Our book "Brit Shalom," which is a guidebook of laws and instructions for the Noahide laws, consists of 14 short chapters. We will study them slowly, starting with the first two chapters that focus on fundamental principles. The first chapter is called "Who are Noahides?" and the second deals with the basic principles of the laws for Bnei Noach.
Today, we will begin with the first chapter, titled " Who are Noahides?" At the beginning of each chapter, there are relevant verses from Torah related to our topic. Here, it comes from the Book of Genesis, Chapter 9:
"And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: And I, behold, I am setting up My covenant with you and with your seed after you." (Genesis 9: 8-9)
We see that there is a universal covenant between the Creator of the world and all of humanity, even before the covenant with the people of Israel. In other words, the covenant with the people of Israel follows a more ancient covenant—the covenant with all of humankind.
One could say that this is essentially the requirement of the Holy One, blessed be He, from humanity—how they must behave to maintain a covenantal relationship with the Creator of the world and cleave to Him.
So, we now begin the first chapter, which is composed of 13 sections. Let’s read a few of them:
- The Creator of the universe singled out the uniqueness of the human species from all created beings, as the Torah says that Adam was created "in the image of God."
This means that, compared to animals, the stars, the sun, the moon, and everything else in the world, there is something special about humans. Through their identity and behavior, they reveal the will of the Creator. Therefore, they are said to be in the "image of God," and this comes with obligations.
- The Jewish tradition holds that the Creator has sealed a covenant with human beings, which primarily includes seven commandments known as the "Noahide Laws”.
- Every person is obligated to accept the binding validity of the seven commandments that were commanded to the descendants of Noah.
I will briefly explain: Just as any person who becomes a citizen of any country accepts that country’s laws, whether they are to their advantage or not, a person who wants to become a Noahide and accept that status also accepts the binding nature of this constitution, even before they decide to observe its commandments.
