , and converts , required ; and they kill him on jew , and is decapitated him on wife of israel that master of , that behold have changed the laws concerning him .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, או שעבד עבודה זרה, או שבא על אשת חברו, או שהרג חברו, ונתגייר, פטור. הרג בן ישראל, או שבא על אשת ישראל, ונתגייר, חייב; והורגין אותו על בן ישראל, וחונקין אותו על אשת ישראל שבעל, שהרי נשתנה דינו.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''5''' already we have explained that all deaths of noahides in sword , except wife of israel, betrothed maiden , he is stoned , and if another mistress that entered to canopy beforehand that consummated , he is strangled .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;כבר ביארנו שכל מיתת בני נח בסיף, אלא אם כן בעל אשת ישראל נערה מאורסה, ייסקל, ואם בעלה אחר שנכנסה לחופה קודם שתיבעל, ייחנק.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''6''' according to kaballah , that noahides are forbbiden in cross-breeding of animal , and in grafting of tree only ; and naught are killed on account of them . and non-jew that struck israel , even suffering in him , although that he required death , doesn't killed .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp; מפי הקבלה, שבני נח אסורין בהרבעת בהמה, ובהרכבת אילן בלבד; ואין נהרגין עליהן. וגוי שהכה ישראל, אפילו חבל בו, אף על פי שהוא חייב מיתה, אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' the circumcision , was commanded in it avraham and his seed only , that as it is said " ye and your seed after you , to their generations " ( genesis 17:9 ). go out his seed of ishmael , that as it is said " because in yitzkhaq , will be called to you seed " ( genesis 21:12 ). and go out esav , that behold yitzkhaq said to ya'aqov " and he will give to you and blessing of avraham , to you and to your seed " ( genesis 28:4 ), from the principle that he by himself his seed of avraham the hold in his faith and his ways the straight , and they the obligated ones in circumcision . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp; המילה, נצטווה בה אברהם וזרעו בלבד, שנאמר "אתה וזרעך אחריך, לדורותם" (בראשית יז,ט). יצא זרעו של ישמעאל, שנאמר "כי ביצחק, ייקרא לך זרע" (בראשית כא,יב). ויצא עשיו, שהרי יצחק אמר ליעקוב "וייתן לך את ברכת אברהם, לך ולזרעך" (בראשית כח,ד), מכלל שהוא לבדו זרעו של אברהם המחזיק בדתו ודרכו הישרה, והם המחוייבין במילה.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' they say sages that children of qeturah , that they his seed of avraham that they came another ishmael and yitzkhaq , are obligated in circumcision . and since and they have been mixed today children of ishmael in children of qeturah , they are obligated all in circumcision in eighth ; and naught are killed about her .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp; אמרו חכמים שבני קטורה, שהם זרעו של אברהם שבאו אחר ישמעאל ויצחק, חייבין במילה. והואיל ונתערבו היום בני ישמעאל בבני קטורה, יתחייבו הכל במילה בשמיני; ואין נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' non-jew that business in torah , required death ; not he shall busy himself except in their seven commandments only . and also non-jew that sabbath , even direction from the days of the secular , if he did him for himself aslike sabbath , required death ; and necessary naught say if he did festival for himself . like to to him of matter : naught allowing them to innovate custom , and do commandments to themselves from their intelligence , except or let there be full convert and he will receive all the commandments , or stand in his statutes and not add and not detract . and if business in torah , or sabbath , or innovated matter , beat him and they are punished him , and inform him that he required death on this ; but doesn't killed . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; גוי שעסק בתורה, חייב מיתה; לא יעסוק אלא בשבע מצוות שלהן בלבד. וכן גוי ששבת, אפילו ביום מימות החול, אם עשה אותו לעצמו כמו שבת, חייב מיתה; ואין צריך לומר אם עשה מועד לעצמו. כללו של דבר: אין מניחין אותן לחדש דת, ולעשות מצוות לעצמן מדעתן, אלא או יהיה גר צדק ויקבל כל המצוות, או יעמוד בתורתו ולא יוסיף ולא יגרע. ואם עסק בתורה, או שבת, או חידש דבר, מכין אותו ועונשין אותו, ומודיעין אותו שהוא חייב מיתה על זה; אבל אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' noahide that wants do command from rest commandments the torah , amphoral to receive reward , naught prevent him do her like required . and if he brings ascend , from receive from him . given charity , from receive from him ; and it appears me that given her to poor of israel , since and he sustained from israel , and command on to support him . but pronounced that given charity , from receive from him , and given her to poor of nations . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; בן נח שרצה לעשות מצוה משאר מצוות התורה, כדי לקבל שכר, אין מונעין אותו לעשות אותה כהלכתה. ואם הביא עולה, מקבלין ממנו. נתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו; וייראה לי שנותנין אותה לעניי ישראל, הואיל והוא ניזון מישראל, ומצוה עליהם להחיותו. אבל הגוי שנתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו, ונותנין אותה לעניי גויים.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' are obligated court of law of israel , to place judges to if only the converts the residents , to judge to them according to judgements if only , amphoral that not decadent the world . if saw court of law that they will set up their judges of them , setting up ; and if saw that they will set up to them from israel , they will set up . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; חייבין בית דין של ישראל, להעמיד שופטים לאלו [[הגרים התושבים]], לדון להן על פי משפטים אלו, כדי שלא יישחת העולם. אם ראו בית דין שיעמידו שופטיהם מהן, מעמידין; ואם ראו שיעמידו להן מישראל, יעמידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' two of nations that they came to your presence to judge in laws of israel , and they want both of them , judge to them judgement torah . the one desire , and the one doesn't desire , naught compelled him to judge except in their laws . there was israel and non-jew , if there is privilege to israel in their laws , judge to him in their laws and they say to him , so your laws ; and if there is privilege to israel in our law , judge to him judgement torah and they say to him , so our law . and it appears me that naught do thus to resident alien , except always judge to him in their laws . and also it appears me that customary nation converts of resident by way of country , and philanthropy like israel , that behold we commanded to support him , that as it is said " to proselyte that in your gates give it to them and eat it " ( deuteronomy 14:21). and this that they say sages , naught compelling to them peace , in nations , not in resident alien . even the nations , command us sages to visit their sick , and to bury their dead with dead of israel , and to support poor of at all poor of israel , because ways of peace : behold as it is said " benefit Hashem to all ; and merciful , on all actions " ( psalms 145, 9 ), and as it is said " its ways , amenity ; and all its paths , peace " ( proverbs 3 , 17 ). </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; שני גויים שבאו לפניך לדון בדיני ישראל, ורצו שניהן, דנים להם דין תורה. האחד רוצה, והאחד אינו רוצה, אין כופין אותו לדון אלא בדיניהן. היה ישראל וגוי, אם יש זכות לישראל בדיניהן, דנים לו בדיניהם ואומרים לו, כך דיניכם; ואם יש זכות לישראל בדינינו, דנין לו דין תורה ואומרים לו, כך דינינו. וייראה לי שאין עושין כן לגר תושב, אלא לעולם דנים לו בדיניהם. וכן ייראה לי שנוהגין עם גרי תושב בדרך ארץ, וגמילות חסדים כישראל, שהרי אנו מצווין להחיותו, שנאמר "לגר אשר בשעריך תיתננה ואכלה" (דברים יד,כא). וזה שאמרו חכמים, אין כופלין להן שלום, בגויים, לא בגר תושב. אפילו הגויים, ציוו חכמים לבקר חוליהם, ולקבור מתיהם עם מתי ישראל, ולפרנס ענייהם בכלל עניי ישראל, מפני דרכי שלום: הרי נאמר "טוב ה', לכל; ורחמיו, על כל מעשיו" (תהילים קמה,ט), ונאמר "דרכיה, דרכי נועם; וכל נתיבותיה, שלום" (משלי ג,יז).</big></div></td><br />
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==See Also==<br />
* [[Christianity and Noahide Law]]<br />
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==References ==<br />
<references /><br />
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'''A note on the translation.''' The English translation is entirely new, with an emphasis allowing word for word comparison with the Hebrew. The Hebrew translation is based on a comparison of three modern texts, generally favoring the most ancient Yemenite manuscripts. Hebrew is written in full (designed for reading without points) except as customary. The notes are drawn from various sources, among them the excellent work of "Maimonides Mishneh Torah: a new translation with commentaries, notes, illustrations and index" by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, Mozaim Publishing Corporation, 1978.<br />
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Copyright © 2007, UNC Inc. All Rights Reserved.<br />
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[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Maimonides%27_Law_of_Noahides&diff=7748
Maimonides' Law of Noahides
2008-05-17T20:28:19Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>Please note when reading this translation that while [[Maimonides]] is the major source of a comprehensive Code of Jewish Law, not all authorities follow his rulings and other opinions have made their way as law. <br />
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Concerning Maimonides obligation of Jews to seek (or force) observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles. A simple reading of the rules of Maimonides' would indicate that Jews or a Jewish court are obligated to coerce Noachides to observe their laws. Such is not the only way, however, to interpret Maimonides' statements. See Rabbi Michael J. Broyde in his "The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review" where the conclusion is that such a view is not supported by Jewish Law.<ref>[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]</ref>. The book "Torah For Gentiles" by Elisheva Barre makes a clear point that the "coercion" Maimonides talks about applies only to the Canaanite nations, as a condition for their becoming Resident Strangers (see page 22-29 and page 171 note 18). <br />
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Concerning Maimonides exclusive use of capital punishment for Noahide violations, most rabbinic authorities disagree and hold that it means "punishments up to and including capital punishment"; that a system of fines is meant to be set up; and courts set up by Noahides themselves, not Jewish law, should determine the structure and severity of Noahide punishments in whatever manner best serves justice for their particular country.<ref>[[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</ref>. However, on the basis of the Talmudic sources of Maimonides' Code, this view is counter-argued in "Torah for Gentiles"). <br />
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The question as to what constitutes idolatry today, and whether Christianity constitutes idolatry or a lesser form of ''partnership'', became a matter of debate in Jewish halachic literature. In any event, it has never, at any time in our history, been suggested that Christians be prosecuted according to these laws, because "It is forbidden to kill someone who is not at war with us" (Laws of Idolatry X 1).<ref>[[Christianity and Noahide Law]]</ref><br />
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== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 8 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big>הלכות מלכים ומלחמותיהם פרק ח</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''9''' A ''[[Yefas to'ar]]'' that does not want to put down idolatry, after the twelve month<ref>The [[Kesef Mishneh]] asks why a ''Yefas to'ar'' is allowed to worship for such a long period of time when this tolerance is not shown in any other case. The commentaries suggest that this leniency was granted because she was taken by force as prisoner during battle.</ref> receives capital punishment.<ref>Devarim 21:14 says that if the ''Yefas to'ar'' is released, "send her to herself". On this the [[Midrash HaGadol]] comments "send her to herself, but not to her gods", i.e. she must be executed if she remains in idolatry.</ref> Likewise with the city that submits, no treaty is made with them until they have denounced idolatry, destroyed all its places, and have taken upon themselves the rest of the commandments<ref>Here it refers to idolatry, hence the reference to the "other" six commandments. See Law of Kings and their Wars 6:1</ref> that were commanded to ''[[Bnei Noah|Noahides]]''. Any non-Jew who does not accept the laws that were commanded to Noahides receives capital punishment<ref>See Law of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> if he is within our jurisdiction.<ref>Commentaries: our ''undisputed'' authority. In Laws of Idolatry 10:6, the Rambam says that no idolaters should be allowed to live among Jews "when the hand of Israel is powerful over them." The extent of the authority, or under what conditions, is a matter of dispute among the commentaries. During the Second Temple period, it appears that the Sages did not exercise this authority. The consensus of halachic opinion holds that this ruling of the Rambam does not apply today, and may require further clarification and limitation.</ref><br />
:See also: [[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; יפת תואר שלא רצת להניח עבודה זרה לאחר השנים עשר חודש, הורגין אותה. וכן עיר שהשלימה, אין כורתין להן ברית, עד שיכפרו בעבודה זרה, ויאבדו כל מקומותיה, ויקבלו שאר המצוות שנצטוו בני נח: שכל גוי שלא קיבל מצוות שנצטוו בני נח, הורגין אותו, אם ישנו תחת ידינו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''10''' ''[[Moshe Rabbenu]]'' gave the Torah and the commandments as an inheritance only to Israel<ref>See Laws of Kings and their Wars 10:9 where is explains that a non-Jew who studies Torah is worthy of death at the hand of Heaven, under certain conditions.</ref>, as it is written: "[The Torah is...] an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:4). Anyone who wants to may convert from the other nations, as it is written "as with you, [the same shall be] as with the convert" (Numbers 15:15). Anyone who does not wish to is not compelled to accept the Torah and commandments. Instead ''Moshe Rabbenu'' commanded, at the word of the Almighty, to compel all those who come into the world to accept the commandments which were commanded to Noah.<ref>Tosefos Yom Tov (Avos 3:14) writes "as the Rambam writes, we were commanded by Moses [to compel the non-Jews to accept the Seven Laws]. If this applies to compulsion at the point of the sword, with threats of execution,... it surely applies regarding compulsion through persuasion, to lead their hearts to the will of their Creator." The Chasam Sofer (Choshen Mishpat, responsum 85) writes that it is a mitzvah to guide the gentiles in the service of G-d. However some authorities disagree and hold that the obligation is only moral, not a legal requirement, see introduction above.</ref> Anyone who will not accept, receives capital punishment.<ref>In contrast to the guidance mentioned previously, this law only applies when the Jews have undisputed authority of the Land of Israel, See Laws of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> One who accepts these [basic laws] is called: ''[[Ger Toshav]]'' in every place.<ref>According to the Rambam, the laws concerning ''Ger Toshav'' only applies when the entire (or majority) of Jewish people live in the Land of Israel (see Laws of Idolatry 10:6) and at that time non-Jews can become a ''Ger Toshav'' in any land. Other authorities disagree and hold that one may become a ''Ger Toshav'' today. Some authorities require the non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel to be considered a ''Ger Toshav''.</ref> It is necessary to receive him in front of three Torah Scholars.<ref>Three Torah Scholars constitute a rabbinical court. Some commentaries have noted that this is the same requirement for a non-Jews conversion to Judaism, inviting comparison between conversion and a "partial conversion" of the ''Ger Toshav''. Other authorities view the requirement to appear before the court as performing a legal, rather than spiritual function, pointing out that here the non-Jew is re-affirming their covenant rather than 'switching' covenants.</ref> And all who have taken upon themselves to circumcise, and twelve months have past without circumcision, behold this person is like a heretic among the nations.<ref>The Rambam, in the Laws of Kings and their Wars 10, outlines the rules governing our relationship with Jews and non-Jews. A distinction is made between non-Jews who uphold a recognized legal system based on the Seven Laws and those who are outside any recognized legal system. A non-Jew who belongs to a nation who has taken on circumcision (generally understood to refer to the Arabs), but fails to do so falls outside the relationship defined by the Seven Laws. Other texts read "this person is like the other nations", which is understood to imply that someone who agrees to circumcise himself, i.e. convert to Judaism, but twelve months elapse without circumcising himself, his original commitment to convert is no longer taken seriously and he reverts to an ordinary non-Jew.</ref><br />
:See also:''[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]''</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; משה רבינו לא הנחיל התורה והמצוות אלא לישראל, שנאמר "מורשה, קהילת יעקוב" (דברים לג,ד), ולכל הרוצה להתגייר משאר האומות, שנאמר "ככם כגר" (במדבר טו,טו). אבל מי שלא רצה, אין כופין אותו לקבל תורה ומצוות. וכן ציווה משה רבינו מפי הגבורה, לכוף את כל באי העולם לקבל כל מצוות שנצטווה נח, וכל מי שלא קיבל, ייהרג. והמקבל אותם, הוא הנקרא גר תושב בכל מקום. וצריך לקבל עליו בפני שלושה חברים. וכל המקבל עליו למול, ועברו עליו שנים עשר חודש ולא מל, הרי זה כמין שבאומות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''11''' Everyone who accepts the [[Seven Laws]] and is careful to do them, this person is one of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'' (very pious of the nations of the world), and he has portion in the world to come. This applies to one who accepts them and will do them because the ''[[Kodosh Baruch Hu]]'' commanded them in the Torah, and informed us by means of Moshe Rabbenu, that Noahides were previously commanded concerning these laws. But if he does them because of an intellectual decision, then he is not a ''Ger Toshav'', and is not of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'', he is [only] one of their ''[[Chochmei Umos HaOlam]]'' (wise men of the nations of the world).</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; כל המקבל שבע מצוות ונזהר לעשותן, הרי זה מחסידי אומות העולם, ויש לו חלק לעולם הבא. והוא שיקבל אותן ויעשה אותן מפני שציווה בהן הקדוש ברוך הוא בתורה, והודיענו על ידי משה רבינו, שבני נח מקודם נצטוו בהן. אבל אם עשאן מפני הכרע הדעת, אין זה גר תושב, ואינו מחסידי אומות העולם אלא מחכמיהם.</big></div></td><br />
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== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE">הלכות מלכים ומלחמות פרק ט</div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''1''' ''Adam HaRishon'' was commanded in six things: <br />
* [the prohibition] concerning idolatry<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning blasphemy<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning spilling of blood<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning forbidden relations<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning robbery<br />
* and [the injunction of establishing courts of] justice. <br />
Even though all these were received into our hands from ''Moshe Rabbenu'', and the intelect naturally inclines towards them – from a general reading of the words of Torah, they can see that they were commanded in these. [G-d] added to Noah [the commandment] concerning a torn limb, as it is written "From the flesh, its life is in the blood, do not eat" (Genesis 9:4). This makes seven commandments. This is how matters stood in the world until Avraham. Avraham came and was commanded other things beyond this, in circumcision and he prayed the morning prayers. Yitzchak began tithing, and added the afternoon prayers. Yaakov added [the prohibition of not eating] the sciatic nerve and prayed the evening prayers. In Egypt, Amram was commanded other things, until ''Moshe Rabbenu'' came and completed [the giving] of the Torah, by his hand.<br />
:See also: [[Chart of Maimonides' Noahide Laws]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp; על שישה דברים נצטווה אדם הראשון: על עבודה זרה, ועל ברכת השם, ועל שפיכות דמים, ועל גילוי עריות, ועל הגזל, ועל הדינים. אף על פי שכולן קבלה הן בידינו ממשה רבינו, והדעת נוטה להן, מכלל דברי התורה, ייראה שעל אלו נצטוו. הוסיף לנח אבר מן החי, שנאמר "אך בשר, בנפשו דמו לא תאכלו" (בראשית ט,ד). נמצאו שבע מצוות. וכן היה הדבר בכל העולם, עד אברהם נצטווה יתר על אלו במילה, והוא התפלל שחרית. ויצחק הפריש מעשר, והוסיף תפילה אחרת לפנות היום. ויעקוב הוסיף גיד הנשה, והתפלל ערבית. ובמצריים נצטווה עמרם במצוות יתרות, עד שבא משה רבינו ונשלמה תורה על ידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''2''' A Noahide that serves idolatry – is liable. Who [are we refering to]? One that serves idolatry in the normal way. All who serve idolatry and would be given capital punishment by a Jewish court, a Noahide is also given capital punishment. All who a Jewish court would not give capital punishment, neither is a Noahide given capital punishment. Nevertheless, even though [a Noahide] would not be executed [for these forms of worship], he is forbidden [to engage] in all of them. It is not allowed for them to erect an monument, plant a 'holy tree', nor to make images [of people] and the like, [even though they are only] for the sake of decoration.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>בן נח&nbsp; שעבד עבודה זרה, חייב, והוא? שיעבוד כדרכה. וכל עבודה זרה שבית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, בן נח נהרג עליה. וכל שאין בית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, אין בן נח נהרג עליה; ואף על פי שאינו נהרג, אסור בכל. ואין מניחין אותם להקים מצבה, ולא ליטע אשרה, ולא לעשות צורות וכיוצא בהן לנואי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''3''' A Noahide who curses G-d's name, whether by the particular name of G-d, or another name, in any language – is liable, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, בין שבירך בשם המיוחד, בין שבירך בכינוי, בכל לשון, חייב: מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''4''' A Noahide that murdered someone, even if it was a fetus in its mother's womb – he is given capital punishment [in retribution] for its [death]. Even if the person killed was terminally ill, or bound and placed before a lion, or allowed him to die of starvation – since he caused someone to die in some manner, he is given capital punishment. Even if someone kills a pursuer, when he could have been saved by [simply wounding] one of [the pursuer's] limbs, he is given capital punishment, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שהרג נפש, אפילו עובר במעי אימו, נהרג עליו. וכן אם הרג טריפה, או שכפתו ונתנו לפני הארי, או שהניחו ברעב עד שמת, הואיל והמית מכל מקום, נהרג. וכן אם הרג רודף שיכול להצילו באחד מאבריו, נהרג עליו, מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''5''' Six illicit relations are forbidden to a Noahide: his mother, wife of his father, a married woman, his maternal sister, a male, or a beast, as it is written "Therefore, a man shall leave his father" (Genesis 2:24) this is <br />
* ["his father"] - the wife of his father <br />
* "and his mother" – as understood<br />
* "and cleave to his wife" - not the wife of his neighbor<br />
* "his wife [woman]" - not a male<br />
* "and they shall become one flesh" - to exclude beasts, animals or birds, that cannot be "one flesh"<br />
* ["materal sister"] - that is to say "She is my sister, my father's daughter, but not my mother's. [Thus,] she became my wife." (Genesis 20:12)</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;שש עריות אסורות על בני נוח, האם, ואשת האב, ואשת איש, ואחותו מאימו, וזכור, ובהמה: שנאמר "על כן, יעזוב איש, את אביו" (בראשית ב,כד), זו אשת אביו; "ואת אימו", כמשמעה; "ודבק באשתו", ולא באשת חברו; "ודבק באשתו", לא בזכור; "והיו לבשר אחד", להוציא בהמה חיה ועוף שאין הוא והם בשר אחד; ונאמר "אחותי בת אבי היא, אך, לא בת אימי; ותהי לי, לאישה" (בראשית כ,יב).</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''6''' A Noahide is liable [for relations with his mother even though] she was seduced or raped by his father [and never married to him], for this is [even so] his mother in every respect, and he is liable for [relations with] the wife of his father, even after the father's death. He is liable for homosexuality, whether [with someone] young or old, for bestiality, whether young or old. He is given capital punishment, but the animal is not killed – [Noahide law] was not commanded in the killing of the animal, this is only in Jewish law.<br><br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על מפותת אביו, ואנוסת אביו, הרי היא אימו מכל מקום. וחייב על אשת אביו, אפילו לאחר מיתת אביו. וחייב על הזכור, בין קטן בין גדול; ועל הבהמה, בין קטנה בין גדולה. והוא נהרג לבדו, ואין הורגין את הבהמה, שלא נצטוו בהריגת בהמה, אלא ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' A Noahide is not liable for [breaking the law] of "neighbor's wife" unless they engage in relations in the normal manner after the marriage had been consummated. But, if she was enagaged or had undergone a wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is not liable for [capital punishment] over her, as is is written: "for she has been possessed by [her] husband." (Genesis 20:3). When do these things speak about? When a Noahide man sleeps with a Noahide woman. But, a non-Jew who sleeps with a [married] Jewish woman, in normal or even abnormal manner, is liable [and falls under the jurisdiction of Jewish law:]. If [a non-Jew slept] with an engaged woman – he is stoned to death, as per Jewish law. If he sleeps with her after she has undergone the wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is strangled to death, as per Jewish law. However, if he sleeps with a Jewish woman after her marriage has been consummated, this falls under the law of "neighbor's wife" and he executed by beheading, [as per Noahide law].<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law as International Law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp;אין בן נח חייב על אשת חברו, עד שיבוא עליה כדרכה אחר שנבעלה לבעלה. אבל מאורסה, או שנכנסה לחופה ועדיין לא נבעלה, אין חייבין עליה, שנאמר "והיא, בעולת בעל" (בראשית כ,ג). במה דברים אמורים? בבן נח שבא על בת נוח. אבל גוי שבא על הישראלית, בין כדרכה בין שלא כדרכה, חייב. ואם הייתה נערה מאורסה, נסקל עליה, כדיני ישראל; בא עליה אחר שנכנסה לחופה, ולא נבעלה, הרי זה בחנק, כדיני ישראל. אבל אם בא על אשת ישראל אחר שנבעלה, הרי זה כמי שבא על אשת גוי חברו, וייהרג בסיף.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' A Noahide who singles out a maid-servants for his slave and [afterwards] sleeps with her – he is given capital punishment because of her, for [breaking the law of] "neighbor's wife". He is not liable [for sleeping] with her, until [the marriage] has been officiated and become public knowledge, and everyone refers to her as "the wife of the slave so-and-so." When do [relations with] her return to being permitted? When he separates her from his slave and uncovers her hair in the market place. When is a married [Noahide] woman considered a divorced woman as [in Jewish law]? When he removes her from his home and sends her on her own, or when she leaves his domain and goes away. [In Noahide law] there is no [requirement for] a divorce in writing, nor is the matter at the husbands sole discretion, rather anytime that either [the husband] or [the wife] decides to separate from each other – they may separated [and then, are no longer considered as married.]<br />
:See also: [[Divorce in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp;בן נח שייחד שפחה לעבדו, הרי זה נהרג עליה, משום אשת חברו. ואינו חייב עליה, עד שיפשוט הדבר ויאמרו לה העם, זו דבית עבד פלוני. ומאימתיי תחזור להיתרה, משיפרישנה מעבדו, ויפרע ראשה בשוק. ומאימתיי תהיה אשת חברו כגרושה שלנו? משיוציאה מביתו וישלחנה לעצמה, או משתצא היא מתחת רשותו ותלך לה: שאין לה גירושין בכתב; ואין הדבר תלוי בו בלבד, אלא כל זמן שירצה הוא או היא לפרוש זה מזה, פורשין.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' A Noahide is liable for [breaking the law of] robbery whether he stole from a non-Jew or from a Jew. One who robs [forcibly] or steals money, a kidnaper, an [employer who] withholds the wages of a worker, and the like, even a worker who eats [from his employer's produce] not during working hours – in all these, he is liable and considered a thief. This differs in Jewish law. He is liable even [for stealing something] worth less than a ''perutah''; A Noahide who stole less than the worth of a ''perutah'' and another stole it from him – they are both given capital punishment because of it.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Legal Measurements]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על הגזל, בין שגזל גוי בין שגזל ישראל. ואחד הגוזל, או הגונב ממון, או גונב נפש, או הכובש שכר שכיר וכיוצא בו, אפילו פועל שאכל שלא בשעת מלאכה, על הכל הוא חייב, והרי הוא בכלל גזלן: מה שאין כן בישראל. וכן חייב, על פחות משווה פרוטה; ובן נח שגזל פחות משווה פרוטה, ובא אחר וגזלה ממנו, שניהן נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' And also he is liable for [breaking the law of] "torn limb" or "torn meat" – in any amount, for [the specifications of] minimum amounts is defined only in Jewish law [and not Noahide law]. He is permitted blood from a living creature.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Blood in Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp;וכן חייב על אבר מן החי, ועל בשר מן החי בכל שהוא: שלא ניתנו השיעורין, אלא לישראל בלבד. ומותר הוא בדם מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' [This law applies to] a limb or meat, that is separated from a domesticated animal or a [wild] animal; However, it appears to me that a Noahide is not given capital punishment for a "torn limb" from a bird.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp;אחד האבר או הבשר, הפורש מן הבהמה או מן החיה; אבל העוף, ייראה לי, שאין בן נח נהרג על אבר מן החי ממנו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' One who slaughters a domesticated animal, even if one severs the two signs [that would make it properly killed under Jewish law], as long as it moves convulsively, the limbs and meat which are separated from it are forbidden to a Noahide because of [breaking the law of a] "torn limb"<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Kosher Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; השוחט את הבהמה, אפילו שחט בה שני הסימנין, כל זמן שהיא מפרכסת, אבר ובשר הפורשין ממנה אסורין לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''13''' Everyting that is prohibited in Jewish law concerning a "torn limb" is also prohibited according to Noahide law. There are further prohibitions in Noahide law that are not in Jewish law: Noahide law includes domesticated animals and [wild] animals whether they are from a kosher or non-kosher species. Also, a limb or meat that is separated from an animal that is [still] moving convulsively, even though it has been killed properly according to Jewish law by severing the two signs – this is forbidden to a Noahide because it is considered a "torn limb".</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יג</b>&nbsp;כל שאסור על ישראל משום אבר מן החי, אסור על בני נוח. ויש שבני נח חייבין עליו, ולא ישראל: שבני נח אחד בהמה וחיה, בין טהורה בין טמאה, חייבין עליה, משום אבר מן החי ומשום בשר מן החי; ואבר ובשר הפורשין מן המפרכסת, אף על פי ששחט בה ישראל שני הסימנין, הרי זה אסור לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''14''' In what way must [Noahides] fulfill the commandment to establish courts of justice? They are obligated to set up judges and magistrates in every major city to judge according to the above six laws, to warn the nation [regarding their observance]; A noahide who breaks one of these seven laws – is executed by decapitation. [additional text: for example: an idolater, or blasphemer, or muderer, or someone who has had one of the six illicit relations according to [Noahide law], or robbed even the worth of a ''peruta'', or consumed any amount of "torn limb" or "torn meat", or witnessed someone breaking one of these laws, and did not judge and sentance him – all these people are executed by decapitation.] For this all the inhabitants of Shechem were liable for capital punishment. This was because Shechem kidnapped [someone] and they witnessed this and knew [what he had done], but did not judge him. A Noahide is [may be] executed [on the basis of the testimony of] one witness and [the verdict of] a single judge. No prior warning [is required]. Relatives may serve as witnesses. However, a woman may not serve as a witness or a judge [in Noahide law].</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יד</b>&nbsp;וכיצד הן מצווין על הדינים? חייבין להושיב דיינין ושופטים בכל פלך ופלך לדון בשש מצוות אלו, ולהזהיר את העם; ובן נח שעבר על אחת משבע מצוות אלו, ייהרג בסיף. כיצד: אחד העובד עבודה זרה, או שבירך את השם, או ששפך דם, או שבעל אחת משש עריות שלהם, או שגזל אפילו פחות משווה פרוטה, או שאכל כל שהוא מאבר מן החי או בשר מן החי, או שראה אחד שעבר על אחת מאלו ולא דנו והרגו, הרי זה ייהרג בסיף. ומפני זה נתחייבו כל בעלי שכם הריגה, שהרי שכם גזל, והם ראו, וידעו, ולא דנוהו. ובן נח נהרג בעד אחד, ובדיין אחד, בלא התראה, ועל פי קרובים; אבל לא בעדות אישה, ולא תדון אישה להם.</big></div></td><br />
