Oscar-award winning actor John Voight was awarded the Tzedakah Award by Noahide Nations at this year’s first Noahide World Conference.

Voight said,

“The Seven Noahide Commandments appeal to my own sense of what I feel is a higher purpose, which is to try to get everyone to an understanding of what they’re asked to do, what life’s responsibilities are. These very simple Seven Laws of Noah, are good basics.”

- Jon Voight

Below is an interview with John Voight on Israeli television from May 2008 after he visited the rocket-battered town of Sderot.

Notables:
“G-d says to Abraham: Those who bless you will be blessed, those who curse you will be cursed.  And isn’t that what has happened [in history]?”¹

“All sane people should have a passion for Israel at this time.”

“I’m thinking about the future of our children, about the future of this world that we’re in.”

My interview with Jim Long and Ray Petterson on Arutz 7’s new show “Noahide Nations” can be heard from the link below.  Thanks guys!

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/426

During this Hanukkah season, it’s all about shining some light to the world and that’s just what a Jewish college student is doing these days. His name is Daniel and he’s decided it’s time to be “Embracing the Noahide world through Torah and friendship.” To do that, he has created a website called “I Heart Noahides”.  Join Ray Pettersen and Jim Long as they learn why the young creator of this website decided it was time to be a Light to the Nations. Ray and Jim also share one of their favorite new songs by musician Ari Goldwag. It’s called “Finally Here” (http://www.arigoldwag.com), a song that’s guaranteed to stir your heart and soul.

Jim Long is the producer of several documentaries about the land of Israel. Ray Pettersen is the founder of NoahideNations.com. Together they host the Noahide Nations radio show.

One of the mitzvot (commandments) Jews have is “Shmirat HaLashon” - Guarding the Tongue from evil speech.  This is not about lieing.  It’s about gossiping, relaying harmful (but true) information to others about your fellow man.

Guarding against this behavior has been led by a Rabbi we refer to as “The Chafetz Chaim” (The Life Seeker).

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(image courtesy of inventorspot.com)

(Source: SimpleJew)
A Simple Jew asks:

As a Bas Noach (daugher of Noah) living in South East Asia, how did you first learn about the Chofetz Chaim? Why do you feel so attached to his teachings?

“Believing Gentile” answers:

When the Internet came to where I live around the early 1990’s, both my sons told me that now was the opportunity to seek teachings from the Chosen People.

Years earlier, I had responded to my younger son saying that there was no way we would ever, ever be able to study from the Jewish people from here. I remember he told me then, “G-d only gave them the Holy Scriptures so they are the only true teachers.”

I forgot his words until the Internet came. What I had years earlier thought was impossible, Hashem made it possible.

I know its a miracle, a blessing from G-d, that I entered the Orthodox sites at my first search and entry.

I feel G-d brought me first to the Chofetz Chaim’s teachings since controlling my speech is the area where I needed the most improvement. It is the most damaged part of myself that I needed to correct in order to draw nearer to G-d.

In my early years, I was taught that doing penance by saying “Hail Mary” and “Our Father” was enough to remove any sins, speech or otherwise. However, I have come to see that this belief is false. The words we speak don’t just go away. They can sometimes cause untold harm.

I carry with me always a small portrait picture of the Chofetz Chaim, which my Torah tutor Reuven Ginat sent me by email, years ago, along with a picture of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. They are outstanding examples of our times and I seek protection for myself in their merits and strive to follow their teachings. Quoting from an article from Rabbi Dovid Sears on this site, “We may not be able to see with the eyes of the tzaddikim (righteous people). But as we try to find our way through the confusions of this world, at least we should strive to heed their directions.”

Keeping in mind the famous story of Reb Zusia of Anapol, I know that I am not expected to be at the Chofetz Chaim’s level, but I know that I am answerable to the Seven Laws which G-d gave us believing Gentiles and which He gave us the capacity to fulfill.

May the merits of this great tzaddik (righteous person), the Chofetz Chaim, protect my family and me from evil speech.

iHeartNoahides.com does an interview with Rachav, who runs the Yahoo! group “Noahides,” which is a wonderful group of people. They have great resources on the Yahoo! group website, such as links and essays pictures and other goodies.

Enjoy!

