According to the Torah there are seven laws that are universal. Tradition calls them the seven Noahide commandments, sheva mitzvot bnai Noakh-שֶׁבַע מִצְוֹת בְּנֵי נֹחַ. Violators of these laws are subjected to the death penalty. Dappim TB Sanhedrin 56-57 analyzes these laws in great detail.
There are two schools of thought what are included in these seven Noahide Commandments.
“The
Sages taught
in a baraita: The descendants of Noah, i.e., all of humanity, were
commanded to observe seven mitzvot: The mitzva of establishing
courts of judgment; and the prohibition against blessing, i.e.,
cursing, the name of God; and the prohibition of idol worship;
and the prohibition against forbidden sexual relations; and the
prohibition of bloodshed; and the prohibition of robbery; and the
prohibition against eating a limb from a living animal.”
(Sefaria.org translation) This list is the accepted enumeration of the Noahide
laws.
Rambam holds that the seven Noahide commandments is a misnomer because six of the seven were given to Adam in the garden of Eden. Since Adam was a vegetarian the prohibition against eating a limb from a living animal didn’t apply to him. God only issued the prohibition against eating a limb from a living animal after the flood when people were allowed to eat meat. Tosefot ד"ה אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל disagrees with Rambam. They hold that Adam was only forbidden to kill an animal in order to eat its meat. However if he found a dead animal, he was permitted to eat the meat. This permission excluded eating in limb that was detached from a living animal.
The school
of Menashe presents a slightly different set of concerning the seven Noahide
commandments. “As the school of Menashe taught: The descendants of Noah were
commanded to observe seven mitzvot: The prohibitions of idol
worship, and forbidden sexual relations, and blood-shed, and robbery,
and eating a limb from a living animal, and castration, and
diverse kinds.” (Sefaria.org translation)
Within the Sages
enumeration of the seven Noahide commandments, Rambam and Ramban disagree about
the jurisdiction of the court system. Rambam holds that the court only has
jurisdiction over the other six Noahide commandments. “How must the Noachides
fulfill the commandment to establish laws and courts? They are obligated to set
up judges and magistrates in every major city to render judgement concerning
these six mitzvot and to admonish the people regarding their observance.
“A Noachide who transgresses these seven commands shall be executed by
decapitation. For this reason, all the inhabitants of Shechem were obligated to
die. Shechem kidnapped. They observed and were aware of his deeds, but did not
judge him.” (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings, chapter 9, halakha 11, Sefaria.org translation)
This court system is extremely limited.
Ramban has a
much more expanded court system. Commenting on Genesis 34:13 he writes: “In my
opinion, the meaning of ‘Laws’ which the rabbis have counted among the seven Noahidic
commandments is not just that they are to appoint judges in each and every
district, but He commanded them concerning the laws of theft, overcharge, wronging,
and a hired man’s wages; the laws of guardians of property, forceful violation
of a woman, seduction, principles of damage and wounding a fellow man; laws of
creditors and debtors, and the laws of buying and selling, and their like,
similar in scope to the laws with which Israel was charged, and involving the
death penalty for stealing, wronging or violating or seducing the daughter of
his fellow man, or kindling his stack, or wounding him, and their like. And it
is also included in this commandment that they appoint judges for each and
every city, just as Israel was commanded to do, but if they fail to do so they
are free of the death penalty since this is a positive preceptor there’s (and
failing to fulfill a positive preceptor does not occur the death penalty)…
“But the
matter of Sechem was that the people of Shechem were wicked (by virtue of the
violation of the seven Noahide laws) and had thereby forfeited their lives.
Therefore Jacob’s sons want to take vengeance of them by a vengeful sword, and
so they killed the king and all the men of his city or his subjects, obeying
his commands.” (Ramban: Commentary on the Torah, Genesis, translated and
annotated by Rabbi Dr. Charles B. Chavel, Shilo Publishing House, pages 416-419)
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