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Pyro 1488

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Aug 25, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/25/99

Sanhedrin 55b. A Jew may marry a three year old girl
(specifically, three years "and a day" old).

Sanhedrin 54b. A Jew may have sex with a child as long as
the child is less than nine years old.

Kethuboth 11b. "When a grown-up man has intercourse with a
little girl it is nothing."

And you goyish lackeys have absolutely nothing to say about this? Not a
word?

This is absolutely disgusting. I am SICK to my stomach. What a filthy
fuckin' religion! And people call Hitler insane for purging Jews? I hope
orthodox Jews have yanked out these filthy passages from the Talmud. This
is really, really sick.

Ms. Creamcheese: I find *this* to be a load of "unsavory fertilizer."

Shadow

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Aug 25, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/25/99

I find it sick how many jollies Pyro seems to be getting from thinking
about these passages, which are of doubtful authenticity, and all we
have is Pyro's word that they even exist. And we all know how believable
Pyro's word is (!)
Meanwhile, Pyro has said nothing about German Christian witch-hunters'
practices of subjecting innocent women and girls to sexual tortures
before burning them alive. Not to mention what inquisitors and
progrommists did to Jewish women.

Is it just to do violence to people for words supposedly written in a
book? In that case, I'd be totally justified in carving off several
pieces of Pyro's anatomy and roasting them for what his idol Hitler
wrote in "Mein Kampf."

jum...@my-deja.com

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Aug 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/27/99

http://home.fireplug.net/~rshand/streams/scripts/kabbalah.html
--------------------------------------------------------------

The Kabbalah

(1) The Esoteric Jewish Doctrine

Legendary Beginnings
According to tradition "...the Kabbalah was the fount of ancient
wisdom that Moses passed down to elite disciples, an esoteric doctrine
that only an elect can interpret."
- Gerry Rose ,"The Venetian Takeover of England and Its Creation
of Freemasonry"

To Jewish mystics, every letter in the Hebrew alphabet was a channel
to the life force of God and possessed of sacred meaning. Hebrew
numbers were also represented by letters so that names and words had
numerical values. Finding associations of words with the same value
revealed a complex series of hidden meanings beneath the text of the
Torah, the book of law attributed to Moses. In fact, the entire Torah
can be considered to be a single long word spelling out one of the
names of God. The significance of the name of God goes back to ancient
Egypt where knowing the name of a god allowed one to gain power over
that god.

"The Qabalah may be defined as being the esoteric Jewish doctrine. It
is called in Hebrew QBLH, Qabalah, which is derived from the root QBL,
Qibel, meaning 'to receive'. This appellation refers to the custom of
handing down the esoteric tradition by oral transmission, and is
nearly allied to 'tradition'."

"The Qabalah was first taught by God himself to a select company of
angels, who formed a theosophic school in Paradise. After the Fall the
angels most graciously communicated this heavenly doctrine to the
disobedient children of earth, they furnish the protoplasts with the
means of returning to their pristine nobility and felicity. From Adam
it passed over to Noah, and then to Abraham, the friend of God, who
emigrated with it to Egypt, where the patriarch allowed a portion of
this mysterious doctrine to ooze out. It was in this way that the
Egyptians obtained some knowledge of it, and the other Eastern nations
could introduce it into their philosophical systems. Moses, who was
learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, was first initiated into the
Qabalah in the land of his birth, but became most proficient in it
during his wanderings in the wilderness, when he not only devoted to
it the leisure hours of the whole forty years, but received lessons in
it from one of the angels. By the aid of this mysterious science the
law-giver was enabled to solve the difficulties which arose during his
management of the Israelites, in spite of the pilgrimages, wars, and
frequent miseries of the nation. He covertly laid down the principles
of this secret doctrine in the first four books of the Pentateuch, but
withheld them from Deuteronomy. Moses also initiated the seventy
elders into the secrets of this doctrine, and they again transmitted
them from hand to hand."
- McGregor Mathers, Introduction to The Kabbalah Unveiled

"In exactly the same way, when the true interpretation of the Law
according to the command of God, divinely handed down to Moses, was
revealed, it was called the Kabbalah, a word which is the same among
the Hebrews as 'reception' among ourselves; for this reason, of
course, that one man from another, by a sort of hereditary right,
received that doctrine not through written records but through a
regular succession of revelations....In these books principally
resides, as Esdras with a clear voice justly declared, the spring of
understanding, that is, the ineffable theology of the supersubstantial
deity; the fountain of wisdom, that is, the exact metaphysic of the
intellectual and angelic forms; and the stream of knowledge, that is,
the most steadfast philosophy of natural things."
- Pico della Mirandola

Prophets and Visions
The early plebeian Israelites were Canaanites and Phoenicians, with
the same worship of the Phallic gods - Bacchus, Baal or Adon, Iacchos
- Iao or Jehovah'; but even among them there had always been a class
of initiated adepts. Later, the character of this plebe was modified
by Assyrian conquests; and, finally, the Persian colonizations
superimposed the Pharisean and Eastern ideas and usages, from which
the Old Testament and Mosaic institutes were derived. The Asmonean
priest-kings promulgated the canon of the Old Testament in
contradistinction to the Apocrypha or Secret Books of the Alexandrian
Jews - kabbalists."
- H. P. Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled

"Early Hebrew prophecy and Bacchism are similar in some aspects. The
Qabbalists called the Holy Spirit, the mother, and the Church of
Israel, the daughter. Solomon engraved on the walls of his Temple,
likenesses of the male and female principles, to adumbrate this
mystery; such it is said, were the figures of the cherubim. This was,
however, not in obedience to the words of the Torah. They were
symbolical of the Upper, the spiritual, the former or maker, positive
or male, and the Lower, the passive, the negative or female, formed or
made by the first."
- Isaac Myer, The Qabbalah

"Each soul and spirit prior to its entering into this world,
consists of a male and female united into one being. When it
descends on this earth the two parts separate and animate two
different bodies. At the time of marriage, the Holy One, blessed be
He, who knows all souls and spirits, unites them again as they were
before, and they again constitute one body and one soul, forming as
it were the right and left of one individual."
- The Hebrew Zohar

"'And when They are conjoined together, They appear to be only one
body.'
"Hence we learn that the Masculine, taken alone appeareth to be only
half the body, so that all the mercies are half; and thus also is it
with the Feminine.
"'But when They are joined together, the (two together) appear to
form only one whole body. And it is so.'
"So also here. When the Male is joined with the Female, They both
constitute one complete body, and all the Universe is in a state of
happiness, because all things receive blessing from Their perfect
body. And this is an Arcanum."
- The Kabbalah Unveiled

"The Kabbalah, at it's heart, is a way to bring man closer to the
divine. In order to accomplish this, it has to make the divine
understandable to the common man.

"In the terminology of the Kabbalah, God is referred to as Eyn Sof
(Without End), and is never pictured in human form. Eyn Sof is without
form or sex, completely beyond human comprehension. In order to create
the universe, Eyn Sof created 10 Sefirot (Channels) each corresponding
to a different element of his/her divinity. Think of them as
electrical cables. The energy created by a power plant is to great to
be of any use, so it is channeled through electrical cables, being
stepped down and controlled until humans can make use of it. The power
of Eyn Sof is the power plant, and Sefirot are it's cables, channels
that bring power to the universe in a more usable form.

"Mankind could not exist without Eyn Sof providing the power. However,
in Kabbalah, it is a true circuit. Just as we could not exist without
Eyn Sof's power, Eyn Sof could not exist without our belief. We are
partners in creation, in our own way equal to Eyn Sof in the care of
the universe. In fact, in Kabbalah, angels (melakh in Hebrew, meaning
"messenger") are non-physical embodiments of Eyn Sof's power, that can
be sent by Eyn Sof or created by the actions of Mankind, for good or
evil. These angels are essential for the practical uses of Kabbalah
that (according to legend) can create such things as golems. Practical
Kabbalah makes use of letters, words and numbers to channel the power
of Eyn Sof and it's messengers, using the two way connection to the
divine created by the Sefirot, just as machines are designed to take
the power we receive from the power plant via cables, and make use of
it practical fashion."
- B. Pilgrim, "A Monstrous Love: The X-Files, Kaddish, and
Mystical Judaism"

The Kabbalah "uncovers many of the infinite layers of the secrets of
life, of Creation, of the soul, of the heavenly spheres.
It penetrates beyond the garments and the body of the Torah.
It is the very core and soul of Torah, the ultimate revelation of
Divinity - exposing the inner meaning, effects and purpose of Torah
and mitzvot.

The illumination emanating from the Kabbalah ignites the soul of man,
setting it on fire in the awareness of a deeper and higher reality.
Its study and insights are themselves mystical experiences.
The Kabbalah is all this - but always and exclusively within the
context of Torah."
- "The Authenticity of Kabbalah"

Early Evolution
"...The visionary nature of the Qumran corpus [Dead Sea Scrolls] is
much under-estimated. Texts of this kind border of what goes in
Judaism under the name of Kabbalah, and indeed it is difficult to see
how there cannot have been some very direct relationship albeit an
underground one."
- Robert Eisman and Michael Wise, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered

"Jewish mysticism began in Biblical days, long before the term
Kabbalah was invented. By the first century it had become a proper
subject for scholarly study. Philo Judaeus speculated on the Platonic
idea of emanations as intermediaries between God and the physical
world. The Roman philosopher Plotinus (205-270) traveled in the East
and returned to combine Indian, Persian, Greek, and Jewish mystic
theories into a systematic structure of these emanations."
- Harry Gersh, The Sacred Books of the Jews

According to Plotinus (205-270 AD), "there are stages in the soul's
ladder of ascent. The first includes purification, the freezing of the
soul from the body, and the practice of the cardinal virtues. In the
second the soul rises above sense-perception to Nous through
contemplation. A third and higher stage, already ineffable, leads to
union with Nous. Finally there is the climax of the whole ascent in
mystical and ecstatic union with the One."
- John Ferguson, An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Mysticism and
the Mystery Religions

"He will lapse again from the vision: but let him again awaken the
virtue which is in him, again know himself made perfect in splendor;
and he shall be again lightened of his burden, ascending through
virtue to Nous, and then through wisdom to the Supreme."
- Plotinus

"The Rabbis of the Talmud speculated on these mysteries, particularly
when they were commenting on Genesis and the visions of Ezekiel. The
speculations were later embroidered by new ideas that entered Jewish
thought from the Syriac Greeks, the Zoroastrian Babylonians, and the
Gnostic sect of the Byzantium Christians. From these foreign and
domestic concepts and myths, the Jews wove into their mysticism ideas
of upper and neither worlds, angels, and demons, ghosts and spirits -
ideas that had been unknown or of little importance to the Jews until
then."
- Harry Gersh, The Sacred Books of the Jews

"As the Kabbalah evolved, it came to share certain ideas with other
ancient mystical systems, including those of the Gnostics and
Pythagoreans. The Kabbalah did not restrict itself solely to
instruction on the apprehension of God but included teachings on
cosmology, angelology, and magic."
- Ancient Wisdom and Secret Sects

"Many of the basic ideas and principles found in the Kabbalah are also
found in Gnosticism because both were in the Eastern Mediterranean
near the time of Christ. Both attach an importance to knowledge,
called the 'gnosis' or the knowledge of God. This knowledge does not
come from rational thinking but is inspired by God. As in Gnosticism,
sin is not considered to be wrong doing but ignorance which separates
humankind from God. The knowledge, specifically the 'gnosis', unites
humankind to God--to know God is to be God. Those sharing this
'gnosis' are the elect; they are the enlightened ones who share the
knowledge of God, although they may not lead perfect lives."
- Alan G. Hefner

"Thou shalt have no business with secret things."
- Apocryphal Book of Ben Sirach 3:22 (2nd century BC)

"From Babylonia and Palestine, Jewish mysticism moved into the Jewish
communities of Europe and blossomed there. Every community produced
its own mystic literature, mystic belief, and mystic practices. There
were distinctive Spanish, French, Italian, and German Kabbalahs. Some
were mainly 'practical', dealing in magic; others were mainly
'speculative', emphasizing philosophical explanations; many combined
practical and speculative Kabbalah in equal parts."
- Harry Gersh, The Sacred Books of the Jews

Sefer Yetsirah
"The term 'Kabbalah' originated in France around the 12th century as a
term to describe the rapidly merging schools of Jewish mysticism. The
two main schools were know as Maaseh Merkavah (The Matter of the
Chariot) and Maaseh Bereshit (The Matter of Creation). Maaseh Merkavah
deals with the various paths that a person may take to spiritual and
intellectual enlightenment. These mostly concerned meditation and
mystical prayer, following certain formulas. A good overview of it's
teachings can be found in a book from the early medieval period,
Hekhalot Rabbati (The Book of Great Halls). However, it was soon
superseded in popularity by Maaseh Bereshit, which speculated on how
God actually went about creating the universe, as well as seeking ways
to understand the divine power behind that creation. The most
influential book from the school is called Sefer Yetsirah, (Book of
Formation), written sometime between the Third and Sixth centuries.
This is the book of mystical teachings that appears in the episode
Kaddish. These schools, as well as other less popular ones, merged to
become what is still referred to as Kabbalah.
- B. Pilgrim, "A Monstrous Love: The X-Files, Kaddish, and
Mystical Judaism"

"The Sefer Yezira is believed to have come from the 'Oral Law' which
the Lord gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Moses was said to have received
the Oral Law along with the Written Law, according to Jewish
tradition."

"The 'Oral Law' was passed from mouth to ear generation after
generation until it was finally written down by Abraham, the
patriarch. He is considered the original author of the Sefer Yezira
who wrote the book upon his conversion from idol worshipper to the
religion of the True God."

"According to a statement in Rokeah (Hasidut Zakuyyut 'Arum), at age
48, Abraham was moved by the deeds of the generation of the Tower of
Babel to reflect on God and the universe. He first studied for three
years by himself,. Afterwards, by the command of God, he was taught by
Shem, until he became so wise he composed the Sefer Yezira.
Then God appeared to him, took him unto Himself, kissed him, called
him His friend, and made a covenant with him and his descendants
forever. (Legend of Jews, Ginsburg, 210 Sefer Yezira 6.)

"The 'tradition' (Qabala) was then passed down orally to his sons,
then to:
Jeremiah, who passed it on to
Joseph b. Uziel, who passed it to his son,
Ben Sira who passed it to his son, Uziel.
It was transmitted until the sages of Jerusalem put it to writing at
a time when the Jews were at a period of destruction, sometime in
the first or second century AD."
- "History of the Sefer Yezira"

The authorship of Sefer Yetsirah is often attributed to Rabbi Akiba
ben Joseph (c. 120 C.E.) who was the pupil of R. Joshua ben Chananja.
Akiba was later killed during the Bar Kochba revolt.
"Others suggest that the book Sefer Yetsirah was written about 200AD."

