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Importance of laws of the land
#8
(03-25-2014, 06:33 PM)amenyahu Wrote: With some of your wording, I still question it. For example,

"... also the Gentiles themselves, have an obligation in G-d's eyes to abide by their government's monetary laws"

I can understand when you say it is a logical or rational obligation. But when the phrase "in G-d's eyes", that's where I'm not so sure. It's a bit like where in other responses on this forum where it is said "God wants you to [insert something about obedience to government]". It seems dangerous to say "God wants x" when x can be so volatile and has a track record of not doing what God wants. That's why the judgment call is rather "for the good for the society" and faithfulness to the Seven (and wisdom with regards to protect one's own life and family) that would be restraints against just obeying government, even with regards to money.

In the teachings for Gentiles which we present from Ask Noah International, in our published books, on-line forums and web pages, we don't use the phrase "in G-d's eyes" arbitrarily. From a Torah perspective, we look to the moral lessons which the Talmudic sages teach that we should learn from the words of the true prophets that are recorded in the Hebrew Bible. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible communicated their words with Divine inspiration. That is how we know that they are expressing lessons that are proper "in G-d's eyes", and they are included in the canonized text because they are relevant for all generations. Most of the messages from the Biblical prophets are intended specifically for the Jewish people, but some of the messages are also universal, for all people. Please follow this explanation:

(1) In the words of Isaiah 45:18: "...the Creator of heaven, Who is G-d, Who formed the earth and made it - He established it; He did not create it for 'tohu', He formed it to be inhabited..."

In the Oral Torah tradition from Mount Sinai, it is explained that G-d formed the entire world for the purpose that it should be "inhabited" by mankind, and that this applies mainly to the Gentiles, because they are the great majority of the world's population. Furthermore, the prophet Isaiah says that G-d wants their inhabiting of the world to be in such a way that it is not 'tohu'. The explanation is as follows.

- The word 'tohu' first appears in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 1:2: "when the earth was bewilderment ('tohu') and void..." Rashi explains there that the word 'tohu' means "astonishment and bafflement, that a person is astonished and baffled over the void [emptiness and desolation] within it". In the context of human relations which is the subject of Isaiah 45:18 above, a state of "tohu" basically means that people are living by the "law of the jungle" - those who are stronger are overpowering and taking advantage of those who are weaker, to an extent that the society breaks down so much that a reasonable person would be astonished and baffled as to how people could act so wickedly toward each other, as the human living condition becomes empty and desolate of what we recognize as civilized behavior.
- Let us consider what you would think of as an ideal society, and then how it would degenerate in increments toward "tohu" / law of the jungle. Obviously, this would begin by some people taking advantage of other people economically, because people have a lust for money and possessions.
- "Tohu" also means a condition of chaos, which we learn from Genesis 1:4, in which G-d ended the initial condition of "tohu" by separating the primordial light from the primordial darkness, because initially He created the light and darkness together in a primordial chaotic jumble (see Rashi's explanation there). In the context of human relations, this connotation of 'tohu' means chaos in the society, i.e. a state of anarchy.

The Oral Torah tradition from Mount Sinai explains that G-d's desire for the world "to be inhabited" is that there should be Gentile societies that are the positive opposite of the negative 'tohu' of tyranny and anarchy. This positive human societal condition that is desired by G-d is expressed by the famous phrase, "yishuv olom" ("settling the world" - that the world should be "settled down"), which means civilized and peaceful coexistence in which people form societies in which they benefit from each other, rather than being harmed by each other.

Next we need to identify the means which "in G-d's eyes" is the way to accomplish His desired condition for human society which is expressed by Isaiah 45:18 as it explained above based on the Oral Torah tradition.

(2) The entire verse Isaiah 45:18 is: "For so said the L-rd, the Creator of heaven, Who is G-d, Who formed the earth and made it - He established it; He did not create it for 'tohu', He formed it to be inhabited - 'I am the L-rd and there is no other.'"

Isaiah, while informing the Gentiles about the societal condition they should have in G-d's eyes, also informs them about the one and only G-d Whose desire they should aspire to fulfill. And Isaiah goes on to describe certain things about G-d:

45:19 - "Not in secret did I speak, in a place of a land of darkness; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Seek Me, in vain; I am the L-rd, Who speaks righteousness, declares things that are right."