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== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big>הלכות מלכים ומלחמות פרק י</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''1''' A Noahide that inadvertently violates one of the commandments given to him, is exempt from all [punishment], except for inadvertent homicide. In that case, if the redeemer of the blood killed [the inadvertent killer], he is not punished for it; nor is [may the inadvertent killer seek asylum] in a city of refuge; but their courts may not put him to death. What are we referring to? When he accidentally transgresses one of the commandments and without intent, for example one who sleeps with another man's wife, and imagines that she is his own wife or unmarried. But if he knew that it was another man's wife, but did not know that she was forbidden to him, or it arose in his heart that this was a permitted matter to him; or concerning killing, if he didn't know that it was forbidden to kill; behold this is like an intentional action, and he is given capital punishment. It is not considered as an inadvertent violation, because he must learn [these laws], and he did not.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp;בן נח ששגג באחת ממצוותיו, פטור מכלום: חוץ מרוצח בשגגה, שאם הרגו גואל הדם, אינו נהרג עליו; ואין לו עיר מקלט, אבל בתי דיניהן אין ממיתין אותו. במה דברים אמורים? בשוגג באחת ממצוות ועבר בלא כוונה, כגון שבעל אשת חברו, ודימה שהיא אשתו או פנויה. אבל אם ידע שהיא אשת חברו, ולא ידע שהיא אסורה עליו אלא עלה על ליבו שדבר זה מותר לו, וכן אם הרג, והוא לא ידע שאסור להרוג, הרי זה קרוב למזיד, ונהרג. ולא תיחשב זו להם שגגה, מפני שהיה לו ללמוד, ולא למד.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''2''' A Noahide who is forced by compulsion to transgress one of the commandments given to him, he is permitted to transgress. Even if forced to serve idolatry, he may serve, according to [principle] that they are not commanded on ''[[Kiddush Hashem]]''. And a minor, deaf-mute or fool, are never punished, because they are not [bound by any] commandments.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>&nbsp;בן נח שאנסו אנס לעבור על אחת ממצוותיו, מותר לו לעבור: אפילו נאנס לעבוד עבודה זרה, עובד, לפי שאינן מצווין על קידוש השם. ולעולם אין עונשין מהן לא קטן, ולא חירש, ולא שוטה, לפי שאינן בני מצוות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''3''' Noahide that converts, is circumcised and immerses [in a mivkah], and afterward wants to return from [following] after Hashem [as a Jew], and to be ''Ger Toshov'' only, like he was previously, [the court] does not heed his request: Instead he must be like an Israelite in all matters, or he receives capital punishment. If he was a minor when he was immersed by the court, he may object [to his conversion] at the time that he attains majority, and he is allowed to become a ''Ger Toshov'' only. But if he does not object at the time he attains majority, he is not allowed to object at a later time, but he is considered a full convert. Accordingly if [a Jew has relations with] a young girl that was immersed by court of law, [she is entitled to all] monies specified by the ''ketubah'', or fines [according to] rape or seduction, [however these monies are] are placed under the custody of the court until she attains majority and does not object to her conversion. Lest she benefit by obtaining majority and objecting [to her conversion], in this situation she obtains monies as a non-Jew [outside of Jewish law] that she was only entitled to according to Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שנתגייר, ומל וטבל, ואחר כך רצה לחזור מאחרי ה', ולהיות גר תושב בלבד כשהיה מקודם, אין שומעין לו: אלא יהיה כישראל לכל דבר, או ייהרג. ואם היה קטן כשהטבילו אותו בית דין, יכול למחות בשעה שיגדיל, ויהיה גר תושב בלבד; וכיון שלא מיחה בשעתו, שוב אינו ממחה, אלא הרי הוא גר צדק. לפיכך אם בא לקטנה שהטבילוה בית דין, כסף כתובתה, או קנס אונס או מפתה, יהיה הכל תחת יד בית דין, עד שתגדיל ולא תמחה בגירות: שמא תיטול, ותגדיל ותמחה; ונמצאת זו אוכלת בגיותה מעות שאין לה זכות בהן, אלא בדיני ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''4''' noahide that curses and hashem , or that served idolatry , or that comes on wife of his friend , or that killing his friend , and converts , exempt . killing jew , or that comes on wife of israel , and converts , required ; and they kill him on jew , and is decapitated him on wife of israel that master of , that behold have changed the laws concerning him .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, או שעבד עבודה זרה, או שבא על אשת חברו, או שהרג חברו, ונתגייר, פטור. הרג בן ישראל, או שבא על אשת ישראל, ונתגייר, חייב; והורגין אותו על בן ישראל, וחונקין אותו על אשת ישראל שבעל, שהרי נשתנה דינו.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''5''' already we have explained that all deaths of noahides in sword , except wife of israel, betrothed maiden , he is stoned , and if another mistress that entered to canopy beforehand that consummated , he is strangled .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;כבר ביארנו שכל מיתת בני נח בסיף, אלא אם כן בעל אשת ישראל נערה מאורסה, ייסקל, ואם בעלה אחר שנכנסה לחופה קודם שתיבעל, ייחנק.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''6''' according to kaballah , that noahides are forbbiden in cross-breeding of animal , and in grafting of tree only ; and naught are killed on account of them . and non-jew that struck israel , even suffering in him , although that he required death , doesn't killed .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp; מפי הקבלה, שבני נח אסורין בהרבעת בהמה, ובהרכבת אילן בלבד; ואין נהרגין עליהן. וגוי שהכה ישראל, אפילו חבל בו, אף על פי שהוא חייב מיתה, אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' the circumcision , was commanded in it avraham and his seed only , that as it is said " ye and your seed after you , to their generations " ( genesis 17:9 ). go out his seed of ishmael , that as it is said " because in yitzkhaq , will be called to you seed " ( genesis 21:12 ). and go out esav , that behold yitzkhaq said to ya'aqov " and he will give to you and blessing of avraham , to you and to your seed " ( genesis 28:4 ), from the principle that he by himself his seed of avraham the hold in his faith and his ways the straight , and they the obligated ones in circumcision . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp; המילה, נצטווה בה אברהם וזרעו בלבד, שנאמר "אתה וזרעך אחריך, לדורותם" (בראשית יז,ט). יצא זרעו של ישמעאל, שנאמר "כי ביצחק, ייקרא לך זרע" (בראשית כא,יב). ויצא עשיו, שהרי יצחק אמר ליעקוב "וייתן לך את ברכת אברהם, לך ולזרעך" (בראשית כח,ד), מכלל שהוא לבדו זרעו של אברהם המחזיק בדתו ודרכו הישרה, והם המחוייבין במילה.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' they say sages that children of qeturah , that they his seed of avraham that they came another ishmael and yitzkhaq , are obligated in circumcision . and since and they have been mixed today children of ishmael in children of qeturah , they are obligated all in circumcision in eighth ; and naught are killed about her .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp; אמרו חכמים שבני קטורה, שהם זרעו של אברהם שבאו אחר ישמעאל ויצחק, חייבין במילה. והואיל ונתערבו היום בני ישמעאל בבני קטורה, יתחייבו הכל במילה בשמיני; ואין נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' non-jew that business in torah , required death ; not he shall busy himself except in their seven commandments only . and also non-jew that sabbath , even direction from the days of the secular , if he did him for himself aslike sabbath , required death ; and necessary naught say if he did festival for himself . like to to him of matter : naught allowing them to innovate custom , and do commandments to themselves from their intelligence , except or let there be full convert and he will receive all the commandments , or stand in his statutes and not add and not detract . and if business in torah , or sabbath , or innovated matter , beat him and they are punished him , and inform him that he required death on this ; but doesn't killed . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; גוי שעסק בתורה, חייב מיתה; לא יעסוק אלא בשבע מצוות שלהן בלבד. וכן גוי ששבת, אפילו ביום מימות החול, אם עשה אותו לעצמו כמו שבת, חייב מיתה; ואין צריך לומר אם עשה מועד לעצמו. כללו של דבר: אין מניחין אותן לחדש דת, ולעשות מצוות לעצמן מדעתן, אלא או יהיה גר צדק ויקבל כל המצוות, או יעמוד בתורתו ולא יוסיף ולא יגרע. ואם עסק בתורה, או שבת, או חידש דבר, מכין אותו ועונשין אותו, ומודיעין אותו שהוא חייב מיתה על זה; אבל אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' noahide that wants do command from rest commandments the torah , amphoral to receive reward , naught prevent him do her like required . and if he brings ascend , from receive from him . given charity , from receive from him ; and it appears me that given her to poor of israel , since and he sustained from israel , and command on to support him . but pronounced that given charity , from receive from him , and given her to poor of nations . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; בן נח שרצה לעשות מצוה משאר מצוות התורה, כדי לקבל שכר, אין מונעין אותו לעשות אותה כהלכתה. ואם הביא עולה, מקבלין ממנו. נתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו; וייראה לי שנותנין אותה לעניי ישראל, הואיל והוא ניזון מישראל, ומצוה עליהם להחיותו. אבל הגוי שנתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו, ונותנין אותה לעניי גויים.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' are obligated court of law of israel , to place judges to if only the converts the residents , to judge to them according to judgements if only , amphoral that not decadent the world . if saw court of law that they will set up their judges of them , setting up ; and if saw that they will set up to them from israel , they will set up . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; חייבין בית דין של ישראל, להעמיד שופטים לאלו [[הגרים התושבים]], לדון להן על פי משפטים אלו, כדי שלא יישחת העולם. אם ראו בית דין שיעמידו שופטיהם מהן, מעמידין; ואם ראו שיעמידו להן מישראל, יעמידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' two of nations that they came to your presence to judge in laws of israel , and they want both of them , judge to them judgement torah . the one desire , and the one doesn't desire , naught compelled him to judge except in their laws . there was israel and non-jew , if there is privilege to israel in their laws , judge to him in their laws and they say to him , so your laws ; and if there is privilege to israel in our law , judge to him judgement torah and they say to him , so our law . and it appears me that naught do thus to resident alien , except always judge to him in their laws . and also it appears me that customary nation converts of resident by way of country , and philanthropy like israel , that behold we commanded to support him , that as it is said " to proselyte that in your gates give it to them and eat it " ( deuteronomy 14:21). and this that they say sages , naught compelling to them peace , in nations , not in resident alien . even the nations , command us sages to visit their sick , and to bury their dead with dead of israel , and to support poor of at all poor of israel , because ways of peace : behold as it is said " benefit Hashem to all ; and merciful , on all actions " ( psalms 145, 9 ), and as it is said " its ways , amenity ; and all its paths , peace " ( proverbs 3 , 17 ). </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; שני גויים שבאו לפניך לדון בדיני ישראל, ורצו שניהן, דנים להם דין תורה. האחד רוצה, והאחד אינו רוצה, אין כופין אותו לדון אלא בדיניהן. היה ישראל וגוי, אם יש זכות לישראל בדיניהן, דנים לו בדיניהם ואומרים לו, כך דיניכם; ואם יש זכות לישראל בדינינו, דנין לו דין תורה ואומרים לו, כך דינינו. וייראה לי שאין עושין כן לגר תושב, אלא לעולם דנים לו בדיניהם. וכן ייראה לי שנוהגין עם גרי תושב בדרך ארץ, וגמילות חסדים כישראל, שהרי אנו מצווין להחיותו, שנאמר "לגר אשר בשעריך תיתננה ואכלה" (דברים יד,כא). וזה שאמרו חכמים, אין כופלין להן שלום, בגויים, לא בגר תושב. אפילו הגויים, ציוו חכמים לבקר חוליהם, ולקבור מתיהם עם מתי ישראל, ולפרנס ענייהם בכלל עניי ישראל, מפני דרכי שלום: הרי נאמר "טוב ה', לכל; ורחמיו, על כל מעשיו" (תהילים קמה,ט), ונאמר "דרכיה, דרכי נועם; וכל נתיבותיה, שלום" (משלי ג,יז).</big></div></td><br />
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==See Also==<br />
* [[Christianity and Noahide Law]]<br />
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==References ==<br />
<references /><br />
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'''A note on the translation.''' The English translation is entirely new, with an emphasis allowing word for word comparison with the Hebrew. The Hebrew translation is based on a comparison of three modern texts, generally favoring the most ancient Yemenite manuscripts. Hebrew is written in full (designed for reading without points) except as customary. The notes are drawn from various sources, among them the excellent work of "Maimonides Mishneh Torah: a new translation with commentaries, notes, illustrations and index" by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, Mozaim Publishing Corporation, 1978.<br />
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Copyright © 2007, UNC Inc. All Rights Reserved.<br />
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[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Maimonides%27_Law_of_Noahides&diff=7747
Maimonides' Law of Noahides
2008-05-17T20:23:58Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>Please note when reading this translation that while [[Maimonides]] is the major source of a comprehensive Code of Jewish Law, not all authorities follow his rulings and other opinions have made their way as law. <br />
<br />
Concerning Maimonides obligation of Jews to seek (or force) observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles. A simple reading of the rules of Maimonides' would indicate that Jews or a Jewish court are obligated to coerce Noachides to observe their laws. Such is not the only way, however, to interpret Maimonides' statements. See Rabbi Michael J. Broyde in his "The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review" where the conclusion is that such a view is not supported by Jewish Law.<ref>[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]</ref>. The book "Torah For Gentiles" by Elisheva Barre makes a clear point that the "coercion" Maimonides talks about applies only to the Canaanite nations, as a condition for their becoming Resident Strangers (see page 22-29 and page 171 note 18). <br />
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Concerning Maimonides exclusive use of capital punishment for Noahide violations, most rabbinic authorities disagree and hold that it means "punishments up to and including capital punishment"; that a system of fines is meant to be set up; and courts set up by Noahides themselves, not Jewish law, should determine the structure and severity of Noahide punishments in whatever manner best serves justice for their particular country.<ref>[[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</ref>. (On the basis of the Talmudic sources of the Rambam, this view is counter-argued in "Torah for Gentiles"). <br />
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The question as to what constitutes idolatry today, and whether Christianity constitutes idolatry or a lesser form of ''partnership'', became a matter of debate in Jewish halachic literature. In any event, it has never, at any time in our history, been suggested that Christians be prosecuted according to these laws. Indeed, "It is forbidden to kill someone who is not at war with us" (Laws of Idolatry X 1).<ref>[[Christianity and Noahide Law]]</ref><br />
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== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 8 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big>הלכות מלכים ומלחמותיהם פרק ח</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''9''' A ''[[Yefas to'ar]]'' that does not want to put down idolatry, after the twelve month<ref>The [[Kesef Mishneh]] asks why a ''Yefas to'ar'' is allowed to worship for such a long period of time when this tolerance is not shown in any other case. The commentaries suggest that this leniency was granted because she was taken by force as prisoner during battle.</ref> receives capital punishment.<ref>Devarim 21:14 says that if the ''Yefas to'ar'' is released, "send her to herself". On this the [[Midrash HaGadol]] comments "send her to herself, but not to her gods", i.e. she must be executed if she remains in idolatry.</ref> Likewise with the city that submits, no treaty is made with them until they have denounced idolatry, destroyed all its places, and have taken upon themselves the rest of the commandments<ref>Here it refers to idolatry, hence the reference to the "other" six commandments. See Law of Kings and their Wars 6:1</ref> that were commanded to ''[[Bnei Noah|Noahides]]''. Any non-Jew who does not accept the laws that were commanded to Noahides receives capital punishment<ref>See Law of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> if he is within our jurisdiction.<ref>Commentaries: our ''undisputed'' authority. In Laws of Idolatry 10:6, the Rambam says that no idolaters should be allowed to live among Jews "when the hand of Israel is powerful over them." The extent of the authority, or under what conditions, is a matter of dispute among the commentaries. During the Second Temple period, it appears that the Sages did not exercise this authority. The consensus of halachic opinion holds that this ruling of the Rambam does not apply today, and may require further clarification and limitation.</ref><br />
:See also: [[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; יפת תואר שלא רצת להניח עבודה זרה לאחר השנים עשר חודש, הורגין אותה. וכן עיר שהשלימה, אין כורתין להן ברית, עד שיכפרו בעבודה זרה, ויאבדו כל מקומותיה, ויקבלו שאר המצוות שנצטוו בני נח: שכל גוי שלא קיבל מצוות שנצטוו בני נח, הורגין אותו, אם ישנו תחת ידינו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''10''' ''[[Moshe Rabbenu]]'' gave the Torah and the commandments as an inheritance only to Israel<ref>See Laws of Kings and their Wars 10:9 where is explains that a non-Jew who studies Torah is worthy of death at the hand of Heaven, under certain conditions.</ref>, as it is written: "[The Torah is...] an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:4). Anyone who wants to may convert from the other nations, as it is written "as with you, [the same shall be] as with the convert" (Numbers 15:15). Anyone who does not wish to is not compelled to accept the Torah and commandments. Instead ''Moshe Rabbenu'' commanded, at the word of the Almighty, to compel all those who come into the world to accept the commandments which were commanded to Noah.<ref>Tosefos Yom Tov (Avos 3:14) writes "as the Rambam writes, we were commanded by Moses [to compel the non-Jews to accept the Seven Laws]. If this applies to compulsion at the point of the sword, with threats of execution,... it surely applies regarding compulsion through persuasion, to lead their hearts to the will of their Creator." The Chasam Sofer (Choshen Mishpat, responsum 85) writes that it is a mitzvah to guide the gentiles in the service of G-d. However some authorities disagree and hold that the obligation is only moral, not a legal requirement, see introduction above.</ref> Anyone who will not accept, receives capital punishment.<ref>In contrast to the guidance mentioned previously, this law only applies when the Jews have undisputed authority of the Land of Israel, See Laws of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> One who accepts these [basic laws] is called: ''[[Ger Toshav]]'' in every place.<ref>According to the Rambam, the laws concerning ''Ger Toshav'' only applies when the entire (or majority) of Jewish people live in the Land of Israel (see Laws of Idolatry 10:6) and at that time non-Jews can become a ''Ger Toshav'' in any land. Other authorities disagree and hold that one may become a ''Ger Toshav'' today. Some authorities require the non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel to be considered a ''Ger Toshav''.</ref> It is necessary to receive him in front of three Torah Scholars.<ref>Three Torah Scholars constitute a rabbinical court. Some commentaries have noted that this is the same requirement for a non-Jews conversion to Judaism, inviting comparison between conversion and a "partial conversion" of the ''Ger Toshav''. Other authorities view the requirement to appear before the court as performing a legal, rather than spiritual function, pointing out that here the non-Jew is re-affirming their covenant rather than 'switching' covenants.</ref> And all who have taken upon themselves to circumcise, and twelve months have past without circumcision, behold this person is like a heretic among the nations.<ref>The Rambam, in the Laws of Kings and their Wars 10, outlines the rules governing our relationship with Jews and non-Jews. A distinction is made between non-Jews who uphold a recognized legal system based on the Seven Laws and those who are outside any recognized legal system. A non-Jew who belongs to a nation who has taken on circumcision (generally understood to refer to the Arabs), but fails to do so falls outside the relationship defined by the Seven Laws. Other texts read "this person is like the other nations", which is understood to imply that someone who agrees to circumcise himself, i.e. convert to Judaism, but twelve months elapse without circumcising himself, his original commitment to convert is no longer taken seriously and he reverts to an ordinary non-Jew.</ref><br />
:See also:''[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]''</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; משה רבינו לא הנחיל התורה והמצוות אלא לישראל, שנאמר "מורשה, קהילת יעקוב" (דברים לג,ד), ולכל הרוצה להתגייר משאר האומות, שנאמר "ככם כגר" (במדבר טו,טו). אבל מי שלא רצה, אין כופין אותו לקבל תורה ומצוות. וכן ציווה משה רבינו מפי הגבורה, לכוף את כל באי העולם לקבל כל מצוות שנצטווה נח, וכל מי שלא קיבל, ייהרג. והמקבל אותם, הוא הנקרא גר תושב בכל מקום. וצריך לקבל עליו בפני שלושה חברים. וכל המקבל עליו למול, ועברו עליו שנים עשר חודש ולא מל, הרי זה כמין שבאומות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''11''' Everyone who accepts the [[Seven Laws]] and is careful to do them, this person is one of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'' (very pious of the nations of the world), and he has portion in the world to come. This applies to one who accepts them and will do them because the ''[[Kodosh Baruch Hu]]'' commanded them in the Torah, and informed us by means of Moshe Rabbenu, that Noahides were previously commanded concerning these laws. But if he does them because of an intellectual decision, then he is not a ''Ger Toshav'', and is not of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'', he is [only] one of their ''[[Chochmei Umos HaOlam]]'' (wise men of the nations of the world).</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; כל המקבל שבע מצוות ונזהר לעשותן, הרי זה מחסידי אומות העולם, ויש לו חלק לעולם הבא. והוא שיקבל אותן ויעשה אותן מפני שציווה בהן הקדוש ברוך הוא בתורה, והודיענו על ידי משה רבינו, שבני נח מקודם נצטוו בהן. אבל אם עשאן מפני הכרע הדעת, אין זה גר תושב, ואינו מחסידי אומות העולם אלא מחכמיהם.</big></div></td><br />
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== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE">הלכות מלכים ומלחמות פרק ט</div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''1''' ''Adam HaRishon'' was commanded in six things: <br />
* [the prohibition] concerning idolatry<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning blasphemy<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning spilling of blood<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning forbidden relations<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning robbery<br />
* and [the injunction of establishing courts of] justice. <br />
Even though all these were received into our hands from ''Moshe Rabbenu'', and the intelect naturally inclines towards them – from a general reading of the words of Torah, they can see that they were commanded in these. [G-d] added to Noah [the commandment] concerning a torn limb, as it is written "From the flesh, its life is in the blood, do not eat" (Genesis 9:4). This makes seven commandments. This is how matters stood in the world until Avraham. Avraham came and was commanded other things beyond this, in circumcision and he prayed the morning prayers. Yitzchak began tithing, and added the afternoon prayers. Yaakov added [the prohibition of not eating] the sciatic nerve and prayed the evening prayers. In Egypt, Amram was commanded other things, until ''Moshe Rabbenu'' came and completed [the giving] of the Torah, by his hand.<br />
:See also: [[Chart of Maimonides' Noahide Laws]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp; על שישה דברים נצטווה אדם הראשון: על עבודה זרה, ועל ברכת השם, ועל שפיכות דמים, ועל גילוי עריות, ועל הגזל, ועל הדינים. אף על פי שכולן קבלה הן בידינו ממשה רבינו, והדעת נוטה להן, מכלל דברי התורה, ייראה שעל אלו נצטוו. הוסיף לנח אבר מן החי, שנאמר "אך בשר, בנפשו דמו לא תאכלו" (בראשית ט,ד). נמצאו שבע מצוות. וכן היה הדבר בכל העולם, עד אברהם נצטווה יתר על אלו במילה, והוא התפלל שחרית. ויצחק הפריש מעשר, והוסיף תפילה אחרת לפנות היום. ויעקוב הוסיף גיד הנשה, והתפלל ערבית. ובמצריים נצטווה עמרם במצוות יתרות, עד שבא משה רבינו ונשלמה תורה על ידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''2''' A Noahide that serves idolatry – is liable. Who [are we refering to]? One that serves idolatry in the normal way. All who serve idolatry and would be given capital punishment by a Jewish court, a Noahide is also given capital punishment. All who a Jewish court would not give capital punishment, neither is a Noahide given capital punishment. Nevertheless, even though [a Noahide] would not be executed [for these forms of worship], he is forbidden [to engage] in all of them. It is not allowed for them to erect an monument, plant a 'holy tree', nor to make images [of people] and the like, [even though they are only] for the sake of decoration.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>בן נח&nbsp; שעבד עבודה זרה, חייב, והוא? שיעבוד כדרכה. וכל עבודה זרה שבית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, בן נח נהרג עליה. וכל שאין בית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, אין בן נח נהרג עליה; ואף על פי שאינו נהרג, אסור בכל. ואין מניחין אותם להקים מצבה, ולא ליטע אשרה, ולא לעשות צורות וכיוצא בהן לנואי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''3''' A Noahide who curses G-d's name, whether by the particular name of G-d, or another name, in any language – is liable, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, בין שבירך בשם המיוחד, בין שבירך בכינוי, בכל לשון, חייב: מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''4''' A Noahide that murdered someone, even if it was a fetus in its mother's womb – he is given capital punishment [in retribution] for its [death]. Even if the person killed was terminally ill, or bound and placed before a lion, or allowed him to die of starvation – since he caused someone to die in some manner, he is given capital punishment. Even if someone kills a pursuer, when he could have been saved by [simply wounding] one of [the pursuer's] limbs, he is given capital punishment, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שהרג נפש, אפילו עובר במעי אימו, נהרג עליו. וכן אם הרג טריפה, או שכפתו ונתנו לפני הארי, או שהניחו ברעב עד שמת, הואיל והמית מכל מקום, נהרג. וכן אם הרג רודף שיכול להצילו באחד מאבריו, נהרג עליו, מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''5''' Six illicit relations are forbidden to a Noahide: his mother, wife of his father, a married woman, his maternal sister, a male, or a beast, as it is written "Therefore, a man shall leave his father" (Genesis 2:24) this is <br />
* ["his father"] - the wife of his father <br />
* "and his mother" – as understood<br />
* "and cleave to his wife" - not the wife of his neighbor<br />
* "his wife [woman]" - not a male<br />
* "and they shall become one flesh" - to exclude beasts, animals or birds, that cannot be "one flesh"<br />
* ["materal sister"] - that is to say "She is my sister, my father's daughter, but not my mother's. [Thus,] she became my wife." (Genesis 20:12)</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;שש עריות אסורות על בני נוח, האם, ואשת האב, ואשת איש, ואחותו מאימו, וזכור, ובהמה: שנאמר "על כן, יעזוב איש, את אביו" (בראשית ב,כד), זו אשת אביו; "ואת אימו", כמשמעה; "ודבק באשתו", ולא באשת חברו; "ודבק באשתו", לא בזכור; "והיו לבשר אחד", להוציא בהמה חיה ועוף שאין הוא והם בשר אחד; ונאמר "אחותי בת אבי היא, אך, לא בת אימי; ותהי לי, לאישה" (בראשית כ,יב).</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''6''' A Noahide is liable [for relations with his mother even though] she was seduced or raped by his father [and never married to him], for this is [even so] his mother in every respect, and he is liable for [relations with] the wife of his father, even after the father's death. He is liable for homosexuality, whether [with someone] young or old, for bestiality, whether young or old. He is given capital punishment, but the animal is not killed – [Noahide law] was not commanded in the killing of the animal, this is only in Jewish law.<br><br />
</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על מפותת אביו, ואנוסת אביו, הרי היא אימו מכל מקום. וחייב על אשת אביו, אפילו לאחר מיתת אביו. וחייב על הזכור, בין קטן בין גדול; ועל הבהמה, בין קטנה בין גדולה. והוא נהרג לבדו, ואין הורגין את הבהמה, שלא נצטוו בהריגת בהמה, אלא ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' A Noahide is not liable for [breaking the law] of "neighbor's wife" unless they engage in relations in the normal manner after the marriage had been consummated. But, if she was enagaged or had undergone a wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is not liable for [capital punishment] over her, as is is written: "for she has been possessed by [her] husband." (Genesis 20:3). When do these things speak about? When a Noahide man sleeps with a Noahide woman. But, a non-Jew who sleeps with a [married] Jewish woman, in normal or even abnormal manner, is liable [and falls under the jurisdiction of Jewish law:]. If [a non-Jew slept] with an engaged woman – he is stoned to death, as per Jewish law. If he sleeps with her after she has undergone the wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is strangled to death, as per Jewish law. However, if he sleeps with a Jewish woman after her marriage has been consummated, this falls under the law of "neighbor's wife" and he executed by beheading, [as per Noahide law].<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law as International Law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp;אין בן נח חייב על אשת חברו, עד שיבוא עליה כדרכה אחר שנבעלה לבעלה. אבל מאורסה, או שנכנסה לחופה ועדיין לא נבעלה, אין חייבין עליה, שנאמר "והיא, בעולת בעל" (בראשית כ,ג). במה דברים אמורים? בבן נח שבא על בת נוח. אבל גוי שבא על הישראלית, בין כדרכה בין שלא כדרכה, חייב. ואם הייתה נערה מאורסה, נסקל עליה, כדיני ישראל; בא עליה אחר שנכנסה לחופה, ולא נבעלה, הרי זה בחנק, כדיני ישראל. אבל אם בא על אשת ישראל אחר שנבעלה, הרי זה כמי שבא על אשת גוי חברו, וייהרג בסיף.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' A Noahide who singles out a maid-servants for his slave and [afterwards] sleeps with her – he is given capital punishment because of her, for [breaking the law of] "neighbor's wife". He is not liable [for sleeping] with her, until [the marriage] has been officiated and become public knowledge, and everyone refers to her as "the wife of the slave so-and-so." When do [relations with] her return to being permitted? When he separates her from his slave and uncovers her hair in the market place. When is a married [Noahide] woman considered a divorced woman as [in Jewish law]? When he removes her from his home and sends her on her own, or when she leaves his domain and goes away. [In Noahide law] there is no [requirement for] a divorce in writing, nor is the matter at the husbands sole discretion, rather anytime that either [the husband] or [the wife] decides to separate from each other – they may separated [and then, are no longer considered as married.]<br />
:See also: [[Divorce in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp;בן נח שייחד שפחה לעבדו, הרי זה נהרג עליה, משום אשת חברו. ואינו חייב עליה, עד שיפשוט הדבר ויאמרו לה העם, זו דבית עבד פלוני. ומאימתיי תחזור להיתרה, משיפרישנה מעבדו, ויפרע ראשה בשוק. ומאימתיי תהיה אשת חברו כגרושה שלנו? משיוציאה מביתו וישלחנה לעצמה, או משתצא היא מתחת רשותו ותלך לה: שאין לה גירושין בכתב; ואין הדבר תלוי בו בלבד, אלא כל זמן שירצה הוא או היא לפרוש זה מזה, פורשין.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' A Noahide is liable for [breaking the law of] robbery whether he stole from a non-Jew or from a Jew. One who robs [forcibly] or steals money, a kidnaper, an [employer who] withholds the wages of a worker, and the like, even a worker who eats [from his employer's produce] not during working hours – in all these, he is liable and considered a thief. This differs in Jewish law. He is liable even [for stealing something] worth less than a ''perutah''; A Noahide who stole less than the worth of a ''perutah'' and another stole it from him – they are both given capital punishment because of it.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Legal Measurements]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על הגזל, בין שגזל גוי בין שגזל ישראל. ואחד הגוזל, או הגונב ממון, או גונב נפש, או הכובש שכר שכיר וכיוצא בו, אפילו פועל שאכל שלא בשעת מלאכה, על הכל הוא חייב, והרי הוא בכלל גזלן: מה שאין כן בישראל. וכן חייב, על פחות משווה פרוטה; ובן נח שגזל פחות משווה פרוטה, ובא אחר וגזלה ממנו, שניהן נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' And also he is liable for [breaking the law of] "torn limb" or "torn meat" – in any amount, for [the specifications of] minimum amounts is defined only in Jewish law [and not Noahide law]. He is permitted blood from a living creature.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Blood in Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp;וכן חייב על אבר מן החי, ועל בשר מן החי בכל שהוא: שלא ניתנו השיעורין, אלא לישראל בלבד. ומותר הוא בדם מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' [This law applies to] a limb or meat, that is separated from a domesticated animal or a [wild] animal; However, it appears to me that a Noahide is not given capital punishment for a "torn limb" from a bird.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp;אחד האבר או הבשר, הפורש מן הבהמה או מן החיה; אבל העוף, ייראה לי, שאין בן נח נהרג על אבר מן החי ממנו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' One who slaughters a domesticated animal, even if one severs the two signs [that would make it properly killed under Jewish law], as long as it moves convulsively, the limbs and meat which are separated from it are forbidden to a Noahide because of [breaking the law of a] "torn limb"<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Kosher Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; השוחט את הבהמה, אפילו שחט בה שני הסימנין, כל זמן שהיא מפרכסת, אבר ובשר הפורשין ממנה אסורין לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''13''' Everyting that is prohibited in Jewish law concerning a "torn limb" is also prohibited according to Noahide law. There are further prohibitions in Noahide law that are not in Jewish law: Noahide law includes domesticated animals and [wild] animals whether they are from a kosher or non-kosher species. Also, a limb or meat that is separated from an animal that is [still] moving convulsively, even though it has been killed properly according to Jewish law by severing the two signs – this is forbidden to a Noahide because it is considered a "torn limb".</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יג</b>&nbsp;כל שאסור על ישראל משום אבר מן החי, אסור על בני נוח. ויש שבני נח חייבין עליו, ולא ישראל: שבני נח אחד בהמה וחיה, בין טהורה בין טמאה, חייבין עליה, משום אבר מן החי ומשום בשר מן החי; ואבר ובשר הפורשין מן המפרכסת, אף על פי ששחט בה ישראל שני הסימנין, הרי זה אסור לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''14''' In what way must [Noahides] fulfill the commandment to establish courts of justice? They are obligated to set up judges and magistrates in every major city to judge according to the above six laws, to warn the nation [regarding their observance]; A noahide who breaks one of these seven laws – is executed by decapitation. [additional text: for example: an idolater, or blasphemer, or muderer, or someone who has had one of the six illicit relations according to [Noahide law], or robbed even the worth of a ''peruta'', or consumed any amount of "torn limb" or "torn meat", or witnessed someone breaking one of these laws, and did not judge and sentance him – all these people are executed by decapitation.] For this all the inhabitants of Shechem were liable for capital punishment. This was because Shechem kidnapped [someone] and they witnessed this and knew [what he had done], but did not judge him. A Noahide is [may be] executed [on the basis of the testimony of] one witness and [the verdict of] a single judge. No prior warning [is required]. Relatives may serve as witnesses. However, a woman may not serve as a witness or a judge [in Noahide law].</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יד</b>&nbsp;וכיצד הן מצווין על הדינים? חייבין להושיב דיינין ושופטים בכל פלך ופלך לדון בשש מצוות אלו, ולהזהיר את העם; ובן נח שעבר על אחת משבע מצוות אלו, ייהרג בסיף. כיצד: אחד העובד עבודה זרה, או שבירך את השם, או ששפך דם, או שבעל אחת משש עריות שלהם, או שגזל אפילו פחות משווה פרוטה, או שאכל כל שהוא מאבר מן החי או בשר מן החי, או שראה אחד שעבר על אחת מאלו ולא דנו והרגו, הרי זה ייהרג בסיף. ומפני זה נתחייבו כל בעלי שכם הריגה, שהרי שכם גזל, והם ראו, וידעו, ולא דנוהו. ובן נח נהרג בעד אחד, ובדיין אחד, בלא התראה, ועל פי קרובים; אבל לא בעדות אישה, ולא תדון אישה להם.</big></div></td><br />
