Chiddushei Dat – Defining and Protecting the Boundaries of Noahism
As Noahides, we are faced with so many decisions when figuring out how to live a Noahide Life. We do not have an established community with community leaders and standards. We are forced to seek out our answers. Baruch Hashem, it is getting easier. Rabbis are becoming more aware of Noahides and our need for answers, and we are getting more books and websites to help us on this journey.
However, in figuring out what it means to live a Noahide Life, we must remember, we are not Jewish. There are many things Hashem gave exclusively to the Jewish people, and there are many things Hashem requires exclusively of the Jewish people.
That is what the principle of Chiddushei Dat addresses. Chiddushei Dat sets boundaries for Noahides and protects those boundaries.
As described by Rabbi Avraham Chaim Bloomenstiel:
Chiddushei Dat is a principle fundamental to the identity and practice of Noahism. However, it is a concept difficult for many Noahides to grasp. To those unfamiliar with the mechanics of the Torah, it appears to impose restrictions upon Noahide practice. Chiddushei Dat, though, does no such thing. It defines and protects the boundaries of Noahism, preserving it as a unique identity.1
Chiddushie Dat “prohibits Noahides from imitating mitzvos which were commanded to the Jewish people unless those mitzvos have a logical, practical, real-world benefit (i.e. the mitzvos of charity, honoring one’s parents, etc.).”2
[A]ny Jewish commandment between man and his fellow man, or between man and G-d, which has a reason and a logical benefit for a person or society, is permitted for Gentiles to perform. But this does not apply for any commandment that does not have a logical, natural benefit, but is rather a sign for Jews, such as ritual fringes (tzitzit), mezuzah, scrolls, or phylacteries [tefillin], or is a G-dly statute for the Jew without a reason or benefit understood to a person.3
If he wants, he can seek proper conversion to become a Jew in all respects, or he can remain observant of the Noahide Code, without adding to or subtracting from the Noahide Commandments that he observes.4
Conceptually, Chiddushie Dat may be easy to understand. However, practically speaking, it can be difficult to accept. At times, Chiddushie Dat can seem just like a lot of “NO’s”, and for those seeking positive expressions of their faith and love for Hashem, this can be frustrating at a deep level. But who is more qualified to tell us how to serve Hashem than Hashem Himself?
The Jewish concept of Bitul Hayeshus means to “nullify our will in the search for and servitude of [Hashem’s] will.”5 Meaning, if Hashem tells us, through His Torah, certain things are prohibited, then no matter how much we wish to do them, we must not. “The true cleaving of a person to G-d can only be in a way that accords with the will of G-d, who has given mankind a path of connection to Himself, and to a spiritually higher level of eternal existence that is inconceivable by natural means.”6
We must strive to understand G-d’s will, learn to recognize it, and learn how to fulfill it according to its specific details. The objective guidepost for determining G-d’s will and its fulfillment is the study of the Torah according to the principles of Torah elucidation handed down from time immemorial.
In certain areas, G-d has given the man leeway to beautify the mitzvos, or to declare certain things as holy or “set aside” for service to G-d. However, if a Jew decides to do a mitzvah where it clearly does not apply, that Jew is “forcing” his will upon G-d…
The Jewish people are VERY stringently enjoined against the idea of forcing their will upon HaShem…
It is vitally important for anyone wishing to adopt a Noahide identity to embrace this point: there are not two Torahs. The same mechanics that govern Jewish observance of the 613 mitzvos also govern the Noahide observance of the 7 mitzvos. Just as the Jews have Baal Tosif, the Noahides have Chiddushei Dat. 7
- Rabbi Avraham Chaim Bloomenstiel. The Noahide Laws. Yeshiva Pirchei Shoshanim, 2014, p. 119.
- Rabbi Avraham Chaim Bloomenstiel. Should a Noahide Light Shabbos Candels? Noahide Nations, https://www.noahidenations.com/index.php/academy-of-shem/ask-the-posek/818-should-a-noahide-light-shabbos-candles. Accessed September 21, 2020. (citing Maimonides, Hilkhos Melakhim 10:9 – 10; Igros Moshe OC II:25, V:18, YD I:3, I:6, II:7, II:8, III:90, IV:51:1, and CM II:69; Sefer Sheva Mitzvos HaShem I:1:3).
- Rabbi Moshe Weiner. The Divine Code. Expanded Second ed., Vol. I, Ask Noah International, 2011,pp. 70-71.
- The Divine Code, 2nd ed., p. 65.
- The Noahide Laws, p. 130.
- Rabbi Moshe Weiner. The Divine Code: The Guide to Observing the Noahide Code, Revealed from Mount Sinai in the Torah of Moses, Fourth ed., Ask Noah International, 2020, p. 31.
- The Noahide Laws, pp. 130-131.
