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'''Noahidism''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|oʊ|ə|.|h|aɪ|d|.|ɪ|s|m}}) or '''Noachidism''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|oʊ|ə|.|x|aɪ|d|.|ɪ|s|m}}) is a ] ] ] based upon the ]<ref name="Feldman2018">{{cite journal |last=Feldman |first=Rachel Z. |date=August 2018 |title=The Children of Noah: Has Messianic Zionism Created a New World Religion? |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/737561/pdf |journal=] |publisher=] |location=] |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=115-128 |doi=10.1525/nr.2018.22.1.115 |format=PDF |via=] |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="Kress">{{cite web |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-modern-noahide-movement/ |title=The Modern Noahide Movement |last=Kress |first=Michael |date=2018 |website=My Jewish Learning |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="Tabletmag">{{cite magazine |last=Strauss |first=Ilana E. |date=26 January 2016 |title=The Gentiles Who Act Like Jews: Who are these non-Jews practicing Orthodox Judaism? |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/the-gentiles-who-act-like-jews |url-status=live |magazine=] |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="JewishChronicle">{{cite news |last=Tabachnick |first=Toby |date=22 July 2010 |title=Noahides establish website for interested followers |url=https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/noahides-establish-website-for-interested-followers/ |work=] |location=] |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> and their traditional interpretations within ].<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Kress"/><ref name="Tabletmag"/><ref name="JewishChronicle"/><ref name="JE">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9679-laws-noachian |title=Noachian Laws |last1=Singer |first1=Isidore |last2=Greenstone |first2=Julius H. |author-link1=Isidore Singer |encyclopedia=] |publisher=] |year=1906 |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref> According to the ], non-Jews (]) are not obligated to ], but they are required to observe the Seven Laws of Noah to be assured of a place in the ], the final reward of the righteous.<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Kress"/><ref name="JE"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Maimonides |first=Moses |author-link=Maimonides |date=2012 |chapter-url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Kings_and_Wars.8?lang=bi |chapter=Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars) |title=] |page=8:14 |translator-last=Brauner |translator-first=Reuven |publisher=] |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref><ref>'']'' (Hebrew ed., ], 5741/1981, entry ''Ben Noah'', end of article); note the variant reading of ] and the references in the footnote.</ref> The divinely ordained penalty for violating any of these Noahide Laws is discussed in the ],<ref name="JE"/> but in practical terms it is subject to the working legal system which is established by the society at large.<ref name="JE"/> Those who subscribe to the observance of the Noahic Covenant are referred to as '''Bnei Noach''' ({{lang-he-n |בני נח}}, "Children of Noah") or '''Noahides''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|oʊ|.|ə|.|h|aɪ|d|ᵻ|s}}).<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Kress"/><ref name="JewishChronicle"/><ref name="Tabletmag"/><ref name="JWeekly">{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Ben |url=https://www.jweekly.com/2009/06/26/torah-embracing-non-jews-fuel-their-movement-online/ |title=Torah-embracing non-Jews fuel their movement online |date=26 June 2009 |work=] |location=] |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="Ilany">{{cite news |last=Ilany |first=Ofri |title=The Messianic Zionist Religion Whose Believers Worship Judaism (But Can't Practice It) |work=] |location=] |date=12 September 2018 |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-the-messianic-zionist-religion-that-wants-to-recruit-7-billion-members-1.6455144 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200209223631/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-the-messianic-zionist-religion-that-wants-to-recruit-7-billion-members-1.6455144 |archive-date=9 February 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref> The modern Noahide movement was founded in the ] by Orthodox rabbis from ],<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Ilany"/> mainly tied to ] and ] organizations,<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Ilany"/> including ].