The Book of Esther- Special Divine Providence
The Torah says that the Jewish people were chosen by G-d to be a "light unto the nations" and to serve as a moral and spiritual guide for humanity so they can serve G-d by fulfilling the7 laws of Noah. It is written in the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 58b) the main source of the oral Torah: "One who slaps the cheek of a Jew is considered as though he slapped the cheek of the Divine Presence". One who strikes a Jew is considered as though he hurt the Holy One. Actually, it is forbidden for Noahide to hit someone else regardless of who he is. One who raises his hand to strike another, even if he ultimately does not strike him, is called wicked. Hitting a Jew, however, is an even bigger sin.
Haman was the second to King Ahasuerus and plotted to exterminate all of the Jews in the Persian empire two millennia ago. Haman convinced the king to issue a decree allowing the extermination of the Jewish people in one day. In the Book of Esther, the story is told as a testament to the divine protection of the Jewish people. Haman's plan was the opposite of what he was supposed to do as a Gentile. Instead of giving his forces to fulfill the G-dly mission he fought against it.
Through a series of miraculous events, the Jewish queen Esther was able to reveal Haman's plan to the king and secure his support for the Jewish people. Haman's plan was against the will of G-d and therefore he was ultimately hanged on the same gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, and the Jews were granted the right to defend themselves against their attackers. In fact, many were trying to follow Haman's decree through the generations and they all failed.
The Noahide Laws are a set of moral and ethical guidelines derived from the Torah. The laws, applied to all humanity, include prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, murder, theft, sexual immorality, eating flesh taken from a living animal, and the obligation to establish courts of justice.
According to the Torah law, Noahides should recognize the special role that was given by G-d to the Jewish people and support their mission of promoting the 7 Noahide laws as well as moral and spiritual values. This recognition and support can take many forms. Ultimately it can bring the final redemption and rebuilding of the third Holy Temple.
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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