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Bnei
Noah, the Sanhedrin's relationship
with non-Jews
The Biblical, Monotheistic, Abrahamic
faith,
that was common among non-Jews who lived in or around Israel for
hundreds of years until the destruction of the second Temple, is called
in Rabbinic literature "the Covenant of Bnei Noah" or the "Noahide"
faith. This system of belief is thought by some scholars to be
the root of
Christianity
and Islam, as it is referred to both in the New Testament and the
Qur'an.
Judaism does not view itself as a universal religion, instead it sees
itself as a national faith. This is understood within the context
of the
Jewish teaching that there are seventy nations or groups of people in
the world. Each group of people must develop its own
form
of worship, unique to its own character. There is however a basic
minimum common to all proper faiths, and this is the Noahide
teachings. The Sanhedrin is required to play a role in helping to
clarify these most basic teachings, and each group of people in turn
must set
up its own religious court to expand, develop and adapt these laws to
fit the needs of its community of believers.
The history of the Noahide movement is difficult to trace outside of
the Ger Toshav of the Tanach. The movement, which seemed to be
thriving before the destruction of the Second Temple, was nearly
non-existent after the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Rabbi
Bindman mentions that a memorial tablet was found in a synagogue in
Turkey that "has two separate groups of names: one is of Jews, but the
other is of Greeks ... and it [the list of Greeks] is headed with the
words, 'and also these Fearers of the One...' A similar inscription has
also been found in the synagogue of Sardis, this time with three groups
of names: born Jews, full converts to Judaism, and observers of the
Seven Laws. The 'Fearers' are mentioned many times by the Roman
commentators and historians." Deuteronomy Rabbah (II:24)
attests to the existence of G-d Fearers in general, and a particular
G-d Fearer in the Roman Senate. Domitian, son of Vespasian complained
that the city of Rome was full of Jews. It seems possible
that many of those he believed to be Jew were in fact G-d Fearers.
According to Gedaliah Alon, Josephus also attests to the presence of
G-d Fearers, who were said to have absorbed the Jewish love of work.
More history of the Bnei Noah can be found here.
"Friends of the Sanhedrin's" Forum on
Bnei
Noah
The contact for Bnei Noah matters for the Sanhedrin is Roger Grattan.
Any e-mail concerning the Bnei Noach and the Sanhedrin should be sent
to him at sanhedrin.emissary@yahoo.com.
Jerusalem Court for Issues of Bnei Noah
 Rabbi Yoel
Schwartz,
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.
Rabbi
Schwartz is the Deputy Chancellor, Segan Av Beit Din, of the
Sanhedrin. He is also the Chief Justice, Av Beit Din, for
the Special Court for Matters
Concerning Bnei Noah, Beit Din L'inyanei Bnei Noach. This court has been set up to serve the
needs of
B'nei
Noah worldwide. At this point, the council will not serve as a
adjudicating
body.
The Special Court for Matters
Concerning Bnei Noah website can be found at http://www.thesanhedrin.org/en/courtbneinoah/
"It is our sincere hope that in years to come, the knowledge of the halakha,
Torah law, of the Seven Laws of Noah will grow to such a degree that
there
will be true Noahide judges," A justice on the court said. "One of the
goals is to
delineate clearly the seven laws and their applications according to
the
Mishneh Torah of the Rambam... Never before in recorded history have
B'nei Noah come together to be
ordained by the Sanhedrin for the purpose of spreading Noahide
observance of
laws... This is the first critical step of bringing
about the ultimate flowering of the brotherhood of mankind envisioned
by Noah,
the father of mankind."
The Seven Laws of Noah are:
Shefichat damim - Do not murder.
Gezel - Do not steal or kidnap.
Avodah zarah - Do not worship false gods/idols.
Gilui arayot - Do not be sexually immoral (engage in
incest, sodomy,
bestiality, castration and adultery)
Birkat Hashem - Do not utter G-d's name in vain, curse G-d
or pursue the
occult.
Dinim - Set up righteous and honest courts and apply fair
justice in
judging offenders and uphold the principles of the last five.
Ever Min HaChai - Do not eat a part of a live animal.