"The written version has affinities with Babylonian, Egyptian and
Hellenistic mysticism during the 2nd century BCE, when such a
combination of influences was present. It became one of the most
frequently and earliest published works of Jewish lore. Sefer Yetsirah
was the first systematic treatise of Jewish mysticism between the 3rd
and 6th century. Its influences were late Hellenistic and possibly
Neoplatonic mathematical mysticism combined with Rabbinic Merkabah
theories."
- "Sefer Yetsirah"

The earliest references to the Sefer Yetsirah appear in the 6th c. in
the Baraita di-Shemu'el and in poems by Eleazar ha-Kalir.
"Sefer Yetsirah is extant in two versions: a shorter one which appears
in most editions as the book itself, and a longer version which is
sometimes printed as an appendix. Both versions were already in
existence in the tenth century and left their imprint on the different
types of the numerous manuscripts, the earliest of which (from the
11th century?) was found in the Cairo Genizah and published by A.M.
Habermann (1947). In both versions the book is divided into six
chapters of mishnayot or halakhit, composed of brief statements which
present the author's argument dogmatically, without any explanation or
substantiation. The first chapter in particular employs a sonorous,
solemn vocabulary, close to that of the Merkabah literature. Few
biblical verses are quoted. Even when their wording is identical, the
different arrangement of the mishnayot in the two versions and their
resultant altered relationship one with the other color the
theoretical appreciation of the ideas."
- Gershom Scholem, Kabbalah (1978) p. 23

Sefer Hasidim and Sefir ha-Behir
"The immediate heirs of the Maaseh Merkavah and Maaseh Beresheet
traditions were a community of pietists called the Hasidei Ashkenaz,
or 'pietists of Germany', active during the eleventh and twelfth
centuries. This group, under the influence of their Christian mystic
contemporaries, practiced humility and asceticism, and remains best
known for its major work, the Sefer Hasidim, a collection of ethical
teachings. In addition, the Hasidei Ashkenaz preserved and elaborated
on the ancient Jewish mystical teachings, applying them especially to
prayer, and developed an increasingly symbolic and mythical strain of
mystical thought. To simplify matters somewhat, one may say that this
group constituted the link between ancient Jewish mysticism and the
soon-to-emerge Kabbalah."
- Michael Sidlofsky, "Kabbalah: A Brief History"

"By the early middle ages further, more theosophical developments had
taken place, chiefly a description of 'processes' within God, and a
highly esoteric view of creation as a process in which God manifests
in a series of emanations. This doctrine of the 'sephiroth' can be
found in a rudimentary form in the Yetzirah, but by the time of the
publication of the book Bahir (12th century) it had reached a form not
too different from the form it takes today. "
- Colin Low, "cabalah.cln"

"The first book to begin combining the various mystical elements of
Judaism into a single cosmology was Sefer ha-Behir (Book of
Brightness), which also introduced the concept that letters and words,
when properly combined, possessed mystical power. With the publication
of Sefir ha-Behir, Kabbalah began to become more and more accepted by
mainstream Judaism, especially in Spain, under the guidance of Rabbi
Isaac the Blind, the first great Kabbalist."
- B. Pilgrim, "A Monstrous Love: The X-Files, Kaddish, and
Mystical Judaism"

Sefer ha-Zohar and the Baal Shem Tov
"The Kabbalah attained its first Golden Age in Castille, Spain during
the final decades of the thirteenth century. Brilliant, creative
figures such as Rabbis Moses de Leon and Joseph Gikatilla pooled their
immense scholarship and imaginative powers to produce a richly
symbolic, poetic, mythological body of literature which has inspired
students of Kabbalah to this day. The major work of the Castille
circle is the Sefer ha-Zohar ('Book of Splendor'), a mystical journey
through the Torah, Jewish law and legend, the mind of the Kabbalist
and the Godhead Itself. Attributed to the second-century Galilean
sage, Simeon bar Yohai, the Zohar was, according to modern
scholarship, the work of Moses de Leon and possibly others in the
Castille school. At the same time, the eccentric Abraham Abulafia,
also from Spain, developed an ecstatic form of kabbalistic meditation
de-emphasizing the Sefirot and basing itself instead on permutations
of Hebrew letters, vovels and biblical phrases. His independent,
idiosyncratic form of Kabbalah didn't sit well with the rabbis of his
time; however, an Abulafian chain of tradition survived to influence
later Kabbalist"
- Michael Sidlofsky, "Kabbalah: A Brief History"

" The early Hasid tradition, of the German Ashkanazim c. 1230s, like
Judah the Hasid, found it's roots in the concept of the tzaddik
'righteous, blameless' man of G-D and whose primordial model was Noah
(Gen 6:9) and Abraham (Gen. 15:6). The early movement emphasized
ascetic practices, serenity of mind and extreme altruism (cf. Book of
the Devout), or as the Pirke Aboth says, 'What is mine is yours and
what is yours is yours--such is the way of the Hasid.' The culmination
of such practice is both fear and love of the Most Holy, mystical
passions which lead to prophetic knowledge and selfless surrender
(David, 1982)."
- Zos Imos, "Jewish Mystical Traditions"

"In the Sixteenth century, in Safed (then Palestine, now Israel),
Kabbalah reached it's nadir, with the rise of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the
greatest of all Kabbalists...Many of the hymns and rituals created by
Rabbi Luria are still in use today."
"In the Seventeenth century, a false messiah rose up among the
Kabbalists named Shabbetai Tzvi, and gathered a large and powerful
following. When he was proven not to be the messiah (by converting to
Islam in Turkey), Kabbalah fell out of favor and was practically
outlawed, since it was believed that the forbidden knowledge about God
that he had acquired through his mystical studies had driven him mad.
"Only in the eighteenth century did Kabbalah begin a comeback, through
the teachings of Israel ben Eliezar, known as the Baal Shem Tov
(Master of the Good Name) [died 1760]. He founded the Hassidic
movement, stressing that true piety was not found in studying, but in
loving life and all of God's creations. Only through Kabbalah,
dancing, singing and meditation/prayer could the divine be understood.
Soon, the Baal Shem Tov attracted many followers and students, many of
whom went on to form the great rabbinical dynasties of modern day
Hassidism. Slowly, as Hassidism became more and more part of the
mainstream of Orthodox Judaism, the mystical and Kabbalistic elements
from which it grew have been downplayed, but there is still a powerful
element of the 'unknowable' just under the surface. Living in
Williamsburg, it is likely that the Weiss family of Kaddish belong to
the Lubavitcher sect of Hassidism, which is well-known for it's
adherence to mystical doctrines."
- B. Pilgrim, "A Monstrous Love: The X-Files, Kaddish, and
Mystical Judaism"

(2) Ascending the Throne-chariot of God

The Mystic Vision
"To the dimensions of height, width, length and time the Kabbalists
have added the dimension of spirituality. In the positive spiritual
direction are the seven heavens. Farthest from Earth is Araboth, which
contains uncreated objects and is the permanent residence of men's
souls. It is associated with the emanation Greatness (Kindness).
Makhon, the second heaven, contains the precipitants rain, snow, hail,
fog, and dew. Makhon is presided over by Moses the Law Giver and the
emanation Law, and emits a lightning bolt into Ma'on, the third
heaven, presided over by Father Abraham who alters the bolt into four
'rays of foundation' corresponding to the four spheres of emanations
along the central axis and are colored black, white, red and green.
The third heaven is filled with harmonizing lights and sounds that
sing praises to God, and is symbolized by the emanation Beauty. Above
this is Zebhul, a spiritual Jerusalem corresponding to the emanation
Victory which is the positive aspect of cosmic power. In this city is
a tabernacle, personified by Metatron, with Michael as high priest,
surrounded by the souls of martyrs. There is also a heavenly tribunal
of seven lights. The fifth heaven is called Shekhakim and is
associated with Glory. It contains millstones whch grind manna for the
righteous and is presided over by Jacob and the twelve heads of the
Israelite tribes. It is surrounded by a river of fire wherein reside
the angels of destruction, and this river is held back by a colorless
light of monotheism, which is fueled by prayers from below and
projected out from Shekhakim as an archetypal alphabet of 22 colors."
- Simcha Kuritzky, "Kabbalistic Magic" Part IV

"Through the contraction and withdrawal of the Shekhinah, to
allow for the contracted world of human experience, what remains
are the 'sparks' of that contraction (tzimtzum), each of which
inhabits a human soul. This spark, within each of us, is a
source of divine wonder and splendor, which through prayer and
ecstatic dance, may more fully enlighten our face, showing us
the holiness within which we dwell. The 'great way' is through
deep inner prayer, in which that spark longs to return to its
supreme Source. The soul, in inward contemplation becomes a
Throne and the light of the Shekhinah rests above the head and
flows with luminous joy through and about the devout, deep in
prayer."
- Zos Imos, "Jewish Mystical Traditions"

"Next is Rakiya, the firmament. Symbolized by the emanation
Foundation, this heaven supports the heavenly bodies, which are
endowed with divine knowledge. The lowest heaven is called Vilon (lit.
veil), which shields the heavens during the day and 'rolls' down each
night. It is associated with the Kingdom, is the main source [of]
prophetic visions, and is presided over by Joseph, the interpreter of
dreams. Below the Earth spiritually are seven abysses, known as
Gehenna, Death's Shadow, Death's Gate, Filth, Destructive Whirlpools,
Place of Perdition and Sheol. Interpretations on these vary
considerably; however, it is generally held that they are made up of
tohu (impure earth), bohu (impure water), and darkness (opposite of
fire). Associated with the heavens, and perhaps above them, are the
seven hekhalot (palaces) in the merkavah (Divine Chariot). The seventh
palace leads to the Throne of God, symbolized by sapphire and emerald.
Here the souls of mystics travel outside of their bodies and rise up
to the Veil of God. The veil is not physical, for God has no physical
form; it is a symbol for the limitations of Man's comprehension of
God.

"These palaces are dangerous, and the mystics who travel them must
carry with them the seals of the two angels designated for each gate
to show to the eight angels who guard each of the seven entrance ways.
Those that do not have the proper seals are said to be swept away in a
fiery tornado. The sixth palace is particularly hazardous, for it is
made of sparkling marble, and if the traveller mistakes it for water
the angels chastise and punish him for his ignorance. The goal of the
Kabbalah is to obtain a complete understanding of God, the universe
and their inter-relationships. It strives to achieve this
understanding through the use of symbols and analogies, particularly
the Jewish holy books."
- Simcha Kuritzky, "Kabbalistic Magic" Part IV

"As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days
took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his
head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its
wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from
before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand
times ten thousand stood before him. "
- Daniel 7:9-10

The throne-chariot of God was first described in Ezekiel 1:1-28 and
later echoed in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice of the Dead Sea
Scrolls.
"[Praise the God of...] [...] Exalt Him, [...] the glory in the
tabernacl[e of the God of] knowledge. The [Cheru]bim fall before Him
and bless Him; as they arise, the quiet voice of God [is heard],
followed by a tumult of joyous praise. As they unfold their wings,
God's q[uiet] voice is heard again. The Cherubim bless the image of
the chariot-throne that appears above the firmament, [then] they
joyously acclaim the [splend]or of the luminous firmament that
spreads beneath His glorious seat. As the wheel-beings advance, holy
angels come and go. Between His chariot-throne's glorious [w]heels
appears something like an utterly holy spiritual fire. All around
are what appear to be streams of fire, resembling electrum and
[sh]ining handiwork comprising wondrous color embroidered together,
pure and glorious. The spirits of the living [godlike beings move to
and fro perpetually, following the glory of the [wo]ndrous
chariots."
- Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice 4Q405 Frags. 21-22:10-11

Voces magicae: "magic words," - non-Greek words and names which were
considered to possess great power

"The emphasis in the text [Maaseh Merkabah] is on language, on the
correct recitation of the words to achieve the ritual. The particular
focus is on the divine Name, Which can be employed in unusual ways.
The author relates the structures of the text to the linguistic
ideologies. The complex structures of the text begin to unfold in
light of the theories about the ritual function of language.
"The hymns include praise of the deity and voces magicae, words that
have no semantic meaning, but draw attention to sounds of letters in
God's name. Since God's name is used to create the world, the sounds
of the name are creative, but the Name cannot be spoken. The hymns
create a multiplicity of Name-equivalents, words that have the
functional status of the divine Name and which can be employed in
ritual. Voces magicae are not so much nonsense as they are logical
extensions of the linguistic theory. " ;
- review of Naomi Janowitz's The Poetics of Ascent: Theories of
Language in a Rabbinic Ascent

Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, part of the corpus of Dead Sea
scrolls, also uses voces magicae, in this case as a mantra to induce
visionary trances.

References in the Talmud
"And a fire descended from heaven and surrounded them. And the
Ministering Angels were leaping about them like guests at a wedding
rejoicing before the bridegroom. One angel spoke from out of the
fire and said: The Account of the Chariot is precisely as you
described it, Eleazar ben 'Arakh!
Immediately all the trees opened their mouths and began to sing
''Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy!' (Psalms
96:12)."
- Palestinian Talmud Hagigah 2:1

(Note: this paragraph is not in the earlier Tosefta Hagigah 2:2 or
Mekhilta deRabbi Simeon ben Yohai (p. 158; to Exodus 21:1) which
parallel this teaching (Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai and Rabbi Eleazar
ben 'Arakh). The Babylonian Talmud gives a somewhat different account:

"Immediately, Rabbi Eleazar ben 'Arakh began the Account of the
Chariot and he expounded,
'and a flame descended from heaven and encompassed all the trees
in the field.
All broke out in song.'
Which song did they utter?'
'Praise the Lord from the earth, ye sea-monsters, and all
deeps...fruitful trees and all cedars Hallelujah.' (Psalms 148:7,
9, 14).
An angel answered from the flame and said: 'This indeed is the
Account of the Chariot!'"
- Babylonian Talmud Hagigah 14b

"The heavenly throne of God symbolizes God's unique sovereignty. In
the heavenly throne-room only God sits, the angels stand (the posture
of servants). The only figures distinguished from God who sit on his
throne are Wisdom and (in the future) the Enochic Son of Man. The
latter therefore receives (rather limited) worship."
- Richard Bauckham, "The Throne of God and the Worship of Jesus"

"Four entered the Orchard (Pardes). They were Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma,
the Other, and Rabbi Akiba. Rabbi Akiba warned them, 'When you enter
near the stones of pure marble, do not say 'water water', since it
is written, 'He who speaks falsehood will not be established before
My eyes'' (Psalms 101:7).
Ben Azzai gazed and died. Regarding him it is written, 'Precious in
God's eyes is the death of His saints.' (Psalms 116:15)
Ben Zoma gazed and was stricken. Regarding him it is written, 'You
have found honey, eat moderately lest you bloat yourself and vomit
it' (Proverbs 25:16).
The Other (Elisha ben Abuya) gazed and cut his plantings (became a
heretic).
Rabbi Akiba entered in peace and left in peace....
The angels also wished to cast down Rabbi Akiba but the Blessed Holy
One said, 'Leave this elder alone, for he is worthy of making use of
My glory.'"
- Babylonian Talmud Hagigah 14b

"Entered the Orchard: They ascended to heaven by means of a [Divine]
Name.
Pure Marble: As transparent as clear water. Do not say 'water water:
is here and how can we procede?'
Ben Zoma gazed: toward the Divine Presence (Shekhinah).
And was stricken: He lost his mind.
Precious in God's eyes is the death of His saints: This death is harsh
in His eyes, since [Ben Azzai] died unmarried. Still, it is impossible
that he should not have died, since it is written, 'No man can see Me
and live' (Exodus 33:20)."
- Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki-Yarchi (Rashi: 1040 - 1105)

"[The Sages] use the term 'Orchard' (Pardes, Paradise) to denote the
Garden of Eden, the place set aside for the righteous. It is the place
in Aravot (the highest heaven) where the souls of the righteous are
stored.