Rashi explains:
- "Not in secret did I speak": When I gave the Torah... to the seed of Jacob... [This means that it is not a secret to the world that G-d gave the Torah to the Jewish people. Rather, it is public knowledge.]
- "I am the L-rd Who speaks righteousness": ...I told them things that are right, My statutes and My laws...

This means that the statutes and laws commanded for the Jewish people in the Torah, i.e. the details as communicated and expounded in the Oral Torah, are "right" and "righteousness" in G-d's eyes. Among these commandments are many that logically - according to G'd-given human intellect - include an aspect of universality for all human beings. It is in this context that the Jews were told by G-d through His prophet in Isaiah 42:6: "I am the L-rd; I called you with righteousness ... for a light to nations." I.e., through the universally righteous laws of the Torah, the Jews serve as a spiritual light to the Gentiles.

For example, the simple general concept of the Jewish commandment to "honor your father and your mother" is logically recognized as right and righteous in G-d's eyes for Gentiles as well. When Gentiles honor their parents (without being in violation of the Seven Noahide Commandments), it contributes to G-d's desired societal condition of "yishuv olom" that is explained above, and when Gentiles do not honor their parents, it pushes the society toward the condition of "tohu" which is against G-d's desire. Since this is clear from human logic, we know that it is an obligation in G-d's eyes for Gentiles to honor their parents, even if they have not heard of this Torah commandment. Thus, when a Gentile honors his parents, even if he does it just out of his own love or respect for them, or as logical correctness, and even without acknowledging G-d, he is doing something that is right "in G-d's eyes".

In terms of the "yishuv olom" which G-d desires for Gentile societies, this principle applies first and foremost to the many Torah laws that govern financial interactions between people. Consider an example that also happens to be connected with honoring parents: the laws of inheritance. From these Torah laws, it is logically understood that it is right in G-d's eyes that a society should establish laws of bequeathing and inheritance, such that when a person passes away, the estate will be required to be divided among the inheritors in an orderly fashion and in accordance with a certified "will" if one had been made, in order to avoid chaos and individual tyranny in the processes of disbursing the estate.

Of course this extends to all matters of personal and corporate business and commerce - buying, selling, borrowing lending, employment, etc. There should be governmental laws to the extent needed to establish righteous societal order and to avoid a descent into a condition of "tohu". In the Talmud, the obligation for individual Gentiles and Jews to follow these laws that are established by their ruling Gentiles governments is referred to by the phrase, "dina d'malchuta dina" - "the law of the government is the law [that one should follow]".

(3) This principle is taught to us through the following universal Divine messages that were communicated by true prophets in the Hebrew Bible:

Zechariah 8:16 - "Administer truth and the judgment of peace in your gates."

Jeremiah 29:7 (addressing the Jewish exiles in Babylon) - "And seek the peace of the city where I have exiled you and pray for it to the L-rd, for in its peace you shall have peace." The Divine message that "in its peace you shall have peace" also applies for the Gentile citizens of the city. The peacefulness of the city is only possible as a result of its government's laws which contribute to peaceful coexistence and commerce among its citizens.

This concept is expounded upon in the Mishna in Ethics of the Fathers 3:2, which states: “Rabbi Chanina, deputy of the priests/kohanim said... 'If it were not for the fear of the government, each man would eat his neighbor alive!'"

Quoting about this from askmoses.com: "As for the expression 'each man would eat his neighbor alive,' Rav Ovadia Bartenura explains that just as larger fish in the sea eat smaller fish, if it weren’t for the fear of the government, greater men would 'swallow' up smaller men. In other words, without law and order, people would take great advantage of each other—or worse."

The first victims of economic tyranny and chaos are those who are weak and vulnerable - the poor, widows, orphans, foreigners, etc. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, G-d insists that in His eyes, the rights of vulnerable people in society should should be protected, and the only way to do this is to have societal laws that provide for this protection.

There is also an obvious corollary: if a government "eats its citizens alive", it is evil in G-d's eyes.
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Messages In This Thread
RE: Importance of laws of the land - by amenyahu - 03-18-2014, 09:47 AM
RE: Importance of laws of the land - by amenyahu - 03-25-2014, 06:33 PM
RE: Importance of laws of the land - by Director Michael - 04-13-2014, 08:25 PM
RE: Importance of laws of the land - by amenyahu - 04-14-2014, 06:52 PM

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