Questions to this court can be addressed to secretariat thesanhedrin.org
Rabbi Schwartz's
Bnei Noah website
 Rabbi Yoel
Schwartz spoke on
the topic of "B'nai Noah and World Peace."
Rabbi
Schwartz' website can be found at http://www.beni-noah.com
"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."
Questions to Rabbi Schwartz may be sent to: qabeni-noah.com
The United Noachide Council
United Noachide Council, Inc was
founded in 2006 by Billy Jack Dial to serve the needs of
Noahides worldwide. One of the
primary organization’s goals is
to support a democratic Noahide assembly that represents the interests
and needs of Noahide Communities throughout the world, and ultimately
to support a Supreme United Noachide Council composed of only qualified
Noahide judges which will have graduated from a yeshiva for B'nei
Noah in Israel.
This website for this council can be found on http://www.unitednoachidecouncil.org/
Billy
Jack Dial was one of a group of ten non-Jewish delegates assembled in
Jerusalem to pledge
their
loyalty to the Rabbinic interpretation of Scripture, and the Laws of
Noah in particular. He appeared before the nascent Sanhedrin and
declared the nascent Sanhedrin his authority in halachic matters.
The United Noachide Council currently maintains a set of Noahide Courts for
arbitration. Branch
UNC organizations are in process of formation at
various locations throughout the world. The goal of the UNC, Inc.
organization is to have branches in every country. The UNC seeks to
support and unify Noahides worldwide. They "promote diversity with the
understanding that we all share the foundation of the Seven Noahide
Laws - including the Chabad approach - but we are not limited to any
one approach. We seek to provide assistance to all 70 Noahide nations,
each in their own unique way."
Questions to the United Noachide
Council may be sent to: billyjdialunitednoachidecouncil.com
Related links
People
who visit the nascent
Sanhedrin's website, also often
visit these sites
They represent some
initiatives to
restore a Biblical hertitage and culture to the Jewish People. They are often of interest to
English speaking visitors to this site. Disclaimer: They are not in
any way related, approved
or endorsed by the nascent Sanhedrin,
and may contain information contrary to the position of the nascent
Sanhedrin.
WikiNoah.org
Everything worthwhile to know
about the Bnei Noah movement. The first online encyclopedia about the
Noahide
movement.
Complete list of
Noahide Websites
| Maillists | Publications | Leaders
1st Covenant
Foundation
Michael
Dallen, a longtime writer and attorney, Jack E. Saunders, who began his
professional career as a Baptist pastor, and Rabbi Michael Katz provide
a wide variety of information on the Noahide Covenant, which they also
call the Rainbow Covenant or Universal Covenant. Michael Dallen's
book can be found here
AskNoah.org
Welcome to AskNoah.org and United
Noahide Academies, associated with
the Chabad Lubavitch movement. In the Internet section of the United
Noahide Academies project, students have an opportunity for in-depth
learning of selected kosher material based on quality resources that
are already available on-line. A student may enroll in one or two
courses per session.
Beni-Noah,
Rabbi Yoel
Schwartz
Rabbi
Yoel Schwartz
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.
Rabbi
Schwartz is the Deputy Chancellor,Segan Av Beit HaDin of the nascent Sanhedrin
and the Chief Justice,Av Beit HaDin
for the B'nai Noah court.
B'nai Noach, Billy Jack Dial.
This website presents a public news, information and forums
to link
communities belonging to the Noahide Movement around the world. Billy Jack also hosts the Noachide Wikipedia, the online
encyclopedia of the Noahide movement, as well as a Bnai Noach friends social site
and the United
Noachide Council.
Noahide Nations
The Noahide Nations web community
sponsored and created by Torah
Centered Noahides, and is dedicated to Torah Centered Noahides as well
as those who wish to become Torah Centered Noahides, providing many
articles as well as virtual online study courses.
This website was
established by "Volunteers for the Sanhedrin Initiative Online" in
consultation with the nascent Sanhedrin.
It is authorized to distribute information. However the material
presented here has not necessarily been
reviewed by the Sanhedrin and may or may not represent the official
position of the Sanhedrin
Copyright © 2006-2008, All rights reserved.
webmaster@thesanhedrin.org
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