Sanhedrin Recognizes Council to Teach Humanity 'Laws of Noah'
Originally published on IsraelNationalNews.com...
16:08 Jan 10, '06 / 10 Tevet 5766
By Ezra HaLevi
 A
group of non-Jewish delegates have come to Jerusalem to pledge their
loyalty to the Laws of Noah. They appeared before the nascent
Sanhedrin, which established a High Council for B'nai Noach.
The ten delegates appeared before a special session of the Jewish High Court of 71 Rabbis led by its Nassi
(President) Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz. B'nai Noach, literally
"Children of Noah," also known as Noahides, are non-Jews who take upon
themselves the Torah's obligations for all members of the human race.
The seven such laws were passed on via Noah following the Flood, as
documented in Genesis (see below).
The gathering took place under a banner quoting the Biblical passage
in Tzefania 3:9which refers to "all the nations... speak[ing] a pure
language... proclaim[ing] the name of G-d."
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| Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz addresses the Noahide Council members |
The Noahide delegates stood before the nascent Sanhedrin, which was reestablished over a year ago in Tiberias, following the renewal of Biblical ordination, and
has met regularly since then. "Each one [of the B'nai Noach] comes with
a name he has made in the world, as a teacher and example in his
community of observance of the seven laws of Noah," said Rabbi Michael
Bar-Ron, the Sanhedrin's emissary who facilitated the council's organization,
introducing the delegates. "At great physical and financial expense,
they have flown across the world to Jerusalem, the holy city, to pledge
before the court and all mankind, their allegiance to the Seven Laws of
Noah, the laws of the Creator."
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| B'nai Noah delegates sit before members of the nascent Sanhedrin in Jerusalem |
Each of the Noahide representatives stood before the Sanhedrin and pledged:
"I pledge my allegiance to HaShem, G-d of Israel, Creator and King
of the Universe, to His Torah and its representatives, the developing
Sanhedrin. I hereby pledge to uphold the Seven Laws of Noah in all
their details, according to Oral Law of Moses under the guidance of the
developing Sanhedrin. May HaShem bless and aid me, my fellow council
members and all B'nai Noach in all our endeavors for the sake of His
name. Blessed are You G-d, King of the universe, who has caused me to
live, sustained me, and brought me to this day."
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| Ben Noah Roger Grattan pledges before the Sanhedrin |
Roger Grattan, a council aide who lives in Maine, told Arutz-7 prior
to the ceremony, "I am sure that this will be a paragraph in the
history of civilization, although one could also write books on it. It
is also the fulfillment of prophecy." The core members of the council
are Indian Foreign Relations Coordinator Bud Gill, Billy Jack Dial,
Andrew Overall, Adam Penrod, Jacob Scharff, Chairman Larry Borntrager,
Honorary Noahide Council Elder Vendyl Jones, Tennessee Noahide
Community Head Jack Saunders and Council Speaker Jim Long.
Long addressed the rabbis of the court, requesting formal
recognition of the Noahide Council: "Your honor, esteemed rabbis of the
developing Sanhedrin. We are here because of your Torah. Rabbis before
you elevated the Torah and it drew us in; before that, we stumbled in
darkness. Everyone here today can tell you that in the past we have
experienced the need to consolidate our efforts to make the world aware
of the truth."
Rabbi Even-Israel Steinsaltz, on behalf of the Sanhedrin, replied:
"We hereby recognize these men as the first high council of B'nai Noach
in accordance with the conditions they have accepted upon themselves."
Rabbi Steinsaltz spoke about the role of the Jewish people in bringing the Laws of Noah to the world:
"I am part of this Jewish family and I have nothing bad to say about
that family, but you don't go up to a man on the street and ask him to
join your family. Instead you talk to him about joining the true belief
in the Creator and about implementing divine justice toward his fellow
man. We are setting up a global mission here – not to recruit people,
but to bring them to the realization that there is one G-d."
The Nassi explained that this aspect of Judaism lay dormant for
years, as the Jewish people dealt with remaining alive and keeping the
Torah in the exile.
Rabbi Steinsaltz called for an extensive project to be undertaken to
help B'nai Noah in the nitty-gritty details of the observance of the
religion. "A Shulhan Arukh [Jewish Law Code] for B'nai Noah must be
written so that the individual can have guidance as to what to do,"
Steinzaltz said, referring to the compendium of practical Jewish law
written by Rabbi Yosef Karo of Tzfat in the 1560's that is still used
today.
He then addressed the ten B'nai Noah representatives, who had endured hours of Hebrew speeches throughout the day, in English:
"There are those people, so far only a small number, who say, 'We
are bound by the covenant of Adam and the covenant of Noah and we know
we have to perform and fulfill our obligations.' We, as Jews, have the
same religion as you.
