Noahidism

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 (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 (, "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 "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 rainbow covenant of equal justice under law.
This was given over in the Book of Genesis chapter 9.
The Seven Laws of Noah.
The seven commandments of the Noahic Covenant enumerated in the Babylonian Talmud ("Avodah Zarah" 8:4, "Sanhedrin" 56a-b) are:
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 "ger toshav" (, "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 observe the Seven Laws of Noah. The "Sebomenoi" or God-fearers of the Roman Empire were 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. 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 in order to proselytize among them and commit them to follow the Noahide laws. However, these religious Zionist and Orthodox rabbis that guide the modern Noahide movement, who are often affiliated with the Third Temple movement, expound a racist and supremacist ideology which consists in the belief that the Jewish people are God's chosen nation and racially superior to non-Jews, and mentor Noahides because they believe that the Messianic era will begin with the rebuilding of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to re-institute the Jewish priesthood along with the practice of ritual sacrifices, and the establishment of a Jewish theocracy in Israel, supported by communities of Noahides. There are two different conceptions of Noahidism in Orthodox Judaism:
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".
High Council of B’nei Noah.
A High Council of B’nei Noah, 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 B'nei Noah consists of a group of Noahides who, at the request of the nascent Sanhedrin, gathered in Israel 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 beth din (religious court) of the nascent Sanhedrin.
The idea for the council was first conceived by Rabbi Avraham Toledano. He, as well as many others, understood that Noahides, like Jews, need a body of recognized leaders and scholars to whom they can turn for guidance in their study and observance of Torah, and who can help to unify the communities around the world. To this end, suitable candidates were sought out who would be willing and able to establish such a body. These nominees were brought together in mid-2005 by the personal invitation of, and under the supervision of an authorized representative of a controversial attempt to revive the Sanhedrin, forming a proto-Noahide Council. The founding proto-Council members then appeared before the same body in Jerusalem, on 9 January 2006.
The council is not a beth din, and does not have any legal (halakhic) power to make rulings. Rather, it states that it is an autonomous body of Noahide leaders and scholars with its halakhic (religious) supervision and guidance, to promote the education, unification, and edification of Noahides and Noahide communities around the world. The current members of the council were personally invited to take part in this endeavor. However, the members of the council were not "ordained". Rather, having been invited to participate, they agreed to work together to establish this council. The council was behind the establishment of the WikiNoah.org website.
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 April 4, 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 April 16, 1989, and April 6, 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) — where Muslim, Christian, and Druze communities live side-by-side — 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: “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: