I spend a fair amount of time wondering how to raise a religious kid. On a personal level this is incredibly important to me. For Bnei Noach, this is clearly vital, as it is for Jews. Bnei Noach must do this on our own. There are really no institutions to help us. At least if you were raised in another religion, you could possibly take some cues from that experience, from your own experience being raised religiously. But there are many of us who were raised with nothing like that. I was not raised that way so I am really making this all up as I go along, like a lot of other things about parenting. I am enormously uncomfortable talking about God with our son. It took eons for me to work up the courage to say things like, “Hashem will watch over you while you sleep.” I am still surprised the idea does not frighten him. He has no idea what I am talking about. It might be unnerving to think that someone is watching him in his sleep. Where is this person? In the attic?
I once tried to explain who Hashem was so Jake would not be frightened, not that he was or had even asked for an explanation. I said, “He’s the Big Guy. He made everything.” That was about all I could come up with. Is it now clear why I need some kind of help from a religious institution? A few times, I have prayed with him. When the car will not start I say, “Jake, repeat after me – Please Hashem, start the car.” It has a one hundred percent efficacy rate. I pray on my own, but we do not do public prayer. So what is he learning about prayer? It is a problem.
You rock! I heard Rav Arush's answer on the Q&A!
He mentioned the Noahide laws in the Universal Garden of Emuna. Here it is in English and in Hebrew.
May you and your child be blessed!
Actually, we cooperate and work together – we wear the same team colors :-)
Your reply gives more context to your situation. Obviously, you're a responsible parent and you want the best for your child's future. Given the serious ramificatioins, you're wise to reach out for advice now rather than wait.
Go directly to Rav Arush and get his advice! We have weekly Question and Answer sessions with Rav Arush. There are questions about child-rearing, marriage-shalom bayit, you name it.
Write up what you've written in your 2 Reader Comments here and email it to Eli.Goldsmith@breslev.co.il (he's the MC and collates the questions for the Rav). The Subject line should be something like "Question for Harav in Q&A". The Q&A sessions are live every Tuesday evening at 11PM (Israel time) and are on YouTube.
בהצלחה
Thanks for the reply despite the delay. I found it interesting/funny that a Breslev site is moving me to Chabadniks for things concerning conversion. Are the Chabads the address to go to for conversions nowadays, why not a Breslev Rabbi ??? Anyways, I live in Israel and I've been informed that the State of Israel does not accept Chabad conversions as Kosher conversions, I've never followed through to find out if this is true although I've heard it over and over from a few people without getting the actual documented proof. I am a secular Israeli born Jew and in order to convert an infant the Rabbanut would expect me to become religious and I don't want to become religious. Also, I don't know of a Mohel who'd be willing to circumcise a baby born of a Goya, even if the Goya is not around.
Apologies for the delay - it took some time to pull together information.
In such a case, you could raise the baby as a Noahide. However, there might be another option, which is to convert the baby to Judaism (a "conditional conversion"). It is critical to reach out to a reliable Orthodox rabbi for advice. Most likely, Chabbad rabbis will be the most knowledgeable in this area. He can guide you as to the next steps at your first meeting. I also recommend you speak t a reliable Orthodox Beit Din about what the conversion process would entail. This can be a growth process for both of you!
Just remember that emuna is the first commandment for both Jews and non-Jews, so raising the child to recognize Hashem, speak to Him in his own words, recognize the truth of Judaism, etc. would certainly be required no matter what, and that education should start immediately.
No less important, it also behooves you to strengthen yourself not only in emuna, but also in general observance of Torah and mitzvot, so that you can raise the child in the optimum environment.
Either way, by strengthening your emuna and teaching emuna to your child, you will be raising the child to be someone Hashem, and the world, can be proud of.
Can a single Jewish man raise his own baby as a Noahide if there was no mother involved after birth to raise the baby or give her opinion? The biological mother was not Jewish but she's gone. There is only a single parent (a Jew) and his biological baby (technically a non-Jew).
I do not understand these questions? It is a clear Gemora that a Bnai Noach is as kodosh as the Cohen Gadol. HaShem made goyim and HaShem made Yidden, within side the Yidden HaShem made Geirim. Geirim are not goyim who convert, they are neshamas who were created to convert - this is clear from Kabbalah and Chassidus. A goy who keeps the sheva mitzvos is a tzadik and should be commended.
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