Universal Noah UN in UN

The Seven Noahide Laws include the prohibitions of idolatry, blasphemy, forbidden sexual relationships, theft, murder, lawlessness (the failure to establish courts with the ability to enforce justice), and animal cruelty. Only after the Flood was humankind permitted to slaughter meat for consumption, and with this leniency came the law prohibiting one to “eat the limb of a living animal” that included prohibiting oppressing animals. The reader should learn the myriad details of each of these laws by asking questions and studying the Torah’s commentaries, particularly the insights of Chassidus. This philosophy forms the basis of many of the concepts discussed in this book.

Throughout the ages, Jewish scholars have viewed the Seven Laws of Noah as universal norms of ethical conduct, a fundamental concept in international law, or a guarantee of basic human rights for all. The Biblical story of Noah’s Ark and the rainbow sign of the covenant G-d made with the children of Noah symbolize a universal theme.

The United Nations chose the olive branch for its emblem, projecting the theme of global peace. The olive branch brought back to Noah by the dove symbolized the receding of the waters of the Flood and the rebirth of the world’s vegetation. G-d placed a rainbow in the sky and commanded Noah and his family to go out and replenish and build the world again. As stated by G-d in Genesis 9:12, “This [rainbow] is the sign of the covenant that I give between Me and you and every living being that is with you, to generations forever. I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth … that water shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”