Jewish law perspectives

A central feature of Judaism is that the Torah, the law revealed at Sinai, is the exclusive inheritance of Israel (Deuteronomy 33:4; Maimonides, Laws of Kings, chapter 8:9). Only Jews are bound to obey these laws. What, then, is the status of other normative orders, whether religious or secular? Two central doctrines address this question. The doctrine of Noahide law stipulates that there are seven obligations binding on all humanity. Individuals who fulfill these obligations are ‘righteous’ ² and merit salvation (Maimonides, Laws of Kings, chapter 8:11). ³ All societies ‘constrained by the ways of religion’ are valued because they advance the moral and political aims of Noahide law. The second doctrine, referred to as dina de-malkhuta dina, confers recognition on the legitimate acts of all governments, religious or secular, because government is necessary for establishing good social order, a pre-condition of spiritual perfection. As we shall see later, these two doctrines were viewed as interrelated by the medieval period. Both served to confer legitimacy on other normative orders and even led to the incorporation of the laws of these normative orders into the Jewish legal system itself.