Reading Room

ViewPoint

Shema Yisrael... Be Jewish! Don't Assimilate with the Goyim!
December 1998

The following ViewPoint was intended to provoke thought and discussion.

Can you imagine seeing an advertisement promoting a "Nonassimilation of Jews" campaign? What would your reaction be? Would you feel indignant at the suggestion that Jews should not entwine themselves into the gentile world? After all, some would argue, it is man's inalienable right to be different, and we Americans should tolerate each other's differences. Furthermore, one can argue "If a Jew wants to assimilate into our culture, let him. Who's he or she hurting?"

Approaching the end of the second millennium of the Common Era is a matter of grave concern for many non-Jews. The world is in chaos and apocalyptic premonitions abound as to the imminent end of the world. In times of crisis and upheaval there are those who feel that somebody within their society has been the cause of all the problems; somebody has to be blamed for the problems of the world. "Who better to blame than the Jews!" That's what some say.

These non-Jews are the ones who have exerted tremendous pressure on Jews, contributing (in part) to the Jews' assimilation into American culture - by baiting, threatening, ridiculing and shaming them, laughing at their dress and manners and customs. Overt and covert (such as the so-called Messianic Movement or Messianic Judaism) attempts to convert Jews to Christianity are another part of the assimilation process. These practices alone have been enough to force many Jews to hide their Jewishness by taking on non-Jewish names, gentile dress and behavior. The non-Jews who promote this behavior are, in part, the root cause of the problems of American society, not the Jews themselves.

Let's now imagine a group of non-Jews who, having learned who they possess a very special relationship with the Jews, find themselves with a responsibility to better themselves and their society, thereby perfecting the world in which they live. They recognize that they cannot blame society's faults and problems on the Jews who live in their midst. This group of people are known as B'nei Noach - the children of Noah.

There are actually two issues here. Firstly is the issue of the manifest ignorance, prejudice, and hatred harbored by the non-Jews towards the Jews. This behavior is result of the lack of chinuch (education) and mindless hatred. Secondly is the issue stopping and ending the forced and subliminal assimilation of Jews into the American culture. Elie Wiesel, during his March 1990 address to the students of Oxford University in England, stated, "...a Jew is only a good person if he is a good Jew." The Jew has a responsibility to be Jewish because he was chosen by God for a special mission. The Jewish mission is to spread the knowledge of the Creator and His expectations of man. The Jewish mission is not only to the inhabitants of America, but to the inhabitants of every nation on this earth.

Realizing that different people have different roles, B'nei Noach has, at this point in time (by default), a twofold obligation: To make non-Jews aware of their role in creation, and to ensure that Jews are free to perform their avodah (service) to God. Just as non-Jews have the obligation to observe the Seven Laws of Noah, the Jews have the obligation to observe the six hundred and thirteen commandments of the Torah. In his book The Wolf Shall Lie With The Lamb, Rabbi Shmuel Boteach says,
The same Torah teaches that the failure of the non-Jew to keep his commandments is equally as detrimental as the failure of the Jew to keep his. Both are indispensable. Both need not assume the other's role to be deemed worthy. Through the contributions of both the world maintains a healthy balance and equanimity. (page 255)

Rabbi Boteach continues by stating that a higher degree of perfection would be reached in this world by having Jewish Jews and non-Jewish non-Jews.

The non-Jew should recognize that the Jew is required to be kadosh (holy), which means "distinct" or "removed." It is not an issue of tolerance, it is an issue of recognition. We should not tolerate a Jew being Jewish, rather we should recognize his marked difference and encourage it. Promoting the nonassimilation of Jews in non-Jewish society is the means to the end - the end of the galus (the exile) and the beginning of the Messianic epoch when the unity of God will be revealed in our physical
world. Non-Jews should learn from history that integration of Jews into secular society has not had a positive effect on society. Moral and ethical standards have declined because the voices of those who should have been teaching those ethics and morals have been muffled by their "enlightenment" - their assimilation.

The world needs the Messiah. B'nei Noach yearn for him. Observant Jews yearn for him. Assimilation into the gentile world during the galus has deaden many Jewish hearts, and their spiritual eyes cannot perceive the darkness of their exile. Tragically, what they, in their "modern" Judaism perceive as light is, in fact, the lamp of darkness.

B'nei Noach is obligated to work in harmony with orthodox Judaism, deterring and stopping Jewish assimilation into the non-Jewish world. We are partners in the Redemption. Let us wake the slumbering souls of the lost and assimilated Jews with a cry waxing louder and louder:
"Shema Yisrael... be Jewish! Don't assimilate with the goyim!"

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