"Within the nation of Israel there is one tribe that deals with the
Temple – the priests. We Jews are a specific tribe in the world that
was chosen to be a tribe of priests – hereditary priests. Because of
this we have special duties. Being a priest does not mean we are cut
off from the other people. While the people of the world are all
different units in the armies of the Lord, we are a special commando
unit that maybe doesn't get paid more, but has special assignments that
may be more dangerous."
Rabbi Even-Israel spoke about the difficulties that would confront the B'nai Noah movement as it grows:
"When we are speaking in general, almost every human being can more
or less accept the laws of Noah, but when we get to particulars we will
come to serious points, at which we disagree with Christianity and
Islam.
"It is one thing when a religion is small, but as it gets bigger
there will be huge pressures. We will be there beside you. We are
members of the same religion that was given by the Almighty to
humanity. Part of it was given to the Jews and part of it was given to
humanity as a whole."
The Nassi added that while there are those who doubt the ability of
the Sanhedrin to be more than an idea leading up to the true
reestablished court, the Noahide Council cannot be doubted or
criticized due to its pure motives and unprecedented mission.
Rabbi Yaakov Ariel of the Temple Institute said that although
Tuesday is the Fast of the Tenth of Tevet, which commemorates the
beginning of the destruction, "Our sitting in Jerusalem now, alongside
B'nai Noach, demonstrates the revival and the fulfillment of the words
of the prophets." Rabbi Ariel told those gathered that he had seen a
rainbow that morning, "the closest thing to seeing Noah himself - the
symbol of the covenant between G-d and humanity as witnessed by Noah."
Famed archaeologist and Noahide leader Vendyl Jones addressed a
festive banquet held for the Council members, speaking about the Seven
Laws of Noah. He explained, in detail, the verses in the first eleven
chapters of Genesis from which the seven laws are elucidated, saying
that he always understood the first six, but never understood the law
proscribing the eating of a limb of a living animal - until he
remembered his cattle-branding days in Texas: "We would brand and
castrate the cattle when I was young, and at night we would all sit
around the campfire and eat what they called 'mountain oysters'" – the
testicles of the still-living animals.
Rabbi Nachman Kahane, Av Beit HaDin, spoke in English. "G-d created
a primitive world," he said. "We don't grow loaves of bread, but grain
that must be harvested, ground up and baked. We were meant to be
partners with G-d. Unfortunately, throughout history, perversions of
this idea grew. How can you be G-d's partner if you are damned and born
with original sin? How can you be a partner of G-d if your religion
tells you to send your children to shopping malls to blow people up?
What we are creating today is a reconnection between the people and
G-d. G-d is saying to humanity – everyone has a job. I happen to be a
priest - I have a particular task for when the Temple is built - but
all of us have a specific task just the same; I am no better."
Jones told Kahane that his brother, slain Knesset Member Rabbi Meir
Kahane, together with Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, had organized one of the
first conferences for B'nai Noah nearly 20 years ago.
Conference on Noahide Council
Earlier in the day, several speakers addressed issues surrounding
the B'nai Noah movement as part of a conference on the establishment of
the B'nai Noah Council.
Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi, a leader of the Italian Muslim Assembly,
addressed the assembly, speaking about B'nai Noah in Islam: "Islamic
law holds within it the seven laws of Noah and can be taught correctly
to the Muslims of the world... I remember reading that a new Sanhedrin
was created in Jerusalem [and] my impression was very positive - I
thought maybe something new had been created to allow the Jewish people
to project moral and legal clarity to counterbalance the lack of it in
our world."
Palazzi added that the project of creating a council of Noahide
teachers would hopefully counter the negative educational effect of the
Gaza withdrawal, "which taught the opposite to my people - it convinced
many that only terrorism works."
Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Zini, who heads Yeshiva Or V'Yishuah and is the
rabbi of Haifa's Technion, spoke about the intuitive natural truths of
the laws of Noah. "We must create a formal connection between the
nation of Israel and the B'nai Noah to show the world that we are a
nation of holy priests, as is dictated in our Torah," he said, speaking
partly in French as well, as the conference will be available on the
Sanhedrin's web site for viewing by prospective B'nai Noah worldwide.
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| Member of the Noahide Council at the conference earlier in the day |
Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, who received the blessing of leading
hareidi-religious Rabbi Shalom Elyashiv to engage in the project of
creating a court and infrastructure for B'nai Noah, addressed the
conference as well. Rabbi Schwartz is the Deputy Av Beit HaDin
[literally, Court Elder] of the Sanhedrin and the Av Beit HaDin for the
B'nai Noah court. He spoke on the topic of "B'nai Noah and World
Peace."
