07-04-2010, 04:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-04-2010, 06:44 PM by Director Michael.)
Please allow me to clarify this subject. The comment in the Talmud is that the descendants of Noah "accepted upon themselves" 30 laws in the time period after the Flood. It also says that before the time of Mt. Sinai, the behavior of the descendants of Noah deteriorated, and they stopped observing those 30 laws. The discussion in the Talmud does not say what those laws were.
a) It's clear that the Talmud is not saying that those "30 laws" were specifically commanded by G-d, because in regard to Divine commandments, the issue of "accepting upon themselves" each particular law is irrelevant. Rather, these were rules of righteous conduct that they established for themselves (including, and over and above, the 7 Divine commandments that G-d gave to Noah after he left the ark).
b) The Talmud also says that because the descendants of Noah eventually stopped observing those 30 laws, therefore, before the time of Mt. Sinai, G-d rescinded the obligations they had taken upon themselves for keeping them. Then through Moses at Mt. Sinai, G-d re-issued, re-detailed and re-commanded (for all Gentiles) the 7 commandments that He gave to Noah, which have many (much more than 30) details. G-d communicated these details through Moses, and these details are called "the Noahide Code."
c) Because their self-imposed obligation to observe 30 pre-Sinai laws was rescinded, therefore in terms of practical observance after Mt. Sinai, it's irrelevant what those 30 laws were. That's why the Talmud doesn't enumerate them, and the later Sages who commented on the Talmud were only able to speculate as to what they had been. I.e., there was no tradition handed down in the Oral Torah about a listing of those 30 pre-Sinai laws, so it's open to speculation about what they were, as a purely academic subject.
d) To find out the many details of the post-Sinai Noahide Code, one needs to study the series by Rabbi Moshe Weiner - "Sheva Mitzvot HaShem" in Hebrew, and/or "The Divine Code" in English.
a) It's clear that the Talmud is not saying that those "30 laws" were specifically commanded by G-d, because in regard to Divine commandments, the issue of "accepting upon themselves" each particular law is irrelevant. Rather, these were rules of righteous conduct that they established for themselves (including, and over and above, the 7 Divine commandments that G-d gave to Noah after he left the ark).
b) The Talmud also says that because the descendants of Noah eventually stopped observing those 30 laws, therefore, before the time of Mt. Sinai, G-d rescinded the obligations they had taken upon themselves for keeping them. Then through Moses at Mt. Sinai, G-d re-issued, re-detailed and re-commanded (for all Gentiles) the 7 commandments that He gave to Noah, which have many (much more than 30) details. G-d communicated these details through Moses, and these details are called "the Noahide Code."
c) Because their self-imposed obligation to observe 30 pre-Sinai laws was rescinded, therefore in terms of practical observance after Mt. Sinai, it's irrelevant what those 30 laws were. That's why the Talmud doesn't enumerate them, and the later Sages who commented on the Talmud were only able to speculate as to what they had been. I.e., there was no tradition handed down in the Oral Torah about a listing of those 30 pre-Sinai laws, so it's open to speculation about what they were, as a purely academic subject.
d) To find out the many details of the post-Sinai Noahide Code, one needs to study the series by Rabbi Moshe Weiner - "Sheva Mitzvot HaShem" in Hebrew, and/or "The Divine Code" in English.