"In the Hekhalot it is explained that sages who were worthy of such
undertakings would pray and purify themselves of all uncleanliness.
They would fast, immerse [in the Mikvah] and purify themselves. Then
they would make use of various Names and gaze into the Chambers [on
high]. There they would see how the watches of angels stand. They
would see how one Chamber follows another, and what is in each
Chamber.

"Rabbi Akiba warned them, 'When you gaze into the profound depths
(avanta) of your heart, approaching the stones of pure marble, do not
say, 'water water.' ' There is actually no water there at all, but
only a form is seen. If one says there is water there, he is
blaspheming.
"This is explained in Hekhalot Rabatai. The Watcher of the Chamber of
the Marble Door casts forth thousands upon thousands of waves of
water, but actually not even a single drop is there. Rabbi Akiba says,
'It appears as if the waves are of water, but there is actually not
even a single drop. All that one sees is the glow in the air from the
stones of pure marble, which are included in the Chamber. Their
radiance resembles water. But if one says, 'What is the purpose of
this water,' he is a blasphemer.'
"They did not actually ascend into heaven, but gazed and saw it in the
profound depths of the heart. They saw it like one gazing through a
dull mirror.
"Ben Azzai gazed. This means that he continued uttering Divine Names
so as to be able to see in a clear mirror, and as a result he died.
"Ben Zomah gazed and was stricken, that is, he lost his mind.
"The Other cut his plantings. Since the place is called an Orchard,
the sages say that he 'cut his plantings.' This means that he
blasphemed. He saw [the angel] Metatron, who was given authority to
sit for one hour to inscribe the merit of Israel. He said, 'I have
learned that it is not permitted to sit in that place on high. Perhaps
there are two Authorities.'"
- Rabbi Channel

Other Documents from the Talmudic Era
According to Sitrey Tefila ve-Hekhalot (Mysteries of Jewish Prayer and
Heavenly Palaces) Hekhalot literature frequently served as the
inspiration for liturgical texts of the talmudic period
"The earliest documents (~100 - ~1000 A.D.) associated with Kabbalah
describe the attempts of 'Merkabah' mystics to penetrate the seven
halls (Hekaloth) of creation and reach the Merkabah (throne-chariot)
of God. These mystics used the familiar methods of shamanism (fasting,
repetitious chanting, prayer, posture) to induce trance states in
which they literally fought their way past terrible seals and guards
to reach an ecstatic state in which they 'saw God'."
- Colin Low, "cabalah.cln"

"What does this character [of the descender to the chariot]
resemble? A man who has a ladder inside his house on which he
ascends and descends; there isn't any living creature who can
prevent him. . . . I will recite before [the academy] the mysteries,
the concealed things, the gradations, wonders, and the weaving of
the web that is the completion of the world and on which its
plaiting stands, the axle of heaven and earth, to which all the
wings of the earth and inhabited world and the wings of the
firmaments on high are tied, sewn, fastened, hanged, and stand. And
the way of the ladder on high is that its one head is on earth and
its other head is on the right foot of the throne of glory."
- Hekhalot Rabbati, paras. 199, 201, cf. para. 237

The Greater Hekhaloth is "is the Jewish visionary text of the
Hekhaloth school originating from the Talmudic phase of Jewish
mysticism during the first century AD. The Hekhaloth were different
'chambers' or 'halls' through which mystics advanced during
meditation.

"Alone this meditative journey the divine names of God would be
repeated in a Mantra while the mystics would project their
consciousnesses into spirit-vehicles which journey to each hall in
turn. In each of the chamber a sacred 'seal' was presented to an
archangel who guarded that chamber.

"Just before reaching the seventh chamber, the mystics would enter a
chariot that would lift each of them up to a profound state of
mystical ecstasy, an experience called Merkabah."
- Alan G. Hefner

"The Hekhalot literature itself does not indicate how one is chosen to
become a descender to the chariot. However, a closely related and
overlapping genre of literature, the physiognomic texts, seems to
indicate that certain physical characteristics are required of
initiates in order for them to be accepted into the group. One of
these, 'The Physiognomy of R. Ishmael [PRI],' is a Hebrew text
originally published from several manuscripts by Gershom Scholem, who
dates it to the Talmudic period....Presented as a revelation to R.
Ishmael by the angel Suriah (as in the Hekhalot literature), it
describes the outward physical characteristics that indicate to the
initiated whether a person is righteous or wicked and what that
person's fate shall be. A number of the descriptions of the righteous
tend to indicate that they are numbered among the descenders to the
chariot. They are repeatedly described as 'meriting (from one to four)
crowns' (PRI paras. 5, 12, 18, 37), which brings to mind the various
references to the Great Seal and Fearsome Crown mentioned in the
Hekhalot literature (e.g., paras. 318-21 = 651-54). One description
indicates that the subject is 'a son of two worlds' (PRI para. 4),
which Scholem compares to the comment in Merkavah Rabba that the
reciter of the Shi'ur Qomah 'has good in this world and rest for the
world to come' (para. 705). Another reads, 'And if he has one (line)
that stands on his forehead, thus he ascends opposite those who bind
on crowns' (PRI para. 32). Scholem points out that 'binders of crowns'
seem to be a category of angel mentioned twice in the Hekhalot
Rabbati. Other passages describe the good man as exceptionally wise
(PRI para. 20) and 'a son of Torah' (PRI para. 31), both
characteristics of those who participate in Sar Torah theurgy."
- James R. Davila, ""Hekhalot Literature and Shamanism"

"He who is born in the constellation of Libra, on the first day, in
Jupiter or in the moon: when he, the child, is born in these two
hours, he is only born little and small and sallow. And he shall
have a sign on the fingers of his hands and the toes of his feet, or
an extra finger [or 'toe'] on his hands or on his feet. And this man
shall be a ready . And three lines in (the form of) crowns are on
his forehead and the middle one is broken into three, and they are
wide lines. And he is one of the good. And at the age of seven
months and ten days he shall become sick and shall be in hot water.
They shall ascend upon him and anyone who sees him says that he
shall not be saved from this...."
- 3 Enoch 2b 15-22

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http://www.publish.com/features/9606/talmud/
--------------------------------------------

Laying Down the Law: June 1996

By Jeanette Borzo

June 1996 -- The way to test a Talmud scholar, it's said, is to
stick a pin through a page being discussed and then quiz the scholar
about the text that appears where the pin falls, say, 50 pages
forward.

"When someone claims to know the Talmud, they may be asked in a
humorous fashion, 'Can you take the pin test?'" explains Aryeh
Mezei, a representative of S. Goldman-Otzar Hasefarim, a
Brooklyn-based Talmud publisher.

For generations, the pagination of this 15,000-page religious text
has been the primary way to identify Talmudic passages and
commentary. "For many Jews the pagination is extremely important,"
Mezei notes. "Very often the Talmud is quoted by page." Considering
this fact from a publisher's standpoint provides a daunting
pagination challenge.

But pagination is hardly the only challenge involved in the Talmud
Project, which has undertaken the monumental task of digitally
retypesetting this collection of Jewish tradition and knowledge.
Other hurdles include the mammoth size of the work, the fact that
Hebrew text reads from right to left, the multiple text blocks
arranged unconventionally on each page of the Talmud, and a
demanding readership with specific expectations.

Read on to see how Font World, a type foundry and software developer
in Rochester, New York, and Mendelsohn Press, a Brooklyn-based
multilanguage typesetter and service bureau, have joined together to
restore and republish this 20-volume tome with leading layout
applications and custom software and fonts.

The Gutenberg Generation
Until the time of Gutenberg and his revolutionary press, the
Talmud--just like the Bible--was a handwritten work. In 1483 a
portion of the Talmud was set with movable type for the first time,
and "from that time until 150 years ago you had about 140 different
editions," explains Israel Seldowitz, president of Font World. "The
pagination among most of these editions is the same, or very
similar."

Diacritic marks that fall below, within, and above Hebrew characters
indicate vowels. Hebrew Expressions, used in the Talmud Project,
lets professional users correctly typeset Hebrew vowels at these
three levels, while still using a variety of design applications
such as Adobe Illustrator, QuarkXPress, and Macromedia FreeHand.

In the 1800s, one of the most revered versions of the Talmud ever
was published in Vilna, Lithuania. "The Widow and Brothers Romm
first typeset their edition of the Talmud in 1839. They printed two
revised editions over the next 15 years, with the third edition
occurring in 1856," Seldowitz says. "The Vilna edition was promoted
by the claim that it introduced over 100 new commentaries and
featured the clearest and most beautiful letterforms, making this
edition the most conducive to in-depth learning."

In the next century the printing of the Talmud slowed in Vilna
during the Communist rule of Eastern Europe, and came to an abrupt
stop during World War II. "The original printing press was destroyed
by the Nazis as part of their invasion of western Russia," Seldowitz
explains. "The Nazis destroyed everything, all the original plates
and letterforms used in the Talmud. They burned huge inventories of
Jewish books. The only thing that remained were the thousands of
printed editions of the Vilna-Romm Talmud sold to Jewish scholars
around the world. These were acquired and photographed by Jewish
publishers and offset hundreds of times since World War II."
Using Hebrew Expressions, the Talmud Project can easily switch
between custom keyboard layouts that it created for different
languages and alphabets.

As a result, newer versions of the Talmud have become less and less
legible. The type has grown blurred and cracked, and in some
cases--especially in the sections of the Talmud that are set in 5-
and 6-point type--barely legible.

While Seldowitz was studying at a Chassidic yeshiva (a traditional
Jewish learning institute) in Miami Beach in the 1980s, he realized
that "the very same texts typeset over 150 years ago, studied by my
great-grandparents, were still in print today. Most of these primary
texts are lacking in clarity and partially illegible." Any original
versions of the Vilna Talmud are now "yellowed, cracked, and
becoming increasingly difficult to read," Seldowitz says. Some
portions of the Talmud have been retypeset, but the Talmud Project
goes far beyond any previous efforts.

Digitally typesetting the extensive text will solve the legibility
problems but brings a host of challenges with it: any 15,000-page
document presents a publishing challenge, but one that reads from
right to left is something that requires significant program
modification. On top of that, a standard Talmud page includes
multiple text blocks: the main body of text is set in the middle of
the page in block letters while the commentaries are set in script
text surrounding the core text. Maintaining the pagination and the
appearance of each page from the Vilna edition is critical.

"It's a very conservative readership," says Seldowitz. "People would
feel uncomfortable using anything radically different. If new
editions were produced, introducing new pagination to these massive
works, over a thousand years of historical commentary would be
rendered almost useless. The only way to overcome this obstacle is
to replicate in exact detail, letter by letter, line by line, and
page by page, tens of thousands of pages."

Tools for the Talmud
The first step in digitally publishing the Talmud is to enter all
the text. The Talmud Project has a full-time staff of five but
contracts out the Hebrew text entry: working on PCs, contract
employees enter the Talmud text with forced page breaks to maintain
pagination. Later, the text is transferred into one of three
Macintosh-based layout applications. "We are reluctant to be
dependent on one particular product for such a long-term project,"
Seldowitz explains. "We are setting pages in all three programs:
XPress 3.3, PageMaker 5.5 ME, and Ready Set Go 5.0."

The Talmud Project is using three layout applications, including a
Middle Eastern version of PageMaker (top). They began work in Ready
Set Go 5.0 (middle) because of its capability to support text that
reads from right to left. Later, with help from Hebrew Expressions,
the Talmud Project also has laid out part of the Talmud in
QuarkXPress 3.3 (bottom).

The Talmud Project chose Manhattan Graphics' Ready Set Go 5.0
because it was one of the first applications that supported text
flow from right to left. "It had a version that was compatible with
Apple's Hebrew operating system and Script Manager," Seldowitz says,
adding that Font World wrote custom scripts for the program. Adobe
PageMaker 5.5 ME is a Middle Eastern edition of PageMaker, developed
by a French software company called WinSoft. There is no WorldScript
version of QuarkXPress that supports Hebrew, but Font World
developed software to accommodate Hebrew typesetting needs,
including the capability to align Hebrew vowels--accents that are
set at three levels below, within, and above Hebrew characters.

"This software eventually became known as Hebrew Expressions,"
Seldowitz says.

"One of the reasons we developed Hebrew Expressions was to help
Hebrew publishers address the more professional needs of biblical
Hebrew," explains Mark Seldowitz, Font World vice president as well
as Israel's brother. "With Hebrew Expressions you can use your
standard English program for professional Hebrew typesetting and
graphics. You can throw away those dedicated programs and use
programs that English-speaking users have enjoyed for years."
The current version of Hebrew Expressions is a set of utilities and
typefaces that works at the operating system level to let users of
Macromedia FreeHand, Adobe Illustrator, PageMaker, and XPress enter
text from right to left. It also provides correct line breaks (exact
character widths are needed to maintain correct line breaks in
Hebrew).

Custom Typography
Seldowitz used Macromedia Fontographer to design 4 faces in nine
sizes for this project. "I developed and registered for U.S.
Copyright 36 custom typefaces for the Talmud Project." They are
remasters of the fonts that the Widow and Brothers Romm used in the
Vilna edition.

"Many years were invested into researching the nature and
characteristics of these typefaces. After Mendelsohn finishes
publishing the Talmud, the faces will be available for others who
want to use them," says Seldowitz.