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<br />
== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big>הלכות מלכים ומלחמות פרק י</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''1''' A Noahide that inadvertently violates one of the commandments given to him, is exempt from all [punishment], except for inadvertent homicide. In that case, if the redeemer of the blood killed [the inadvertent killer], he is not punished for it; nor is [may the inadvertent killer seek asylum] in a city of refuge; but their courts may not put him to death. What are we referring to? When he accidentally transgresses one of the commandments and without intent, for example one who sleeps with another man's wife, and imagines that she is his own wife or unmarried. But if he knew that it was another man's wife, but did not know that she was forbidden to him, or it arose in his heart that this was a permitted matter to him; or concerning killing, if he didn't know that it was forbidden to kill; behold this is like an intentional action, and he is given capital punishment. It is not considered as an inadvertent violation, because he must learn [these laws], and he did not.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp;בן נח ששגג באחת ממצוותיו, פטור מכלום: חוץ מרוצח בשגגה, שאם הרגו גואל הדם, אינו נהרג עליו; ואין לו עיר מקלט, אבל בתי דיניהן אין ממיתין אותו. במה דברים אמורים? בשוגג באחת ממצוות ועבר בלא כוונה, כגון שבעל אשת חברו, ודימה שהיא אשתו או פנויה. אבל אם ידע שהיא אשת חברו, ולא ידע שהיא אסורה עליו אלא עלה על ליבו שדבר זה מותר לו, וכן אם הרג, והוא לא ידע שאסור להרוג, הרי זה קרוב למזיד, ונהרג. ולא תיחשב זו להם שגגה, מפני שהיה לו ללמוד, ולא למד.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''2''' A Noahide who is forced by compulsion to transgress one of the commandments given to him, he is permitted to transgress. Even if forced to serve idolatry, he may serve, according to [principle] that they are not commanded on ''[[Kiddush Hashem]]''. And a minor, deaf-mute or fool, are never punished, because they are not [bound by any] commandments.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>&nbsp;בן נח שאנסו אנס לעבור על אחת ממצוותיו, מותר לו לעבור: אפילו נאנס לעבוד עבודה זרה, עובד, לפי שאינן מצווין על קידוש השם. ולעולם אין עונשין מהן לא קטן, ולא חירש, ולא שוטה, לפי שאינן בני מצוות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''3''' Noahide that converts, is circumcised and immerses [in a mivkah], and afterward wants to return from [following] after Hashem [as a Jew], and to be ''Ger Toshov'' only, like he was previously, [the court] does not heed his request: Instead he must be like an Israelite in all matters, or he receives capital punishment. If he was a minor when he was immersed by the court, he may object [to his conversion] at the time that he attains majority, and he is allowed to become a ''Ger Toshov'' only. But if he does not object at the time he attains majority, he is not allowed to object at a later time, but he is considered a full convert. Accordingly if [a Jew has relations with] a young girl that was immersed by court of law, [she is entitled to all] monies specified by the ''ketubah'', or fines [according to] rape or seduction, [however these monies are] are placed under the custody of the court until she attains majority and does not object to her conversion. Lest she benefit by obtaining majority and objecting [to her conversion], in this situation she obtains monies as a non-Jew [outside of Jewish law] that she was only entitled to according to Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שנתגייר, ומל וטבל, ואחר כך רצה לחזור מאחרי ה', ולהיות גר תושב בלבד כשהיה מקודם, אין שומעין לו: אלא יהיה כישראל לכל דבר, או ייהרג. ואם היה קטן כשהטבילו אותו בית דין, יכול למחות בשעה שיגדיל, ויהיה גר תושב בלבד; וכיון שלא מיחה בשעתו, שוב אינו ממחה, אלא הרי הוא גר צדק. לפיכך אם בא לקטנה שהטבילוה בית דין, כסף כתובתה, או קנס אונס או מפתה, יהיה הכל תחת יד בית דין, עד שתגדיל ולא תמחה בגירות: שמא תיטול, ותגדיל ותמחה; ונמצאת זו אוכלת בגיותה מעות שאין לה זכות בהן, אלא בדיני ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''4''' noahide that curses and hashem , or that served idolatry , or that comes on wife of his friend , or that killing his friend , and converts , exempt . killing jew , or that comes on wife of israel , and converts , required ; and they kill him on jew , and is decapitated him on wife of israel that master of , that behold have changed the laws concerning him .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, או שעבד עבודה זרה, או שבא על אשת חברו, או שהרג חברו, ונתגייר, פטור. הרג בן ישראל, או שבא על אשת ישראל, ונתגייר, חייב; והורגין אותו על בן ישראל, וחונקין אותו על אשת ישראל שבעל, שהרי נשתנה דינו.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''5''' already we have explained that all deaths of noahides in sword , except wife of israel, betrothed maiden , he is stoned , and if another mistress that entered to canopy beforehand that consummated , he is strangled .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;כבר ביארנו שכל מיתת בני נח בסיף, אלא אם כן בעל אשת ישראל נערה מאורסה, ייסקל, ואם בעלה אחר שנכנסה לחופה קודם שתיבעל, ייחנק.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''6''' according to kaballah , that noahides are forbbiden in cross-breeding of animal , and in grafting of tree only ; and naught are killed on account of them . and non-jew that struck israel , even suffering in him , although that he required death , doesn't killed .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp; מפי הקבלה, שבני נח אסורין בהרבעת בהמה, ובהרכבת אילן בלבד; ואין נהרגין עליהן. וגוי שהכה ישראל, אפילו חבל בו, אף על פי שהוא חייב מיתה, אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' the circumcision , was commanded in it avraham and his seed only , that as it is said " ye and your seed after you , to their generations " ( genesis 17:9 ). go out his seed of ishmael , that as it is said " because in yitzkhaq , will be called to you seed " ( genesis 21:12 ). and go out esav , that behold yitzkhaq said to ya'aqov " and he will give to you and blessing of avraham , to you and to your seed " ( genesis 28:4 ), from the principle that he by himself his seed of avraham the hold in his faith and his ways the straight , and they the obligated ones in circumcision . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp; המילה, נצטווה בה אברהם וזרעו בלבד, שנאמר "אתה וזרעך אחריך, לדורותם" (בראשית יז,ט). יצא זרעו של ישמעאל, שנאמר "כי ביצחק, ייקרא לך זרע" (בראשית כא,יב). ויצא עשיו, שהרי יצחק אמר ליעקוב "וייתן לך את ברכת אברהם, לך ולזרעך" (בראשית כח,ד), מכלל שהוא לבדו זרעו של אברהם המחזיק בדתו ודרכו הישרה, והם המחוייבין במילה.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' they say sages that children of qeturah , that they his seed of avraham that they came another ishmael and yitzkhaq , are obligated in circumcision . and since and they have been mixed today children of ishmael in children of qeturah , they are obligated all in circumcision in eighth ; and naught are killed about her .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp; אמרו חכמים שבני קטורה, שהם זרעו של אברהם שבאו אחר ישמעאל ויצחק, חייבין במילה. והואיל ונתערבו היום בני ישמעאל בבני קטורה, יתחייבו הכל במילה בשמיני; ואין נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' non-jew that business in torah , required death ; not he shall busy himself except in their seven commandments only . and also non-jew that sabbath , even direction from the days of the secular , if he did him for himself aslike sabbath , required death ; and necessary naught say if he did festival for himself . like to to him of matter : naught allowing them to innovate custom , and do commandments to themselves from their intelligence , except or let there be full convert and he will receive all the commandments , or stand in his statutes and not add and not detract . and if business in torah , or sabbath , or innovated matter , beat him and they are punished him , and inform him that he required death on this ; but doesn't killed . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; גוי שעסק בתורה, חייב מיתה; לא יעסוק אלא בשבע מצוות שלהן בלבד. וכן גוי ששבת, אפילו ביום מימות החול, אם עשה אותו לעצמו כמו שבת, חייב מיתה; ואין צריך לומר אם עשה מועד לעצמו. כללו של דבר: אין מניחין אותן לחדש דת, ולעשות מצוות לעצמן מדעתן, אלא או יהיה גר צדק ויקבל כל המצוות, או יעמוד בתורתו ולא יוסיף ולא יגרע. ואם עסק בתורה, או שבת, או חידש דבר, מכין אותו ועונשין אותו, ומודיעין אותו שהוא חייב מיתה על זה; אבל אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' noahide that wants do command from rest commandments the torah , amphoral to receive reward , naught prevent him do her like required . and if he brings ascend , from receive from him . given charity , from receive from him ; and it appears me that given her to poor of israel , since and he sustained from israel , and command on to support him . but pronounced that given charity , from receive from him , and given her to poor of nations . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; בן נח שרצה לעשות מצוה משאר מצוות התורה, כדי לקבל שכר, אין מונעין אותו לעשות אותה כהלכתה. ואם הביא עולה, מקבלין ממנו. נתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו; וייראה לי שנותנין אותה לעניי ישראל, הואיל והוא ניזון מישראל, ומצוה עליהם להחיותו. אבל הגוי שנתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו, ונותנין אותה לעניי גויים.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' are obligated court of law of israel , to place judges to if only the converts the residents , to judge to them according to judgements if only , amphoral that not decadent the world . if saw court of law that they will set up their judges of them , setting up ; and if saw that they will set up to them from israel , they will set up . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; חייבין בית דין של ישראל, להעמיד שופטים לאלו [[הגרים התושבים]], לדון להן על פי משפטים אלו, כדי שלא יישחת העולם. אם ראו בית דין שיעמידו שופטיהם מהן, מעמידין; ואם ראו שיעמידו להן מישראל, יעמידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' two of nations that they came to your presence to judge in laws of israel , and they want both of them , judge to them judgement torah . the one desire , and the one doesn't desire , naught compelled him to judge except in their laws . there was israel and non-jew , if there is privilege to israel in their laws , judge to him in their laws and they say to him , so your laws ; and if there is privilege to israel in our law , judge to him judgement torah and they say to him , so our law . and it appears me that naught do thus to resident alien , except always judge to him in their laws . and also it appears me that customary nation converts of resident by way of country , and philanthropy like israel , that behold we commanded to support him , that as it is said " to proselyte that in your gates give it to them and eat it " ( deuteronomy 14:21). and this that they say sages , naught compelling to them peace , in nations , not in resident alien . even the nations , command us sages to visit their sick , and to bury their dead with dead of israel , and to support poor of at all poor of israel , because ways of peace : behold as it is said " benefit Hashem to all ; and merciful , on all actions " ( psalms 145, 9 ), and as it is said " its ways , amenity ; and all its paths , peace " ( proverbs 3 , 17 ). </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; שני גויים שבאו לפניך לדון בדיני ישראל, ורצו שניהן, דנים להם דין תורה. האחד רוצה, והאחד אינו רוצה, אין כופין אותו לדון אלא בדיניהן. היה ישראל וגוי, אם יש זכות לישראל בדיניהן, דנים לו בדיניהם ואומרים לו, כך דיניכם; ואם יש זכות לישראל בדינינו, דנין לו דין תורה ואומרים לו, כך דינינו. וייראה לי שאין עושין כן לגר תושב, אלא לעולם דנים לו בדיניהם. וכן ייראה לי שנוהגין עם גרי תושב בדרך ארץ, וגמילות חסדים כישראל, שהרי אנו מצווין להחיותו, שנאמר "לגר אשר בשעריך תיתננה ואכלה" (דברים יד,כא). וזה שאמרו חכמים, אין כופלין להן שלום, בגויים, לא בגר תושב. אפילו הגויים, ציוו חכמים לבקר חוליהם, ולקבור מתיהם עם מתי ישראל, ולפרנס ענייהם בכלל עניי ישראל, מפני דרכי שלום: הרי נאמר "טוב ה', לכל; ורחמיו, על כל מעשיו" (תהילים קמה,ט), ונאמר "דרכיה, דרכי נועם; וכל נתיבותיה, שלום" (משלי ג,יז).</big></div></td><br />
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==See Also==<br />
* [[Christianity and Noahide Law]]<br />
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==References ==<br />
<references /><br />
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'''A note on the translation.''' The English translation is entirely new, with an emphasis allowing word for word comparison with the Hebrew. The Hebrew translation is based on a comparison of three modern texts, generally favoring the most ancient Yemenite manuscripts. Hebrew is written in full (designed for reading without points) except as customary. The notes are drawn from various sources, among them the excellent work of "Maimonides Mishneh Torah: a new translation with commentaries, notes, illustrations and index" by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, Mozaim Publishing Corporation, 1978.<br />
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Copyright © 2007, UNC Inc. All Rights Reserved.<br />
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[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Maimonides%27_Law_of_Noahides&diff=7746
Maimonides' Law of Noahides
2008-05-17T20:00:12Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>Please note when reading this translation that while [[Maimonides]] is one of the major sources for the Code of Jewish Law, Jewish law does not always follow his rulings, and in certain cases other opinions are accepted as law. <br />
<br />
Concerning Maimonides apparent obligation of Jews to seek (or force) observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles. A simple reading of the rules of Maimonides' would indicate that Jews or a Jewish court are obligated in (at the minimum) coercing Noachides to observe their laws. Such is not the only way, however, to interpret Maimonides' statements. See Rabbi Michael J. Broyde in his "The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review" where the conclusion is that such a view is not supported by Jewish Law.<ref>[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]</ref>. The book "Torah For Gentiles" by Elisheva Barre (2008) makes a clear point that the "coersion" of the Bnei Noah laws applies only to the Canaanite nations, as a condition for their becoming Resident Strangers. <br />
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Concerning Maimonides exclusive use of capital punishment for Noahide violations, most rabbinic authorities disagree and hold that it means "punishments up to and including capital punishment"; that a system of fines is meant to be set up; and courts set up by Noahides themselves, not Jewish law, should determine the structure and severity of Noahide punishments in whatever manner best serves justice for their particular country.<ref>[[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</ref><br />
<br />
The question as to what constitutes idolatry today, and whether Christianity constitutes idolatry or a lesser form of ''partnership'', is a matter of debate in Jewish law. In any event, Jewish law has never, at any time in our history, suggested that Christians be prosecuted according to these laws.<ref>[[Christianity and Noahide Law]]</ref><br />
<br />
== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 8 ==<br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''9''' A ''[[Yefas to'ar]]'' that does not want to put down idolatry, after the twelve month<ref>The [[Kesef Mishneh]] asks why a ''Yefas to'ar'' is allowed to worship for such a long period of time when this tolerance is not shown in any other case. The commentaries suggest that this leniency was granted because she was taken by force as prisoner during battle.</ref> receives capital punishment.<ref>Devarim 21:14 says that if the ''Yefas to'ar'' is released, "send her to herself". On this the [[Midrash HaGadol]] comments "send her to herself, but not to her gods", i.e. she must be executed if she remains in idolatry.</ref> Likewise with the city that submits, no treaty is made with them until they have denounced idolatry, destroyed all its places, and have taken upon themselves the rest of the commandments<ref>Here it refers to idolatry, hence the reference to the "other" six commandments. See Law of Kings and their Wars 6:1</ref> that were commanded to ''[[Bnei Noah|Noahides]]''. Any non-Jew who does not accept the laws that were commanded to Noahides receives capital punishment<ref>See Law of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> if he is within our jurisdiction.<ref>Commentaries: our ''undisputed'' authority. In Laws of Idolatry 10:6, the Rambam says that no idolaters should be allowed to live among Jews "when the hand of Israel is powerful over them." The extent of the authority, or under what conditions, is a matter of dispute among the commentaries. During the Second Temple period, it appears that the Sages did not exercise this authority. The consensus of halachic opinion holds that this ruling of the Rambam does not apply today, and may require further clarification and limitation.</ref><br />
:See also: [[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; יפת תואר שלא רצת להניח עבודה זרה לאחר השנים עשר חודש, הורגין אותה. וכן עיר שהשלימה, אין כורתין להן ברית, עד שיכפרו בעבודה זרה, ויאבדו כל מקומותיה, ויקבלו שאר המצוות שנצטוו בני נח: שכל גוי שלא קיבל מצוות שנצטוו בני נח, הורגין אותו, אם ישנו תחת ידינו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''10''' ''[[Moshe Rabbenu]]'' gave the Torah and the commandments as an inheritance only to Israel<ref>See Laws of Kings and their Wars 10:9 where is explains that a non-Jew who studies Torah is worthy of death at the hand of Heaven, under certain conditions.</ref>, as it is written: "[The Torah is...] an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:4). Anyone who wants to may convert from the other nations, as it is written "as with you, [the same shall be] as with the convert" (Numbers 15:15). Anyone who does not wish to is not compelled to accept the Torah and commandments. Instead ''Moshe Rabbenu'' commanded, at the word of the Almighty, to compel all those who come into the world to accept the commandments which were commanded to Noah.<ref>Tosefos Yom Tov (Avos 3:14) writes "as the Rambam writes, we were commanded by Moses [to compel the non-Jews to accept the Seven Laws]. If this applies to compulsion at the point of the sword, with threats of execution,... it surely applies regarding compulsion through persuasion, to lead their hearts to the will of their Creator." The Chasam Sofer (Choshen Mishpat, responsum 85) writes that it is a mitzvah to guide the gentiles in the service of G-d. However some authorities disagree and hold that the obligation is only moral, not a legal requirement, see introduction above.</ref> Anyone who will not accept, receives capital punishment.<ref>In contrast to the guidance mentioned previously, this law only applies when the Jews have undisputed authority of the Land of Israel, See Laws of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> One who accepts these [basic laws] is called: ''[[Ger Toshav]]'' in every place.<ref>According to the Rambam, the laws concerning ''Ger Toshav'' only applies when the entire (or majority) of Jewish people live in the Land of Israel (see Laws of Idolatry 10:6) and at that time non-Jews can become a ''Ger Toshav'' in any land. Other authorities disagree and hold that one may become a ''Ger Toshav'' today. Some authorities require the non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel to be considered a ''Ger Toshav''.</ref> It is necessary to receive him in front of three Torah Scholars.<ref>Three Torah Scholars constitute a rabbinical court. Some commentaries have noted that this is the same requirement for a non-Jews conversion to Judaism, inviting comparison between conversion and a "partial conversion" of the ''Ger Toshav''. Other authorities view the requirement to appear before the court as performing a legal, rather than spiritual function, pointing out that here the non-Jew is re-affirming their covenant rather than 'switching' covenants.</ref> And all who have taken upon themselves to circumcise, and twelve months have past without circumcision, behold this person is like a heretic among the nations.<ref>The Rambam, in the Laws of Kings and their Wars 10, outlines the rules governing our relationship with Jews and non-Jews. A distinction is made between non-Jews who uphold a recognized legal system based on the Seven Laws and those who are outside any recognized legal system. A non-Jew who belongs to a nation who has taken on circumcision (generally understood to refer to the Arabs), but fails to do so falls outside the relationship defined by the Seven Laws. Other texts read "this person is like the other nations", which is understood to imply that someone who agrees to circumcise himself, i.e. convert to Judaism, but twelve months elapse without circumcising himself, his original commitment to convert is no longer taken seriously and he reverts to an ordinary non-Jew.</ref><br />
:See also:''[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]''</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; משה רבינו לא הנחיל התורה והמצוות אלא לישראל, שנאמר "מורשה, קהילת יעקוב" (דברים לג,ד), ולכל הרוצה להתגייר משאר האומות, שנאמר "ככם כגר" (במדבר טו,טו). אבל מי שלא רצה, אין כופין אותו לקבל תורה ומצוות. וכן ציווה משה רבינו מפי הגבורה, לכוף את כל באי העולם לקבל כל מצוות שנצטווה נח, וכל מי שלא קיבל, ייהרג. והמקבל אותם, הוא הנקרא גר תושב בכל מקום. וצריך לקבל עליו בפני שלושה חברים. וכל המקבל עליו למול, ועברו עליו שנים עשר חודש ולא מל, הרי זה כמין שבאומות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''11''' Everyone who accepts the [[Seven Laws]] and is careful to do them, this person is one of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'' (very pious of the nations of the world), and he has portion in the world to come. This applies to one who accepts them and will do them because the ''[[Kodosh Baruch Hu]]'' commanded them in the Torah, and informed us by means of Moshe Rabbenu, that Noahides were previously commanded concerning these laws. But if he does them because of an intellectual decision, then he is not a ''Ger Toshav'', and is not of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'', he is [only] one of their ''[[Chochmei Umos HaOlam]]'' (wise men of the nations of the world).</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; כל המקבל שבע מצוות ונזהר לעשותן, הרי זה מחסידי אומות העולם, ויש לו חלק לעולם הבא. והוא שיקבל אותן ויעשה אותן מפני שציווה בהן הקדוש ברוך הוא בתורה, והודיענו על ידי משה רבינו, שבני נח מקודם נצטוו בהן. אבל אם עשאן מפני הכרע הדעת, אין זה גר תושב, ואינו מחסידי אומות העולם אלא מחכמיהם.</big></div></td><br />
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== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9 ==<br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''1''' ''Adam HaRishon'' was commanded in six things: <br />
* [the prohibition] concerning idolatry<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning blasphemy<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning spilling of blood<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning forbidden relations<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning robbery<br />
* and [the injunction of establishing courts of] justice. <br />
Even though all these were received into our hands from ''Moshe Rabbenu'', and the intelect naturally inclines towards them – from a general reading of the words of Torah, they can see that they were commanded in these. [G-d] added to Noah [the commandment] concerning a torn limb, as it is written "From the flesh, its life is in the blood, do not eat" (Genesis 9:4). This makes seven commandments. This is how matters stood in the world until Avraham. Avraham came and was commanded other things beyond this, in circumcision and he prayed the morning prayers. Yitzchak began tithing, and added the afternoon prayers. Yaakov added [the prohibition of not eating] the sciatic nerve and prayed the evening prayers. In Egypt, Amram was commanded other things, until ''Moshe Rabbenu'' came and completed [the giving] of the Torah, by his hand.<br />
:See also: [[Chart of Maimonides' Noahide Laws]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp; על שישה דברים נצטווה אדם הראשון: על עבודה זרה, ועל ברכת השם, ועל שפיכות דמים, ועל גילוי עריות, ועל הגזל, ועל הדינים. אף על פי שכולן קבלה הן בידינו ממשה רבינו, והדעת נוטה להן, מכלל דברי התורה, ייראה שעל אלו נצטוו. הוסיף לנח אבר מן החי, שנאמר "אך בשר, בנפשו דמו לא תאכלו" (בראשית ט,ד). נמצאו שבע מצוות. וכן היה הדבר בכל העולם, עד אברהם נצטווה יתר על אלו במילה, והוא התפלל שחרית. ויצחק הפריש מעשר, והוסיף תפילה אחרת לפנות היום. ויעקוב הוסיף גיד הנשה, והתפלל ערבית. ובמצריים נצטווה עמרם במצוות יתרות, עד שבא משה רבינו ונשלמה תורה על ידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''2''' A Noahide that serves idolatry – is liable. Who [are we refering to]? One that serves idolatry in the normal way. All who serve idolatry and would be given capital punishment by a Jewish court, a Noahide is also given capital punishment. All who a Jewish court would not give capital punishment, neither is a Noahide given capital punishment. Nevertheless, even though [a Noahide] would not be executed [for these forms of worship], he is forbidden [to engage] in all of them. It is not allowed for them to erect an monument, plant a 'holy tree', nor to make images [of people] and the like, [even though they are only] for the sake of decoration.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>בן נח&nbsp; שעבד עבודה זרה, חייב, והוא? שיעבוד כדרכה. וכל עבודה זרה שבית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, בן נח נהרג עליה. וכל שאין בית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, אין בן נח נהרג עליה; ואף על פי שאינו נהרג, אסור בכל. ואין מניחין אותם להקים מצבה, ולא ליטע אשרה, ולא לעשות צורות וכיוצא בהן לנואי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''3''' A Noahide who curses G-d's name, whether by the particular name of G-d, or another name, in any language – is liable, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, בין שבירך בשם המיוחד, בין שבירך בכינוי, בכל לשון, חייב: מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''4''' A Noahide that murdered someone, even if it was a fetus in its mother's womb – he is given capital punishment [in retribution] for its [death]. Even if the person killed was terminally ill, or bound and placed before a lion, or allowed him to die of starvation – since he caused someone to die in some manner, he is given capital punishment. Even if someone kills a pursuer, when he could have been saved by [simply wounding] one of [the pursuer's] limbs, he is given capital punishment, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שהרג נפש, אפילו עובר במעי אימו, נהרג עליו. וכן אם הרג טריפה, או שכפתו ונתנו לפני הארי, או שהניחו ברעב עד שמת, הואיל והמית מכל מקום, נהרג. וכן אם הרג רודף שיכול להצילו באחד מאבריו, נהרג עליו, מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''5''' Six illicit relations are forbidden to a Noahide: his mother, wife of his father, a married woman, his maternal sister, a male, or a beast, as it is written "Therefore, a man shall leave his father" (Genesis 2:24) this is <br />
* ["his father"] - the wife of his father <br />
* "and his mother" – as understood<br />
* "and cleave to his wife" - not the wife of his neighbor<br />
* "his wife [woman]" - not a male<br />
* "and they shall become one flesh" - to exclude beasts, animals or birds, that cannot be "one flesh"<br />
* ["materal sister"] - that is to say "She is my sister, my father's daughter, but not my mother's. [Thus,] she became my wife." (Genesis 20:12)</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;שש עריות אסורות על בני נוח, האם, ואשת האב, ואשת איש, ואחותו מאימו, וזכור, ובהמה: שנאמר "על כן, יעזוב איש, את אביו" (בראשית ב,כד), זו אשת אביו; "ואת אימו", כמשמעה; "ודבק באשתו", ולא באשת חברו; "ודבק באשתו", לא בזכור; "והיו לבשר אחד", להוציא בהמה חיה ועוף שאין הוא והם בשר אחד; ונאמר "אחותי בת אבי היא, אך, לא בת אימי; ותהי לי, לאישה" (בראשית כ,יב).</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''6''' A Noahide is liable [for relations with his mother even though] she was seduced or raped by his father [and never married to him], for this is [even so] his mother in every respect, and he is liable for [relations with] the wife of his father, even after the father's death. He is liable for homosexuality, whether [with someone] young or old, for bestiality, whether young or old. He is given capital punishment, but the animal is not killed – [Noahide law] was not commanded in the killing of the animal, this is only in Jewish law.<br><br />
</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על מפותת אביו, ואנוסת אביו, הרי היא אימו מכל מקום. וחייב על אשת אביו, אפילו לאחר מיתת אביו. וחייב על הזכור, בין קטן בין גדול; ועל הבהמה, בין קטנה בין גדולה. והוא נהרג לבדו, ואין הורגין את הבהמה, שלא נצטוו בהריגת בהמה, אלא ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' A Noahide is not liable for [breaking the law] of "neighbor's wife" unless they engage in relations in the normal manner after the marriage had been consummated. But, if she was enagaged or had undergone a wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is not liable for [capital punishment] over her, as is is written: "for she has been possessed by [her] husband." (Genesis 20:3). When do these things speak about? When a Noahide man sleeps with a Noahide woman. But, a non-Jew who sleeps with a [married] Jewish woman, in normal or even abnormal manner, is liable [and falls under the jurisdiction of Jewish law:]. If [a non-Jew slept] with an engaged woman – he is stoned to death, as per Jewish law. If he sleeps with her after she has undergone the wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is strangled to death, as per Jewish law. However, if he sleeps with a Jewish woman after her marriage has been consummated, this falls under the law of "neighbor's wife" and he executed by beheading, [as per Noahide law].<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law as International Law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp;אין בן נח חייב על אשת חברו, עד שיבוא עליה כדרכה אחר שנבעלה לבעלה. אבל מאורסה, או שנכנסה לחופה ועדיין לא נבעלה, אין חייבין עליה, שנאמר "והיא, בעולת בעל" (בראשית כ,ג). במה דברים אמורים? בבן נח שבא על בת נוח. אבל גוי שבא על הישראלית, בין כדרכה בין שלא כדרכה, חייב. ואם הייתה נערה מאורסה, נסקל עליה, כדיני ישראל; בא עליה אחר שנכנסה לחופה, ולא נבעלה, הרי זה בחנק, כדיני ישראל. אבל אם בא על אשת ישראל אחר שנבעלה, הרי זה כמי שבא על אשת גוי חברו, וייהרג בסיף.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' A Noahide who singles out a maid-servants for his slave and [afterwards] sleeps with her – he is given capital punishment because of her, for [breaking the law of] "neighbor's wife". He is not liable [for sleeping] with her, until [the marriage] has been officiated and become public knowledge, and everyone refers to her as "the wife of the slave so-and-so." When do [relations with] her return to being permitted? When he separates her from his slave and uncovers her hair in the market place. When is a married [Noahide] woman considered a divorced woman as [in Jewish law]? When he removes her from his home and sends her on her own, or when she leaves his domain and goes away. [In Noahide law] there is no [requirement for] a divorce in writing, nor is the matter at the husbands sole discretion, rather anytime that either [the husband] or [the wife] decides to separate from each other – they may separated [and then, are no longer considered as married.]<br />