List of Questions:

1. How did you find out about Bnei Noach?
2. What are the 3 highlights of your life as a Bat Noach?
3. Are there any Bnei Noach in particular that you deeply admire or greatly appreciate?
4. Same question as #3 but Jews?
5. Do you have children? If so, do they follow in your spiritual path?
6. Can you give advice to Bnei Noach parents that read this blog?
7. How many hours a day do you dedicate to running the Noahides Yahoo! group?
8. How many of the Yahoo! group members have you met in person, and how many members are there?
9. What do you think is the next big step for the Bnei Noach movement?
10. How can ordinary observant Jews best support Bnei Noach?
11. How can Bnei Noach best support observant Jews?
12. How do you usually spend your time during Shabbat?
13. When Mashiach comes, do you see yourself moving to Israel? Why or why not?

When I was learning with Reb Moshe Kantor obm (of blessed memory -iHN) he showed me the book Path of the Righteous Gentile, I had been learning with him for a few years when he showed it to me. When I wanted to buy it though, he said that I was way past it and he refused to sell it to me.

I did buy the book a few years later after he had gone to his reward when our very small Noahide group were learning with a rabbi from Chabad, and he thought it should be used as our textbook. We went a few chapters into the book but the rabbi decided that it really wasn’t all that useful.

What are the 3 highlights of your life as a Bat Noach?

That is a very difficult question to answer, nothing in particular comes to mind. It was something which happened so gradually that one day I realized that I was on the right path. There are two kinds of gentiles. Those who make up their minds very quickly and those who take a long time to do so. I am of the latter kind. It took me several years to unpick all the false beliefs I had held. The process was slow because of my rather cautious indecisive nature.

Are there any Bnei Noach in particular that you deeply admire or greatly appreciate?

Those Bnei Noah I most deeply admire and appreciate are those who want to know the truth, show loyalty, and who have a great hunger for learning what G-d wants of them.

Same question as #3 but Jews?

Ditto the same answer as above.

Do you have children? If so, do they follow in your spiritual path?

I have four children and four grandchildren. None of my children has made a conscious decision to follow the 7 Laws, my son who still lives at home keeps them without studying them. He lives a very clean and honest life and does remember very well the things he learned as a child from the wonderful Jewish children’s books I read to my two youngest children. Sometimes I need to quote something from one of those Jewish stories I read to them as children, and my son now 29, can tell which which volume and which author it comes from and will immediately find it for me. My two older children both daughters with teenage children, were raised while I was still in the church something which left them rather cynical about religion and G-d. They were from my first marriage and were quite a few years older than my two younger children a boy and a girl. Tamara my youngest daughter does occasionally ask me questions about Jewish things.

Can you give advice to Bnei Noach parents that read this blog?

The first bit of advice that I can give unreservedly is, talk with your children, I do not believe that children should be seen and not heard, which I was raised with. Listen to what they are saying to you, and know where they are really coming from. I really wish I had done this with my first two daughters, it would have saved us all a lot of grief. Respect your children. And when they are young read to them from those wonderful Jewish children’s books which are both educational and interesting.

How many hours a day do you dedicate to running the Noahides Yahoo! group?

I really cannot quantify how many hours a day I dedicate to moderating the Noahides group at Yahoogroups. I am mostly housebound, so my computer goes on in the morning usually about 9 or 10 am, and stays on until after midnight many nights. I am not at the desk constantly, I leave it running even when I go out or I am busy with other things. Sometimes I will be at the keyboard for about 8 hours a day, and other days a lot less. I put up my website several years ago, but a couple of years ago I lost my access to my original website after someone hacked into my Yahoo account. I eventually got back my yahoogroups, but lost the website, so I put up a mirror site at
http://www.geocities.com/rachav7/

How many of the Yahoo! group members have you met in person, and how many members are there?

I have met in person only one of the members, she now lives in Queensland but we were friends before we finally decided to become b’nei Noah, I made my decision first, she was crushed initially, my timing was terrible but I had to make a decision just prior to the Passover, we had annually observed the christian Lord’s supper, which precedes Passover by one night. And that was when I told her that I couldn’t partake with her. She understood, and we both cried. But our friendship survived anyway. She later had to move to Queensland because of her daughter’s need of her, we are still good friends and she does read the messages on the group, but rarely corresponds there, and we occasionally phone one another, and we are in touch by email.

