Author Topic: Misinterpretations of Talmud as an excuse for Jew-hating. A Rabbi debunks one.  (Read 1196 times)

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Offline Spectator

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This is inspired by Muman's thread "Awesome antisemitic diatribe against Jewish people"
http://jtf.org/forum_english/index.php/topic,39586.0.html

Here is the answer of a rabbi to the question of an antisemite that may clarify many things. I translated it from Russian, the original source can be found at http://toldot.ru/urava/ask/urava_1533.html?template=83? The highlights are mine. I am sorry in advance for grammar errors.

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Q: I read excerpts from Talmud about gentiles. This is disgusting! You don't regard them as humans. Actually, this is the declaration of war to all gentiles. Thanks in advance for the answer.
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Rabbi Asher Kushnir answers:

I don't know what exactly do you mean but for example Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai who lived about 2000 years ago says: "You are called human being (Adam in Hebrew) but gentiles are not called human being".

Without any doubt, when reading this phrase without understanding of its intention, one can be disgusted and shocked. It is really bad to write such things. Bad even if it is written "only for us" and even if many thousand years ago. It is especially "disgusting" at the background of cultural sources of the other peoples who always talked about the Jews respectfully.. And not only brightly and expressively spoke and wrote about the Jews but also showed high interest in their blood.. without declaring any wars..

Let me make one remark before adressing the core of the question.

Anyone who opens any Jewish text and wants to understand what is written there should follow at least one rule. There  is no literal meaning in Torah and understanding is reached only by means of commentary and advanced study. I.e. the essense is not what is written but what intention and general idea are expressed by these words. Therefore,  anyone who does not make an effort to deepen his understanding, will understand any phrase taken out of context how he wishes. And if he is a bit antisemite in his heart, and Talmud study from original Jewish sources is unavailable, and unaccurately translated phrases are coupled for him together, then the forementioned phrase will encite the expected burst of his anger. Yes, that's it! I always knew that! That is their true face! From now on, there is no regret about the sea of Jewish blood spilled in the past and, what is most important, a great exuse to continue to beat the Jews and save Russia in the future! ("Beat the Jews, save Russia" is a famous slogan of Russian antisemites - Spectator). Malicious manipulation by Jewish
sources has always given the world antisemites the fuel of hatred and violence. A-a-ah, they don't regard us as humans! We will teach them a lesson.. It was so, for example, at the famous trial of Mendel Beilis in 1913 in Kiev. Not only he was accused but also all the Jews, based on the Talmud phrases taken out of context.

But let's return to the core of the question and read carefully the text itself. It says "you are called human being..". Pay attention, why there is an incompatibilty between plural "you"  and singular "human being" (in Hebrew, as in Russian, there is a difference between plural and singular "you", as it used to be in English between "you" and "thou" - Spectator)? Din't Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai know the grammar? Of course he knew because all the other things he wrote without errors. And if he formulated the phrase namely in this way, he wanted to hint at its true understanding.

Torah gives the Jews some particular concept - mutual responsibility. More accurately, not the concept but the obligation. The fate of every Jew is not only his business, but also of all the Jewish people. Like as it was during Beilis trial. The protests and pain for the unknown Jew were heard all over the world.

But do gentiles have such an obligation? For example, if somebody is arrested by slanderous libel, all his friends and those who know him, will probably be outraged and will protest. But all the other people of his town will only express their condolences. The residents of the other cities will be interested. And abroad it is just ordinary news. This is the nature of human being.

That is what Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai meant. He speaks to the Jewish people and says: you are called human being (Adam in singular) because when one Jew suffers, all the other as one body, by one heart, from Alaska to Australia are worried about him and try to help him (it is was really so until recently, while the Jews observed Torah laws). But the gentiles are not called "human being" (Adam) but "human beings" (Anashim in plural) because they don't have any obligatory mutual responsibility. 

« Last Edit: November 05, 2009, 03:58:51 PM by Spectator »
Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help (Psalms 146:3)

Offline Lewinsky Stinks, Dr. Brennan Rocks

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I really don't think the Nazi conspiracy space cadets of the world will be dissuaded by this. Their brains are simply too fried.

