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Male/female shaking hands, friendshiips, etc.
#11
The quoted teaching is only recommending that a Gentile man should take some extra precautions in his interactions with a woman who is actually forbidden to him for sexual relations, by the Torah Law of the Noahide Code. Primarily this applies between a man and a woman who is married to another man, and any woman who was ever married to his father.

It can also apply for the close relatives who are forbidden as incest, namely one's mother and maternal (i.e. full or half-) sister. But most people naturally distance themselves very far from a desire for incest, so extra precautions with those persons, beyond the social norm, are normally not needed.

It is wise and prudent for a man to extend precautions to his other female relatives who are forbidden to him for marriage only by the civil law, even though they are not forbidden to him within the basic Noahide prohibition of forbidden relations.

Gentiles should also extend precautions to the female relatives who are forbidden within the Noahide Code, but not as capital sins, and to those with whom sexual relations are identified as a disgusting action: a man's daughter and a maternal sister of his mother (some minority opinions include a maternal sister of his father); a few additional categories apply in societies that accept polygamy. See "The Divine Code", Part VI, ch. 1, p.476-477.

According to Torah Law, precautions should be extended to male/female relationships between Jews and non-Jews, since they are forbidden to each other for physical relations and marriage, by Torah Law.

The precautions advised do not suggest that friendships need to be avoided. Rather, it applies to actions that could arouse a mental and/or physical attraction between men (primarily) and women in the above listed categories, such as giving polite or affectionate hugs or kisses, or being secluded together (see "The Divine Code", Part VI, ch. 6-7). And likewise a man should not gaze at the body and clothes of women in the above listed categories, so as not to arouse any erotic thoughts about them. Likewise married women should not be flirtatious or dress in an immodest way that will be arousing to other men, and likewise for a woman in regard the above categories of her male relatives.

Beyond this, going in the ways of modesty as a general practice in one's life is the path of piety, and honoring and fearing G-d.
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#12
(04-20-2013, 03:26 AM)Director Michael Wrote: The precautions advised do not suggest that friendships need to be avoided. Rather, it applies to actions that could arouse a mental and/or physical attraction between men (primarily) and women in the above listed categories, such as giving polite or affectionate hugs or kisses, or being secluded together (see "The Divine Code", Part VI, ch. 6-7). And likewise a man should not gaze at the body and clothes of women in the above listed categories, so as not to arouse any erotic thoughts about them.

On the other hand, Rabbi Weiner writes (Part VI, topic 6:5): A man should not intently gaze at the form of a woman in a lustful way, even if she is single..."

Friends go out and spend hours together, and I know no man who can gaze at the form of a woman so long without having lustful thoughts.
How can male/female friendships be allowed in the Torah?

Moreover, does the aforesaid prohibition of gazing at the form of a woman in a lustful way not forbid all movies and pictures with women? How can a man gaze for hours at a non-pornographic movie with female actresses and not have lustful thoughts?
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#13
(01-08-2015, 02:49 PM)Hrvatski Noahid Wrote: On the other hand, Rabbi Weiner writes (Part VI, topic 6:5): A man should not intently gaze at the form of a woman in a lustful way, even if she is single..."

Friends go out and spend hours together, and I know no man who can gaze at the form of a woman so long without having lustful thoughts.
How can male/female friendships be allowed in the Torah?

You need to train your eyes not to stare at a woman's body. Furthermore, it is actually uncultured and impolite to do so.

On this subject, see the verse Job 31:1 - "I made a covenant with my eyes, and why should I gaze upon a virgin?" [Job was an extremely pious Noahide.]

Rashi explains:
"I made a covenant with my eyes": not to gaze upon a married woman.
"and why should I gaze upon a virgin?": Why should I gaze upon her? Such was Job’s piety, not to lay an eye even on an unmarried woman. [He would say,] “Perhaps, after a time, she will be married, and I will find myself attracted to her.”

(01-08-2015, 02:49 PM)Hrvatski Noahid Wrote: Moreover, does the aforesaid prohibition of gazing at the form of a woman in a lustful way not forbid all movies and pictures with women? How can a man gaze for hours at a non-pornographic movie with female actresses and not have lustful thoughts?

If a man finds that he has that problem, the advice would be to stop going to the kinds of movies that arouse him in that manner. Surely a person can find more productive and beneficial ways to spend his time.
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#14
If a Noahide wants to refrain from touching people of the opposite gender (other than one's spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, children or grandchildren) can a Noahide practice "shomer nagia" (this Hebrew phrase literally mean to "guard your touch," i.e. no touching)?
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#15
Yes, that is permitted as a pious option for Noahides. Please review the questions and answers on page 1 of this forum thread.
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#16
B"H

From the Divine Code (p 542, topic 4):

"Every woman is obligated to act in a modest way, and not to cause others to err through her dressing and acting in a way that brings them to sinful thoughts, and thereby closer to sinful actions..."

Can we say this is the most important obligation in the life of a Gentile woman? I heard a Torah lecture where the Rabbi said so regarding a Jewish woman.
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#17
According to one well-known way of answering this question, we shouldn't say that it is the most important obligation for a Jewish woman. The reason is because a Jewish woman (or any other person) has many commandments to fulfill, and we are not supposed to "weigh" G-d's commandments one against the other, as to which is a "minor / light" commandment and which is a "major / heavy" commandment. Rabbi Yehuda Ha'Nassi expressed this in Ethics of the Fathers 2:1 - "...Be as careful in [the performance of a seemingly] minor commandment as of major one, for you do not know the reward given for the commandments..."

Obviously we can't say that your quoted text is the most important obligation in the life of a Gentile woman, because the MOST important obligation in the life of any Gentile is to observe the specific 7 Noahide Commandments themselves. The statement you quoted is an example of an obligation in the realm of morality and piety, which is going beyond the basic letter of the Law.
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