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| − | The '''Seven Noahide Laws''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: שבע מצוות בני נח "Šbaˤ mişwōt bnē-Noḥ"), also called the '''Brit Noah''' ("[[Covenant]] of [[Noah]]") ''[[mitzvot]]'' (commandments) and ''[[Halakha|halakhot]]'' (laws) that are morally binding on non-Jews.
| + | #REDIRECT [[Seven Laws]] |
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| − | They are listed in the [[Talmud]] and elaborated on by post-Talmudic authorities. Opinions differ on the reach of these commandments and the laws derived from them, but all contemporary authorities agree that there are seven commandments. These commandments and laws are based on oral traditions as well as scriptural [[exegesis]] of {{bibleverse||Genesis|2:16|HE}} and {{bibleverse-nb||Genesis|9:4-6|HE}}.
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| − | ==Origin==
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| − | According to the Biblical narrative, the [[Deluge (mythology)#Hebrew (Genesis)|Deluge]] covered the whole world killing every surface-dwelling creature except Noah, his family and the creatures of the [[Noah's Ark|ark]]. After the flood, God seals a covenant with Noah with the following admonitions ({{bibleverse||Genesis|9|HE}}):
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| − | * Food: "''Also, flesh with the life -the blood- in it do not eat.''" (9:4)
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| − | * Murder: "''I will also inquire about your blood, your life, from all animals, and from each human I will inquire about his brother's blood. Who sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed, because in the image of God was man made.''"
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| − | The [[Talmud]] (tractate [[Sanhedrin (tractate)|Sanhedrin]] 56a/b, quoting [[Tosefta]] Sanhedrin 9:4) states that the instruction to not eat "flesh with the life" was given to Noah, and that [[Adam and Eve]] had already received six other commandments. The remaining six are exegetically derived from a seemingly superfluous sentence in Genesis 2:16.
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| − | ==The Seven Laws==
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| − | The seven laws (commonly rendered as Sheva Mitzvot Shel Bene Noach) are:
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| − | # ''Avodah zarah'' - Do not worship false gods.
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| − | # ''Shefichat damim'' - Do not [[murder]].
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| − | # ''Gezel'' - Do not steal (or kidnap).
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| − | # ''Gilui arayot'' - Do not be sexually immoral (forbidden sexual acts are traditionally interpreted to include [[incest]], bestiality, male [[homosexuality|homosexual]] sex acts, i.e. [[sodomy]], and [[adultery]].)
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| − | # ''Birkat Hashem'' - Do not "bless God" [[euphemism|euphemistically]] referring to [[blasphemy]].
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| − | # ''Ever min ha-chai'' - Do not eat any flesh that was torn from the body of a living animal (given to Noah and traditionally interpreted as a prohibition of cruelty towards animals)
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| − | # ''Dinim'' - Set up a system of honest, effective courts, police and laws.
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| − | The Talmud also states: "Righteous people of all nations have a share in the world to come" (Sanhedrin 105a). Any non-Jew who lives according to these laws is regarded as one of "the righteous among the gentiles". [[Maimonides]] states that this refers to those who have acquired knowledge of [[God]] and act in accordance with the Noahide laws.
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| − | ==Definition of Noahides==
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| − | According to [[rabbinic Judaism]], as expressed in the [[Talmud]], the Noahide Laws apply to all humanity through mankind's descent from one paternal ancestor who in Hebrew tradition is called [[Noah]] (the head of the only family to survive during [[Deluge (mythology)|The Flood]]). In Judaism, בני נח ''[[B'nei Noah]]'' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], "Descendants of Noah", "Children of Noah") refers to all of mankind.
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| − | [[Judaism]] holds that [[gentile]]s (''goyim'' "non-Jews [literally 'Nations']") are not obligated to adhere to all the laws of the Torah (indeed, they are forbidden to fulfill some laws, such as the keeping of the [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] in the exact same manner as Israel). Rabbinic Judaism and its modern-day descendants discourage [[Proselyte|proselytization]]. The Noahide Laws are regarded as the way through which non-Jews can have a direct and meaningful relationship with God or at least comply with the minimal requisites of civilization and of divine law.
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| − | A non-Jew who keeps the Noahide Law in all its details is said to attain the same spiritual and moral level as Israel's own [[Kohen Gadol]] (high priest) (Talmud, Bava Kamma 38a). [[Maimonides]] states in his work [[Mishneh Torah]] (''The laws of kings and their rulership 8:11'') that a [[Ger Toshav]] who is precise in the observance of these Seven Noahide commandments is considered to be a ''Righteous Gentile'' and has earned a place in the world to come. This follows a similar statement in the [[Talmud]] (tractate Sanhedrin 105b). However, according to Maimonides, a gentile is considered righteous only if a person follows the Noahide laws specifically because he or she considers them to be of divine origin (through the [[Torah]]) and not if they are merely considered to be intellectually compelling or good rules for living.<ref>[[Mishneh Torah]] ''Shofitm'', ''Wars and Kings'' 8:14</ref>
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| − | Noahide law differs radically from the Roman law for gentiles (''Jus Gentium''), if only because the latter was an enforceable judicial policy. Rabbinic Judaism has never adjudicated any cases under Noahide law (per Novak, 1983:28ff.), although scholars disagree about whether the Noahide law is a functional part of [[Halakha]] (cf. Bleich).