:See also: [[Divorce in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp;בן נח שייחד שפחה לעבדו, הרי זה נהרג עליה, משום אשת חברו. ואינו חייב עליה, עד שיפשוט הדבר ויאמרו לה העם, זו דבית עבד פלוני. ומאימתיי תחזור להיתרה, משיפרישנה מעבדו, ויפרע ראשה בשוק. ומאימתיי תהיה אשת חברו כגרושה שלנו? משיוציאה מביתו וישלחנה לעצמה, או משתצא היא מתחת רשותו ותלך לה: שאין לה גירושין בכתב; ואין הדבר תלוי בו בלבד, אלא כל זמן שירצה הוא או היא לפרוש זה מזה, פורשין.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' A Noahide is liable for [breaking the law of] robbery whether he stole from a non-Jew or from a Jew. One who robs [forcibly] or steals money, a kidnaper, an [employer who] withholds the wages of a worker, and the like, even a worker who eats [from his employer's produce] not during working hours – in all these, he is liable and considered a thief. This differs in Jewish law. He is liable even [for stealing something] worth less than a ''perutah''; A Noahide who stole less than the worth of a ''perutah'' and another stole it from him – they are both given capital punishment because of it.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Legal Measurements]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על הגזל, בין שגזל גוי בין שגזל ישראל. ואחד הגוזל, או הגונב ממון, או גונב נפש, או הכובש שכר שכיר וכיוצא בו, אפילו פועל שאכל שלא בשעת מלאכה, על הכל הוא חייב, והרי הוא בכלל גזלן: מה שאין כן בישראל. וכן חייב, על פחות משווה פרוטה; ובן נח שגזל פחות משווה פרוטה, ובא אחר וגזלה ממנו, שניהן נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' And also he is liable for [breaking the law of] "torn limb" or "torn meat" – in any amount, for [the specifications of] minimum amounts is defined only in Jewish law [and not Noahide law]. He is permitted blood from a living creature.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Blood in Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp;וכן חייב על אבר מן החי, ועל בשר מן החי בכל שהוא: שלא ניתנו השיעורין, אלא לישראל בלבד. ומותר הוא בדם מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' [This law applies to] a limb or meat, that is separated from a domesticated animal or a [wild] animal; However, it appears to me that a Noahide is not given capital punishment for a "torn limb" from a bird.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp;אחד האבר או הבשר, הפורש מן הבהמה או מן החיה; אבל העוף, ייראה לי, שאין בן נח נהרג על אבר מן החי ממנו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' One who slaughters a domesticated animal, even if one severs the two signs [that would make it properly killed under Jewish law], as long as it moves convulsively, the limbs and meat which are separated from it are forbidden to a Noahide because of [breaking the law of a] "torn limb"<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Kosher Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; השוחט את הבהמה, אפילו שחט בה שני הסימנין, כל זמן שהיא מפרכסת, אבר ובשר הפורשין ממנה אסורין לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''13''' Everyting that is prohibited in Jewish law concerning a "torn limb" is also prohibited according to Noahide law. There are further prohibitions in Noahide law that are not in Jewish law: Noahide law includes domesticated animals and [wild] animals whether they are from a kosher or non-kosher species. Also, a limb or meat that is separated from an animal that is [still] moving convulsively, even though it has been killed properly according to Jewish law by severing the two signs – this is forbidden to a Noahide because it is considered a "torn limb".</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יג</b>&nbsp;כל שאסור על ישראל משום אבר מן החי, אסור על בני נוח. ויש שבני נח חייבין עליו, ולא ישראל: שבני נח אחד בהמה וחיה, בין טהורה בין טמאה, חייבין עליה, משום אבר מן החי ומשום בשר מן החי; ואבר ובשר הפורשין מן המפרכסת, אף על פי ששחט בה ישראל שני הסימנין, הרי זה אסור לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''14''' In what way must [Noahides] fulfill the commandment to establish courts of justice? They are obligated to set up judges and magistrates in every major city to judge according to the above six laws, to warn the nation [regarding their observance]; A noahide who breaks one of these seven laws – is executed by decapitation. [additional text: for example: an idolater, or blasphemer, or muderer, or someone who has had one of the six illicit relations according to [Noahide law], or robbed even the worth of a ''peruta'', or consumed any amount of "torn limb" or "torn meat", or witnessed someone breaking one of these laws, and did not judge and sentance him – all these people are executed by decapitation.] For this all the inhabitants of Shechem were liable for capital punishment. This was because Shechem kidnapped [someone] and they witnessed this and knew [what he had done], but did not judge him. A Noahide is [may be] executed [on the basis of the testimony of] one witness and [the verdict of] a single judge. No prior warning [is required]. Relatives may serve as witnesses. However, a woman may not serve as a witness or a judge [in Noahide law].</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יד</b>&nbsp;וכיצד הן מצווין על הדינים? חייבין להושיב דיינין ושופטים בכל פלך ופלך לדון בשש מצוות אלו, ולהזהיר את העם; ובן נח שעבר על אחת משבע מצוות אלו, ייהרג בסיף. כיצד: אחד העובד עבודה זרה, או שבירך את השם, או ששפך דם, או שבעל אחת משש עריות שלהם, או שגזל אפילו פחות משווה פרוטה, או שאכל כל שהוא מאבר מן החי או בשר מן החי, או שראה אחד שעבר על אחת מאלו ולא דנו והרגו, הרי זה ייהרג בסיף. ומפני זה נתחייבו כל בעלי שכם הריגה, שהרי שכם גזל, והם ראו, וידעו, ולא דנוהו. ובן נח נהרג בעד אחד, ובדיין אחד, בלא התראה, ועל פי קרובים; אבל לא בעדות אישה, ולא תדון אישה להם.</big></div></td><br />
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== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big>הלכות מלכים ומלחמות פרק י</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''1''' A Noahide that inadvertently violates one of the commandments given to him, is exempt from all [punishment], except for inadvertent homicide. In that case, if the redeemer of the blood killed [the inadvertent killer], he is not punished for it; nor is [may the inadvertent killer seek asylum] in a city of refuge; but their courts may not put him to death. What are we referring to? When he accidentally transgresses one of the commandments and without intent, for example one who sleeps with another man's wife, and imagines that she is his own wife or unmarried. But if he knew that it was another man's wife, but did not know that she was forbidden to him, or it arose in his heart that this was a permitted matter to him; or concerning killing, if he didn't know that it was forbidden to kill; behold this is like an intentional action, and he is given capital punishment. It is not considered as an inadvertent violation, because he must learn [these laws], and he did not.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp;בן נח ששגג באחת ממצוותיו, פטור מכלום: חוץ מרוצח בשגגה, שאם הרגו גואל הדם, אינו נהרג עליו; ואין לו עיר מקלט, אבל בתי דיניהן אין ממיתין אותו. במה דברים אמורים? בשוגג באחת ממצוות ועבר בלא כוונה, כגון שבעל אשת חברו, ודימה שהיא אשתו או פנויה. אבל אם ידע שהיא אשת חברו, ולא ידע שהיא אסורה עליו אלא עלה על ליבו שדבר זה מותר לו, וכן אם הרג, והוא לא ידע שאסור להרוג, הרי זה קרוב למזיד, ונהרג. ולא תיחשב זו להם שגגה, מפני שהיה לו ללמוד, ולא למד.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''2''' A Noahide who is forced by compulsion to transgress one of the commandments given to him, he is permitted to transgress. Even if forced to serve idolatry, he may serve, according to [principle] that they are not commanded on ''[[Kiddush Hashem]]''. And a minor, deaf-mute or fool, are never punished, because they are not [bound by any] commandments.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>&nbsp;בן נח שאנסו אנס לעבור על אחת ממצוותיו, מותר לו לעבור: אפילו נאנס לעבוד עבודה זרה, עובד, לפי שאינן מצווין על קידוש השם. ולעולם אין עונשין מהן לא קטן, ולא חירש, ולא שוטה, לפי שאינן בני מצוות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''3''' Noahide that converts, is circumcised and immerses [in a mivkah], and afterward wants to return from [following] after Hashem [as a Jew], and to be ''Ger Toshov'' only, like he was previously, [the court] does not heed his request: Instead he must be like an Israelite in all matters, or he receives capital punishment. If he was a minor when he was immersed by the court, he may object [to his conversion] at the time that he attains majority, and he is allowed to become a ''Ger Toshov'' only. But if he does not object at the time he attains majority, he is not allowed to object at a later time, but he is considered a full convert. Accordingly if [a Jew has relations with] a young girl that was immersed by court of law, [she is entitled to all] monies specified by the ''ketubah'', or fines [according to] rape or seduction, [however these monies are] are placed under the custody of the court until she attains majority and does not object to her conversion. Lest she benefit by obtaining majority and objecting [to her conversion], in this situation she obtains monies as a non-Jew [outside of Jewish law] that she was only entitled to according to Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שנתגייר, ומל וטבל, ואחר כך רצה לחזור מאחרי ה', ולהיות גר תושב בלבד כשהיה מקודם, אין שומעין לו: אלא יהיה כישראל לכל דבר, או ייהרג. ואם היה קטן כשהטבילו אותו בית דין, יכול למחות בשעה שיגדיל, ויהיה גר תושב בלבד; וכיון שלא מיחה בשעתו, שוב אינו ממחה, אלא הרי הוא גר צדק. לפיכך אם בא לקטנה שהטבילוה בית דין, כסף כתובתה, או קנס אונס או מפתה, יהיה הכל תחת יד בית דין, עד שתגדיל ולא תמחה בגירות: שמא תיטול, ותגדיל ותמחה; ונמצאת זו אוכלת בגיותה מעות שאין לה זכות בהן, אלא בדיני ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''4''' noahide that curses and hashem , or that served idolatry , or that comes on wife of his friend , or that killing his friend , and converts , exempt . killing jew , or that comes on wife of israel , and converts , required ; and they kill him on jew , and is decapitated him on wife of israel that master of , that behold have changed the laws concerning him .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, או שעבד עבודה זרה, או שבא על אשת חברו, או שהרג חברו, ונתגייר, פטור. הרג בן ישראל, או שבא על אשת ישראל, ונתגייר, חייב; והורגין אותו על בן ישראל, וחונקין אותו על אשת ישראל שבעל, שהרי נשתנה דינו.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''5''' already we have explained that all deaths of noahides in sword , except wife of israel, betrothed maiden , he is stoned , and if another mistress that entered to canopy beforehand that consummated , he is strangled .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;כבר ביארנו שכל מיתת בני נח בסיף, אלא אם כן בעל אשת ישראל נערה מאורסה, ייסקל, ואם בעלה אחר שנכנסה לחופה קודם שתיבעל, ייחנק.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''6''' according to kaballah , that noahides are forbbiden in cross-breeding of animal , and in grafting of tree only ; and naught are killed on account of them . and non-jew that struck israel , even suffering in him , although that he required death , doesn't killed .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp; מפי הקבלה, שבני נח אסורין בהרבעת בהמה, ובהרכבת אילן בלבד; ואין נהרגין עליהן. וגוי שהכה ישראל, אפילו חבל בו, אף על פי שהוא חייב מיתה, אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' the circumcision , was commanded in it avraham and his seed only , that as it is said " ye and your seed after you , to their generations " ( genesis 17:9 ). go out his seed of ishmael , that as it is said " because in yitzkhaq , will be called to you seed " ( genesis 21:12 ). and go out esav , that behold yitzkhaq said to ya'aqov " and he will give to you and blessing of avraham , to you and to your seed " ( genesis 28:4 ), from the principle that he by himself his seed of avraham the hold in his faith and his ways the straight , and they the obligated ones in circumcision . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp; המילה, נצטווה בה אברהם וזרעו בלבד, שנאמר "אתה וזרעך אחריך, לדורותם" (בראשית יז,ט). יצא זרעו של ישמעאל, שנאמר "כי ביצחק, ייקרא לך זרע" (בראשית כא,יב). ויצא עשיו, שהרי יצחק אמר ליעקוב "וייתן לך את ברכת אברהם, לך ולזרעך" (בראשית כח,ד), מכלל שהוא לבדו זרעו של אברהם המחזיק בדתו ודרכו הישרה, והם המחוייבין במילה.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' they say sages that children of qeturah , that they his seed of avraham that they came another ishmael and yitzkhaq , are obligated in circumcision . and since and they have been mixed today children of ishmael in children of qeturah , they are obligated all in circumcision in eighth ; and naught are killed about her .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp; אמרו חכמים שבני קטורה, שהם זרעו של אברהם שבאו אחר ישמעאל ויצחק, חייבין במילה. והואיל ונתערבו היום בני ישמעאל בבני קטורה, יתחייבו הכל במילה בשמיני; ואין נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' non-jew that business in torah , required death ; not he shall busy himself except in their seven commandments only . and also non-jew that sabbath , even direction from the days of the secular , if he did him for himself aslike sabbath , required death ; and necessary naught say if he did festival for himself . like to to him of matter : naught allowing them to innovate custom , and do commandments to themselves from their intelligence , except or let there be full convert and he will receive all the commandments , or stand in his statutes and not add and not detract . and if business in torah , or sabbath , or innovated matter , beat him and they are punished him , and inform him that he required death on this ; but doesn't killed . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; גוי שעסק בתורה, חייב מיתה; לא יעסוק אלא בשבע מצוות שלהן בלבד. וכן גוי ששבת, אפילו ביום מימות החול, אם עשה אותו לעצמו כמו שבת, חייב מיתה; ואין צריך לומר אם עשה מועד לעצמו. כללו של דבר: אין מניחין אותן לחדש דת, ולעשות מצוות לעצמן מדעתן, אלא או יהיה גר צדק ויקבל כל המצוות, או יעמוד בתורתו ולא יוסיף ולא יגרע. ואם עסק בתורה, או שבת, או חידש דבר, מכין אותו ועונשין אותו, ומודיעין אותו שהוא חייב מיתה על זה; אבל אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' noahide that wants do command from rest commandments the torah , amphoral to receive reward , naught prevent him do her like required . and if he brings ascend , from receive from him . given charity , from receive from him ; and it appears me that given her to poor of israel , since and he sustained from israel , and command on to support him . but pronounced that given charity , from receive from him , and given her to poor of nations . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; בן נח שרצה לעשות מצוה משאר מצוות התורה, כדי לקבל שכר, אין מונעין אותו לעשות אותה כהלכתה. ואם הביא עולה, מקבלין ממנו. נתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו; וייראה לי שנותנין אותה לעניי ישראל, הואיל והוא ניזון מישראל, ומצוה עליהם להחיותו. אבל הגוי שנתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו, ונותנין אותה לעניי גויים.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' are obligated court of law of israel , to place judges to if only the converts the residents , to judge to them according to judgements if only , amphoral that not decadent the world . if saw court of law that they will set up their judges of them , setting up ; and if saw that they will set up to them from israel , they will set up . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; חייבין בית דין של ישראל, להעמיד שופטים לאלו [[הגרים התושבים]], לדון להן על פי משפטים אלו, כדי שלא יישחת העולם. אם ראו בית דין שיעמידו שופטיהם מהן, מעמידין; ואם ראו שיעמידו להן מישראל, יעמידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' two of nations that they came to your presence to judge in laws of israel , and they want both of them , judge to them judgement torah . the one desire , and the one doesn't desire , naught compelled him to judge except in their laws . there was israel and non-jew , if there is privilege to israel in their laws , judge to him in their laws and they say to him , so your laws ; and if there is privilege to israel in our law , judge to him judgement torah and they say to him , so our law . and it appears me that naught do thus to resident alien , except always judge to him in their laws . and also it appears me that customary nation converts of resident by way of country , and philanthropy like israel , that behold we commanded to support him , that as it is said " to proselyte that in your gates give it to them and eat it " ( deuteronomy 14:21). and this that they say sages , naught compelling to them peace , in nations , not in resident alien . even the nations , command us sages to visit their sick , and to bury their dead with dead of israel , and to support poor of at all poor of israel , because ways of peace : behold as it is said " benefit Hashem to all ; and merciful , on all actions " ( psalms 145, 9 ), and as it is said " its ways , amenity ; and all its paths , peace " ( proverbs 3 , 17 ). </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; שני גויים שבאו לפניך לדון בדיני ישראל, ורצו שניהן, דנים להם דין תורה. האחד רוצה, והאחד אינו רוצה, אין כופין אותו לדון אלא בדיניהן. היה ישראל וגוי, אם יש זכות לישראל בדיניהן, דנים לו בדיניהם ואומרים לו, כך דיניכם; ואם יש זכות לישראל בדינינו, דנין לו דין תורה ואומרים לו, כך דינינו. וייראה לי שאין עושין כן לגר תושב, אלא לעולם דנים לו בדיניהם. וכן ייראה לי שנוהגין עם גרי תושב בדרך ארץ, וגמילות חסדים כישראל, שהרי אנו מצווין להחיותו, שנאמר "לגר אשר בשעריך תיתננה ואכלה" (דברים יד,כא). וזה שאמרו חכמים, אין כופלין להן שלום, בגויים, לא בגר תושב. אפילו הגויים, ציוו חכמים לבקר חוליהם, ולקבור מתיהם עם מתי ישראל, ולפרנס ענייהם בכלל עניי ישראל, מפני דרכי שלום: הרי נאמר "טוב ה', לכל; ורחמיו, על כל מעשיו" (תהילים קמה,ט), ונאמר "דרכיה, דרכי נועם; וכל נתיבותיה, שלום" (משלי ג,יז).</big></div></td><br />
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==See Also==<br />
* [[Christianity and Noahide Law]]<br />
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==References ==<br />
<references /><br />
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'''A note on the translation.''' The English translation is entirely new, with an emphasis allowing word for word comparison with the Hebrew. The Hebrew translation is based on a comparison of three modern texts, generally favoring the most ancient Yemenite manuscripts. Hebrew is written in full (designed for reading without points) except as customary. The notes are drawn from various sources, among them the excellent work of "Maimonides Mishneh Torah: a new translation with commentaries, notes, illustrations and index" by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, Mozaim Publishing Corporation, 1978.<br />
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Copyright © 2007, UNC Inc. All Rights Reserved.<br />
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[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Maimonides%27_Law_of_Noahides&diff=7745
Maimonides' Law of Noahides
2008-05-17T19:58:32Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
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<div>Please note when reading this translation that while [[Maimonides]] is one of the major sources for the Code of Jewish Law, Jewish law does not always follow his rulings, and in certain cases other opinions are accepted as law. <br />
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Concerning Maimonides apparent obligation of Jews to seek (or force) observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles. A simple reading of the rules of Maimonides' would indicate that Jews or a Jewish court are obligated in (at the minimum) coercing Noachides to observe their laws. Such is not the only way, however, to interpret Maimonides' statements. See Rabbi Michael J. Broyde in his "The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noachide Laws by Gentiles: A Theoretical Review" where the conclusion is that such a view is not supported by Jewish Law.<ref>[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]</ref>. The book TORAH FOR GENTILES makes a clear point that the "coersion" of the the Bnei Noah laws applies only to the Canaanite nations, as a condition for their becoming Resident Strangers. <br />
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Concerning Maimonides exclusive use of capital punishment for Noahide violations, most rabbinic authorities disagree and hold that it means "punishments up to and including capital punishment"; that a system of fines is meant to be set up; and courts set up by Noahides themselves, not Jewish law, should determine the structure and severity of Noahide punishments in whatever manner best serves justice for their particular country.<ref>[[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</ref><br />
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The question as to what constitutes idolatry today, and whether Christianity constitutes idolatry or a lesser form of ''partnership'', is a matter of debate in Jewish law. In any event, Jewish law has never, at any time in our history, suggested that Christians be prosecuted according to these laws.<ref>[[Christianity and Noahide Law]]</ref><br />
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== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 8 ==<br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''9''' A ''[[Yefas to'ar]]'' that does not want to put down idolatry, after the twelve month<ref>The [[Kesef Mishneh]] asks why a ''Yefas to'ar'' is allowed to worship for such a long period of time when this tolerance is not shown in any other case. The commentaries suggest that this leniency was granted because she was taken by force as prisoner during battle.</ref> receives capital punishment.<ref>Devarim 21:14 says that if the ''Yefas to'ar'' is released, "send her to herself". On this the [[Midrash HaGadol]] comments "send her to herself, but not to her gods", i.e. she must be executed if she remains in idolatry.</ref> Likewise with the city that submits, no treaty is made with them until they have denounced idolatry, destroyed all its places, and have taken upon themselves the rest of the commandments<ref>Here it refers to idolatry, hence the reference to the "other" six commandments. See Law of Kings and their Wars 6:1</ref> that were commanded to ''[[Bnei Noah|Noahides]]''. Any non-Jew who does not accept the laws that were commanded to Noahides receives capital punishment<ref>See Law of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> if he is within our jurisdiction.<ref>Commentaries: our ''undisputed'' authority. In Laws of Idolatry 10:6, the Rambam says that no idolaters should be allowed to live among Jews "when the hand of Israel is powerful over them." The extent of the authority, or under what conditions, is a matter of dispute among the commentaries. During the Second Temple period, it appears that the Sages did not exercise this authority. The consensus of halachic opinion holds that this ruling of the Rambam does not apply today, and may require further clarification and limitation.</ref><br />
:See also: [[Capital Punishment in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; יפת תואר שלא רצת להניח עבודה זרה לאחר השנים עשר חודש, הורגין אותה. וכן עיר שהשלימה, אין כורתין להן ברית, עד שיכפרו בעבודה זרה, ויאבדו כל מקומותיה, ויקבלו שאר המצוות שנצטוו בני נח: שכל גוי שלא קיבל מצוות שנצטוו בני נח, הורגין אותו, אם ישנו תחת ידינו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''10''' ''[[Moshe Rabbenu]]'' gave the Torah and the commandments as an inheritance only to Israel<ref>See Laws of Kings and their Wars 10:9 where is explains that a non-Jew who studies Torah is worthy of death at the hand of Heaven, under certain conditions.</ref>, as it is written: "[The Torah is...] an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:4). Anyone who wants to may convert from the other nations, as it is written "as with you, [the same shall be] as with the convert" (Numbers 15:15). Anyone who does not wish to is not compelled to accept the Torah and commandments. Instead ''Moshe Rabbenu'' commanded, at the word of the Almighty, to compel all those who come into the world to accept the commandments which were commanded to Noah.<ref>Tosefos Yom Tov (Avos 3:14) writes "as the Rambam writes, we were commanded by Moses [to compel the non-Jews to accept the Seven Laws]. If this applies to compulsion at the point of the sword, with threats of execution,... it surely applies regarding compulsion through persuasion, to lead their hearts to the will of their Creator." The Chasam Sofer (Choshen Mishpat, responsum 85) writes that it is a mitzvah to guide the gentiles in the service of G-d. However some authorities disagree and hold that the obligation is only moral, not a legal requirement, see introduction above.</ref> Anyone who will not accept, receives capital punishment.<ref>In contrast to the guidance mentioned previously, this law only applies when the Jews have undisputed authority of the Land of Israel, See Laws of Kings and their Wars 9:14</ref> One who accepts these [basic laws] is called: ''[[Ger Toshav]]'' in every place.<ref>According to the Rambam, the laws concerning ''Ger Toshav'' only applies when the entire (or majority) of Jewish people live in the Land of Israel (see Laws of Idolatry 10:6) and at that time non-Jews can become a ''Ger Toshav'' in any land. Other authorities disagree and hold that one may become a ''Ger Toshav'' today. Some authorities require the non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel to be considered a ''Ger Toshav''.</ref> It is necessary to receive him in front of three Torah Scholars.<ref>Three Torah Scholars constitute a rabbinical court. Some commentaries have noted that this is the same requirement for a non-Jews conversion to Judaism, inviting comparison between conversion and a "partial conversion" of the ''Ger Toshav''. Other authorities view the requirement to appear before the court as performing a legal, rather than spiritual function, pointing out that here the non-Jew is re-affirming their covenant rather than 'switching' covenants.</ref> And all who have taken upon themselves to circumcise, and twelve months have past without circumcision, behold this person is like a heretic among the nations.<ref>The Rambam, in the Laws of Kings and their Wars 10, outlines the rules governing our relationship with Jews and non-Jews. A distinction is made between non-Jews who uphold a recognized legal system based on the Seven Laws and those who are outside any recognized legal system. A non-Jew who belongs to a nation who has taken on circumcision (generally understood to refer to the Arabs), but fails to do so falls outside the relationship defined by the Seven Laws. Other texts read "this person is like the other nations", which is understood to imply that someone who agrees to circumcise himself, i.e. convert to Judaism, but twelve months elapse without circumcising himself, his original commitment to convert is no longer taken seriously and he reverts to an ordinary non-Jew.</ref><br />
:See also:''[[The Obligation of Jews to Seek Observance of Noahide Laws by Gentiles]]''</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; משה רבינו לא הנחיל התורה והמצוות אלא לישראל, שנאמר "מורשה, קהילת יעקוב" (דברים לג,ד), ולכל הרוצה להתגייר משאר האומות, שנאמר "ככם כגר" (במדבר טו,טו). אבל מי שלא רצה, אין כופין אותו לקבל תורה ומצוות. וכן ציווה משה רבינו מפי הגבורה, לכוף את כל באי העולם לקבל כל מצוות שנצטווה נח, וכל מי שלא קיבל, ייהרג. והמקבל אותם, הוא הנקרא גר תושב בכל מקום. וצריך לקבל עליו בפני שלושה חברים. וכל המקבל עליו למול, ועברו עליו שנים עשר חודש ולא מל, הרי זה כמין שבאומות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''11''' Everyone who accepts the [[Seven Laws]] and is careful to do them, this person is one of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'' (very pious of the nations of the world), and he has portion in the world to come. This applies to one who accepts them and will do them because the ''[[Kodosh Baruch Hu]]'' commanded them in the Torah, and informed us by means of Moshe Rabbenu, that Noahides were previously commanded concerning these laws. But if he does them because of an intellectual decision, then he is not a ''Ger Toshav'', and is not of the ''[[Chasidei Umos HaOlam]]'', he is [only] one of their ''[[Chochmei Umos HaOlam]]'' (wise men of the nations of the world).</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; כל המקבל שבע מצוות ונזהר לעשותן, הרי זה מחסידי אומות העולם, ויש לו חלק לעולם הבא. והוא שיקבל אותן ויעשה אותן מפני שציווה בהן הקדוש ברוך הוא בתורה, והודיענו על ידי משה רבינו, שבני נח מקודם נצטוו בהן. אבל אם עשאן מפני הכרע הדעת, אין זה גר תושב, ואינו מחסידי אומות העולם אלא מחכמיהם.</big></div></td><br />
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== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 9 ==<br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''1''' ''Adam HaRishon'' was commanded in six things: <br />
* [the prohibition] concerning idolatry<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning blasphemy<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning spilling of blood<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning forbidden relations<br />
* [the prohibition] concerning robbery<br />
* and [the injunction of establishing courts of] justice. <br />
Even though all these were received into our hands from ''Moshe Rabbenu'', and the intelect naturally inclines towards them – from a general reading of the words of Torah, they can see that they were commanded in these. [G-d] added to Noah [the commandment] concerning a torn limb, as it is written "From the flesh, its life is in the blood, do not eat" (Genesis 9:4). This makes seven commandments. This is how matters stood in the world until Avraham. Avraham came and was commanded other things beyond this, in circumcision and he prayed the morning prayers. Yitzchak began tithing, and added the afternoon prayers. Yaakov added [the prohibition of not eating] the sciatic nerve and prayed the evening prayers. In Egypt, Amram was commanded other things, until ''Moshe Rabbenu'' came and completed [the giving] of the Torah, by his hand.<br />
:See also: [[Chart of Maimonides' Noahide Laws]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp; על שישה דברים נצטווה אדם הראשון: על עבודה זרה, ועל ברכת השם, ועל שפיכות דמים, ועל גילוי עריות, ועל הגזל, ועל הדינים. אף על פי שכולן קבלה הן בידינו ממשה רבינו, והדעת נוטה להן, מכלל דברי התורה, ייראה שעל אלו נצטוו. הוסיף לנח אבר מן החי, שנאמר "אך בשר, בנפשו דמו לא תאכלו" (בראשית ט,ד). נמצאו שבע מצוות. וכן היה הדבר בכל העולם, עד אברהם נצטווה יתר על אלו במילה, והוא התפלל שחרית. ויצחק הפריש מעשר, והוסיף תפילה אחרת לפנות היום. ויעקוב הוסיף גיד הנשה, והתפלל ערבית. ובמצריים נצטווה עמרם במצוות יתרות, עד שבא משה רבינו ונשלמה תורה על ידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''2''' A Noahide that serves idolatry – is liable. Who [are we refering to]? One that serves idolatry in the normal way. All who serve idolatry and would be given capital punishment by a Jewish court, a Noahide is also given capital punishment. All who a Jewish court would not give capital punishment, neither is a Noahide given capital punishment. Nevertheless, even though [a Noahide] would not be executed [for these forms of worship], he is forbidden [to engage] in all of them. It is not allowed for them to erect an monument, plant a 'holy tree', nor to make images [of people] and the like, [even though they are only] for the sake of decoration.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>בן נח&nbsp; שעבד עבודה זרה, חייב, והוא? שיעבוד כדרכה. וכל עבודה זרה שבית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, בן נח נהרג עליה. וכל שאין בית דין של ישראל ממיתין עליה, אין בן נח נהרג עליה; ואף על פי שאינו נהרג, אסור בכל. ואין מניחין אותם להקים מצבה, ולא ליטע אשרה, ולא לעשות צורות וכיוצא בהן לנואי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''3''' A Noahide who curses G-d's name, whether by the particular name of G-d, or another name, in any language – is liable, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, בין שבירך בשם המיוחד, בין שבירך בכינוי, בכל לשון, חייב: מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''4''' A Noahide that murdered someone, even if it was a fetus in its mother's womb – he is given capital punishment [in retribution] for its [death]. Even if the person killed was terminally ill, or bound and placed before a lion, or allowed him to die of starvation – since he caused someone to die in some manner, he is given capital punishment. Even if someone kills a pursuer, when he could have been saved by [simply wounding] one of [the pursuer's] limbs, he is given capital punishment, whereas this differs from Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שהרג נפש, אפילו עובר במעי אימו, נהרג עליו. וכן אם הרג טריפה, או שכפתו ונתנו לפני הארי, או שהניחו ברעב עד שמת, הואיל והמית מכל מקום, נהרג. וכן אם הרג רודף שיכול להצילו באחד מאבריו, נהרג עליו, מה שאין כן בישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''5''' Six illicit relations are forbidden to a Noahide: his mother, wife of his father, a married woman, his maternal sister, a male, or a beast, as it is written "Therefore, a man shall leave his father" (Genesis 2:24) this is <br />
* ["his father"] - the wife of his father <br />
* "and his mother" – as understood<br />
* "and cleave to his wife" - not the wife of his neighbor<br />
* "his wife [woman]" - not a male<br />
* "and they shall become one flesh" - to exclude beasts, animals or birds, that cannot be "one flesh"<br />
