Judaism discovered
But then comes the Yom Toy of Pesach and these families suddenly earn
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- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- Again, these are respectable homes that we write of. Many of then would rather si tffet in sitenot than expose t h ei r
- With sincere wishes for a happy and kosher Pesach
- The Ninth of Av (Tisha BAv)
- The first landing of a man on the moon took place on Tisha BAv — a clear indication that k represented a triumph for the
- Sukkot (The Feast of Booths)
But then comes the Yom Toy of Pesach and these families suddenly earn themselves the title of "paupers". It doesnt take a mathematical genius to calculate the enormous expenditures that the average family experiences before Pesach. Matzoh does not cost the same as bread. Grape Juice is not in the same price range 35 water, and fish cannot always mean chunk-light tuna. These may all be the simplest basics of a Pesach menu, but many families cannot afford them! Then there are their little boy's pinched feet which achingly await a new pair of shoes and their older daughter's embarrassment at the tack of decent Yom Toy attire. Again, these are respectable homes that we write of. Many of then would rather sitffet in sitenot than expose their shame. But the signs and symptoms are there, and Gomlei Chesed has honed in on them. Our Maos Chrtim Campaign is our way of responding to their critical needs. As you go about your Erev-Pesach purchases thtnk-of these families that we portray. Surprisingly, they may be your neighbors, your friends, even your relatives. Forward us your generous contribution so that they can visit the fish store and shoe outlet, too. Por once, they'll know the taste of financial freedom during this trying season - and the credit will rightfully be yours. With sincere wishes for a happy and kosher Pesach, Binding with Heavy Burdens In Orthodox Judaism, for many Talmudic families the requirements of "Pesach" (Passover) entail "enormous expenditures" which result in Judaics having to "suffer in silence" while experiencing "their shame." Instead of a time of joy, the rabbinic traditions turn Passover into a hellish, "trying season" 930
Fear and dread Another Passover notice. This one states that for some Judaic families, the prospect of the forthcoming Passover holiday makes them too "scared to even think about it!" They note the terrible anxiety that Talmudic families "won't be able to rope...the fear and dread gnaws at their hearts." This is of God? 931 "Gentiles in North America often don't understand why observant Jews sometimes dread the coming of the next big holiday....Not for nothing did Chazal tell us to start studying the laws of each holiday 30 days before...Pesach, though, is a very trying time. Just to fulfill the basic requirements of the holiday can take weeks and thousands of dollars in cleaning supplies and help. Given the modern tendency towards accumulation of pretty much anything that is on sale and the ever-increasing size of the homes some of us live in, the cleaning job grows year to year. Every year we hear the stories of people who stop taking their Prozac so their obsessive-compulsive traits can get them through the preparatory cleaning. Who hasn't heard the question asked: Are we supposed to clean between the tiles or just fireblast them? Add to this the recent additions from the chumros-of-the-week club, such as limitations on paper plates, styrofoam cups (!) and the ever increasing number of foods that get labelled as kitniyos (don't even get me started on that one) and it's a wonder that, just before Pesach, the local psychiatry wards aren't filled with neurotic Jews all running up and down the hallways with their brooms and mops chasing that one last dustball the cleaning staff missed. Whoever can bleach the floor tiles until there are holes in it, harei zeh meshubachl Three years ago I decided that I'd had enough of this. The purpose of cleaning for Pesach is to remove all chometz (unleavened bread) from our homes, or at least the sections we don't sell through the rav. I was once told by Rav Benjy Hecht that the guiding philosophy of the Chazon Ish was that Torah observance is supposed to be dystonic with human nature. In other words, the phrase "it's hard to be a Jew" 112? is supposed to be an essential part of observance. You're not a real Orthodox Jew if you're happy and well-adjusted, but rather you should feel the struggle all your life with your inner urges to not obey God's laws. Having heard this, I came to finally understand why Pesach has turned into such a miserable experience for so many people. Now all the crazy chumros made sense. We were supposed to be miserable as we prepared for Pesach. It was a sign of our true Jewish dedication!" 1128 .