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| − | In recent years, ''Noahide'' has come to refer to non-Jews who strive to live in accord with the seven Noahide Laws; the terms "observant Noahide" or "Torah-centered Noahides" would be more precise but are infrequently used. The [[rainbow]], referring to the Noahide or First Covenant (Genesis 9), is the symbol of many organized Noahide groups. A non-Jewish person of any ethnicity or religion is referred to as a ''bat'' "daughter" or ''ben'' "son" of Noah, but most organizations that call themselves בני נח are composed of gentiles who are keeping the Noahide Laws.
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| − | ==Subdividing the Seven Laws==
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| − | Various [[rabbinic literature|rabbinic sources]] have different positions on the way the seven laws are to be subdivided in categories. [[Maimonides]] (Melakhim 10:6) lists one additional Noahide commandment forbidding the coupling of different kinds of animals and the mixing of trees. Maimonides commentator Radbaz expressed surprise that he left out castration and sorcery which were listed in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 56b).
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| − | The [[tenth century]] Rabbi [[Saadia Gaon]] added [[tithe]]s and [[levirate marriage]]. The [[eleventh century]] Rav Nissim Gaon included "listening to God's Voice", "knowing God" and "serving God" besides going on to say that all religious acts which can be understood through human reasoning are obligatory upon Jew and Gentile alike. The [[fourteenth century]] Rabbi [[Nissim of Gerona|Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi]] added the commandment of charity.
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| − | The [[sixteenth century]] work ''Asarah Maamarot'' by Rabbi [[Menahem Azariah of Fano]] (Rema mi-Fano) enumerates thirty commandments, listing the latter twenty-three as extensions of the original seven. Another commentator (''Kol Hidushei Maharitz Chayess'' I, end Ch. 10) suggests these are not related to the first seven, nor based on Scripture, but were passed down by oral tradition. The number thirty derives from the statement of the Talmudic sage Ulla in tractate Hullin 92a, though he lists only three other rules in addition to the original seven, consisting of the prohibitions against homosexuality and cannibalism, as well as the imperative to honor the Torah.
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| − | Talmud commentator [[Rashi]] remarks on this that he does not know the other Commandments referred to. Though the authorities seem to take it for granted that Ulla's thirty commandments included the original seven, an additional thirty laws is also possible from the reading.
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| − | The tenth century [[Shmuel ben Hophni Gaon]] lists thirty Noahide Commandments based on Ulla's Talmudic statement, though the text is problematic. He includes the prohibitions against suicide and false oaths, as well as the imperatives related to prayer, sacrifices and honoring one's parents. The commandments, according to Shmuel ben Hophni Gaon, cover:
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| − | * [[Idolatry]]
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| − | ** No idolatry
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| − | ** To pray
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| − | ** To offer ritual sacrifices only to God
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| − | * [[Blasphemy]]
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| − | ** To believe in the singularity of God, see, [[Monotheism]]
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| − | ** No blasphemy
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| − | ** No [[witchcraft]]
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| − | ** No [[Haruspex|soothsayers]]
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| − | ** No [[Conjuration|conjurers]]
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| − | ** No sorcerers
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| − | ** No [[Medium (spirituality)|mediums]]
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| − | ** No [[demonology]]
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| − | ** No [[Wizard|wizardry]]
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| − | ** No [[necromancy]]
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| − | ** To respect father & mother
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| − | * [[Murder]]
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| − | ** No murder
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| − | ** No suicide
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| − | ** No [[Moloch]] worship (infant sacrifice)
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| − | * Property
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| − | ** No stealing
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| − | * Sexual Immorality
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| − | ** No [[adultery]]
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| − | ** Formal legal [[marriage]]s
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| − | ** No [[incest]] with close relatives
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| − | ** No [[homosexuality|male to male]] [[anal sex]]
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| − | ** No [[Zoophilia|bestiality]]
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| − | ** Not to [[Crossbreeding|crossbreed animals]]
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| − | ** No [[castration]]
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| − | * Food Laws
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| − | ** Not to eat a limb of a living creature
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| − | ** Not to eat or drink blood
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| − | ** Not to eat [[carrion (biology)|carrion]] (for those recognised by a Beth Din)
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| − | * Justice
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| − | ** To establish courts and a system of justice
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| − | ** No false oaths
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| − | The contemporary Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein counts 66 instructions but Rabbi Harvey Falk has suggested that much work remains to be done in order to properly identify all of the Noahide Commandments, their divisions and subdivisions.
