07-17-2018, 10:44 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-08-2018, 05:12 AM by Director Michael.)
B"H. Thank you for that interesting question about Torah study by a Noahide in the time of Rambam (d. 1204 C.E.), done in compliance with Rambam's ruling about the Torah law on this subject.
1. Would he use a Torah scroll?
He definitely would use the Jewish Bible (Tanach). If he knew Hebrew, he could read the 5 Books of Moses from a Torah scroll, if he had access to one. Translations were also available:
The first translations of the Hebrew Bible were done in Aramaic, during the time that the Jews were in the Babylonian Exile, after the destruction of the First Temple.
Also long before Rambam's time, the Five Books of Moses had already been translated into Greek by the Jewish Sages, as the Septuagint. They were forced to do that by King Ptolemy of Egypt, and it was in the earlier version of Greek that was used at that time.
There were also Arabic translations of the Hebrew Bible. From Wikipedia, "The earliest fragment of the Old Testament in Arabic [discovered so far] is a text of Psalm 77, found in the Umayyad Mosque, dating from the 8th century. One of the oldest Arabic bibles was discovered in the 19th century ... The manuscript called Mt. Sinai Arabic Codex 151, was created in AD 867."
2. or would this study only involve oral instruction by a Jew?
It would involve both reading of the Hebrew Bible, and instruction in the relevant areas of the Oral Torah by a Jewish Torah scholar. That could include the parts of both the Mishna and the Talmud that are relevant to the Noahide Code.
The Talmud itself says that a Noahide who becomes a Torah scholar in the subjects of his 7 Commandments is as worthy of honor as a Jewish High Priest who served in the Holy Temple.
This teaching from the Talmud is included in what Rambam was referring to when he wrote about the rules for Torah study by Noahides.
1. Would he use a Torah scroll?
He definitely would use the Jewish Bible (Tanach). If he knew Hebrew, he could read the 5 Books of Moses from a Torah scroll, if he had access to one. Translations were also available:
The first translations of the Hebrew Bible were done in Aramaic, during the time that the Jews were in the Babylonian Exile, after the destruction of the First Temple.
Also long before Rambam's time, the Five Books of Moses had already been translated into Greek by the Jewish Sages, as the Septuagint. They were forced to do that by King Ptolemy of Egypt, and it was in the earlier version of Greek that was used at that time.
There were also Arabic translations of the Hebrew Bible. From Wikipedia, "The earliest fragment of the Old Testament in Arabic [discovered so far] is a text of Psalm 77, found in the Umayyad Mosque, dating from the 8th century. One of the oldest Arabic bibles was discovered in the 19th century ... The manuscript called Mt. Sinai Arabic Codex 151, was created in AD 867."
2. or would this study only involve oral instruction by a Jew?
It would involve both reading of the Hebrew Bible, and instruction in the relevant areas of the Oral Torah by a Jewish Torah scholar. That could include the parts of both the Mishna and the Talmud that are relevant to the Noahide Code.
The Talmud itself says that a Noahide who becomes a Torah scholar in the subjects of his 7 Commandments is as worthy of honor as a Jewish High Priest who served in the Holy Temple.
This teaching from the Talmud is included in what Rambam was referring to when he wrote about the rules for Torah study by Noahides.