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The Ninth of Av (Tisha B'Av) Judaism has enshrined its paranoia by pointing to historical dates of suffering and catastrophe (real and imagined) that supposedly coincide with the ninth of Av on the Hebrew calendar. The rabbis consider the ninth of Av, in summer, as a day "specially cursed by G-d. The First Temple was destroyed on this day. Five centuries later, as the Romans drew closer to the Second Temple, ready to torch it, the Jews were shocked to realize that their Second Temple was destroyed the same day as the first. The Jews were expelled from England in 1290 on, you guessed it, Tisha B'Av. 1129 In 1492, the Golden Age of Spain came to a close when Queen Isabella and here husband Ferdinand ordered that the Jews be banished from the land. After the edict of expulsion was signed on March 31, 1492, the Jews were given exactly four months to put their affairs in order and leave the country. The Hebrew date on which no Jew was allowed any longer to remain in the land where he had enjoyed welcome and prosperity? Oh by now you know it—the 9thofAv." Tisha b'Av occurs in either July or August. Tisha b'Av is a time of mourning. "It is forbidden to wear leather shoes, to bathe, to wash anything, to eat or drink or have sexual relations. But it is allowed to wash the hands in a minimal way for the sake of ritual purity, to be able to recite the prayer Netilat yadayim. One does not greet friends or acquaintances." Of all the 7
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catastrophes that are commemorated on this date, the one that occupies the center of attention is the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. "Mourning the destruction of the Temple and the exile of Israel, we abstain from eating and drinking, bathing, the wearing of leather footwear, and marital relations — for the night and day of Av 9. From the night of the Ninth of Av until midday, one should sit on the floor, or on a low stool less than three handbreadths high. One should avoid walking through the streets or marketplace so that he will not come to talk idly and thus distract himself from the sense of mourning. One should surely avoid activities which might lead to levity. One should not greet a friend and ask how he is on the Ninth of Av, and one should not even say 'good morning.' If one is greeted by a friend, however, he should respond so as not to cause bad feelings, but in a lowered tone of voice. It is also forbidden to send gifts on the Ninth of Av. "Some observe the custom of not sleeping on a bed on the Ninth of Av; instead they sleep on mattresses placed on the floor. In any event, one should vary his sleeping habits; for example, if one usually sleeps with two pillows he should use only one. Some people place a stone under the pillow or mattress as a means of remembering the Destruction. Torah study is restricted to laws of mourning, passages describing the destruction of the Temple, and the like. The tallit and tefillin are worn only during the afternoon Minchah prayers." At Minchah, texts are read, including the Nachem prayer which marks the time in the afternoon when the rabbis say the Second Temple was set afire, and continued to burn until the tenth of Av. "...one is permitted to study the third chapter of tractate (of Babylonian Talmud) Mo'ed Katan which deals with the laws of mourning and excommunication. One may also study the Midrash to the Book of Eichah with its commentaries... in the synagogue service for the Ninth of Av the ckazan announces the number of years that have passed since the destruction of the second Beit haMikdash (Temple). It is a tradition that the Mashiach (Messiah) will be born on the Ninth of Av. It is said that one who eats or drinks on the Ninth of Av without having to do so for health reasons will not merit to see the joy of Jerusalem." As with all of the rabbinic holidays, there is a dimension to the Ninth of Av hidden from the eyes of the goyim. Without this concealed aspect, the Ninth of Av appears to be little more than a morbid nationalistic dwelling upon victimization, marked by the remarkable longevity that one associates
934 with extreme survivals of tribal atavism. But there is more. The enterprising sleuth notes that the holy day is centered on the calamity of the destruction of the Second Temple. What then, is the esoteric rabbinic teaching associated with this destruction? Jesus said the Temple system would be replaced by Himself; He who is God in the flesh (Matt. 12:6) The Temple would be destroyed (Luke 21:5-6) as a consequence of the rejection by the Jewish leadership of the Messiah of Israel, and their acceptance, in His place, of the newly emergent "Judaism" of the Oral Traditions of the Elders: "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near...For these are the days of vengeance...there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people." (Luke 21:20, 22-23). The rabbis discount Jesus' prophetic words, of course. Imbibing ever more dollops of their own mental and spiritual poison in the form of the mountains of deceitful and delusional, God-dishonoring traditions they have accumulated and subsequently idolized over the centuries, they have come up with a diagnosis that compounds their disease: the teach that the Second Temple was destroyed not due to the horrible corruption of their spiritual heirs, but because the Jews of the first century failed to sufficiently idolize the Pharisees! Hence the Ninth of Av represents a ritualized reminder that all those Judaics who seek the liberty to think freely, according to conscience, independent of the petrified traditions of men, bring ruin upon Judaism. Tisha b'Av reinforces rabbinic mind control over the Judaic people. They are told that the Temple will not be rebuilt and the Messiah will not come unless they rededicate themselves to total subservience to the tyrannical rule of the rabbis, the heirs of the tyrannical religious rulers who crucified Israel's Messiah and are known in the annals of Judaism as the sons of angels ("bnei malachim"). Surely Judaism is a system sunk in self-perpetuating darkness and lawlessness. "What were our forefathers guilty of that resulted in the terrible destruction of the Second Beit haMikdashl BT Shabbat 119b: 'Yerushalayim was destroyed only because they demeaned Talmidei Chachamim" (Talmud scholars). The result of mocking the Talmidei Chachamim of the first century was that "the wrath of Hashem rose up against His people until there was no remedy," culminating in "the devastating destruction of the Beit haMikdash at Yerushalayim.