I do have friendships long distance with a number of the b’nai Noah, and since we have corresponded and chatted live with yahoo internet messenger we know each other very well.

What do you think is the next big step for the Bnei Noach movement?

I really don’t see any next big steps for the Bnei Noah movement, everything has been so gradual up to now, I don’t think that our growth will really happen fast until we reach critical mass which it has not done so far. There are currently 286 members of the group, the majority do not post. That is quite typical of all Yahoogroups, only about 10% of any group ever actually posts messages on any group.
Some people write to me privately from time to time who do not post to the group.

How can ordinary observant Jews best support Bnei Noach?

The best support that observant Jews can give the Bnei Noah is to spread the information among yourselves about our existence, so that if one of these Jews encounters a Noahide they will know who they are dealing with. Mostly we have encountered a lot of suspicion, even after we explain that we are bnai Noah the majority of Jews still think that we still believe in Jesus or worse that we are missionaries in disguise, of course those fears ares not easily put to rest since many missionaries dishonestly represent themselves to Jews. Also Noahides need to be allowed to attend shiurim (Torah classes) where they can learn.

How can Bnei Noach best support observant Jews?

We can defend the Jews when we hear anti-semitism, and do our best to make the truth known about Israel’s important role.

My website has a complete section about Israel and the current problems with the islamic radicals and terrorists.
http://www.geocities.com/rachav7/Israel.html

How do you usually spend your time during Shabbat?

My day is frequently spent on the internet approving email to the group and responding to questions, I regard my role as serving HaShem when I am moderating the group. I also have the opportunity to chat live with other b’nai Noah in IM.

When Mashiach comes, do you see yourself moving to Israel? Why or why not?

I really don’t see myself moving to live in Israel when Mashiach comes, I believe that the b’nai Noah will have their hands full at that time helping the gentiles of our nations to learn about HaShem. Of course if I am still living at that time, I would love to go up to Jerusalem at the Succot Festival, as commanded by HaShem and prophesied in Zechariah 14.

Guest Post by Noahide Alice Jonsson
Source: BreslovWorld.com

In case you haven’t noticed there aren’t many Bnei Noach in the world. I joke that there are more pandas living in the wild than Bnei Noach. Yes, the numbers are growing.

Yes, we have many reasons to be optimistic. And yes, it’s quite rewarding despite the challenges associated with being part of such a, well, select group of individuals.

That being said, there are times when it’s great to be around like-minded people.

Noahide Nations — an organization for Torah centered Bnei Noach — has a unique opportunity for community building, Torah learning, and of course some schmoozing this [past -ihn] June in lovely Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. There they will be hosting their first Noahide Nations World Conference. I spoke with Noahide Nations founder Ray Pettersen about their upcoming conference on the eve of their move to their new headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

BRESLOV WORLD: Can you tell us a little bit about Noahide Nations?

PETTERSEN: Noahide Nations is an organization founded for Torah-centered Noahides and for those who are curious about the Torah – to let them know that they don’t need to convert for God to love us.

Our website (noahidenations.com) is really a melting pot of information and dialogue about Torah. There’s a forum section; a Torah learning center where people can log in and receive instruction from rabbis, Jewish women, educated Noahides — scholarly individuals.

BRESLOV WORLD: What’s the idea behind this international conference?

PETTERSEN: Well, it’s from June 26^th to June 29^th, 2008 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. [For more information see noahidenations.com.] The idea behind the conference is two-fold and it’s pretty ambitious. One is to begin a serious unification process of the Noahide movement worldwide. In other words we need people who consider themselves leaders in England, Netherlands, Puerto Rico — all over the world — that will come to this conference. And we can begin to start this unification because right now we are just spread out pretty much all over the internet. That’s how we meet each other, and that’s all well and good. If it weren’t for the internet we wouldn’t be where we are right now.

I have people that are involved with Noahide Nations from all over the world, and that’s what we need to begin to do. And in doing that then the Noahide movement can begin to realize and manifest its destiny to become Righteous Gentiles and to spread Hashem’s truth to the nations. Yes, we are supposed to still learn and study under the rabbis. But certainly that doesn’t mean that Noahides aren’t able to learn that knowledge and to become teachers as well. So that’s part of it, to bring that unification process to a head to really make it happen.