The aleph, the first character of the Hebrew alphabet, is made up of
three other letters. Two forms of the yud (1), the tenth letter of
the Hebrew alphabet, constitute the strokes to the right and left of
the diagonal vav. The vav (2), which is the sixth letter of the
Hebrew alphabet, is the middle stroke of the aleph. The aleph can
take several forms, as seen in the many variations designed by Font
World.

The faces used in the Vilna edition of the Talmud were designed in
the early 19th century by a student of Giambattista Bodoni (an
Italian printer and type designer who lived in the 18th and 19th
centuries) based on drawings of hand-composed letterforms that
appeared in ancient Sephardic Hebrew manuscripts (which take a
particular stylistic approach to letterforms).

These are two versions of the aleph from the custom fonts that Font
World designed for the Talmud Project. Note that at different point
sizes, the same letter has been designed with different weights and
proportions.

"This unidentified student of Bodoni added rich stylistic curves and
elements characteristic of Bodoni faces to the Hebrew letterforms,"
Seldowitz explains. "When the Romm family introduced these faces at
their printing press, they captured the attention and admiration of
the Jewish scholarly community. Most of the classic Jewish works
were subsequently typeset at the Romm family printing press. Even
though there were hundreds of other printers during this time
period, a special note of distinction was given to books typeset at
the Romm Vilna press."

Getting it Right
To manage the monumental task of proofing its work, the Talmud
Project considered the option of comparing its film proofs to film
proofs of the Vilna edition. "We thought about using a light table
and producing the pages as positives and laying them over the
negatives to make sure that everything was right," Seldowitz says.
But because the leading in the Vilna edition isn't consistent from
page to page--and it is in the new digitally typeset version--the
scheme didn't work. Instead, anywhere from three to ten proofreaders
work on every page.

After decades of photo-offset publishing, the Talmud's legibility
has deteriorated. The top page is from a version based on the Vilna
edition, while the Talmud Project created the bottom page.

"We must hire scholars who compare letter by letter, line by line,
page by page our new Talmud pages to the Vilna press originals, to
make certain no typographical errors are introduced," says
Seldowitz. "Another facet of our editorial work is to identify
existing errors in the text that were introduced from previous
editions of the Talmud, and to publish notations bringing these to
the attention of scholars."

Mendelsohn uses a Compaq PageMarq 20 tabloid-size laser printer for
page proofs. Later, work is sent to one of two in-house
imagesetters: a Linotronic 230P and an Agfa Accuset 800 driven by
the Agfa Viper software RIP.

To reproduce special pi characters from the Vilna Talmud, the Talmud
Project staff scans the artwork from the Vilna edition with an Agfa
Horizon Plus large flatbed scanner. They use Adobe Streamline to
autotrace the images or manually reconstruct images that are too
complex for autotracing.

Decade of Devotion
The Talmud Project has already published one volume of the Talmud
and hopes to complete the entire work within ten years. Moriah
Offset, also of Brooklyn, printed the first volume on a medium-run
sheetfed offset press.

"We expect the three most popular volumes to be done within two
years. That is 3,000 or 4,000 pages of typesetting," Seldowitz
estimates. "Right now we expect it to be a ten-year project."
"We have completed the volume most commonly studied by children,
known as the Baba Metzia or the Middle Gate," Seldowitz says.
Through consultation with the late Lubavitcher Rebbe (the leader of
the Chassidic sect of Jews known as the Chabad Lubavitch) the Talmud
Project decided to follow a production schedule "based upon the
order in which the young people study the Talmud. In this way, our
progress would benefit the greatest amount of people," he says.

"We have succeeded in emulating the look and feel of the Vilna
edition," Seldowitz reports, "but there are no more broken letters."

Enlargements of the Hebrew letter aleph from a photo-offset edition
of the Vilna Talmud and the Talmud Project version show how the
Talmud's typography has deteriorated over the years but now is being
clarified with new custom-designed fonts.

"This new edition maintains the pagination of the Vilna edition but
has a crisp and legible letterform," adds Mark Seldowitz.
Later, the Talmud Project hopes to publish several translated
versions of the Talmud as well as a CD-ROM version.

"Upon completion of the typesetting of the Talmud, our goal is to
offer a comprehensive translation of the entire 15,000 pages of the
Talmud, first in English, and later in Russian, French, and
Spanish," says Israel Seldowitz.

"The goal of our electronic Talmud project is to make this massive
reference work as accessible as possible. Already, we are preparing
a tremendous cross-referencing system of topics and names, which
will be a breakthrough for Talmud students," Seldowitz says. "In
addition, we are creating links between sections of the Talmud and
related explanations found in numerous commentaries. Ultimately, I
envision a CD-ROM version of the Talmud to accompany the new printed
edition, where hot links, visual examples, sound annotations, and
cross-referencing can be done instantaneously. The technology is
already in place. The only obstacle before us is a lack of
sufficient funding for product development."

Later editions of the Talmud will also include additional
commentaries. "For the first edition, we will minimize the new
commentaries," Seldowitz says. "We are seeking permission to
reproduce some newer commentaries in the second edition." The Talmud
Project received permission from the late Lubavitcher Rebbe to
publish his annotations and those of his predecessors, but the
Project is still working to get access to other ancient texts.
"Another noteworthy aspect of the Vilna edition was that the Vatican
gave permission for scribes to look into its rare collections of
Jewish scholarly writings," Seldowitz says. "Through different
channels we are attempting to have a dialogue where the Vatican will
grant us similar access to rare manuscripts." The Talmud Project is
also trying to gain access to thousands of volumes and manuscripts
kept at the Lenin Museum in Moscow. The project hopes to use the
clout of its undertaking--with the likes of Nobel Prize winner Elie
Wiesel making requests on its behalf--to gain access to such primary

Jewish source materials.
So far, reaction to the project is encouraging. "There have been
attempts to improve the print quality of the Talmud, but no one has
endeavored to reset the entire Talmud in this century," says Mezei.
"The concept is revolutionary in terms of its boldness."
"We have received some 50 letters of endorsement from sages from all
the various different sectors of the Jewish people, from the devout
Chassidic and Lithuanian schools, from Sephardic and Ashkenazic, to
the modern Orthodox of Yeshiva University, to the Reform and
Conservative leaders," Seldowitz says.

For those involved in this multiyear undertaking, the Talmud Project
isn't just a publishing job, it's a calling. But as the Talmud
itself says, "All beginnings are difficult."

For a complete listing of hardware and software mentioned in this
story, with vendor contact information, see our Talmud Toolbox.

Home

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HAVE A FEAST OF TALMUD
Kabbalah and Ultra-Natural Forces | Sexuality and Gender
Social Justice | Rabbis and Diversity of Opinion | Texts and Law
The Jewish Calendar | Ritual Objects and Daily Jewish Rituals
Conversion | History and Legends of our Sages
Remember: Mishnah + Gemarra = Talmud
Kabbalah and Ultra-Natural Forces

Studying Merkavah Kabbalah
The Dangers of Kabbalah: The Four Enter the Pardes
Amulets
What the Dead Know
What Happens When We Die and Related Stories

Secrets of the Temple

Forbidden Amorite Practices
How Many Righteous People Per Generation?
The Evil Inclination
Demons and Evil Spirits in the Talmud
Cosmology and Heavenly Functions of Angels
Angels Petitioning and Arguing With God
Angels Relating With Humans
Talmud on Named Angels
The Talmud on the Angel of Death
"The Torah Was Not Given to Ministering Angels"
The Importance of Dreams
A Wicked Dream Interpreter
The Evil Eye
Creative Children and the Alphabet
The Land of Israel and Resurrection of the Dead
Torah Texts Hinting at Resurrection of the Dead
Day of Judgement, Part I
Heichalot Part I: The Seven Palaces of Heaven
What Has to Happen for the Messiah to Come?
Sorcerers, Illusionists and Magic
Bezalel and God's Choosing Process

Sexuality and Gender Issues
The Origins of Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Women and Time-bound Positive Commandments
Lesbian Behavior
Men Wearing Women's Garments
Permitted Sex Practices and Positions
Rabbis Who Stay Away From Their Wives For Too Long a Period
The Legend of Rabbi Akiva and Rachel, His Wife
Yalta, Rav Nachman's Wife
Serpent, Woman, Lust, and Sinai
A Story Demonstrating that a Man Should Stay Away from His Wife
For Seven Days After Her Period
Female Inlaws and the Talmud
Not Forcing Women, the Punishment of Eve, and Learning From
Animals
Husbands, Wives, and Vows
Intermarriage, Talmudic Style
The Effects of a Pregnant Woman's Diet and Actions on Her Baby
Sins for Which a Wife is Divorced AND Loses Her Ketubah Price
Positive and Harmful Effects of Sexual Intercourse
Matriarch Barreness, Impotency, and the Ten-Year Divorce Rule
Captive-Redemption and Women Talking in Bathrooms
Wasted Seed
What's Exciting About a Woman?
A Father's Responsibilities For His Son
Rabbi's Maid
Biology is Destiny?
Some Rigid Rules About Touching
Sleeping with a Gentile
The Definition and Problem of the Mamzer

Issues of Social Justice
Three Stories about Judging Your Neighbor Positively
Tzedakah Institutions
Tzedakah Protects From Death
Special Tzedakah Stories
God Performs Gemilut Chasadim, Deeds of Loving Kindness
The Mitzvah of Accompanying the Dead to the Cemetery
The Mitzvah of Comforting Mourners
Mourning Part I:
Mourning Part II:
Examples of Hachnasat Orchim, Hospitality
Preparing, Accompanying, and Rejoicing with the Bride
Visiting the Sick Removes One-Sixtieth of the Illness
Examples of Bikkur Cholim, Visiting the Sick
Women and Barleycorns
The Heavenly Court and Judgment
Why Gamblers May Not Be Witnesses
The Stubborn and Defiant Son
A Mnemonic on Suffering as Punishment
Why Is There Suffering: Part I
Why Do We Suffer: Part II
Why Is There Suffering: Part III
Why Is There Suffering: Part V
Why Is There Suffering: Part VI
Why Do We Suffer: Part IV
Sage Advice in the Talmud
The Mitzvah of Honoring Parents
The Mitzvah of Honoring Teachers
Refined Speech
Hillel, Eleazar, and Joseph as Role Models
Vengeance and Bearing a Grudge

Rabbis and Diversity of Opinion
The Role and Nature of a Bat Kol
Rabbis in Conflict: Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Joshua
Our Sages Versus Rabbi Eliezer...and God: The Majority Wins!!!
Rabbi Eliezer is Excommunicated
The Rabbinic Institution of Excommunication
An Objectionable Scholar is Excommunicated
Rabbis Reproved and Under the Ban
Non-Rabbis Reproved and Under the Ban
The Beit Shammai-Beit Hillel Controversy, Part I
The Beit Shammai-Beit Hillel Controversy, Part II
Sages in Disagreement
A Rabbi Who Could Laugh at Himself
Hananiah Challenges the Authorities in Palestine
The Samaritans
The Infamous Mumar
Who Were the Pharisees?
When May Disciples Make Legal Decisions
The Effects of Anger and Boastfulness
The Failed Revolt of R. Meir and R. Nathan
Rabbi Yochanan and Resh Lakish
The Death of R. Eliezer and Some Magic With Cucumbers
Two Stories of Bulimic Rabbis

Texts and Law
Seven Books of the Torah???
The Medicinal Effects of Torah Study
Standing or Sitting for Torah Study?
The Torah Law "An Eye For an Eye"
Rabbis Dealing with Christian Texts and Encountering Christians
Helena, Gold Tablets, and Naziriteship
Rabbis on the Consequences of Over-Indulgence
Play in the Talmud
Ways to Study the Oral Law
An Interpretation of the Book of Job
Talmudic Commentary to Exodus Chapter I
The Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs Controversy
The Number of Mitzvot
The Number of Commandments
The Ark and a Nice Sermon
The Recipe for Anointing Oil and Incense
A Really Big Synagogue and its Design Implications
Torah Proof Text for Ritual Slaughter

The Jewish Calendar
Mishnah Selections Describing How They Declared Rosh Chodesh,
the New Moon
The Havdalah Ritual
The Origin of Saying a Blessing Over Fire at Havdalah
Using Scented Oil For Havdalah
The Thirty-nine Labors Forbidden on Shabbat
Ways our Sages Prepared for Shabbat
Rewards for Keeping Shabbat and Consequences for Not Keeping
Shabbat
Pikuach Nefesh: Preserving Human Life
Three Talmud Stories About Shabbat
Two Loaves and Three Meals on Shabbat
Shabbat Oils and Wicks
Searching for Chametz and the Meaning of "Or"
Some Regulations about Ritual Leaven-Searching
Mice, Leaven, Children, and a Weasel Pun
Pot-Breaking for Pesach
Bread on Passover
Mishnah on the Order of the Seder
Matzah and Maror: Are Bitter Herbs Mandatory?
The Four Questions
The Four Sons
Dipping on Passover
Double Hand-Washing on Passover
Charoset
Can Rice be Eaten on Passover?
The Famous Hillel Sandwich on Passover
The Afikoman
Selections from the Mishnah Describing the Bikkurim,
First Fruits
Ceremony, on Shavuot
On What Day Was Torah Revealed?
A LONG Selection of Regulations about Blowing the Shofar
So When Was the Creation of the World?
Regulations About Self-Affliction on Yom Kippur
The High Priest's Ceremony on Yom Kippur
Satan's Impotence on Yom Kippur
Repentence and Atonement
Tension between Repentence and Yom Kippur
Regulations Concerning the Lulav
The Mystery of the Etrog and its Regulations
The Willow Ceremony and Regulations Concerning the Willow
Regulations about the Sukkah
The Water Libation Ceremony and the Water-Drawing Ceremony
The Chanukah Story According to the Talmud
Regulations About the Chanukah Lamp
So When Do You Tax Fruit Trees?
Regulations About Purim
Talmudic Imagery to the Book of Esther
Regulations about the Arba Parashiyot
Purim at the Time of the Messiah
Omer-Counting
Two Loaves on Shavuot
Study Versus Feasting on a Festival
The Ninth of Av
Four Or More New Years!
The Fifteenth of Av

Ritual Objects and Daily Jewish Rituals
Rules About Wearing Fringes (Tzitzit)
A LONG Selection of Information about Tefillin (more than you
ever wanted to know!!!)
Selections About the Mezuzah
Regulations and Stories About Circumcision
A Complicated Proof that Circumcision Supercedes Shabbat
A Complicated Circumcision Case About Twins
The High Priest's Gold Plate
The Only Reference in the Talmud to the Magen David
Selections about Daily Blessings
Rabbinic Eating Positions and Customs
Birkat HaMazon and the Seven Species
Regulations about Private Fasts
Why We Say a Blessing

The Jewish Prayer Service
The Ashrei: Psalm 145
The Content of the Blessings Surrounding the Shma
The Contents of the Tefillah
Choreography of the Service: The Sacred Dance
Regulations About Reciting the Shma
A Short Piece on Synagogue Etiquette
The Sanctity of the Synaogue and Its Ritual Objects
When Priests Raised Their Hands in Blessing

Conversion
LARGE Selection of Texts from the Talmud Concerning Proselytes
and Conversion (a whole course in itself!)
Hillel and Three Kinds of Students

History and Legends of our Sages
Reasons for the Second Temple's Destruction
Lamentations Rabba on Bar Kochba

Contact Rabbi Lipman at RavL...@aol.com

Designed and Developed by Efficient Web Solutions, LLC
www.efficientweb.com 1998

================================================================

http://bethelsudbury.org/whatthe.htm
------------------------------------

What the Talmud says about Web Sites
(as reported by Ron Fein)
This piece came to us by email after hopping from one site to another.

