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Now throughout these series of articles, I have referred a significant amount of times to the words of the rabbis and their Talmudic gentile followers, the Noahides. Now these are people who rely on something called the "oral law" which I discuss in other parts of my website. As you may also know, I do not accept the belief that this oral law is divine or that its source is Moses. So is it inconsistent of me to use their sources?
The answer is no! I hope you would also note from these series of articles that I mostly rely on what scripture has to say, even when quoting the rabbis. Scripture is my foundation and when I do use the words of the rabbis (and anyone else since I have also use christian commentaries) it is only as a commentary, a source of an authoritative interpretation of how the text should be understood.
And also understand that simply because I do not agree with the divinity of the oral law, that does not mean that all the words of the oral law and the rabbis are lies. These were still very educated men, and their worldview still has the written Torah in a nigh-supreme place and is part of their national heritage (unlike christianity and islam). Their words have to be taken seriously. And where it comes to their understanding of the laws for the nations, the advice they offer still has a basis on an utmost respect for the Almighty and his Torah, his law.
The basis for my conviction that there are principles and laws for non-Jews coincides with that of the more open Karaites who I mentioned in chapter 3. On another part of my website I feature an article by Karaite Hakham Meir Rekhavi called Is the Torah Binding on the Nations?. Being a person who relies on Scripture as opposed to the rabbinic oral tradition, he, like me, notes signs of a basic code of morality in the Jewish Bible that applies to non-Jews, to gentiles. And although signs of its existence can be seen scattered throughout the whole Jewish Bible, it is also seen in the Law code given to Moses at Sinai. They are those principles that are apparently common sense, and can be found if reason is applied. You can go and look at his article using the previously given link.
His conclusions about the code of righteousness for gentiles being seen in the Law of Moses can be appreciated when one reads through the Tanakh and sees how Israel is supposed to be an example to the nations. Deuteronomy 4 shows that when Israel keeps its laws properly, the nations round about will see and envy such righteousness and closeness to Deity.
(5) See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as YHWH my Deity commanded me, for acting in this manner in the midst of the land to which you are going to possess it. (6) And you shall keep and do [them]; for it is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that, they should hear all these statutes, and say: 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' (7) For what great nation [is there], that has a deity so close to it like YHWH our Deity in all our calling to him? (8) And what great nation [is there], that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? (Deuteronomy 4:5-8)
Israel is called a priesthood (Exodus 19:6), a role which includes serving and preparing the nations for righteousness and relationship with Deity. Israel is called a light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6 [cf. 42:1 with 41:8] and 60:3). Therefore there would be laws amongst Israel's own code of righteousness which the nations can emulate and relate to, and laws that would only be for Israel to keep them separate as priests.
Now this can be seen on two levels where it comes to the Israeli biblical law code, or constitution (i.e., the law given to Moses).
On one level, as the Karaites have highlighted, when you look through the Mosaic law, you find laws that are "rooted in reason" (to use his expression). His examples were the laws concerning slander or gossiping (Ex. 23:1), hatred and correction (Lev. 19:17), being helpful or loving to your fellow-man (Lev. 19:18), stealing (Lev. 19:11), deception in business (Deut. 25:13-16), murder (Ex 20:13), and safety in building construction (Deut. 22:8). If you notice, most of these laws are based on principles of the protecting the quality and sanctity of life and property rights. This can even be seen in the laws concerning slander/gossip, hatred and correction, and being helpful, since all of these deal with either inciting hatred and deception, and making sure that good understanding of one another is spread throughout a community. Amazingly enough, this coincides with the following:
Rabbi Nissim Gaon, a renowned 10th Century sage, taught that mankind is obligated by every one of the Torah's 613 laws which are discoverable by rational inquiry. (The Rainbow Covenant, by Michael Dallen, page 58)
There is another halachic opinion which is related to our discussion. Rabbi Nissim Gaon, a renowned 11th century sage, writes in his famous introduction to the Talmud that human beings in every generation have an obligation to perform any precept which is suggested by "reason" and "the understanding of the heart." (http://www.wikinoah.org/index.php/Gossip_in_Noahide_Law "Gossip in Noahide Law" by wikinoah.org)
On another level, we have a point highlighted by the Noahide camp, most notably Michael Dallen in his book, "The Rainbow Covenant" which covers the Noahide laws in a realistic and holistic way. This is what he has to say:
If the law involved is serious enough, according to Israel's Ten Commandment Code of 613 laws, to provide for capital punishment - death - as a maximum penalty for violations, then it is also likely to constitute a Universal law. (The Rainbow Covenant, by Michael Dallen, page 63)
Although this point is brought up by an oral law adherent, this can still be seen in a Karaite-like way in the fact that if the Almighty gives a punishment as serious as death, then there must be a serious connotation to it for anyone to see.
[Aside: this cannot apply to the sabbath law because, although it does give the death penalty, it is emphasized that this is a special sign between the Almighty and Israel, which is where its death penalty is first spoken of (Exodus 31:13-17). So its scope wouldn't include the non-Jew. Context is everything when it comes to understanding these things.]
Something that can be added to this scripturalist way of thinking about the laws for the nations is to take note of what the law says about wrong things that the nations have done. This has been spoken of before with regards to sexual immorality and the occult where we can see that the Lord, through Moses, condemns the deeds of non-Israelites. This is an open sign that what is condemned is a sin against Deity. This is another principle that, I believe, links both Karaites and Oral-Law adherents, in deducing laws that have always been upon the nations from within the law of Moses. I don't need to expand upon this more since I've discussed it in another section of this series.
With all of this is mind, one can ask why I entitled this section "The Written Law vs the Oral Law?". The answer would be in the question mark at the end of the title. It is not a statement of controversy, but a question. There are times when it seems like people who rely on scripture and those who rely on scripture plus the oral law are always fighting each other, but that has never been the case. There are so many times when they come to the very same conclusions, or they can teach each other. In this case, both sets of people lead us to open our minds further and to study deeper into the laws of Moses in order to search for the way of righteousness for the world.
And this also is a sign of what the Noahides have always said, and what non-Jewish scripturalists (i.e. quasi-Karaites) would preach: the seven laws of Noah promoted by the Noahides are by no means the whole of the law for non-Jews. They are just a springboard to learn more and more and to do more and more, and bring all of us closer to our Creator through righteousness.
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