Rabbi Detained for Book Condoning Murder
What follows is an excerpt:
“It is permissible to kill the Righteous among Nations even if they are not responsible for the threatening situation,” the book says, adding: “If we kill a Gentile who has sinned or has violated one of the seven commandments - because we care about the commandments - there is nothing wrong with the murder.”
MY RESPONSE TO THIS NEWS ARTICLE:
So, if I'm a Noachide and I'm visiting Israel and some sneaky Hamas-bomber gets on our tour bus and the IDF catches wind of him and strikes the bus - killing me and every non-Jew aboard and thereby prevents the bomber from killing Jews ... it's okay?
Back in my Air Force days we called this collateral damage. It ain't pretty, but you do what you have to do for the "greater good." Is that what this rabbi is talking about?
Or, is this rabbi talking about capital punishment for any non-Jews in Israel, who violate one or more of the Noachide Laws? Is capital punishment murder? Isn't the Law to be enforced without malice? If so, then how can executing a criminal be considered murder? Are all of the Noachide Laws addressing capital crimes?
If I violate the Noachide Laws and/or threaten Israel, then ... can I truly be considered a Noachide and one of the Righteous of the Nations?
Here's another question.... What about outside of Israel? Can Irsael launch nukes to destroy a "heathen nation" that is given over to idolatry, whether or not said nation has threatened Israel?
This smacks of forced conversion to the Noachide Laws, no? "Obey or die!" Is this really a job that Israel can afford to take upon their shoulders at this time? What nation doesn't have the right to enforce the Laws of the Land? However, does this obligation to enforce the Law extend beyond one's borders? It's a slippery slope!
It's stuff like this that fuels anti-Semitism and anti-Rabbinism. The LameStreamMedia is going to put a very anti-Orthodox spin on this. I don't see how this is going to help matters. It's just going to re-draw the lines in the sand. :(
UPDATE - ARTICLE and VIDEO:
Rabbi Dances and Sings after Police Questioning
The book tries to show “the public, and especially soldiers in the army, the true ethics of self-defense according to the Torah,” he said. His message also is that people should “not be led astray and endanger lives of soldiers because of false ethical morals that are not coming from a Jewish place.”
The book includes in depth explanation of self-defense according to Torah and the importance of a Jewish soldier saving his life or the life of a fellow Jew even if the consequence is killing those who threaten Jewish lives. Rabbi Shapira has already been questioned and released without any charges being laid.
MY RESPONSE:
Looks like the initial report was a typical knee-jerk reaction by the anti-Orthodox, Secular LameStreamMedia!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
A woman, a dog or a pig....
Since You Asked by Reb Gutman Locks at Mystical Paths
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - What follows is a small excerpt from the article linked above:
When the Rabbis warn about not letting a woman, a dog, or a pig walk between you and your friend, they are not saying that a woman is a dog, or a pig, G-d forbid. What is being grouped is that all three of these have a strong impact on man, albeit for entirely different reasons. Whereas a woman’s very strong impact on a man is through desire, a pig’s strong impact is through disgust, and a dog’s impact might be due to fear. Yes, they are all related in that they all evoke strong reactions, but obviously, they evoke strong responses for entirely different reasons.
MY RESPONSE TO REB GUTMAN LOCKS' ARTICLE:
July 29, 2010 6:41 AM
Crazy Smade said...
It sounds to me like this quote is less about women, pigs and dogs and more about not letting anything distract you from your studies with your friend, no?
Isn't one suppose to go to extreme lengths to acquire a friend (i.e., a study-partner)...?
King Solomon wrote: "Faithful are the chastisements of a friend, while burdensome are the kisses of an enemy" (Proverbs 27:6). Yehoshua ben Perachia said, make for yourself a rabbi, acquire (buy)for yourself a friend, and judge every person favorably." I take this to mean that one should invest time and effort in developing one's relationship with one's study partner.
Isn't one suppose to go to extreme lengths to in order to become a Torah student, even if that means ticking off one's not-so-faithful family members and setting aside wide range of familial obligations in order to study and firmly establish HaShem's Kingship over one's life?
Rabbi Yaakov says like this: "One who walks on the road while reviewing a Torah lesson but interrupts his review and exclaims, 'How beautiful is this tree! How beautiful is this plowed field!' - Scripture considers him to have forfeited his life."
How much more so if one is distracted by a woman, a pig or a dog?
I could quote numerous examples from the Rabbinic Literature about the importance of study and bitul (self-nullification) and kavanah (directed focus) and not allowing one's self to be distracted from actualizing HaShem's Kingship through study, but ... I'm just a Noachide. Y'all know these texts better than I do.
Great article!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - What follows is a small excerpt from the article linked above:
When the Rabbis warn about not letting a woman, a dog, or a pig walk between you and your friend, they are not saying that a woman is a dog, or a pig, G-d forbid. What is being grouped is that all three of these have a strong impact on man, albeit for entirely different reasons. Whereas a woman’s very strong impact on a man is through desire, a pig’s strong impact is through disgust, and a dog’s impact might be due to fear. Yes, they are all related in that they all evoke strong reactions, but obviously, they evoke strong responses for entirely different reasons.
