Q:
Do we have an obligation to be mekarev the umos ha’olam to the sheva mitzvos bnei Noach? And if so, to what extent should we extend ourselves?
A:
Are we mechuyav to teach sheva mitzvos bnei Noach to the gentiles?
Absolutely. Only it’s not feasible today because they won’t listen to us. So we have to take all our efforts that we could have expended on them and do it on the Bnei Yisroel. They’re the ones who can use our efforts most.
So instead of going to a goy and telling him, “Don’t eat eiver min hachai,” go to the Jew and tell them, “Bentch esrog.” Use your efforts for Jews. Goyim won’t listen to you.
Now, if there happens to be a goy who will come to you and he says to you, “Teach me sheva mitzvos,” so go ahead and do it. But if a Jew comes in and says, “Teach me Eilu Metzios,” better teach the Jew than the goy. The same effort you should give to a Jew rather than to a goy. A Jew comes first.
And since we don’t have enough time to teach others, so we should devote all our spare time in teaching first of all ourselves; we come first. Teach yourself first. Teach yourself taryag mitzvos. You’ll be surprised how many things we don’t know. Teach yourself taryag mitzvos and then you can teach others. And the goyim can wait a while.
TAPE # E-46 (January 1996)
