Can Righteous Gentiles study the Torah?
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.
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.
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.
So what's the answer?
In short: wholeheartedly, unabashedly, absolutely certainly, yes!
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.)
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.
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 killing animals considered murder?”
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?
And one also needs a pretty decent understanding of basic Judaism. There are certain acts which are forbidden to TOGs, 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.
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.
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 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.
Well-meaning but unhelpful religious figureheads
Many people are not comfortable with skeptical thinking, especially christians; yet Jewish belief welcomes and encourages it, by and large.
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.
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.
You also need to be able to reject crustacean missionaries. You can't do that successfully without a solid grounding in the basics.
So... exactly what can TOGs study?
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’.
The current view seems to be that Torah study for TOGs (which presumably would include appropriate portions of the Talmud, and the Rabbahs, etc.) is a blessing, not a sin. Yet others insist that TOGs 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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
TOGs shouldn't study as Jews are required to, because that is a special mitzvah between the Jews and Hashem; just as TOGs shouldn't wear tefillin or tallitot. Study for a purpose; don't study because you think you have to.
