By Rabbi Moshe Perets
“The world endures by virtue of three things – justice, truth, and peace, as it is stated, ‘Administer truth and the judgment of peace in your gates.’ ” Another reason for this commandment is that in order to keep a spirit of Godliness in the world, one must be concerned with the establishment of a society according to God’s will, in which people keep their Divine commandments that concern a person’s obligation to God and to one’s fellow human beings.
Noahides are commanded to set up proper judges and law enforcement officers in every inhabited area and city, who will be empowered to judge in matters of the Seven Noahide Commandments, to urge the people to observe the laws, and punish offenders.
It is an obligation for Noahide judges to decide the correct laws for Gentiles according to their Seven Commandments, such as whether or not a particular action directly violates one of these seven Divine commandments. For example, a qualified judge would decide whether a particular action falls directly under the Noahide prohibition of idolatry, or whether the action is an offshoot of idolatry and is therefore forbidden yet not punishable; or whether a woman is considered married and forbidden to another man; or whether a sum of money belongs to a specific person, and therefore another person who takes it would be liable for stealing; and all similar matters.
Rabbi Moshe Perets is the President of the Noahide Academy of Israel, Founder and Executive Director of NoahideAcademy.org, the world’s largest Noahide informational website. He accomplished his Rabbinical Studies at the Chabad Yeshiva and his medical studies at the University of Louvain in Brussels, Belgium.
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