<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Ilany"/> '''Noahidism''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|oʊ|ə|.|h|aɪ|d|.|ɪ|s|m}}) or '''Noachidism''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|oʊ|ə|.|x|aɪ|d|.|ɪ|s|m}}) is a ] ] ] based upon the ]<ref name="Feldman2018">{{cite journal |last=Feldman |first=Rachel Z. |date=August 2018 |title=The Children of Noah: Has Messianic Zionism Created a New World Religion? |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/737561/pdf |journal=] |publisher=] |location=] |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=115-128 |doi=10.1525/nr.2018.22.1.115 |format=PDF |via=] |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="Kress">{{cite web |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-modern-noahide-movement/ |title=The Modern Noahide Movement |last=Kress |first=Michael |date=2018 |website=My Jewish Learning |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="Tabletmag">{{cite magazine |last=Strauss |first=Ilana E. |date=26 January 2016 |title=The Gentiles Who Act Like Jews: Who are these non-Jews practicing Orthodox Judaism? |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/the-gentiles-who-act-like-jews |url-status=live |magazine=] |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="JewishChronicle">{{cite news |last=Tabachnick |first=Toby |date=22 July 2010 |title=Noahides establish website for interested followers |url=https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/noahides-establish-website-for-interested-followers/ |work=] |location=] |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> and their traditional interpretations within ].<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Kress"/><ref name="Tabletmag"/><ref name="JewishChronicle"/><ref name="JE">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9679-laws-noachian |title=Noachian Laws |last1=Singer |first1=Isidore |last2=Greenstone |first2=Julius H. |author-link1=Isidore Singer |encyclopedia=] |publisher=] |year=1906 |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref> According to the ], non-Jews (]) are not obligated to ], but they are required to observe the Seven Laws of Noah to be assured of a place in the ], the final reward of the righteous.<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Kress"/><ref name="JE"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Maimonides |first=Moses |author-link=Maimonides |date=2012 |chapter-url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Kings_and_Wars.8?lang=bi |chapter=Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars) |title=] |page=8:14 |translator-last=Brauner |translator-first=Reuven |publisher=] |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref><ref>'']'' (Hebrew ed., ], 5741/1981, entry ''Ben Noah'', end of article); note the variant reading of ] and the references in the footnote.</ref> The divinely ordained penalty for violating any of the Noahide laws is discussed in the ],<ref name="JE"/> but in practical terms it is subject to the working legal system which is established by the society at large.<ref name="JE"/> Those who subscribe to the observance of the Noahic Covenant are referred to as '''Bnei Noach''' ({{lang-he-n |בני נח}}, "Children of Noah") or '''Noahides''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|oʊ|.|ə|.|h|aɪ|d|ᵻ|s}}).<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Kress"/><ref name="JewishChronicle"/><ref name="Tabletmag"/><ref name="JWeekly">{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Ben |url=https://www.jweekly.com/2009/06/26/torah-embracing-non-jews-fuel-their-movement-online/ |title=Torah-embracing non-Jews fuel their movement online |date=26 June 2009 |work=] |location=] |access-date=31 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="Ilany">{{cite news |last=Ilany |first=Ofri |title=The Messianic Zionist Religion Whose Believers Worship Judaism (But Can't Practice It) |work=] |location=] |date=12 September 2018 |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-the-messianic-zionist-religion-that-wants-to-recruit-7-billion-members-1.6455144 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200209223631/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-the-messianic-zionist-religion-that-wants-to-recruit-7-billion-members-1.6455144 |archive-date=9 February 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref> The modern Noahide movement was founded in the ] by Orthodox rabbis from ],<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Ilany"/> mainly tied to ] and ] organizations,<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Ilany"/> including ].<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Ilany"/>


