Children of Noah

Noahidism () or Noachidism () is a monotheistic Jewish religious movement based upon the Seven Laws of Noah and their traditional interpretations within Orthodox Judaism. According to the Jewish law, non-Jews (Goyim) are not obligated to convert to Judaism, but they are required to observe the Seven Laws of Noah to be assured of a place in the World to Come (), the final reward of the righteous. The penalty for violating any of the Noahide laws is discussed in the Talmud, but in practical terms it is subject to the working legal system which is established by the society at large. Those who subscribe to the observance of the Noahic Covenant are referred to as ( he, בני נח, "Sons of Noah") or Noahides (). The modern Noahide movement was founded in the 1990s by Orthodox rabbis from Israel, mainly tied to Chabad-Lubavitch and religious Zionist organizations, including The Temple Institute.

Historically, the Hebrew term has been applied to all non-Jews as descendants of Noah. However, nowadays it is primarily used to refer specifically to those "Righteous Gentiles" who observe the Seven Laws of Noah. Noahide communities have spread and developed primarily in the United States, United Kingdom, Latin America, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Russia. , there are over 20,000 official Noahides around the world and the country with the greatest number is the Philippines.

The rainbow covenant

The theological basis for the Seven Laws is said to be derived interpretatively from demands addressed to Adam and to Noah, who are said to be the progenitors of all humankind, and therefore to be regarded as universal.

The Seven Laws of Noah

The seven commandments of the Noahic Covenant enumerated in the Babylonian Talmud ( 8:4, 56a-b) are:
# Do not worship idols.
# Do not curse God.
# Do not murder.
# Do not commit adultery or sexual immorality.
# Do not steal.
# Do not eat flesh torn from a living animal.
# Establish courts of justice.

Historical precedents

The concept of "Righteous Gentiles" has a few precedents in the history of Judaism, primarily during Biblical times and the Roman domination of the Mediterranean. In the Hebrew Bible, it is reported that the legal status of ( hbo, גר תושב, : "foreigner" or "alien" + : "resident", ) was granted to those Gentiles (non-Jews) living in the Land of Israel who did not want to convert to Judaism but agreed to observe the Seven Laws of Noah. The or God-fearers of the Roman Empire were another ancient example of non-Jews being included within the Jewish community without converting to Judaism.

During the Golden Age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula, the medieval Jewish philosopher and rabbi Maimonides (1135–1204) wrote in the halakhic legal code that Gentiles (non-Jews) must perform exclusively the Seven Laws of Noah and refrain from studying the Torah or performing any Jewish commandment, including resting on the Shabbat; however, Maimonides also states that if Gentiles want to perform any Jewish commandment besides the Seven Laws of Noah according to the correct halakhic procedure, they are not prevented from doing so. According to Maimonides, teaching non-Jews to follow the Seven Laws of Noah is incumbent on all Jews, a commandment in and of itself. Nevertheless, the majority of rabbinic authorities over the centuries have rejected Maimonides' opinion, and the dominant halakhic consensus has always been that Jews are not required to spread the Noahide laws to non-Jews.

Modern Noahide movement

Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, encouraged his followers on many occasions to preach the Seven Laws of Noah, devoting some of his addresses to the subtleties of this code. Since the 1990s, Orthodox rabbis from Israel, most notably those affiliated to Chabad-Lubavitch and religious Zionist organizations, including The Temple Institute, have set up a modern Noahide movement. These Noahide organizations, led by religious Zionist and Orthodox rabbis, are aimed at non-Jews to proselytize among them and commit them to follow the Noahide laws. According to anthropologist Rachel Z. Feldman, many of the rabbis involved in mentoring Noahides are supporters of the Third Temple movement who believe that the messianic era begins with the establishment of a Jewish theocratic state in Israel, supported by communities of Noahides worldwide. Feldman describes Noahidism as a "new world religion" that "carv sout a place for non-Jews in the messianic Zionist project" and "affirms the superiority of Judaism and the Jewish biblical right to the Land of Israel". She characterizes Noahide ideology in the Philippines and elsewhere in the global south as having a "markedly racial dimension" constructed around "an essential categorical difference between Jews and Noahides". David Novak, professor of Jewish theology and ethics at the University of Toronto, has denounced the modern Noahide movement by stating that "If Jews are telling Gentiles what to do, it's a form of imperialism". There are two different conceptions of Noahidism in Orthodox Judaism:

