A light on to the Nations

It was a beautiful summer day in Cleveland Ohio, back in the late 1980’s. Along with my dear sister Leora, I was enrolled in Camp Chabad at the old shul on South Green Road. Now, on many days, the camp would go on trips in the old yellow school bus that was used by the camp and driven by the bus driver Gershon. As I think back, there was a certain spiritual excitement, that even as a young boy, I sensed on these trips. One never knew whom they would meet when traveling. Maybe we would meet a long lost Jew who we could help reconnect to their heritage. Or maybe we would be the first Jew to ever make a blessing in some of the far out pastures of NorthEast Ohio. Like the trips of the Baal Shem Tov of yore, also with Chabad, every trip was a spiritual adventure.

However, on this day that I want to write about there was no trip. The activity for this day was something entirely different. As part of the initiative of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, to not only spread the light of Torah to Jews all over the world, but to also spread the teaching of the 7 laws of Noach to all people, the camp was planning a unique activity. Today everyone in the camp took a piece of paper that enumerated the 7 laws of Noach-the basic foundation of global morality- and put the piece of paper in a balloon, along with contact information. Soon the sky was filled with numerous balloons all going to their unbeknownst locations. Some time later, the camp received a phone call from someone in Pennsylvania who had found one of our balloons in his backyard. He thanked us for spreading the message of Divine global morality.

The Jewish people have been in a difficult exile for a very long time. As a result, for much of our history we have been operating simply in survival mode. If we managed to build a stable congregation and pass the Torah on to the next generation, this was considered a success. However, if one even looks briefly in the Tanach or even stops to think briefly about what we say in our prayers (particularly during the high holy days) – the mission statement of the Jewish people that is presented is clearly much bigger than any specific congregation. It is universal and encompasses all human beings. In the famous words of the prophet Isaiah we were created to be a “light onto the nations”.

The Rambam ( Maimonidies) in his classic work Sefer Hamitzvos enumerates all of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. In positive commandment #3 he discusses the commandment to love Hashem. He adds something, however, remarkable. After discussing points of reflection that should engender love for the Creator, he adds “that this mitzvah also includes that we should call out to all of the people of the world to serve the Creator and to recognize Him”. In other words, it is not enough that each individual should love Hashem or even that the Jewish people should love Him. We want the entire world to recognize and love Hashem as well.

Why is this so? Well, the Rambam says because of our love for Hashem we should want the whole world to recognize Him. However, maybe we can add another aspect to this as well. Perhaps, we also need to have some semblance of love for all people. A pure love for all of humanity should exist in the heart of every one of us (Maybe this is hinted at in the commandment of the Torah “to love your friend as yourself”.  A Jew who is the classic example of a friend is who we should love to the exalted level as if your self. However, everyone else we should also love as well to some degree.) Because of the love we have for all people, who are created in the image of God, we should want them to understand the Divine wisdom and plan of the universe. Now, of course priorities have to be straightened out first. There is no question that to help a fellow Jew recognize Hashem is our top priority. However, spreading the light of Hashem and divine morality to the whole world is also very important.

But how exactly do we do this? Well, on a very basic level every time a Jewish man walks on the street with his kippah proudly on his head, or a Jewish woman walks down the street in modest attire- they are making a statement. Without uttering a word, by the very virtue of their dress, they are stating very loudly that there is a higher purpose to creation. A human being is not an intelligent animal God forbid, but a beautiful soul that is garbed in a physical body. This has an effect on people and clearly stands out, as sadly many people in Western society have lost their connection with such basic values (A friend of mine, who once worked in an office with Non Jews, related to me that once some of his coworkers began an inappropriate conversation. Suddenly one of them said “Wait, we got to stop. David is here. He is not going to like this type of conversation.” Without saying even a word, my friend was able to remind his coworkers about elevated living.)

However, in truth, there are many Non Jews in the world today who actually are quite eager to have a conversation with a Jew and learn more about our mission. On a recent trip to America, I was quite surprised how many Christians came up to me at the airport or on the flight and were interested in asking questions about Judaism and Israel. Sometimes it was a sefer that I was holding written in Hebrew that sparked a conversation. However, after discussing this with other people I realized that this was not an unusual phenomenon. Later I read an interview with Rabbi Manis Friedman ( the Youtube Rabbi) who surprisingly said that about half of his listeners are not Jewish. Also, my mother, Katia Boloton, who writes for Chabad.org, also mentioned to me the same thing- that she could not believe how many responses she was getting for her articles from non Jewish people.

In truth, there are many Christians out there who want to connect more to the Biblical foundations of Christianity. The massive return of the Jewish people to Israel and the buildup of the country as one of the most powerful countries in the world, has put a severe blow to classical Christian dogma that saw the Jewish exile as “proof” to their faulty claims. However, many Christians are beginning to realize that there is another option. The Bnei Noach movement is slowly picking up in the United States where it is estimated that there are currently about 100,000 Christians today in America who have become Bnei Noach (My wife worked with one of them for a few years). In Colorado and Texas, there are currently large communities of Noahides.

It is also interesting to note, that even though there are halachic restrictions on teaching Non-Jews Torah, the Rambam rules ( Teshuvot Harambam # 364) that it is permitted to teach Christians Torah since they already believe in the foundations of the Tanakh. Therefore, teaching them about the mitzvot will not cause damage. Moreover, in recent years ( since 5775, 2015) the great Tzadik and master of Kabbalah and Chassidut, Rabbi Yitzchok Ginzberg has been talking greatly at length about the importance of teaching the 7 laws of Noach and the Torah in a way that is appropriate to Non Jews. Rabbi Ginzberg explains that this is a very important preparation for the coming of Moshiach, when all the world will recognize Hashem as “water covers the sea.”

Now, at first glance, it would seem that Jews living in the Diaspora are more equipped for this task. However, ultimately as expressed in the Tanach ( cf Isaiah Chapter 2), the main place where the Jewish people are going to be a “light onto the Nations” is in Eretz Yisroel. This might seem counterintuitive, since in Israel we are more separated from the rest of the world. However, Rabbi Moshe Alshich in his commentary on Parshas Lech Lecha ( Genesis 12: 1-3) explains that the blessing that Avraham Avinu ( Abraham) received of “all of the families of the earth will be blessed through you” was given to Avraham only after he had come to the Holy Land. For ultimately by transforming the state of Israel into the Land of Israel, and building a country that truly reflects the elevated values of Torah-the mission statement of being a light onto the nations will be achieved. There is tremendous Divine Providence ( as we see very clearly in our current situation) that keeps the Jewish people at the center of world attention. Our job is to use that incredible international attention to spread the light of Hashem and Torah to the world. למען דעת כל עמי הארץ כי ה הוא אלוקים אין עוד “

-Ariel

This article is dedicated to the memory of my dear Grandmother Sara bas Avraham Halevi Waxman who would always challenge us to ponder what it means to be a light onto the nations.