The Prometheus League
Breaking News and Updates
- Abolition Of Work
- Ai
- Alt-right
- Alternative Medicine
- Antifa
- Artificial General Intelligence
- Artificial Intelligence
- Artificial Super Intelligence
- Ascension
- Astronomy
- Atheism
- Atheist
- Atlas Shrugged
- Automation
- Ayn Rand
- Bahamas
- Bankruptcy
- Basic Income Guarantee
- Big Tech
- Bitcoin
- Black Lives Matter
- Blackjack
- Boca Chica Texas
- Brexit
- Caribbean
- Casino
- Casino Affiliate
- Cbd Oil
- Censorship
- Cf
- Chess Engines
- Childfree
- Cloning
- Cloud Computing
- Conscious Evolution
- Corona Virus
- Cosmic Heaven
- Covid-19
- Cryonics
- Cryptocurrency
- Cyberpunk
- Darwinism
- Democrat
- Designer Babies
- DNA
- Donald Trump
- Eczema
- Elon Musk
- Entheogens
- Ethical Egoism
- Eugenic Concepts
- Eugenics
- Euthanasia
- Evolution
- Extropian
- Extropianism
- Extropy
- Fake News
- Federalism
- Federalist
- Fifth Amendment
- Fifth Amendment
- Financial Independence
- First Amendment
- Fiscal Freedom
- Food Supplements
- Fourth Amendment
- Fourth Amendment
- Free Speech
- Freedom
- Freedom of Speech
- Futurism
- Futurist
- Gambling
- Gene Medicine
- Genetic Engineering
- Genome
- Germ Warfare
- Golden Rule
- Government Oppression
- Hedonism
- High Seas
- History
- Hubble Telescope
- Human Genetic Engineering
- Human Genetics
- Human Immortality
- Human Longevity
- Illuminati
- Immortality
- Immortality Medicine
- Intentional Communities
- Jacinda Ardern
- Jitsi
- Jordan Peterson
- Las Vegas
- Liberal
- Libertarian
- Libertarianism
- Liberty
- Life Extension
- Macau
- Marie Byrd Land
- Mars
- Mars Colonization
- Mars Colony
- Memetics
- Micronations
- Mind Uploading
- Minerva Reefs
- Modern Satanism
- Moon Colonization
- Nanotech
- National Vanguard
- NATO
- Neo-eugenics
- Neurohacking
- Neurotechnology
- New Utopia
- New Zealand
- Nihilism
- Nootropics
- NSA
- Oceania
- Offshore
- Olympics
- Online Casino
- Online Gambling
- Pantheism
- Personal Empowerment
- Poker
- Political Correctness
- Politically Incorrect
- Polygamy
- Populism
- Post Human
- Post Humanism
- Posthuman
- Posthumanism
- Private Islands
- Progress
- Proud Boys
- Psoriasis
- Psychedelics
- Putin
- Quantum Computing
- Quantum Physics
- Rationalism
- Republican
- Resource Based Economy
- Robotics
- Rockall
- Ron Paul
- Roulette
- Russia
- Sealand
- Seasteading
- Second Amendment
- Second Amendment
- Seychelles
- Singularitarianism
- Singularity
- Socio-economic Collapse
- Space Exploration
- Space Station
- Space Travel
- Spacex
- Sports Betting
- Sportsbook
- Superintelligence
- Survivalism
- Talmud
- Technology
- Teilhard De Charden
- Terraforming Mars
- The Singularity
- Tms
- Tor Browser
- Trance
- Transhuman
- Transhuman News
- Transhumanism
- Transhumanist
- Transtopian
- Transtopianism
- Ukraine
- Uncategorized
- Vaping
- Victimless Crimes
- Virtual Reality
- Wage Slavery
- War On Drugs
- Waveland
- Ww3
- Yahoo
- Zeitgeist Movement
-
Prometheism
-
Forbidden Fruit
-
The Evolutionary Perspective
Category Archives: Talmud
Judaism’s nuanced view on abortion is not about ‘choice’ – The Times of Israel
Posted: May 25, 2022 at 4:46 am
With the recent leak of US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alitos draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health a case that questions the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi state law, which largely prohibits abortions after 15 weeks the always-simmering issue of abortion has again been brought to the fore. And if the leaked document is representative of the Courts final opinion, the landmark Roe v. Wade decision of 1973 is likely to be overturned, thereby eliminating federal protection of abortion rights. Instead, each state will legislate its own rules regarding when and if abortions may be performed. Indeed, 10 states still have abortion bans on the books that will become enforceable, should Roe v. Wade be overturned; another nine states have trigger laws banning abortion that become operable upon the repeal of Roe v. Wade. In other words, the discussion surrounding abortion is, now more than at any time in the past 49 years, a practical necessity.
Too often, Jewish people on either side of the debate offer facile and simplistic approaches that undermine the complexity of the halachic attitude towards abortion. A recent episode of Samantha Bees Full Frontal talk show featured Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg asserting, In Judaism, abortion is permitted; and where the pregnant persons life is at stake, its required. On the other side of the aisle, Orthodox commentator Ben Shapiro quoted Professor Hymie Gordon of the Mayo Clinic as saying, By all the criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception, in order to argue that the life of a human embryo is qualitatively human.
In contrast to approaches like these, the Jewish legal attitude toward abortion is complex, nuanced, and multivocal. Some modern halachic decisors, such as Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, offered very restrictive approaches based on the assumption that a fetus is akin to a human life; others, such as Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg, are much more permissive, considering the fetus an extension of the mother, rather than a separate living being. These differing positions echo parallel opinions expressed by earlier authorities, who, in turn, use the basic texts of Jewish law, the Torah and the Talmud, to come to opposing conclusions.
