Universal Mission
David Chase, a Holocaust survivor, businessman and philanthropist who led many important charitable efforts for Jewish communities around the globe, once shared an inspiring episode.
Chase maintained the practice of praying in Tallit and Tefillin daily—even aboard airplanes and his personal yacht. In following the Talmudic dictum to face towards Jerusalem while praying, Chase regularly asked his captain, a non-Jew named Nick Winters, of the ship’s position and projected route.
After a few days, Winters was perplexed by Chase’s repeated questions and asked if his employer had been learning the principles of marine navigation. “Oh no,” Chase replied, explaining that he needed to know the information for religious purposes.
One Sunday, while docked at Block Island, Winters asked Chase if he could leave the ship to attend church. “You pray to your G‑d every morning,” he said,” and you’re making me feel guilty that I don’t follow my faith.” Of course Chase was more than happy to give him the day off.
Chase shared the incident with the Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe during one of their personal encounters. At a subsequent public talk, the Rebbe told the story, demonstrating how a Jew who is proud and comfortable in his observance can influence all those around him—Jews and non-Jews alike.
Although the Jewish people consist of a mere 0.2% of the world population, somehow we have consistently been placed in the limelight. Throughout our long history, while always remaining a small minority of the world population, our mark on civilization has been enormously disproportionate to our numbers. Whether we like it or not, subconsciously or consciously, the Jewish people continue to serve as a source of guidance and inspiration for the rest of the world.
What exactly is our mission to the world?
In this week’s Torah portion, we learn about the story of Noach and the flood. At the time, corruption and immorality were rampant in society and the world was not a very civilized place. G-d commanded Noach, the only righteous person in that generation, to build an ark for his family and select pairs of each animal species in order that they will be saved while He brought a great flood which would destroy the world.
Following the flood, G-d commanded Noach and his family to reinhabit the world and build a moral society. As the Torah states, “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and He said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth...Every moving thing that lives shall be yours to eat; like the green vegetation, I have given you everything... But, flesh with its soul, its blood, you shall not eat...Whoever sheds the blood of man through man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:1,3,4,6).
Long before the Torah and its commandments were given to the Jewish people, all of humanity received a set of laws from G-d which serve as a blueprint for a moral and just society.
As Maimonides explains, “Six precepts were commanded to Adam: a) the prohibition against worship of false gods; b) the prohibition against cursing God; c) the prohibition against murder; d) the prohibition against incest and adultery; e) the prohibition against theft; f) the command to establish laws and courts of justice. Even though we have received all of these commands from Moses and, furthermore, they are concepts which intellect itself tends to accept, it appears from the Torah's words that Adam was commanded concerning them. The prohibition against eating flesh from a living animal was added for Noach, as Genesis 9:4 states: ‘But, flesh with its soul, its blood, you shall not eat’. Thus there are seven Mitzvot.”
Since Noach was the one to repopulate the world and he received the final commandment of not being cruel to animals, all seven universal commandments are known as the “Seven Noahide Laws”.
Maimonides further elaborates on the unique roles of Jews and gentiles respectively. “Moses only gave the Torah and Mitzvot as an inheritance to Israel, as Deuteronomy 33:4 states: 'The Torah... is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob,' and to all those who desire to convert from among the other nations, as Numbers 15:15 states 'the convert shall be the same as you.' However, someone who does not desire to accept Torah and mitzvot, should not be forced to.
By the same regard, Moses was commanded by the Almighty to compel all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments given to Noah's descendants. Anyone who accepts upon himself the fulfillment of these seven Mitzvot and is precise in their observance is considered one of 'the pious among the gentiles' and will merit a share in the world to come.
Judaism believes that every person, regardless of their race, gender, or nationality, was created in the image of G-d and has a unique mission on earth. It is for this reason the Torah instructs us to initially discourage people from converting to Judaism unless they are sincere and persistent about joining the Jewish people. For when gentiles fulfill the Seven Noahide Laws and lead good moral lives, they are fulfilling their mission in life.
G‑d did not create the world for there to be chaos, but for peaceful civilization.” This unified purpose for mankind lies at the heart of the Seven Noahide Laws. Many teachings in Torah speak to non-Jews, even if they are not clearly included in the Seven Noahide Laws. If it is a matter which speaks to the innate moral reasoning of a human being, then it applies to them as well. Many other teachings, all intuitive to the upright human mind, branch out from these seven mentioned above. These include the practice of charity and acts of kindness, honoring and respecting parents, prayer to G‑d and contemplation of His wisdom and greatness. This also means not acting recklessly towards the magnificent creation that has been entrusted to our stewardship
On the other hand, in addition to following the moral code given to all people, the Jewish people were also entrusted with a special mission of making a home for G-d in this world. Each Mitzvah that we do, whether it is lighting Shabbat candles, donning Tefillin, studying Torah, affixing a Mezuzah on our doorpost etc., serve as a means to elevate the physicality and infuse it with spirituality.
By way of analogy, with regards to a company, organization, sports team or an army, each employee, member, or soldier serves a unique and indispensable role. Just as it would be detrimental to the success of their mission if an accountant would act as an attorney, if a catcher thought he was pitching, or if a navy seals decided to become a combat soldier, so too, in the universe at large, Jews and gentiles alike serve uniquely different yet complementary roles in fulfilling the purpose of creation, each in their own way.
Along with our primary focus of serving G-d as Jews through the study of Torah and performance of Mitzvot, we are also entrusted with the responsibility of teaching the world about the Seven Noahide Laws.
While for most of our history it was quite challenging to proactively influence the rest of the world in a positive way due to the persecution and restrictions that we endured, today we have an unprecedented opportunity of sharing this message with the world.
In the 1980s, the Rebbe often spoke about the importance of raising awareness about this moral code among the world at large. In recognition of this initiative and in honor of the Rebbe’s 80th birthday, President Ronald Reagan marked the day as "Education Day USA" and shared this heartfelt proclamation: “The Lubavitcher Rebbe's work stands as a reminder that knowledge is an unworthy goal unless it is accompanied by moral and spiritual wisdom and understanding. He has provided a vivid example of the eternal validity of the Seven Noahide Laws, a moral code for all of us regardless of religious faith. May he go from strength to strength…”
We look forward to the day, very soon, when all nations will live together in harmony and peace with the coming of Moshiach. As is stated: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares.... Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war any more.”- Yeshayahu 2:4