There are antidotes for other sins. Yet there is no antidote, say Chazal, for mocking and demeaning a Talmid Chacham — "kol hamevazeh Talmidei Chachamim ein lo refuah lemakato" ("whoever demeans Talmud scholars there is no remedy for his wound"). With proper repentance, we can rebuild the Beit haMikdash speedily. This can be accomplished by obeying our sages in all things." Totalitarian Obligation to Obey the Rabbis in All Things This obligation of total obedience to the god-like rabbis undercuts the engaging image of the Talmudic Judaic in our culture, in which he is portrayed as a prudent and skeptical philosopher who questions everything before believing anything. Actually this is true only when the Talmudist encounters Christianity, Islam or some other ideology that he execrates. Mockery of the Christian believer in the U.S., or of Muhammad in Europe, is celebrated as a daring act of avant-garde defiance by many western governments and media. Talmudists are pleased to be seen as part of this putative avant-garde "movement for liberated free thinking." In this context, the Talmudist is a regular Socrates, asking penetrating questions and exposing Christ or Muhammad, as the occasion warrants, to withering scrutiny. But when it comes to the myths and pretensions of his own religion of Judaism, doubting or casting into disrepute a talmid chacham brings catastrophe. The hypocrisy is breathtaking. While we have not heard it said that a Christian pastor is the Bible, or that a Muslim imam is the Koran, Judaism teaches that the rabbi's word is the word of God. The rabbis' "enactments" are equal to those of God. About this megalomaniacal tyranny, the crusading West is silent.
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And whence do we know that you must not tithe generally any two other kinds [one for the other]? —[The tithing of] these is a rabbinical enactment and all the enactments of the Rabbis have the same scope as the [corresponding] biblical enactment. Hence just as two kinds which are ordained biblically must not be tithed one fbr the other, so also [two kinds] which are ordained rabbinically must not be tithed one for the other. BT Bekoroth 54a "Not even God, not even the angels can compete with the Rabbis and their Torah. The Torah is no longer in heaven. It is on earth in the possession of the rabbinic institution." —Daniel Boyarin Border Lines: The Partition of Judeaeo-Christianity (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004) p. 171. 937
Don't think for yourself! "...Having faith in Torah sages (Talmudic gedolim i.e. talmidei chachamim) is one of the 48 qualities through which Torah is attained. It is a tenet of Judaism and is no less obligatory than the laws pertaining to forbidden foods (treife) or the law pertaining to money matters...regarding all matters of faith and mitzvah observance, we must rely on the decisions of the sages instead of making our own....the more trust a person has in our Torah sages, the greater his chances for the salvation he so yearns for." 938
The Lesson of the "Ninth of Av" (Tish b'Av) Solemn obligation imposed on Judaics: Fear and revere the Talmud scholars (taimidei chachamim) as you fear Hashem (God). The failure to obey this command leads to catastrophe.
The mitzvah to honor taimidei chachamim. Shim nil Hamesuni. and some say Nechemia Hamesuni, would interpret each "es" that appears in the Torah to include an additional halacha. However, when he arrived at the pasuk' Es HaShem Flrffwha lira—HaShem. your G-d shall you fear.* he withdrew. In his opinion, nothing could have been included in Ihe halacha to fear the One and Only G-d. and he saw that as an indication that the words 'es" in the Torah were not meant lo include additional halchaos after all Along came R' Akiva. who Explained the extra word *es" to include taimidei chachamim. Namely, wa are t/'mmanriad to fRar Torah scholars as we must fear/ _awe HaShem. (Pesachim 2281 f urther-more, the Ba'al Haturfm points out that the numerical value of "tira—fear" is equal to that of 'taimidei chachamim.' " Ravand R t-hawna ootfTsaidthat one who disgraces a Torah scholar is considered a heretic, R'Yochanan and R' Yehashua ben Levi say that one who humiliates his friend in the presence of a talmid chacham is also a heretic (Sanhedrin 99B) Why is this so? Babbeinu Yona explains that a heretic is anyone who does not appreciate the need to revere taimidei chachamim. Even if he does not humiliate the chacham directly, the mere fact that he can humiliate someone else in the presence ot such a person shows that the chacham's presence has absolutely no impact on his conduct. If he does net revere the person who studies the Torah, he obviously does not honor the Torah and has no place in Olam Hahba This is why the directive to revere Torah scholars is included in the mitzvah of fearing HaShem (Shaarei Teshuva3:f55) In sefer Orchos Yosher, Rav Chaim Kanievsky compiles a collection of statements by chazzal regarding the severity of disgracing a talmid chacham. The Rambam. lor example, wntes that "To scorn a talmid r*vtr*mn\_^j>jjar^ grave sin. Yerushalvim was destroyed because, at the time, people were ' fllsparaqingtowardstalmideichacTJafn'Tr""-'. Anyone who scorns a chacham wm have the word of HaShem.' (Shelcli t531)and is also to be oublicly sxcommijn jested by Ihe bais din."