It is important to note that even the more restrictive authorities acknowledge that where there is danger to the mothers life, abortion is not only permitted, but mandated. (Naturally, the meaning of danger to the mothers life can, in turn, be understood in more or less restrictive ways.) Moreover, those rabbis who generally prohibit abortion also acknowledge that there is reason to be more permissive during the first 40 days after conception, when the Talmud says that the fetus is not yet human in any way.
Likewise, those scholars who are lenient with regard to abortion never argue that abortion is permitted in all situations without qualification. While feticide may be a form of wounding the mother, rather than a type of murder, Jewish law prohibits causing bodily harm to oneself without serious cause. And because the fetus is a part of the mother that, uniquely, contains within it the potential to grow into an independent person, the standard for serious cause is greater than it would be in other cases of wounding.
For this reason, Yeshiva Universitys Rabbi Jeremy Wieder said, on my Orthodox Conundrum podcast, that the term pro-choice is inappropriate for those who would halachically permit abortion in many cases, as even the most lenient scholars of halacha assert that abortion is much more serious than the word choice indicates. He also made the point that the weight of halachic opinion today appears to side with the more lenient Rabbi Waldenberg, than with Rabbi Feinstein. For this reason, Rabbi Wieder suggests that, even as he eschews the term pro-choice, religious Jews should be uneasy with possible repeal of Roe v. Wade. Because many states will outlaw abortion even in situations where most halachic authorities permit it, and because these authorities do not believe that abortion is a type of murder, the consequences of prohibiting abortion where it should be permitted are more dire than the ramifications of allowing it where it is halachically forbidden.
The Orthodox Unions Statement on the Potential Overturning of Roe v. Wade may have been imperfect in saying that we cannot celebrate either side of the debate, it ends up saying effectively nothing but it at least recognizes that the Jewish stance on abortion is deep and nuanced. If nothing else, it avoids the oversimplification that too often makes our Torah appear less than it is.
It is high time individuals, however well-intentioned, stop trying to squeeze Judaism into their respective preferred political platforms. Jewish law offers nuance and complexity and disagreement; nowhere is this more obvious than in the case of abortion and US law. We must allow the Torah to speak for itself, rather than forcing the Torah to agree with what we already believe.
When it comes to abortion, superficial halachic approaches are almost always incorrect.
Rabbi Scott Kahn is the director of Jewish Coffee House (www.jewishcoffeehouse.com) and the host of several podcasts, including Orthodox Conundrum, Intimate Judaism, and Baseball Rabbi.
Read more:
Judaism's nuanced view on abortion is not about 'choice' - The Times of Israel
Posted in Talmud
Comments Off on Judaism’s nuanced view on abortion is not about ‘choice’ – The Times of Israel
They Hate Change Is The New Age Experimental Hip Hop Duo of Your Dreams – VICE
Posted: at 4:46 am
Tampa hip-hop duo They Hate Change is embracing the duality of life. On the April release, Some Days I Hate My Voice, the band showcased the sincerity and honesty that is a trademark of their lyrics.Some days I hate my voice, raps Vonne Parks, one half of the group, in a verse reiterating the emotional directness of the singles title. Some days I feel like Im the Metatron.
Its unclear what the Metatron, a mythic Jewish angel referenced in the Talmud, sounds like exactly, but one could easily imagine a sublimevoice transcending the human and mundane. That rise and fall embodied in their lyricsto fluctuate from a low-frequency self to a fleeting state of complete power and potentialillustrates the very nature of being alive. The imagery also reflects They Hate Changes relationship to writing and producing their music: meditative and grateful.
They Hate Change released their debut studio LP, Finally, New, last weeka record they told Noisey was the result of years of channelling bounce, hip hop, footwork, deep house, drum-n-bass, post-punk, dancehall, emo, and the essence of Florida Jook music. We caught up with Parks and Andre Gainey, the two rappers and producers who make up They Hate Change, to discuss the album and their newest video for the recently released X-Ray Spex, a song about seeing through facades.
The record is maximal, said Parks of Finally, New. Parks, who met bandmate Gainey when they were both 14, has a relaxed and gentle smile, and at the mention of the duos music, it naturally expands and brightens.Theres a lot there, Parks said. Complex drum patterns, big sounding synths, a lot of depth to the bass.
They Hate Changes songs have a tangible sense of space, layering, and texture that are all intricately woven together as if decorating full rooms with sound. They pull from a cauldron of genres the group is infatuated with, which keep melting together and multiplying to create a sound that is energetic and different. As an album, Finally, New is stacked to the brim with experimentation, going on dramatic turns and landing at laid back, ethereal, and spacey lookout points.
Weve been really on a British sophistica-pop thing, Parks said of the self-taught bands recent fascinations. The Style Council, Pet Shop Boys, Sade, Prefab Sprout, stuff like thatlike, sweet music. That helps explain the title of X-Ray Spex, which is a nod to the U.K. punk outfit of the same name. The exploration of music can help you,'' Gainey added. He said there isnt much that is manufactured about their wordplaybeing that much of the material for their music is drawn from their real lives. Were talking about riding around in Volkswagens, he said with a laugh. Some of the bullshit is just not sustainable.
Gainey moved to Tampa from Rochester at age 12 and soon after met Parks at the apartment complex where they both lived. Having grown up in Palm River on the outskirts of Tampa, Parks was already entrenched in Tampas music scene by their teenage years. As far as they can remember, Parks has always been rapping.
