Speech For the UN That the Rebbe Reviewed

Transcript — Episode 61: "Speech For the UN That the Rebbe Reviewed"

Welcome to our weekly program, Inside Story of Chabad in America, through the Mindel Archives. Since last week was the election for president and senators, I want to read to you a speech that Rabbi Mindel spoke at the UN about the Sheva Mitzvos B'nei Noach, the Seven Noahide Laws, with many, many notations, mamash, of the Rebbe. The Rebbe looked it over, and then the Rebbe said that this should go into the New York Times.

Now, I will not read you the whole speech that he wrote down. I just took the nekudos — I took the points — and I'm going to read to you the nekudos that I wrote down from the speech that Rabbi Mindel spoke at the UN.

He said like this: the goal of the UN is to promote peace and prosperity in the world, and to fulfill the prophecy of Yeshayahu. What does Yeshayahu say? That nations will beat their swords into plowshares — nations will turn their tools of destruction into tools for life. But we see that this prophecy of world peace has not yet happened. Why not? Have we tried every possible way to make it happen, to bring peace to the world? We have in the world lawlessness and violence. This should not be tolerated. We spend money and effort treating the symptoms, but we must work to eliminate the cause of this anti-social condition.

How do we eliminate it — how do we do this? Education. The moral fabric of society depends on the kind of education that children receive in school and at home. In order to succeed in education, he says, we use a stick and a carrot — punishment and reward — but this is not enough. We will not succeed in educating our children with just a stick and a carrot.

What is effective, what does work, is to make the child aware — as the Rebbe spoke — that there is an eye that sees and an ear that hears, that he is always in the presence of a Supreme Being, a Heavenly loving Father who cares how each and every one of His children behaves and who supervises his every action — a Supreme Being before whom we will have to give an account for our every action and word.

Indeed, man-made laws in the world at large, b'chlal, lawlessness and violence are symptoms — symptoms that something is wrong. And we see this clearly in the past few months; we see this unrest even today. We need to ask, we have to ask, what is the cause of this anti-social behavior? What is wrong with society that causes this behavior? Don't nations have laws that govern their behavior?

So he said, yes, we do have laws, but they are man-made laws, laws that would not be and could not be universally accepted, because people do not see things the same way. And we have sadly witnessed what a highly civilized society can do when left to its own rules and regulations — sinking to the lowest level of cruelty in our recent history. This is what can happen when laws are based on human intellect, man-made laws.

So what is the advice? Divine laws. The only laws that could be accepted by all mankind are laws given by the Creator of all mankind and of all the world. The One who created all of us is the One able to mandate what is best for us and for the world at large.

Again, this is the point that I wrote down from Rabbi Mindel's speech: Is there a universal moral code that would be acceptable to all nations and all mankind? There is — there is the code of laws known as the Noahide Code, the Seven Laws of the Children of Noach. This God-given moral code serves as the foundation of human society from the very beginning of human society. It came even before the famous Babylonian code.

The Seven Noahide Laws were given to Noach and his children after the flood, so that mankind would not again degenerate into a jungle as happened before the flood, and mankind should develop in accordance with the will of God, to be truly civilized and productive. But people are not living up to these universal moral standards, standards which we need to reinforce through the teaching of the Seven Noahide Laws.

When we teach and live by these Divine Seven Laws, it will bring about the fulfillment of the prophecy of Yeshayahu, whose words are written on the walls of the UN. What does it say on the walls of the UN? It says, as Yeshayahu said, that they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. This is what it says at the UN.

Now, he told the Seven Noahide Laws, with the explanation of every law — which they have notations on, since every law can be explained in a different way. So I will read to you exactly what Rabbi Mindel said, and this is the Rebbe's notation on the laws.

Number one, of the Noahide laws: prohibition of idolatry. We must not make idols of anything in the universe, not accept any aspect of the universe as deity. God alone is the Creator and Governor of all existence.

Number two: prohibition of blasphemy. We are forbidden to curse God, for all that He does has a purpose, often beyond our minds to understand. So when we see problems in the world, we have a duty to deal with them and improve the world, not to curse and blame God.

Number three: prohibition of bloodshed. What did the Rebbe's notation say? Not to take the life of another human being. A) This undermines the basis of a civilized society, and B) it is showing disregard for God Himself, as He created humankind in His image.

Number four: prohibition of forbidden sexual relationships. Includes incest, adultery, homosexuality, and bestiality. The normal, natural union of male and female enables them to accomplish their purpose on earth and helps create a stable, civilized society. Unnatural relationships have the opposite effect, disrupting God's plan for the world.

Number five: prohibition of theft. He says this includes taking others' property by violent or fraudulent means — dishonesty, kidnapping, withholding an employee's salary. Our possessions are an extension of ourselves; violating the property of others is an insult to their humanity. Theft and dishonesty plunge society into anarchy.

Number six: prohibition of eating a limb from a living animal. So he writes here: man was given authority over the world so that the world can fulfill its purpose. We are even permitted to eat animals, yet we are not given permission to be destructive or cruel. The most barbaric form of cruelty is to torture a living creature, so we may not eat any part taken from a creature still alive.

Number seven: obligation to administer justice. Humankind is committed to help establish and maintain a judicial system of judges and enforcers of the law for civil and criminal justice. This guarantees the functioning of a civil society.

And this — what I just read to you, the seven laws with the notations of the Rebbe — the Rebbe put this in [unclear] that this should be [unclear], when the Rebbe spoke then about [unclear].

Now this is the third program that I wanted to tell you about. The [unclear] b'nei Noach, and in [unclear], the Rebbe dealt with all different topics in mitzvos.

Next week we are going to share with you a topic about marriage — the portion that we read on Yom Kippur, who you are allowed to marry and who you are not allowed to marry — and the Rebbe dealt with some of the topics which I'm going to share with you next week.

Thank you.