Conversely. one who loves taimidei chachamim will merit children who, are rabborom- {Rashi explains that with this reward he will love his sor) both as a son and a*. a tjilrriiri chacham.) He who is grateful to the chachamim will ment sons-in-law whg are taimidei chachamim and" he who fears the chachamim will himseti become a chacham. (Shabbos 23B) Talmud Yerushalmi ' "
Excerpts from "The mitzvah to honor taimidei chachamim" "...we are commanded to fear Torah scholars as we must fear/awe HaShem (Pesachim 22b)...the numerical value of 'tira—fear' is equal to that of taimidei chachamim. Rav (one of the "sages" [Amora'im] of Babylon) and R' Chanina (Bar Chama, another founding Talmudic "sage" of the Amoraic era) said that one who disgraces a Torah scholar is considered a heretic...Rabbeinu Yona (one of the medieval gedolim) explains that a heretic is anyone who does not appreciate the need to revere taimidei chachamim...The Rambam (Maimonides) for example, writes that 'To scorn a talmid chacham is a very grave sin. Yerushalyim (Jerusalem) was destroyed because, at that time, people were disparaging toward taimidei chachamim. Anyone who scorns a chacham will have no place in Olam Habbah ('the world to come').«and is also to be publicly excommunicated by the bais din (rabbinic court)..." —Rabbinic statement issued on Av 5764 (July 2004)
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Because "kochi ve'otzem yadi of Edom" (Western civilization) is traditionally despised in Judaism, among the "catastrophes" listed as having occurred on the Ninth of Av is the American space flight to the moon. Under the headline, "Space Travel Not a Torah Ideal," we read: The first landing of a man on the moon took place on Tisha B'Av — a clear indication that k represented a triumph for the kochi ve 'otzem yadi of Edom, i.e., Western culture. Hamodia (Orthodox Israeli newspaper) 26 Adar 5763 (Feb. 28, 2003) 940
Rosh Hashanah The two-day Judaic New Year observance, or "Rosh Hashanah," occurs on the first and second days of the month of Tishri. Mystically it is viewed as a single day, the yoma-arikhta, "the double-long day." It is marked by nusah (chanting); the soft, lilting Hashkivenu singing by the cantor and the Amidah prayers. On the first of Tishri, yom teruah (the day of the shofar's sounding), the shofar (ram's horn) is blown, the "heavenly court" sits in judgment and "Torah" scrolls are paraded — all intended to lend a Biblical resonance to what is a Talmudic/Kabbalistic holiday. The synagogue ceremony on the first of Tishri is exceedingly long and monotonous. The Amidah prayers are repeated twice. The centerpiece of the elaborate ceremony on this day is the Malkhuyot liturgy involving the extended blowing of the shofar and an elaborate bowing ritual which is part of the cantor's singing of the familiar Alenu, but to a melody exclusive to Rosh Hashanah. This day also witnesses a strange Babylonian superstition, tashlikh, involving crumbs tossed into a pond, stream or other body of water. Johannes Pfefferkorn was the first scholar to document this practice for western researchers, in 1508. On the second day of Tishri, much of the Rosh Hashanah tedium of the first day's ceremonies is repeated. Sukkot (The Feast of Booths) Using Leviticus 23: 33-43 and Deut. 16: 13-17 as proof texts (though pretexts would be a more fitting description), the Feast of Booths is observed by Talmudists on the fifteenth day of Tishri. Booths is an authentic Old Testament rite and on the surface, to the casual observer, Sukkot gives the appearance that Judaism is indeed observing a festival of God in obedience to the Bible, as colorful, leaf and branch-strewn huts are set up on college campuses and city streets with significant Judaic populations. However, beneath the superficial imagery lies the ever present superstitious reality, whereby Judaism mixes the Word of God with the leaven of Babylon, so that if we examine the final rite performed on the last of the intermediate days of Sukkot, we encounter uHoshanah Rabbah" a sort of rabbinic groundhog day in which, if a Judaic man does not see his shadow, it is said that he will die in the coming year. In Hoshanah Rabbah the "Torah scrolls" are removed from 941 the ark and seven circumlocutions around the interior of the synagogue are performed. Because Hoshanah Rabbah marks the last possible day in the year in which Judaics can supposedly receive a good mark in the Book of Life, anxiety-ridden Judaics have in the past engaged in shadowy, Halloween-like customs to determine their destiny on this night: "Some have the custom to cover themselves in a sheet and go to a place where the moon can be seen. There they throw off the sheet and stand naked. They stand straight, with all their limbs spread out, and they examine their shadow in the moon. If one's head is missing, he will lose his head. If his fingers are missing, that refers to his relatives. If his right hand is missing, that means his son. If his left hand is missing, that means his daughter. But this shadow that one sees in the moon is not the same as a regular shadow, because this shadow has to move on its own; otherwise it would not be possible that one did not see a part of his own shadow. So the shadow we are talking about is actually the shadow of our shadow. If one examines the shadows very carefully, it is obvious that there are actually two shadows, because the real shadow casts another shadow. Our sages call this a shadow of the shadow (bevoah bivevoah). According to the Talmud, if one goes on a long trip over countries and wants to know whether he will return or not, he should examine his shadow. If he sees the shadow of his shadow, he will return home."