Parks and Gainey began their musical collaboration by DJing together at Tampa Bay house parties a decade ago, retooling songs and experimenting with a wide range of genres in their live set. Through those years spinning shoulder to shoulder, Parks and Gainey were cultivating their ability to showcase all of their eclectic tastes. We were playing footwork tracks, deep house, old hip hop joints, and dancehall, Gainey said. We were going to different places that we just wanted to hear out in public, that we hadnt heard, at least not put together that way.
The two didnt realize it at the time, but by stacking BPMs and dissecting grooves to breathe and move together, they were laying the foundation of They Hate Change. Finally, Newis the culmination of that first DJ set, as an album, Parks said. Through years of absorbing and reimagining the music that challenged them, They Hate Change has been laying down bricks as they pave a path for themselves that is fully their own.
More here:
They Hate Change Is The New Age Experimental Hip Hop Duo of Your Dreams - VICE
Posted in Talmud
Comments Off on They Hate Change Is The New Age Experimental Hip Hop Duo of Your Dreams – VICE
There Are No Limits – aish.com – Aish
Posted: at 4:46 am
In 1972, Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair opened SARM Studios the first 24-track recording studio in Europe where Queen mixed Bohemian Rhapsody. His music publishing company, Druidcrest Music published the music for The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1973) and as a record producer, he co-produced the quadruple-platinum debut album by American band Foreigner (1976). American Top ten singles from this album included, Feels Like The First Time, Cold as Ice and Long, Long Way from Home. Other production work included The Enid In the Region of the Summer Stars, The Curves, and Nutz as well as singles based on The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy with Douglas Adams and Richard OBrien. Other artists who used SARM included: ABC, Alison Moyet, Art of Noise, Brian May, The Buggles, The Clash, Dina Carroll, Dollar, Flintlock, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Grace Jones, It Bites, Malcolm McLaren, Nik Kershaw, Propaganda, Rush, Rik Mayall, Stephen Duffy, and Yes.In 1987, he settled in Jerusalem to immerse himself in the study of Torah. His two Torah books The Color of Heaven, on the weekly Torah portion, and Seasons of the Moon met with great critical acclaim. Seasons of the Moon, a unique fine-art black-and-white photography book combining poetry and Torah essays, has now sold out and is much sought as a collectors item fetching up to $250 for a mint copy.He is much in demand as an inspirational speaker both in Israel, Great Britain and the United States. He was Plenary Keynote Speaker at the Agudas Yisrael Convention, and Keynote Speaker at Project Inspire in 2018. Rabbi Sinclair lectures in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy at Ohr Somayach/Tannenbaum College of Judaic studies in Jerusalem and is a senior staff writer of the Torah internet publications Ohrnet and Torah Weekly. His articles have been published in The Jewish Observer, American Jewish Spirit, AJOP Newsletter, Zurichs Die Jdische Zeitung, South African Jewish Report and many others.Rabbi Sinclair was born in London, and lives with his family in Jerusalem.He was educated at St. Anthonys Preparatory School in Hampstead, Clifton College, and Bristol University.
Go here to see the original:
Posted in Talmud
Comments Off on There Are No Limits – aish.com – Aish
It’s not about you: Why the Forward’s article on the anti-Jewish elements of the Buffalo shooter’s screed was offensive – Forward
Posted: at 4:46 am
People leave messages at a makeshift memorial near a Tops Grocery store in Buffalo, New York, on May 15, 2022, the day after a gunman shot dead 10 people. Photo by Usman Khan/AFP via Getty Images
Last Tuesday, the Forward published an article originally headlined, The Buffalo shooter targeted Black people. But his screed focuses on Jews. After feedback from several Black Jews, the Forward changed the headline, to address concerns that the article focused on the Jewish community rather than the Black community that suffered the loss of life.
Even though the but was removed from the headline, the reader, in the second sentence of the article, encounters the real thesis of this article he was targeting Black people. In the diatribe he published to explain his motivations, though, he focuses more on another group: Jews.
The article briefly mentions, in three short paragraphs, that it was Black people that were targeted and murdered and the remaining 20 paragraphs focus on the portion of the killers rant that targeted Jews. The article quickly moves us through great replacement theory and then discusses how all this hatred formed a potent stew that effectively begins and ends with antisemitism.
The article pulls on the rhetoric that European-American Jews have always worked in solidarity with racial minority groups in an attempt to situate European-American Jews at the center of this tragedy. Once again, turning a tragedy in the African American community into a discussion about antisemitism. This tragedy was not about Jewish Americans. It was about African Americans and white supremacy.
In the United States, African Americans have been the primary focus of white supremacists. Whether through slavery, Jim Crow, or institutionalized racism, African American people have always been the primary target of white supremacists. Unlike other marginalized groups, African Americans cannot hide their Blackness, making them uniquely positioned to be the victims of terror attacks.
No one denies that other groups are targeted by white supremacists. Mexicans have been murdered in a mass shooting, Muslims are regularly targeted and beaten. Asians have been and are randomly and viciously attacked, and yes, Jews of European descent are, too, in the U.S. today.
If we were honest with each other, we would admit that we are all catching hell out here. But too often, instead of providing one another space to grieve and find support together, we position ourselves in competition with one another. It is not a contest.
The difference is when African Americans are targeted and murdered in the United States of America, there is little public outcry except from other African Americans. Take for instance the police killings of Black men and women before George Floyd. How many times did you hear that Michael Brown was probably stealing the cigarillos which turned out to be his in the first place?
In the United States, African Americans are not viewed as vulnerable. Due to the whitewashing of history, African Americans are portrayed as these superhuman beings that went through slavery and later became wealthy athletes and hip-hop celebrities. African Americans are portrayed as resilient and strong, and in the extreme as angry and dangerous.