Historically, the Hebrew term ''Bnei Noach'' has been applied to all non-Jews as ].<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="JE"/> However, nowadays it is primarily used to refer specifically to those "Righteous Gentiles" who observe the Seven Laws of Noah.<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Kress"/><ref name="Tabletmag"/> Noahide communities have spread and developed primarily in the ], ], ], ], the ], and ].<ref name="Tabletmag"/> According to a Noahide source in 2018, there are over 20,000 official Noahides around the world, and the country with the greatest number is the ].<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Tabletmag"/><ref name="Ilany"/> Historically, the Hebrew term ''Bnei Noach'' has been applied to all non-Jews as ].<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="JE"/> However, nowadays it is primarily used to refer specifically to those "Righteous Gentiles" who observe the Seven Laws of Noah.<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Kress"/><ref name="Tabletmag"/> Noahide communities have spread and developed primarily in the ], ], ], ], the ], and ].<ref name="Tabletmag"/> According to a Noahide source in 2018, there are over 20,000 official Noahides around the world, and the country with the greatest number is the ].<ref name="Feldman2018"/><ref name="Tabletmag"/><ref name="Ilany"/>
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{{Main|Ger toshav|God-fearer}} {{Main|Ger toshav|God-fearer}}
{{See|Hellenistic Judaism|History of the Jews in the Roman Empire}} {{See|Hellenistic Judaism|History of the Jews in the Roman Empire}}
The concept of "Righteous Gentiles" has a few precedents in the ], primarily during ] and the ]. In the ], it is reported that the legal status of '']'' ({{lang-he-n|גר תושב}}, ''ger'': "foreigner" or "alien" + ''toshav'': "resident", lit. "]"<ref>{{cite book |last=Bromiley |first=Geoffrey W. |author-link=Geoffrey W. Bromiley |title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia |year=1986 |edition=Fully Revised |page=1010 |volume=3 |publisher=] |location=] |isbn=0-8028-3783-2 |quote=In rabbinic literature the ''ger toshab'' was a Gentile who observed the Noachian commandments but was not considered a convert to Judaism because he did not agree to circumcision. some scholars have made the mistake of calling the ''ger toshab'' a "proselyte" or "semiproselyte." But the ''ger toshab'' was really a resident alien in Israel. Some scholars have claimed that the term "those who fear God" (''yir᾿ei Elohim''/''Shamayim'') was used in rabbinic literature to denote Gentiles who were on the fringe of the synagogue. They were not converts to Judaism, although they were attracted to the Jewish religion and observed part of the law.}}</ref><ref name="Bleich 1995">{{cite book |last=Bleich |first=J. David |author-link=J. David Bleich |year=1995 |title=Contemporary Halakhic Problems |volume=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IOqQrPlc9ggC&pg=PA161 |location=] |publisher=] (]) |page=161 |isbn=0-88125-474-6 |quote=], ''Yevamot'' 48b, maintains that a resident alien (''ger toshav'') is obliged to observe '']''. The ''ger toshav'', in accepting the Seven Commandments of the Sons of Noah, has renounced idolatry and thereby acquires a status similar to that of ]. Indeed, ], ''Avodah Zarah'' 67b, declares that the status on an unimmersed convert is inferior to that of a ''ger toshav'' because the former's acceptance of the "yoke of the commandments" is intended to be binding only upon subsequent immersion. Moreover, the institution of ''ger toshav'' as a formal halakhic construct has lapsed with the ].}}</ref>) was granted to those ] (non-Jews) living in the ] who agreed to be bound by the Seven Laws of Noah.<ref name="Bleich 1995"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Jacobs |first1=Joseph |author1-link=Joseph Jacobs |last2=Hirsch |first2=Emil G. |author2-link=Emil G. Hirsch |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12391-proselyte#anchor4 |title=Proselyte: Semi-Converts |encyclopedia=] |year=1906 |publisher=] |access-date=31 October 2020 |quote=In order to find a precedent the rabbis went so far as to assume that proselytes of this order were recognized in Biblical law, applying to them the term "toshab" ("sojourner," "aborigine," referring to the Canaanites; see Maimonides' explanation in "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 7; see Grätz, l.c. p. 15), in connection with "ger" (see Ex. xxv. 47, where the better reading would be "we-toshab"). Another name for one of this class was "proselyte of the gate" ("ger ha-sha'ar," that is, one under Jewish civil jurisdiction; comp. Deut. v. 14, xiv. 21, referring to the stranger who had legal claims upon the generosity and protection of his Jewish neighbors). In order to be recognized as one of these the neophyte had publicly to assume, before three "ḥaberim," or men of authority, the solemn obligation not to worship idols, an obligation which involved the recognition of the seven Noachian injunctions as binding ('Ab. Zarah 64b; "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 7). The more rigorous seem to have been inclined to insist upon such converts observing the entire Law, with the exception of the reservations and modifications explicitly made in their behalf. The more lenient were ready to accord them full equality with Jews as soon as they had solemnly forsworn idolatry. The "via media" was taken by those that regarded public adherence to the seven Noachian precepts as the indispensable prerequisite (Gerim iii.; 'Ab. Zarah 64b; Yer. Yeb. 8d; Grätz, l.c. pp. 19–20). The outward sign of this adherence to Judaism was the observance of the Sabbath (Grätz, l.c. pp. 20 et seq.; but comp. Ker. 8b).