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Shabbos B. The laws of the Sabbath, festal offerings, and sacrilege—Io, they are like mountains hanging by a string, C. for they have little Scripture for many laws. Mishnah Hagigah 1:8 (b-c) admits that Judaism's "many" Sabbath laws have "little" Biblical justification. Much anxiety stems from the once-a-week holyday, the Friday to Saturday Sabbath or "Shabbat" in which hundreds of trivial rules must be observed. For example, not even dirty dishes can be washed after the Friday night meal, unless they can be proved to be for use for the Saturday morning or afternoon meals. If a Talmudic housewife can't prove that contention, then all other dirty dishes (and pots, pans, cups, glasses, utensils etc.) must remained unwashed. Judaism's concealment hermeneutic has a loophole for inquisitive gentile sleuths: the rabbis can lead inquiring gentiles to the statement of poskim at Slamas Chayim 1:75 that makes it appear as though it would be "antisemitic" to accuse Judaics of being so obsessed with rabbinic trivia as to refuse to wash their soiled dishes on Shabbos. The decoy text hinges on the pretext that all the dishes being washed are being cleaned for use on the next Shabbos weekend, and not for any use during the week (Sunday-Thursday). We apply the criterion of what is being actually practiced in Talmudic homes. The majority of these actual practices adhere to doctrine that is not necessarily disclosed to gentiles: that it is customary for the majority not to wash what is not needed for additional Shabbat meals (i.e. what is not needed for "seudah shelishis" cannot be washed), based on the majority rabbinic rulings that Judaics are told hold the force of law, not the unheeded minority decisions presented to curious or sleuthing gentiles in order to mislead them. The halacha on dirty dishes (and it's a testimony to how ridiculous Judaism is that there is a body of laws on this trivial subject), is ample. We'll cite the leading rulings: BT Shabbath 118a; Rashi and Ra'avad (Hilchos Shabbos 23:7); Maimonides, (Magid Mishneh); Tehilah l'David 302:6 and Tzitz Eliezer 14:34-2. However, in most cases one cannot wash Shabbos
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dishes even if they are needed for another Shabbos meal, if other clean ones are already available (cf. Be'er Moshe 6:82 quoting Ohel Moed; Tosfos Shabbos 323:8; Minchas Shabbos 80:254; Aruch Ha-Shulchan 323:7; B'tzeil ha-Chachmah 4:130; Shevet ha-Levi 6:42; Machazeh Eliyahu 62-3). Dishes that may not be washed on Shabbos may still be stacked in a dishwasher but this is permitted only to those who generally take their dirty dishes directly from the table to the dishwasher (cf. Shemiras Shabbos K'hilchasah 12:35). However, these dishes may not be sorted beforehand, even if only to make more room in the dishwasher. It is permitted to pick up a few similar dishes, for example a stack of soiled cups or dirty fish plates and place each in its designated spot. However, and this is vital, if the dishes and cups were improperly placed, they may not be rearranged according to size and type so that they will be ready for washing in the evening. But it would be permissible to rearrange the dishes according to size and type if the intention is to make more room for all the dishes in the dishwasher. However, under no circumstances must the dishwasher be turned on, even if it is to be triggered by a pre-set timer clock (cf. Minchas Shelomo 2:20; Shemiras Shabbos K'hilchasah 12:35). And of course it is forbidden to operate any appliance on a time clock on Shabbos (cf. Igros Moshe). It is also forbidden to rinse dishes in preparation for washing them, or to soak them. This includes filling a dirty skillet or pan with soaking water to ease scrubbing at a later date (cf. Me'or ha-Shabbos vol. 1, p. 115 quoting Harav Y.Y. Fisher; also Nishmas Shabbos (O.C. 323:361). On Shabbos it is forbidden to heat hot water including for cleaning dishes (Nishmas Shabbos 318: 73-2; Sulchan Shelomo 318:1-1 and Orchos Shabbos 1:90). Under extenuating circumstances, it may be permissible to use a plunger on a blocked kitchen drain. The extenuation pertains to whether or not the act itself represents "fixing" the drain; fixing would be a violation of Makeh B'patish. For the relevant legal points concerning clearing or fixing a blocked drain cf. Igros Moshe O.C. 4:40-9; Minchas Yitzchak 5:75; Shemiras Shabbos K'hilchasah 12 (note 50) and Yabia Omer 5:33. In Judaism the Tahnudic burlesque of the Sabbath is not a God-given period of rest, but rather a rabbinic plague of "mountains" of bureaucratic rules and regulations governing everything from ovens to elevators to automobiles: "On Shabbat one may not carry or transfer objects between a reshut ha-yachid (private, enclosed domain, such as the house); and a reshut 944 ha-rabim (public domain, such as the street). Examples of this prohibition include: carrying in one's pocket; carrying anything in the hand; wheeling a baby carriage or shopping cart, going outside with gum or food in the mouth. This prohibition also includes carrying in public hallways or yards of multiple dwellings, unless an eiruv chatzeirot is made." The Eruv A loophole for nullifying these rules against carrying is found in the rabbinic concept of the eruv (this is the more common spelling), in which a symbolic ritual wire is strung around a city neighborhood, thereby creating the eiruv: "An eiruv chatzeirot is an arrangement whereby carrying in some of the above situations is permitted. In addition, the area in which one wishes to carry must be enclosed. This enclosure, commonly referred to as an eiruv, can occur naturally or be man-made, and must be constructed before Shabbat. The Jewish community in some cities or neighborhoods constructs an eiruv which encloses several blocks. The area within the eiruv is then considered a private domain where carrying is permitted. If there is an eiruv, it is important to know its boundaries so as not to carry beyond them, and also to ensure before Shabbat that the eruv is up and not damaged." The eruv is an interesting phenomenon because in the U.S. its establishment in municipalities violates the separation of church and state since it is erected on public property. Yet throughout America cities and towns have yielded to our informal state religion of Judaism. Just as the Hannukah menorah is on display in public spaces where depictions of infant Jesus, and Blessed Mary and St. Joseph are banned, and just as the Dept. of Defense is partnered with the ADL,1130 and Holocaustianity has become our informal state religion through the erection of the synagogue masquerading as a "Holocaust" history museum in Washington D.C., so too are our American cities and towns becoming symbolic Talmudic enclosures through the permission granted to rabbis to establish an eruv, such as the one erected in California in 2006: .