No room is made for their grief, their loss, their sorrow. Who outside of the Black community stops to ask, what does the African American community need to heal from this recent attack, let alone half a milleniums worth of violence?
That is why this article was so offensive. During a time of mourning for African Americans, the article not only centered European-American Jews while erasing Jews of color, but also ignored the fact that there is a population within European-American Jewry that participates in white supremacy.
When in 2022 African Americans are still encountering European-American Jews that are still stating they have never seen a Black Jew or asking Black Jews how they could be Jewish, or stopping them as they enter the synagogue, European-American Jews need to turn the inquiry inward to ask how they are contributing to the problem.
They should not write articles that appropriate a terror attack against African Americans as an excuse to center European-American Jews and portray them as the ultimate victim. They should, instead, consider the feelings of African American Jews and what they may be experiencing in this moment of grief.
In the 1996 movie A Time To Kill, Matthew McConaughey in his closing argument makes the following statement: Can you see her? Her raped, beaten, broken bodyleft to die. Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl. Now imagine shes white.
I ask you, too, to imagine the 10 Black individuals that were shot down while simply shopping for groceries. Imagine their terror. Imagine them being confronted by a white supremacist that wants them and people who look like them to be erased from the earth, regardless of his motivations.
Imagine the fear they felt when they were confronted with that gun. Imagine them being shot as they held onto a shopping cart or held groceries. Imagine their final thoughts for their spouses, their children, their parents. Imagine how their entire world was shattered because, as the Talmud tells us, when we kill one life, we kill an entire world.
Because Black Lives Matter just as much as Jewish lives do.
To contact the author, email editorial@forward.com
Dr. Elizabeth N. Webster is a former global health scientist/epidemiologist who worked internationally to address issues of public health preparedness. She currently owns Webster & Harrigan, a consultancy that focuses on issues of social justice, health, and law.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspective in Opinion.
Continue reading here:
Posted in Talmud
Comments Off on It’s not about you: Why the Forward’s article on the anti-Jewish elements of the Buffalo shooter’s screed was offensive – Forward
Torah prioritizes the mother’s life and health | The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle – thejewishchronicle.net
Posted: May 23, 2022 at 12:01 pm
Years ago, something went wrong late in a friends much-wanted pregnancy. If the fetus continued to grow, it could kill her or damage her ability to have future children. She asked her father what to do. A respected Talmudic scholar and Orthodox rabbi, he decided she should have an abortion to protect her life and health. She did. But to do so she had to travel out of state because late-term abortions were illegal in her state, even when medically necessary. Her parents helped with travel expenses. I still remember the trauma she faced leaving home and family for the procedure out of town. Thankfully, today she is the mother of several healthy Jewish children.
Her fathers decision to permit an abortion was based on clear rabbinic precedent. Torah law offers a moderating, faith-based message to protect the life and health of the mother even while recognizing the preciousness of the potential life growing in her womb.
The two main classical Jewish approaches to abortion come from the great sages Rashi and Maimonides. Commenting on the Talmud in Sanhedrin 72b, Rashi explains a fetus is lav nefesh hu, not human life, therefore its needs are subservient to those of its mother. He learns this from Exodus 21:22-23, which states that if an assailant causes a pregnant woman to miscarry, the assailant is fined for damages but not prosecuted for causing a death. Rashis decision is consistent with that on Sanhedrin 84b, that capital punishment does not apply to a fetus because it is not a nefesh, a human being.
Get The Jewish Chronicle Weekly Edition by email and never miss our top storiesFree Sign Up
Maimonides has a different approach. Just as we are obligated to save from harm anyone being pursued by a rodef (a pursuer), even at the cost of the pursuers life, so are we to save the mother from harm even at the cost of the fetus. Maimonides analogy is not perfect: the fetus has no conscious volition nor is it considered human life under Jewish law. Nevertheless, Maimonides treats the fetus like a rodef (a pursuer) when it endangers the mothers health, thus prioritizing the mothers life and health.
How one applies permission to abort for maternal cause depends on which position one follows. Those who follow Rashi are more likely to permit abortion whenever a woman needs medical help, even for mental distress and even at the latest stages of fetal maturation. This includes permitting abortion when a mother feels unable to cope in the face of severe fetal deformity or inability to care for other children due to severe financial or mental distress. Those who follow Maimonides require the mother to face significant physical danger before aborting is permitted, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy.
Centuries of rabbinic commentators in both camps permit and even require abortion where the mothers life is endangered. Why? Because for Jews, human life begins only when the fetuss head or the majority of its body exits the mothers body, and not before. Until then, the fetus is part of her body and thus her health and well-being come first. In other words, Torah and Jewish law prioritizes the life and health of the mother over the potential human life of her fetus. That is why one cannot violate the Sabbath for the sake of a fetus, only for the pregnant woman, according to the 17th century Rabbi Bachrach, based upon Arakhim 7a.
If the anti-abortion lobby has its way, all abortions would be banned, even those required, let alone allowed, under Jewish law. While separation of church and state, and our rights as a religious minority, have not been part of the abortion debate, they should be. Pro-choice is not about being pro-abortion. It is about keeping the government out of private medical decisions more appropriately made between a woman and her doctor, clergy and family. Pro-choice is about allowing all citizens to equally follow their own religious dictates.
Other issues of Jewish concern in the abortion debate include economic justice, so much at the heart of Jewish values. Anti-abortion laws restrict access to womens health care. Already some women, like my friend, travel out of state for health care and safe abortions no longer available locally, but many others cannot.
