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G-d "created the world that it might be settled".1 This implies a level of civilized conduct, obsereved by all Peoples and people. Indeed, the perfection of the world that leads to the Messianic Era requires the spreading of the seven commandments that G-d - through the Torah - provided for all the nations of the world.
These are the Seven Noahide Laws, as enumerated in the Babylonian Talmud,2:
Carry out justice - An imperative to pursue and enforce social justice, and a prohibition of any miscarriage of justice.
No blasphemy - Prohibits a curse directed at the Supreme Being.
No idolatry - Prohibits the worship of any human or any created thing. Also prohibited is the making of idols and involvement with the occult. This necessitates an understanding of the One G-d of Israel and His nature.
No illicit intercourse - Prohibits adultery, incest, homosexual intercourse and bestiality, according to Torah definitions.
No homicide - Prohibits murder and suicide. Causing injury is also forbidden.
No theft - Prohibits the wrongful taking of another's goods.
Sexual transgression disrupts G-d's love for us and harms people in their love-capacity
...in Kabbalah
In Kabbalah and Chassidut, the Seven Commandments are equivalent to the seven emotional sefirot. The ten sefirot, through which G-d made the world and man, are divided into three "intellectual" attributes: Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge (chochmah, binah, and daat), and seven "emotional" ones: Kindness, Might, Beauty, Eternity, Glory, Foundation and Sovereignty (chesed, gevurah, tiferet, netzach, hod, yesod and malchut). Each law parallels one of the seven "emotional" sefirot.
Sexual misconduct is the perversion of love, and is related to chesed. Sexual transgression disrupts G-d's love for us and harms people in their love-capacity, while permitted sexual relations are cherished in Heaven, and facilitate divine influence throughout creation.
Murder is the perversion of strength and power, and corresponds to gevurah.
Theft is the destruction of harmony in human relationships, and corresponds to tiferet, the harmonious blend of kindness and might which enables social balance. In a world where questions of business morality are at the top of the agenda, this commandment fosters ethical conduct in an area where it is sorely needed.
When both Jews and non-Jews can learn Torah without distortion of its halachic meaning, true peace becomes possible
Eating a limb from a living animal corresponds to the sefirah of yesod, associated with the reproductive drive. The link between eating and sexuality is well-known. The eating of living meat fosters the purely rapacious aspect of both eating and sexual relations. It adds to the desire for purely exploitative sexual relations which resemble eating, since such food contains the actual "heat of life" which arouses selfish passions. Sexual rapaciousness and cruelty of all kinds are rectified by abstaining from living meat as defined by the Torah. This in turn inspires gentle and respectful practices, such as those directed towards maintaining the environment.
A functioning judicial system corresponds to malchut, the lowest sefirah, which rules in supremacy but is selflessly devoted to public service. This is the responsibility of good government. Our sages state, "War comes to the world through the delay of justice, the perversion of justice, and the teaching of Torah not in accordance with Jewish Law".3
(A complete guide to the 7 basic laws can be found in the Encyclopedia Talmudit, under "Ben Noach". A philosophical understanding is available in 'The Seven Laws of Noah', by Aaron Lichtenstein. See also, the U.S. Congressional Declaration: H. J. Res. 104, Public Law 102-14, March 20, 1991; and the talk of the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Shabbat Beshalach 5743/1983.)
Republished from www.kabbalaonline.org
Footnotes
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