Transcription
[Music] [Music] Last year, I opened a can of worms in the process of making an apologetic against Judaism. I was thoroughly surprised by the amount of attention this episode received, and it wasn't without its fair share of backlash.
I open this episode with a brief dialogue on the contents of the Talmud. The purpose of so doing was to summarize many of the main points and move on to my main objections against Judaism, namely being that it doesn't make any sense in light of Christianity. I believe the Talmud sets the tone for what the religion of Judaism truly is, which is why I opened with it.
In my efforts to briefly summarize the Talmud, however, I had many comments exclaiming, "Source, and fair enough." While I didn't want to make the entire episode about the ills of the Talmud, it seems as though there is a demand for this. So, why don't we just read the Talmud directly to see what it says?
For those who missed my previous episode on this subject, I feel it would be a good idea to explain just what the Talmud is and where it came from before getting into the text. According to Jewish tradition, the Talmud comes from 70 elders, the Sanhedrin, who received the oral tradition at the base of Mount Si. After the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, the Jews returned to Babylon in 140 AD. This is the context in which the Babylonian Talmud is written down. The content is essentially volumes and volumes of arguments between rabbis throughout the centuries. Each section begins with what is known as the Mishna, which is the oral tradition that has been written down. There are then lengthy responses and debates to said Mishna from rabbis known as the gamera.
Because the contents of the Talmud are so expansive and because the opinions of the rabbis are so diverse that they even become outright contradictory to one another, we should understand that Jews do not consider the Talmud to be dogmatic or infallible. And yet, as we shall see, the contents are very illumining to the Jewish mindset and demonstrates how Christianity morally diverges. By contrast, it also provides the context for Jesus's responses to the Pharisees in the Gospels. This is why Christians should know about the contents of this text.
My honest reactions to reading portions of the Talmud were A, this is really boring, and B, this is 10 times more legalistic than Catholicism. The Talmud is not some mystical conspiracy text. As I mentioned, 90% of it is arguments between rabbis on how to apply the law in meticulously menial detail for every possible scenario imaginable. I read some of it so you don't have to.
The Talmudic passages in question range from a moderate disapproval of Jesus to outright hatred and blasphemy of him and his mother. That being said, many of these passages are blasphemous and may be triggering to some, so listeners discretion is advised. With that prelude out of the way, let's get into the text.
For those who have listened to my interview with Buck Johnson, some of this may sound familiar, but stick with me. I only got through about a quarter of the passages I prepared for that episode. Let's begin with references to Jesus. For the sake of brevity, I may abbreviate the quotations from some of these passages just to get through them all, but I will quote where each passage can be found and also include the full text in the Substack article for this episode.
The first one, Sanhedrin 43a 20- 21. Quote, "On Passover Eve, they hung the corpse of Jesus the Nazarene after they killed him by way of stoning. And a crier went out before him for 40 days, publicly proclaiming, "Jesus the Nazarene is going out to be stoned because he practiced sorcery, enticed people to idol worship, and led the Jewish people astray. Anyone who knows of a reason to acquit him should come forward and teach it on his behalf." And the court did not find a reason to acquit him. And so they stoned him and hung his corpse on Passover Eve. Ula said, "And how can you understand this proof? Was Jesus the Nazarene worthy of conducting a search for a reason to acquit him? He was an insider to idol worship. And the merciful one states, "With regard to an insider to idol worship, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him." Deuteronomy 13:9. Rather, Jesus was different, as he had close ties with the government, and the gentile authorities were interested in his acquitt. Consequently, the court gave him every opportunity to clear himself so that it would not be claimed that he was falsely convicted." End quote.
Some Jewish historians claimed that this passage and others don't actually refer to the Jesus that Christians worship. Conveniently, Safaria, a website that preserves Jewish texts such as the Tanakh, Talmud, and Midash, actually hyperlinks this name and is kind enough to show some of the references to him in the Talmud. Also the toad Yeshu another Jewish text references this passage. More on this later. Personally I believe this is merely an academic obiscation.
Next passage. Azara 27b 6. There was an incident involving Ben Dama son of Rabbi Ishmael's sister in which a snake bit him. And following the attack Yakov of the village of Sana who is a heretic a disciple of Jesus the Nazarene came to treat him. But Rabbi Ishmael did not let him do so. And Ben Dama said to him, "Rabbi Ishmael, my brother, let him treat me and I will be healed by him." And I will cite a verse from the Torah to prove that accepting medical treatment from a heretic is permitted in this situation. But Ben Dama did not manage to complete the statement before his soul departed from his body and he died. End quote. So this man could have received healing from Jesus, but the Jews forbid it because they viewed Jesus as a quote heretic.