* ["materal sister"] - that is to say "She is my sister, my father's daughter, but not my mother's. [Thus,] she became my wife." (Genesis 20:12)</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;שש עריות אסורות על בני נוח, האם, ואשת האב, ואשת איש, ואחותו מאימו, וזכור, ובהמה: שנאמר "על כן, יעזוב איש, את אביו" (בראשית ב,כד), זו אשת אביו; "ואת אימו", כמשמעה; "ודבק באשתו", ולא באשת חברו; "ודבק באשתו", לא בזכור; "והיו לבשר אחד", להוציא בהמה חיה ועוף שאין הוא והם בשר אחד; ונאמר "אחותי בת אבי היא, אך, לא בת אימי; ותהי לי, לאישה" (בראשית כ,יב).</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top" width="50%">'''6''' A Noahide is liable [for relations with his mother even though] she was seduced or raped by his father [and never married to him], for this is [even so] his mother in every respect, and he is liable for [relations with] the wife of his father, even after the father's death. He is liable for homosexuality, whether [with someone] young or old, for bestiality, whether young or old. He is given capital punishment, but the animal is not killed – [Noahide law] was not commanded in the killing of the animal, this is only in Jewish law.<br><br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על מפותת אביו, ואנוסת אביו, הרי היא אימו מכל מקום. וחייב על אשת אביו, אפילו לאחר מיתת אביו. וחייב על הזכור, בין קטן בין גדול; ועל הבהמה, בין קטנה בין גדולה. והוא נהרג לבדו, ואין הורגין את הבהמה, שלא נצטוו בהריגת בהמה, אלא ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' A Noahide is not liable for [breaking the law] of "neighbor's wife" unless they engage in relations in the normal manner after the marriage had been consummated. But, if she was enagaged or had undergone a wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is not liable for [capital punishment] over her, as is is written: "for she has been possessed by [her] husband." (Genesis 20:3). When do these things speak about? When a Noahide man sleeps with a Noahide woman. But, a non-Jew who sleeps with a [married] Jewish woman, in normal or even abnormal manner, is liable [and falls under the jurisdiction of Jewish law:]. If [a non-Jew slept] with an engaged woman – he is stoned to death, as per Jewish law. If he sleeps with her after she has undergone the wedding ceremony, but the marriage has not been consummated – he is strangled to death, as per Jewish law. However, if he sleeps with a Jewish woman after her marriage has been consummated, this falls under the law of "neighbor's wife" and he executed by beheading, [as per Noahide law].<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law as International Law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp;אין בן נח חייב על אשת חברו, עד שיבוא עליה כדרכה אחר שנבעלה לבעלה. אבל מאורסה, או שנכנסה לחופה ועדיין לא נבעלה, אין חייבין עליה, שנאמר "והיא, בעולת בעל" (בראשית כ,ג). במה דברים אמורים? בבן נח שבא על בת נוח. אבל גוי שבא על הישראלית, בין כדרכה בין שלא כדרכה, חייב. ואם הייתה נערה מאורסה, נסקל עליה, כדיני ישראל; בא עליה אחר שנכנסה לחופה, ולא נבעלה, הרי זה בחנק, כדיני ישראל. אבל אם בא על אשת ישראל אחר שנבעלה, הרי זה כמי שבא על אשת גוי חברו, וייהרג בסיף.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' A Noahide who singles out a maid-servants for his slave and [afterwards] sleeps with her – he is given capital punishment because of her, for [breaking the law of] "neighbor's wife". He is not liable [for sleeping] with her, until [the marriage] has been officiated and become public knowledge, and everyone refers to her as "the wife of the slave so-and-so." When do [relations with] her return to being permitted? When he separates her from his slave and uncovers her hair in the market place. When is a married [Noahide] woman considered a divorced woman as [in Jewish law]? When he removes her from his home and sends her on her own, or when she leaves his domain and goes away. [In Noahide law] there is no [requirement for] a divorce in writing, nor is the matter at the husbands sole discretion, rather anytime that either [the husband] or [the wife] decides to separate from each other – they may separated [and then, are no longer considered as married.]<br />
:See also: [[Divorce in Noahide law]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp;בן נח שייחד שפחה לעבדו, הרי זה נהרג עליה, משום אשת חברו. ואינו חייב עליה, עד שיפשוט הדבר ויאמרו לה העם, זו דבית עבד פלוני. ומאימתיי תחזור להיתרה, משיפרישנה מעבדו, ויפרע ראשה בשוק. ומאימתיי תהיה אשת חברו כגרושה שלנו? משיוציאה מביתו וישלחנה לעצמה, או משתצא היא מתחת רשותו ותלך לה: שאין לה גירושין בכתב; ואין הדבר תלוי בו בלבד, אלא כל זמן שירצה הוא או היא לפרוש זה מזה, פורשין.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' A Noahide is liable for [breaking the law of] robbery whether he stole from a non-Jew or from a Jew. One who robs [forcibly] or steals money, a kidnaper, an [employer who] withholds the wages of a worker, and the like, even a worker who eats [from his employer's produce] not during working hours – in all these, he is liable and considered a thief. This differs in Jewish law. He is liable even [for stealing something] worth less than a ''perutah''; A Noahide who stole less than the worth of a ''perutah'' and another stole it from him – they are both given capital punishment because of it.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Legal Measurements]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp;בן נח חייב על הגזל, בין שגזל גוי בין שגזל ישראל. ואחד הגוזל, או הגונב ממון, או גונב נפש, או הכובש שכר שכיר וכיוצא בו, אפילו פועל שאכל שלא בשעת מלאכה, על הכל הוא חייב, והרי הוא בכלל גזלן: מה שאין כן בישראל. וכן חייב, על פחות משווה פרוטה; ובן נח שגזל פחות משווה פרוטה, ובא אחר וגזלה ממנו, שניהן נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' And also he is liable for [breaking the law of] "torn limb" or "torn meat" – in any amount, for [the specifications of] minimum amounts is defined only in Jewish law [and not Noahide law]. He is permitted blood from a living creature.<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Blood in Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp;וכן חייב על אבר מן החי, ועל בשר מן החי בכל שהוא: שלא ניתנו השיעורין, אלא לישראל בלבד. ומותר הוא בדם מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' [This law applies to] a limb or meat, that is separated from a domesticated animal or a [wild] animal; However, it appears to me that a Noahide is not given capital punishment for a "torn limb" from a bird.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp;אחד האבר או הבשר, הפורש מן הבהמה או מן החיה; אבל העוף, ייראה לי, שאין בן נח נהרג על אבר מן החי ממנו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' One who slaughters a domesticated animal, even if one severs the two signs [that would make it properly killed under Jewish law], as long as it moves convulsively, the limbs and meat which are separated from it are forbidden to a Noahide because of [breaking the law of a] "torn limb"<br />
:See also: [[Noahide Law and Kosher Meat]]</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; השוחט את הבהמה, אפילו שחט בה שני הסימנין, כל זמן שהיא מפרכסת, אבר ובשר הפורשין ממנה אסורין לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''13''' Everyting that is prohibited in Jewish law concerning a "torn limb" is also prohibited according to Noahide law. There are further prohibitions in Noahide law that are not in Jewish law: Noahide law includes domesticated animals and [wild] animals whether they are from a kosher or non-kosher species. Also, a limb or meat that is separated from an animal that is [still] moving convulsively, even though it has been killed properly according to Jewish law by severing the two signs – this is forbidden to a Noahide because it is considered a "torn limb".</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יג</b>&nbsp;כל שאסור על ישראל משום אבר מן החי, אסור על בני נוח. ויש שבני נח חייבין עליו, ולא ישראל: שבני נח אחד בהמה וחיה, בין טהורה בין טמאה, חייבין עליה, משום אבר מן החי ומשום בשר מן החי; ואבר ובשר הפורשין מן המפרכסת, אף על פי ששחט בה ישראל שני הסימנין, הרי זה אסור לבני נח משום אבר מן החי.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''14''' In what way must [Noahides] fulfill the commandment to establish courts of justice? They are obligated to set up judges and magistrates in every major city to judge according to the above six laws, to warn the nation [regarding their observance]; A noahide who breaks one of these seven laws – is executed by decapitation. [additional text: for example: an idolater, or blasphemer, or muderer, or someone who has had one of the six illicit relations according to [Noahide law], or robbed even the worth of a ''peruta'', or consumed any amount of "torn limb" or "torn meat", or witnessed someone breaking one of these laws, and did not judge and sentance him – all these people are executed by decapitation.] For this all the inhabitants of Shechem were liable for capital punishment. This was because Shechem kidnapped [someone] and they witnessed this and knew [what he had done], but did not judge him. A Noahide is [may be] executed [on the basis of the testimony of] one witness and [the verdict of] a single judge. No prior warning [is required]. Relatives may serve as witnesses. However, a woman may not serve as a witness or a judge [in Noahide law].</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יד</b>&nbsp;וכיצד הן מצווין על הדינים? חייבין להושיב דיינין ושופטים בכל פלך ופלך לדון בשש מצוות אלו, ולהזהיר את העם; ובן נח שעבר על אחת משבע מצוות אלו, ייהרג בסיף. כיצד: אחד העובד עבודה זרה, או שבירך את השם, או ששפך דם, או שבעל אחת משש עריות שלהם, או שגזל אפילו פחות משווה פרוטה, או שאכל כל שהוא מאבר מן החי או בשר מן החי, או שראה אחד שעבר על אחת מאלו ולא דנו והרגו, הרי זה ייהרג בסיף. ומפני זה נתחייבו כל בעלי שכם הריגה, שהרי שכם גזל, והם ראו, וידעו, ולא דנוהו. ובן נח נהרג בעד אחד, ובדיין אחד, בלא התראה, ועל פי קרובים; אבל לא בעדות אישה, ולא תדון אישה להם.</big></div></td><br />
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<br />
== Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10 ==<br />
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<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big>הלכות מלכים ומלחמות פרק י</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''1''' A Noahide that inadvertently violates one of the commandments given to him, is exempt from all [punishment], except for inadvertent homicide. In that case, if the redeemer of the blood killed [the inadvertent killer], he is not punished for it; nor is [may the inadvertent killer seek asylum] in a city of refuge; but their courts may not put him to death. What are we referring to? When he accidentally transgresses one of the commandments and without intent, for example one who sleeps with another man's wife, and imagines that she is his own wife or unmarried. But if he knew that it was another man's wife, but did not know that she was forbidden to him, or it arose in his heart that this was a permitted matter to him; or concerning killing, if he didn't know that it was forbidden to kill; behold this is like an intentional action, and he is given capital punishment. It is not considered as an inadvertent violation, because he must learn [these laws], and he did not.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>א</b>&nbsp;בן נח ששגג באחת ממצוותיו, פטור מכלום: חוץ מרוצח בשגגה, שאם הרגו גואל הדם, אינו נהרג עליו; ואין לו עיר מקלט, אבל בתי דיניהן אין ממיתין אותו. במה דברים אמורים? בשוגג באחת ממצוות ועבר בלא כוונה, כגון שבעל אשת חברו, ודימה שהיא אשתו או פנויה. אבל אם ידע שהיא אשת חברו, ולא ידע שהיא אסורה עליו אלא עלה על ליבו שדבר זה מותר לו, וכן אם הרג, והוא לא ידע שאסור להרוג, הרי זה קרוב למזיד, ונהרג. ולא תיחשב זו להם שגגה, מפני שהיה לו ללמוד, ולא למד.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''2''' A Noahide who is forced by compulsion to transgress one of the commandments given to him, he is permitted to transgress. Even if forced to serve idolatry, he may serve, according to [principle] that they are not commanded on ''[[Kiddush Hashem]]''. And a minor, deaf-mute or fool, are never punished, because they are not [bound by any] commandments.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ב</b>&nbsp;בן נח שאנסו אנס לעבור על אחת ממצוותיו, מותר לו לעבור: אפילו נאנס לעבוד עבודה זרה, עובד, לפי שאינן מצווין על קידוש השם. ולעולם אין עונשין מהן לא קטן, ולא חירש, ולא שוטה, לפי שאינן בני מצוות.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''3''' Noahide that converts, is circumcised and immerses [in a mivkah], and afterward wants to return from [following] after Hashem [as a Jew], and to be ''Ger Toshov'' only, like he was previously, [the court] does not heed his request: Instead he must be like an Israelite in all matters, or he receives capital punishment. If he was a minor when he was immersed by the court, he may object [to his conversion] at the time that he attains majority, and he is allowed to become a ''Ger Toshov'' only. But if he does not object at the time he attains majority, he is not allowed to object at a later time, but he is considered a full convert. Accordingly if [a Jew has relations with] a young girl that was immersed by court of law, [she is entitled to all] monies specified by the ''ketubah'', or fines [according to] rape or seduction, [however these monies are] are placed under the custody of the court until she attains majority and does not object to her conversion. Lest she benefit by obtaining majority and objecting [to her conversion], in this situation she obtains monies as a non-Jew [outside of Jewish law] that she was only entitled to according to Jewish law.</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ג</b>&nbsp; בן נח שנתגייר, ומל וטבל, ואחר כך רצה לחזור מאחרי ה', ולהיות גר תושב בלבד כשהיה מקודם, אין שומעין לו: אלא יהיה כישראל לכל דבר, או ייהרג. ואם היה קטן כשהטבילו אותו בית דין, יכול למחות בשעה שיגדיל, ויהיה גר תושב בלבד; וכיון שלא מיחה בשעתו, שוב אינו ממחה, אלא הרי הוא גר צדק. לפיכך אם בא לקטנה שהטבילוה בית דין, כסף כתובתה, או קנס אונס או מפתה, יהיה הכל תחת יד בית דין, עד שתגדיל ולא תמחה בגירות: שמא תיטול, ותגדיל ותמחה; ונמצאת זו אוכלת בגיותה מעות שאין לה זכות בהן, אלא בדיני ישראל.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''4''' noahide that curses and hashem , or that served idolatry , or that comes on wife of his friend , or that killing his friend , and converts , exempt . killing jew , or that comes on wife of israel , and converts , required ; and they kill him on jew , and is decapitated him on wife of israel that master of , that behold have changed the laws concerning him .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ד</b>&nbsp; בן נח שבירך את השם, או שעבד עבודה זרה, או שבא על אשת חברו, או שהרג חברו, ונתגייר, פטור. הרג בן ישראל, או שבא על אשת ישראל, ונתגייר, חייב; והורגין אותו על בן ישראל, וחונקין אותו על אשת ישראל שבעל, שהרי נשתנה דינו.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''5''' already we have explained that all deaths of noahides in sword , except wife of israel, betrothed maiden , he is stoned , and if another mistress that entered to canopy beforehand that consummated , he is strangled .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ה</b>&nbsp;כבר ביארנו שכל מיתת בני נח בסיף, אלא אם כן בעל אשת ישראל נערה מאורסה, ייסקל, ואם בעלה אחר שנכנסה לחופה קודם שתיבעל, ייחנק.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''6''' according to kaballah , that noahides are forbbiden in cross-breeding of animal , and in grafting of tree only ; and naught are killed on account of them . and non-jew that struck israel , even suffering in him , although that he required death , doesn't killed .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ו</b>&nbsp; מפי הקבלה, שבני נח אסורין בהרבעת בהמה, ובהרכבת אילן בלבד; ואין נהרגין עליהן. וגוי שהכה ישראל, אפילו חבל בו, אף על פי שהוא חייב מיתה, אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''7''' the circumcision , was commanded in it avraham and his seed only , that as it is said " ye and your seed after you , to their generations " ( genesis 17:9 ). go out his seed of ishmael , that as it is said " because in yitzkhaq , will be called to you seed " ( genesis 21:12 ). and go out esav , that behold yitzkhaq said to ya'aqov " and he will give to you and blessing of avraham , to you and to your seed " ( genesis 28:4 ), from the principle that he by himself his seed of avraham the hold in his faith and his ways the straight , and they the obligated ones in circumcision . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ז</b>&nbsp; המילה, נצטווה בה אברהם וזרעו בלבד, שנאמר "אתה וזרעך אחריך, לדורותם" (בראשית יז,ט). יצא זרעו של ישמעאל, שנאמר "כי ביצחק, ייקרא לך זרע" (בראשית כא,יב). ויצא עשיו, שהרי יצחק אמר ליעקוב "וייתן לך את ברכת אברהם, לך ולזרעך" (בראשית כח,ד), מכלל שהוא לבדו זרעו של אברהם המחזיק בדתו ודרכו הישרה, והם המחוייבין במילה.<br />
</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''8''' they say sages that children of qeturah , that they his seed of avraham that they came another ishmael and yitzkhaq , are obligated in circumcision . and since and they have been mixed today children of ishmael in children of qeturah , they are obligated all in circumcision in eighth ; and naught are killed about her .</td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ח</b>&nbsp; אמרו חכמים שבני קטורה, שהם זרעו של אברהם שבאו אחר ישמעאל ויצחק, חייבין במילה. והואיל ונתערבו היום בני ישמעאל בבני קטורה, יתחייבו הכל במילה בשמיני; ואין נהרגין עליה.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''9''' non-jew that business in torah , required death ; not he shall busy himself except in their seven commandments only . and also non-jew that sabbath , even direction from the days of the secular , if he did him for himself aslike sabbath , required death ; and necessary naught say if he did festival for himself . like to to him of matter : naught allowing them to innovate custom , and do commandments to themselves from their intelligence , except or let there be full convert and he will receive all the commandments , or stand in his statutes and not add and not detract . and if business in torah , or sabbath , or innovated matter , beat him and they are punished him , and inform him that he required death on this ; but doesn't killed . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>ט</b>&nbsp; גוי שעסק בתורה, חייב מיתה; לא יעסוק אלא בשבע מצוות שלהן בלבד. וכן גוי ששבת, אפילו ביום מימות החול, אם עשה אותו לעצמו כמו שבת, חייב מיתה; ואין צריך לומר אם עשה מועד לעצמו. כללו של דבר: אין מניחין אותן לחדש דת, ולעשות מצוות לעצמן מדעתן, אלא או יהיה גר צדק ויקבל כל המצוות, או יעמוד בתורתו ולא יוסיף ולא יגרע. ואם עסק בתורה, או שבת, או חידש דבר, מכין אותו ועונשין אותו, ומודיעין אותו שהוא חייב מיתה על זה; אבל אינו נהרג.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''10''' noahide that wants do command from rest commandments the torah , amphoral to receive reward , naught prevent him do her like required . and if he brings ascend , from receive from him . given charity , from receive from him ; and it appears me that given her to poor of israel , since and he sustained from israel , and command on to support him . but pronounced that given charity , from receive from him , and given her to poor of nations . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>י</b>&nbsp; בן נח שרצה לעשות מצוה משאר מצוות התורה, כדי לקבל שכר, אין מונעין אותו לעשות אותה כהלכתה. ואם הביא עולה, מקבלין ממנו. נתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו; וייראה לי שנותנין אותה לעניי ישראל, הואיל והוא ניזון מישראל, ומצוה עליהם להחיותו. אבל הגוי שנתן צדקה, מקבלין ממנו, ונותנין אותה לעניי גויים.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''11''' are obligated court of law of israel , to place judges to if only the converts the residents , to judge to them according to judgements if only , amphoral that not decadent the world . if saw court of law that they will set up their judges of them , setting up ; and if saw that they will set up to them from israel , they will set up . </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יא</b>&nbsp; חייבין בית דין של ישראל, להעמיד שופטים לאלו [[הגרים התושבים]], לדון להן על פי משפטים אלו, כדי שלא יישחת העולם. אם ראו בית דין שיעמידו שופטיהם מהן, מעמידין; ואם ראו שיעמידו להן מישראל, יעמידו.</big></div></td><br />
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<td valign="top">'''12''' two of nations that they came to your presence to judge in laws of israel , and they want both of them , judge to them judgement torah . the one desire , and the one doesn't desire , naught compelled him to judge except in their laws . there was israel and non-jew , if there is privilege to israel in their laws , judge to him in their laws and they say to him , so your laws ; and if there is privilege to israel in our law , judge to him judgement torah and they say to him , so our law . and it appears me that naught do thus to resident alien , except always judge to him in their laws . and also it appears me that customary nation converts of resident by way of country , and philanthropy like israel , that behold we commanded to support him , that as it is said " to proselyte that in your gates give it to them and eat it " ( deuteronomy 14:21). and this that they say sages , naught compelling to them peace , in nations , not in resident alien . even the nations , command us sages to visit their sick , and to bury their dead with dead of israel , and to support poor of at all poor of israel , because ways of peace : behold as it is said " benefit Hashem to all ; and merciful , on all actions " ( psalms 145, 9 ), and as it is said " its ways , amenity ; and all its paths , peace " ( proverbs 3 , 17 ). </td><br />
<td align="right" valign="top"><div dir="rtl" lang="HE"><big><b>יב</b>&nbsp; שני גויים שבאו לפניך לדון בדיני ישראל, ורצו שניהן, דנים להם דין תורה. האחד רוצה, והאחד אינו רוצה, אין כופין אותו לדון אלא בדיניהן. היה ישראל וגוי, אם יש זכות לישראל בדיניהן, דנים לו בדיניהם ואומרים לו, כך דיניכם; ואם יש זכות לישראל בדינינו, דנין לו דין תורה ואומרים לו, כך דינינו. וייראה לי שאין עושין כן לגר תושב, אלא לעולם דנים לו בדיניהם. וכן ייראה לי שנוהגין עם גרי תושב בדרך ארץ, וגמילות חסדים כישראל, שהרי אנו מצווין להחיותו, שנאמר "לגר אשר בשעריך תיתננה ואכלה" (דברים יד,כא). וזה שאמרו חכמים, אין כופלין להן שלום, בגויים, לא בגר תושב. אפילו הגויים, ציוו חכמים לבקר חוליהם, ולקבור מתיהם עם מתי ישראל, ולפרנס ענייהם בכלל עניי ישראל, מפני דרכי שלום: הרי נאמר "טוב ה', לכל; ורחמיו, על כל מעשיו" (תהילים קמה,ט), ונאמר "דרכיה, דרכי נועם; וכל נתיבותיה, שלום" (משלי ג,יז).</big></div></td><br />
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==See Also==<br />
* [[Christianity and Noahide Law]]<br />
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==References ==<br />
<references /><br />
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'''A note on the translation.''' The English translation is entirely new, with an emphasis allowing word for word comparison with the Hebrew. The Hebrew translation is based on a comparison of three modern texts, generally favoring the most ancient Yemenite manuscripts. Hebrew is written in full (designed for reading without points) except as customary. The notes are drawn from various sources, among them the excellent work of "Maimonides Mishneh Torah: a new translation with commentaries, notes, illustrations and index" by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, Mozaim Publishing Corporation, 1978.<br />
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[[Category:Rambam Approach]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Can_Righteous_Gentiles_study_the_Torah%3F&diff=7744
Can Righteous Gentiles study the Torah?
2008-05-15T20:13:06Z
<p>Elisheva: /* General Introduction */</p>
<hr />
<div>It is said that Noachides are not allowed allowed to study Gemarah, but what about Rashi Commentary on Torah? Is it recommended? I also want to know if a noachide is free to study all the midrashim? If Maimonides "The Guide for the Perplexed" is not considered a religious work but a philosophical book, is a noachide permitted to read from it although it seem to contain references to Gemarah? I also wonder about "Everyman's Talmud" by Abraham Cohen...is it wrong to read it.<br />
<br />
== General Introduction ==<br />
<br />
There have been many words written on this subject, both within the “Noahide community” and elsewhere, but seemingly little in the way of either justification or definite answers. This webpage represents my blatherings on the subject, based on the research and thinking I've done. If I'm wrong... that's between Hashem and my damaged soul.<br />
<br />
Obviously I can't definitively answer the question because I'm not a rabbi. On the other hand, I needed a definite answer, and what I found on the 'net was about sixty different, mostly-vague answers. This webpage represents one definite answer.<br />
<br />
When I say study, I mean personal study as in “read”. Not learn from a Rabbi, or take a class in. There are definite restrictions on what materials Jews are permitted to teach to Gentiles, but I have no opinions on those restrictions.<br />
<br />
So what's the answer?<br />
<br />
In short: wholeheartedly, unabashedly, absolutely certainly, yes!<br />
<br />
You can read anything you want, though some of it you probably won't benefit from, some of it you won't understand, and some of it may even lead you astray. (That kablablablah stuff in particular can be very misleading. You should be aware that anything wholeheartedly embraced by Hollywood bozos is probably not worth paying attention to. The only way to validly learn Kabbalah is to be taught by a rabbi well-versed in the subject.)<br />
<br />
Part of being a [[TOG]]/Righteous Gentile is learning about how to obey the seven commandments, and how Noahides fit into Judaism. That means not only memorizing the commandments themselves, but understanding the thought processes involved and the ramifications of the laws. In turn, that means, at a minimum, studying the entire Torah.<br />
<br />
It's not enough to know “Do not murder”. There's an understanding required behind this simple commandment, because you're expected to obey not only the letter of the law, but the spirit. Murder may mean different things to different people, for example. And there are questions such as ‘Is abortion murder?’, ‘What about euthanasia?’, “Is causing indirect death a murder for Bnei Noah?”<br />
<br />
That goes for the other commandments. What is idolatry? Blashphemy? Are there precise definitions of these things? How can I be certain I'm not blaspheming unless I really understand the spirit of what was intended here?<br />
<br />
And one also needs a pretty decent understanding of basic Judaism. There are certain acts which are forbidden to [[TOG]]s, such as celebrating the Sabbath in exactly the same way as in Judaism, or wearing tefillin. But if one doesn't know how the Jews celebrate the Sabbath, then one might accidentally celebrate it and thus violate this rule. Someday I may be tempted to strap a leather box to my head with some sections of the Torah in it; that would be a no-no.<br />
<br />
The only way to know the spirit intended thereof, to be able to answer the questions knowledgeably and correctly, and to know what to do in most situations, is study. Sure, you can rely on a rabbi or some other religious figure for advice (and that especially makes sense for the really complex questions). But, it's ultimately up to you to decide if the given answer truly fits in with the teachings of the Torah.<br />
<br />
Lest someone think I am speaking of, say, Reform Judaism versus traditional beliefs, I believe that one needs to follow the Torah and the Oral Torah as given. And to learn the true meaning of these things requires study with a traditional rabbi, not someone from one of the offshoot denominations. I'm merely suggesting that you shouldn't rely completely on what someone else tells you about it. (In particular, you should pay no attention to what I say on the subject! I'm perenially confused, and maybe should not have written all that.)<br />
<br />
And there's a lot more than halakah (Torah law) to being religious. Spirituality plays an essential part, and study is of great assistance here as well: study of the Torah, and of other related materials.<br />
<br />
Well-meaning but unhelpful religious figureheads<br />
<br />
Many people are not comfortable with skeptical thinking, especially christians; yet Jewish belief welcomes and encourages it, by and large.<br />
<br />
Merely because someone in a kippah and tallit (or worse, someone merely suggesting they know what the heck they're talking about... like me) volunteers the ‘helpful’ advice “You can't drink orange drinks on Tuesdays!” doesn't mean you can't drink orange drinks on Tuesdays. There's nothing anywhere in the Torah or Oral Torah which says anything about not drinking orange drinks on Tuesdays.<br />
<br />
While it's a sin for them to teach you things which are incorrect, it's at least partly incumbent upon the listener to decide if they are, indeed, correct. Otherwise, you're not following the law as given in the Torah; you're following the law as given by some guy in a kippah and a tallit.<br />
<br />
You also need to be able to reject crustacean missionaries. You can't do that successfully without a solid grounding in the basics.<br />
<br />
So... exactly what can [[TOG]]s study?<br />
<br />
A more realistic example of what I'm talking about is, in fact, the question on what a [[TOG]] is allowed to study. There is discussion in the Talmud about this, but it appears to be divisive. One sage votes for the death penalty to Gentiles who study the Torah. (Seriously.) Another states that a Gentile who studies the Torah ‘is as a High Priest’.<br />
<br />
The current view seems to be that Torah study for [[TOG]]s (which presumably would include appropriate portions of the Talmud, and the Rabbahs, etc.) is a blessing, not a sin. Yet others insist that [[TOG]]s are only allowed to study the portions of the Torah which directly apply to them: in particular, the first twelve chapters of Genesis or only that which directly applies to the Seven Noahide Laws. Still others argue that Gentiles should never be permitted to read the Torah, but instead rely solely on materials written by rabbinical authorities which specifically address the Noahide Commandments.<br />
<br />
The latter opinions are the moral equivalent of someone wearing a kippah and tallit coming up to you and saying “You can't drink...” By this view one would not even be allowed to read the part of the Talmud which states you can't study it!<br />
<br />
Without such study we have no way to determine what is legitimate teaching. Yet we must not merely take someone's word for it, because doing the wrong thing would be a Very Bad Thing. Ultimately it's my destiny at stake.<br />
<br />
Worse, we end up with a situation where someone is continually telling you “In this secret book you're not allowed to read, it says...” which neither makes for a believable understanding of the laws, nor encourages any sort of spiritual belief.<br />
<br />
And consider this: Noah made sacrifices. Noah was, of course, the first Noahide. The implication is that Noahides are allowed to make sacrifices (at least a subset). He also had to know which animals were clean, and the correct way to perform the sacrifices. That implies a lot of Torah knowledge.<br />
<br />
The restriction on Torah study is not that we shouldn't study it in the sense of reading it. It's that we should study Torah with a given purpose in mind, be it better understanding of the Seven Commandments or just to gain a better spiritual understanding. Studying the Torah with the intent of converting Jews to, say, christianity, is what the sage who suggested the death penalty had in mind.<br />
<br />
[[TOG]]s shouldn't study as Jews are required to, because that is a special mitzvah between the Jews and Hashem; just as [[TOG]]s shouldn't wear tefillin or tallitot. Study for a purpose; don't study because you think you have to.<br />
<br />
[http://www.uglx.org/rgent-study View Source]<br />
<br />
== Rabbi Zvi Freedman (Chabad) ==<br />
<br />
Is there an established study programme how to teach Noachides?<br />
<br />
Q. Is there any established study programme or any structure whatsoever how to teach Noachides according to the teachings of the Rebbes of Lubavitch or any other true source? How to start? Which books to read? How to live?<br />
<br />
A. There’s been a lot of discussion on this topic — with little resolution. A collection of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s talks have been printed (in Hebrew) in “Kol Ba’ei Olam”. Your local Chabad rabbi (visit chabad.com to locate him) is likely to have that book. The only explicit statement of the Rebbe concerning study (of which I am aware) is that the second book of Tanya (order at kehotonline.com) is something all people need to know.<br />
<br />
The halachah is that a gentile is not permitted to occupy himself in Torah the same way a Jew does. Yet the Talmud also states that a gentile who is occupied in Torah attains that which the High Priest does not attain. How do we reconcile these two? The Jew studies all aspects of Torah whether they are of practical relevance to him or not — just for the sake of being immersed in Torah. The BN studies Torah to know and to understand his path. In a footnote, the Rebbe mentions that according to the Meiri, a Talmudic commentator, most of the Torah is of concern to a BN.<br />
<br />
Concerning prayer: When the Rebbe’s emissaries told him their plans to present the Prime Minister of Canada with a silver kiddush cup, the Rebbe replied: “What is he supposed to do with it? Rather, give him a siddur (Jewish prayer book), since there are plenty of things in there for him to say.”<br />
<br />
There is a careful balance here: We don’t want to create a new religion. Neither do we want BN to be emulating the practices that are specific to Jewish people. But every person needs to grow spiritually, and that requires daily discipline. <br />
<br />
My sense tells me that in each part of the world, a BN will have a different approach, and they will each bring their particular wisdom into their practice. The Jewish people have always found much to learn from every culture we've come in contact with. The Talmud praises the Greeks for their sciences and beautiful language, the Persians for their modesty, the Romans for the honor they gave their fathers. In each culture, there are different sparks of the Divine which need to be used towards a Divine end. Therefore, it would seem counter - productive to provide a detailed prescription at this point.<br />
<br />
From my understanding of what is expected of a BN, I have put together some suggestions. Your comments are welcome:<br />
<br />
What to learn:<br />
<br />
# The Bible with classic Jewish commentaries (including the talks of the Rebbe, which are specific to our day and age), excluding those parts dealing with commands specific to the Jewish people;<br />
# The thirteen principles of the faith from Maimonides;<br />
# The Book of Knowledge of Maimonides;<br />
# Laws dealing with property and personal damages, including slander, gossip, verbal abuse, verbal pledges, cruelty to animals;<br />
# The second book of Tanya (this was explicitly mentioned by the Rebbe), as well as selections from the first; and<br />
# Stories of tzadikim.<br />
<br />
Morning prayer (all these in translation):<br />
<br />
# Modeh Ani—optional<br />
# Study and meditation<br />
# Adon Olam—optional<br />
# Psalms of Praise (as in the siddur) — optional<br />
# Shma Yisrael — first paragraph (this was an instruction of Rav Azulai, father of the Birchei Yosef, to a Ben Noach in his time)<br />
# Psalm 100 — optional<br />
# Recitation of the Noahide Creed — optional<br />
<br />
[http://www.askmoses.com/qa_detail.html?o=409 View Source]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Legal Rulings]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Can_Righteous_Gentiles_study_the_Torah%3F&diff=7743
Can Righteous Gentiles study the Torah?