}}</ref> The ''Sebomenoi'' or ]s of the ] are also an ancient example of non-Jews being included within the Jewish community.<ref>{{cite book |last=Goodman |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Goodman (historian) |chapter=Identity and Authority in Ancient Judaism |year=2007 |title=Judaism in the Roman World: Collected Essays |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YVI2a9jc4pMC&pg=PA30 |location=] |publisher=] |series=Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity |volume=66 |pages=30-32 |isbn=978-90-04-15309-7 |issn=1871-6636}}</ref> The concept of "Righteous Gentiles" has a few precedents in the ], primarily during ] and the ]. In the ], it is reported that the legal status of '']'' ({{lang-he-n|גר תושב}}, ''ger'': "foreigner" or "alien" + ''toshav'': "resident", lit. "]"<ref name="Bromiley 1986">{{cite book |last=Bromiley |first=Geoffrey W. |author-link=Geoffrey W. Bromiley |title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia |year=1986 |edition=Fully Revised |page=1010 |volume=3 |publisher=] |location=] |isbn=0-8028-3783-2 |quote=In rabbinic literature the ''ger toshab'' was a Gentile who observed the Noachian commandments but was not considered a convert to Judaism because he did not agree to circumcision. some scholars have made the mistake of calling the ''ger toshab'' a "proselyte" or "semiproselyte." But the ''ger toshab'' was really a resident alien in Israel. Some scholars have claimed that the term "those who fear God" (''yir᾿ei Elohim''/''Shamayim'') was used in rabbinic literature to denote Gentiles who were on the fringe of the synagogue. They were not converts to Judaism, although they were attracted to the Jewish religion and observed part of the law.}}</ref><ref name="Bleich 1995">{{cite book |last=Bleich |first=J. David |author-link=J. David Bleich |year=1995 |title=Contemporary Halakhic Problems |volume=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IOqQrPlc9ggC&pg=PA161 |location=] |publisher=] (]) |page=161 |isbn=0-88125-474-6 |quote=], ''Yevamot'' 48b, maintains that a resident alien (''ger toshav'') is obliged to observe '']''. The ''ger toshav'', in accepting the Seven Commandments of the Sons of Noah, has renounced idolatry and thereby acquires a status similar to that of ]. Indeed, ], ''Avodah Zarah'' 67b, declares that the status on an unimmersed convert is inferior to that of a ''ger toshav'' because the former's acceptance of the "yoke of the commandments" is intended to be binding only upon subsequent immersion. Moreover, the institution of ''ger toshav'' as a formal halakhic construct has lapsed with the ].}}</ref>) was granted to those ] (non-Jews) living in the ] who didn't want to convert to Judaism but agreed to be bound by the Seven Laws of Noah.<ref name="Bromiley 1986"/><ref name="Bleich 1995"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Jacobs |first1=Joseph |author1-link=Joseph Jacobs |last2=Hirsch |first2=Emil G. |author2-link=Emil G. Hirsch |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12391-proselyte#anchor4 |title=Proselyte: Semi-Converts |encyclopedia=] |year=1906 |publisher=] |access-date=31 October 2020 |quote=In order to find a precedent the rabbis went so far as to assume that proselytes of this order were recognized in Biblical law, applying to them the term "toshab" ("sojourner," "aborigine," referring to the Canaanites; see Maimonides' explanation in "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 7; see Grätz, l.c. p. 15), in connection with "ger" (see Ex. xxv. 47, where the better reading would be "we-toshab"). Another name for one of this class was "proselyte of the gate" ("ger ha-sha'ar," that is, one under Jewish civil jurisdiction; comp. Deut. v. 14, xiv. 21, referring to the stranger who had legal claims upon the generosity and protection of his Jewish neighbors). In order to be recognized as one of these the neophyte had publicly to assume, before three "ḥaberim," or men of authority, the solemn obligation not to worship idols, an obligation which involved the recognition of the seven Noachian injunctions as binding ('Ab. Zarah 64b; "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 7). The more rigorous seem to have been inclined to insist upon such converts observing the entire Law, with the exception of the reservations and modifications explicitly made in their behalf. The more lenient were ready to accord them full equality with Jews as soon as they had solemnly forsworn idolatry. The "via media" was taken by those that regarded public adherence to the seven Noachian precepts as the indispensable prerequisite (Gerim iii.; 'Ab. Zarah 64b; Yer. Yeb. 8d; Grätz, l.c. pp. 19–20). The outward sign of this adherence to Judaism was the observance of the Sabbath (Grätz, l.c. pp. 20 et seq.; but comp. Ker. 8b).}}</ref> The ''Sebomenoi'' or ]s of the ] are also an ancient example of non-Jews being included within the Jewish community without converting to Judaism.<ref>{{cite book |last=Goodman |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Goodman (historian) |chapter=Identity and Authority in Ancient Judaism |year=2007 |title=Judaism in the Roman World: Collected Essays |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YVI2a9jc4pMC&pg=PA30 |location=] |publisher=] |series=Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity |volume=66 |pages=30-32 |isbn=978-90-04-15309-7 |issn=1871-6636}}</ref>