Next passage, Evod Zara 17a:1. Quote, "Rabbi Lizar said to him, Aka, you are right. As you have reminded me that once I was walking in the upper marketplace of Zapori, and I found a man who was one of the students of Jesus the Nazarene, and his name was Yakov of Kafar Sakana. He said to me, "It is written in your Torah, you shall not bring the payment to a prostitute or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 23:19. What is the halaka? Is it permitted to make the payment to a prostitute for services rendered a bathroom for a high priest in the temple? And I said nothing to him in response. End quote. Here the implication is that Jesus is teaching his followers to profit from illicit sexual behavior between a prostitute and a priest. This is consistent with their continual slander that Jesus himself engages in such behavior as we will see in the next passage.
Sota 47a 13 to14. Quote, "When he came back to Arett's Israel, Rabbi Yahosua arrived at a certain inn. The inkeeper stood before him, honoring him considerably, and overall they accorded him with great honor." Rabbi Yahosha bin Peria then sat and was praising them by saying, "How beautiful is this inn?" Jesus the Nazarene, one of his students, said to him, "My teacher, but the eyes of the inkeeper's wife are narrow." Rabbi Yahosua Ben Peria then said to him, "Wicked one, is this what you were engaged in?" Gazing at women, he brought out 400 chafara and then excommunicated him. Every day Jesus would come before him, but he would not accept his wish to return. One day, Rabbi Yahosua bin Puria was reciting Shama when Jesus came before him. He intended to accept him on this occasion, so he signaled to him with his hand to wait. Jesus thought he was rejecting him entirely. He therefore went and stood up a brick and worshiped it as an idol. Rabbi Yahosua bin Periah then said to him, "Return from your sins." Jesus said to him, "This is the tradition that I have received from you. Anyone who sins causes the masses to sin and is not given the opportunity to repent." The Gamera explains how he caused the masses to sin. For the master said, "Jesus the Nazarene performed sorcery, and he incited the masses and subverted the masses and caused the Jewish people to sin." End quote.
Sanhedrin 107b:14 also claims the same thing. And for the last passage, Giten 57a:4 said to him, "What is the punishment of that man?" A euphemism for Jesus himself in the next world. A different Jesus said to him, "He is punished with boiling excrement. As the master said, anyone who mocks the words of the sages will be sentenced to boiling excrement." And this was his sin as he mocked the words of the sages. End quote.
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia article on Jesus, his advice, as he is supposedly burning in hell and boiling excrement, is for people on earth to bless the Jews. Quote, "Further their well-being, do nothing to their detriment. whoever touches them touches even the apple of his eye." End quote. I can even point people to clips of Jewish rabbis literally screaming about Jesus burning in hell.
Now that we know how the Talmud portrays Jesus, let's move on to some references to Mary, the mother of Jesus. The first passage is Shabbat 104b:5. Quote, "Incidentally, the gamera asks, "Why did they call him Benstada when he was the son of Pandira?" Ravhista said, "His mother's husband who acted as his father was named Stada, but the one who had relations with his mother and fathered him was named Pender." The gamera asks, "Wasn't his mother's husband Papos Ben Yehuda? Rather, his mother was named Stada, and he was named Benstada after her." The gamera asks, "But wasn't his mother Miriam who braided women's hair?" The game explains, "This is not a contradiction. Rather, Stada was merely a nickname. As they say in Pumbunda, this one strayed from her husband." End quote.
Sanhedrin 67a:15 also reports essentially the same narrative as this passage. So, this is a known Jewish rumor that Jesus's father was Pandiraa, a Roman soldier, which this passage is commenting on. In many Greek New Testament manuscripts, the name of Mary is actually Miriam or Miriam. So, this is undeniably a reference to the mother of God. Some translations of the town would say, quote, "His mother was Miriam, who let her hair grow long, end quote, rather than who braided women's hair end." This is significant because in the ancient world, women who wore their hair down did so as a signal to men that they were sexually available. In other words, this is an effort of the Jews to paint the Theotocos as a harlot. As the infidelity of the passage illustrates, as we will see with other Jewish source texts, the notion that Jesus is a bastard child is a consistent view within rabbitic Judaism. It is not merely the opinion of some rabbi.