"Synagogue to Get Sacred Boundary: Commission approves a plan to create an eruv, or symbolic line, through Westside beach areas after ensuring rare birds will be protected. An Orthodox synagogue has won permission to string a religious boundary along the beach from Santa Monica to Marina del Rey (Calif.) after agreeing to take steps to protect a rare bird that nests in the coastal area. Members of the Pacific Jewish Center in Venice welcomed the California Coastal Commission's decision last week to grant their request to run fishing line between lampposts and sign poles through several miles of prime beachfront, creating an unbroken symbolic border. The eruv boundary, which also will stretch inland through parts of Santa Monica and Los Angeles, eases certain Sabbath restrictions by allowing Orthodox Jews to consider themselves to be 'at home' within its broad outlines. The beachfront boundary, granted for three years, will be the first of its kind in California, officials said. 'It's a relief and it's very exciting for us,' said Rabbi Ben Geiger of the Pacific Jewish Center, which faced resistance from Coastal Commission staff over the safety of a protected bird and opposition from neighbors about fears of obstructed ocean views. The boundary will run along Ocean Front Walk from Ballona Creek on the south to the Santa Monica Freeway on the north. The roughly square border will stretch east to the San Diego Freeway. Other eruvs wind through sections of the Westside and the San Fernando Valley....The eruv is invisible unless you're looking for it. You can barely pick it out, even to the trained eye, from the tangle of wires crisscrossing our streets,' said Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, chairman of Jewish law and ethics at Loyola Law School. 'Eruvs tend to make communities stronger,' he added. 'They make communities more attractive to young Jewish couples that tend to sink roots in the community, raise families there. 'Rabbi Geiger said that he expects Saturday services, which now attract 60 to 70 worshipers, to swell to about 100 and bring in more children. Congregant Lea Geller said she was 'thrilled' by the commission's approval, saying that critics in the neighborhood were misinformed about the eruv. I've seen it described as a Jewish wall,' she said. 'Who really wants to live in a neighborhood with a Jewish wall? In fact, it's just a thin piece of wire....It's great news for us/ she said." U31
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In 2008 in the affluent Westhampton Beach area of Long Island an eruv was proposed: "Religiously symbolic fence sought for East End: In a first for the East End, creation of an eruv, a symbolic fence used in Orthodox Jewish observance, is being sought by a synagogue in Westhampton Beach (NY). The resolution sought by The Hampton Synagogue is expected to come up for discussion at tonight's village board meeting. Rabbi Marc Schneier and Morris Tuchman, the synagogue's president, formally requested permission from the village last month to erect the eruv, which creates an area within which Orthodox Jews can push or carry things without breaking religious law that bans work on the Sabbath outside of one's home. 'We have more and more traditional families that have moved to Westhampton Beach,' Schneier said. 'According to Jewish law, one can carry items outdoors on the Sabbath only when the act occurs within a proper enclosure. We have a number of younger traditional families who are not able to wheel their babies to services on Saturday morning.' Mayor Conrad Teller said he expects the village board to discuss the matter further at its April 16 work session. An eruv usually is made by putting wooden or plastic sticks on utility poles, sometimes with string or cord connecting the poles. In Westhampton Beach, however, thin plastic poles would be placed just beneath the lowest wire on existing utility poles at the boundaries of the eruv. The utility wires would constitute the symbolic fence. Richard Haefeli, the Hampton Synagogue's attorney, is in separate negotiations with the Long Island Power Authority for permission to use the utility poles. Sometimes controversial, eruvim have been constructed in communities across the country. Courts in general have ruled that a municipality must show a compelling interest before creation of an eruv can be denied. All of Brooklyn Heights in Brooklyn, for example, is enclosed in an eruv. The eruv covering parts of Far Rockaway and Lawrence shares a common border with another eruv covering parts of Cedarhurst and Woodmere. (Mayor) Teller...said the board probably has no legal basis to deny the synagogue's request. The synagogue is seeking a resolution that gives it permission to construct and maintain the eruv for 18 years. Schneier said the synagogue has about 500 members and draws about 1,000 people for Saturday services in the summer...About 20 plastic markers will be needed to define the eruv, and Schneier has to approve the initial placement of each marker. Afterward, the