During the ], the ] ] and ] ] (1135–1204) wrote in the ] ] '']'' that Gentiles (non-Jews) must perform exclusively the Seven Laws of Noah and refrain from ] or performing any ], including resting on the ];<ref>{{cite book |last=Maimonides |first=Moses |author-link=Maimonides |date=2012 |chapter-url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Kings_and_Wars.10?lang=bi |chapter=Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars) |title=] |page=10:9 |translator-last=Brauner |translator-first=Reuven |publisher=] |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Maimonides |first=Moses |author-link=Maimonides |date=2012 |chapter-url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Kings_and_Wars.10?lang=bi |chapter=Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars) |title=] |page=10:10 |translator-last=Brauner |translator-first=Reuven |publisher=] |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref> According to Maimonides, teaching non-Jews to follow the Seven Laws of Noah is incumbent on all Jews, a commandment in and of itself.<ref name="Kress"/> Over the centuries, most ] have rejected Maimonides' opinion, and the dominant halakhic attitude had always been that Jews are not required to spread the Noahide laws to non-Jews.<ref name="Kress"/> During the ], the ] ] and ] ] (1135–1204) wrote in the ] ] '']'' that Gentiles (non-Jews) must perform exclusively the Seven Laws of Noah and refrain from ] or performing any ], including resting on the ];<ref>{{cite book |last=Maimonides |first=Moses |author-link=Maimonides |date=2012 |chapter-url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Kings_and_Wars.10?lang=bi |chapter=Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars) |title=] |page=10:9 |translator-last=Brauner |translator-first=Reuven |publisher=] |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Maimonides |first=Moses |author-link=Maimonides |date=2012 |chapter-url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Kings_and_Wars.10?lang=bi |chapter=Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars) |title=] |page=10:10 |translator-last=Brauner |translator-first=Reuven |publisher=] |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref> According to Maimonides, teaching non-Jews to follow the Seven Laws of Noah is incumbent on all Jews, a commandment in and of itself.<ref name="Kress"/> Over the centuries, most ] have rejected Maimonides' opinion, and the dominant halakhic attitude had always been that Jews are not required to spread the Noahide laws to non-Jews.<ref name="Kress"/>