MY RESPONSE TO REB GUTMAN LOCKS' ARTICLE:
July 29, 2010 6:41 AM
Crazy Smade said...
It sounds to me like this quote is less about women, pigs and dogs and more about not letting anything distract you from your studies with your friend, no?
Isn't one suppose to go to extreme lengths to acquire a friend (i.e., a study-partner)...?
King Solomon wrote: "Faithful are the chastisements of a friend, while burdensome are the kisses of an enemy" (Proverbs 27:6). Yehoshua ben Perachia said, make for yourself a rabbi, acquire (buy)for yourself a friend, and judge every person favorably." I take this to mean that one should invest time and effort in developing one's relationship with one's study partner.
Isn't one suppose to go to extreme lengths to in order to become a Torah student, even if that means ticking off one's not-so-faithful family members and setting aside wide range of familial obligations in order to study and firmly establish HaShem's Kingship over one's life?
Rabbi Yaakov says like this: "One who walks on the road while reviewing a Torah lesson but interrupts his review and exclaims, 'How beautiful is this tree! How beautiful is this plowed field!' - Scripture considers him to have forfeited his life."
How much more so if one is distracted by a woman, a pig or a dog?
I could quote numerous examples from the Rabbinic Literature about the importance of study and bitul (self-nullification) and kavanah (directed focus) and not allowing one's self to be distracted from actualizing HaShem's Kingship through study, but ... I'm just a Noachide. Y'all know these texts better than I do.
Great article!
Monday, July 19, 2010
A nice new shopping mall opened today in Gaza
A nice new shopping mall opened today in Gaza: Will the media report on it?
New Luxury Mall Opens in 'Besieged' Gaza
Just shows that there are rich and poor everywhere, regardless of geo-political and/or socio-economic situation. Where there's a will, the rich will find a way to take advantage of the poor and thereby increase their wealth. May HaShem speedily level the playing field.
UPDATE:
Egyptian Journalist Describes 'Absolute Prosperity' in Gaza
New Luxury Mall Opens in 'Besieged' Gaza
Just shows that there are rich and poor everywhere, regardless of geo-political and/or socio-economic situation. Where there's a will, the rich will find a way to take advantage of the poor and thereby increase their wealth. May HaShem speedily level the playing field.
UPDATE:
Egyptian Journalist Describes 'Absolute Prosperity' in Gaza
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Challenges Facing B'Nei Noah Communities
I'm not picking on the B'nei Noah, but I'm tired of attempting to reach out to these people and getting ZERO response or the same kind of "fluffy bunny" garbage that all "The Mundanes" and "The Superficials" pollute the Internet with. No wonder so many Noachides end up converting to Judaism! Noachidism is a non-movement, IMO.
Challenges Facing B'Nei Noah Communities
Challenges Facing B'Nei Noah Communities
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Green Prince seeks refugee!
Day in Court for the Son of Hamas
by Hana Levi Julian
Ruth Anne in Los Angeles writes the following on (06/30/10):
My only complaint about him is---that he converted to Christianity. How can anyone believe this religion?
My response to Ruth Anne follows:
Ruth Anne, which religion should he convert to and which sect? What other religion counters Islam with a strong (but superficial) focus on universal love, mercy and forgiveness? The B'nei Noah don't have the infrastructure, leadership, money, numbers, organization, program or support to proselytize and meet the spiritual needs of the Nations.
I'm not a fan of Christianity or Messianism, but what other choice did Mosab Hassan Yousef have? Judaism doesn't proselytize. The Breslov seem to ooze with brotherly love for all mankind, but here again they'd have just pointed this man toward some floundering B'nei Noah group.
Mosab Hassan Yousef has simply exchanged one religious mask for another. Look beneath Islam and Christianity and you'll find the same level of religious hatred and intolerance. Look beneath Judaism and you'll find a justifiable apathy toward and mistrust of the Nations. Look beneath the B'nei Noah and you'll find a loose confederation of Counter-Missionaries that focus on their disdain of Christianity and Messianism.
by Hana Levi Julian
Ruth Anne in Los Angeles writes the following on (06/30/10):
My only complaint about him is---that he converted to Christianity. How can anyone believe this religion?
My response to Ruth Anne follows:
Ruth Anne, which religion should he convert to and which sect? What other religion counters Islam with a strong (but superficial) focus on universal love, mercy and forgiveness? The B'nei Noah don't have the infrastructure, leadership, money, numbers, organization, program or support to proselytize and meet the spiritual needs of the Nations.
I'm not a fan of Christianity or Messianism, but what other choice did Mosab Hassan Yousef have? Judaism doesn't proselytize. The Breslov seem to ooze with brotherly love for all mankind, but here again they'd have just pointed this man toward some floundering B'nei Noah group.