Offline Spectator

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I really don't think the Nazi conspiracy space cadets of the world will be dissuaded by this. Their brains are simply too fried.

Yes, but I think this addresses decent people who just want to know the truth.
Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help (Psalms 146:3)

Offline AsheDina

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I really don't think the Nazi conspiracy space cadets of the world will be dissuaded by this. Their brains are simply too fried.

Yes, but I think this addresses decent people who just want to know the truth.

Spectator, it is absolutely IMPERITIVE to discount these LIES. We need a topic JUST for it, so that people can tell the truth, also, I dont think it bad at ALL for gentiles and Chritians to read some obviously wonderful things that, I myself have been reading, and really like them.
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Offline CorrieDeservedIt

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any person with a brain should ask themselves how is a filthy anti semite able to translate ancient scriptures?


Offline Serbian_Radical_Party

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There have been said unreasonable things abouts many people.
Of course there have been said strange things about Jews.
I think that it is good to make that discussable.

Maybe you will get mad at me, but I say what I think.
I do not want to say things which may offend you, but if I think that something is reasonable than I will say it. I am not afraid to express my opinion.

There have been also said a lot of unreasonable things about other people.
Also about Serbs and Russians. Currently I think that many things regarding Muslims are also being very exaggerated.

I am a Serb and I know what its like when people blame you for everything.
I will never attack a person because of his ethnicity or religion. 
But this counts also for Muslims. I experienced discrimination and national intolerance as well as hatred. I can not understand that people who experienced this, are able to do that to others?

I understand that you are facing problems with Muslim in the Middle-East.
I understand that you are surrounded by them and that you are the minority in the Middle-East. It is reasonable to be worried about the survival your of state.  That is something what is going on in the Middle-East.
Muslim civilians of Europe are minority, just like Jews are minority of the Middle-East. Muslims of Europe are not responsible for your problems.
Advocating the expulsion of Muslims from Europe, will not change your situation. The attempt to cleanse Muslims from Europe will create chaos which will not be good for Israel.
I do not think that you are being responsible towards Israel, by supporting lobby-organizations, which advocate strange things. For example Dutch lobbyist Geart Welders. An eventual conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe, will escalate world wide. Israel is a minority in Middle-East, so that kind of environment is not good for you.

European Muslims do not import Muslims to Europe.
European Muslims did not eliminate Saddam, who was good for Israel.
Saddam was a threat to Iran, so US helped Iran by eliminating Saddam.
You must see that US is also responsible for the problems which is facing Israel.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2009, 03:30:04 PM by Serbian_Radical_Party »

Offline Ulli

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There have been said unreasonable things abouts many people.
Of course there have been said strange things about Jews.
I think that it is good to make that discussable.

Maybe you will get mad at me, but I say what I think.
I do not want to say things which may offend you, but if I think that something is reasonable that I will say it. I am not afraid to express my opinion.

There have been also said a lot of unreasonable thinks about other people.
Also about Serbs and Russians. Currently I think that many things regarding Muslims are also being very exaggerated.

I am a Serb and I know what its like when people blame you for everything.
I will never attack a person because of his ethnicity or religion. 
But this counts also for Muslims. I experienced discrimination and national intolerance as well as hatred. I can not understand that people who experienced this, are able to do that to others?

I understand that you are facing problems with Muslim in the Middle-East.
I understand that you are surrounded by them and that you are the minority in the Middle-East. It is reasonable to be worried about the survival your of state.  That is something what is going on in the Middle-East.
Muslim civilians of Europe are minority, just like Jews are minority of the Middle-East. Muslims of Europe are not responsible for your problems.
Advocating the expulsion of Muslims from Europe, will not change your situation. The attempt to cleanse Muslims from Europe will create chaos which will not be good for Israel.
I do not think that you are being responsible towards Israel, by supporting lobby-organizations, which advocate strange things. An eventual conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe, will escalate world wide. Israel is a minority in Middle-East, so that kind of environment is not good for you.

