I am frequently asked the question, “What religion are you?” As a Noahide, that’s a difficult question to answer, unless people are willing to sit down for a brief lecture on Judaism. I could simply say, “I’m a Noahide”, or “I’m a Ben Noah who follows the Sheva Mitzvot”, or “I follow the religion of Judaism.” But, these answers tend to either confuse the questioner, or make them think that I’m a Jew.
Here’s the answer I would really like to give:
I follow the religion of Judaism. Now, before you say, “Oh, so you’re Jewish,” let me clarify, further.
I am not Jewish. Unlike being “Christian” or “Muslim”, being “Jewish” means that you are part of an ethnic people – the nation of Israel. I am not part of this ethnic people. You can trace my family back to the dawn of time, and you will find no Jewish ancestors. Nor am I converting to Judaism, which means joining the nation of Israel, and I have no plan or desire to ever do so.
However, a person can follow the religion of Judaism without joining the nation of Israel. In this regard, Judaism is unlike any other religion – it is truly a universal religion, which includes all of humanity, regardless of race, sex, skin color, nationality, ethnicity, or culture. To follow the Jewish religion, a person does not have to become an Israelite/Jew and give up their ethnicity or culture. Rather, one must simply follow the Torah as it applies to gentiles (ie. non-Jews). One who does so is called a Noahide or Ben Noah (literally “Child of Noah”).
The Torah, which is the foundation of the Jewish religion and the Jewish people, is a set of instructions that were given to the first human being (Adam), expounded upon to the Biblical figure Noah after the flood, and finalized to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, some 3000 years ago. These instructions (the literal definition of “Torah”) define humanity’s purpose in the universe, and outline the specific details of how we are to go about accomplishing this purpose.
The Jewish people were set aside by God, at Mount Sinai, as mankind’s priesthood which would protect and safeguard this Torah through the ages, so that the rest of humanity would have the opportunity to learn our purpose in the universe. If this had not been done, God’s instructions would have been lost to history. This is what is meant by the oft misunderstood statement that the Jews are the “chosen” people – they were “chosen” to be the guardians of God’s Torah, while the rest of mankind are the “lay people”.
As a Noahide (aka “Ben Noah”, or “Righteous Non-Jew”), I live my life according to the Torah as it applies to someone who is not Jewish. This means that I am obligated to keep the “Sheva Mitzvot” (ie. the “Seven Laws of Noah”), which are:
- Do not worship false gods.
- Do not curse God.
- Do not murder.
- Do not commit sexual immorality.
- Do not steal.
- Do not eat a limb or flesh from a living creature.
- Establish courts of justice.
These Seven Laws are, more accurately, seven categories which contain many specific details. For example, the injunction not to steal includes injunctions regarding fraud, fair wages, the concept of giving charity to the poor, contract law, and many other details.
The Seven Laws are, essentially, a set of moral instructions for living one’s life, and a blueprint for creating a just and peaceful society. They can be fit into any ethnic or cultural framework without requiring that framework to be significantly altered (with the exception of immoral attributes of that framework – for example, if murder is a huge part of everyday life in your society, you’d have to change that). In this way, anyone can follow the religion of Judaism, without having to change their cultural and ethnic identity in any way. And, the more people observe these seven precepts, the more just and peaceful their society becomes.
Because of the Jewish people’s special mission, as the priesthood of humanity and guardians of the Torah, they have many additional responsibilities beyond the Seven Laws of Noah (such as eating only kosher food, resting on the Sabbath, wearing tefillin, etc.). However, I am not obligated to keep any of these additional laws, because I am not part of that priesthood.
Rather, my duty as a Noahide is to keep my Seven Laws. Doing so will make my little slice of the world (ie. my family, my workplace, my city, my nation, etc.) a more enlightened, just, and Godly place.
So, in a nutshell, I’m a Noahide. I follow the religion of Judaism as it applies to me, as a non-Jew.
Of course, most people don’t have the patience or desire to sit and listen to such an explanation, so I’ll probably just continue to tell them, “That’s a difficult question.” But, maybe now I can point them to this article, too.
2 Comments
I’m new to Noahidism, and I can’t figure out how seven “Noahide Laws” were gleaned from B’reshiyt 9:2-7. I only count 4… Since I seem to have come to Noahidism from the wrong direction (out of Christianity and the Hebrew Roots Movement), could you please explain the How and Why of the seven laws presented as the Noahide laws?
The reality is that they are gleaned from many places throughout the Torah, not only from that one section.
For example, the Rambam explains (in the Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Melakhim 9:5), that several of the prohibitions against sexual immorality can be derived from Bereishit (Genesis) 2:24, which states, “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife and they shall become one flesh.”
They are derived as follows:
* “His father” – this forbids any woman who was ever his father’s wife.
* “his mother” – this is to be understood simply.
* “cling to his wife” – this forbids adultery (ie. being with his colleague’s wife).
* “his wife” – this forbids homosexuality.
* “They shall become one flesh” – this forbids bestiality, for man can never become “one flesh” with animals.
I am currently working on an article which will show in more detail where each of the Seven Laws can be derived from the Written Torah. Keep an eye out for it.