Rabbi Ari Shvat
Question
Shalom Rabbis, I am an Italian Noahide. May I disturb you for the following matter. Except for my error, the Gemara (Kiddushin 68b) establishes that the precept of Deuteronomy 7: 3 prohibits marriage between Jews and non-Jews, even those not belonging to the seven Canaanite nations to which the text refers precisely. Now, it seems to me that by reading the larger passage of Deuteronomy 7:1-6 it emerges that HaShem prohibits such marriages with the clear purpose of preventing the sons of Israel from falling into idol worship: 1When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land to which you are coming to possess it, He will cast away many nations from before you: the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you. 2And the Lord, your God, will deliver them to you, and you shall smite them. You shall utterly destroy them; neither shall you make a covenant with them, nor be gracious to them. 3You shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to his son, and you shall not take his daughter for your son. 4For he will turn away your son from following Me, and they will worship the gods of others, and the wrath of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you. 5But so shall you do to them: You shall demolish their altars and smash their monuments, and cut down their asherim trees, and burn their graven images with fire. 6For you are a holy people to the Lord, your God: the Lord your God has chosen you to be His treasured people, out of all the peoples upon the face of the earth. So I wonder: why should this prohibition also would concern marriage between Jews and "Hasidei umot ha Olam", that is, non-Jews who observe Noahide Law with the belief that it was commanded by HaShem? (Rambams Mishneh Torah - Hilchot Melachim 8:11). A Noahide has repudiated idolatry, and is also a Torah observant according to what HaShem has commanded him: why should the prohibition of Deuteronomy 7: 3 apply in this case? I read that the ban includes marriage between Jews and all non-Jews, including Noahides, but I dont understand. A warm greeting, Riccardo
Answer
Many mitzvot are worded towards the paganism which was common when the Torah was given 3,300 years ago, but applies to all gentiles, as well, and intermarriage is an example (each mitzvah must be examined and learned in depth individually from the sources to ascertain in which case it applies). Regarding intermarriage, it's forbidden for Jews, even if the gentile is not an idolater, or is even a Noachide. God chose the Chosen People for the very important role of being an exemplary "Light for the Nations" and "Nation of Kohanim", and if we begin to "dilute" that "concentrate" and assimilate, it could be tragic for humanity. The idea is for one nation to be more intensely Godly in every aspect of life, thus Jews need 613 mitzvot, and not just 7, and are not allowed to assimilate with any other nation. Jews are meant to live with Jews, in a Jewish State, in the Holy Land, speaking the Holy Language, etc. In short, any form of dilution is counterproductive for all involved.
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