Ironically, our Jewish commitment to life is threatened. Womens lives literally hang in the balance. The specter of coat-hanger and back-alley abortion deaths that initially drove the pro-choice movement is very real. It is time we take the moral high ground and demand that protecting womens lives take precedence in health care and public policy decisions. It is a position that both protects our rights as a religious minority to follow the dictates of Jewish precedent law and reflects our values of protecting life, the life of the mother. pjc
Rabbi Susan Grossman, senior rabbi of Beth Shalom Congregation in Columbia, has a doctorate in ancient Judaism; served for 30 years on the Committee of Jewish Law and Standards for the Conservative Movement and is an editor of Etz Hayim Torah and Commentary.
Read the original here:
Posted in Talmud
Comments Off on Torah prioritizes the mother’s life and health | The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle – thejewishchronicle.net
Quran And Torah: The Story Of Moses OpEd – Eurasia Review
Posted: at 12:01 pm
In October of 2013 this article of mine about the story of Prophet Moses in the Quran and the Torah was published on the web site khutbahbank.com and later republished in my book Judaism and Islam as Synergistic Monotheisms. Since then the Abraham Accords have been signed and an Islamist Political Party has become part pf the ruling Government Coalition in Israel.
I am a Reform Rabbi who has studied the Hebrew Bible in its original Hebrew language for over fifty years. I have always found that the advice Muhammad gave his adherents in the following hadth narrated by Abu Huraira to be the best guide to understanding all of Gods Sacred Scriptures:
The people of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and then explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. Allahs Apostle said (to the Muslims). Do not believe the people of the Book, nor disbelieve them, but say, We believe in Allah, and whatever is revealed to us, and whatever is revealed to you. (Bukhari book 92 #460 and book 93#632)
I myself follow this profound advice because I think of myself as a Muslim Jew. Following Muhammads teaching I too neither believe nor disbelieve in the Quran. I do respect the Quran very much as a kindred revelation, first given to a kindred people, in a kindred language.
Islam teaches clearly that God does not have just one people or one true religion. Rather, God chose not to create human beings as one nation or with only one religion so that each religion could compete with all the others in order to see which religion produces the highest percentage of moral and loving people; and which people best embody in their personal and communal lives the moral teachings of their prophet.
As it is written in the Quran [5.48] For every one of you did We appoint a law and a way. If Allah had pleased He would have made you one people, but (He didnt) that He might test you in what He gave you. Therefore compete with one another to hasten to virtuous deeds; for all return to Allah, so He will let you know that in which you differed.
This is a wonderful further development of the teaching of the Biblical prophet Micah (4:5) that in the end of days-the Messianic Age All people will walk, each in the name of their own God, and we shall walk in the name of the Lord our God forever.
I would like to show how the Quran and the Torah complement each other, and why it is false and narrow minded to say that one contradicts the other. There are many different details between similar narrations in Quran and Torah from which we can learn important lessons.
For example, both the Quran and the Torah relate events concerning the oppression of the Jewish people in Egypt, and how God sent Moses/Musa to liberate the Jews from persecution by Firaun/Pharaoh. The Torah mentions the role of Pharaohs daughter and the Quran mentions the role of Firauns wife. This is not a contradiction. A young woman in this situation would naturally go to her mother to enlist her aid first in convincing the father to agree. The mother has great influence, so she is mentioned in the Quran.
The Torahs focus is on the daughter because the rabbinic midrash (a part of the oral Torah that plays a role somewhat similar to the oral Ahadith of the Prophets sunna) relates that the daughter of Pharaoh later joined the Jewish people when they left Egypt, and became a Jew.
The Quran mentions Haman to show that God has saved the Children of Israel from persecution by more than one Pharaoh; and in more than one land. This is a statement of Gods enduring commitment to helping the weak and the oppressed.
Let us compare some of the so called error passages together.
Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. (Exodus 2:1-4)
In truth We recite to you some of the news of Moses and Pharaoh, for people who believe (in this Quran and the Oneness of Allah). Verily, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people sects, weakening (oppressing) a group (the children of Israel) among them, killing their sons, and letting their females live. Verily, he was of the Mufsideen (great oppressors or tyrants). And we wished to do a favor to those who were weak (and oppressed) in the land (of Egypt), and to make them (the Children of Israel) rulers and inheritors, and to establish them in the land (of Israel), and We let Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts receive from them, that which they feared. We inspired the mother of Moses, saying: Suckle him (Moses), but when you fear for him, then cast him into the river and fear not, nor grieve. Verily! We shall bring him back to you, and make him one of (Our) Messengers. (Quran 28: 3-7).
In the next few verses the Quran gives us some extra details explaining how Musas mother felt at the loss of her son. The Quran relates that Pharaohs wife, speaking on behalf his daughter, offered three different reasons to adopt Moses. The Quran also explains why Pharaohs daughter and wife could not hire an Egyptian foster mother to nurse Musa. God had already forbidden (other) foster suckling mothers for Moses, so Musa refused to suck from them. The Talmud (Sotah 12b) and the Midrash(Exodus Rabba 1:25) have a similar account to that of the Quran.
Western scholars, without any written evidence at all, simply claim that Muhammad got this teaching from the Oral Torah, because the final redaction of the Talmud occurred about about 50-100 years before Muhammad was born. However, Allahs Messenger taught, Prophets are half-brothers in faith, having different mothers. But their religion is one. (Muslim book #030, Hadith #5836) All prophets have the same father, who is the One God whose inspiration gives birth to their prophethood.
However, each prophet has a different mother i.e. the nation and people as well as the period and age that he speaks to. Thus prophets are brothers in faithfulness to the One God, but their message differs because each must be appropriate to their motherland, their mother people and their mother tongue.
