Is it widely known that there is a system in place for the religious life of all humanity?

Also see a response to Dr. Wu's essay.

The Third Opportunity

Wesley Wu, PhD

Through the telescope of history, from a Noachide’s personal perspective, I identify two historical moments when Judaism was evaluated by the civilized world and examined for its universal acceptability.

The first occurred in the beginning of the Common Era. In the Greco-Roman world, a free religious atmosphere had emerged, challenging the primitive verities which had hitherto reigned.  This new revolutionary intellectual atmosphere created a certain destabilization in social structures.  This left governments looking for a state religion that would restore social conformity. Their citizens, too, were yearning for a sensible, intellectually enlightened religion. Indeed the hope of finding a true religion stimulated the human spirit to an excited state.

It was evident at the time that many were attracted to the Judaic concept of G-d and its elevating moral standards. The possibility for Judaism to become a world religion seemed real, almost imminent. Despite this conspicuous shift in the general attitude, largely credited to the proselytizing Diaspora Jews, this unique historical religious atmosphere was not brought to fruition.

It seems that the opportunity was overlooked, maybe even neglected, by the Jewish People as a collective body.  Perhaps it had never occurred to them that they could enjoy such a great success.  In any case, they had clearly been unprepared for the chance.

The seemingly irreconcilable conflicts between the Jewish laws and the non-Jewish cultures escalated with increasing intensity, and (to condense the historical-political events) the Jesus Sect abruptly turned into a new religion and quickly evolved itself into a self-contained theological framework. This was to conquer a great majority of the world, to define a new type of civilization, and to establish the glorious kingdom of Rome - the birth of Christianity.

Students of Jewish theology will recognize this as a victory for Esau in his historical battle against Jacob for control of the world’s culture.  Rome is identified as Magdiel, a descendant of Esau, in Genesis (36:43).  When Jacob’s descendants could not seize the opportunity to define civilization through Judaism, Esau took advantage of that vacuum to define it through Christianity.  The struggle between the twins continued to rage, with this battle won by Esau.  The tears shed on the day when the blessings were “stolen” found a measure of consolation, even revenge. 

The second period came in the 7th Century, when Muhammad was born. Legend has it that Muhammad was drawn to Judaism due to the long history of Judaic influence in the Arabic world. He appreciated and preferred the monotheism of Judaism over that of Christianity.  While contemplating the choice of religion for himself and his fellow Arabs, Muhammad was gravely troubled by the applicability of the “cumbersome” Jewish laws to his people.  Something had to be done.  

 Had it been widely known among non-Jews that the Torah had in place a system for the religious life of all humanity, namely the Noachide system, Muhammad would almost certainly have examined it as an option for his followers.  In the absence of such information, he was left with a choice founded in ignorance.  What he had considered was not the Jewish system for humanity but the Jewish system for Jews.  This he judged to be too difficult for the masses.  He had to look for an alternative.

Christianity’s solution of introducing a new godhead was distasteful to him. But their concept of the “New Covenant” was clearly an inspiration. With very limited knowledge of the Hebrew Scripture and a burning zeal, he came up with a new system. The new system was, in his mind, perfectly applicable. So much so that it ought to be, in his mind, acceptable by not only the Arabs, but also the world at large – even the Jews!

Such a unified religious framework had to be presented as emerging from Divine revelation.  Naturally, the person who receives such revelation would be a prophet.  Then again, “a” prophet was apparently insufficient to eclipse Moses. It must be “The Prophet”. Naturally, the best candidate for “The Prophet” was none other than Muhammad himself!

Still, it might fairly be said that, although riddled with fraud, his program was advanced with good intentions.  At this point, he approached the rabbis to propose his new ideas.

 As we would expect, he was turned down. Humiliated and disappointed, his natural affection for Judaism turned into a deep hatred.  He went on proclaiming the title of “The Prophet” and enunciated the “divine” message.  He went on to unite the Arabs, his message sweeping all five continents, and to fulfill the Divine prophecy granted to Ishmael and his descendants.  This was the birth of Islam.

 Seen from the perspective of Jewish history, one might say that the children of Israel were veering off onto a new course to pay off the debts that Mother Sarah owed for rejecting Hagar and her firstborn son, Ishmael.

Did it have to be that way?  I have often pondered.

It seems quite clear to me that, from the outset, all Jewish sages and authentic scholars understood the universalism of Judaism.  Any person, with pious intent, can accept Judaism without converting to be a Jew.  Notwithstanding the fact that converts constitute an important part of the Jewish Nation, both physically and spiritually, the universalism of Judaism is, after all, not about wining converts, but about establishing the Jewish priesthood and mentor status among nations. The impression that the Jewish laws impose an unbridgeable gulf between Jews and other nations, leaving Judaism inaccessible to vast segments of humanity is, in truth, baseless.

What if, on the above occasions, the Jews had acquainted the inquirers with the Noachide Laws?  Keep in mind that both movements were initiated without anti-Semitic motive.

Yes, what if?  What if the Jews had been prepared?  If they had enunciated the universalism of Judaism by teaching and making known the Noachide Laws two thousand years ago?  And what if, five some hundred years later, the rabbis replied to Muhammad, “Sure, let’s work something out. As you may know, we have been teaching the Noachide Laws. You don’t need to be circumcised to be part of the picture…”?  What kind of allies might the Jews have acquired for themselves?

