Guard the Sanctity of Human Life
Seven Laws for a Beautiful Planet, The Noahide Tradition
By Tzvi Freeman
The third principle of Noah is that the value of human life cannot be measured.
Noah was not simply told, “Do not murder.” He was given a reason: Because the human being is made in the divine image.
Just as it is vital to know that there is only one force behind the universe, so it is vital to know that this force breathes within each human being. We are not just functional machines made of meat and standing on two legs; each of us contains the entire universe—each one contains the very soul of the universe. This is what the Book of Genesis calls “the Divine Image.”
To destroy a single human life is to destroy the entire universe—because, for that person, this reality has ceased to exist. And so it follows that by sustaining a single human life, you are sustaining an entire universe.
No idea in human history has caused as much upheaval and progress as this basic tenet. Abraham and Moses were its great proponents, but it was not until it finally resurfaced in Europe 500 years ago that the world was transformed beyond recognition. It is the basis of the American Bill of Rights and of the constitution of every progressive nation today.
Source Text:
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4157474/jewish/Seven-Laws-for-a-Beautiful-Planet.htm#2
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