The differences in the details related by the Torah and the Quran are due to the different communities that each prophet addressed. The Torah focuses on the actions of Pharaohs daughter because according to the Oral Torah when the Jewish People left Egypt many years later, she joined them and converted to Judaism. So Pharaohs daughter is of great interest.
The Quran stresses two other important lessons. One is that bad events often eventually turn into good outcomes, so one should trust in God and not become depressed.
The other important lesson from the Qurans version is the parallel between Pharaoh, done in by his own wifes request; and Haman, done in by Esther, who only became the kings Queen because Haman helped get rid of the previous Queen. Those who plan evil are often done in by their very own actions.
Then Pharaohs daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She (the slave or Pharaohs daughter) opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. This is one of the Hebrew babies, she said. Then his sister (Miriam) asked Pharaohs daughter, Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you? Yes, go, she answered. So the girl went and got the babys mother.
Pharaohs daughter said to her, Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you. So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older (two years later), she took him to Pharaohs daughter and he became her son. She (Pharaohs daughter) named him Moses, saying, I drew him out of the water. (Exodus 2:5-10)
The Quran says, Then the household of Pharaoh picked him up, that he might become for them an enemy and a cause of grief. Verily! Pharaoh, Haman, and their hosts were sinners. And the wife of Pharaoh said; A comfort of the eye for me and for you. Kill him not, perhaps he maybe of a benefit to us, or we may adopt him as a son. And they perceived not (the result of that). And the heart of the mother of Moses became empty (sad and depressed). She was very near to disclosing his (being her son), had We not strengthened her heart (with hope and trust), so that she might remain as one of the believers.
She said to his (Mosess) sister: Follow him. So she (his sister) watched him from a far place secretly, while they perceived not. We had already forbidden (other) foster suckling mothers for him, until she (his sister came and) said: Shall I direct you to a household who will rear him for you, and sincerely look after him in a good manner? So did We restore him to his mother, that she might be delighted, and that she might not grieve, that she might know that the promise of Allah is true. But most of them know not. (Quran 28:8-13)
TheQuran teaches us that it was not just good luck for baby Musas mother that there were no nursing Egyptian mothers around when one was needed for Moses. It was all a part of Gods plan. The Torah focuses of Miriams courage and wisdom in speaking up at the right time because she was a prophetic agent of God (Exodus 15:20).
We see again that the differences between the Quran and the Torah are the result of different lessons being derived from the same events. These different lessons are not in opposition to one another; they complement and enrich each other.
We would be wise for all to learn the lessons taught by both Scriptures. When we follow Muhammads teaching to believe in Allah, and whatever is revealed to us, and whatever is revealed to you. we always gain a better understanding of Gods will, and of our own Sacred Scriptures.
See more here:
Posted in Talmud
Comments Off on Quran And Torah: The Story Of Moses OpEd – Eurasia Review
Rabbi: Jewish Law Provides Room For Debate To Protect Life In The Womb And The Mothers Health – CBS Miami
Posted: May 20, 2022 at 2:04 am
MIAMI (CBSMiami) The Jewish discussion on abortion does not center around pro-life or pro-choice. Instead, Judaism focuses on the mothers right to protect herself from harm.
Within the faith, theres disagreement on what constitutes a threat to the mothers life during pregnancy.
Until the 40th day after conception, they define the fetus as mere water, said Rabbi Rachel Greengrass of Temple Beth Am.
She references the Talmud, a primary text for Jewish Law.
The mitzvah of be fruitful and multiple only falls on the man, said Greengrass.
Because you cant be required to do something that puts your life in danger.
In my conversation with Rabbi Lyle Rothman at the University of Miami Hillel, he explained how Jewish faith leaders approach religious law text.
The wonderful thing about the debate in the Talmud, is that there is debate in the Talmud, said Rothman.
Its very easy to say this is a black and white issue.Were pro-choice or pro-life.Were not.
Even on the most conservative spectrum, Judaism allows protection for the mother, especially in the first 40 days of pregnancy.
Only in those severe, very serious mitigating circumstances, said Orthodox Rabbi Avrohom Brashevitzky, who leads the Chabad of Doral.
He shares how Torah provides wisdom in this discussion.
Very much for the sanctity of life, said Rabbi B.
Rabbi B outlines God says the most sacred thing is to do everything to sustain life.
But, the Torah calls for a mother to protect herself.
According to Torah law, its no different than someone holding a gun to you, where you not only have the right to defend yourself but an obligation to defend yourself, Rabbi B added.
Short of clear, imminent danger, what constitutes a threat to the mother varies.
Another debate in Jewish law is what to do if the fetus has severe life-threatening abnormalities.
Then there would be a consideration, perhaps, if its prior to the 40 days, said Rabbi B.
Rabbi Greengrass shares a couples story at the Temple, choosing to end a pregnancy 12 weeks in.
Embryo was carrying Tay-Sachs, mentioned Greengrass.
If the child was born would have a short and painful existence and die at a very young age.
Theres also rabbinic support even if the womans life is not at risk, including mental health.
Its health care, which means both physical and mental, said Greengrass.
The living has precedence over the potential.
When it comes to Jewish text, theres one universal truth.
To save a life is to the save the entire world, said Rothman.
Rabbi B shared this with me.
He said Jewish law does not give the green light for abortions but instead provides room for debate to protect life in the womb and the mothers health.
More:
Posted in Talmud
Comments Off on Rabbi: Jewish Law Provides Room For Debate To Protect Life In The Womb And The Mothers Health – CBS Miami
Celebrate with our community at the Jewish Federation Annual Meeting – Jewish Community Voice
Posted: at 2:04 am
Jewish tradition teaches us that being part of a kehillaha communityrequires thoughtful responsibilities and actions.
