By Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz

Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grasses, I give you all these. You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in

it. ~ Bereishis 9:3

Every Jew is obligated to keep all the mitzvos and also to help all other Jews keep the mitzvos. However, are we obligated to assist non-Jews in their fulfillment of the sheva mitzvos b’nei Noach? Are we obligated to teach them these mitzvos? Is it advisable? For most of Jewish history, we couldn’t even contemplate such an effort, since we were not in a position to influence the religious beliefs or actions of others who were not Jewish. However, today we can often educate our neighbors and co-workers as to how the Torah views their obligations. Should we take advantage of the current situation and promote the sheva mitzvos b’nei Noach to non-Jews, or should we remain passive and take a “live and let live” attitude with the hope that the non-Jewish communities come to this knowledge on their own?

Ohr LaGoyim

Yeshayahu HaNavi (42:6, 46:6) tasks the Jewish people to serve as an ohr lagoyim — a light unto the nations. The straightforward meaning of this pasuk would point us in the direction of reaching out and teaching non-Jews. However, Rashi (s.v. L’Ohr) explains that the “goyim” referred to in the pasuk are not the nations of the world, but in fact the various shevatim of the Jewish people, each one considered its own “goy.” According to Rashi, this pasuk is not a source to actively teach non-Jewish nations. Additionally, the Radak (s.v. L’Bris) writes that though the pasuk does include a duty to teach the nations of the world about the sheva mitzvos, it only applies in the times of the geulah, when we will have an opportunity to properly educate non-Jews as to their role in serving Hashem. Unfortunately, we have many reminders that we are not yet in such a time of geulah, and thus, according to the Radak as well, we cannot use this pasuk as a source to teach non-Jews about their obligations. The Netziv (Ha’Amek Davar, Bereishis 9:27, and more explicitly in Harchev Davar Bereishis 17:5), on the other hand, writes that already today the Jewish people are tasked with teaching the nations of the world about monotheism and what the belief in Hashem entails. Arguably, this includes all the details of the sheva mitzvos b’nei Noach.

Sources and Authorities that

Encourage Teaching Non- Jews

The Gemara (Chagigah 13a) derives from the pasuk (Tehillim 147:20): lo asah chein l’chol goy umishpatim bal yeda’um — “He did not do so (teach Torah) to all the nations, and of His laws He did not inform them,” that it is generally forbidden to teach Torah to non- Jews. Tosafos (ibid., s.v. Ein), though, explains that this prohibition does not apply to the sheva mitzvos, as the Gemara (Sanhedrin 59a) writes that a non-Jew who studies these mitzvos can reach the level of the kohen gadol, and one who helps facilitate this learning would be fulfilling a great mitzvah. However, the Bach (Chagigah 13a 40) cites the Ein Yaakov that it was only praiseworthy for non-Jews to study these mitzvos before Har Sinai. The Gemara (Bava Kamma 38a) says that after the giving of the Torah, the nations of the world ceased being obligated in the sheva mitzvos. They can still fulfill them as an eino metzuveh v’oseh, someone performing a mitzvah that is not obligated to do so, but they receive less reward than they would have had they been commanded. Based on this, the Teshuvos P’nei Yehoshua (Y.D. 3) writes that since they are not commanded in these mitzvos, there is no obligation for the Jewish people to try to teach them.

Rav Moshe Feinstein (Iggeros Moshe Y.D. 3:89) and Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (Kovetz Teshuvos 3:142) both assume that the opinion of Tosafos is accepted and that it is a mitzvah in theory. Similarly, the Yad Eliyahu (47) argues that the Rambam also agrees with this, since he writes (Hilchos Ma’aseh Korbanos 19:16) that one is permitted to teach a non-Jew how to offer korbanos, since he is permitted to do so, and we are obligated to help facilitate his performance of this mitzvah. In general, the Rambam (Hilchos Melachim 8) writes that Moshe Rabbeinu commanded us, when we can, to compel non-Jews to keep these mitzvos. Furthermore, the Rambam writes (Sefer HaMitzvos 3) that the mitzvah of ahavas Hashem includes a call to bring others to love Hashem. This too can be a source to teach the non-Jewish world about monotheism and the sheva mitzvos. These sources all imply that we should teach non-Jews, and indeed, the Shulchan Aruch HaRav (Hilchos Talmud Torah 1:14) rules that there is a mitzvah to teach the sheva mitzvos to non-Jews. The seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe put this into practice and famously attempted to actively teach the sheva mitzvos to non-Jews throughout the world.

Opposition to the Practice

Several Torah leaders opposed the practice of actively and purposefully teaching the sheva mitzvos to non-Jews. The clearest formulation of this position can be found in Rav Moshe Shternbuch’s teshuvah on the matter (Teshuvos V’Hanhagos 3:317). First, he writes, even if we can convince non-Jews to keep the sheva mitzvos, they would likely only be doing so within the rubric of their belief system as they understand G-d. However, there is no fulfillment of the sheva mitzvos unless they are ascribed to Hashem and His Torah, and thus it is pointless to teach non-Jews who will remain believers in other religions.

Second, the Gemara (Bava Basra 10b) tells us that our galus will only end when the merits of the non-Jews are “dried up.” Thus, it is not in our interest to increase the merit of the other nations, which will extend our exile. While there is a prohibition of lifnei iver to entice a non-Jew to violate one of the sheva mitzvos, it is also not our responsibility to actively ensure that they are keeping them either. Third, Rav Sternbuch points out that from a halachic perspective we have no arvus, or mutual responsibility, for the actions of the non-Jews.

Similarly, Rav Moshe Feinstein (Mesoras Moshe vol. 1 p. 504) was opposed to teaching the sheva mitzvos to non-Jews, explaining that there is no obligation to give tochachah (rebuke) to non-Jews, as there is toward fellow Jews. Rav Moshe also expressed concern that we should not give the impression that we are proselytizing the other nations and religions, since this could arouse resentment and hatred toward us. For these reasons, Rav Moshe also believed that we should focus on our own obligations and simply leave non-Jews to their own devices regarding the sheva mitzvos.