The Talmudists among you may find this amusing. It comes from Tractate
Kombutra.

Rabbi Tarfon of Bet She'an said of Rabbi Shlomo ben Yechezkel of
Tiverya: It is said that in those days Rabbi Shlomo ben Yechezkel of
Tiverya designed a web site for the mother of his father, Sarah the
daughter of Pinchas, who begat Yechezkel, who begat Rabbi Shlomo ben
Yechezkel of Tiverya. Thus Rabbi Shlomo ben Yechezkel of Tiverya
performed the mitzvah of web site design.

Rabbi Michal ben Elkanah, who only had one eye, said: But is it not
also said that in those days there was no web, only gopher?

Rabbi Shmaryahu of Hevron said: It is true, but as it is written: "A
web browser may also use the gopher protocol, in addition to the HTTP
protocol." Rabbi Eliezer asked: Why does it specifically mention that
the web browser may also use the gopher protocol, when it is written
elsewhere that a web browser may use any protocol? Because the gopher
protocol is especially meritorious, since it enables support of legacy
systems.

One time a poor man came into the home of Rabbi Shmaryahu of Hevron
and asked for two megabytes of disk space on the web site of Rabbi
Shmaryahu of Hevron. Rabbi Shmaryahu of Hevron refused the man, but
instead gave him a personal web server for his own use. At this point
Rabbi Yehudah ben Yerachmiel asked Rabbi Shmaryahu of Hevron: Why did
you refuse this man's request, but instead give him a personal web
server for his own use? Rabbi Shmaryahu of Hevron replied: It [the
Mishnah] teaches: "When a poor man comes into your home and asks for
disk space on your web site, first ascertain whether he is going to
use it for his own purpose or for the purpose of idol worship. If he
is going to use it for his own purpose, grant him the space he asks,
unless it exceeds twenty ephraot [one ephrah ~ 213 kilobytes], in
which case you may refer him to a local Internet service provider, for
as it is written: It is not upon you to complete the task, but neither
are you free to desist from it. If he is going to use it for the
purpose of idol worship, then do not give him the space, but instead
rebuke him, that he might see the error of his ways and refrain from
idol worship."

Rabbi Gideon of Sh'chem disagreed, saying: It [the Mishnah] also
teaches: "When a poor man requests space on an FTP server, you must
grant it without asking why he is going to use it." Why would the
Mishnah impose requirements on a web server but not an FTP server?
Rabbi Shmaryahu of Hevron said: Rabbi Eliezer said: Why does it
specifically mention that the web browser may also use the gopher
protocol, when it is written elsewhere that a web browser may use any
protocol? Because the gopher protocol is especially meritorious, since
it enables support of legacy systems. Similarly, the FTP protocol is
especially meritorious. Therefore, it is unfair to deny a poor man
access to FTP, whereas it is sometimes permitted to refrain from
giving a poor man access to HTTP, because without HTTP he can still
serve files using FTP, but without FTP he will be unable to put his
files on the server, since the means for saving files over HTTP are
unreliable.

Beth El Website Index

Send your questions and comments to: webm...@bethelsudbury.org
Copyright © 1996 Congregation Beth El of the Sudbury River Valley
Last modified: March 31, 1997

=========================================================

Additional Links:
-----------------

woodyw...@my-deja.com

unread,

Aug 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/27/99

"Pyro 1488" wrote:
And you goyish lackeys have absolutely nothing to say about this? Not
a word?

=====================
Words? Here are words for you, poor dude who lives in the ancient
past:
Pyro, get real and join the 21st century. Have you ever read the entire
bible? Are you familiar with a book called Deuteronomy? If not, read
it. Pay specific attention to how the laws of Deuteronomy place
females/women in the pathetically lowest level of legal protection.
Pyro, when are you going to read something that actually applies to
modern times? Are you not aware that all these books and things you
live your sorry pathetic hate-filled existance on, were written
thousands of years ago, with the intention of somehow being only of
application to some very ancient society or subculture within said?
Read Deuteronomy, it will tell you, Pyro, exactly where you, Pyro,
should put your pooter. Then, proceed to place said pooter, in said
place as instructed by another ancient document that you so cherish as
of great value to you in 1999: DEUTERONOMY

Shadow

unread,

Aug 27, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/27/99

Shadow wrote:
>
> Pyro 1488 wrote:
> >
> > Sanhedrin 55b. A Jew may marry a three year old girl
> > (specifically, three years "and a day" old).

> > This is absolutely disgusting.

I won't argue about the fact that males the world over have always
commodified women and arranged marriages with young girls. Patriarchal
religions and cultures suck, every one of them.

And I'm so glad Pyro cares so much about the rights of women and
children. Deep down he's a Really Caring Person. So ater he gets done
masturbating over a moldy 2-thousand-year old book (or
distortions/forgeries thereof) I expect we'll be seeing posts from him
decrying things that are hundreds of times more sickening, like what
European white Christians did to Native AMerican women & children,
enslaved Black women & children, other European women whom they accused
of witchcraft, and...yes, even Jewish women and children.

Pyro is exhibiting sublimated vicarious guilt for the atrocities
committed by his European Christian ('Aryan') ancestors against most
other races on the planet, but rather than admit it, he wants to deflect
the awareness of these things by finding someone else to blame. Like a
corrupt medieval Christian prelate, he finds a cardboard cliche
scapegoat, the "hook-nosed, usurious money-lending Jew." He prates about
this evil Jew to distract everyone's attention from the far worse
extortions which the Church perpetrated on the people of Europe. And
Pyro is still lliving down this guilt.

But since Pyro's heart bleeds for oppressed women and children, I expect
to see some mention of the serious abuses that are being done to women
and children TODAY, such as female genital mutilation, slavery, and the
de-humanification of women in Afghanistan. BTW, these abuses are not
being done by Jews, but by Muslims. And how about Hindu wife-burning? I
guess Pyro agrees with me that all of these patriarchal woman-oppressing
religions and cultures suck.

PS. I expect to see a post fuming about what a horrible PC liberal I am
to write this. Pyro is so very predictable.

SusanJ1111

unread,

Aug 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/28/99

Shadow, I was ***very*** happy to see that the courts finally came to their
senses, and finally realized that the real fear of being a target for female
genital mutilation was good grounds for asylum.

When I was visiting family in North Africa, my nephew underwent the ritual
circumcision that made this little Muslim boy a "man." Poor kids, he and his
friends were so proud -- until they got cut, and then they cried bloody murder!

If that ceremony were anywhere near the equivalent of female "circumcision," I
would have dragged him and as many of his little friends as I could on the next
plane back to America.

While there, I attended the wedding of my sister-in-law. It was a festive Arab
ceremony, and very nice, the bride wore three different elaborate wedding
dresses that day, and all the women had elaborate ink "tatoos" on their hands
and wrists, very beautiful patterns which eventually washed off, in about a
week or so. Lots of singing and dancing, and food and drink.

Then came the part of the ceremony that my husband felt embarrassed about for
me. The part where, with the guests still outside, the couple had to go
indoors, to consumate the marriage, in order to prove the bride was a virgin.
Afterwards, the maid of honor does a dance with the sheets in question.

At the discretion of the groom or his family, the marriage could be called off,
annulled, if the bride weren't a virgin. (I understand that for couples where
this isn't the case, or where the pressure of someone knocking on the door
every 5 minutes, and where the family still insists on this aspect of the
ceremony, that the couple kills a chicken or something to produce the
appropriate "proof.")

A lot of couples have said "forget that" and have gone for more modern Western
types of weddings.

Now, my point here is not to show how barbaric the Muslims are. I merely wanted
to point out that Joseph H's point about the girl still being considered a
virgin was important. Only recently in the west has female virginitiy been
considered unimportant for the bride, and in many parts of the world, including
this country, a woman has a far worse reputation for fooling around than a man
would.

Child molesters have been around for all time, and are not exclusive to any
group of people, however you want to define them. Our legal code deals with the
offenders, but doesn't deal with the victims. Perhaps that's why victims rights
groups have come upon the scene.

So, it seems to me that the quotes from the Talmud were a form of protecting
women. In this day and age, and out of context, it seems odd. But, we don't
live in the day and age that those passages were written.

I rather liked Scott's post a few weeks ago about the 19th century anarchist
who considered that documents such as the Constitution were only binding on
those who signed them, and only valid during their lifetime.

I get the feeling that people throughout time have been taking the same
attitude, and acted on it when they could, which is why we are not living
under the same conditions in the West that people did thousands or even
hundreds of years ago. I guess that the anarchist Scott cited was an idealist
who wanted to speed things up.

Once again, I wonder how anarchy fits in to TK's ideas?

-Susan

jum...@my-deja.com

unread,

Aug 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/28/99

http://www.ybt.org/talmud.html
------------------------------

talmud
Preface
Judaism is a religion which satisfies man in many ways and on
different levels. It is the purpose of these essays to show how
Judaism appeals to the intellectual and creative part of man's
nature. If I have over-emphasized the rational element in Judaism it
is because I have found this element so often overlooked. It is my
intent to bring into sharp relief the unique character of Judaism in
this regard.

Talmudic Judaism
By: Rabbi Yisroel Chait

Jewish religious and cultural life has through the centuries been
rooted in the Talmud. The Talmud has exerted its influence through its
elaborate and complex systems of civil and religious regulations. This
influence has extended beyond the practical religious sphere and has
engendered a particular intellectual attitude among the people. It has
further been responsible for establishing among its close adherents an
appreciation of a very special type of religious thought. But what
exactly is Talmud? To begin with, the Talmud is described as the Oral
Law. The sages of the Talmud maintained that together with the Bible,
Moses received a very elaborate body of knowledge whose purpose was to
render the Biblical injunctions intelligible. This latter work was not
permitted to be committed to writing. Only one consideration could
override this prohibition, and that is the danger of losing the body
of knowledge itself. Accordingly, Talmudic scholars have convened at
different times to issue permits for committing to writing various
parts of the Oral Law that were considered endangered. It is
interesting to note, however, that while its substance has been put
into writing, the Talmud's unique methodology has remained
"oral", being transmitted verbally from one group of scholars to
another. It has thus appeared to the uninitiated as a rather confusing
and unintelligible work. It is the purpose of this paper to shed some
light on the basic tenets of Talmudic reasoning so that its integral
role in the scheme of Judaic thought be appreciated even by those who
are not necessarily Talmudic scholars.

The most prominent difficulty one encounters in approaching Talmud,
and by far the greatest obstacle to its comprehension stems from a
failure to grasp the basic nature of its analysis. This failure is a
natural result of attempting to construe Talmud through the framework
of common religious notions, rather than searching to discover its own
specific principles. Contemporary religious ideas are wholly
irreconcilable with the basic method of Talmudic investigation. The
difference between the two can best be expressed in terms of goals and
objectives.

From time immemorial the value of a religious performance has rested
in its ability to endow the faithful with a certain religio-emotional
experience. Let us take Christianity for example. To the Christian the
overriding concern is to engender certain religio-emotional states and
experiences. Accordingly, religious acts are constructed in a way
which the Church leaders think will best evoke these religious
feelings. When approaching Talmud one expects to find the same
criterion at work. Rather than realize that his expectations are not
to be fulfilled, the would-be investigator tries to make the Talmud
conform to his own preconceived notions. A typical example of this
approach can be taken from Max I. Dimont's book, Jews, God, and
history. In it Dimont attempts to give a demonstration of what a
Talmudic Responsa is:

"Let us illustrate how the Responsa worked with an example
from life today. Let us suppose that the yeshivas of
Babylon still exist and that a Jewish community in suburban
St. Louis has asked one of them to solve the vexing problem
of `the automobile, the suburb, and the synagogue.' This is
the dilemma. The Torah forbids work on the Sabbath. In 1900
AD a yeshiva court ruled that driving a car is work. Now,
many years later, the suburbs have developed. The synagogue
no longer is a few blocks away, but miles out in the
country, and the distance is too formidable to walk. The
congregation is faced with the prospect of an empty
synagogue or committing the sin of driving to the place of
worship. What should be done?

The question is turned over to the yeshiva and the problem
placed on the docket. When the case comes up, the yeshiva
court will begin a hearing much as the Supreme Court
reviews a case. The argument might go something like this:
Certainly God did not intend to have empty synagogues, nor
to have His commandments broken. But who said that driving
to the synagogue was work? Certainly not God or Moses. To
force the aged to walk for miles in the hot sun or in the
cold of winter is a peril to health. Attending services
should be contemplated with joy, not with fear and
trembling. Did not the sages say that `he who takes upon
himself a duty that is not specifically required is an
ignoramus'? And furthermore, did not Rabbi Judah ben
Ezekiel, back in the third century, say that `he who would
order his entire life according to strict and literal
interpretation of Scripture is a fool'?

The yeshiva court would then begin a search for precedents,
just as lawyers arguing a brief before the Supreme Court
would search for precedents favorable to their case. After
due deliberation, the court might decide that in their
opinion the court back in 1900 had erred, and that driving
a car to the synagogue is not work but pleasure, much in
the same way that the United States Supreme Court in the
1890s held that equal but separate facilities for Negroes
was constitutional, but in the 1950s reversed itself,
holding that it was unconstitutional. Once a verdict is
reached, it is sent to the other yeshivas, where similar
hearings are held and a joint agreement disseminated
through the Responsa to every Jewish community."

