7 CommandmentsAsk the Rabbi - Customs and Practices

Ten Commandments for Noahides

Q: Is it true that the Ten Commandments do not apply to non-Jews?

Q: Is it true that the Ten Commandments do not apply to non-Jews? I do not understand. Shouldn’t such commands as to honor a father or mother or the prohibition of adultery be respected by all mankind? Does this mean that non-Jews are not bound by these commands?

 

A: I do not know any source for such a statement. It is true that the Ten Commandments were specifically given to the Jews, as is indicated by the first commandment: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” Similarly the reason for the command to rest on Shabbat is, according to the version of of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy, “Remember that you were a slave in Egypt.” And the reason given for the command to respect parents is, “So that your days on the land that God gave you will be increased.”

However, the Ten Commandments correspond in essence to natural moral duties and to the Noachide laws, which were in effect before the revelation at Mount Sinai. A non-Jew is therefore bound by the requirements of the Ten Commandments to respect parents or not to commit adultery, because the formal source of these commands is older than the specific text.

 

Rabbi Oury Cherki

Rav Oury Cherki was born in Algeria in 1959 and grew up in France, and he made Aliyah in 1972. He studied at Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, which was founded by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook. He performed his military service in the artillery branch of the IDF. He studied with Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Rav Yehuda Leon Ashkenazi (Manitou), Rav Shlomo Binyamin and Achlag. Rav Cherki heads the Israeli department of Machon Meir, and he is the Director of Brit Olam - the Noahide World Center. He teaches in many places throughout Israel. Rav Cherki is the spiritual leader of the "Beth Yehuda" community in Kiryat Moshe (Jerusalem). He has written many books on Jewish thought and philosophy.

One Comment

  1. O primeiro mandamento a luz dos acontecimentos do Sinai, certamente é extensivo também as nações. Quem estava presente no Sinai, somente Hebreus? Uma tribo Egípcia a EREV RAV está presente e também foi redimida do Egito. Tal tribo simboliza a extensão dos 10 mandamentos também para as nações.

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