Embrace Your Freedom

For many Noahides, the Pesach (Passover) message of freedom resonates with us because of the journey we are on. We feel as though we too have been brought out of being exiled from God. The holiday is especially dear to my heart because it was a month before Pesach in 2004 that I gave up my former religion and resolved to be a Noahide.

I even remember my exact thought in that moment – at 2:00am, after a month of reading nearly everything published by Jews for Judaism – “Well, that’s it then! I’m definitely not a Christian; I’m a Noahide!” And so I became free and began this journey of learning and growing, peace and happiness.

Every Passover, my favorite line from the seder is, “This year we are slaves, next year may we be free men.” There are many wonderful commentaries on what this means, but my favorite is one that makes me feel connected with my neighbors, family, and friends. It states that even though I am now free from idolatry and organized religion, I won’t be fully free until all those around me are free as well. It serves as a great reminder of the universal message of Torah principles for all of humanity. As my husband likes to say, “Until all of us are free, none of us are free.”

Being a Noahide is a great blessing and joy, but it comes with some unique struggles. One issue many struggle with is how to embrace our new found freedom as Torah-observant Noahides. This is partly because the Noahide path has not yet been fully re-mapped out, in our times, and partly because the Seven Laws allow us such an enormous degree of freedom. In other words, there is no well-worn, beaten path to follow. There are no canned answers to questions like “Where do I go from here?” or “How do I study the Seven Laws?” or “What exactly does HaShem require of me?” And, it’s easy to end up feeling out of place and overwhelmed.

After years of meeting and talking with fellow Noahides about our shared experiences, I’ve decided to compile some tips and ideas which have helped many of us, and which continue to help and motivate me in my Noahide journey. These are things I wish I had known early in my Noahide days, as they would have made my journey much easier.

B’ezrath HaShem (God willing), for your consideration, I will be releasing future articles discussing each the following topics and how they unfold in a Noahide’s life. Pray for my success. I hope new (and even old) Noahides find some of this helpful in navigating your new found, God-given freedom.

1. Make New Friends
2. Keep Your Thinking Hat On
3. Learn How To ‘Student’
4. Study the Sheva Mitswoth
5. Find Your Noahide Purpose
6. Pace Yourself To Avoid Burnout
7. Enjoy Life and Bless HaShem

A note of warning, though: I won’t lie to you, or sugar coat the difficulties of following this Noahide path we’ve embarked upon. There is much we need to learn, but few ways to learn it. You’ll encounter many conflicting opinions with little direction on how to determine what is correct. The Noahide movement will seem haphazard, lost and disoriented. There are times that you will feel frustrated and disheartened.

Whenever you have one of these difficult moments, remember to place your hope in Hashem, and he will renew your strength. Then, you will soar as if on the wings of eagles, you shall run and not grow weary, you shall walk and not faint ^[1]Isaiah 40:31.

For those of us who choose to live as Noahides, we must recognize that these difficulties are merely growing pains. They are the features of an organic, grassroots movement which is rediscovering something which was almost lost to the mists of time. For us, this is the beginning of a unique historical opportunity to bring Torah back into the world. This is a time for pioneers.

Peace be the journey.