Way before Judaism came into being and before there were any Israelites, there were people who tried to live as G'd, HaShem prescribed. In fact, these precepts are universal for all mankind and consist of 7 rules.
The 1st: Avoda Zara - Prohibition of idolatry
Not for nothing is one of the most famous phrases in Judaism, the Sh'ma:
Sj’ma Jisraël, HaSjem Elohenoe, HaShem Echad
Listen Israel, The Eternal is Our G'd, The Eternal is ONE
t implies that HaShem, The Eternal Who is Praised, is one G'd and that we must worship only Him
and no other (off)gods. These can be material gods or immaterial gods.
We can delve much further into this, but this is something that a Noahide discovers gradually on his/her path.
So there is much more to this one rule.
In short, I add that the three-one deity of christianity is also incorrect.
A christian may be shocked by this.
But by way of reassurance, the one G'd is directly to
pray to, call upon for help and is not far away. In fact, G'd is everywhere,
omnipresent and every person may regard HaShem as The Father.
The 2nd: Birkat HaShem - Prohibition of G'd blasphemy
This is not the same as improper/impertinent language, but to use specific words,
to actually want to destroy HaShem, The Creator of all that exists.
This rule is there particular to protect us, and you could compare G'd blasphemy a bit to insulting a king,
or governing authority, and you more or less are wishing to throw society
into chaos.
The 3rd: Shefichut Danim - Prohibition of murder
It is forbidden to kill yourself or others. And what many people do not realize is that
this also applies to unborn life (abortion), except in exceptional circumstances. every
human being and therefore every human life is of enormous value and unique. Also, virtually all of the
commandments may be violated when it comes to saving a life. If someone comes to
take away your life or that of your loved ones, then you may kill that person. By the way, killing is
something different from killing.
The 4th: Arajot - Prohibition of sexual immorality
Because HaShem prescribes a good quality family life, adultery and incest are
forbidden. Everything starts with love between husband and wife, forming a family and if this is good,
this can also carry over into society. Thus, a balanced, loving
society in which people can grow and flourish and there is a valuable high-quality
high-quality way of life for every human being.
The 5th: Companion - Prohibition of theft.
Virtually all the other commandments are related to this. When violated, someone always suffers,
namely G'd or another human being. But this prohibition goes a lot further and to properly
understand it,
you would have to study further. Anyone can figure out that an overt
robbery,
stealthy stealing, or fraud or embezzlement are included. But also a false impression,
engaging in other things during working hours, or using falsified measuring instruments
are also included. It also includes not paying someone for work done, not paying off debts
or return an item borrowed, and serious acts such as kidnapping
or rape are a form of theft.
The 6th: Ever Min Hachai - Prohibition against eating part of a living animal
This commandment may be a bit tricky because it seems very specific. You might think of a lobster
for example. By the way, this is not kosher animal for Jews and many Noahides will not
eat it easily. But this specifically also means that meat taken from an animal, which was still alive or
was not dead, should not be eaten. And by extension of this commandment, you can argue
that we should treat animals carefully and not treat them badly, even if they are
them there for human consumption, so this commandment also goes
beyond what you think.
The 7th: Diniem - Commandment of justice
If, in trying to keep the other commandments, we also actively try to
encourage with the help of instituted courts, thus establishing a rule of law, we encourage
us to also actually create a fair viable society. And in doing so
we break the normally in nature common "right of the strongest." With the
establishment of courts also increases and strengthens the quality of a society.
Written by Dawied Bakker
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