Revision as of 10:38, 2 November 2020

Jewish religious movement based on the Seven Laws of Noah in Rabbinic Judaism
The rainbow is the unofficial symbol of Noahidism, representing God's promise to Noah to never again flood the earth and destroy humanity.
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Noahidism (/ˈnoʊə.haɪd.ɪsm/) or Noachidism (/ˈnoʊə.xaɪd.ɪsm/) 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 (Gentiles) 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 (Olam Ha-Ba), the final reward of the righteous. The divinely ordained 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 Bnei Noach (Template:Lang-he-n, "Children of Noah") or Noahides (/ˈnoʊ.ə.haɪdɪs/). 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 Bnei Noach 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. According to a Noahide source in 2018, there are over 20,000 official Noahides around the world, and the country with the greatest number is the Philippines.

The Seven Laws of Noah

Main article: Seven Laws of Noah

The seven laws listed by the Babylonian Talmud in Sanhedrin 56a are:

  1. Do not worship idols.
  2. Do not blaspheme God.
  3. Do not murder.
  4. Do not practice sexual immorality.
  5. Do not steal.
  6. Do not eat flesh from a living animal.
  7. Establish Courts of Justice to build upon these laws.

Historical precedents

Main articles: Ger toshav and God-fearer Further information: Hellenistic Judaism and History of the Jews in the Roman Empire

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 Ger toshav (Template:Lang-he-n, ger: "foreigner" or "alien" + toshav: "resident", lit. "resident alien") was granted to those Gentiles (non-Jews) living in the Land of Israel who didn't want to convert to Judaism but agreed to be bound by the Seven Laws of Noah. The Sebomenoi or God-fearers of the Roman Empire are also an 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 Mishneh Torah 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. Over the centuries, most Rabbinic authorities have rejected Maimonides' opinion, and the dominant halakhic attitude had always been that Jews are not required to spread the Noahide laws to non-Jews.

Modern Noahide movement

Today, there are two different concepts of Noahidism in Judaism:

  1. The B'nei Noah movement whose members observe the Seven Commandments 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 Torah (except for the Seven Laws), etc.
  2. The B'nei Noah movement whose members hold that they can adhere completely to Judaism in order to learn from the Jews and together promote the World to Come (Olam Ha-Ba) but without becoming a part of the Jewish people (i.e. without performing a giyur). After B'nei Noah 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 and Oury Amos Cherki.

High Council of B’nei Noah

Main article: High Council of B'nei Noah

A High Council of B’nei Noah, set up to represent B'nei Noah communities around the world, was endorsed by a group that claimed to be the new Sanhedrin.

Acknowledgment

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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 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Chabad-Lubavitch movement has been 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, and even more so if they accept or observe them. In 1991, they had a reference to these laws enshrined in a Congressional proclamation: Presidential Proclamation 5956, signed by then-President George H. W. Bush. Recalling Joint House Resolution 173, and recalling that the ethical and moral principles of all civilizations come in part from the Seven Noahide Laws, it proclaimed March 26, 1991, as "Education Day, USA". Subsequently, Public Law 102-14 formally designated the Lubavitcher Rebbe's 90th birthday as "Education Day, USA," with Congress recalling that "without these ethical values and principles, the edifice of civilization stands in serious peril of returning to chaos," and that "society is profoundly concerned with the recent weakening of these principles, that has resulted in crises that beleaguer and threaten the fabric of civilized society."