Mosab Hassan Yousef has simply exchanged one religious mask for another. Look beneath Islam and Christianity and you'll find the same level of religious hatred and intolerance. Look beneath Judaism and you'll find a justifiable apathy toward and mistrust of the Nations. Look beneath the B'nei Noah and you'll find a loose confederation of Counter-Missionaries that focus on their disdain of Christianity and Messianism.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
I Am Committed
I Am Committed
My response:
If a lowly Noachide could humbly bring up a story regarding the Baal Shem Tov, I'd like to do so in defense of R' Locks and to perhaps elaborate on his concern, not that he needs defending or that I'm correctly interpreting his concern or that anyone else needs my two cents worth, because I'm just a worm. That said, I don't want any Jew out there who disagrees with R' Locks to think that I'm rebuking them, because both sides in this issue seem to be taking a stance for the sake of Heaven:
The Baal Shem Tov once arrived in the town of Konstantyn in Volhynia with his disciple, Rabbi David Forkes, and they stayed at a certain person's home. The Besht asked the shochet to come and show him his knife, to inspect it before they ate what he slaughtered. The shochet did not come promptly, however, and in the meantime the Baal Shem Tov began to pray Minha with the other men present. While this was happening, the shochet arrived but did not want to wait for the Baal Shem to finish his prayers. He angrily demanded that the householder's wife give him the chickens to slaughter immediately. She gave them to him, he slaughtered them, and left. When the Baal Shem Tov finished praying, he said, "Hasn't the shochet come yet?" "He came, slaughtered the chickens, and left," they said. The chickens were still lying there in the pan being salted. The Besht looked at them and said he would eat them, but Rabbi David Forkes said he would not. The Baal Shem Tov was not strict about this. He later said to Rabbi David, "Don't be too strict and punctilious about the mitzvot or your pious customs, because it's only a trick of the evil inclination to make you anxious and depressed." Unlike some of his contemporaries, the Baal Shem Tov did not lay great stress on stringencies in doing the mitzvot. He remarked to Rabbi Pinhas of Koretz, another of his close disciples, who was also present then, "I try not to be overly stringent in doing the mitzvot. In fact, this thought saved me when I was younger."
Taken from "The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov" by Yitzhak Buxbaum, pp. 193-194; see also, ibid., pp. 92-96, the story of "Two Thrones."
I guess what I'm saying is that one should find a proper balance between "spirituality" and "physicality," in order to avoid being tricked by the Yetzer HaRa. I think this applies to Jews and Non-Jews, but ... I'm just a worm. The more I learn ... the less I know.
My response:
If a lowly Noachide could humbly bring up a story regarding the Baal Shem Tov, I'd like to do so in defense of R' Locks and to perhaps elaborate on his concern, not that he needs defending or that I'm correctly interpreting his concern or that anyone else needs my two cents worth, because I'm just a worm. That said, I don't want any Jew out there who disagrees with R' Locks to think that I'm rebuking them, because both sides in this issue seem to be taking a stance for the sake of Heaven:
The Baal Shem Tov once arrived in the town of Konstantyn in Volhynia with his disciple, Rabbi David Forkes, and they stayed at a certain person's home. The Besht asked the shochet to come and show him his knife, to inspect it before they ate what he slaughtered. The shochet did not come promptly, however, and in the meantime the Baal Shem Tov began to pray Minha with the other men present. While this was happening, the shochet arrived but did not want to wait for the Baal Shem to finish his prayers. He angrily demanded that the householder's wife give him the chickens to slaughter immediately. She gave them to him, he slaughtered them, and left. When the Baal Shem Tov finished praying, he said, "Hasn't the shochet come yet?" "He came, slaughtered the chickens, and left," they said. The chickens were still lying there in the pan being salted. The Besht looked at them and said he would eat them, but Rabbi David Forkes said he would not. The Baal Shem Tov was not strict about this. He later said to Rabbi David, "Don't be too strict and punctilious about the mitzvot or your pious customs, because it's only a trick of the evil inclination to make you anxious and depressed." Unlike some of his contemporaries, the Baal Shem Tov did not lay great stress on stringencies in doing the mitzvot. He remarked to Rabbi Pinhas of Koretz, another of his close disciples, who was also present then, "I try not to be overly stringent in doing the mitzvot. In fact, this thought saved me when I was younger."
Taken from "The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov" by Yitzhak Buxbaum, pp. 193-194; see also, ibid., pp. 92-96, the story of "Two Thrones."
I guess what I'm saying is that one should find a proper balance between "spirituality" and "physicality," in order to avoid being tricked by the Yetzer HaRa. I think this applies to Jews and Non-Jews, but ... I'm just a worm. The more I learn ... the less I know.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning
6-story Jesus statue in Ohio struck by lightning
VIDEO
"I am the LORD thy G-d, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I the LORD thy G-d am a jealous G-d...." - Shemot 20:2-4.
VIDEO
"I am the LORD thy G-d, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I the LORD thy G-d am a jealous G-d...." - Shemot 20:2-4.
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