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| − | Theft, robbery and stealing covers the appropriate understanding of other persons, their property and their rights. The establishment of courts of justice promotes the value of the responsibility of a corporate society of people to enforce these laws and define these terms. The refusal to engage in unnecessary lust or cruelty demonstrates respect for the [[Creation (theology)|Creation]] itself as renewed after the Flood. To not do [[Murder|murder]] would include [[human sacrifice]].
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| − | ==Recent developments==
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| − | Judaism does not usually support [[Conversion to Judaism]] but does, on the other hand, believe that Jewish people have some duty to help establish the Noahide Laws. Some Jewish groups have been particularly active in promoting the Seven Laws, such as the [[Chabad Lubavitch]] movement.
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| − | On March 20th, 1991, the 102nd Congress of the United States passed
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| − | [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c102:H.J.RES.104.ENR: Public Law 102-14] to designate [[March 26]], [[1991]], as "Education Day, U.S.A."; in the bill Congress recognized
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| − | <blockquote>the ... principles ... upon which our great Nation was founded ... known as the Seven Noahide Laws ... without these ... civilization stands in serious peril of ... chaos ... Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the Lubavitch movement, is universally respected and revered and his eighty-ninth birthday falls on March 26, 1991 ... in tribute to this great spiritual leader ... his ninetieth year will ... turn to education and charity to return the world to the moral and ethical values contained in the Seven Noahide Laws</blockquote>
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| − | Since the late 1980s and early 1990s, many Orthodox Jews and Noahides have been trying to take the Seven Laws into the general public and turn them into a broad-based international ideological movement to introduce values of Jewish origin.
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| − | In more general Jewish thinking, [[David Novak]], among others, has proposed that Noahide Law could serve as the basis for a more universal [[Jewish ethics]] and for cross-cultural moral reasoning (at least with Christians and Muslims).
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| − | The Noahide movement has grown even more with the formation of the [[High Council of B'nei Noah]]. The [[http://www.highcouncilofbneinoach.com/Home.aspx High Council of B'nei Noah]] was formed at the request of members of the nascent [[Sanhedrin]] by Noahide leaders and scholars who came to Israel and were formally recognized by twenty-seven Rabbis from the nascent Sanhedrin.
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| − | ==Other religions as Noahide==
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| − | From the Jewish perspective, if a non-Jew keeps all of the laws entailed in the categories covered by the Seven Noahide commandments, then he or she is considered a ''[[Ger Toshav]]'' "Sojourning Alien" amid the people of Israel. In fact, this is considered the ideal level for all humanity by Jewish theology. A ''[[Ger Tzedek]]'' is a person who prefers to proceed to [[religious conversion]], a procedure that is generally discouraged by all sects of Judaism and allowed only after much thought and deliberation over the conversion has taken place.
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| − | The term Noahide is not the name of any specific religion but a term used to describe religions and cultures compliant with the Noahide Laws outside of Israel.
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| − | ===Islam===
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| − | [[Islam]] has a different tradition on Noah and his descendants; the [[Qur'an]] mentions additional narrative on [[Noah]]. As stated before, the Jewish authority [[Maimonides]] has maintained that Islam is a Noahide religion, although the Medieval sage [[Nissim of Gerona]] disagrees.
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| − | In April 2006, the spiritual leader of the [[Druze]] community in [[Israel]], [[Sheikh Mowafak Tarif]], signed a declaration calling on all non-Jews in Israel to observe the Noahide Laws as laid down in the [[Bible]] and expounded upon in Jewish tradition. The mayor of the [[Galilee|Galilean]] city of [[Shefa-'Amr]] (Shfaram) - where Muslim, Christian and Druze communities live side by side - also signed the document. The declaration includes the commitment to make a better
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| − | :humane world based on the Seven Noachide Commandments and the values they represent commanded by the Creator to all mankind through Moses on [[Mount Sinai]].
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| − | Support for the spread of the Seven Noahide Commandments by the Druze leaders reflects the Biblical narrative itself. The Druze community reveres the non-Jewish father-in-law of Moses, Jethro, whom Muslim Arabs call [[Shoaib|Shuˤayb]]. According to the Biblical narrative, Jethro joined and assisted the Jewish people in the desert during the [[Exodus]], accepted monotheism, but ultimately rejoined his own people. In fact, the tomb of Jethro in [[Tiberias]] is the most important religious site for the Druze community. [http://www.arutzsheva.com/news.php3?id=56379]
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| − | ===Christianity===
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| − | Within [[Judaism]] it is a matter of debate whether all [[Christian]]s should be considered Noahides. The strict view is that Christian theology is considered ''avodah zarah'' (loosely translated as "idolatry") for all people, both [[Jew]] and gentile, 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.