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markers must be checked each week to make sure none are damaged or missing." 1132 Fear and anxiety over whether the hundreds of trivial Shabbat rules are fulfilled or broken, robs the Judaic of the rest that God intended for us to experience on a truly Biblical Sabbath. For example, the scrupulosity surrounding the emergency situation which develops when a shoelace breaks on a man's shoe on the Shabbos. Now the fear-stricken question arises, does inserting a new shoelace into the shoe constitute a violation of the Sabbath? Is it "work" to replace the shoelace? May a anew shoelace be inserted into the eyelets of the shoe or sneaker? The Shulchan Aruch rules that inserting a new shoelace into the eyelets of a shoe on Shabbos is a violation of mesaken mana, ("making a vessel") which is a toladah of Makeh Bepatish ("the final hammer blow").1133 Since a shoe with eyelets that is missing its shoelace is hazardous and awkward to wear, inserting a lace which will remain there for an extended period of time] renders the footwear wearable footwear, thereby constituting the act of shoe-making. The majority of the poskim make no distinction between old-fashioned and contemporary shoes. It is, therefore, forbidden min ha-Torah1134 to insert a used or new shoelace into the eyelets of a shoe on Shabbos.1135 What should be done when a shoelace breaks and one needs to wear that shoe on Shabbos? A new shoelace may be inserted into a few, but not all, of the eyelets. This is allowed because after Shabbos, the shoelace will be removed and re-inserted in the proper manner; it will not remain in the shoe for an extended period of time.1136 The torn halves of the shoelace can be tied together and re-inserted into the eyelets. U37 It is .
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permitted to use a shoelace of a starkly contrasting color — new or used red or yellow shoelace may be put into the eyelets of a black shoe. This is permitted because such a shoelace will not be left in the shoe for an extended period of time.1138 Another earth-shaking anxiety-ridden issue centers on the sealing of garbage bags on Shabbos. Every Orthodox Judaic is expected to know the "dos and don'ts" of garbage bag tying on Shabbos because one must be exceedingly scrupulous about the means by which trash bags are sealed on the holy day. The point to remember is that once a garbage bag has been knotted, the knot is usually allowed to remain in place until the garbage bag is taken away by the sanitation workers days later. A knot left in place on the garbage for that length of time is considered a permanent knot and tying the knot on Shabbos is strictly prohibited.1139 Thus the common practice of bunching and twisting the top of the garbage bag, making a loop, pulling the ends of the bag through the loop and tightening the loop to form a knot is rabbinically forbidden. It is also forbidden to extend the two top corners of the bag, tie them together and make a bow (as if tying a shoelace), or to tuck in the corners of the bag under the knot to strengthen the knot. The only permissible knots that could be made on a garbage bag are a slip knot — a loop which is not completely pulled through and does not form a knot at the top of the bag; or a single knot, which is like the first stage of tying a shoelace.1140 As usual, enforcement of the grievous burden of these rules is backed by threats and curses. According to BT Shabbat 119b, two angels accompany the Judaic male on his walk from the synagogue to his home after the conclusion of the Friday Sabbath service. One is a good angel and the other a bad angel. As the Talmudic male walks away from the synagogue, he is in their company, according to the Babylonian Talmud, and depending on the state of his home when he arrives, the good or the bad angel will decide his fate. If his wife sufficiently slaved to arrange his home exactly according to the hundreds .
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of shabbos rules decreed by the rabbis, the good angel predominates over the bad angel for the remainder of that Sabbath. If however, his home does not measure up to the rabbinic standard of Sabbath perfection, then the bad angel takes control of that Sabbath, and raises the likelihood that this failure will be repeated the following Friday, and the Friday after that, ad infinitum, thus bringing disaster upon the Talmudic husband and wife and their household for failing to properly observe the Sabbath. Judaism's Shabbat observance is a haunted affair in more ways than one, since the ghosts of almost all of the condemned are present: "All souls are temporarily taken out of gekanna (the fiery pit, i.e. "hell") on Shabbat, except for those who desecrated the Shabbat (during their lifetime)." 1141 In our section on women, we examined the rabbinic laws governing the lighting of the sabbath candles (no later than 18 minutes before sunset on Friday afternoon). In spite of all types of disinformation about Orthodox Judaism not being Kabbalistic, Kabbalah doctrine has been an integral part of the Judaic Sabbath on Friday evening since the rise, during the Renaissance, of the teachings of Rabbis Yitzhak Luria and Moses Cordovero. Judaism's formal Friday Sabbath observance is comprised in part of the "Kabbalat Shabbat" which features the greeting of the goddess Shekhinah as "Sabbath Queen" (preceding the Friday evening liturgy). The Sabbath as a whole is regarded as a female entity: "It is a tradition that women bring in the Sabbath and men escort her out." The Saturday exit ceremony is known as Havdalah, much praised as a "beautiful" ritual evocative of the spiritual high that is to be found in Judaism. All kinds of unscriptural nonsense and props are associated with this ritual. "The Shabbat afterglow does not end with the Havdalah service. It is therefore customary to continue wearing Shabbat finery on Saturday night, and many have the custom of lighting candles on the table after the Havdalah. Sometime on Saturday night it is customary to partake of a meal, called a Melaveh Malka ("'escorting the queen") — 'Accompanying the (Shabbat) Queen,' meal. Ideally, one should (ritually) wash1142 and eat bread .