Next passage, Sanhesian 106A 10-11. As a disclaimer about this passage, some claim this text is referring to Mary, though it isn't specific and doesn't mention her by name. Therefore, it is unclear if it actually refers to her. However, it is consistent with the affformentioned narrative that the Jews weave about the mother of Jesus. Quote, "And thereafter, she would say to him, you are like a member of her household. sit and choose for yourself the merchandise that you want. And a jug of Amorite wine was placed near her, and neither Amorite wine nor Gentile wine had been prohibited yet for the Jews. She said to him, "Is it your wish to drink a cup of wine? Once he drank the wine, his evil inclination burned within him." He then said to her, "Submit to me and engage in intercourse with me." She then removed the idol that she worshiped from her lap and said to him, "Worship this." He said to her, "Am I not Jewish? I am therefore forbidden from engaging in idol worship." She said to him, "And what is your concern? We are asking you to do nothing more than defecate in its presence. But he does not know that its worship is conducted in that manner." Once he did so, she said to him, "Moreover, I will not leave you until you deny the Torah of Moses, your teacher, as it is stated. But when they came to Beaor, they separated themselves to shameful item. and they became detestable like that which they had loved. Hosea 9:10. They devoted themselves to the disgrace of defecation and detested the name of God. End quote.
Now, typically the Jewish response when these passages are brought up, if they're even aware that they exist at all, is to obiscate. These passages aren't really about Jesus or Mary, or that's just some rabbi's opinion. It doesn't mean everyone agrees with it. Very rarely will one get the honest truth out of people like this. To demonstrate that this is definitively absolutely the consensus view of Jews against Jesus and Mary, we should look at other Jewish texts. As I've already mentioned, the Jewish Encyclopedia article on Jesus confirms the Tmetic passage about Jesus burning in excrement in hell. Additionally, we can look to another text which I will briefly address.
The tood Yeshu is an anti-Christian Jewish pmical story likely dated between the late antiquity and the early medieval period. Much like the Talmudic sources, this story claims that Jesus was a bastard child who rather than deceiving through sorcery stole the power from the Jewish authorities in order to convince the masses that he was the Messiah. To quote the text, quote, "It came to pass that after these things, the wicked one, Jesus, played with the lads outside, as lads together are want to do." The wicked one angered the lads with his playing. The lad said to him, "Bastard, son of a minstrint. You think you are the son of Johannan. You are not his son, but the son of Joseph Pandera, who bedded your mother in her minces, and sired you, evil begotten by evil. whereupon hearing these words the wicked one ran to his house to his mother fuming and let out a great and embittered cry uttering mother tell me the truth straight away when I was little the children used to say that I am a bastard son of a minstate but I thought at a tease but now the lads all as one hooted at me day in and day out bastard son of a minstrit they tell me that I am the son of Joseph Pandira who came to you in your minces end further Upon Jesus's return from the village, he came to sit in his usual seat. The court rose and hustled him, saying to him thusly, "A bastard shall not enter the congregation of the Lord." He said to them, "Even if it were as you say, I am wiser and more fearful of God than you, and I will not withhold his reproof from you." They answered him, "From now on, we shall not heed your words. You shall not even sit amongst us, for you are a bastard. He pleaded with them, but they would not be appeased. And he grew weary and distant on account of their determination, and Jeroboam went astray. End quote.
As Jewish author Mika Auvia writes, according to some late medieval sources, it was a Jewish custom to read the Toad Yeshu on Christmas Eve. End quote. Another Jewish writer, Eli Ysef, calls this text, quote, fascinating. It is also worth noting that the former Jewish writer references Talmudic sources in which Jesus is mentioned. So again, it is simply not true that Jesus was never mentioned in the Talmud, as many of the Jews in my comments section insist.
