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ViewPoint

What is a Mitzvah?
November 2000
Reader Response

The following ViewPoint Response has been edited to protect the privacy of the responder(s).

B'nei Noach Response:
Hello. I appreciated this article very much. I come from a family of a Jewish father and Non-Jewish mother. I came into believing in G-d through Christianity and was involved with a traveling Christian ministry for about five years. After I left them, I had a conscious about knowing more about the Jewish religion. So I started doing some light studying. Then I started going to the orthodox shul that my grandparents went to and my father and aunts grew up in. I was received very well by the community and treated by most as a fellow Jew. After all, I was behaving as one. I was doing a lot of Torah study, learning on my own, and tried to behave myself in accordance to the laws of kashrut, Shabbat, etc.

It wasn't until recently that I began to not feel quite right about saying the blessings like when you wash your hands, etc. because it says "Who has sanctified us with His commandments". I started feeling this way after hearing a ruling from the Babylonian Talmud. Though most people around me accept me as just being Jewish, I am yet to go through a conversion though my reasons for living this kind of life, taking upon myself some of the mitzvot is so that I can know if I want to get converted and live this kind of life.

I'm at the place now where I should either chose to go through a conversion or really tone down my observance of different mitzvot. I am struggling with the Christian faith that I once believed in passionately.

If you know of people who are going through a somewhat similar struggle as I am - [those] who were once involved in Christianity and now believe in the one G-d of Israel, it would sure be nice to get to talk to some people about it. Thanks.

CB"N's Response:
You are not alone in your struggle. I have received several eMails describing situations similar to yours. In particular, I have been in contact with Noachides whose father was Jewish and the mother was not. They were frustrated in thinking they were Jewish, or were trying to keep the Jewish traditions and not quite succeeding. The situation was described by one as living as an impostor in a Jewish world. This is one aspect of the tragedy of prohibited interfaith marriage between a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother - it leaves the child without a true Jewish identity, breeds individual identity confusion, and leaves the child feeling empty.

However, you must know and fully accept the fact that you are a Noachide and not Jewish. You do have an identity and specific mitzvot to keep. You have a special place and relationship with Hashem. And you have a choice - you can remain a Noachide and live your life to its fullest potential, or you can accept additional responsibility and become a full-convert.

B'nei Noach Response:
I read your November ViewPoint essay with great interest. Your piece answered a question that has lurked in the corners of my mind, and clarified the relevant issues. As I do not routinely talk with Noahides, I have not witnessed the "mitzvah envy" you wrote about, except for its remnants in me. Your piece made me wonder if you were moved to write on this subject because your contact with Noahides has lately indicated a growing confusion about their obligations.

To a degree, it is natural for us to want to do more. We are trained from an early age to think "if a little is good, a lot is better." Only later in our formal education are we introduced to phenomena that are clearly NOT linear, where a little more IS NOT better, where a little more can destabilize a system or lead to disaster. This seems to be an apt metaphor for the spiritual forces that Hashem has deployed.

The Noahide is given authority and responsibility for the use of certain tools, for specified purposes, within a specified domain. The Jew is given authority and responsibility for the use of other tools, some of which resemble Noahide tools and others of which are quite different. The tools authorized for the Jews' use, and for which they are given specific instructions and training, may even be dangerous for the Noahide to use.

Nevertheless, it is tempting for the devout Noahide, holding the best of intentions, to think that he, like his neighbor the observant Jew, could build better "temples" to G-d (e.g., "stacks" of mitzvot) using the "power tools" that his neighbor employs so effectively. In this materialistic, relativistic age, it is supremely difficult for the Noahide to remember, trust, and believe with all his heart, that He Who created all, including those enviable power tools and our simple set of seven basic tools, is as honored by our "simple" creations (products of the seven Noahide mitzvot) as by our neighbors "superior" offerings. In recognizing that seven is sufficient and in working to perfect his observance of those seven mitzvot, the Noahide has his opportunity to testify to Hashem's existence and divine plan for this world, just as his neighbor the observant Jew testifies through his G-d-given mitzvot, too.

Thank you for putting all of this in perspective.

CB"N's Response:
I appreciate your response to the November 2000 ViewPoint. Indeed, I wrote the ViewPoint article specifically because of many Noachides' trend to Judaising - to attempt to perform visible positive Jewish kedusha mitzvot. Shabbos and the holidays / holy days are a major issue... many B'nei Noach want to keep them - and they erroneously believe they should.

We are in agreement. "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right." I heard that saying many, many times in my childhood. And I still agree with it. In regards to the mitzvot - doing our required mitzvot is worth doing them right. Let the Jews do their mitzvot - it's their responsibility.

Noachides should explore their uniqueness and responsibilities as non-Jews. We should strive to understand and fulfill our mitzvot - and appreciate how we fit in as partners in the Ultimate Redemption.

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November 2000

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