How to Become a Noahide (a Righteous Gentile)

Considering all the spiritual gain that will be achieved by becoming a Righteous Gentile who follows the Seven Laws of Noah (the “Noahide Code”), many people are anxious to embark on this path. But how would you get started?

Here are some thoughts on how to best proceed

Since there are two sets of Divine Commandments, you must first know the answer to the question, “What am I?” If you are a Gentile (i.e., born to a Gentile mother, and not converted to Judaism according to traditional Torah Law), you are ready to get started.[1]

Maybe you are asking, “What will I be getting into?” “Is this for real?” “Can I try it for a while before I make a full commitment?” If you are motivated to take the initiative and find out more about observing the Seven Laws of Noah as a Divine moral code for life, you will need to access reliable information on this subject.

We suggest that you start with our web pages that introduce the Noahide – or Noachide – Commandments, and other universal righteous traditions that are learned from the Torah of Moses. Then browse our web site AskNoah.org for officially authorized books, forums, lessons, and insights on all aspects of the Noahide Code, and much more. You may also wish to have your own reliable and authentic translation of the 24 Books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

If your intentions are sincere and you are ready to search out religious Truth, the next step is commitment and pursuit. It will be very helpful to contact other observant Noahides in your area. If you need help with this, please send us an email, and it is very likely that we will find a reliable person whom you can contact. Note that local or on-line Noahide groups that are accepted as being legitimate will have one or more observant, reliable Orthodox Rabbis as their spiritual and practical advisers about how to keep these Seven Commandments in the way that G-d teaches in His Torah.

Why be a Righteous Gentile?

What difference does it make what kind of a Gentile you are, and who cares? After all, look at all the chaos in the world today. And look at all the people there are in the world. Does it make a difference to them?

A great leader of our generation said that it does make a difference whether you are a Righteous Gentile or not. It does mean something, and someone does care. The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, told the world that we will soon see the coming of the righteous redeemer Moshiach (the Messiah descended from King David), as promised in the book of Deuteronomy and the books of the Prophets. He urged people all over the world to prepare themselves by strengthening their observance of their Divine Commandments.

For Gentiles, he said that this means strengthening their understanding and observance of the Divine Commandments from Mount Sinai that apply to them, namely the Seven Commandments that had been given to Noah for all his descendants. For Jews, this means strengthening their understanding and observance of the Divine Commandments that apply to them, as found in the Written Torah and in their Oral Tradition that were given by G-d to Moses.

The Rebbe’s call to all people

With his prophetic insight, the Rebbe urgently called on all people to reconnect with G-d’s desire for the observance of these two sets of Divine Commandments, because he saw and publicized that the promised Messianic redemption of the world is coming speedily to our generation! As foretold by the Hebrew Prophets, the Messiah will return the world to true Noahidism and Judaism, which were both taught by G-d on Mount Sinai and transmitted by Moses, the Faithful Shepherd. With this call to action, Jews all over the world started examining their conduct and the way they were living their lives, motivated greatly by the dedicated hassidic emissaries who the Rebbe dispatched.

For Gentiles, the Rebbe spoke out beginning more than 40 years ago to reawaken all people of the world to the Seven Laws which G-d gave to Noah and his family, and all their generations to come. The Divine rewards for observing this Noahide Code, learning its details, and encouraging its wider acceptance are an inheritance for all people, which is there to be taken. The Rebbe said that this spiritual reconnection of the world will be accomplished by Jews and Gentiles joining together along their perspective assigned paths, in a spirit of kindness, goodness and charity. Please search your heart and take these words seriously! After all, you never know whose life you may be uplifting.

Notes:

[1] If you are a Jew, you should seek the path of traditional Judaism as taught by competent and traditionally observant Rabbis. If you have any difficulty or uncertainty in knowing your identity as Gentile or a Jew, you should consult with an Orthodox Rabbi who has proper credentials and is well versed in all aspects of the Seven Noahide Commandments.

By Chaim M. M. Reisner
Editor: Dr. Michael Schulman