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Shalom.

I am a Noachide from the U.K. I visited the site yesterday (Rosh Hashanah) and noticed that there were unanswered / unfielded questions here. I thought to myself, 'If a Gentile has asked a question here, and does not receive an answer, then they may, in their ignorance, think Israel is ignoring them / shunning them without cause'. So, fearing chillul Hashem, I fielded a few questions. Only later did I realise that I might have been encouraging Jews to do melakhah on Yom Tov - I of course had no way of knowing whether the OPs were Jewish or not.

I'm very sorry for this. I thought I was being the hero, but may in fact have been a dolt. I've left the answers up, because removing them now may cause more problems ('Where did my answer go?', 'Why has my answer been removed?' etc.).

My question therefore is: Which is worse: the potential chillul Hashem that might arise if a Gentile doesn't get an answer here, or potentially encouraging Jews to do melakhah on Yom Tov?

As I said in one of my answers, I'd be happy to play the nightwatchman here, if such a thing is needed, and there is no one better for such a job. Might it be helpful if some Noachide were given a set reply, to cut and paste in a comment box on Yom Tov, to avoid both the possible sinful outcomes alluded to above?

Yours perplexed,

Tom W

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Thanks for your sensitivity!

Mi Yodeya is about Judaism, and expects all content to be from a Judaism-consistent point-of-view. However, there is no expectation that any particular participant is personally Jewish, in terms of status, belief, or practice. Therefore, I think your best bet is to participate during Sabbath and holidays however you normally would - contributing knowledge or curiosity where you see fit. Other users have no right to assume that you're Jewish, and by the same token, you needn't assume that other users who are Jewish will interact with your posts when they shouldn't.

Content on Mi Yodeya should generally be more timeless than timely, so the vast majority of people who read your content will do so days and years into the future, on whatever day they please. I encourage you to write for posterity, whenever is best for you.

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  • Thanks Isaac - I'll carry on as usual then :) Please let me know if I crossed any lines with my posts over the last couple of days. I confess: I got a bit carried away with the guard-duty role I assumed on Rosh Hashanah ;)
    – Tom W
    Sep 28, 2022 at 8:29

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