All Jews are responsible for one another (Babylonian Talmud, Shevuot 39a).
The wicked son [at the Passover Seder is so designated because he] excludes himself from the community (Mekhilta commenting on Exodus 13:8).
If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? (Pirkei Avot 1:14).
To live Jewishly includes being with other members of the Jewish community. Helping to make a minyan so that mourners kaddish and other prayers may be recited; celebrating life cycle ceremonies; observing holidays; and studying Jewish texts and traditions require us to be with each other. One of the positives of the horrible impact of the pandemic is how Jewish organizations learned to quickly onboard new (at least to many of us) technology which allowed us to be together virtually. We adapted to be able to show up for those who needed us for a shiva minyan, a Pesah Seder, for Shabbat services and in so many other ways.
We need each other to live Jewishly. We have a responsibility to take care of each other, to celebrate together, to mourn together and to enjoy life together.
Community building happens when we all opt in to make decisions for the wellbeing not just of ourselves or our loved ones, but for all members of the community. Our Jewish Federation is honored to work with all of the Jewish organizations throughout Atlantic and Cape May Counties to help build and support our Jewish community. Our communitys incredibly successful LIFE & LEGACY efforts are a great example of how we have all worked together to ensure the financial viability of our Jewish organizations for generations to come. We are proud of the fact that our communitys efforts were recognized as one of the top performing communities of the Harold Grinspoon Foundations (HGF) national LIFE & LEGACY program. The Legacy program provides Jewish Federation with the resources and tools to bridge gaps among community institutions, strengthen our culture of philanthropy, and make after-lifetime giving normative behavior.
We have much to be proud of, and the Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Foundation invite you to come celebrate with us at our Annual Meeting and LIFE & LEGACY Year 4 Celebration on Wednesday, June 15, 6 p.m., at the Milton & Betty Katz JCC. Join us as we celebrate the great work the Jewish Federation is doing at home and around the world; to honor our 2022 award recipients; Year 4 of LIFE & LEGACY and our communitys 267 Legacy Society donors; and to honor Rebecca Taylor for 17 years of service to the Jewish Federation.
The Jewish Federation is pleased to honor individuals and organizations being presented with the following awards at our Annual Meeting:
Harry Cassman Award Eric Share, immediate past president of the Milton & Betty Katz JCC and Board member of the Jewish Federation and Seashore Gardens.
Jack I. Fox Leadership AwardMary Sluzenski, finance director, Jewish Federation.
One Jewish Community: Beron Jewish Older Adult Services of Atlantic & Cape May Counties, Inc.
Young Leadership Award: David Kratchman, co-chair of NextGenAC and Jewish Federation Board member.
We will have plentiful kosher hors doeuvres, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages, as we celebrate our kehillahour sacred community.
Our celebration is free to attend, but pre-registration is required for attendance. If you have not done so already, please take a moment to confirm your attendance by registering via jfedannual.eventbrite.com.
Please reach out to Rachel Waldman, assistant director, at rachel@jewishbytheshore.org or (609) 822-4404, ext. 145, or me roberta@jewishbytheshore.org or (609) 822-4404, ext. 150, with any questions you have about the Jewish Federations Annual Meeting.
Read more:
Celebrate with our community at the Jewish Federation Annual Meeting - Jewish Community Voice
Posted in Talmud
Comments Off on Celebrate with our community at the Jewish Federation Annual Meeting – Jewish Community Voice
Alice Walker and the Jews, again – JNS.org – JNS.org
Posted: at 2:04 am
(May 17, 2022 / Jewish Journal) When the San Diego Community College District announced that Alice Walker would be the keynote speaker for the new chancellors installation, immediate protests followed. Various Jewish organizations criticized the invitation and The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on the controversy. At least two opinion pieces (here and here) came out against Walkers appearance.
Walker, best known for her 1982 novel, The Color Purple, made into a movie in 1985 and a musical in 2005 (which garnered 11 Tony Awards), has become an icon of American culture. Why this is the case is something of a mystery, since none of her subsequent novels achieved anything like the success of The Color Purple. Unlike, say, Toni Morrison, Walker cannot point to a substantial body of work to justify her reputation. Nonetheless, she remains a popular figure on the lecture circuit and a selection of her journals has just been published to considerable acclaim.
But Walker is also an anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist. She follows the deranged ideas of David Icke, who believes, as Vox puts it, that the world is run by a secret cabal of alien lizard people, many of whom are Jewish. Walker herself authored a poem that is riddled with anti-Semitic libels. In the screed, Walker encourages her reader to study the Talmud, but not by actual Talmud study. Instead, she says:
I recommend starting with YouTube. Simply follow the trail of TheTalmud as its poison belatedly winds its wayInto our collective consciousness.
What does one find on YouTube? A litany of anti-Semitic tropes taken straight from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion:
Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicateby email and never missour top stories
Is Jesus boiling eternally in hot excrement,For his crime of throwing the bankersOut of the Temple? For loving, standing with,And defendingThe poor? Was his mother, Mary,A whore?
Are Goyim (us) meant to be slaves of Jews, and not onlyThat, but to enjoy it?Are three-year-old (and a day) girls eligible for marriage and intercourse?Are young boys fair game for rape?Must even the best of the Goyim (us, again) be killed?Pause a moment and think what this could meanOr already has meantIn our own lifetime.