In April 2006, 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 Galilean city of Shefa-'Amr (Shfaram) — where Muslim, Christian, and Druze communities live side-by-side — also signed the document.

In March 2007, Chabad-Lubavitch gathered ambassadors from six countries to take part in a gathering to declare their support of the Noahide laws. They represented Poland, Latvia, Mexico, Panama, Ghana, and Japan. They were part of a special program organized by Harav Boaz Kali. In April, Abu Gosh mayor Salim Jaber accepted the seven Noahide laws as part of a mass rally by Chabad at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv. In May, the newly elected president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, met with a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi, Dovid Zaoui, who presented him with the literature on the Noahide laws.

In 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: “According to Jewish law, it’s forbidden for a non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel – unless he has accepted the seven Noahide laws, If the non-Jew is unwilling to accept these laws, then we can send him to Saudi Arabia, When there will be full, true redemption, we will do this.” Yosef further added: "non-Jews shouldn’t live in the land of Israel. If our hand were firm, if we had the power to rule, then non-Jews must not live in Israel. But, our hand is not firm. Who, otherwise be the servants? Who will be our helpers? This is why we leave them in Israel." 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:

The statement by Chief Rabbi Yosef is shocking and unacceptable. It is unconscionable that the Chief Rabbi, an official representative of the State of Israel, would express such intolerant and ignorant views about Israel’s non-Jewish population – including the millions of non-Jewish citizens.
As a spiritual leader, Rabbi Yosef should be using his influence to preach tolerance and compassion towards others, regardless of their faith, and not seek to exclude and demean a large segment of Israelis.
We call upon the Chief Rabbi to retract his statements and apologize for any offense caused by his comments.