In fact, no such Talmudic Responsa worthy of the name has ever been
written. What are the Talmudist's criteria for decision-making and how
does his approach differ from the foregoing? An illustration from the
world of physics may help clarify this point. Let us take the problem
of falling bodies and compare two approaches. We notice that when we
release an object from our hands it falls to the ground. What is the
explanation of this phenomenon? There are two distinct paths we may
follow. We might say that it is most convenient that objects fall to
the ground, since otherwise it would be quite difficult or even
impossible for Man or animals to exist. Floating objects would get in
our way and Man would have to invent methods of securing the objects
he desired and preventing those he didn't from invading his premises.
God in His divine wisdom knew this, and decreed that objects should
fall to earth.

We might, however, give a different analysis of the situation. We
might say that we observe bodies fall to earth. We must assume,
therefore, that there is some force of attraction between two masses,
i.e., gravity. The reason why we don't notice the earth move towards
the body is that there is so much more earth than body.

The first approach is concerned with understanding the "why" of the
situation, i.e., why bodies fall to earth. The second, on the other
hand, is concerned only with the "what" of the situation, i.e., what
is it that is responsible for the falling of bodies. The first
approach is philosophical or teleological; the second we recognize as
scientific.

Now while modern Man recognizes the validity of the `what" approach
when it comes to understanding the physical world, when it comes to
religion he thinks only in terms of the "why". Here at last, he feels
his curiosity of the "why" of things should be satisfied. It is
precisely on this point that the Talmudist differs. The farthest thing
from the Talmudist's mind is an attempt to ascertain God's will. Such
an attempt would be considered presumptuous and as absurd to him, as
it would be to the physicist to explain gravity by introducing God's
will. Such considerations are philosophical and not within the realm
of Talmudic analysis.

How does the Talmudist resolve his problems if he cannot base his
decisions on any inner divine intuition? He uses the same faculty the
physicist uses in understanding the universe - his intellect. Just as
the scientist studies nature, makes observations, and then proceeds to
draw universal laws from these observations; so the Talmudist studies
the data of the written and Oral Law, draws his universals from them,
and then proceeds to utilize these principles in the resolution of his
problems. Just as a scientist tests his theories against experimental
data so too, the Talmudist tests his theories by checking their
results against Talmudic data from other areas that may be effected
directly or indirectly*.

Talmudic Analysis
How would the Talmudist analyze a problem that has to do with the
Sabbath? He would survey carefully all the facts he has before him.
First he would examine the Biblical injunction which states that one
shall do no work on the Sabbath. The term "work", however is vague and
ambiguous, so he would have to search for its precise meaning in the
Oral Law. He would note that there are 39 categories of creative
activities listed in the Oral Law as comprising "work". He would
discover that "work" has nothing to do with physical exertion. A
person could exercise vigorously all Sabbath, lifting weights for
hours on end, without violating the Biblical injunction regarding the
Sabbath, while throwing a splinter of wood into a fire would involve a
major violation.

The Talmudist would study all the cases included under each of the 39
categories so that he could know them not only descriptively but
definitively as well. Plowing, for instance, is one of the 39 forms of
work. But the definition of plowing is not the same as the
description. Raking leaves also come under plowing. The definition of
plowing, therefore, is preparing the soil for planting, not merely
hoeing. Fertilizing the ground would also come under plowing. Again,
we have planting as one of the 39 categories of work. Pruning a tree,
according to the Oral Law, is also prohibited under the category of
planting. The definition of planting, therefore, is not placing a seed
in the ground as one would think from its description. but rather the
stimulation of growth. As pruning stimulates plant growth, it comes
under the category of planting. Watering the lawn, therefore, would
involve a double violation as the watering process softens the soil
making it more conducive for growing and it also stimulates plant
growths It can be seen, therefore, that the definition may be far
removed from the description since it is based on finding a universal
that includes all cases of a particular prohibition. Each of the 39
categories must be known by their universals in order that the
Talmudist may decide as to whether a particular action is to be
classified under one of them. Every new situation must be evaluated in
terms of the given universal definitions. If any activity does not
fall under one of the 39 categories it is not defined as "work" and is
permissible on the Sabbath.

Dimont's case wouldn't even warrant a serious Responsa since operating
an automobile involves combustion and combustion is clearly one of the
39 categories of prohibited work on the Sabbath. What is worse about
Dimont's presentation, however, is that he presents a totally
distorted view of the process of Talmudic analysis. The Talmudist
cannot be guided by his personal feelings about the matter. He never
thinks in terms of how God would view a situation. He has at his
disposal only the authorized Talmudic data and pure logical analysis;
through deduction and induction he arrives at his conclusions. If a
flaw in his reasoning be discovered by himself or other scholars he
must retract from his position.

Not only the negative but also the positive commandments are arrived
at in the same fashion. We have, for instance, a commandment to eat
the Pascal Lamb on the Eve of Passover together with unleavened bread
and bitter herbs. This commandment was prescribed for a time when the
Holy Temple is in existence. Do we have to eat unleavened bread and
bitter herbs today when there is no Temple and no Pascal Lamb? This
question is dealt with in the Talmud. The theoretical analysis of the
problem is as follows. Do we consider the eating of the unleavened
bread and herbs as a separate commandment in its own right or merely
as an accident or attribute of the Pascal Lamb, i.e. the Pascal Lamb
is to be eaten with the accompaniment of unleavened bread and herbs?
If the first formulation is correct, then even today when there is no
Pascal Lamb the unleavened bread and herbs would be obligatory.
Whereas, if the second is correct then there would be no purpose in
eating the herbs and unleavened bread as there is no Pascal Lamb.

The Talmud adduces evidence to support the different possibilities.
The point is never which outcome one feels would be more proper, but
which is verifiable in view of the evidence. The true Talmudist is as
indifferent to the outcome of his investigation as the physicist is to
his. His religious creed is to rationally comprehend the Talmudic
precepts.

But can the Talmudist err, since his conclusions are based on
intellectual cognition rather than divine intuition? The answer is
that insofar as he employs the faculty of human reason he is as
subject to error as any other investigator. Insofar as his religious
goal is concerned, however, he cannot fail since he is not committed
to any particular outcome, but rather, to the results of his
investigation; be they correct or incorrect in actuality, he is
obligated to follow the most knowledgeable position that human reason
can ascertain at the time. This to the Talmudist is God's will: to
rely on his reason in interpreting the given data he has received. As
a matter of fact, only reason may be used in Talmudic arbitration.
Even if a great Prophet should inform a court of Talmudists discussing
a particular matter that he knows through prophecy which view is
correct. his statements would not be admissible as evidence. The
Talmud illustrates this idea with a story in which God himself
declares a decision made by the human court to be incorrect in
actuality yet accepts it since it was arrived at in complete
compliance with the human system of Talmudic investigation.

Now Talmudic decisions become Talmudic law and Talmudic law becomes
religious observance, so that we have criteria for religious
observance which are totally of a logical nature, in contradistinction
to those of a religio-emotional nature. Let me give an example. There
is a commandment to hear the sound of the shofar on the New Year. But
the sound of the shofar is a very specific sound. The length and
character of each sound and the number of sounds has been determined
by lengthy Talmudic discussion. Now a person may be filled with
religious fervor and emotion while listening to the shofar on the High
Holy Days and yet not fulfill the commandment if the sounds produced
were lacking in one minute technical detail. On the other hand, one
may listen to the proper sounds in an uninspired manner and yet
fulfill the commandment.

Philosophy of Talmudic Judaism
It is only natural for one to wonder about the philosophy of such a
system. What kind of religious system is it, that has as its center
technical performances which are dictated by theoretical and logical
considerations? Why must each commandment be constructed with the
precision of an abstract formula? Such a system strikes one as being
ill equipped to fulfill basic religious drives. The emphasis here
seems misplaced. The answer actually derives naturally from the
phenomenon itself. The sages of the Talmud conceived of Judaism in a
very unique way. To them it was a religion of the mind. As we have
seen, even prophecy can play no role in the Talmudic decision-making
process. Only the dictates of reason must be followed. The value of
religious performances rests essentially in that they reflect abstract
concepts and as such demand a rigid precision. Ignorant performances
no matter how well intentioned are of no value Halachically, in the
event that one is not a scholar himself, he must base his performances
upon the scholarship of others.

The all encompassing nature of Talmudic Law makes it impossible for
man to avoid coming in contact with it constantly. The thinking
individual thus always encounters questions, ideas and Halachic
concepts in his daily activities. His milieu becomes one of thought
and in the appreciation of the beauty of that thought Man comes close
to God.

To the uninitiated onlookers the life of Halachah seems controlled and
tedious. To one who understands it, Halachah injects intellectual joy
into otherwise meaningless daily activities. The perfected Jew eats
and drinks like everyone else but Halachah raises questions and brings
forth ideas which can make a meal an intellectual adventure.

It is impossible to describe what it is like to experience the joy of
Talmudic thought. Only those who have partaken of it can know what the
Psalmist meant when he said, "Your laws have been as music to me'; "If
it wasn't for your law, my plaything..."; "They are more desirous than
gold... and are sweeter than honey and the finest nectar." The love of
Talmudic thought leads one to a desire to commune with the source of
the beautiful world of ideas, as Maimonides quotes in the name of King
David, "My soul thirsts for the Almighty, the living God." This, then,
is the uniqueness of Talmudic Judaism. Intellect, usually the
adversary of religion is here its ally and stronghold. Even prayer
which is the service of the heart has strict Halachic formulae as to
how exactly it should take place. A mere outpouring of human emotion
is not only invalid Halachically but may even involve serious
infractions. The preamble to prayer is "Know before whom you stand".
Prayer must be preceded by proper knowledge of God. The Halachah
conveys to man correct notions about the Creator so that when he prays
to God his mind is properly engaged.

It is not the purpose of Halachah to remove human emotions from the
religious experience. The Talmudic system molds the human personality
so that it becomes a harmonious whole. Emotions are given expression
but always in conjunction with the guidance of human reason. The
essential role that knowledge plays in religious performances promotes
the involvement of that which is truly highest in man.

Addendum
It is not my intention to equate the "personality of the scientist"
with that of the "Talmudist". (Neither do I wish to lend credibility
to Talmud via this analogy. Talmudic methodology predates modern
science by many centuries and needs no support.) I use the term
"scientist" in the Maimonidean sense as an illustration of man using
his intellectual abilities to unlock the secrets of nature. Similarly,
the Talmudist uses his investigative powers to uncover the theoretical
structure behind the Law.

An additional word might be in order about this comparison. The
scientist gains knowledge from experience in two ways: new information
questions existing theories and new theories are then tested by
experimentation from reality. For the Talmudist the situation is not
analogous. Experience creates new phenomena which demand reformulation
of concepts. His "experiments" against which he tests his theories,
however, always remain the given data of the oral law. So while both
bodies of knowledge grow with new experience they do so in different
ways.

End Notes
1 According to Maimonides this prohibition was only on a public level.
Scholars had in fact always kept private notes (see intro. to code).

2 We are concerning ourselves with the major part of the Talmud which
deals with the analysis of religious law and not the Aggadic section
which is philosophic in nature. Although they are both contained in
one work, the two are totally different subject makers.

3 I am using the Newtonian Model rather than the Einsteinium as it is
better suited for illustrative purposes

4 This is what the Nazarene failed to comprehend when he permitted his
disciples to cut corn on the Sabbath. * see addendum

5 There Is a body of Oral Law relating to every Biblical Commandments

6 Tractate Moed Koten. 2b

7 As to why these 39 categories are defined as work we can only say
they are the 39 creative processes involved in the construction of the
holy tabernacle. Why that was chosen to represent work is a "why"
question and is in the realm of philosophy rather than Talmud.

8 Only matters of life and death can override a Sabbatical injunction.

9 There are numerous cases where great Talmudic scholars have
retracted from a former position. (As examples see Rashi Tractate
Chullin 116b, Maimonides' responsa quoted by Migdal Ohz Laws of
fringes Chap. 2, also R"l Abodah Zarah 22A. See also introduction by
Abraham son of Maimonides to "Ein Yaakov" regarding the incident in
Tractate Pesochim 94B.)

10 End of Tractate Pesochim.

11 See introduction by Rabbi M. Weinstein to his first volume on Orach
Chaim, Igrot Moshe.

12 End of Tractate Baba Metziah 59b.

13 As Rashi states in Deuteronomy 6:6 in the name of the Siphre "and
what is this love (of God) which is here commanded? The next verse
tells us `These words which I commanded thee snail be upon they
heart.' for through these words, i.e. (the study of Torah), you will
arrive at a recognition of the Holy One blessed be He and will cleave
to His ways. (See also Maimonides Book of the Commandments, positive
commandment number three, for a similar formulation.)

14 Psalms 119:54.

15 Ibid. 119:92.

16 Ibid. 19:11.

17 Ibid. 42:3.

18 The term prayer derives from the verb Pilel which signifies
thought. (See Rashi Genesis 48:11, also Onkelos on same.) Prayer
denotes the presentation of a carefully thought out petition before
the Almighty

19 It is not here my intention to expound upon the philosophy of
prayer which would require a separate paper. I merely wish to point
out that the concept of prayer in Talmudic Judaism is quite different
from what is commonly conceived of as prayer.

20 See the incident with R. Chanina, Tractate Berachot 33b.

21 It is interesting that according to Nachmonides there is no
Biblical injunction to pray daily, while the study of Torah is a
constant obligation.

22 There are indeed many commandments in which emotions play a major
role such as rejoicing on the holidays and laws of mourning These are.
however always framed in a logical system of Halachah

============================================================

http://www.anesi.com/q0032.htm
------------------------------

Babylonian Talmud: Tradition that God prays to himself

God is properly exhorted to remember his good qualities. There is
even a tradition that God prays to himself: "May it be My will that
My mercy may suppress My anger, and that My compassion may prevail
over My other attributes." This tradition is borne out by the
following story:

R. Ishmael the son of Elisha said: I once entered the innermost
sanctuary to offer incense, and there I saw Akathrielš Jah Jahweh
Zebaoth˛ seated upon a high and exalted throne. He said to me,
Ishmael, my son, bless me! And I answered him: May it be Thy will
that Thy mercy may suppress Thy anger, and that Thy compassion may
prevail over Thy other attributes, so that Thou mayest deal with
Thy children according to the attribute of mercy and stop short of
the limit of strict justice! And He nodded to me with His head.ł

š "Akathriel" is a made-up word consisting of ktr=kether (throne)
and el, the name of God.
˛ A string of numinous God names, usually translated as "the Lord of
Hosts". ł Zera'im I, Berakoth 7 (Babylonian Talmud, trans. and ed.
by Isidore Epstein, p. 30; slightly modified).

This passage (including footnotes) was prepared by Zwi Werblowsky, a
rabbinical scholar, for Carl Jung's book Aion, wherein it appears at
ś110.

