Noahidism

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The rainbow is a modern symbol of Noahidism

Noahidism or Noachidism is a monotheistic ideology based on the Noachidic commandments and their rabbinical interpretation.

According to Jewish law, Gentiles ( Goi ) do not have to convert to get a place in the world to come ( Olam Haba ), but they should obey the Noahidic Commandments. People who submit to the commandments are called children of Noah ( B'nei Noach, Hebrew בני נח) Noahids or Noahites. Several organizations for Noahids have sprung up around the world in the last few decades.

Historically, the term B'nei Noach was used to refer to all non-Jews as descendants of Noah. Today the term is used more in connection with persons who obey the Noahid commandments.

The Noahid commandments and God's covenant

According to the Book of Genesis , God saved Noah's family from the flood in Noah's ark . As the only survivors, Noah's sons Shem , Ham and Jafet, along with their wives, are the tribal parents of mankind. When the catastrophe was over, God made a covenant with them and all animals that he would never destroy the earth again, but also put the Noahidic commandments into a legal form. Thereupon one speaks of the Noahidic commandments, although some of them were already known to Adam .

Maimonides

Maimonides collected all the Talmudic and Halachic decisions of his time (1135) and interpreted them in his fourteen- volume work Mishne Torah . Another collection with an explanation and interpretation of the Noahidic commandments can be found in Sefer Schoftim, in the last part Hilchot Melachim U'Milchamot , ("The laws of kings and wars"). Some details of these laws can also be found in Midrashian literature.

Modern Noahidism

Some Jewish groups were particularly active in promoting Noahid laws. This includes members of the Chabad movement (Hebrew: חב"ד), a Hasidic group of Orthodox Judaism , whose Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson started a global Noahid campaign.

Another Noahid associated group is the Dor Daim movement (Hebrew דרדעים).

A B'nei Noah council was established in 2006 to represent the B'nei Noah congregations of the world and was "recognized" by a self-appointed group of the new Sanhedrin .

recognition

In the 1980s , Rabbi Meir Kahane held one of the first Noahid conferences. In 1990, Kahane was a speaker at the First International Conference of the Descendants of Noah in Fort Worth , Texas . The Chabad movement has so far been one of the most active groups in Noahidism's public relations work. This is mainly due to the conviction that recognition, observance and acceptance of the commandments bring social and spiritual value to non-Jews as well. In 1991 the commandments were mentioned in a proclamation by the then US President George HW Bush .

In April 2006, the Druze spiritual leader ( Qādī ) , Sheikh Muwaffak Tarif , met a representative of the Chabad movement to sign a declaration calling on all non-Jews in Israel to obey the Noahid commandments. The then mayor of Schefar'am , a small Arab town east of Haifa where Muslims, Christians and Druze coexist , also signed the document.

That same year in April, Abu Gosh Mayor Salim Jaber signed the bids as part of a mass rally at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv . In May, the then newly elected President of France Nicolas Sarkozy met with Chabad Rabbi Dovid Zaoui, who presented Sarkozy with literature on the teachings of Noahidism.

In 2016 Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef taught that non-Jews who would reside in Israel must be Noahids: “According to Jewish law, it's forbidden for a non-Jew to live in the Land of Israel - unless he has accepted the seven Noahids laws ” . The Anti-Defamation League strongly condemned Yosef's statements and ordered him to withdraw them.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mishne Torah , Hilchot Melachim 8:14
  2. ↑ Encyclopedia Talmudit (Hebrew edition, Israel, 5741/1981, entry Ben Noah )
  3. ^ Samuel Atlas, Dimensions 1,2; 1967; P. 22.
  4. ↑ Maimonides' Law of Noahides . In: WikiNoah .
  5. ^ The Rebbe and President Ronald Reagan .
  6. ^ Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides
  7. ↑ Arutz Sheva
  8. ↑ Meir Kahane: Rabbi Meir Kahane speaks at the First International Conference of the Descendants of Noah .
  9. ↑ Thomas . LoC. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  10. ^ Presidency . UCSB. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  11. ^ Druze Religious Leader Commits to Noachide "Seven Laws" . January 18, 2004. Retrieved August 22, 2017. 
  12. ^ French President Sarkozy Discusses Sheva Mitzvos , chabad.info; accessed on August 22, 2017
  13. ^ "Non-Jews in Israel must keep Noahide laws, chief rabbi says" , The Jerusalem Post , March 28, 2016