The Law is Only a Minimum

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Bryan J. Ellison in his Jews and Hassidic Gentiles writes:

In contrast to the wicked Christian doctrine that the Law is too difficult to follow and that everyone falls short of the Law, the Bible (Hebrew Scriptures) clearly teaches that G-d's Law is the absolute minimum that He expects everyone to follow. The Law is merely the foundation for our spiritual service to G-d; we start by obeying every detail of the Law--which is not too difficult--and then we can begin building our spiritual "house" in this world, helping to bring the revelation of G-d's kingdom into the physical world.

In other words, the purpose of life is to serve G-d with everything we have. This starts by obeying His Law completely, and on that basis we are now able to harness our energies and opportunities every single day for His goals, not ours.

Parallel Laws

The Law contains two parallel (but separate) paths for the world: 613 commandments for the Jews, and 66 commandments (contained in the 7 Noachide Laws) for gentiles. Once a Noachide is committed to keeping the 66 mitzvos, he may (and really should) take on the responsibility for additional mitzvos, with certain clear exceptions: Non-Jews may not observe Shabbos (or holidays) in the manner of Jews (by avoiding the 39 categories of work), nor may non-Jews put on tefillin or tzitzis, put up a mezuzah, or be called up for a public Torah reading in a synagogue. There are other restrictions as well, including certain limitations on Torah study (depending partly on individual circumstances).

But many or most of the 613 mitzvos can be observed by Noachides for spiritual benefit. Indeed, some of these additional commandments are important (though technically not required) for gentiles to observe, while other commandments would also be a good idea.

Our generation, as the Lubavitcher Rebbe has repeatedly declared, is the last generation of exile and darkness, and the first generation of Moshiach (the Messiah) and the Redemption. All of us -- Jews and Noachides -- have an urgent responsibility to transform the world immediately in order to bring Moshiach, and this involves going well beyond the minimum of the Law.

Additional Mitzvos

The following list is therefore only a short summary, not a complete explanation, of additional mitzvos that should be adopted as quickly as possible by Noachides everywhere:

• Noachides should pray, at least once every day. There are specific rules how prayer should be done, rules that are routinely violated (out of sheer ignorance) by Christians. There is a proper way to pray, and a wrong way.

• Noachides should observe a variety of Torah rules for modesty in dress and behavior, especially between men and women. There are both similarities and differences in how these rules apply to men and women.

• Noachides may not observe any religious holidays outside the rabbinical traditions of Torah -- most especially including such Christian holidays as X-mas, Easter, Halloween, All Saint's Day, Good Friday, Ash Wednesday, and probably even the "new year" (January 1st). Alien religious holidays are forbidden even under the minimum of the Noachide code; these are violations of the commandment against idolatry. Instead, Noachides should commemorate at least the following holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Sukkos, the 19th of Kislev (the chasidic "new year"), Chanukah, Purim, Shavuos -- and each person's birthday on the Hebrew calendar. However, Noachide participation in these holidays is different in various ways from the manner of Jewish observance. Each holiday must be observed according to precise rules.

• Noachides, generally speaking, should not limit the number of children they have. Moreover, a proper Torah education for their children is absolutely essential. Ultimately, such a Torah-learning program will be similar to the programs for Jewish children, but with many important differences. Right now, a supplemental daily home-schooling Torah program is being developed and used to teach Noachide children. All parents must rapidly get involved, teaching their children at least one hour per day (after school, for example) according to this program. As the number of participating families grows, it will soon be possible to organize full-time Noachide chedarim (day schools for grade-school children) in many communities. This approach to education, based on the three-thousand-year-old Jewish yeshiva system, drastically minimizes secular studies (math, science, history, English, social studies, computers & other technical studies) in favor of total immersion in Torah, the Word of G-d. This includes written Torah, oral Torah, halacha (religious law), Hebrew language, etc.; this philosophy of education is fundamentally opposite the one used in public and private schools and in standard home-schooling programs.

• Noachides should give tzedaka (charity) for genuinely poor people, interest-free loans to others who are not as poor, and support for Torah education. We can easily identify numerous people who need genuine charitable assistance of one type or another: The elderly, unwed mothers & pregnant teens (who might otherwise have abortions), inner-city children, etc. The assistance is not just through money; in many cases, people need organized programs and activities to help them get involved in positive community affairs, rather than becoming isolated and lonely. Again, there are a number of exact rules as to how to give such money, time, etc. It would also be good to give contributions to the Israeli settlers in the West Bank, whose communities are now becoming endangered by the growing PLO occupation forces and terrorist actions. These brave families and yeshivos need much support from Americans.

• The Noachide commandment of "justice" primarily means teaching one's neighbors, friends, associates, etc., the details of the Noachide code, and that G-d sees and hears everything, rewarding every good deed and punishing every sin. This means outreach. Noachides must turn Christians away from their idolatry and their disregard of G-d's Law, and must bring all gentiles to a full acceptance of G-d's Law, including the oral Torah and the complete authority of the orthodox rabbis. This will quickly revolutionize our society, restoring morality, respect for authority, and the fear of G-d throughout the land. Similar efforts, of course, must also be extended to foreign countries. Certain materials, including fliers and books, are already available for this outreach, and audiotape lectures are being developed.

• We learn from the prophet Isaiah that Noachides will play a very important role in bringing non-observant Jews back to their 613 commandments. As part of the outreach effort to other gentiles, Noachides must further direct their energies toward teaching Jews the important of Jewish law. Noachides must also aggressively combat the schemes of Christian missionaries, who are stealing Jewish--and gentile--souls away from eternal life under G-d's Law to the evil of Christian idolatry.

• To prepare the way for establishing proper Noachide courts of law, Noachides must make a special effort--beyond all other Torah studies--to learn, in detail, the exact requirements of every part of the Noachide code. This is a difficult, long-term task, because the details of the Noachide laws apply to every possible situation in life. But a thorough learning of the Noachide halachos will open the door for selecting G-d-fearing Noachide judges for the future courts. This project can begin immediately with the study of the existing books on the Noachide laws, and will later be followed up with rabbinically-supervised yeshiva programs that still need to be organized.

• A number of other programs must be organized by Noachide communities, including making kosher meat available as a substitute for the improper meat in the stores (this is particularly needed in parts of the country remote from Jewish communities); helping arrange proper Noachide marriages, and creating family support networks for childbirth, death, etc.; financially assisting the building and expansion of orthodox Jewish synagogues to have additional rooms for Noachide meetings; teaching other gentiles how to attain financial discipline and pay off outstanding debts (especially credit card debts); and so forth.

All the above recommendations will accelerate the revelation of Moshiach (the Messiah), so there is no time to waste. Let's get to work!

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