950 or challah1143 at this meal." From the Kabbalat Shabbat through to the Havdalah and the concluding Melaveh Malka, goddess Shekhinah is is at the core of Judaism's Sabbath along with the dual-souled neshamah yeterah, symbolic of the double-mind that it is necessary to possess in order to believe that this occult feminism constitutes the Biblical Sabbath. The Talmudic/Kabbalistic Sabbath remains the centerpiece not only of Orthodox Judaism but of America's heavily-rabbinic influenced culture. The growing practice of reverently establishing eruvin in portions of America's cities and towns, including in some of its most liberal areas, such as Santa Monica, California, is contrasted with the derision for the Biblical Sabbath — wrongly associated in the contemporary mind as an exclusively Puritan "Blue Law" practice —in fact it was observed by both Protestant and Catholic pioneers from the very first European settlement of the North American continent and the founding of America.
It is interesting to note that even as the Talmudic/Kabbalistic Sabbath gains ground, the Biblical Christian Sabbath1144 is increasingly being attacked and abandoned and may be said to be on the verge of extinction. The magnitude of our interest should rise when we learn that the Talmud in BT Sanhedrin 58b forbids a sabbath day of rest for non-Judaics on penalty of death. Only Judaics are to have a reverenced day set aside for rest. All gentiles are required to toil the whole week through, a sure sign of a pagan, drone-bee, "hive" society. .
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(57a); Wherever the Torah im posed a prohibition on non-Jews, the punishment for violating that prohibition is execution. W^b urn. "»£!<] 4The Ge-mara now returns to the laws applying to non-Jews: Resh La-kish said: If a non-Jew ceased working for a whole day, he is liable for execution, 5 as the verse states (Genesis 8:22): "While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." A Jew is commanded to observe a weekly day of rest, but a non-Jew is forbidden to cease working for an entire day. 6And it was stated above — I ' T — T • BT Sanhedrin 58b No rest for the goyim Non-Jews subject to execution for observing the Sabbath.
952 When this writer was a child, Sunday was a blessed time set aside for worship, rest, family, and visiting friends and neighbors. The large grocery store where we shopped (this was in New York, not the Midwest or the South) had a decal sticker on its entrance door that featured an illustration of a family in front of a Christian house of worship, under which were the words, "Closed Sunday, See You in Church." The contemporary notion that America's almost universally observed Sunday rest, with stores closed, was oppressive, fails to distinguish between a day set aside for Christian worship and rest, and the abuse of Sunday by certain Protestant churches that excessively legislated the Sabbath, making harmless pastimes into mortal sins, thereby imitating the Talmud (Mishnah Hagigah 1:8 b-c). For hundreds of years, Americans were able to make the distinction between the bitter observance and the better observance of the Lord's Day. In the twenty-first century that distinction has been obliterated, and our heritage of prayer, peace and rest on Sunday is in eclipse. 953
The Attire of the Pharisaic Male Pictured above are the two tiny leather boxes containing four texts from scripture (Ex. 13:1-10; 11-16; Deut. 6:4-9 and 11:13-21). These boxes are worn on or above the forehead, and are called in Judaism "tefUlin" They are known in the New Testament as "phylacteries." The boxes are held in place by ritually-tied leather straps on the left hand and arm. This outfit is worn during daily morning prayer, except on Shabbos and holy days. "The use of phylacteries was based on an overly-literal interpretation of passages like Ex. 13:9-10; Deut. 6:8." (John MacArthur). Concerning this attire, Jesus said: "Everything they do is to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries1145 and longer tassels,lU6 like wanting to take the place of honor at banquets and the front of seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them rabbi." (Matt. 23: 5-7). Judaic women are exempt from the obligation to wear phylacteries: "Women, slaves and minors are exempt from the recitation of Shema1147 and from tefilhn." (Mishna: Berakhot 3:3). 954
A skull-cap called a "yarmulke" is worn at the back of the head. ( This head covering is known in the Israeli state as a "kipa"). In Babylon, rabbis had the custom of wearing head coverings as a sign of their high status. (Cf. BT Kiddushin 8a) 955 Yüklə 1,67 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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