BRESLOV WORLD: Can you talk about some of the community building aspects of the conference?

PETTERSEN: Yes, the other part — it’s a community type thing — is that the Jewish people — often times you can talk to a Jewish person and tell them you are a Noahide and they don’t know what the heck you are talking about. What’s a Noahide? There are many people out there who don’t truly understand what a Righteous Gentile is. Because of this, the reason I wanted to have it in the Ft. Lauderdale area is a town called Hollywood, which has a very large Jewish community.

I wanted to extend a hand, and receive a hand back — which I think I already have — from the Jewish community. Because you know what? We’re on the same team! Our roles are different, but we are on the same team. So rather than this idea that Jews are somehow better than Gentiles — and some Noahides being adamant towards the Jewish community — we need to eliminate all of that and bring forth a true understanding of what a Noahide is, what we are to Hashem, what we are to the Jewish people and what we are in the redemption.

And vice versa. Jewish people need to know who we are. The only way that will happen is by direct involvement by both parties. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to get as highly recognized rabbis to speak at the conference as possible so that a good many people from the Jewish community would make the decision to come, even if it’s just for one day.

BRESLOV WORLD: What else will be happening at the conference Bnei Noach need to hear about?

PETTERSEN: There’ll be an announcement about a Noahide home school association. Also, an International Noahide Torah Fellowship that we’re getting going. There’s going to be an ordination program where people can actually be trained by rabbis and by Noahides who are currently community leaders. Because we need to start sprouting Noahide communities all over the world.

As Sir Edmund Burke said so beautifully, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.” What we are doing is something. Now it’s really a matter of who wants to join on, who wants to get on board.

BRESLOV WORLD: Didn’t I see something about a siddur being unveiled at the conference?

PETTERSEN: Yes, a siddur for Noahides will be published and made available at the conference.

BRESLOV WORLD: I think many Bnei Noach are loners, sort of by default. What do you think?

PETTERSEN: Do something about the isolation. It’s really about this: once you know the truth, what are you doing with the truth? That’s what Hashem asks us. What does it mean to be a servant? Well, it means many things, but one of the things it means is to spread His truth. We have to be that vehicle that gets Hashem’s word out to the masses. To a large degree Hashem puts us through these experiences for this destiny.

In the industrialized world, the average person watches 3 hours of TV a day.
In 75 years, that adds up to 9 years of television. What would our children, an entire generation of children, be like if they had those 9 years back?

Judy and her husband are raising 3 girls, aged 7, 5, and 3. In the following interview, Judy opens us to the beautiful world of the TV-free home.

iHN: How do you approach the issue of TV?

J: We have a TV with an antenna and get 5 or 6 channels. And we have DVD/VCR player. The kids don’t watch any TV at all though. What we do is we let each of our three girls get one 30 minute video a week, or they can all watch something together that’s 90 minutes long, such as a movie from our movie shelf.

iHN: Why do you choose not to watch TV in your home?

J: Well, I would break the issue of TV down into two components The first is the medium itself: We want them to learn to entertain themselves, not to be trained [by TV] to have a passive experience as a spectator – you know, “Entertain me!”

The second issue with TV is the content: I’m not comfortable with anything that’s on [TV] today. Nick Jr. is medium-okay, but I would rather they played on the Nick Jr. website for 15 minutes, because it’s at least interactive. But even the website is really not so good for them.

iHN: And what about you and your husband? Do you guys watch TV?

J: We watch maybe one hour a week. Saturday Night Live, or sitcom or something.

But I definitely notice it has an addictive nature. Most shows are setup to leave you hanging so I will want to watch again. When I’m tired at the end of the day, it’s so easy to just plop on the couch. And I think that what will be refreshing is watching TV for an hour, but in the end [it never is], and I end up thinking that I wasted that hour or hour and a half.

[iHN: Actually, the statistics show that most TV viewers believe that they watch more TV than they should.]

iHN: Can you describe your children’s reaction just before you turn the TV on?

J: They get ecstatic! They jump up and down, they scream, they run to the video closet. They start debating and negotiating – which is really interesting to watch. And usually they come up with a good resolution on which video to watch.

iHN: Can you describe what you observe about your children while they are watching TV?