"The Islamic Jihad against the world has restored religion to the
center of the world's consciousness," Schwartz said. "Over 30 years
ago, someone by the name of Eisenberg sent a proposal to the United
Nations saying that there will never be world peace unless the citizens
of the globe agree on certain principles of faith. It was adopted by
the UN as one of its official documents but was not followed up upon
and has since been forgotten. We are here today to follow up on that
document and remind the UN why it exists. There will be world peace
when the whole world agrees that there is one G-d. There are people who
do not think what I am about to say is worthwhile, but I suggested
years ago that we begin to translate our books, which are meant for the
nations of the world, into Arabic as well [Schwartz has authored many
books on practical observance for Noahides –ed.]. It is not by
coincidence that we have this nation alongside us, surrounding and
living inside the land upon our return to it, who also preserves the
heritage of Abraham our father."
Schwartz has indeed translated his books to Arabic, with the help of
an Arab man he met at a bus stop who asked him a Mishanaic question,
telling him he had already translated the Mishna, a codification of
Jewish oral law. He said the entire printing has been sold out. "Muslim
parents have thanked me for teaching their child that there is a
different way to heaven than becoming a shahid, a martyr," he said.
Rabbi Schwartz explained that although one of the purposes of the
Jewish people's exile was to disseminate belief in the Torah's truths
around the world, their return to Israel has brought with it the
technology to redouble our efforts from here:
"The moment we came to Israel, communication technology flourished.
The telephone and radio spread rapidly, and computers and internet came
soon after, changing the entire concept of communication and education.
When we were in the exile, we were there to teach the world, and now
that we have returned to the Land of Israel, G-d has given us the tools
to do the work from here."
Rabbi David Zilbershlag, Director of Meir Panim and Koach Latet,
both innovative charity associations, spoke about rectifying the
misdeeds of Noah's generation, the generation of the Flood. Zilbershlag
said that the new Council of Noahides must focus on kindness and
charity, as that was the basis of G-d's covenant with Noah (the lack of
which resulted in the destruction of Noah's entire generation) and His
later covenant with Abraham.
"It is hard to distribute and spread an idea that is negative, as
the laws of Noah are phrased," Zilbershlag said. "We must make a great
effort to find and distribute the relevant positive commandments in our
tradition throughout the world as well, and the most basic of these is
that of following in the footsteps of Abraham our father."
Rabbi Eliyahu Essas, a former refusenik and founder of the Teshuva
(return to Judaism) movement in the USSR, spoke about establishing
outreach within Israel to help gentiles who moved from the former
Soviet Union to Israel become aware of the Noahide laws:
"There are at least 400,000 out of the million people who came to
Israel who are not Jewish according to Jewish law. There are many who
think they are Jews, but do not have a Jewish mother and are therefore
not Jewish according to Jewish law. 150,000 have no blood connection to
the nation of Israel – spouses of Jews and relatives who came under the
Law of Return. Then there are 30,000 who have nothing to do with the
Jewish people, coming with forged documents. Over there, Jews wanted to
be Russians; here, Russians want to be Jews.
"Should we harass such a person to convert, should we leave him
alone, or should we try to get him to become a Ben Noah?" Essas asked,
refraining from offering answers and saying that such complicated
matters must be dealt with by both the Noahide Council and the
Sanhedrin's B'nai Noah Beit Din. He added that the problem of
intermarriage was not discussed by previous generations because it did
not exist in such numbers. "We are dealing with 50% of families in the
former Soviet Union and even more in North America. So if one spouse is
a Jew and one is a Ben Noah, what will be their status? I want to raise
these issues and offer a prayer to the Almighty to help us find wise
solutions."
Council Looking Forward
Spokesman Jim Long outlined the Council's goals:
"Education is a vital part of our effort and we need you to help us
with this. We need to make sure that developing Noahide groups do not
split into denominations. As we move into the public eye, we will be
viewed as heretics by many. We each come from other religions and must
develop ways to approach them in a manner in which they listen without
closing their ears. The Noahide movement is a Torah-based template for
an ethical way of life. The Creator requires humanity to uphold these
laws as per His covenant with Noah.
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| Members of the B'nai Noah Council |
"Anyone who reads the Bible can see that your Torah is your
constitution, your Bill of Rights and your deed to the Land of Israel.
We have plans to publish Noahide prayer books, children's books and
documentaries on science and the world through the lens of the Torah."
"We have heard that G-d is with you," Long concluded.
For more information, the Council secretary can be contacted at:
dbtc@actcom.co.il
The Seven Laws of Noah are:
- Shefichat damim - Do not murder or commit suicide.
- Avodah zarah – Pray and offer sacrifices only to G-d. Do not worship false gods/idols.
- Gilui arayot - Do not be sexually immoral (no incest, sodomy, bestiality, castration and adultery), crossbreed animals or perform castration.
- Ever Min HaChai - Do not eat a part of a live animal or consume blood.
- Birkat Hashem - Do not utter G-d's name in vain, curse G-d or pursue the occult. Honor your parents.
- Gezel - Do not steal or kidnap.
- Dinim - Set up righteous and honest courts and apply fair justice in judging offenders and uphold the principles of the last five.
(Photos: Ezra HaLevi)
Originally published on IsraelNationalNews.com...
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