Is Truth Available?   Moshe Ben-Chaim     Reader: I have been reading avidly on MANY Jewish sites and am in the process of questioning many of the beliefs that I was raised with. But there is one question that I would like help with. I have read much about the 7 Noahide Laws, but if one did not read the Talmud, one would not readily find them. I believe that I have read six of the seven can be found in Genesis 2:16-17 and the seventh in chapter 9. But I do not understand how this could be fair. What of the Gentile nations that for centuries did not have the written or the oral Torah or Rabbis to help them out. What of all the Indian tribes in the America's before Columbus or the tribesmen in Papua New Guinea? How would they have found out what the righteous requirements of the Law would be for in order to be a righteous Gentile? If they were just "out of luck", then I see little difference between this philosophy and the concept that all that have not accepted Jesus go to Hell. Both would consign whole groups of people to not having a part in the Life Hereafter simply because they were not born in the right place at the right time. Or, how would ANY Gentile learn of the 7 Laws unless they ask a Rabbi or read the Talmud and made it to the Sanhedrin section (I hope that is correct- forgive me if I am wrong)? If it were not for the Internet, I would not have heard of them. There HAS to be some universal way that G-d communicates to His creation of what He wants them to do and what He expects, but not all have had access to the Torah or Rabbis. I honestly am not trying to be contentious and hope someone will respond. I have asked questions from other sites, but many times feel like a "second class citizen" because I am not Jewish. I love G-D and am searching and reading and praying and feel in a spiritual crisis to some degree because of some of the questions that I am looking at in my life. This particular question has been bugging me though. Thank you in advance. Michael       Mesora: God "universally" wishes all mankind to study His wisdom, and to be attached to nothing except truth of His existence, His works, His abilities, and His justice. As Abraham proved, we all possess the intelligence necessary for, and fully capable of, questioning any belief. Abraham extricated himself from idolatry using his mind alone.   However cherished and comfortable our beliefs may be, intelligence offers absolute conviction, in contrast to blindly-accepted rituals and notions inherited from our fathers, which offer only belief and comfort with the "familiar". However, belief tells us nothing about the true nature of things, the world, or of God. It is a free-for-all system where comprehension is absent, and thus, knowledge of what is true is impossible. A system of belief raises one who is "devout", far higher than one who questions with his mind. And even worse, those who question their "belief" are chastised. The majority of world population follows unproven, and dangerous notions. If one would guide his business dealings with the same blind fervor he employs with regards to his religious beliefs, every man would be a pauper. "Believing" in a business venture without careful analysis is stupid, and leads one to poverty. The dichotomy between one's religious life, and all his other affairs, is unfortunately, quite rampant. This very dichotomy is addressed in the Haftora of Leviticus, Isaiah 43.   The Bible - God's Torah - has been, and remains, universally available. True, most cultures will have to sift through many false religions and idolatrous notions until they arrive at the Bible, God's Torah. But if a given individual uses his intelligence, and is honest, he will arrive at the truth. The Torah makes clear what is truth, and what is false. The process of study under proper teachers illuminates one to a true method of thinking, which with continued study, equips the new Torah student with his own tools for independent analyses. So the identification of God's system for all mankind, the singular truth, is readily available, and by definition, has been for anyone who sought it out.   The fact that God did not give His Torah until the year 2448 indicates that prior to the Torah, God was still reachable through one's mind. Your argument that certain cultures were bereft of any chance of realizing God's truths is not altogether accurate. Again, Abraham displays what man is capable of achieving - without Torah.   Additionally, idolatrous cultures are man-made. Suggesting an "unfair" situation for man, as he is bereft of truth, was not God's doing, but man's. If you have an argument, it should not be lodged against God for keeping the truth unattainable - which it is not - but you should reprimand idolatrous cultures for veering from a life of intelligence, and misleading generations.   Regarding the teachers of the Torah - the Rabbis - I know of many including myself who have given of their time, and remain available to teach Gentiles and Jews alike. This is our obligation, and God's will, that Jews study Torah, and teach it to all peoples. We just read in last weeks Torah reading, that our upholding of the Torah should eventuate in the world's admiration of God's relationship with the Jews, and the beauty of His commands. Abraham, our founder, exemplified more than any other, how far one must go to teach others of God's wisdom. He sacrificed his life to do so.   It is unfortunate that you received "second class" treatment. This is absolutely wrong and against Torah. Gentiles are created by God, just as Jews are. There is no room in God's Torah for treating a righteous Gentile poorly.   Once a Gentile studies Torah and its system of perpetuation, he will understand who is a true Torah scholar, and who can teach him how God desires all Gentiles to behave, and what to know as their Noachide Laws.