Now, one would think that at a time when the slightest hint of racism is enough to sink a career, Walkers unapologetic adherence to anti-Semitism would disqualify her from the role of keynote speaker on a college campus. But the response to the wave of protest to her invitation shows that David Baddiel was right when he titled his book Jews Dont Count. Progressives, says Baddiel, believe that anti-Semitism is not real racism, or that it is a lesser form. So when anti-Semitism occurs, its either ignored or discounted as something minor. That is a perfect description of the response to Walkers anti-Semitism.
After The San Diego Union-Tribune published an article that questioned Walkers invitation, the Districts PR person, Jack Beresford, responded:
The San Diego Community College District is pleased to welcome Alice Walker as keynote speaker at the May 31 investiture celebration. Walker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and her participation is consistent with the Districts support of the free exchange of ideas and opinions. This does not mean the District agrees with every statement made by her now or in the past. Walker is a source of inspiration for many in the community. This includes chancellor Carlos Cortez, who says Walker played a key role in his decision to focus his academic studies on African-American feminist political history.
It is inconceivable that someone who spouted Walker-style slurs about blacks, Hispanics, Asians, LGBTQ persons or any other minoritized group would be treated with such respect. It is inconceivable that the repetition of some of the worst racist anti-black or anti-Hispanic tropes would be treated as part of the free exchange of ideas and opinions or described as the subject of legitimate disagreement. This is to treat anti-Semitism as if it were a dispute over the causes of inflation or whether students and teachers should continue to wear masks in the classroom.
Imagine the response if someone floated the idea of an invitation to Don Black, the white supremacist who created Stormfront.org, because he pioneered the use of the web to spread ideas? After all, we dont have to agree with every statement made by [him] now or in the past. What about an invitation to David Duke, the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, because he was also a successful politician and, whether we like it or not, a source of inspiration for many in the community?
I am glad that Walker has had a positive influence on Cortez and that she has been an inspiration for him. But Jewish faculty at several San Diego community colleges see Walker as a serious threat. The refusal to take their concerns seriously is alarming in the extreme. As one writes in a private email, Walkers invitation clearly exemplifies the Jews dont count mentality. This district has sent a clear message that Jews better watch their backs because anti-Semitism is clearly tolerated, and in this case invited, to campus.
At a time when the ADL reports that anti-Semitic incidents in the United States are at an all-time high when attacks on synagogues and JCCs have increased 61%, when a white supremacist posted a virulent anti-black and anti-Semitic manifesto before he went on a murder spree in Buffalo, N.Y., it is sickening that Alice Walker will be accorded the honor of a keynote address.
Jew-hatred needs to named, confronted and condemned, not brushed aside as unimportant or something upon which reasonable people may disagree.
Peter C. Herman is a writer whose books include Unspeakable: Literature and Terrorism from the Gunpowder Plot to 9/11 and Critical Contexts: Terrorism and Literature. His opinion pieces have appeared in Newsweek, Salon, Areo, Inside Higher Ed and The Times of San Diego.
This article first appeared in the Jewish Journal.
View post:
Posted in Talmud
Comments Off on Alice Walker and the Jews, again – JNS.org – JNS.org
The Supremacy Of Torah – The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com
Posted: at 2:04 am
The posuk describes the pursuit of Torah study as being, Yikara hi mipninim More precious than pearls. Homiletically, the Gemara interprets this posuk to mean, Mkohein godol hanichnas lifnei ulifnim, that the study of Torah is more precious than the High Priest who enters the Holy of Holies. This is an extraordinary statement. We must understand that the Kodesh Kodoshim, the Holy of Holies, is the holiest place on earth. It is entered only on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, and only by the Kohein Gadol, who is arguably the holiest person on earth. And yet, the Gemara categorically tells us that when one sits down to study Torah, it is a greater activity than the Kohein Gadol entering the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.
We should not be surprised, however, when hearing such grandiose descriptions about Torah study for the Gemara in Megillah also teaches us, Gedolah Talmud Torah yoseir meihatzolos nefoshos Greater is Torah study even more than saving a life. Now, dont misunderstand this Talmudic dictum. If you are sitting and learning Gemara and you see someone drowning and you say to yourself, I cant be bothered to save that person Its bitul Torah, its taking time away from Torah study, you are a chosid shoteh, a pious fool, and youre guilty of felonious behavior. What it does mean is that in raw merit, time spent in learning Torah has more Eternal value than saving a life.
This is why Mordechai was demoted in the pecking order of the leadership of the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah from the rank of four to the rank of five when he got involved in the political intrigue to save Klal Yisrael during the days of Purim. For, although he saved the Jewish people, he would have had even more merit if he had been able to learn instead. Think how incredible that is. You have two people who spent their Sunday night from 8 to 9 p.m. One administered the Heimlich maneuver and saved a person from choking and another person attended the Daf Yomi. In the scales of merit, it is the latter person who comes out on top.
That should give us a whole new perspective on how to prioritize our time. Or, as the Chofetz Chaim, ztl, zya, put it, if you saw somebody having a massive heart attack and you didnt react on time to call Hatzalah and he died before your very eyes, you would rue that day for the rest of your life. So thats the way you should feel, and more, when you have a whole Sunday ahead of you without anything pressing to do and you dont spend any of that precious time on the study of Torah. If you would rue the inability to save the life, then your inability to spend time learning Torah, which is even more precious than saving a life, should certainly distress you to no end.
As we count sefira, and declare nightly our longing and our appreciation of the national treasure of Torah which has been given only to us, may we concretize our sefira declaration by making more use of our daily time for the greatest of all occupations, and the very purpose of the creation of the world, which is Torah study. In that merit, may Hashem bless us all with long life, good health, and all Torah blessings.
See more here:
Posted in Talmud
Comments Off on The Supremacy Of Torah – The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com