2008-05-15T20:02:15Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Rabbi Zvi Freedman (Chabad) */</p>
<hr />
<div>It is said that Noachides are not allowed allowed to study Gemarah, but what about Rashi Commentary on Torah? Is it recommended? I also want to know if a noachide is free to study all the midrashim? If Maimonides "The Guide for the Perplexed" is not considered a religious work but a philosophical book, is a noachide permitted to read from it although it seem to contain references to Gemarah? I also wonder about "Everyman's Talmud" by Abraham Cohen...is it wrong to read it.<br />
<br />
== General Introduction ==<br />
<br />
There have been many words written on this subject, both within the “Noahide community” and elsewhere, but seemingly little in the way of either justification or definite answers. This webpage represents my blatherings on the subject, based on the research and thinking I've done. If I'm wrong... that's between Hashem and my damaged soul.<br />
<br />
Obviously I can't definitively answer the question because I'm not a rabbi. On the other hand, I needed a definite answer, and what I found on the 'net was about sixty different, mostly-vague answers. This webpage represents one definite answer.<br />
<br />
When I say study, I mean personal study as in “read”. Not learn from a Rabbi, or take a class in. There are definite restrictions on what materials Jews are permitted to teach to Gentiles, but I have no opinions on those restrictions.<br />
<br />
So what's the answer?<br />
<br />
In short: wholeheartedly, unabashedly, absolutely certainly, yes!<br />
<br />
You can read anything you want, though some of it you probably won't benefit from, some of it you won't understand, and some of it may even lead you astray. (That kablablablah stuff in particular can be very misleading. You should be aware that anything wholeheartedly embraced by Hollywood bozos is probably not worth paying attention to. The only way to validly learn Kabbalah is to be taught by a rabbi well-versed in the subject.)<br />
<br />
Part of being a [[TOG]]/Righteous Gentile is learning about how to obey the seven commandments, and how Noahides fit into Judaism. That means not only memorizing the commandments themselves, but understanding the thought processes involved and the ramifications of the laws. In turn, that means, at a minimum, studying the entire Torah.<br />
<br />
It's not enough to know “Do not murder”. There's an understanding required behind this simple commandment, because you're expected to obey not only the letter of the law, but the spirit. Murder may mean different things to different people, for example. And there are questions such as ‘Is abortion murder?’, ‘What about euthanasia?’, “Is causing indirect death a murder for Bnei Noah?”<br />
<br />
That goes for the other commandments. What is idolatry? Blashphemy? Are there precise definitions of these things? How can I be certain I'm not blaspheming unless I really understand the spirit of what was intended here?<br />
<br />
And one also needs a pretty decent understanding of basic Judaism. There are certain acts which are forbidden to [[TOG]]s, such as celebrating the Sabbath in exactly the same way as in Judaism, or wearing tefillin. But if one doesn't know how the Jews celebrate the Sabbath, then one might accidentally celebrate it and thus violate this rule. Someday I may be tempted to strap a leather box to my head with some sections of the Torah in it; that would be a no-no.<br />
<br />
The only way to know the spirit intended thereof, to be able to answer the questions knowledgeably and correctly, and to know what to do in most situations, is study. Sure, you can rely on a rabbi or some other religious figure for advice (and that especially makes sense for the really complex questions). But, it's ultimately up to you to decide if the given answer truly fits in with the teachings of the Torah.<br />
<br />
Lest someone think I am speaking of, say, Reform Judaism versus traditional beliefs, I believe that one needs to follow the Torah and the Oral Torah as given. And to learn the true meaning of these things requires study with a traditional rabbi, not someone from one of the offshoot denominations. I'm merely suggesting that you shouldn't rely completely on what someone else tells you about it. (In particular, you should pay no attention to what I say on the subject! I'm perenially confused.)<br />
<br />
And there's a lot more than halakah (Torah law) to being religious. Spirituality plays an essential part, and study is of great assistance here as well: study of the Torah, and of other related materials.<br />
<br />
Well-meaning but unhelpful religious figureheads<br />
<br />
Many people are not comfortable with skeptical thinking, especially christians; yet Jewish belief welcomes and encourages it, by and large.<br />
<br />
Merely because someone in a kippah and tallit (or worse, someone merely suggesting they know what the heck they're talking about... like me) volunteers the ‘helpful’ advice “You can't drink orange drinks on Tuesdays!” doesn't mean you can't drink orange drinks on Tuesdays. There's nothing anywhere in the Torah or Oral Torah which says anything about not drinking orange drinks on Tuesdays.<br />
<br />
While it's a sin for them to teach you things which are incorrect, it's at least partly incumbent upon the listener to decide if they are, indeed, correct. Otherwise, you're not following the law as given in the Torah; you're following the law as given by some guy in a kippah and a tallit.<br />
<br />
You also need to be able to reject crustacean missionaries. You can't do that successfully without a solid grounding in the basics.<br />
<br />
So... exactly what can [[TOG]]s study?<br />
<br />
A more realistic example of what I'm talking about is, in fact, the question on what a [[TOG]] is allowed to study. There is discussion in the Talmud about this, but it appears to be divisive. One sage votes for the death penalty to Gentiles who study the Torah. (Seriously.) Another states that a Gentile who studies the Torah ‘is as a High Priest’.<br />
<br />
The current view seems to be that Torah study for [[TOG]]s (which presumably would include appropriate portions of the Talmud, and the Rabbahs, etc.) is a blessing, not a sin. Yet others insist that [[TOG]]s are only allowed to study the portions of the Torah which directly apply to them: in particular, the first twelve chapters of Genesis or only that which directly applies to the Seven Noahide Laws. Still others argue that Gentiles should never be permitted to read the Torah, but instead rely solely on materials written by rabbinical authorities which specifically address the Noahide Commandments.<br />
<br />
The latter opinions are the moral equivalent of someone wearing a kippah and tallit coming up to you and saying “You can't drink...” By this view one would not even be allowed to read the part of the Talmud which states you can't study it!<br />
<br />
Without such study we have no way to determine what is legitimate teaching. Yet we must not merely take someone's word for it, because doing the wrong thing would be a Very Bad Thing. Ultimately it's my destiny at stake.<br />
<br />
Worse, we end up with a situation where someone is continually telling you “In this secret book you're not allowed to read, it says...” which neither makes for a believable understanding of the laws, nor encourages any sort of spiritual belief.<br />
<br />
And consider this: Noah made sacrifices. Noah was, of course, the first Noahide. The implication is that Noahides are allowed to make sacrifices (at least a subset). He also had to know which animals were clean, and the correct way to perform the sacrifices. That implies a lot of Torah knowledge.<br />
<br />
The restriction on Torah study is not that we shouldn't study it in the sense of reading it. It's that we should study Torah with a given purpose in mind, be it better understanding of the Seven Commandments or just to gain a better spiritual understanding. Studying the Torah with the intent of converting Jews to, say, christianity, is what the sage who suggested the death penalty had in mind.<br />
<br />
[[TOG]]s shouldn't study as Jews are required to, because that is a special mitzvah between the Jews and Hashem; just as [[TOG]]s shouldn't wear tefillin or tallitot. Study for a purpose; don't study because you think you have to.<br />
<br />
[http://www.uglx.org/rgent-study View Source]<br />
<br />
== Rabbi Zvi Freedman (Chabad) ==<br />
<br />
Is there an established study programme how to teach Noachides?<br />
<br />
Q. Is there any established study programme or any structure whatsoever how to teach Noachides according to the teachings of the Rebbes of Lubavitch or any other true source? How to start? Which books to read? How to live?<br />
<br />
A. There’s been a lot of discussion on this topic — with little resolution. A collection of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s talks have been printed (in Hebrew) in “Kol Ba’ei Olam”. Your local Chabad rabbi (visit chabad.com to locate him) is likely to have that book. The only explicit statement of the Rebbe concerning study (of which I am aware) is that the second book of Tanya (order at kehotonline.com) is something all people need to know.<br />
<br />
The halachah is that a gentile is not permitted to occupy himself in Torah the same way a Jew does. Yet the Talmud also states that a gentile who is occupied in Torah attains that which the High Priest does not attain. How do we reconcile these two? The Jew studies all aspects of Torah whether they are of practical relevance to him or not — just for the sake of being immersed in Torah. The BN studies Torah to know and to understand his path. In a footnote, the Rebbe mentions that according to the Meiri, a Talmudic commentator, most of the Torah is of concern to a BN.<br />
<br />
Concerning prayer: When the Rebbe’s emissaries told him their plans to present the Prime Minister of Canada with a silver kiddush cup, the Rebbe replied: “What is he supposed to do with it? Rather, give him a siddur (Jewish prayer book), since there are plenty of things in there for him to say.”<br />
<br />
There is a careful balance here: We don’t want to create a new religion. Neither do we want BN to be emulating the practices that are specific to Jewish people. But every person needs to grow spiritually, and that requires daily discipline. <br />
<br />
My sense tells me that in each part of the world, a BN will have a different approach, and they will each bring their particular wisdom into their practice. The Jewish people have always found much to learn from every culture we've come in contact with. The Talmud praises the Greeks for their sciences and beautiful language, the Persians for their modesty, the Romans for the honor they gave their fathers. In each culture, there are different sparks of the Divine which need to be used towards a Divine end. Therefore, it would seem counter - productive to provide a detailed prescription at this point.<br />
<br />
From my understanding of what is expected of a BN, I have put together some suggestions. Your comments are welcome:<br />
<br />
What to learn:<br />
<br />
# The Bible with classic Jewish commentaries (including the talks of the Rebbe, which are specific to our day and age), excluding those parts dealing with commands specific to the Jewish people;<br />
# The thirteen principles of the faith from Maimonides;<br />
# The Book of Knowledge of Maimonides;<br />
# Laws dealing with property and personal damages, including slander, gossip, verbal abuse, verbal pledges, cruelty to animals;<br />
# The second book of Tanya (this was explicitly mentioned by the Rebbe), as well as selections from the first; and<br />
# Stories of tzadikim.<br />
<br />
Morning prayer (all these in translation):<br />
<br />
# Modeh Ani—optional<br />
# Study and meditation<br />
# Adon Olam—optional<br />
# Psalms of Praise (as in the siddur) — optional<br />
# Shma Yisrael — first paragraph (this was an instruction of Rav Azulai, father of the Birchei Yosef, to a Ben Noach in his time)<br />
# Psalm 100 — optional<br />
# Recitation of the Noahide Creed — optional<br />
<br />
[http://www.askmoses.com/qa_detail.html?o=409 View Source]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Legal Rulings]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Can_Righteous_Gentiles_study_the_Torah%3F&diff=7742
Can Righteous Gentiles study the Torah?
2008-05-15T19:57:27Z
<p>Elisheva: /* General Introduction */</p>
<hr />
<div>It is said that Noachides are not allowed allowed to study Gemarah, but what about Rashi Commentary on Torah? Is it recommended? I also want to know if a noachide is free to study all the midrashim? If Maimonides "The Guide for the Perplexed" is not considered a religious work but a philosophical book, is a noachide permitted to read from it although it seem to contain references to Gemarah? I also wonder about "Everyman's Talmud" by Abraham Cohen...is it wrong to read it.<br />
<br />
== General Introduction ==<br />
<br />
There have been many words written on this subject, both within the “Noahide community” and elsewhere, but seemingly little in the way of either justification or definite answers. This webpage represents my blatherings on the subject, based on the research and thinking I've done. If I'm wrong... that's between Hashem and my damaged soul.<br />
<br />
Obviously I can't definitively answer the question because I'm not a rabbi. On the other hand, I needed a definite answer, and what I found on the 'net was about sixty different, mostly-vague answers. This webpage represents one definite answer.<br />
<br />
When I say study, I mean personal study as in “read”. Not learn from a Rabbi, or take a class in. There are definite restrictions on what materials Jews are permitted to teach to Gentiles, but I have no opinions on those restrictions.<br />
<br />
So what's the answer?<br />
<br />
In short: wholeheartedly, unabashedly, absolutely certainly, yes!<br />
<br />
You can read anything you want, though some of it you probably won't benefit from, some of it you won't understand, and some of it may even lead you astray. (That kablablablah stuff in particular can be very misleading. You should be aware that anything wholeheartedly embraced by Hollywood bozos is probably not worth paying attention to. The only way to validly learn Kabbalah is to be taught by a rabbi well-versed in the subject.)<br />
<br />
Part of being a [[TOG]]/Righteous Gentile is learning about how to obey the seven commandments, and how Noahides fit into Judaism. That means not only memorizing the commandments themselves, but understanding the thought processes involved and the ramifications of the laws. In turn, that means, at a minimum, studying the entire Torah.<br />
<br />
It's not enough to know “Do not murder”. There's an understanding required behind this simple commandment, because you're expected to obey not only the letter of the law, but the spirit. Murder may mean different things to different people, for example. And there are questions such as ‘Is abortion murder?’, ‘What about euthanasia?’, “Is causing indirect death a murder for Bnei Noah?”<br />
<br />
That goes for the other commandments. What is idolatry? Blashphemy? Are there precise definitions of these things? How can I be certain I'm not blaspheming unless I really understand the spirit of what was intended here?<br />
<br />
And one also needs a pretty decent understanding of basic Judaism. There are certain acts which are forbidden to [[TOG]]s, such as celebrating the Sabbath in exactly the same way as in Judaism, or wearing tefillin. But if one doesn't know how the Jews celebrate the Sabbath, then one might accidentally celebrate it and thus violate this rule. Someday I may be tempted to strap a leather box to my head with some sections of the Torah in it; that would be a no-no.<br />
<br />
The only way to know the spirit intended thereof, to be able to answer the questions knowledgeably and correctly, and to know what to do in most situations, is study. Sure, you can rely on a rabbi or some other religious figure for advice (and that especially makes sense for the really complex questions). But, it's ultimately up to you to decide if the given answer truly fits in with the teachings of the Torah.<br />
<br />
Lest someone think I am speaking of, say, Reform Judaism versus traditional beliefs, I believe that one needs to follow the Torah and the Oral Torah as given. And to learn the true meaning of these things requires study with a traditional rabbi, not someone from one of the offshoot denominations. I'm merely suggesting that you shouldn't rely completely on what someone else tells you about it. (In particular, you should pay no attention to what I say on the subject! I'm perenially confused.)<br />
<br />
And there's a lot more than halakah (Torah law) to being religious. Spirituality plays an essential part, and study is of great assistance here as well: study of the Torah, and of other related materials.<br />
<br />
Well-meaning but unhelpful religious figureheads<br />
<br />
Many people are not comfortable with skeptical thinking, especially christians; yet Jewish belief welcomes and encourages it, by and large.<br />
<br />
Merely because someone in a kippah and tallit (or worse, someone merely suggesting they know what the heck they're talking about... like me) volunteers the ‘helpful’ advice “You can't drink orange drinks on Tuesdays!” doesn't mean you can't drink orange drinks on Tuesdays. There's nothing anywhere in the Torah or Oral Torah which says anything about not drinking orange drinks on Tuesdays.<br />
<br />
While it's a sin for them to teach you things which are incorrect, it's at least partly incumbent upon the listener to decide if they are, indeed, correct. Otherwise, you're not following the law as given in the Torah; you're following the law as given by some guy in a kippah and a tallit.<br />
<br />
You also need to be able to reject crustacean missionaries. You can't do that successfully without a solid grounding in the basics.<br />
<br />
So... exactly what can [[TOG]]s study?<br />
<br />
A more realistic example of what I'm talking about is, in fact, the question on what a [[TOG]] is allowed to study. There is discussion in the Talmud about this, but it appears to be divisive. One sage votes for the death penalty to Gentiles who study the Torah. (Seriously.) Another states that a Gentile who studies the Torah ‘is as a High Priest’.<br />
<br />
The current view seems to be that Torah study for [[TOG]]s (which presumably would include appropriate portions of the Talmud, and the Rabbahs, etc.) is a blessing, not a sin. Yet others insist that [[TOG]]s are only allowed to study the portions of the Torah which directly apply to them: in particular, the first twelve chapters of Genesis or only that which directly applies to the Seven Noahide Laws. Still others argue that Gentiles should never be permitted to read the Torah, but instead rely solely on materials written by rabbinical authorities which specifically address the Noahide Commandments.<br />
<br />
The latter opinions are the moral equivalent of someone wearing a kippah and tallit coming up to you and saying “You can't drink...” By this view one would not even be allowed to read the part of the Talmud which states you can't study it!<br />
<br />
Without such study we have no way to determine what is legitimate teaching. Yet we must not merely take someone's word for it, because doing the wrong thing would be a Very Bad Thing. Ultimately it's my destiny at stake.<br />
<br />
Worse, we end up with a situation where someone is continually telling you “In this secret book you're not allowed to read, it says...” which neither makes for a believable understanding of the laws, nor encourages any sort of spiritual belief.<br />
<br />
And consider this: Noah made sacrifices. Noah was, of course, the first Noahide. The implication is that Noahides are allowed to make sacrifices (at least a subset). He also had to know which animals were clean, and the correct way to perform the sacrifices. That implies a lot of Torah knowledge.<br />
<br />
The restriction on Torah study is not that we shouldn't study it in the sense of reading it. It's that we should study Torah with a given purpose in mind, be it better understanding of the Seven Commandments or just to gain a better spiritual understanding. Studying the Torah with the intent of converting Jews to, say, christianity, is what the sage who suggested the death penalty had in mind.<br />
<br />
[[TOG]]s shouldn't study as Jews are required to, because that is a special mitzvah between the Jews and Hashem; just as [[TOG]]s shouldn't wear tefillin or tallitot. Study for a purpose; don't study because you think you have to.<br />
<br />
[http://www.uglx.org/rgent-study View Source]<br />
<br />
== Rabbi Zvi Freedman (Chabad) ==<br />
<br />
Is there an established study programme how to teach Noachides?<br />
<br />
Q. Is there any established study programme or any structure whatsoever how to teach Noachides according to the teachings of the Rebbes of Lubavitch or any other true source? How to start? Which books to read? How to live?<br />
<br />
A. There’s been a lot of discussion on this topic — with little resolution. A collection of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s talks have been printed (in Hebrew) in “Kol Ba’ei Olam”. Your local Chabad rabbi (visit chabad.com to locate him) is likely to have that book. The only explicit statement of the Rebbe concerning study (of which I am aware) is that the second book of Tanya (order at kehotonline.com) is something all people need to know.<br />
<br />
The halachah is that a gentile is not permitted to occupy himself in Torah the same way a Jew does. Yet the Talmud also states that a gentile who is occupied in Torah attains that which the High Priest does not attain. How do we reconcile these two? The Jew studies all aspects of Torah whether they are of practical relevance to him or not — just for the sake of being immersed in Torah. The BN studies Torah to know and to understand his path. In a footnote, the Rebbe mentions that according to the Meiri, a Talmudic commentator, most of the Torah is of concern to a BN.<br />
<br />
Concerning prayer: When the Rebbe’s emissaries told him their plans to present the Prime Minister of Canada with a silver kiddush cup, the Rebbe replied: “What is he supposed to do with it? Rather, give him a siddur (Jewish prayer book), since there are plenty of things in there for him to say.”<br />
<br />
There is a careful balance here: We don’t want to create a new religion. Neither do we want BN to be emulating the practices that are specific to Jewish people. But every person needs to grow spiritually, and that does not seem possible without daily, meaningful rituals. Also, the path of the BN is integrally tied to the Jewish people, as stated clearly by the Rambam. Perhaps this is why the tzadik, Rav Azulai, instructed a BN to recite the Shma Yisrael every day.<br />
<br />
My sense tells me that in each part of the world, a BN will have a different approach, and they will each bring their particular wisdom into their practice. The Jewish people have always found much to learn from every culture we've come in contact with. The Talmud praises the Greeks for their sciences and beautiful language, the Persians for their modesty, the Romans for the honor they gave their fathers. In each culture, there are different sparks of the Divine which need to be used towards a Divine end. Therefore, it would seem counter - productive to provide a detailed prescription at this point.<br />
<br />
From my understanding of what is expected of a BN, I have put together some suggestions. Your comments are welcome:<br />
<br />
What to learn:<br />
<br />
# The Bible with classic Jewish commentaries (including the talks of the Rebbe, which are specific to our day and age), excluding those parts dealing with commands specific to the Jewish people;<br />
# The thirteen principles of the faith from Maimonides;<br />
# The Book of Knowledge of Maimonides;<br />
# Laws dealing with property and personal damages, including slander, gossip, verbal abuse, verbal pledges, cruelty to animals;<br />
# The second book of Tanya (this was explicitly mentioned by the Rebbe), as well as selections from the first; and<br />
# Stories of tzadikim.<br />
<br />
Morning prayer (all these in translation):<br />
<br />
# Modeh Ani—optional<br />
# Study and meditation<br />
# Adon Olam—optional<br />
# Psalms of Praise (as in the siddur) — optional<br />
# Shma Yisrael — first paragraph (this was an instruction of Rav Azulai, father of the Birchei Yosef, to a Ben Noach in his time)<br />
# Psalm 100 — optional<br />
# Recitation of the Noahide Creed — optional<br />
<br />
[http://www.askmoses.com/qa_detail.html?o=409 View Source]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Legal Rulings]]</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Halakha&diff=7737
Halakha
2008-05-14T17:03:27Z
<p>Elisheva: /* See also */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Jew}}<br />
'''Halakha''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: הלכה; also [[Hebrew transliteration|transliterated]] as ''Halakhah'', ''Halacha'', ''Halakhot'' and ''Halachah'') is the collective corpus of [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[religious law]], including biblical law (the [[613 mitzvot|613 ''mitzvot'']]) and later [[talmud]]ic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. Like the religious laws in many other cultures, Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and non-religious life. Hence, Halakha guides not only religious practices and beliefs, but numerous aspects of day-to-day life. <br />
<br />
Historically, Halakha served many Jewish communities as an enforceable avenue of civil and religious law. In Israel, family and personal status law are governed by the rabbinic courts. Reflecting the diversity of Jewish communities, somewhat different approaches to Halakha are found among [[Ashkenazi]], [[Mizrahi]], and [[Sefardi]] Jews. Among Ashkenazi Jews, disagreements over Halakha have played a pivotal role in the emergence of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]], [[Reform Judaism|Reform]], [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] streams of Judaism, whilst on the whole, Sefardi Jews have kept closer to tradition. <br />
<br />
==Terminology==<br />
The name ''Halakha'' derives from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] '''halach''' '''הלך''' meaning "going" hence the "[correct] the way to go according to the law." The term Halakha may refer to a single rule, to the literary corpus of rabbinic legal texts, as well as to the overall system of religious law.<br />
<br />
The ''Halakha'' is often contrasted with the ''[[Aggadah]]'', the diverse corpus of rabbinic exegetical, narrative, philosophical and other "non-legal" literatures. At the same time, since writers of ''Halakha'' may draw upon the aggada literature, there is a dynamic interchange between the two genres.<br />
<br />
Halakha constitutes the practical application of the 613 [[613 mitzvot|mitzvot]] ("commandments") (singular: [[mitzvah]]) in the [[Torah]], (the five books of [[Moses]], the "Written Law") as developed through discussion and debate in the classical [[rabbinic literature]], especially the [[Mishnah]] and the [[Talmud]] (the "[[Oral law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral law]]") and codified by Maimonides in the MISHNE TORAH and later in the [[Shulkhan Arukh]] (the Jewish "Code of Law") which is the complilation of laws restrictively applicable in "our times".<br />
<br />
==Scope==<br />
For the Jew, to live in accordance with Halakha is to respond to its magisterially Law-Giver. By bringing the Divine will-- as explicated by "hakhmei ha-masorah" (the ordained Sages of the Sanhedrin who are the bearers of the tradition)-- to bear on the whole of his existence, the Jew is sanctified. <br />
<br />
The Halakha is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of human life, both corporeal and spiritual. Its laws, guidelines, and opinions cover a vast range of situations and principles, in the attempt to realize what is implied by the central Biblical commandment to "be holy as I your God am holy". They cover what are better ways for a Jew to live, what is implicit and understood but not stated explicitly in the Torah, and what has been deduced by rules of exegis and implication, though not explicit on the surface. <br />
<br />
Halakha is defined by a variety of rabbinic authorities, and since we do not have today one sole "official voice", different individuals and communities may well have different answers to Halakhic questions. Controversies lend rabbinic literature much of its creative and intellectual appeal. With few exceptions, controversies are not settled through authoritative structures because Judaism lacks a single judicial hierarchy or appellate review process for Halakha. Instead, Jews interested in observing Halakha may choose to follow specific schools, or affiliate with a more tightly-structured community.<br />
<br />
Halakha developed throughout the generations since before 500 BCE, in a constantly expanding collection of [[Rabbinic literature|religious literature]] consolidated in the [[Talmud]]. First and foremost it forms a body of intricate judicial opinions, legislation, customs, and recommendations, many of them passed down over the centuries, and an assortment of ingrained behaviors, relayed to successive generations from the moment a child begins to speak. It is also the subject of intense study in ''[[yeshiva]]s''; see [[Torah study]].<br />
<br />
==Laws of the Torah==<br />
:''See also [[Oral law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral law]]; [[Mishnah#Relation between the Bible and the Mishnah|Relationship between the Bible and the Mishnah]] and [[Talmud]]''.<br />
<br />
Broadly, the Halakha comprises the practical application of the [[613 mitzvot|commandments]] (each one known as a [[mitzvah]]) in the [[Torah]], as developed in subsequent [[rabbinic literature]]; see [[Mitzvah#The Mitzvot and Jewish Law|The Mitzvot and Jewish Law]]. According to the Talmud (Tractate Makot), there are [[613 mitzvot]] ("commandments") in the Torah; in Hebrew these are known as the ''Taryag mitzvot'' תרי"ג מצוות. There are 248 positive mitzvot and 365 negative mitzvot given in the Torah, supplemented by seven mitzvot legislated by the rabbis of antiquity; see [[Mitzvah#Biblical and Rabbinical commandments|Rabbinical commandments]].<br />
<br />
===Categories===<br />
Judaism divides the laws into two basic categories: <br />
*Laws in relation to God (''bein adam le-Makom''), and <br />
*Laws about relations with other people (''bein adam le-chavero'').<br />
<br />
Violations of the latter are considered to be more severe, as one must obtain forgiveness both from the offended person ''and'' from God.<br />
<br />
Rabbinic authorities divide Halakha between laws that are interpreted as revealed (Biblical) commandments and those designated as rabbinic origin. This division between revealed and rabbinic commandments may influence the importance of a rule, its enforcement and the nature of its ongoing interpretation.<br />
<br />
Commandments (mitzvot) are divided into positive and negative commands, which are treated differently in terms of Divine and human punishment. Positive commands bring one closer to God, while violations of negative ones create a distance. In striving to "be holy" as God is holy, one attempts so far as possible to live in accordance with God's wishes for humanity, striving to more completely live with each of these with every moment of one's life.<br />
<br />
A further division is made between ''chukim'' ("decrees")&mdash;laws without obvious explanation, such as ''[[kashrut]]'', the dietary laws), ''mishpatim'' ("judgments")&mdash;laws with obvious social implications and ''eduyot''&mdash;"testimonies" or "commemorations", such as the [[Shabbat]] and holidays). Through the ages, various rabbinical athorities have classified the commandments in various other ways.<br />
<br />
===Sin===<br />
Judaism regards the violation of the commandments, the ''[[mitzvah|mitzvot]]'', to be a sin. The term "sin" is theologically loaded, as it means different things to Jews and Christians. In [[Christianity]] a "sin" is an offense against God, by which one is separated from God's love and grace, and for which one would suffer punishment, unless one repents (see [[Sin]] for a more complete comparison of sin from several viewpoints). Judaism has a wider definition of the term "sin", and also uses it to include violations of Jewish law that are not necessarily a lapse in morality. Further, Judaism holds it as given that all people sin at various points in their lives, and hold that God always tempers justice with mercy.<br />
<br />
The generic Hebrew word for any kind of sin is ''aveira'' ("trangression"). Based on the [[Tanakh]] (Hebrew Bible) Judaism describes three levels of sin. <br />
*''Pesha'' -- an "intentional sin"; an action committed in deliberate defiance of God; <br />
*''Avon'' -- a "sin of lust or uncontrollable emotion". It is a sin done knowingly, but not done to defy God; <br />
*''Cheth'' -- an "unintentional sin".<br />
<br />
Human beings are not perfect, and people do commit transgressions, so the Law-Giver offers a road of ''[[teshuva]]'' (repentance, literally: "return"). But the effect of repentance depends on the severity of the transgression and the the Rabbis warn that for some persons, this is exceedingly difficult, such as the one who slanders another.<br />
<br />
In earlier days, when Jews had a functioning court system (the [[beth din]] and the [[Sanhedrin]] high court), courts were empowered to administer physical punishments for various violations, upon conviction by far stricter standards of evidence than are acceptable in American courts: [[corporal punishment (Judaism)|corporal punishment]], [[incarceration]], [[excommunication]]. Since the fall of the Temple, executions are not applied. Since the fall of the autonomous Jewish communities of [[Europe]], the other punishments, such as lashes, have also fallen by the wayside. Today, then, one's accounts are reckoned solely by [[God]].<br />
<br />
===Gentiles and Jewish law===<br />
Jews are bound by Covenant to observe the Halakha; Gentiles were given the seven [[Noahide Laws]]; these are commandments expounded by oral law from the Covenant God made with [[Noah]] after the flood, which apply to all descendants of Noah (mankind). The Noahide laws are listed and explained in the [[Talmud]] (Tractate Sanhedrin 57a ff), and are listed here:<br />
