Respecting The Name of G-d
By Rabbi Moshe Bernstein
In our Torah portion, the Torah states a prohibition against committing swearing falsely to defraud a fellow man. This is based on the verse in Leviticus 19:12, which states "You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your G-d; I am the Lord."
In fact, Torah law holds that a Gentile who swears falsely and thereby causes someone else to suffer a financial loss is obligated to repay that loss. Furthermore, the Talmud teaches that someone who swears falsely in G-d's name is considered as if they had built an altar to an idol.
This prohibition applies to Noahides, as it also involves desecrating the name of G-d. Swearing falsely in G-d's name is seen as an act of dishonesty of the trust that others have placed in the person taking the oath and we are commanded to create a just society. Swearing Falsely includes disrespect for G-d's name and ignoring the fact that He Blessed be He, is everything and everything is He.
In the Messianic era, everyone will see that G-d spoke and the world came to be. If G-d would cease to continuously recreate the miracle of creation, the world would cease to be. This is the inner reason why swearing falsely is a transgression, it is a lack of awareness of this fact.
The Seven Noahide Laws are intended for all humanity and therefore can bring us closer to divinity by fulfilling them.
By Rabbi Moshe Bernstein
Rabbi Moshe Bernstein is a writer and a Community Rabbi in Netanya, Israel. He believes in making connections between the Jewish People and the Noahides worldwide in order to share and enhance the knowledge of the Torah's Universal Code for Humanity and fulfill Isaiah's Prophecy 11:9 " And the world will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the oceans".
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