Mitzvot for Men
Like the first man Adam, who was made in the Image of Hashem, all souls are sent down to make this world a better place, that is to be in the image of Hashem, but how do we maintain that image?
Hashem gave Adam 6 negative commandments, and a 7th “Not to eat flesh torn from a living animal” he gave to Noah and his descendants after the flood. ( Gen 9:4 )
These 7 mitzvot will bring about world peace when kept by all of humanity,613 mitzvot were divided amongst Moshe and his people,( the Jews ) who were given the obligation to multiply and teach the world these 7 mitzvot and Torah, as the aim is all of humanity/creation.
Isaiah 45:18
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 a waste, He formed it to be inhabited, “I am the Lord and there is no other.
In Leviticus he clearly speaks about “a man” the Adam kind so all of us have a place in the world to come if we follow statutes and ordinances.
Leviticus 18:5
You shall observe My statutes and My ordinances, which ”a man” shall do and live by them. I am the L-rd.
In the Sanhedrin, a non jew keeping these 7 mitzvot, becoming Chassidim, because of obedience to Hashem, as a result of Torah study, Is even compared to a HIGH PRIEST, not cause he has the same level of holiness, but because of the preciousness it has to Hashem for a gentile to seek his ways,
Connecting to G-d.
Sanhedrin59a
The Gemara raises an objection to Rabbi Yoḥanan’s statement from a baraita: Rabbi Meir would say: From where is it derived that even a gentile who engages in Torah study is considered like a High Priest? It is derived from that which is stated: “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My ordinances, which if a man does he shall live by them” (Leviticus 18:5). The phrase: Which if priests, Levites, and Israelites do they shall live by them, is not stated, but rather: “A man,” which indicates mankind in general. You have therefore learned that even a gentile who engages in Torah study is considered like a High Priest.
:התם בשבע מצות דידהו
The Gemara answers: There, in the baraita, the reference is to a gentile who engages in the study of their seven mitzvot. It is a mitzva for a gentile to study the halakhot that pertain to the seven Noahide mitzvot, and when he does so he is highly regarded.
Growing in our relationship with Hashem automatically brings additional Mitzvot on our path, like Tzedaka for example, the Talmud Bavli mentions that Bnei Noach have thirty mitzvot (laws):
Chullin 92a 3.(Rav Yehudah): “If it is good in your eyes, give my wages (return my Tzadikim). If not, my wages will be taken, Sheloshim Kesef” are 30 righteous Nochrim on whom the rest of the world stands.
4.(Ula): These are the 30 Mitzvos that the Nochrim accepted on themselves. They keep only three. (Maharav Ransborg gives references discussing the 30 Mitzvos):
‘Rav Yehuda Says: The verse Zacharia 11:12 refers to the thirty righteous persons among the nations of the world, whose merit sustains the nations of the world.
So no need to hesitate performing additional acts of generosity/chessed out of love for…and in concordance to Hashem’s statutes and ordinances, keep Shabbat, wash hands, say bracha for water and food, pray all the psalms, there’s so much we can do, not as an obligation but to thank and honor Hashem in joy.
By Yoeri Schepens
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