ARE NOAHIDES ORTHODOX?

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This blog post is a summary of a powerful lesson on the question if Noahides are Orthodox. It’s definitely worth watching the full lesson on YouTube for a deeper insight. Here, we share some key ideas and practical lessons on how we can use our speech in daily life to build rather than break.

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Are Noahides Orthodox? Understanding Torah, Tradition, and the Seven Laws

Tonight’s question may sound simple: Are Noahides orthodox?

But hidden inside that question is something far deeper: Is Judaism just another religion with endless denominations like Christianity?

The answer requires careful unpacking because our common assumptions about “Judaism” and “orthodoxy” often project modern frameworks onto a reality that is fundamentally different.

The Word “Judaism” Isn’t in the Torah

Surprisingly, even the word Judaism is not a Torah term. Its earliest known form appears not in Hebrew, but in Greek: “Ioudaismos,” found in 2 Maccabees, dating to the 2nd century BCE.

This term does not mean religion. Instead, it refers to the way of life of the Judean people, in contrast to Hellenismos, the assimilated life of Greek civilization.

So before asking whether Noahides are orthodox, we must recognize that the concept of “orthodox Judaism” itself is an external label. From the inside, the reality is very different.

Judaism Is One Covenant, Not Denominations

From the outside, Judaism can appear similar to Christianity: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, all claiming competing truths. But this is a projection—a Christian mental model imposed on a fundamentally different tradition.

Inside Torah, there is one covenantal reality, given at Sinai in Exodus 19–24, and transmitted through an unbroken chain:

• Moshe Rabenu (Moses)
• The prophets
• The Men of the Great Assembly
• The Tannaim and Amoraim
• The Geonim (7th–11th centuries)
• The Rishonim (11th–15th centuries)
• The Acharonim (16th century to present)

It is one chain, one covenant, one Torah.

What Does “Orthodox” Even Mean?

The word orthodox comes from Greek: orthos (straight, correct) and doxa (belief, opinion). Yet no Jew in the Tanakh or Talmud ever calls themselves orthodox, because the word didn’t exist.

The first printed usage of “Orthodox Jews” appeared in the late 1700s in German-speaking Europe, describing Jews who refused to modernize Judaism in response to Enlightenment pressures. These individuals were not forming a new denomination—they were simply continuing the Torah as it had always been lived.

True orthodoxy, if the term has meaning, is about fidelity to the fundamental imuna (faith) structure articulated by the Rambam (Moses Maimonides).

The Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith

Maimonides codifies the foundational beliefs of Torah Judaism in his commentary on the Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:

1. G-d exists
2. G-d is one
3. G-d is non-physical
4. G-d is eternal
5. Only G-d should be worshiped
6. Belief in prophecy
7. Moses is the greatest prophet
8. The Torah is divine
9. The Torah is immutable
10. G-d knows human actions
11. G-d rewards and punishes
12. Belief in the coming of the Messiah
13. Belief in the resurrection of the dead

These are not abstract philosophical ideas—they are covenantal foundation stones, binding the Jewish people to Torah.

How Modern Movements Emerged

Until roughly 1800, there was one Judaism, one continuous faith and practice. The concept of denominations emerged later:

• Jewish Emancipation: France (1791), Austria (1782), Prussia, Germany. Citizenship and legal rights prompted new Jewish responses.
• Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment): Led by Moses Mendelssohn (late 1700s–1800s), promoting secular studies and integration with European society.
• Reform Judaism: Began with Israel Jacobson’s temple (1810) and the German prayer book (1818), introducing prayers in German, organ music, and deemphasizing Jewish law.
• Conservative Judaism: Founded by Zacharias Frankel (1845), advocating positive historical Judaism—halakha evolves historically, but remains binding.
• Secular Zionism: Theodor Herzl (1860–1904) promoted Jewish nationalism without religious adherence.

Those who maintained the Torah faithfully were later labeled “Orthodox” by others—but they were not creating a new movement; they were continuing Sinai’s covenant.

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Implications for Noahides

For Noahides, this history is crucial. The seven Noahide laws exist as a structured system within Halacha. Every detail—what counts as theft, idolatry, or justice—comes from the unbroken Torah chain.

The Rambam writes (Hilchot Melachim 8:11):

Anyone who accepts and performs the seven commandments is counted among the pious of the nations and has a share in the World to Come. If performed only out of rational conviction, one is merely a wise person—not one guaranteed the world to come.

The key point: Noahide observance derives authority from G-d’s command through Moses, not from human reasoning, ethics, or philosophy.

So, Are You Orthodox Noahides?

No. The label “orthodox” doesn’t apply to Noahides, because:

1. Noahides are not Jewish
2. Noahides do not join Jewish denominations
3. True alignment comes from learning Torah from the faithful Halachic chain

From the outside, Judaism may seem like a patchwork of denominations. From the inside, it is one covenant, one G-d, one Torah.

For Noahides, the essential question is: From whom will I receive my understanding of G-d, Torah, and the seven laws?

Anchor yourself in the faithful chain from Sinai, and through the seven laws, bring G-d’s moral clarity to the world.

Por el rabino Tani Burton

Más shiurim del rabino Tani Burton

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