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| − | The liberal orthodox view is that Christian theology is only considered ''avodah zarah'' for Jews, but it is permissible for gentiles. The [[Tosafist]] (early Talmud commentators) [[Rabbeinu Tam|Rabbi Jacob Tam]] ([[Rashi]]'s grandson), in Bekhorot 2b and Sanhedrin 63b, ruled that trinitarianism could be permitted to gentiles as a form of ''shittuf'' ("association"). This view was echoed by Rabbi Isaac ben Sheshet (''Rivash'', responsa 119) and accepted by Rabbi [[Moses Isserles]] (''Rema'', Orah Hayyim 156:1.). However, no Jewish source allows the worship through any form of ''shittuf''; rather, all worship must be directed to the one and only Creator.
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| − | The view of [[Maimonides]] is difficult to ascertain due to text alterations in different editions of his [[Mishneh Torah]] (code of Jewish law), Ma'akhalot Asurot 11:7. In any case, in this view Christian theology is not forbidden to gentiles, and all Christians are Noahides. Today most of [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Conservative Judaism]] view all Christians as Noahides.
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| − | ===Christian criticism===
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| − | [[Christian]] critics of the Noahide laws contend that insisting upon a basic set of moral laws is contrary to [[religious pluralism]]. Some believe that their existence implies that [[Jew]]s may set up a legal system that would effectively outlaw Christianity. The Jewish community responds by noting that it makes laws and customs for its own members (like all faiths) and does not set up governments to force [[Judaism|Jewish]] beliefs on non-Jews; in contrast, some non-Jewish faiths have carried out such actions in practice. In addition, with their minimal threshold of morality, the Noahide law may be compared to Catholic social teachings.
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| − | 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). By contrast, most Jewish thinkers consider the Seven Noahide Laws a parallel system of general categories of commandments, each containing many components and details. Some Jewish thinkers regard the determination of the details of the Noahide Law as something to be left to Jewish rabbis. This, in addition to the teaching of the Jewish law that punishment for violating one of the seven Noahide Laws includes a theoretical death penalty ([[Talmud]], tractate Sanhedrin 57a), is a factor in modern opposition to the notion of a Noahide legal system. The Jewish community responds by noting 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. Some Jewish thinkers 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.
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| − | ===Christian adherence===
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| − | 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 of the Apostles|Acts]] 15, the Council of Jerusalem determined that [[History of male circumcision#Male Circumcision in the Greco-Roman World|circumcision]] was not required of new converts, only avoidance of "pollution of idols, fornication, things strangled, and blood" (KJV, Acts 15:20). 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 peninsula|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]].
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| − | Several [[Christianity|Christian]] congregations have abandoned traditional Christianity (rejecting the [[Nicene Creed]]) and adopted the First Covenant or Noahism in recent years. 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).
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| − | ==References==
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| − | <references />
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| − | == Further reading ==
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| − | * [[J. David Bleich|Bleich, J. David]]. "Judaism and [[natural law]]" in ''Jewish law annual'', vol. VII 5-42
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| − | * Bleich, J. David. "Tikkun Olam: Jewish Obligations to Non-Jewish Society" 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.
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| − | * Broyde, Michael J. "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.
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| − | * Clorfene C and Rogalsky Y. ''The Path of the Righteous Gentile: An Introduction to the Seven Laws of the Children of Noah''. New York: Phillip Feldheim, 1987. ISBN 087306433X. [http://moshiach.com/action/morality/introduction.php Online version].
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| − | *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.
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| − | * Novak, David. ''The image of the non-Jew in Judaism: an historical and constructive study of the Noahide Laws''. New York : E. Mellen Press, 1983.
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| − | * Novak, David. ''Natural law in Judaism''. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1998.
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| − | * Rakover, Nahum. ''Law and the Noahides: law as a universal value''. Jerusalem: Library of Jewish Law, 1998.
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| − | == External links ==
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| − | *[http://www.asknoah.org AskNoah.org - United Noahide Academies]
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| − | *[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=113&letter=L&search=noahide%20laws Jewish Encyclopedia: Noachian Laws]
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| − | *[http://www.noachidechassid.com NoachideChassid.com - The definitive web site for Noachides World Wide!]
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| − | *[http://www.noahide.org Noahide.org - Institute of Noahide Law]
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| − | *[http://www.hamikdash.com/Rambam.html HaMikdash.com - The Responsibilities of the Gentiles]
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| − | *[http://www.bneinoach.org/news.php BneiNoach.org - Noachide Resource Center]
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| − | *[http://www.noachide.org.uk Noachide.org.uk - Bnai Noach in the UK]
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| − | *[http://moshiach.com/action/morality/in-depth.php Free Online Book: 'The Path of the Righteous Gentile']
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