My perfunctory speculation is that there would have been no need to develop the “New Testament” or Koran.  (It goes without saying that my judgment is based on the assumption of the pious intentions of the initiators of both religious movements.)   

Would Judaism have become the world religion? If so, would the Messiah have already come long ago?

One might argue that the world was not yet enlightened enough to receive the Messiah at that time.  The problem with this argument is that it shifts the debate from the logical to the metaphysical.  We should always proceed on the assumption that if the right choices are made, the right results will follow.

 In fact, we see this trend in classical Jewish tradition and thought.  The presumption is that if people grab the moment, then history can be brought to its successful climax at any point.  Didn’t the Sages suggest that the whole of mankind could have been redeemed had the Jews not built the golden calf?  Didn’t they say that had Hezekiah responded with the proper poetry and celebration to his miraculous victory over Sennacherib he could have been crowned the Messiah? 

Secondarily, one may argue, what about the prophecies?  Didn’t the Sages teach us that the battles between Jacob and Esau, Isaac and Ishmael were foretold in the Scripture?  Once again, we counter with all the various sources that assert that the Messiah was a real possibility well before the advent of Christianity.  As to the theological question of how the prophecies could have been bypassed, Maimonides explains that although all the positive prophecies are expected to be fulfilled, negative prophecies are always subject to possible cancellation.

Besides, the Scripture did not object to the possibility for the children of Esau and Ishmael to advance as nations in a rightful way.  

Can we construe from the history that the battles had already been fought for a long time and the Jews had suffered enough to justify the redemption two thousand years ago?  Rabbi Akiva certainly thought so.  As we know, he backed the Bar-Kochba Rebellion and he believed that it had true Messianic possibilities.  This took place, of course, right around the same point in history at which Christianity originated.

Thus, it is a reasonable conclusion to arrive at in studying Jewish sources that the potential for a Messianic redemption was already present at least two millennia ago, if not more, and our retrospective analysis of history from a Jewish religious perspective is justified in identifying moments when that potential had blossomed to a point that was very near fruition.

That established, we ask once more: Did the Jews miss those two opportunities?  If indeed they did it might explain, at least in part, why the Jews have collectively suffered so much under the two new leading religions that they inspired.  Then again, obviously not all the sufferings were related to the same reasons.

I also learned that the Armageddon war might have come and gone - another negative prophecy overridden due to the suffering of the Jews under the Nazis.

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Has the Jewish contribution to history been great?  Of course.  Has it been all that it could have been?  That is our question.  Although the whole human race might have been annihilated many times over if it were not for the sake of Israel, it seems that history could also have been rewritten a couple of times over, with improved results, were the nations better informed about the universalism of Judaism.

My personal opinion is that the Jews had been pulled on their tzitzit/fringes (to borrow a phrase from the prophet [Zechariah 8:23]) twice in history.  Recently, we are once again seeing people from all over the world, albeit limited in quantity, come to the realization of the Torah’s truth and try to seek help from the Jews.  Are gentiles making the third attempt to pull the tzitzit?  Are the Jews ready, as a collective body, to help?  These are the questions of the moment and they echo across the four corners of the Earth.

Although there are selective rabbis and scholars who are responding to the call and extending their help, it is fair to say that there is a general lack of awareness throughout the worldwide Jewish communities.  Noachide communities are scattered, unstructured both in teachings and organization, and to a certain extent confused. My personal journey from a Baptist to a Noachide was a joyful experience, nevertheless not an easy one.

It is generally agreed that the inclusion of the Gentile Court in the Temple symbolizes the Jewish-Gentile relationship.  It demonstrates the inherent necessity of an association of gentile learning programs in every Jewish community.  The universalization of Judaism can only be initiated from the core.

Only when Noachide centers being part of Jewish Communities becomes a norm will the Universalism of Judaism become reality and the purpose of Jewish existence fully justified.  Although it is true that, although subject to the dominating power of Christianity and Islam, some Jewish ideas have prevailed and the Torah truth has been revealed (partially), a good teacher can’t be considered to have fulfilled his duty by merely handing over a textbook.   

Michael E. Dallen opens the Introduction of his book The Rainbow Covenant so appropriately, with a quote from R. Elijah Benamozegh:

This book – The Rainbow Covenant - has touched my heart.  So much so that the thought echoes perpetually in my mind: if only a book like this had been available and known centuries ago...

 I am not a historian and certainly not a Torah scholar.  Indeed my above analysis might be an oversimplified derivation from the complex human historical play, not to mention the incomprehensible dynamics of the Jewish internal affairs. But if you could bear with my perfunctory assumption, let me say one more thing.

This is the third opportunity.  Now.  Right now.  If overlooking the first two opportunities gave rise to Christianity and Islam, what if the Jews miss this time again?

We can only speculate.

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Maybe the universalzation of Judaism is a job for the Messiah after all. Then, may he come speedily. His arrival at the present time certainly seems to be more imminent than any other time in the history. But perhaps mankind has to come further along by itself to deserve the Messiah’s coming.  In that case, the present imminence could either turn into reality or mundane history could be prolonged to another unforeseeable point in the future.  For as we have seen, this is not the first time that Messiah’s footsteps have passed close by our door.

A Response to Dr. Wu's Essay

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