<br />
#[[Murder]] is forbidden. <br />
#[[Theft]] is forbidden.<br />
#[[Religion and sexuality|certain Sexual relations/immorality]] - are forbidden. <br />
#Eating flesh cut from a still-living animal is forbidden.<br />
#Belief in, and/or prayer to "[[idolatry|idols]]" ([[cult image]]s) is forbidden. <br />
#[[Blasphemy|Blaspheming]] is forbidden. <br />
#Society must establish a system of legal [[justice]] to judge transgressions of these [[law]]s and punish the one found guilty.<br />
<br />
Although not mentioning the [[Noahide Laws]] directly by name, the Christian convention of Apostles and elders in Jerusalem mentioned in [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 15, mentions a list of constraints to be applied to the gentiles that are converted to Christianity, verse 15:20, which is similar although not identical to the Noahide laws.<br />
<br />
==The sources and process of Halakha==<br />
The boundaries of Jewish law are determined through the halakhic process, a religious-ethical system of legal reasoning. Rabbis generally base their opinions on the primary sources of Halakha as well as on precedent set by previous rabbinic opinions. The major sources and genre of Halakha consulted include: <br />
<br />
* The foundational Talmudic literature (especially the [[Mishna]] and the [[Talmud|Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud]]) with commentaries; <br />
* The post-Talmudic [[Halakha#Codes of Jewish law|codificatory literature]], such as Maimonides' [[Mishneh Torah]] and the [[Shulchan Aruch]] with commentaries;<br />
* Regulations and other "legislative" enactments promulgated by rabbis and communal bodies:<br />
** ''Gezeirah'': "preventative legislation" of the Rabbis, intended to prevent violations of the [[mitzva|commandments]]<br />
** ''Takkanah'': "positive legislation", practices instituted by the Rabbis not based (directly) on the [[mitzva|commandments]]<br />
* ''[[Minhag]]'': Customs, community practices, and customary law, as well as the exemplary deeds of prominent (or local) rabbis; <br />
* The ''[[responsa|she'eloth u-teshuvoth]]'' (responsa, literally "questions and answers") literature.<br />
* ''Dina d'malchuta dina'' ("the law of the land is law"): an additional source of Halakha, being the principle recognizing non-Jewish laws and non-Jewish legal jurisdiction as binding on Jewish citizens in areas of commercial, civil and criminal law, provided that they are not contrary to any laws of Judaism.<br />
<br />
Unlike Anglo-American common law, though, Halakhah does not rely on a strict theory of binding precedent nor provide for systematic review of precedents. Generally, Halakhic arguments are effectively, yet unofficially, peer-reviewed. When a rabbinic ''[[posek]]'' ("decisor") proposes a ruling concerning a new situation, that ruling may be considered binding for the posek's questioner or immediate community. Depending on the stature of the posek and the quality of the decision, an interpretation may also be gradually accepted by rabbis and members of similar Jewish communities. <br />
<br />
Under this system, there is a tension between the relevance of earlier and later authorities in constraining halakhic interpretation and innovation. On the one hand, there is a principle in Halakha to not overrule a specific law from an earlier era, unless based on an earlier authority. On the other hand, another principle recognizes the responsibility and authority of later authorities, and especially the ''posek'' handling a concurrent question. In addition, the Halakha embodies a wide range of principles that permit judicial discretion and deviation (Ben-Menahem). Generally speaking, a rabbi in any one period will not overrule specific laws from an earlier era, unless supported by a relevant earlier precedent; see list below. There are important exceptions to this principle, which empower the ''[[posek]]'' (decisor) or ''[[beth din]]'' (court) responsible for a given opinion.<br />
<br />
Notwithstanding the potential for innovation, rabbis and Jewish communities differ greatly on how they make changes in Halakha. Notably, ''poskim'' frequently extend the application of a law to new situations, but do not consider such applications as constituting a "change" in Halakha. For example, many [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] rulings concerning electricity are derived from rulings concerning fire, due to its similarity with that other form of human-managed energy. [[Conservative Judaism]] and [[Reform Judaism]] tend to explicitly interpret Halakha to take into account sociological factors. For instance, the liberal Jewish movements extend the application of certain Jewish obligations and permissible activitites to women. See below: [[Halakha#How Halakha is viewed today|How Halakha is viewed today]].<br />
<br />
There is no formal peer-review process for the entire Jewish community in general, since the Jewish community has no one central body that speaks for all of Judaism. However, within certain Jewish communities formal organized bodies exist: Each division or dynasty of Orthodox [[Hasidic Judaism]] has their own [[rebbe]], who is their ultimate decisor of Jewish law. Within [[Modern Orthodox Judaism]], there is no one committee or leader, but Modern Orthodox rabbis generally agree with the views set by consensus by the leaders of the [[Rabbinical Council of America]]. Within [[Conservative Judaism]], the [[Rabbinical Assembly]] has an official [[Committee on Jewish Law and Standards]].<br />
<br />
In antiquity, the ''[[Sanhedrin]]'' functioned essentially as the Supreme Court and legislature for Judaism, empowered by their ordination to create and administer binding law on all Jews for all times - rulings of the Sanhedrin became Halakha; see [[Oral law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral law]]. That court ceased to function in its full mode in [[40|CE 40]]. Until today, the application of Jewish law is bound by the Supreme Court's decisions, and amendments are left to the local rabbi and the local rabbinical courts, with only local applicability.<br />
<br />
===Eras of history important in Jewish law===<br />
:''See also [[Rabbinic literature]]''.<br />
<br />
* The ''[[Tannaim]]'' (literally the "repeaters") are the sages of the Mishna (70&ndash;200)<br />
* The ''[[Amora|Amoraim]]'' (literally the "sayers") are the sages of the Talmud (200&ndash;500)<br />
* The ''[[Savoraim]]'' are the classical Persian rabbis (500&ndash;600)<br />
* The ''[[Geonim]]'' (literally the "prides" or "geniuses") are the rabbis of Sura and Pumbeditha, in Babylonia (650&ndash;1250)<br />
* The ''[[Rishonim]]'' (literally the "firsts") are the rabbis of the early medieval period (1250&ndash;1550) preceding the [[Shulchan Aruch]]<br />
* The ''[[Acharonim]]'' (literally the "afters") are the rabbis of 1550 to the present.<br />
<br />
===The thirteen rules by which Jewish law was derived===<br />
The Oral Law which is an integral part of the Torah received at Sinai is derived from the Written Law - both being the [[Torah]] - by the application of one the following rules of interpretation("Introduction to ''Sifra''" by [[Ishmael ben Elisha]], c. 200 CE):<br />
<br />
#''Kal va-Chomer'' ([[List of Latin phrases (A–E)#A|a fortiori]]): We find a similar stringency in a more lenient case; how more so should that stringency apply to our stricter case!<br />
#''Gezera shava'', similarity in phrase: We find a similar law in a verse containing a similar phrase to one in our verse. This method can only be used in a case where there is a tradition to use it.<br />
#''Binyan av'', either by one or two Scriptures: We find a similar law in another case, why shouldn't we assume that the same law applies here? Now the argument may go against this inference, finding some law which applies to that case but not to ours. This type of refutation is valid only if the inference was from one Scripture, not if it was from two Scriptures.<br />
#''Klal ufrat'', a generality and a particularity: If we find a phrase signifying a particularity following that of a generality, the particularity particularises the generality and we only take that particular case into account.<br />
#''Prat ukhlal'', a particularity and a generality: If the order is first the particularity and then the generality, we add from the generality upon the particularity, even to a broad extent.<br />
#''Klal ufrat ukhlal'', a generality, a particularity and a generality: If there is a particularity inserted between two generalities, we only add cases similar to the particularity.<br />
#''Klal shehu tzarich lifrat'', a generality that requires a particularity, and a particularity that requires a generality:<br />
#Every thing that was within the general rule and was excluded from the rule to teach us a rule, we don't consider this rule as pertaining only to this excluded case, but to the entire general case.<br />
#Anything that was included in a general rule, and was excluded to be susceptible to one rule that is according to its subject, it is only excluded to be treated more leniently but not more strictly.<br />
#Anything that was included in a general rule and was excluded to be susceptible to one rule that is not according to its subject, it is excluded to be treated both more leniently and more strictly.<br />
#Anything that was included in a general rule and was excluded to be treated by a new rule, we cannot restore it to its general rule unless Scripture restores it explicitly.<br />
#A matter that is inferred from its context, and a matter that is inferred from its ending.<br />
#The resolution of two Scriptures that contradict each other [must wait] until a third Scripture arrives and resolves their apparent contradiction.<br />
<br />
==How Halakha is viewed today==<br />
:''See also [[Talmud#The Talmud in modern-day Judaism|The Talmud in modern-day Judaism]]''.<br />
<br />
[[Orthodox Judaism]] holds that the words of the [[Torah]] (Pentateuch) were indeed dictated by God to Moses in almost precisely the way that they exist in the Torah today. The laws contained in the Written Torah were given along with detailed explanations as how to apply and interpret them, the [[Oral Law]]. The religious laws that Jews know today are thus directly derived from Sinai. As such, one must be extremely conservative changing or adapting Jewish law. Orthodox Judaism holds that, given Jewish law's Divine origin, no underlying principle may be compromised in accounting for changing political, social or economic conditions; in this sense, "creativity" and development in Jewish law is limited. See [[Orthodox Judaism#Beliefs about Jewish law and tradition|Orthodox beliefs about Jewish law and tradition]].<br />
<br />
To the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jew]], Halakha is a guide, [[God]]'s Law, governing the structure of daily life from the moment he or she wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep. It includes codes of behavior applicable to a broad range of circumstances (and many hypothetical ones).<br />
<br />
[[Conservative Judaism]] holds that the current text of the Torah is a composite that was [[documentary hypothesis|redacted together from earlier sources]]. Conservative Jews hold that it is possible to believe that God is real and that prophets like Moses really were inspired by God. However, whatever records and traditions relating to such events were apparently transmitted in various forms for many centuries. This says nothing about whether the Torah is based on God or not, and so this idea not a theological threat. Therefore Conservative Judaism teaches that one should make use of literary and historical analysis to understand how these texts developed, and to help them understand how they may be applied in our own day. Conservative Jews view the laws and customs from the various law codes as the basis for normative Jewish law. [[Solomon Schechter]] writes "however great the literary value of a code may be, it does not invest it with infallibility, nor does it exempt it from the student or the Rabbi who makes use of it from the duty of examining each paragraph on its own merits, and subjecting it to the same rules of interpretation that were always applied to Tradition". [Solomon Schechter]. <br />
<br />
[[Reform Judaism]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] both hold that modern views of how the Torah and rabbinic law developed imply that the body of rabbinic Jewish law is no longer normative (seen as binding) on Jews today. Therefore Jews are not expected or taught to follow most of halakha. Those in the traditionalist wing of these movements hold that each Jew is obligated to interpret the Torah, Talmud and other Jewish works for themselves, and this interpretation will create separate commandments for each person. Those in the neo-traditional wing of Reform include [[Rabbi]]s [[Eugene Borowitz]] and [[Gunther Plaut]].<br />
<br />
Those in the liberal and classical wings of Reform believe that in this day and era most Jewish religious rituals are no longer necessary, and many hold that following most Jewish laws is actually counter-productive. They propose that Judaism has entered a phase of ethical monotheism, and that the laws of Judaism are only remnants of an earlier stage of religious evolution, and need not be followed. This is considered wrong (and arguably heretical) not only by Orthodoxy, but by Conservative Judaism, and perhaps by some in the traditional wing of Reform.<br />
<br />
===Flexibility within the Halakha===<br />
Throughout history, halakha had been a remarkably flexible system, despite its internal rigidity, addressing issues on the basis of circumstance and precedent. For instance, rulings regarding modern technology have been incorporated into the ever-expanding halakhah. New rulings guide the observant about the proper use of electricity on the Sabbath and holidays within the parameters of halakhah. (Many scholarly tomes have been published and are constantly being reviewed ensuring the maximum coordination between electrical appliances and technology with the needs of the religiously observant Jew, with a great range of opinions.) Often, as to the applicability of the law in any given situation, the proviso is: "Consult your local Orthodox rabbi or posek." <br />
<br />
Modern critics, however, charge that with the rise of movements that challenge the "Divine" authority of halakha, traditional Jews have greater reluctance to change, not only the laws themselves but also other customs and habits. <br />
<br />
*As above, Orthodox Jews hold that, unlike secular precedent-based systems, ''halakha'' is a religious system, whose axiom is that Jewish law represents the will of God, either directly, or as close to directly as possible. If the laws in Jewish law codes are not the word of God ''per se'', they are nonetheless derived from the literal word of God in the Torah, using a set of rules also [[Revelation|revealed]] by God to Moses on [[Mount Sinai, Egypt|Mount Sinai]], and have been derived with the utmost accuracy and care. As such, one must be extremely conservative changing or adapting Jewish law. There have, nevertheless, been many changes including the application of halakha to modern technology.<br />
<br />
*The view held by [[Conservative Judaism]] (and to some extent within the left wing of Orthodoxy) is that while God is real for theological reasons, the Torah is not the word of God in a literal sense. However, in this view the Torah is still held as mankind's record of its understanding of God's revelation, and thus still has divine authority. In this view, traditional Jewish law is still seen as binding. Jews who hold by this view generally try to use modern methods of historical study to learn how Jewish law has changed over time, and are more willing to change Jewish law in the present.<br />
<br />
==Codes of Jewish law==<br />
The [[Torah]] and the [[Talmud]] are not formal codes of law; they are sources of law. There are many formal codes of Jewish law that have developed over the past few thousand years. The major codes are:<br />
<br />
* The [[Mishnah]], composed by [[Judah haNasi|Rabbi Judah the Prince]], in [[200|AD 200]], as a basic outline of the state of the [[Oral Law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral Law]] in his time. This was the framework upon which the Talmud was based.<br />
<br />
* The ''Hilchot'' of ''the Rif'', Rabbi [[Isaac Alfasi]] (1013 - 1103), summations of the legal material in the Talmud. Alfasi transcribed the Talmud's halakhic conclusions verbatim, without the surrounding deliberation; he also excludes all [[Aggadah|Aggadic]] (non-legal, homiletic) matter. The ''Hilchot'' has been printed with almost every subsequent edition of the Talmud. <br />
<br />
* The [[Mishneh Torah]] (also known as the ''Yad Ha-Hazaqah''), by [[Maimonides]] (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, the [[Rambam]]; 1135 - 1204). The 14 volumes in this work encompass the full range of Jewish law, as formulated for all ages and places. It compiles and reorganizes all the Talmudic decisions in a logical system. It opens with a section entitled "The Foundations of the Torah" which outlines the basic tenet of the Jewish faith and a brief survey of Judaism's metaphysical system. <br />
<br />
* The work of ''the Rosh'', Rabbi [[Asher ben Jehiel]] (1250?/1259?-1328), an abstract of the Talmud, concisely stating the final Halakhic decision and quoting later authorities, notably Alfasi, Maimonides, and the [[Tosafists]]. This work superseded Rabbi Alfasi's and has been printed with almost every subsequent edition of the Talmud. <br />
<br />
* The [[Sefer Mitzvot Gadol]] (The "SeMaG") of Rabbi [[Moses ben Jacob of Coucy]] (13th century, [[Coucy]], [[France]]). "SeMaG" is organised around the 365 negative and the 248 positive [[mitzvah|commandments]], separately discussing each of them according to the [[Talmud]] (in light of the commentaries of [[Rashi]] and the [[Tosafot]]) and the other codes existent at the time.<br />
<br />
* "The Mordechai" - by [[Mordecai ben Hillel]], d. [[Nuremberg]] 1298 - serves both as a source of analysis, as well of decided law. The Mordechai considered about 350 Halakhic authorities, and was widely influential, particularly amongst the Ashkenazi and [[Italki]] communities. Although organised around the ''Hilchot'' of ''the Rif'', it is, in fact, an independent work. It has been printed with every edition of the Talmud since [[1482]].<br />
<br />
* The [[Arba'ah Turim]] (The Tur, The Four Columns) by Rabbi [[Jacob ben Asher]] (1270 - 1343, [[Toledo, Spain]]). This work traces the Halakha from the Torah text and the Talmud through the [[Rishonim]], with the ''Hilchot'' of Alfasi as its starting point. Ben Asher followed Maimonides's precedent in arranging his work in a topical order, however, the Tur covers only those areas of Jewish religious law that were in force in the author's time. The code is divided into four main sections; almost all codes since this time have followed the Tur's arrangement of material.<br />
** [[Orach Chayim]] - "The Way of Life" worship and ritual observance in the home and [[synagogue]], through the course of the day, the weekly [[sabbath]] and the festival cycle. <br />
** [[Yoreh De'ah]] - "Teach Knowledge" assorted ritual prohibitions, dietary laws and regulations concerning [[menstruation|menstrual]] impurity.<br />
** [[Even Ha'ezer]] - "The Rock of the Helpmate" [[marriage]], [[divorce]] and other issues in [[family]] law.<br />
** [[Choshen Mishpat]] - "The Breastplate of Judgment" The administration and [[adjudication]] of civil law.<br />
<br />
*The [[Shulchan Aruch|Beit Yosef, and the Shulchan Aruch]] of Rabbi [[Yosef Karo]] (1488&ndash;1575). The ''Beit Yosef'' is a huge commentary on the ''Tur'' in which Rabbi Karo traces the development of each law from the Talmud through later [[rabbinical literature]] (examining thirty-two [[posek|authorities]], beginning with the Talmud and ending with the works of Rabbi [[Israel Isserlein]]). The [[Shulchan Aruch]], considered the most authoritative compilation halakha since the Talmud, is a condensation of the ''Beit Yosef'' - stating each ruling simply (literally translated, ''Shulchan Aruch'' means "set table"). Karo based his [[posek|rulings]] on three authorities - Maimonides (Rambam), Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), and Isaac Alfasi (Rif). In writing the Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Yosef followed the chapter divisions of the Tur. [[Sephardi|Sephardic Jews]] use the Shulchan Aruch as the basis for their daily practice.<br />
<br />
*Rabbi [[Moshe Isserles]] ([[Kraków]], [[Poland]], 1525 to 1572) noted that the ''Shulkhan Arukh'' was based on the [[Sephardic Judaism|Sephardic]] tradition, and he created a series of [[gloss]]es to be appended to the text of the Shulkhan Arukh for cases where Sephardi and [[Ashkenazi]] [[minhag|customs]] differed (based on the works of [[Yaakov Moelin]], [[Israel Isserlein]] and [[Israel Bruna]]). The glosses are called ''Hamapah'', the "Tablecloth" for the "Set Table". His comments are now incorporated into the body of all printed editions of the Shulkhan Arukh, typeset in a different script; today, "Shulchan Aruch" refers to the combined work of Karo and Isserles. Isserles' ''Darkhei Moshe'' is similarly a commentary on the Tur and the Beit Yosef.<br />
<br />
* The [[Shulchan Aruch HaRav]] of Rabbi [[Shneur Zalman]] of Liadi (c. 1800) was an attempt to recodify the law as it stood at that time, stating the [[posek|decided halakha]], as well as the underlying reasoning; the work was written, partly, so that laymen would be able to study Jewish law. Unfortunately, most of the work was lost in a fire prior to publication. It is held in esteem by many [[Hasidim]] and non-Hasidim, and is quoted as authoratitive by many subsequent works.<br />
<br />
* "Layman oriented" digests of Halakha: The [[Kitzur Shulkhan Arukh]] of Rabbi [[Shlomo Ganzfried]] ([[Hungary]] [[1804]] -1886), based on the very strict Hungarian customs of the 19th century, became immensely popular after its publication due to its simplicity. This work is not binding in the same way as the Mishneh Torah or the Shulchan Aruch. It is still popular in [[Orthodox Judaism]] as a framework for study, if not always for practice. [[Chayei Adam]] and [[Chochmat Adam]] by [[Avraham Danzig]] (Poland, 1748-1820) are similar [[Ashkenazi]] works, but are regarded as more authoritative. The [[Ben Ish Chai]] by [[Yosef Chaim]] ([[Baghdad]], 1832 - 1909) is a corresponding [[Sephardi]] work. <br />
<br />
* The [[Mishnah Berurah]] of Rabbi [[Yisrael Meir Kagan|Yisroel Meir ha-Kohen]], (the "Chofetz Chaim", Poland, 1838 - 1933) is a commentary on the "Orach Chayim" section of the [[Shulchan Aruch]], discussing the application of each Halakha in light of all subsequent [[Acharonim|Acharonic]] decisions. It has become the authoritative halakhic guide for much of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] [[Ashkenazi|Ashkenazic Jewry]] in the postwar period, supplanting the more scholarly ''[[Arukh HaShulkhan]]'' of Rabbi [[Yechiel Michel Epstein]]. <br />
<br />
*[[Kaf HaChaim]] on [[Orach Chayim]] and parts of [[Yoreh De'ah]], by the [[Sephardi]] sage [[Yaakov Chaim Sofer]] ([[Baghdad]] and [[Jerusalem]], 1870 - 1939) is similar in scope, authority and approach to the Mishnah Berurah. [[Yalkut Yosef]], by Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, is a voluminous, widely cited and contemporary work of Halakha, based on the rulings of Rabbi [[Ovadia Yosef]].<br />
<br />
* "A Guide To Jewish Religious Practice", by Rabbi [[Isaac Klein]], with contributions from the Conservative [[Committee on Jewish Law and Standards]] of the [[Rabbinical Assembly]]. This work is based on the previous traditional law codes, but written from a [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative Jewish]] point of view. It is not accepted among [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]].<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
* [[Mishpat Ivri]]<br />
The State of Israel has a secular law and constitution adopted from the Ottoman and British rule in the land. Efforts are made by religious legislators to adopt into the state laws, rulings based on the Jewish law, called "Mishpat Ivri".<br />
<br />
== External links and references==<br />
===General===<br />
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=262763 Judaism 101 Laws and Customs]<br />
*[http://www.aish.com/literacy/concepts/The_Rules_of_Halacha.asp The Rules of Halacha], Rabbi [[Aryeh Kaplan]]<br />
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=35&letter=T Talmudic Law], jewishencyclopedia.com<br />
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=107&letter=L Law, Codification of], jewishencyclopedia.com <br />
*[http://shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/04-index.html FAQ on halakha and Jewish law], shamash.org<br />
*[http://www.jewfaq.org/halakhah.htm Halakhah article], jewfaq.org<br />
*[http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/section-52.html FAQ on the different rabbinic eras], faqs.org<br />
*[http://www.aish.com/societyWork/sciencenature/Why_Jewish_Medical_Ethics.asp An introduction to the system of Jewish Law], aish.com<br />
*[http://hsf.bgu.ac.il/cjt/files/electures/gloss.htm#Halakhah Entry on Halakhah], Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought<br />
<br />
===Discussion===<br />
*[http://www.torahweb.org/torah/special/2003/rsch_masorah.html On the Matter of Masorah], Rabbi [[Hershel Schachter]]<br />
*[http://www.beingjewish.com/mesorah/notchaotic.html The Oral Law and Our Own Opinions], Mordechai Housman<br />
*[http://www.yasharbooks.com/freedom%20to%20interpret.pdf Freedom to Interpret], Rabbi [[Aryeh Carmell]]<br />
*[http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/ Jewish Law Articles: "Examining Halacha, Jewish Issues and Secular Law"], jlaw.com<br />
*[http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/english/journal/broyde-wagner-1.htm Orthodox Responses to Sociological and Technological Change], [[Journal of Halacha & Contemporary Society]]<br />
*[http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/Gruss/katz.html Da'at Torah - The Unqualified Authority Claimed for Halachists], Prof. Jacob Katz<br />
*[http://www.nishmat.net/article.php?id=180&heading=0 Authority and Autonomy in Pesikat HaHalacha], Rabbi Zvi Leshem<br />
<br />
===Fulltext resources===<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/0.htm ''Mishneh Torah''] <br />
*[http://www.chassidus.org.ru/chabadlibrary.org/sifrey_yesod/shulchan_oruch/index.php ''Shulchan Aruch'']<br />
*[http://www.chassidus.org.ru/chabadlibrary.org/admur_hazoken/shulchan_oruch/orach_chaim/kerech_alef/001_1.htm ''Shulchan Aruch HaRav'']<br />
*[http://www.shofar.net/Content/Kitzur_Shulchan.htm?id=5417 ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch''], (note: single, very large webpage)<br />
*[http://www.shechem.org/torah/benishhi/index.html ''Ben Ish Chai'']<br />
<br />
===Study resources===<br />
*[http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha-overview/archives.html ''Mishneh Torah'' overview]<br />
*[http://www.torah.org/advanced/shulchan-aruch/ocarchives.html ''Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim'' overview]<br />
*[http://www.torah.org/advanced/shulchan-aruch/archives.html ''Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah'' overview]<br />
*[http://www.torah.org/advanced/mishna-berura/ ''Mishna Berura'' translation]<br />
*[http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha/ ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' translation]; or [http://www.geocities.com/yona_n.geo/kizzur/kiz-index1.html Ch 1-97] and [http://www.geocities.com/yona_n.geo/kizzur/kiz-index2.html Ch 98-221]<br />
*[http://www.teachittome.com/index.php?Command=Class&ClassID=BenIshChai&Title=Ben+Ish+Chai+Halachot ''Ben Ish Chai'' lectures] ([[MP3]])<br />
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=262763 Laws and customs: daily, shabbat and festivals], chabad.org<br />
<br />
===Bibliography===<br />
*[[J. David Bleich]], ''Contemporary Halakhic Problems'' (5 vols), Ktav. ISBN 0870684507, ISBN 0881254746, ISBN 0881253154, ISBN 087068275X, Feldheim ISBN 1568713533<br />
*[[Menachem Elon]], ''Ha-Mishpat ha-Ivri'' (trans. Jewish law), Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 0827605374<br />
*Jacob Katz, ''Divine Law in Human Hands - Case Studies in Halakhic Flexibility'', Magnes Press. ISBN 9652239801<br />
*Mendell Lewittes, ''Jewish Law: An Introduction'', Jason Aronson. ISBN 1568213026<br />
* Daniel Pollack ed., ''Contrasts in American and Jewish Law'', Ktav. ISBN 0881257508<br />
*[[Joel Roth]], ''Halakhic Process: A Systemic Analysis'', Jewish Theological Seminary. ISBN 0873340353 <br />
*[[Joseph Soloveitchik]], ''Halakhic Man'', Jewish Publication Society trans. Lawrence Kaplan. ISBN 0827603975</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Mishpat_Ivri&diff=7736
Mishpat Ivri
2008-05-14T17:01:13Z
<p>Elisheva: </p>
<hr />
<div>The State of Israel has a secular law and constitution adopted from the Ottoman and British rule in the land. Efforts are made by religious legislators to adopt into the state laws, rulings based on the Jewish law, called "Mishpat Ivri".</div>
Elisheva
http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php?title=Halakha&diff=7735
Halakha
2008-05-14T16:56:22Z
<p>Elisheva: /* Codes of Jewish law */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Jew}}<br />
'''Halakha''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: הלכה; also [[Hebrew transliteration|transliterated]] as ''Halakhah'', ''Halacha'', ''Halakhot'' and ''Halachah'') is the collective corpus of [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[religious law]], including biblical law (the [[613 mitzvot|613 ''mitzvot'']]) and later [[talmud]]ic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. Like the religious laws in many other cultures, Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and non-religious life. Hence, Halakha guides not only religious practices and beliefs, but numerous aspects of day-to-day life. <br />
<br />
Historically, Halakha served many Jewish communities as an enforceable avenue of civil and religious law. In Israel, family and personal status law are governed by the rabbinic courts. Reflecting the diversity of Jewish communities, somewhat different approaches to Halakha are found among [[Ashkenazi]], [[Mizrahi]], and [[Sefardi]] Jews. Among Ashkenazi Jews, disagreements over Halakha have played a pivotal role in the emergence of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]], [[Reform Judaism|Reform]], [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] streams of Judaism, whilst on the whole, Sefardi Jews have kept closer to tradition. <br />
<br />
==Terminology==<br />
The name ''Halakha'' derives from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] '''halach''' '''הלך''' meaning "going" hence the "[correct] the way to go according to the law." The term Halakha may refer to a single rule, to the literary corpus of rabbinic legal texts, as well as to the overall system of religious law.<br />
<br />
The ''Halakha'' is often contrasted with the ''[[Aggadah]]'', the diverse corpus of rabbinic exegetical, narrative, philosophical and other "non-legal" literatures. At the same time, since writers of ''Halakha'' may draw upon the aggada literature, there is a dynamic interchange between the two genres.<br />
<br />
Halakha constitutes the practical application of the 613 [[613 mitzvot|mitzvot]] ("commandments") (singular: [[mitzvah]]) in the [[Torah]], (the five books of [[Moses]], the "Written Law") as developed through discussion and debate in the classical [[rabbinic literature]], especially the [[Mishnah]] and the [[Talmud]] (the "[[Oral law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral law]]") and codified by Maimonides in the MISHNE TORAH and later in the [[Shulkhan Arukh]] (the Jewish "Code of Law") which is the complilation of laws restrictively applicable in "our times".<br />
<br />
==Scope==<br />
For the Jew, to live in accordance with Halakha is to respond to its magisterially Law-Giver. By bringing the Divine will-- as explicated by "hakhmei ha-masorah" (the ordained Sages of the Sanhedrin who are the bearers of the tradition)-- to bear on the whole of his existence, the Jew is sanctified. <br />
<br />
The Halakha is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of human life, both corporeal and spiritual. Its laws, guidelines, and opinions cover a vast range of situations and principles, in the attempt to realize what is implied by the central Biblical commandment to "be holy as I your God am holy". They cover what are better ways for a Jew to live, what is implicit and understood but not stated explicitly in the Torah, and what has been deduced by rules of exegis and implication, though not explicit on the surface. <br />
<br />
Halakha is defined by a variety of rabbinic authorities, and since we do not have today one sole "official voice", different individuals and communities may well have different answers to Halakhic questions. Controversies lend rabbinic literature much of its creative and intellectual appeal. With few exceptions, controversies are not settled through authoritative structures because Judaism lacks a single judicial hierarchy or appellate review process for Halakha. Instead, Jews interested in observing Halakha may choose to follow specific schools, or affiliate with a more tightly-structured community.<br />
<br />
Halakha developed throughout the generations since before 500 BCE, in a constantly expanding collection of [[Rabbinic literature|religious literature]] consolidated in the [[Talmud]]. First and foremost it forms a body of intricate judicial opinions, legislation, customs, and recommendations, many of them passed down over the centuries, and an assortment of ingrained behaviors, relayed to successive generations from the moment a child begins to speak. It is also the subject of intense study in ''[[yeshiva]]s''; see [[Torah study]].<br />
<br />
==Laws of the Torah==<br />
:''See also [[Oral law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral law]]; [[Mishnah#Relation between the Bible and the Mishnah|Relationship between the Bible and the Mishnah]] and [[Talmud]]''.<br />
<br />
