Noahide Nations

Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight has been announced as the recipient of the Tzedekah Award from Noahide Nations.  The Tzedekah award will be presented for the very first time by Noahide Nations at its first Noahide World Conference being held June 26^th – 29^th in Ft. Lauderdale,  FL.

Yes, we are all familiar with the actor Jon Voight who has thrilled us with his performances in Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance, Coming Home, for which he received an Academy Award, as well as Mission Impossible, The Rainmaker, Enemy of the State, Noah’s Ark, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Pearl Harbor, National Treasure, Transformers and a host of other movie credits; but how much do you know about his charitable works?  I’ll bet that “next to nothing” will be the answer I’ll hear most.  I would like to share some of this work with you now.  But first what is Tzedakah?

IN JUDAISM THERE IS NO WORD FOR CHARITY.  INSTEAD THE WORD TZEDAKAH, DERIVED FROM THE HEBREW ROOT MEANING RIGHTEOUSNESS, JUSTICE OR FAIRNESS, IS USED.

Conveying the weight placed upon tzedakah is a wonderful Midrash that tells the tale of two brothers who shared a field planted with crops divided equally between them. One of the brothers was a bachelor and the other a married man with many children. The bachelor was worried that his brother did not have enough to feed his household, while the married man had concern for his brother’s solitude. During the harvest one year, each of them would carry some sheaves of produce to the other’s house in the dark of the night. In the morning each would be astonished to discover that their own supplies had not diminished. This went on for several days and nights until the two finally met during one of their nocturnal errands. So important were these acts of tzedakah, that a decree from above established this place for G-d’s Holy Temple.

In an article written by Mr. Voight he states “In the mid-1980s, I had a period of spiritual seeking, I made some mistakes in my early life, and had to recover from them. I was brought up Catholic and had no intention of converting to Judaism. Of all the religions I studied, I have a special fondness for Jewish learning and values. Judaism is an amazing fountain of information. I have tremendous regard for it.

One of the big things about the Jewish religion is that its fruit is the deed.

The Seven Noahide Commandments appeal to my own sense of what I feel is a higher purpose, which is to try to get everyone to an understanding of what they're asked to do, what life's responsibilities are. These very simple Seven Laws of Noah, are good basics.”

Yes, my friends, Jon Voight is a Noahide, who has dedicated his life to helping others; speaking of and practicing the Seven Noahide Laws, and seeking justice for those to weak to seek it themselves.

Jon Voight along with Sylvester Stallone and Paula Abdul were part of the "Live for Sderot" concert, which was held in Los Angeles and dedicated to the children of the Qassam-battered town.  It was the opening ceremony for Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations supported by many in Hollywood.

Mr. Voight has been part of Chabad’s “L'chaim to Life Telethon” for nearly 20 years and considers it an honor to participate.

Like many in Hollywood Mr. Voight could have promoted causes that don’t truly benefit Mankind but instead he dedicated much of his time to charity work. A journalist visitor to his home would later note the posters on his wall - Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King.  Mr. Voight's role models are hard to live up to, but he has tried, variously working to help drug victims in rehab, the homeless, the farmers, immigrants, the elderly, Vietnam veterans, Native Americans, the children of Chernobyl and, especially, kids in general. Often his charity work has tied in with his film work, and vice versa.

We'll read about his triumphs and awards in the papers. What we won't hear about is the charity work he'll be doing on the side. Rest assured he'll be doing it just the same. He's one of the very few who always has.  When we contacted Mr. Voight about being the recipient of the first Tzedaka Award, in his typical humble fashion, he said “couldn’t you find someone else to give the award too”?   He was embarrassed to even discuss his charitable work.  His response only amplifies the reasons a man like Mr. Voight is so deserving of the first Tzedaka Award from Noahide Nations.