See also

References

  1. ^ Feldman, Rachel Z. (August 2018). "The Children of Noah: Has Messianic Zionism Created a New World Religion?" (PDF). Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 22 (1). Berkeley: University of California Press: 115–128. doi:10.1525/nr.2018.22.1.115. Retrieved 31 May 2020 – via Project MUSE.
  2. ^ Kress, Michael (2018). "The Modern Noahide Movement". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  3. ^ Strauss, Ilana E. (26 January 2016). "The Gentiles Who Act Like Jews: Who are these non-Jews practicing Orthodox Judaism?". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 31 October 2020.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Tabachnick, Toby (22 July 2010). "Noahides establish website for interested followers". The Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  5. ^ Singer, Isidore; Greenstone, Julius H. (1906). "Noachian Laws". Jewish Encyclopedia. Kopelman Foundation. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  6. Maimonides, Moses (2012). "Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars)". Mishneh Torah. Translated by Brauner, Reuven. Sefaria. p. 8:14. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  7. Encyclopedia Talmudit (Hebrew ed., Israel, 5741/1981, entry Ben Noah, end of article); note the variant reading of Maimonides and the references in the footnote.
  8. Harris, Ben (26 June 2009). "Torah-embracing non-Jews fuel their movement online". JWeekly. San Francisco. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. ^ Ilany, Ofri (12 September 2018). "The Messianic Zionist Religion Whose Believers Worship Judaism (But Can't Practice It)". Haaretz. Tel Aviv. Archived from the original on 9 February 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  10. "Sanhedrin 56". Babylonian Talmud. Halakhah.
  11. ^ Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1986). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Vol. 3 (Fully Revised ed.). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. p. 1010. ISBN 0-8028-3783-2. In rabbinic literature the ger toshab was a Gentile who observed the Noachian commandments but was not considered a convert to Judaism because he did not agree to circumcision. some scholars have made the mistake of calling the ger toshab a "proselyte" or "semiproselyte." But the ger toshab was really a resident alien in Israel. Some scholars have claimed that the term "those who fear God" (yir᾿ei Elohim/Shamayim) was used in rabbinic literature to denote Gentiles who were on the fringe of the synagogue. They were not converts to Judaism, although they were attracted to the Jewish religion and observed part of the law.
  12. ^ Bleich, J. David (1995). Contemporary Halakhic Problems. Vol. 4. New York: KTAV Publishing House (Yeshiva University Press). p. 161. ISBN 0-88125-474-6. Rashi, Yevamot 48b, maintains that a resident alien (ger toshav) is obliged to observe Shabbat. The ger toshav, in accepting the Seven Commandments of the Sons of Noah, has renounced idolatry and thereby acquires a status similar to that of Abraham. Indeed, Rabbenu Nissim, Avodah Zarah 67b, declares that the status on an unimmersed convert is inferior to that of a ger toshav because the former's acceptance of the "yoke of the commandments" is intended to be binding only upon subsequent immersion. Moreover, the institution of ger toshav as a formal halakhic construct has lapsed with the destruction of the Temple.
  13. Jacobs, Joseph; Hirsch, Emil G. (1906). "Proselyte: Semi-Converts". Jewish Encyclopedia. Kopelman Foundation. Retrieved 31 October 2020. In order to find a precedent the rabbis went so far as to assume that proselytes of this order were recognized in Biblical law, applying to them the term "toshab" ("sojourner," "aborigine," referring to the Canaanites; see Maimonides' explanation in "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 7; see Grätz, l.c. p. 15), in connection with "ger" (see Ex. xxv. 47, where the better reading would be "we-toshab"). Another name for one of this class was "proselyte of the gate" ("ger ha-sha'ar," that is, one under Jewish civil jurisdiction; comp. Deut. v. 14, xiv. 21, referring to the stranger who had legal claims upon the generosity and protection of his Jewish neighbors). In order to be recognized as one of these the neophyte had publicly to assume, before three "ḥaberim," or men of authority, the solemn obligation not to worship idols, an obligation which involved the recognition of the seven Noachian injunctions as binding ('Ab. Zarah 64b; "Yad," Issure Biah, xiv. 7). The more rigorous seem to have been inclined to insist upon such converts observing the entire Law, with the exception of the reservations and modifications explicitly made in their behalf. The more lenient were ready to accord them full equality with Jews as soon as they had solemnly forsworn idolatry. The "via media" was taken by those that regarded public adherence to the seven Noachian precepts as the indispensable prerequisite (Gerim iii.; 'Ab. Zarah 64b; Yer. Yeb. 8d; Grätz, l.c. pp. 19–20). The outward sign of this adherence to Judaism was the observance of the Sabbath (Grätz, l.c. pp. 20 et seq.; but comp. Ker. 8b).
  14. Goodman, Martin (2007). "Identity and Authority in Ancient Judaism". Judaism in the Roman World: Collected Essays. Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity. Vol. 66. Leiden: Brill Publishers. pp. 30–32. ISBN 978-90-04-15309-7. ISSN 1871-6636.
  15. Maimonides, Moses (2012). "Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars)". Mishneh Torah. Translated by Brauner, Reuven. Sefaria. p. 10:9. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  16. Maimonides, Moses (2012). "Hilkhot M'lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars)". Mishneh Torah. Translated by Brauner, Reuven. Sefaria. p. 10:10. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  17. "Presidency". UCSB. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  18. "Thomas". LoC. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  19. ^ Sharon, Jeremy (28 March 2016). "Non-Jews in Israel must keep Noahide laws, chief rabbi says". The Jerusalem Post. Jerusalem. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  20. "Israel 2016 International Religious Freedom Report: Israel and the Occupied Territories" (PDF). State.gov. US Department of State-Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  21. ^ Greenblatt, Jonathan; Nuriel, Carole (28 March 2016). "ADL: Israeli Chief Rabbi Statement Against Non-Jews Living in Israel is Shocking and Unacceptable". Adl.org. New York: Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 1 June 2020.

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