==========================================================

http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/dbs2e.html
-------------------------------------------

Three CD-ROMS from DBS: Bible, Talmud, Jewish ThoughtThree CD-ROMS
from DBS: Bible, Talmud, Jewish Thought

Meir Bar-Ilan
Readers of this column undoubtedly recall the write-up of the Bible
CD-ROM of DBS several months ago (Computers and Fun, no. 38, February
1995, pp.48-50). In the mean time, this company has not sat back upon
its haunches, but has produced a more sophisticated release
(compatible with its new CDs) and two other CDs: one contiaing
Talmudic datasets and the second containing a database called "Books
of Jewish Thought, Ethics, Hasidsim, Kabbalah and Bibliography".

To evaluate the Talmud CD, one compares it with that of the Responsa
Project of Bar Ilan University (the "RP"). While a first, cursory
glance would elicit the major difference between the CDs as the
operating system they run under (DOS vs. Windows), a more penetrating
examination shows that this is not the key difference, rather a chasm
separating the contents of the databsaes. What one has, the other
lacks.

It might seem impossible that two CDs striving to include Judaic
sources could be so different, but this is the case. The RP CD
(release 4) includes not only Bible and Talmud, but aggadic and
halachic midrashim and over 200 volumes of responsa. The DBS CDs
incorporate the following sources:

Bible and commentaries (the majority of commentaries are not
included in the RP CD).

Talmud, Mishnah, Tosefta, the minor tractates (but not the aggadic
and halachic midrashim), with the addition of commentaries absent in
the RP CD: R. Obadiah of Bartenura's commentary on the Mishnah,
Tosefot Yom Tov on the Mishnah, Beit haB'khirah of R. Menakhem
haMeiri on the Bavli, Tosefot and Tosefot of the RoSh.

The CD of Jewish Thought, to be discussed below. Incidentally, the
three CDs are made available in a common marketing format. A
text-limited version costs about $20 and the full version goes for
about $100 (the RP CD goes for more than $700).

The import of the differences between the two sets of databases is as
follows: one only slightly overlaps the other, so whoever has bought
one shouldn't be in a hurry to put his checkbook away. It is clear
that DBS is well aware of the strength of the RP CD in the responsa
area, and hence did not include even one volume of responsa among its
data sets (and rightly so). DBS is not marketing to the scholarly
audience which needs halachic decisors, but to the more "balabatish"
audience, that which wishes to understand a sugya with the aid of the
Meiri or wants to scan the Tosefot of the RoSh in a novel manner.

The user interface is common to the three CDs, and from my perspective
shows off the DOS operating system to good effect: simultaneous
handling of different data sets in Windows style. One can export
material, store results and other actions. However, the sophisticated
text searches that an experienced user might formulate can be effected
with the RP CD but not with that of DBS (as will be covered in one of
the next issues of this magazine).

So far I've surveyed the first two of the DBS CDs. The third is new:
"Jewish Thought, Ethics, Hasidut, Kabbalah and Bibliography". The
reader will be surprised at the contents: a multitude of books,
including books listing the "Mitzvot" (RaMBaM, Kharedim, Khinuch);
books of Jewish thought (the Kuzari, Khovot haL'vavot, the `Iqarim,
Drashot haRaN); books by the RaMBaM (Guide to the Perplexed, Milot
haHigayon, the various Letters, the Essay on Sanctifying God's Name);
books on ethics (Sha'arei T'shuvah, M'silat Yesharim, M'norat haMaor,
Tomer Dvorah, Orkhot Khayyim [attributed to the RoSh], and others);
books of hasidut (Ma'or haShemesh, No`am Elimelech, plus others);
books of kabbalah (Zohar, Zohar haKhadash, Tikkunei Zohar, Sha`arei
Orah, and more); books of bibliography (Qorei haDorot, Shem haG'dolim
by KhIDA, Or haKhayyim by R. Khayyim Michal, etc.); the works of the
MaHaRaL and many more. In short, many books that till now have not
made it to the digital printing press.

It sems that this large collection of books (filling somewhat over 100
MB) is intended to compete with that of the RP, since not one of the
data sets here is included in the Bar Ilan CD. The collection also
clearly shows the profile of the intended DBS user: not a judge or
professional scholar who needs the sources for verification or for
improvement of his command of them, but the "man in the street" who
would buy the CD to take the place of a full (dust-gathering)
bookcase. The DBS CDs are intended for the wider public, people who
after a day of work would want to enjoy the collected ouevre of the
giants of Jewish teaching thoughout history (and would not want to
inquire specifically after halachah).

However, I feel that the popular style of the CD may boomerang. First,
the editions of the books incorporated in the CD are traditional, i.e.
not "scientific" -- old editions as to whose reliability there is
great doubt, and whose value lies in that their copyrights have lapsed
(the Vilna editions have here experienced the digital revoloution).
Clearly Ibn Tibon's translation of the RaMBaM cannot be considered the
"last word" in research, and the Sefer haKhinuch (attributed in error
to R. Aharon haLevi, when it was actually written by his brother R.
Pinchas, as shown by Prof. Y. Ta-Shma) displayed in its old edition,
is akin to wine which has gone bad. How much labor Rabbi C. B. Chavel
put in to produce a corrected work -- and now others have digitally
published the version whose errors are well known.

Even worse is the situation of the Zohar. If we check therein, we
quickly find that after Shmot 25a comes page 32b; page 61a is cut off
in the middle (compared to the original Vilna edition), and the
section on the Manna has disappeared entirely. A close examination
shows that several dozens pages were omitted from the CD by the
"bokhur zetser" (the apprentice lad who is always blamed for printing
errors), and that the bottom line is that anyone hoping to use the
digital Zohar has to be cautious not to place his trust in a dataset
that is both faulty and leads one astray. Instead of "sparks" of the
Zohar, one can expect disappointment and darkness.

There is a great deal of material in this CD, but a portion is
outdated and inexact. For example, the book Qore haDorot by R. David
Conforte (died 1690?) is included, so that the modern peruser -- he
who runs deliriously after every computer novelty -- reads material
written long before Wissenschaft des Judentums came into existence, as
if nothing new has emerged since then among historians. The same holds
for the Shem haG'dolim of R. Khayyim Azulai. Granted that he is one of
the greatest of Jewish scholars, his book, like Qorei haDorot, needs a
modern update, along the lines of the Encyclopedia of Jewish Scholars
(Khochmei Yisrael) of M. Margoliot. It is unfortunate that DBS chose
to rely on research more than 200 years old.

This point deserves further examination, because the question is: what
were the books used by the coders of the data sets? Which
bibliographical edition was deemed authoritative? True, this question
holds for the RP CD as well, though its producers, exhibiting some
wisdom, placed two editions of the same book on the CD, for example,
the regular edition of Breishit Rabbah (Vilna) and that of
Theodor-Albeck, and others. The RP CD attempts to please both the
rabbinic and academic worlds (in my opinion, not enough). The DBS CD,
aimed only at the rabbinic world, makes no attempt to ascertain "What
is the most authentic edition", one of the basic questions of Jewish
Studies. Nonetheless, I have no doubt that the DBS CDs, like all the
other computerized Judaica databases, will eventually aid the
rapprochement between the yeshivah and academic worlds. In summary,
the DBS databases should be approached with care, for they are
inappropriate, unfortunately, for those of academic bent. True, the
data sets point the way -- blessed -- through which all of Judaic
thought over the generations will be in digital form, thus allowing a
relatively free flow from the sources. Until then, the way is long. A
ten thousand mile journey starts with a small step; the first step a
publisher should take, whether paper or digital, is that he should
ascertain that he does not produce a corrupted version. Of a corrupted
text, one can say "it were better that it were never created, but once
created, it should be removed and hidden" (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh
De'ah, 279a).

Translated by: David Fishman
The electronic address of this file is:
http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/dbs2e.html
last updated: December 19, 1996

Back to Anesi's Book of Unfamiliar Quotations

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http://www.proaxis.com/~deardorj/tjname.htm

Shadow

unread,

Aug 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/28/99

> Now, my point here is not to show how barbaric the Muslims are. I merely wanted
> to point out that Joseph H's point about the girl still being considered a
> virgin was important. Only recently in the west has female virginitiy been
> considered unimportant for the bride, and in many parts of the world, including
> this country, a woman has a far worse reputation for fooling around than a man
> would.
>
> Child molesters have been around for all time, and are not exclusive to any
> group of people, however you want to define them. Our legal code deals with the
> offenders, but doesn't deal with the victims. Perhaps that's why victims rights
> groups have come upon the scene.
>
> So, it seems to me that the quotes from the Talmud were a form of protecting
> women. In this day and age, and out of context, it seems odd. But, we don't
> live in the day and age that those passages were written.

Thanks Susan, I did understand about those Talmudic passages but I
wasn't able to back them up like you did. I understood that a lot of
stuff in the Bible, Talmud & other moldy religious books which seems
barbaric to us may have been improvements on the social standards of the
day. Somewhere in the Bible it says that if a woman is raped, the rapist
must marry the woman. Naturally to us it sounds horrible and to morons
like Pyro it would read "if a Jew rapes a woman he can then have her as
his property" or "if a Jew wants a woman for his own, he can rape her."
That just shows you how Pyro's pathetic mind works (!). However, at the
time it was written it was most likely a way of saying "a guy who rapes
a woman has spoiled her most precious possession--her
virginity/virtue--so in compensation he has to marry her, thus providing
financial support for the rest of her life." (at that time, women were
not considered able to support themselves.)

My comment on the whole issue, naturally, is that patriarchal religions,
cultures and attitudes suck, and that women ought to get together and
"dump the whole stinking system" as TK would say. Women in Africa should
dump their husbands (since the women do all the work anyway) ... but
hey, that's a subject for a few books, not a simple usenet post.

Shadow

age...@post.cz

unread,

Aug 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/28/99

Shadow <shad...@geocities.com> wrote:
>
>Pyro 1488 wrote:
>>
>> Sanhedrin 55b. A Jew may marry a three year old girl
>> (specifically, three years "and a day" old).
>>

>> Sanhedrin 54b. A Jew may have sex with a child as long as
>> the child is less than nine years old.
>>
>> Kethuboth 11b. "When a grown-up man has intercourse with a
>> little girl it is nothing."
>>

>> And you goyish lackeys have absolutely nothing to say about this? Not a
>> word?
>>

>> This is absolutely disgusting. I am SICK to my stomach. What a filthy
>> fuckin' religion! And people call Hitler insane for purging Jews? I hope
>> orthodox Jews have yanked out these filthy passages from the Talmud. This
>> is really, really sick.
>>
>> Ms. Creamcheese: I find *this* to be a load of "unsavory fertilizer."
>
>I find it sick how many jollies Pyro seems to be getting from thinking
>about these passages, which are of doubtful authenticity, and all we
>have is Pyro's word that they even exist. And we all know how believable
>Pyro's word is (!)

Of course, you could obtain a copy of
the Talmud and look them up. Too obvious?

>Meanwhile, Pyro has said nothing about German Christian witch-hunters'
>practices of subjecting innocent women and girls to sexual tortures
>before burning them alive. Not to mention what inquisitors and
>progrommists did to Jewish women.

What a sick, sick, individual you are to
dwell on such things. Your obsession with
this is truly a mental illness. Get help!

>
>Is it just to do violence to people for words supposedly written in a
>book? In that case, I'd be totally justified in carving off several
>pieces of Pyro's anatomy and roasting them for what his idol Hitler
>wrote in "Mein Kampf."
>

What a totally twisted, hate-filled
individual you are. Maybe you should
just kill yourself right now, and save
society the trouble.

Cheers,
99
--
"Truth, reality and objectivity are all
in trouble from our point of view; we see
a male-created truth, a male point of
view, a male-defined objectivity."
--Ruth BLEIER, 1984, Science and Gender.

Shadow

unread,

Aug 28, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/28/99

age...@post.cz wrote:
>
> Shadow <shad...@geocities.com> wrote:
> >
> >Pyro 1488 wrote:
> >>
> >> Sanhedrin 55b. A Jew may marry a three year old girl
> >> (specifically, three years "and a day" old).

> Of course, you could obtain a copy of

> the Talmud and look them up. Too obvious?

well, I must admit I don't know Aramaic that well. But I'm sure Pyro
does (!_)

>
> >Meanwhile, Pyro has said nothing about German Christian witch-hunters'
> >practices of subjecting innocent women and girls to sexual tortures
> >before burning them alive. Not to mention what inquisitors and
> >progrommists did to Jewish women.
>
> What a sick, sick, individual you are to
> dwell on such things. Your obsession with
> this is truly a mental illness. Get help!

Yep. History is definitely a mental illness. Ha! Your sarcasm is quite
biting. None of the past thousand years' history really happened... it
was all a schizophrenic delusion, wasn't it! Everything has always been
happy, happy, happy! Pass the Prozac!

> >Is it just to do violence to people for words supposedly written in a
> >book? In that case, I'd be totally justified in carving off several
> >pieces of Pyro's anatomy and roasting them for what his idol Hitler
> >wrote in "Mein Kampf."
> >
>
> What a totally twisted, hate-filled
> individual you are. Maybe you should
> just kill yourself right now, and save
> society the trouble.

Why... because I'm analyzing the words of our resident hatemonger, Pyro,
and drawing them to their logical conclusion?

jum...@my-deja.com

unread,

Aug 29, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/29/99

http://www.friesian.com/trek.htm
--------------------------------

The Fascist Ideology of Star Trek: Militarism, Collectivism, & Atheism

One and only one person can give steering and engine orders at any
one time....The commanding officer may take over the deck or the
conn...In taking the conn from the officer of the deck, the captain
should do so in such a manner that all personnel of the bridge watch
will be notified of the fact. Watch Officer's Guide, A Handbook for
all Deck Watch Officers, Revised by K.C. Jacobsen, Commander, U.S.
Navy, 11th Edition [Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland,
1981, pp. 68-69]

I have always liked Star Trek. I watched the original show in the
60's, waited eagerly for the first movie in the 70's, and then later
in the 80's got hooked all over again on Star Trek: The Next
Generation. It has been good television, good science fiction, and
occasionally even good film. Some things, nevertheless, have driven me
crazy: (1) Picard and Riker both giving commands, in tandem, on the
bridge is absurd. One person has the conn or has the deck on a ship,
and it is dangerous to have any confusion about that (see quote
above). As Executive Officer, Riker wouldn't even be on the bridge in
ordinary circumstances. (2) There doesn't seem to be anything like a
regular watch on the bridge. In one show a big point is made that only
a full commander can have bridge command, but nothing is more common
on the show than to have scenes where all the senior officers of the
ship are in some conference or other, leaving who knows who directing
the ship on the bridge--unless there are full commanders who aren't
part of the regular cast. The writers don't seem to know what naval
lieutenants are for--to be the officers of the deck. And (3) Star Trek
has never known what admirals are for. The first Star Trek movie has a
farcical conflict over whether Admiral Kirk or the newly assigned
captain will assume command of the Enterprise. One wonders what
Horatio Nelson and Captain Hardy were both doing on the HMS Victory.
Later, Star Trek: The Next Generation refers to the Enterprise as the
"flag ship" of Star Fleet, without apparently realizing that a flag
ship is a ship with a "flag," i.e. a flag officer, an admiral. A Star
Trek admiral seems to be some kind of shore officer.