J: Oh gosh. Well, one time I have had my perfectly potty trained 7-year old wet her pants because she didn’t want to ask me to pause the movie so she could go to the bathroom. She knew she was going to pee her pants, but that I would get upset if she did it on the couch – so she stood up, moved to the floor and peed her pants, all without taking her eyes off of the screen.

They can be hungry, and have food in front of them, but they won’t eat. TV just overrides all other needs. And if I pause it, they will put food in their mouths immediately.

iHN: Can you Describe your children’s reaction to turning off the TV?

J: They’re so sad. They were so excited right before, and during, and now it’s over – total let down. If it’s really [a] great [video], then there is a sense of conclusion and closure. Then they are satisfied and happy – “oh, that was great Momma.” Otherwise, it’s sadness, moaning, whining - totally like an addiction. They will almost always ask for another one, even though there has never once been a time where they got to watch another and I always say “no” to their requests.

iHN: Can you describe your children’s behavior for the first 15 minutes after the TV is turned off?

J: If they watch just before going to sleep, the whining continues for a while because it transfers into the general going to sleep routine, so about 45 minutes all together.

But if it’s during the day, the withdrawal lasts 10 or 15 minutes. But that’s usually because I put a lot of effort preparing another activity to have ready before we even turn on the TV. Otherwise that whining could easily last an hour if I didn’t have another activity waiting for them to transition from TV.

iHN: Wow. I’m so impressed that you think of things like that. You really take an active role in raising your children, rather than “dealing” with them.

J: Thank you!

iHN: And what what do you notice different about your children’s behavior, imagination, problem-solving, and other skills compared to children that watch TV regularly?

J: Well, you have to first know that our kids are impacted by both home-schooling and No-TV.

But I would say that their creativity is unique:

My kids have much longer attention spans and are much more creative than the average kids in our community.

For example, my children can easily spend 2 - 3 hours making blanket forts. And during that time they will be 100% engaged with their story of blanket forts. For 2 - 3 hours!

iHN: Wow! 2 - 3 hours. What a blessing that must be.

J: Absolutely. Another example is paper dolls. They can play with paper dolls for 2 - 3 hours, and they will have an elaborate plot with subplots and characters with different relationships!

And I have never heard my children tell me that they’re bored. It just doesn’t happen. They find things to do. For example, they love to take my camera, then they take toys, set it up, take pictures and make an animation with them.

Socially:

A lot of it is Home Schooling. But part of it is that [since they don’t watch TV] they are not able to predict what’s going to happen next in life.

For example, when we watch a video, they will not catch some subtle foreshadowing, whereas other kids will predict what’s going to happen next. In the Sound of Music, they were totally shocked when the young boy becomes a Nazi. A kid who is more media savvy may have picked that up.

iHN commentary: So in other words, her children have retained the natural wonder and awe of the world that all children are born with. This wonder and awe usually comes with an optimism about the world we live in.

However, the cultural trend today is bent on “preparing” kids for the dangerous and terrible world that awaits them. This does not leave much room for children to grow a love and appreciation for the world they are inheriting.

If we want kids to become responsible caretakers of our society and our planet, one of the keys to our success will be our ability to unplug from the plug-in drug: TV.

iHN: So Judy, I gotta ask. After everything you’ve said, why watch TV at all?

J: That is a really great question!

I think some of the stories and movies out there are very classic, and can create a bonding experience. And for our kids, watching a movie as a family is a lot more special because it’s so limited for them.

There are a couple videos that are educational to – like some biblical stories videos.

I like showing them musicals because it’s so interactive. They start singing! It’s the major difference between bad videos and good videos.

Lion King for example: it’s funny and they laugh, but mostly it’s just jaws open and eyes staring.

But if we watch The Sound of Music, or Singing in the Rain, they are up dancing around the room – and so am I! It’s great. They also ask me to pause and explain what’s going on. We did that with The Sound of Music, and it took us 3 nights to explain and learn everything together!

iHN: Wow, that really is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing with us, Judy.

J: Your very welcome.

1. Brock, Barbara. Living Outside the Box.
2. Kubey, Robert, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Television Addiction is No Mere Metaphor. Scientific American (2002): 48-55.
3. Michael Medved and Diane Medved PhD. Saving Childhood: Protecting Our Children from the National Assault on Innocence.
4. Winn, Marie. The Plug-In Drug: Television, Computers, and Family Life.