Broadly, the Halakha comprises the practical application of the [[613 mitzvot|commandments]] (each one known as a [[mitzvah]]) in the [[Torah]], as developed in subsequent [[rabbinic literature]]; see [[Mitzvah#The Mitzvot and Jewish Law|The Mitzvot and Jewish Law]]. According to the Talmud (Tractate Makot), there are [[613 mitzvot]] ("commandments") in the Torah; in Hebrew these are known as the ''Taryag mitzvot'' תרי"ג מצוות. There are 248 positive mitzvot and 365 negative mitzvot given in the Torah, supplemented by seven mitzvot legislated by the rabbis of antiquity; see [[Mitzvah#Biblical and Rabbinical commandments|Rabbinical commandments]].<br />
<br />
===Categories===<br />
Judaism divides the laws into two basic categories: <br />
*Laws in relation to God (''bein adam le-Makom''), and <br />
*Laws about relations with other people (''bein adam le-chavero'').<br />
<br />
Violations of the latter are considered to be more severe, as one must obtain forgiveness both from the offended person ''and'' from God.<br />
<br />
Rabbinic authorities divide Halakha between laws that are interpreted as revealed (Biblical) commandments and those designated as rabbinic origin. This division between revealed and rabbinic commandments may influence the importance of a rule, its enforcement and the nature of its ongoing interpretation.<br />
<br />
Commandments (mitzvot) are divided into positive and negative commands, which are treated differently in terms of Divine and human punishment. Positive commands bring one closer to God, while violations of negative ones create a distance. In striving to "be holy" as God is holy, one attempts so far as possible to live in accordance with God's wishes for humanity, striving to more completely live with each of these with every moment of one's life.<br />
<br />
A further division is made between ''chukim'' ("decrees")&mdash;laws without obvious explanation, such as ''[[kashrut]]'', the dietary laws), ''mishpatim'' ("judgments")&mdash;laws with obvious social implications and ''eduyot''&mdash;"testimonies" or "commemorations", such as the [[Shabbat]] and holidays). Through the ages, various rabbinical athorities have classified the commandments in various other ways.<br />
<br />
===Sin===<br />
Judaism regards the violation of the commandments, the ''[[mitzvah|mitzvot]]'', to be a sin. The term "sin" is theologically loaded, as it means different things to Jews and Christians. In [[Christianity]] a "sin" is an offense against God, by which one is separated from God's love and grace, and for which one would suffer punishment, unless one repents (see [[Sin]] for a more complete comparison of sin from several viewpoints). Judaism has a wider definition of the term "sin", and also uses it to include violations of Jewish law that are not necessarily a lapse in morality. Further, Judaism holds it as given that all people sin at various points in their lives, and hold that God always tempers justice with mercy.<br />
<br />
The generic Hebrew word for any kind of sin is ''aveira'' ("trangression"). Based on the [[Tanakh]] (Hebrew Bible) Judaism describes three levels of sin. <br />
*''Pesha'' -- an "intentional sin"; an action committed in deliberate defiance of God; <br />
*''Avon'' -- a "sin of lust or uncontrollable emotion". It is a sin done knowingly, but not done to defy God; <br />
*''Cheth'' -- an "unintentional sin".<br />
<br />
Human beings are not perfect, and people do commit transgressions, so the Law-Giver offers a road of ''[[teshuva]]'' (repentance, literally: "return"). But the effect of repentance depends on the severity of the transgression and the the Rabbis warn that for some persons, this is exceedingly difficult, such as the one who slanders another.<br />
<br />
In earlier days, when Jews had a functioning court system (the [[beth din]] and the [[Sanhedrin]] high court), courts were empowered to administer physical punishments for various violations, upon conviction by far stricter standards of evidence than are acceptable in American courts: [[corporal punishment (Judaism)|corporal punishment]], [[incarceration]], [[excommunication]]. Since the fall of the Temple, executions are not applied. Since the fall of the autonomous Jewish communities of [[Europe]], the other punishments, such as lashes, have also fallen by the wayside. Today, then, one's accounts are reckoned solely by [[God]].<br />
<br />
===Gentiles and Jewish law===<br />
Jews are bound by Covenant to observe the Halakha; Gentiles were given the seven [[Noahide Laws]]; these are commandments expounded by oral law from the Covenant God made with [[Noah]] after the flood, which apply to all descendants of Noah (mankind). The Noahide laws are listed and explained in the [[Talmud]] (Tractate Sanhedrin 57a ff), and are listed here:<br />
<br />
#[[Murder]] is forbidden. <br />
#[[Theft]] is forbidden.<br />
#[[Religion and sexuality|certain Sexual relations/immorality]] - are forbidden. <br />
#Eating flesh cut from a still-living animal is forbidden.<br />
#Belief in, and/or prayer to "[[idolatry|idols]]" ([[cult image]]s) is forbidden. <br />
#[[Blasphemy|Blaspheming]] is forbidden. <br />
#Society must establish a system of legal [[justice]] to judge transgressions of these [[law]]s and punish the one found guilty.<br />
<br />
Although not mentioning the [[Noahide Laws]] directly by name, the Christian convention of Apostles and elders in Jerusalem mentioned in [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 15, mentions a list of constraints to be applied to the gentiles that are converted to Christianity, verse 15:20, which is similar although not identical to the Noahide laws.<br />
<br />
==The sources and process of Halakha==<br />
The boundaries of Jewish law are determined through the halakhic process, a religious-ethical system of legal reasoning. Rabbis generally base their opinions on the primary sources of Halakha as well as on precedent set by previous rabbinic opinions. The major sources and genre of Halakha consulted include: <br />
<br />
* The foundational Talmudic literature (especially the [[Mishna]] and the [[Talmud|Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud]]) with commentaries; <br />
* The post-Talmudic [[Halakha#Codes of Jewish law|codificatory literature]], such as Maimonides' [[Mishneh Torah]] and the [[Shulchan Aruch]] with commentaries;<br />
* Regulations and other "legislative" enactments promulgated by rabbis and communal bodies:<br />
** ''Gezeirah'': "preventative legislation" of the Rabbis, intended to prevent violations of the [[mitzva|commandments]]<br />
** ''Takkanah'': "positive legislation", practices instituted by the Rabbis not based (directly) on the [[mitzva|commandments]]<br />
* ''[[Minhag]]'': Customs, community practices, and customary law, as well as the exemplary deeds of prominent (or local) rabbis; <br />
* The ''[[responsa|she'eloth u-teshuvoth]]'' (responsa, literally "questions and answers") literature.<br />
* ''Dina d'malchuta dina'' ("the law of the land is law"): an additional source of Halakha, being the principle recognizing non-Jewish laws and non-Jewish legal jurisdiction as binding on Jewish citizens in areas of commercial, civil and criminal law, provided that they are not contrary to any laws of Judaism.<br />
<br />
Unlike Anglo-American common law, though, Halakhah does not rely on a strict theory of binding precedent nor provide for systematic review of precedents. Generally, Halakhic arguments are effectively, yet unofficially, peer-reviewed. When a rabbinic ''[[posek]]'' ("decisor") proposes a ruling concerning a new situation, that ruling may be considered binding for the posek's questioner or immediate community. Depending on the stature of the posek and the quality of the decision, an interpretation may also be gradually accepted by rabbis and members of similar Jewish communities. <br />
<br />
Under this system, there is a tension between the relevance of earlier and later authorities in constraining halakhic interpretation and innovation. On the one hand, there is a principle in Halakha to not overrule a specific law from an earlier era, unless based on an earlier authority. On the other hand, another principle recognizes the responsibility and authority of later authorities, and especially the ''posek'' handling a concurrent question. In addition, the Halakha embodies a wide range of principles that permit judicial discretion and deviation (Ben-Menahem). Generally speaking, a rabbi in any one period will not overrule specific laws from an earlier era, unless supported by a relevant earlier precedent; see list below. There are important exceptions to this principle, which empower the ''[[posek]]'' (decisor) or ''[[beth din]]'' (court) responsible for a given opinion.<br />
<br />
Notwithstanding the potential for innovation, rabbis and Jewish communities differ greatly on how they make changes in Halakha. Notably, ''poskim'' frequently extend the application of a law to new situations, but do not consider such applications as constituting a "change" in Halakha. For example, many [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] rulings concerning electricity are derived from rulings concerning fire, due to its similarity with that other form of human-managed energy. [[Conservative Judaism]] and [[Reform Judaism]] tend to explicitly interpret Halakha to take into account sociological factors. For instance, the liberal Jewish movements extend the application of certain Jewish obligations and permissible activitites to women. See below: [[Halakha#How Halakha is viewed today|How Halakha is viewed today]].<br />
<br />
There is no formal peer-review process for the entire Jewish community in general, since the Jewish community has no one central body that speaks for all of Judaism. However, within certain Jewish communities formal organized bodies exist: Each division or dynasty of Orthodox [[Hasidic Judaism]] has their own [[rebbe]], who is their ultimate decisor of Jewish law. Within [[Modern Orthodox Judaism]], there is no one committee or leader, but Modern Orthodox rabbis generally agree with the views set by consensus by the leaders of the [[Rabbinical Council of America]]. Within [[Conservative Judaism]], the [[Rabbinical Assembly]] has an official [[Committee on Jewish Law and Standards]].<br />
<br />
In antiquity, the ''[[Sanhedrin]]'' functioned essentially as the Supreme Court and legislature for Judaism, empowered by their ordination to create and administer binding law on all Jews for all times - rulings of the Sanhedrin became Halakha; see [[Oral law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral law]]. That court ceased to function in its full mode in [[40|CE 40]]. Until today, the application of Jewish law is bound by the Supreme Court's decisions, and amendments are left to the local rabbi and the local rabbinical courts, with only local applicability.<br />
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===Eras of history important in Jewish law===<br />
:''See also [[Rabbinic literature]]''.<br />
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* The ''[[Tannaim]]'' (literally the "repeaters") are the sages of the Mishna (70&ndash;200)<br />
* The ''[[Amora|Amoraim]]'' (literally the "sayers") are the sages of the Talmud (200&ndash;500)<br />
* The ''[[Savoraim]]'' are the classical Persian rabbis (500&ndash;600)<br />
* The ''[[Geonim]]'' (literally the "prides" or "geniuses") are the rabbis of Sura and Pumbeditha, in Babylonia (650&ndash;1250)<br />
* The ''[[Rishonim]]'' (literally the "firsts") are the rabbis of the early medieval period (1250&ndash;1550) preceding the [[Shulchan Aruch]]<br />
* The ''[[Acharonim]]'' (literally the "afters") are the rabbis of 1550 to the present.<br />
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===The thirteen rules by which Jewish law was derived===<br />
The Oral Law which is an integral part of the Torah received at Sinai is derived from the Written Law - both being the [[Torah]] - by the application of one the following rules of interpretation("Introduction to ''Sifra''" by [[Ishmael ben Elisha]], c. 200 CE):<br />
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#''Kal va-Chomer'' ([[List of Latin phrases (A–E)#A|a fortiori]]): We find a similar stringency in a more lenient case; how more so should that stringency apply to our stricter case!<br />
#''Gezera shava'', similarity in phrase: We find a similar law in a verse containing a similar phrase to one in our verse. This method can only be used in a case where there is a tradition to use it.<br />
#''Binyan av'', either by one or two Scriptures: We find a similar law in another case, why shouldn't we assume that the same law applies here? Now the argument may go against this inference, finding some law which applies to that case but not to ours. This type of refutation is valid only if the inference was from one Scripture, not if it was from two Scriptures.<br />
#''Klal ufrat'', a generality and a particularity: If we find a phrase signifying a particularity following that of a generality, the particularity particularises the generality and we only take that particular case into account.<br />
#''Prat ukhlal'', a particularity and a generality: If the order is first the particularity and then the generality, we add from the generality upon the particularity, even to a broad extent.<br />
#''Klal ufrat ukhlal'', a generality, a particularity and a generality: If there is a particularity inserted between two generalities, we only add cases similar to the particularity.<br />
#''Klal shehu tzarich lifrat'', a generality that requires a particularity, and a particularity that requires a generality:<br />
#Every thing that was within the general rule and was excluded from the rule to teach us a rule, we don't consider this rule as pertaining only to this excluded case, but to the entire general case.<br />
#Anything that was included in a general rule, and was excluded to be susceptible to one rule that is according to its subject, it is only excluded to be treated more leniently but not more strictly.<br />
#Anything that was included in a general rule and was excluded to be susceptible to one rule that is not according to its subject, it is excluded to be treated both more leniently and more strictly.<br />
#Anything that was included in a general rule and was excluded to be treated by a new rule, we cannot restore it to its general rule unless Scripture restores it explicitly.<br />
#A matter that is inferred from its context, and a matter that is inferred from its ending.<br />
#The resolution of two Scriptures that contradict each other [must wait] until a third Scripture arrives and resolves their apparent contradiction.<br />
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==How Halakha is viewed today==<br />
:''See also [[Talmud#The Talmud in modern-day Judaism|The Talmud in modern-day Judaism]]''.<br />
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[[Orthodox Judaism]] holds that the words of the [[Torah]] (Pentateuch) were indeed dictated by God to Moses in almost precisely the way that they exist in the Torah today. The laws contained in the Written Torah were given along with detailed explanations as how to apply and interpret them, the [[Oral Law]]. The religious laws that Jews know today are thus directly derived from Sinai. As such, one must be extremely conservative changing or adapting Jewish law. Orthodox Judaism holds that, given Jewish law's Divine origin, no underlying principle may be compromised in accounting for changing political, social or economic conditions; in this sense, "creativity" and development in Jewish law is limited. See [[Orthodox Judaism#Beliefs about Jewish law and tradition|Orthodox beliefs about Jewish law and tradition]].<br />
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To the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jew]], Halakha is a guide, [[God]]'s Law, governing the structure of daily life from the moment he or she wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep. It includes codes of behavior applicable to a broad range of circumstances (and many hypothetical ones).<br />
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[[Conservative Judaism]] holds that the current text of the Torah is a composite that was [[documentary hypothesis|redacted together from earlier sources]]. Conservative Jews hold that it is possible to believe that God is real and that prophets like Moses really were inspired by God. However, whatever records and traditions relating to such events were apparently transmitted in various forms for many centuries. This says nothing about whether the Torah is based on God or not, and so this idea not a theological threat. Therefore Conservative Judaism teaches that one should make use of literary and historical analysis to understand how these texts developed, and to help them understand how they may be applied in our own day. Conservative Jews view the laws and customs from the various law codes as the basis for normative Jewish law. [[Solomon Schechter]] writes "however great the literary value of a code may be, it does not invest it with infallibility, nor does it exempt it from the student or the Rabbi who makes use of it from the duty of examining each paragraph on its own merits, and subjecting it to the same rules of interpretation that were always applied to Tradition". [Solomon Schechter]. <br />
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[[Reform Judaism]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] both hold that modern views of how the Torah and rabbinic law developed imply that the body of rabbinic Jewish law is no longer normative (seen as binding) on Jews today. Therefore Jews are not expected or taught to follow most of halakha. Those in the traditionalist wing of these movements hold that each Jew is obligated to interpret the Torah, Talmud and other Jewish works for themselves, and this interpretation will create separate commandments for each person. Those in the neo-traditional wing of Reform include [[Rabbi]]s [[Eugene Borowitz]] and [[Gunther Plaut]].<br />
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Those in the liberal and classical wings of Reform believe that in this day and era most Jewish religious rituals are no longer necessary, and many hold that following most Jewish laws is actually counter-productive. They propose that Judaism has entered a phase of ethical monotheism, and that the laws of Judaism are only remnants of an earlier stage of religious evolution, and need not be followed. This is considered wrong (and arguably heretical) not only by Orthodoxy, but by Conservative Judaism, and perhaps by some in the traditional wing of Reform.<br />
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===Flexibility within the Halakha===<br />
Throughout history, halakha had been a remarkably flexible system, despite its internal rigidity, addressing issues on the basis of circumstance and precedent. For instance, rulings regarding modern technology have been incorporated into the ever-expanding halakhah. New rulings guide the observant about the proper use of electricity on the Sabbath and holidays within the parameters of halakhah. (Many scholarly tomes have been published and are constantly being reviewed ensuring the maximum coordination between electrical appliances and technology with the needs of the religiously observant Jew, with a great range of opinions.) Often, as to the applicability of the law in any given situation, the proviso is: "Consult your local Orthodox rabbi or posek." <br />
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Modern critics, however, charge that with the rise of movements that challenge the "Divine" authority of halakha, traditional Jews have greater reluctance to change, not only the laws themselves but also other customs and habits. <br />
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*As above, Orthodox Jews hold that, unlike secular precedent-based systems, ''halakha'' is a religious system, whose axiom is that Jewish law represents the will of God, either directly, or as close to directly as possible. If the laws in Jewish law codes are not the word of God ''per se'', they are nonetheless derived from the literal word of God in the Torah, using a set of rules also [[Revelation|revealed]] by God to Moses on [[Mount Sinai, Egypt|Mount Sinai]], and have been derived with the utmost accuracy and care. As such, one must be extremely conservative changing or adapting Jewish law. There have, nevertheless, been many changes including the application of halakha to modern technology.<br />
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*The view held by [[Conservative Judaism]] (and to some extent within the left wing of Orthodoxy) is that while God is real for theological reasons, the Torah is not the word of God in a literal sense. However, in this view the Torah is still held as mankind's record of its understanding of God's revelation, and thus still has divine authority. In this view, traditional Jewish law is still seen as binding. Jews who hold by this view generally try to use modern methods of historical study to learn how Jewish law has changed over time, and are more willing to change Jewish law in the present.<br />
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==Codes of Jewish law==<br />
The [[Torah]] and the [[Talmud]] are not formal codes of law; they are sources of law. There are many formal codes of Jewish law that have developed over the past few thousand years. The major codes are:<br />
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* The [[Mishnah]], composed by [[Judah haNasi|Rabbi Judah the Prince]], in [[200|AD 200]], as a basic outline of the state of the [[Oral Law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral Law]] in his time. This was the framework upon which the Talmud was based.<br />
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* The ''Hilchot'' of ''the Rif'', Rabbi [[Isaac Alfasi]] (1013 - 1103), summations of the legal material in the Talmud. Alfasi transcribed the Talmud's halakhic conclusions verbatim, without the surrounding deliberation; he also excludes all [[Aggadah|Aggadic]] (non-legal, homiletic) matter. The ''Hilchot'' has been printed with almost every subsequent edition of the Talmud. <br />
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* The [[Mishneh Torah]] (also known as the ''Yad Ha-Hazaqah''), by [[Maimonides]] (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, the [[Rambam]]; 1135 - 1204). The 14 volumes in this work encompass the full range of Jewish law, as formulated for all ages and places. It compiles and reorganizes all the Talmudic decisions in a logical system. It opens with a section entitled "The Foundations of the Torah" which outlines the basic tenet of the Jewish faith and a brief survey of Judaism's metaphysical system. <br />
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* The work of ''the Rosh'', Rabbi [[Asher ben Jehiel]] (1250?/1259?-1328), an abstract of the Talmud, concisely stating the final Halakhic decision and quoting later authorities, notably Alfasi, Maimonides, and the [[Tosafists]]. This work superseded Rabbi Alfasi's and has been printed with almost every subsequent edition of the Talmud. <br />
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* The [[Sefer Mitzvot Gadol]] (The "SeMaG") of Rabbi [[Moses ben Jacob of Coucy]] (13th century, [[Coucy]], [[France]]). "SeMaG" is organised around the 365 negative and the 248 positive [[mitzvah|commandments]], separately discussing each of them according to the [[Talmud]] (in light of the commentaries of [[Rashi]] and the [[Tosafot]]) and the other codes existent at the time.<br />
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* "The Mordechai" - by [[Mordecai ben Hillel]], d. [[Nuremberg]] 1298 - serves both as a source of analysis, as well of decided law. The Mordechai considered about 350 Halakhic authorities, and was widely influential, particularly amongst the Ashkenazi and [[Italki]] communities. Although organised around the ''Hilchot'' of ''the Rif'', it is, in fact, an independent work. It has been printed with every edition of the Talmud since [[1482]].<br />
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* The [[Arba'ah Turim]] (The Tur, The Four Columns) by Rabbi [[Jacob ben Asher]] (1270 - 1343, [[Toledo, Spain]]). This work traces the Halakha from the Torah text and the Talmud through the [[Rishonim]], with the ''Hilchot'' of Alfasi as its starting point. Ben Asher followed Maimonides's precedent in arranging his work in a topical order, however, the Tur covers only those areas of Jewish religious law that were in force in the author's time. The code is divided into four main sections; almost all codes since this time have followed the Tur's arrangement of material.<br />
** [[Orach Chayim]] - "The Way of Life" worship and ritual observance in the home and [[synagogue]], through the course of the day, the weekly [[sabbath]] and the festival cycle. <br />
** [[Yoreh De'ah]] - "Teach Knowledge" assorted ritual prohibitions, dietary laws and regulations concerning [[menstruation|menstrual]] impurity.<br />
** [[Even Ha'ezer]] - "The Rock of the Helpmate" [[marriage]], [[divorce]] and other issues in [[family]] law.<br />
** [[Choshen Mishpat]] - "The Breastplate of Judgment" The administration and [[adjudication]] of civil law.<br />
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*The [[Shulchan Aruch|Beit Yosef, and the Shulchan Aruch]] of Rabbi [[Yosef Karo]] (1488&ndash;1575). The ''Beit Yosef'' is a huge commentary on the ''Tur'' in which Rabbi Karo traces the development of each law from the Talmud through later [[rabbinical literature]] (examining thirty-two [[posek|authorities]], beginning with the Talmud and ending with the works of Rabbi [[Israel Isserlein]]). The [[Shulchan Aruch]], considered the most authoritative compilation halakha since the Talmud, is a condensation of the ''Beit Yosef'' - stating each ruling simply (literally translated, ''Shulchan Aruch'' means "set table"). Karo based his [[posek|rulings]] on three authorities - Maimonides (Rambam), Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), and Isaac Alfasi (Rif). In writing the Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Yosef followed the chapter divisions of the Tur. [[Sephardi|Sephardic Jews]] use the Shulchan Aruch as the basis for their daily practice.<br />
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*Rabbi [[Moshe Isserles]] ([[Kraków]], [[Poland]], 1525 to 1572) noted that the ''Shulkhan Arukh'' was based on the [[Sephardic Judaism|Sephardic]] tradition, and he created a series of [[gloss]]es to be appended to the text of the Shulkhan Arukh for cases where Sephardi and [[Ashkenazi]] [[minhag|customs]] differed (based on the works of [[Yaakov Moelin]], [[Israel Isserlein]] and [[Israel Bruna]]). The glosses are called ''Hamapah'', the "Tablecloth" for the "Set Table". His comments are now incorporated into the body of all printed editions of the Shulkhan Arukh, typeset in a different script; today, "Shulchan Aruch" refers to the combined work of Karo and Isserles. Isserles' ''Darkhei Moshe'' is similarly a commentary on the Tur and the Beit Yosef.<br />
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* The [[Shulchan Aruch HaRav]] of Rabbi [[Shneur Zalman]] of Liadi (c. 1800) was an attempt to recodify the law as it stood at that time, stating the [[posek|decided halakha]], as well as the underlying reasoning; the work was written, partly, so that laymen would be able to study Jewish law. Unfortunately, most of the work was lost in a fire prior to publication. It is held in esteem by many [[Hasidim]] and non-Hasidim, and is quoted as authoratitive by many subsequent works.<br />
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* "Layman oriented" digests of Halakha: The [[Kitzur Shulkhan Arukh]] of Rabbi [[Shlomo Ganzfried]] ([[Hungary]] [[1804]] -1886), based on the very strict Hungarian customs of the 19th century, became immensely popular after its publication due to its simplicity. This work is not binding in the same way as the Mishneh Torah or the Shulchan Aruch. It is still popular in [[Orthodox Judaism]] as a framework for study, if not always for practice. [[Chayei Adam]] and [[Chochmat Adam]] by [[Avraham Danzig]] (Poland, 1748-1820) are similar [[Ashkenazi]] works, but are regarded as more authoritative. The [[Ben Ish Chai]] by [[Yosef Chaim]] ([[Baghdad]], 1832 - 1909) is a corresponding [[Sephardi]] work. <br />
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* The [[Mishnah Berurah]] of Rabbi [[Yisrael Meir Kagan|Yisroel Meir ha-Kohen]], (the "Chofetz Chaim", Poland, 1838 - 1933) is a commentary on the "Orach Chayim" section of the [[Shulchan Aruch]], discussing the application of each Halakha in light of all subsequent [[Acharonim|Acharonic]] decisions. It has become the authoritative halakhic guide for much of [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] [[Ashkenazi|Ashkenazic Jewry]] in the postwar period, supplanting the more scholarly ''[[Arukh HaShulkhan]]'' of Rabbi [[Yechiel Michel Epstein]]. <br />
<br />
*[[Kaf HaChaim]] on [[Orach Chayim]] and parts of [[Yoreh De'ah]], by the [[Sephardi]] sage [[Yaakov Chaim Sofer]] ([[Baghdad]] and [[Jerusalem]], 1870 - 1939) is similar in scope, authority and approach to the Mishnah Berurah. [[Yalkut Yosef]], by Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, is a voluminous, widely cited and contemporary work of Halakha, based on the rulings of Rabbi [[Ovadia Yosef]].<br />
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* "A Guide To Jewish Religious Practice", by Rabbi [[Isaac Klein]], with contributions from the Conservative [[Committee on Jewish Law and Standards]] of the [[Rabbinical Assembly]]. This work is based on the previous traditional law codes, but written from a [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative Jewish]] point of view. It is not accepted among [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]].<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
* [[Mishpat Ivri]]<br />
<br />
== External links and references==<br />
===General===<br />
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=262763 Judaism 101 Laws and Customs]<br />
*[http://www.aish.com/literacy/concepts/The_Rules_of_Halacha.asp The Rules of Halacha], Rabbi [[Aryeh Kaplan]]<br />
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=35&letter=T Talmudic Law], jewishencyclopedia.com<br />
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=107&letter=L Law, Codification of], jewishencyclopedia.com <br />
*[http://shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/04-index.html FAQ on halakha and Jewish law], shamash.org<br />
*[http://www.jewfaq.org/halakhah.htm Halakhah article], jewfaq.org<br />
*[http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/section-52.html FAQ on the different rabbinic eras], faqs.org<br />
*[http://www.aish.com/societyWork/sciencenature/Why_Jewish_Medical_Ethics.asp An introduction to the system of Jewish Law], aish.com<br />
*[http://hsf.bgu.ac.il/cjt/files/electures/gloss.htm#Halakhah Entry on Halakhah], Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought<br />
<br />
===Discussion===<br />
*[http://www.torahweb.org/torah/special/2003/rsch_masorah.html On the Matter of Masorah], Rabbi [[Hershel Schachter]]<br />
*[http://www.beingjewish.com/mesorah/notchaotic.html The Oral Law and Our Own Opinions], Mordechai Housman<br />
*[http://www.yasharbooks.com/freedom%20to%20interpret.pdf Freedom to Interpret], Rabbi [[Aryeh Carmell]]<br />
*[http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/ Jewish Law Articles: "Examining Halacha, Jewish Issues and Secular Law"], jlaw.com<br />
*[http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/english/journal/broyde-wagner-1.htm Orthodox Responses to Sociological and Technological Change], [[Journal of Halacha & Contemporary Society]]<br />
*[http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/Gruss/katz.html Da'at Torah - The Unqualified Authority Claimed for Halachists], Prof. Jacob Katz<br />
*[http://www.nishmat.net/article.php?id=180&heading=0 Authority and Autonomy in Pesikat HaHalacha], Rabbi Zvi Leshem<br />
<br />
===Fulltext resources===<br />
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/0.htm ''Mishneh Torah''] <br />
*[http://www.chassidus.org.ru/chabadlibrary.org/sifrey_yesod/shulchan_oruch/index.php ''Shulchan Aruch'']<br />
*[http://www.chassidus.org.ru/chabadlibrary.org/admur_hazoken/shulchan_oruch/orach_chaim/kerech_alef/001_1.htm ''Shulchan Aruch HaRav'']<br />
*[http://www.shofar.net/Content/Kitzur_Shulchan.htm?id=5417 ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch''], (note: single, very large webpage)<br />
*[http://www.shechem.org/torah/benishhi/index.html ''Ben Ish Chai'']<br />
<br />
===Study resources===<br />
*[http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha-overview/archives.html ''Mishneh Torah'' overview]<br />
*[http://www.torah.org/advanced/shulchan-aruch/ocarchives.html ''Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim'' overview]<br />
*[http://www.torah.org/advanced/shulchan-aruch/archives.html ''Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah'' overview]<br />
*[http://www.torah.org/advanced/mishna-berura/ ''Mishna Berura'' translation]<br />
*[http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha/ ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' translation]; or [http://www.geocities.com/yona_n.geo/kizzur/kiz-index1.html Ch 1-97] and [http://www.geocities.com/yona_n.geo/kizzur/kiz-index2.html Ch 98-221]<br />
*[http://www.teachittome.com/index.php?Command=Class&ClassID=BenIshChai&Title=Ben+Ish+Chai+Halachot ''Ben Ish Chai'' lectures] ([[MP3]])<br />
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=262763 Laws and customs: daily, shabbat and festivals], chabad.org<br />
<br />
===Bibliography===<br />
*[[J. David Bleich]], ''Contemporary Halakhic Problems'' (5 vols), Ktav. ISBN 0870684507, ISBN 0881254746, ISBN 0881253154, ISBN 087068275X, Feldheim ISBN 1568713533<br />
*[[Menachem Elon]], ''Ha-Mishpat ha-Ivri'' (trans. Jewish law), Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 0827605374<br />
*Jacob Katz, ''Divine Law in Human Hands - Case Studies in Halakhic Flexibility'', Magnes Press. ISBN 9652239801<br />
*Mendell Lewittes, ''Jewish Law: An Introduction'', Jason Aronson. ISBN 1568213026<br />
* Daniel Pollack ed., ''Contrasts in American and Jewish Law'', Ktav. ISBN 0881257508<br />
*[[Joel Roth]], ''Halakhic Process: A Systemic Analysis'', Jewish Theological Seminary. ISBN 0873340353 <br />
*[[Joseph Soloveitchik]], ''Halakhic Man'', Jewish Publication Society trans. Lawrence Kaplan. ISBN 0827603975</div>
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