These absurdities, however, can be easily forgiven. Less easily
forgiven or forgotten are the more troubling messages about the nature
of the future, the nature of society, and even the nature of reality.
Star Trek typically reflects certain political, social, and
metaphysical views, and on close examination they are not worthy of
the kind of tribute that is often paid to Star Trek as representing an
edifying vision of things.

In a 1996 newspaper column, James P. Pinkerton, discussing the new
Star Trek movie (the eighth), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), quotes
Captain Picard saying how things have changed in his day, "The
acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force; we work to
better humanity." Perhaps Picard never stopped to reflect that greater
wealth means greater material well being, which is to the betterment
of humanity much more than any empty rhetoric. But this is typical of
Star Trek. A first season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode
called "The Neutral Zone," has Picard getting up on his high horse
with a three hundred year old businessman who is revived from
suspended animation: The businessman, naturally, wants to get in touch
with his agents to find out what has happened to his investments.
Picard loftily informs him that such things don't exist anymore.
Indeed, poverty and want have been abolished, but how this was
accomplished is never explained. All we know is, that however it is
that people make a living, it isn't through capitalism as we know it.
Stocks, corporations, banking, bonds, letters of credit--all these
things seem to have disappeared. We never see Picard, or anyone else,
reviewing his investment portfolio. And those who still have a lowly
interest in buying and selling, like the Ferengi, are not only
essentially thieves, but ultimately only accept payment in precious
commodities. In the bold new future of cosmic civilization, galactic
trade is carried on in little better than a Phoenician style of
barter, despite the possibilities of pan-galactic banking and
super-light speed money transfers made possible by "sub-space"
communications.

Too much of Star Trek has always reflected trendy leftist political
sentiments. It was appropriate that John Lennon's "Imagine" should
have been sung at the 30th Anniversary television special: Capitalism
and religion get little more respect from Star Trek than they do from
Lennon. Profit simply cannot be mentioned without a sneer. The
champions of profit, the Ferengi, not only perceive no difference
between honest business, piracy, and swindle, but their very name, the
Hindi word for "European" (from Persian Farangi), seems to be a covert
rebuke to European civilization. At the same time, one can find little
in the way of acknowledgement of the role of religion in life that,
whether in India or in Europe, would be essential. Although exotic
extraterrestrials, like the Klingons and Bajorans, have quaint
religious beliefs and practices, absolutely nothing seems to be left
of the historic religions of Earth: There are no Jews, no Christians,
no Moslems, no Buddhists, no Hindus, no Jains, no Confucians, and no
Sikhs, or anything else, on any starship or settlement in the
Federation. (Star Trek is, not to put too fine a point on it, what the
Nazis called "Judenfrei," free of Jews [note], a condition that Marx
also anticipated with the death of Capitalism--though Leonard Nimoy
did introduce, subversively, the hand sign of the Hebrew letter "shin"
to signify the Trek benediction, "Live long and prosper.") With no
practitioners, there are no chaplains for the crew--no ministers, no
priests, no rabbis, no mullas, no brahmins, no monks, no nuns. The
closest thing to religious advice is the tedious psycho-babble of
counselor Troi.

Why there is this conspicuous absence of religion is made plain in a
third season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode called "Who
Watches the Watchers?" It concerns a planet of people who are still at
only a pre-industrial level of development but who are related to the
Vulcans and, presumably because of this, are so intellectually
advanced that they long ago ceased to believe in anything so absurd as
a God (so some races are just smarter than others?(!?)--sounds like
some kind of racism). Because a Federation observing post and its
advanced technology is inadvertently revealed, one of the natives
mistakenly takes Captain Picard to himself be the God of ancient
belief. He spreads the word among his people. The rest of the episode
is then taken up with how this folly can be undone without otherwise
distorting the natural development of the natives. In the end, they
realize that Picard is not God, and they continue on their previous
path of atheistic wisdom.

Such a story is so blatantly hostile to theistic religion, that it is
astonishing that it provoked neither comment nor protest. Perhaps the
messages contained in science fiction television are simply not
noticed. Movies have a somewhat higher profile and, indeed, the futile
quest for God in the fifth Star Trek movie, The Final Frontier,
provoked the comment from Michael Medved, a political conservative and
devout Jew, that it was the same old "secular humanism." Even the
aforementioned religious beliefs and practices of the Klingons and
Bajorans seem to consist of little more than ritual and mythology, and
one is left with the impression that respect for such things is
motivated more by cultural relativism than by a sense that they might
contain religious truths of interest to others. The Star Trek universe
is one without religious truths--where the occasional disembodied
spirit can be explained away with talk about "energy" or "subspace."

If daily life is not concerned with familiar economic activities and
the whole of life is not informed with religious purposes, then what
is life all about in Star Trek? Well, the story is about a military
establishment, Star Fleet, and one ship in particular in the fleet,
the Enterprise. One might not expect this to provide much of a picture
of ordinary civilian life; and it doesn't. One never sees much on
Earth apart from the Star Fleet Academy and Picard's family farm in
France--unless of course we include Earth's past, where the Enterprise
spends much more time than on the contemporaneous Earth. Since
economic life as we know it is presumed not to exist in the future, it
would certainly pose a challenge to try and represent how life is
conducted and how, for instance, artifacts like the Enterprise get
ordered, financed, and constructed. And if it is to be represented
that things like "finance" don't exist, one wonders if any of the Trek
writers or producers know little details about Earth history like when
Lenin wanted to get along without money and accounting and discovered
that Russia's economy was collapsing on him. Marx's prescription for
an economy without the cash nexus was quickly abandoned and never
revived. Nevertheless, Marx's dream and Lenin's disastrous experiment
is presented as the noble and glorious future in Star Trek: First
Contact, where Jean Luc Picard actually says, "Money doesn't exist in
the Twenty-Fourth Century."

So what one is left with in Star Trek is military life. Trying to
soften this by including families and recreation on the Enterprise in
fact makes the impression worse, since to the extent that such a life
is ordinary and permanent for its members, it is all the easier to
imagine that all life in the Federation is of this sort. Not just a
military, but a militarism. In the show, this actually didn't work out
very well. In the beginning, Star Trek: The Next Generation wanted to
remind us of the daily life, children in school, etc. on board; and
more than once the "battle hull" of the ship was separated from the
"saucer" so that the civilian component of the crew would be safe from
hostile action. This cumbersome expedient, however, was soon enough
forgotten; and we later forget, as the Enterprise finds itself in
desperate exchanges with hostile forces, that small children are
undergoing the same battle damage that we see inflicted on the
bridge--unless of course it is brought to our attention because there
is a story with a special focus on a child, as with Lieutenant Worf's
son. In Star Trek: First Contact, crew members are being captured and
turned into Borg. Does that include the children? We never see any. Do
Picard's orders to shoot any Borg include Borg who were human
children? This disturbing situation is completely ignored by the
movie. Star Trek, therefore, cannot maintain its fiction that military
life on a major warship will be friendly to families and children.

In the 20th Century there has been a conspicuous political ideology
that combines militarism, the subordination of private economic
activity to collective social purposes, and often the disparagement of
traditional religious beliefs and scruples: Fascism, and not the
conservative Fascism of Mussolini and Franco, who made their peace
with the Church and drew some limits about some things (Franco even
helped Jews escape from occupied France), but the unlimited
"revolutionary," Nihilistic Fascism of Hitler, which recoiled from no
crime and recognized no demands of conscience or God above the gods of
the Führer and the Volk. Certainly the participants in all the forms
of Star Trek, writers, staff, producers, actors, fans, etc., would be
horrified, insulted, and outraged to be associated with a murderous
and discredited ideology like Fascism; but I have already noted in
these pages how naive philosophers and critics have thoughtlessly
adopted the philosophical foundations of Fascism from people like
Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger to what they think are
"progressive" causes in the present day.

This danger has come with the corruption of the idea of "progress"
away from individualism, the rule of law, private property, and
voluntary exchanges--in short the characteristics of capitalism and
the free market--into collectivist, politicized, and ultimately
totalitarian directions. Star Trek well illustrates the confusion,
ignorance, and self-deception that are inherent in this process.
Dreams of Utopia have turned to horror in this century so often, but
the same dreams continue to be promoted just because they continue to
sound good to the uninformed. As Thomas Sowell recent wrote about the
determination of many to find Alger Hiss innocent of espionage,
regardless of the evidence:

Hiss is dead but the lies surrounding his case linger on. So do the
attitudes that seek a cheap sense of superiority by denigrating this
country and picturing some foreign hell hole as a Utopia.

Star Trek has a Utopia to picture, or at least a world free of many of
the ills perceived in the present, but it doesn't have to deal with
anything so inconvenient as the experience of history. Star Trek is
free to disparage business and profit without the need to explain what
would replace them. Star Trek is free to disparage religious belief
and ignore traditional religions without the need to address the
existential mysteries and tragedies of real life in ways that have
actually meant something to the vast majority of human beings. And it
is particularly interesting that Star Trek is free to do all this with
the convenience of assimilating everything to the forms of military
life, where collective purpose and authority are taken for granted.
Captain Picard does indeed end up rather like God, come to think of
it.

The Fascist Ideology of Star Trek, Note

To be fair, science fiction historically has really never portrayed
familiar religious practices as surviving into the future. Isaac
Asimov treated the situation of the Jews only indirectly by
transforming all of the inhabitants of Earth into Jew-like pariahs in
Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun. Star Trek, however, has special
problems. A big point is made in the original series, with Scotty and
Chekov, that ethnic identities, even ethnic accents, survive into the
future. One "oy vay" from a character wouldn't have cost them much.
Perhaps this would have been regarded as too ethnic -- reminiscent of
the kinds of stereotypes and hostilities that are supposed to be
absent in the future. The hostility to religion implicit in
traditional science fiction, furthermore, Star Trek ends up making
explicit, at least in Star Trek the Next Generation, as detailed in
the text. Thus, Star Trek has a little more explaining to do for the
people who are missing than most other science fiction.

Pyro 1488

unread,

Aug 30, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/30/99

Shadow wrote:

>And I'm so glad Pyro cares so much about the rights of women and
>children. Deep down he's a Really Caring Person. So ater he gets done
>masturbating over a moldy 2-thousand-year old book (or
>distortions/forgeries thereof) I expect we'll be seeing posts from him
>decrying things that are hundreds of times more sickening, like what
>European white Christians did to Native AMerican women & children,
>enslaved Black women & children, other European women whom they accused
>of witchcraft, and...yes, even Jewish women and children.

Me against the rights of women and children? Of course not. I'm the type
of guy who thinks men who abuse women and children should have their
testicles chopped off. The problem is, it's the bleeding-heart liberals who
feel these types of scumbags are victims and worth trying to save.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that the Church has always been
corrupt. I recognize the Church has committed, and still commits, many
abuses. However, the Church also has done good things, such as provide
hospitals for the common people and shelters for the poor, as well as other
types of humanitarian assistance. It doesn't bother me for you or anyone
else to mention the vices of the Christian churches. What bothers me is for
certain groups to play victim and to deny having committed abuses.

>Pyro is exhibiting sublimated vicarious guilt for the atrocities
>committed by his European Christian ('Aryan') ancestors against most

>other races on the planet...

Well, I am impressed, shadow. You actually believe a National Socialist has
a consciense! That makes me better than 99.999% of the people on this
planet. Thanks! :-)

>Like a
>corrupt medieval Christian prelate, he finds a cardboard cliche
>scapegoat, the "hook-nosed, usurious money-lending Jew." He prates about
>this evil Jew to distract everyone's attention from the far worse
>extortions which the Church perpetrated on the people of Europe. And
>Pyro is still lliving down this guilt.

Once again *you* are the one who is projecting. I have acknowledged the
vices of the Catholic Church. It is Jews such as yourself who get defensive
whenever your victim status is challenged.

>But since Pyro's heart bleeds for oppressed women and children, I expect
>to see some mention of the serious abuses that are being done to women
>and children TODAY, such as female genital mutilation, slavery, and the
>de-humanification of women in Afghanistan. BTW, these abuses are not
>being done by Jews, but by Muslims. And how about Hindu wife-burning? I
>guess Pyro agrees with me that all of these patriarchal woman-oppressing
>religions and cultures suck.

I think the Jewish PC'ers have done a good enough job fucking up the West
and, in particular, America. They should stay out of the rest of the
world's business.

Pyro
--
"Heterosexual intercourse is the pure, formalized expression of contempt for
women's bodies."

-- Andrea Dworkin (showing Jewish degeneracy)

Joseph Hertzlinger

unread,

Aug 31, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/31/99

On Mon, 30 Aug 1999 12:20:27 -0500, Pyro 1488 <Vald...@email.msn.com>
wrote:

>Another thing I'd like to point out is that the Church has always been
>corrupt. I recognize the Church has committed, and still commits, many
>abuses. However, the Church also has done good things, such as provide
>hospitals for the common people and shelters for the poor, as well as other
>types of humanitarian assistance. It doesn't bother me for you or anyone
>else to mention the vices of the Christian churches. What bothers me is for
>certain groups to play victim and to deny having committed abuses.

On the one hand, you apparently regard the Church as sufficiently
representative of your "race" (whatever that is) that you are able to
apologize on its behalf.

On the other hand, agent99 regards Christianity as an ignoble offspring
of Judaism.

Let's you and him fight.

Mignarda

unread,

Aug 31, 1999, 3:00:00 AM8/31/99

Joseph Hertzlinger wrote

|On the other hand, agent99 regards Christianity as an ignoble offspring
|of Judaism.
|

For my part, I regard Christianity as the *noble* offspring of Judaism. It
provided a means for gentiles to assimilate the best aspect of Judaism,
which was, of course, its moral code. Individual and institutional excesses
have led to many injustices in the name of both religions, but in my opinion
that code remains, not only inflexible and immutable, but the best thing
that has ever happened to the human race.

__
"Where be the true men?"
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mignarda
Unabomber/Zodiac--Now on CD-Rom!

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