* The movement, whose members observe the Seven Laws of Noah or Laws only and hold that the remaining commandments do not apply to them. This is the view of Chabad-Lubavitch and a few other movements. This means that Noahides may not observe the Sabbath, study the Torah (except for the seven Noahide laws), etc.
* The movement, whose members hold that they can adhere completely to Judaism to learn from the Jews and together promote the World to Come () but without becoming a part of the Jewish people (i.e. without converting to Judaism). After accept the obligatory seven commandments, they can, if they so desire, carry out the rest of the Jewish commandments, including studying the Torah, observing the Sabbath, celebrating Jewish holidays, etc. This view is held, for example, by Yoel Schwartz.

High Council of

A "High Council of ", set up to represent Noahide communities around the world, was endorsed by a group that claimed to be the new Sanhedrin. The High Council of consists of a group of Noahides who, at the request of the nascent Sanhedrin, gathered in Jerusalem on 10 January 2006 to be recognized as an international Noahide organization for the purpose of serving as a bridge between the nascent Sanhedrin and Noahides worldwide. There were ten initial members who flew to Israel and pledged to uphold the Seven Laws of Noah and to conduct themselves under the authority of the Noahide (religious court) of the nascent Sanhedrin.

Acknowledgment

Meir Kahane and Shlomo Carlebach organized one of the first Noahide conferences in the 1980s. In 1990, Kahane was the keynote speaker at the First International Conference of the Descendants of Noah, the first Noahide gathering, in Fort Worth, Texas. After the assassination of Meir Kahane that same year, The Temple Institute, which advocates to rebuild the Third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, started to promote the Noahide laws as well.

The Chabad-Lubavitch movement has been one of the most active in Noahide outreach, believing that there is spiritual and societal value for non-Jews in at least simply acknowledging the Noahide laws. In 1982, Chabad-Lubavitch had a reference to the Noahide laws enshrined in a U.S. Presidential proclamation: the "Proclamation 4921", signed by the then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The United States Congress, recalling House Joint Resolution 447 and in celebration of Menachem Mendel Schneerson's 80th birthday, proclaimed 4 April 1982, as a "National Day of Reflection".

In 1989 and 1990, they had another reference to the Noahide laws enshrined in a U.S. Presidential proclamation: the "Proclamation 5956", signed by then-President George H. W. Bush. The United States Congress, recalling House Joint Resolution 173 and in celebration of Menachem Mendel Schneerson's 87th birthday, proclaimed 16 April 1989, and 6 April 1990, as "Education Day, U.S.A."

In January 2004, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Mowafak Tarif, met with a representative of Chabad-Lubavitch to sign a declaration calling on all non-Jews in Israel to observe the Noahide laws; the mayor of the Arab city of Shefa-'Amr (Shfaram) also signed the document.

In March 2016, the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yitzhak Yosef, declared during a sermon that Jewish law requires that the only non-Jews allowed to live in Israel are obligated to follow the Noahide laws:

Yosef further added:

Yosef's sermon sparked outrage in Israel and was fiercely criticized by several human rights associations, NGOs and members of the Knesset; Jonathan Greenblatt, Anti-Defamation League's CEO and national director, and Carole Nuriel, Anti-Defamation League's Israel Office acting director, issued a strong denunciation of Yosef's sermon:

See also

* Ethical monotheism
* Haredi Judaism
* Hasidic Judaism
* Judaizers
* Modern Orthodox Judaism
* Proselyte
* Righteous among the Nations
* Shituf
* Sons of Noah
* Subbotniks
* Ebionites
* Nazarene (sect)
* Quartodeciman
* Vendyl Jones

References

Further reading

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External links

WikiNoah
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{{New Religious Movements

Chabad-Lubavitch (Hasidic dynasty)
Jewish religious movements
Moral communities
New religious movements

Orthodox Judaism
Religious Zionism

he:חסיד אומות העולם (הלכה)