Modern Noahides [of Noahism] are Aku"m

Some things are outrageous and treif

Modern [invented] Noahism is a contemporary man-made religion. In the post Vendyl Jones - era, Noahides are being rounded up to conform to a secular neo-noahism. The ramifications that manifest from this predicament are too many to mention and list in this [specific] blog post, but I would like to point out what I consider to be a core issue of neo-noahism.

Neo-noahism has created a special distinction for non-Jews by referring to them as akum. The immediate logical question is what does akum mean? It means idolater. But that would imply that all non-Jews are idolaters. Neo-noahism would then respond that akum also is a general term for any non-Jew. So if you are reading this, and you are a non-Jew, or a Noahide, you are an akum [according to neo-noahism]. 

Now that we have exchanged insults, I will add some salt to the wound. Neo-noahism defines its Noahide congregants as Faithful and observant Noahides [B'nei Noach] as opposed to secular and plain descendants from Noach. In other words, in Noahism, there are [only] two kinds of people in this world: Jews and non-Jews. And there are [only] two kinds of non-Jews: observant ones and secular ones. Our job as Jews and their job as 'missionaries' are to make all B'nei Noach 'frum'; supremely religious. This would turn them into superior faithful observant Noahides. It is safe to loosely and philosophically [non-halachically] refer to them as the pious from among the nations. 

At this point I have introduced to you the bulk of their terminologies in reference to non-Jews; remember there is only one category of non-Jew in contrast to the Jew. They are just non-Jews. And they are:

• Noahide
• B'nei Noach
• Pious...
• non-Jews
• Akum
• observant [ones]
• secular [ones]
• ...and there are more that are beyond the scope of this blog post

Try to paint a picture of a classic 'Noahide' within these terms. He is a non-Jew. I suppose he isn't idolatrous, i.e. he is not a practicing Christian. Today there is no longer any Biblical idolatry left in the world. He is somewhat righteous; pious from the nations. He keeps the 7 Laws happily and responsibly. He is frum, observant, and therefore faithful. Until now this sounds really good, and if we are sticking to context, our Noahide stands on good ground. 

Before continuing, I would like to point out that up to now we have not given any source text [Hebrew original] and we have described him purely from opinions and colloquial terms. If it happens to be technically correct in some areas, it is not intentional to the point where we can draw conclusions. And please keep in mind this is all English. Also keep in mind, this is how Noahides today are being taught - in this style and format. They are not presented with anything deeper, more authentic, Hebrew, nor made aware of the bigger picture going on in this discussion [according to Torah].

Do you see a problem with this picture? 

Our good characterized Noahide is clearly being seen in a positive light. But there is an elephant in the room. He is a non-Jew... And therefore he is an akum. No matter how high he climbs, he is still an akum. He is a Shabbos goy, and he is being told he will never not be a Shabbos goy. The most he can hope for is to be a supremely loyal and faithful and observant Shabbos goy. He is an akum. Some would call that [as mentioned above] an idolater. Others would quickly chime in and say akum just means non-Jew. But the conflict is how can a legitimate righteous and pious Noahide be forever confined within the term akum? 

All of the laws [halachot] for akum would then be applied to our Noahide. The Noahide [observant] is then halachically the same as the non-observant [Ben Noach]. Nothing was gained from piousness. Now dig a little bit deeper, if there is a halacha for an akum - idolater, the same halacha applies to the Noahide. Simple logic [along these lines] mandates that I [the Jew] am to consider the akum idolater the exact same as the pious Noahide.

An example of this is in the following question that was asked and posted on asknoah.org:

 "Can Noahides put up a Mezuzah scroll on their doorposts, though they are not commanded to do so? If not, should a Noahide remove them if he already has them?"

...the answer given [as it relates to our akum issue] is:

(the general answer given there was an all around no, and the student reiterated the question, thus the context of the answer presented here)

"No, since this violates all of the general principles above from Rambam. Likewise we have the ruling to this effect, specifically regarding mezuzah, by Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles), the famous Ashkenazi rabbinical authority, in his gloss on the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewsh Law), section Yoreh Deah, vol. 3, chapter 291, law 2."

Let me be clear: Someone asked the official site for Noahism whether or not a Noahide may hang a mezzuza on their doorpost...

(It is made obvious in Noahism, that all discussions of Noahides implies a faithful and observant Noahide. To cut to the chase, that means the Noahide is from the pious among the Nations. This begs the question as to why this Noahide would still be considered akum and would come categorically under the akum in halachic matters.)

...The answer given was no, and quoted the 'Rema' as the official answer. It is true, that every Orthodox Jewish Rabbi holds from the Rema, the Ashkenazi halacha that compliments the Shulchan Aruch. This is universally agreed upon in this context...

...However when one opens the Rema, they may be surprised by what they read, especially given the context of asknoah's framework. If we are dealing with a pious Noahide, one asking if they can hang a mezzuza, and the answer is no, one would suspect the Rema to be addressing a pious observant faithful Noahide. I would also expect the Hebrew to reflect this in its context...

...I would not expect it to say akum, for surely that would imply the idolater context of non-Jew. We must then address what is the subject matter of this Rema?

It is dealing with a non-Jew who bought a house from a Jew, and the law is that the non-Jew isn't allowed to then hang a mezzuza on the doorpost, [almost] exactly as asknoah reported...

...Pay attention that I gave over the context of the Rema, and i described it with the word 'non-Jew'. The only question left is, what was the Hebrew word given in the Rema, that I translated [for expression] as 'non-Jew'? The word in the Rema is 'akum'.

Asknoah then gave the answer [no] to the mezzuza question not through a personal or philosophical opinion, which could be argued either way. The site quoted the Rema, whose context was similar, but not the same as our original question. The conclusion was then taken from the Rema, this akum, and represented as an answer to the Noahide.

The discussion would look like this:

Q: 'Can a [real] Noahide hang a mezzuza?'
A: 'No, an akum cannot hang a mezzuza.'

or, alternatively,

A: 'No, an idolater [idolatrous non-Jew] may not [actually should not, but that is another story altogether] hang up a mezzuza.'

There are at least two problems with this: A) The question and the answer don't match and B) The Noahide is synonymous with an idolatrous non-Jew.

The conclusion from this [and there are many; too many to count] is that Noahides are considered idolatrous [akum] by halacha.

But the Torah is merciful, and allows for a third category, one who proactively rejects idolatrous ways according to the Torah. This is called Ger Toshav. It exists today, and the idolatry that they reject is called shituf; the idolatrous behaviour, thoughts, etc. while today there is no outright idolatry. Many have left their idolatrous ways, but fulfillment comes through a full rejection of all forms of idolatry, even shituf. This takes the Noahide out from being categorically 'akum'.

The ramifications of this are many. If you are a Noahide, mazal tov on leaving behind your idolatrous ways. But finish the job, or be content with staying akum. The choice is yours. Should you wish to continue your path toward returning to Hashem, the Torah exists to advise you, and there are Jews on that path who serve as a Light to Nations. And like Adam in the garden, there are many challenges on the path of the Tree of Life.

Choose Life.

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