European Muslims do not import Muslims to Europe.
European Muslims did not eliminate Saddam, who was good for Israel.
Saddam was a threat to Iran, so US helped Iran by eliminating Saddam.
You must see that US is also responsible for the problems which is facing Israel.

Muslims in Europe have proven to be a threat to non Muslims.

I am shocked how you can defend and excuse this kind of dangerous people. Yes, the western states have done lots of wrong and evil decisions, but this is no cause to let the Muslims stay here. They are doing evil things on their own. They are not only a tool without an agenda. They have their own agenda.
"Cities run by progressives don't know how to police. ... Thirty cities went up last night, I went and looked at every one of them. Every one of them has a progressive Democratic mayor." Rudolph Giuliani

Offline Serbian_Radical_Party

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Well they are in Europe because your corrupt governments invited them to settle in Europe? That's a fact.

They have their agenda, but EU-powers also.
Because EU-agenda they are there in Europe. EU invited them to come.
Believe me you will know this about 15 years. You will see that EU is playing with immigration. That's why EU will end just like Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was also playing with immigratons after 1945, when it allowed Albanian immigrants to settle in Kosovo.
You will have your own Kosovos and Bosnias in the West.

I hope that EU will not use this strategy on the Balkans again.
EU and US organized a civil war between Muslims, Croats and Serbs, in order to reduce Yugoslavia to small EU-puppet nations.  They will use this strategy also in the West in order to be able to control the people.
I hope that this time they will leave the Balkans alone.
But it seems that they need an area where they can experiment.
We on the Balkans are always victims of their geopolitical and global games.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2009, 03:37:19 PM by Serbian_Radical_Party »

Offline Spectator

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...
Maybe you will get mad at me, but I say what I think.
I do not want to say things which may offend you, but if I think that something is reasonable that I will say it. I am not afraid to express my opinion.
...

SRP, it is great that you are not afraid to express your opinion. I do appreciate it :)

You raised many issues in your long post. Could you please open a different thread for the most important ones? Otherwise there will be a total mess and it will not be possible to discuss it, there will be many misunderstandings.
Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help (Psalms 146:3)

Offline Serbian_Radical_Party

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SRP, it is great that you are not afraid to express your opinion. I do appreciate it :)

I can not shout my month. I say what I think!

I hope that you will not attack me anymore  :)
You said that I am bad for Israel and that I play down Muslims crimes.
I hope that you will not say something like that, otherwise other people will think wrong about me.

Offline Spectator

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I hope that you will not attack me anymore  :)

Actually, I didn't attack you as an enemy. I just challenged some of your default axioms. It seems you misundertood me then. But I don't want to return to clarification who said what and with what intention. It is extremely boring and counterproductive.

I only ask you not to throw all the things in one thread. Muslims in Middle East, Muslims in Israel, Muslims in former Yugoslavia, Muslims in Europe and Geert Wilders, Islam as religion and ideology, etc. - all these are different topics and should be dealt separately. Otherwise, there won't be a rational discussion, there'll be a quarrel at Middle East bazaar, when everyone is shouting what he wants and does not listen to the others :)
Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help (Psalms 146:3)

Offline Spectator

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There have been said unreasonable things abouts many people.
Of course there have been said strange things about Jews.
I think that it is good to make that discussable.

Strange? It is far too soft word. Things like mentioned here are EVIL SATANIC LIES that costed the Jewish people millions of lives.
Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help (Psalms 146:3)

Offline Ulli

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I have read the text of Rabbi Asher Kushnir again.

He is doing a great job. Of cause he is right.

I have myself two volumes of the Talmud in non censored translation by Lazarus Goldschmidt and I can assure everybody, that there is no secret teaching about world domination or hating gentiles in general. But imo very boring tracts and discussions about sacrifices and slaughtering and food  pure and impure over pages and pages. But it could depend on the volume you read, like I said I have only two.

I think the worst thing is, if Jews believe this anti-semitic lies. More precisly if they adopt the antisemitic view from outside and think this is the way they are.

"Cities run by progressives don't know how to police. ... Thirty cities went up last night, I went and looked at every one of them. Every one of them has a progressive Democratic mayor." Rudolph Giuliani