Monday, 14 May 2007

Through Moshe Rabbenu or Noach Avinu?


Deuteronomy 33.4 תּוֹרָה צִוָּה-לָנוּ מֹשֶׁה מוֹרָשָׁה קְהִלַּת יַעֲקֹב:


Deuteronomy 33.4 The Law (Torah) commanded to all of you by Moshe as a possession to the assemblies of Ya'aqov.



So who is given the Law? The Congregation of Ya'akov. Who is commanded to keep the Law? None other than the Children of Yisrael. However, what is said about us? What is said to Noach Avinu?



Genesis 9.9 וַאֲנִי הִנְנִי מֵקִים אֶת-בְּרִיתִי אִתְּכֶם וְאֶת-זַרְעֲכֶם אַחֲרֵיכֶם:


Genesis 9.9 And I will establish My Covenant with all of you and with all of your seeds after you.



This is what God Told Noach Avinu, He will Establish a Covenant with humanity and before Establishing the Covenant, He Commanded us concerning our Mitzvah, adding to it the Seventh Law of not eating limb from a Live animal. (Ever Min Ha Chai). This is recorded in Verse 9.1 to 9.7, we have every reason to believe that the Sixth preceeding Commandments have been Given to Adam after his fall.


Subsequently we are back to square one, do we accept the Covenant as based in the Brit with Noach Avinu, or we accept the Covenant because it is reiterated through the Torah of Moshe Rabbenu? It is quite clear that from the above verses, we should accept the Covenant based on what God Has Established with Noach Avinu. However, what does the relevancy of the Sinai Revelation here to us?


Only through the Sinai Revelation that the world will know the One True Lord is who. Prior to this, I have read that before the Torah, the Patriarchs wrote a number of scrolls, from Adam to Abraham, and these are studied by the Israelites prior to the giving of the Torah. They also possess a scroll that resembles Genesis (citation needed). However, if the Torah has not been revealed to the Jews, it will be impossible for us to have the knowledge of the One and Only God.


It is interesting to know that Shem set up a study centre about the One True God in Jerusalem. However, outreach only begins in the time of Abraham.


Back to the Question, so do we accept the Covenant through Noach Avinu or through Moshe Rabbenu?


In my personal opinion, we accept the Covenant through Noach Avinu and we get to know the Covenant nowadays through Moshe Rabbenu. The Covenant is 'renewed' in Sinai because it has been spoken off explicitly and from that time on, it has became a Written Word of God. So we accept the Covenant because it has been establish by God to Noach, as stated explicitly in the Torah by God to Moshe Rabbenu. This is because the only reliable Divine record is in the Torah. This we have to Thanks HaShem because there is only one Torah Scroll.


The Law (Torah) is not our possession and this the very reason why we accept the Covenant because it has been Established to Noach. If the scroll Written about Noach or by Noach is still found, we might be able to use it for our purpose to discover the world. No doubt that the Torah is Written mostly concerning Jews but from the Torah, we can 'construct' a whole set of teaching relevant to us Gentiles, the rest of humanity.


I have heard from somewhere (citation needed) that the Jewish people is Commanded to teach the Gentiles about their responsibility to God. This is very true because only them have such ability and resource.

1 comment:

Eddie said...

I have heard from somewhere (citation needed) that the Jewish people is Commanded to teach the Gentiles about their responsibility to God.




"Seven commandments were the sons of Noah commanded: (1) concerning adjudication, (2) and concerning idolatry, (3) and concerning blasphemy, (4) and concerning sexual immorality, (5) and concerning bloodshed, (6) and concerning robbery, (7) and concerning a limb torn from a living animal" -- (Talmud Sanh.56a).

"This obligation, to teach all the peoples of the earth about the Laws of Noah, is incumbent upon every individual in every era" -- (Mishnah Torah, Law of Kings 8:10).

Also:


I am referring to the mitzvah, outlined by RaMBaM in his Hilkhot Melakhim 8:10 to reach
out and teach our Gentile neighbors the seven laws of universal morality & spirituality,
known as the Sheva Mitzvot D’Benei Noah.

I hope this is close to what you ask.

Shalom.