As for how exactly Jesus convinced so many people that he was the Messiah, Ysef summarizes the narrative of the Toad Yeshu. quote, "It relates that the foundation stone upon which the world was established, which is hidden under the foundations of the temple, is inscribed with the ineffable name. This name is the most closely guarded secret of Judaism, an extremely powerful means by which someone can work miracles and harness the forces of nature. The rabbis worried that the ineffable name might be stolen and become a devastating force in the wrong hands. Therefore, they devised a way to erase the memory of anyone seeking to memorize the secret of divine holiness and to spirit it away to some location outside of the holy precincts. Jesus, upon being banished from Jewish society, decided to avenge himself. He entered the holy precincts, inscribed the ineffable name on parchment, and made an incision on his thigh, stuck the parchment into the cut, closed the wound, and left with no one the wiser. This way, even though he forgot the name that he tried to memorize, upon returning home, he removed the parchment from his flesh and thereby deceived the sages of Israel. Now with the ineffable name in hand, he could use it to work the miracles that would be described in the New Testament, the ones that won him the admiration of the masses and inspired their belief that he was the Messiah and son of God. End quote.
Now that we understand the extent to which rabbitic Jews viewed Jesus and Mary, one might wonder, what do they think about Gentiles? Fortunately for us, the Talmud has a plethora of passages on this topic to review on this subject. Again, I will be abbreviating these passages for the sake of time, but the full passages will be listed in the Substack article.
Point number one, Jews are allowed to deceive Gentiles, steal from them, and cannot do business with Christians. Babakama 113b:8 says, quote, "It is only to your brother that you return a lost item, but you do not return a lost item to a gentile." End quote. Babakama 113a 22. quote, "The reason that the court does not employ trickery in order to vindicate the Jew is only because there is a consideration of the sanctification of God's name. Consequently, if there is no consideration of the sanctification of God's name, the court does not approach the caseiruitously. Apparently, it is permitted to deceive a gentile." End quote. Baba 113b 10 quote it is permitted to financially benefit from a business error of a gentile i.e. it need not be returned. End quote. Avoar 7b:3 quote with regard to a Christian. According to the statement of Rabbi Ishmael, it is always prohibited for a Jew to engage in business with him. Since his festivities take place every Sunday and 3 days before and after Sunday constitute the entire week, one cannot engage in business with a Christian on any day of the week. End quote.
Point number two, Gentiles are not considered human. Kerat 6B 19-20. Quote, "One who applies the anointing oil to animals or vessels is exempt, and one who applies it to Gentiles or to corpses is exempt. But if one applies the anointing oil to Gentiles, why is he exempt? Aren't they included in the meaning of the term person, Adam?" The gamera explains, "Indeed, they are not. As it is written, "And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people Adam." Ezekiel 34:31. From which it is derived that you, the Jewish people, are called Adam, but Gentiles are not called Adam. End quote. Baba Matita 114b 2. Quote, as it is taught in the Bera, Rabbi Shimon bin Yohai says that the graves of the Gentiles do not render one impure as it is stated, "And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are man." Ezekiel 34:31, which teaches that you, i.e. the Jewish people are called man, but Gentiles are not called man.
Point number three, there are certain instances in which the death penalty is applied to Gentiles. Mishna Avorazara 21:1 quote, "One may not keep an animal in the ends of Gentiles because they are suspected of beastiality. Since even Gentiles are prohibited from engaging in beastiality, a Jew who places his animal there is guilty of violating the prohibition. You shall not put a stumbling block before the blind." Leviticus 19:14. And a woman may not seclude herself with Gentiles because they are suspected of engaging in forbidden sexual relations. And any person may not seclude herself with Gentiles because they are suspected of bloodshed. A Jewish woman may not deliver the child of a gentile woman because in so doing she is delivering a child who will engage in idol worship. But one may allow a gentile woman to deliver the child of a Jewish woman. Similarly, a Jewish woman may not nurse the child of a gentile woman, but one may allow a gentile woman to nurse the child of a Jewish woman while a gentile woman is on the Jewish woman's property. End quote. Sanhedrin 59a2, quote, "A Gentile who engages in Torah study is liable to receive the death penalty. As it is stated, Moses commanded us a law, Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. Deuteronomy 33:4, indicating that it is an inheritance for us and not for them. End quote. Sanhedrin 58b 17 to18. Quote, "A Gentile who struck a Jew is liable to receive the death penalty. One who slaps the cheek of a Jew is considered as though he slapped the cheek of the divine presence. End quote. And lastly, another Talmudic rabbi, Simeon Ben Yohigh, once stated, quote, "The best of the Gentiles should be killed." End quote.
Now, before we move on, I want to address one possible objection. Some may say that in the Jewish Encyclopedia article on Gentiles in the section present status of the Gentiles that most of this is no longer in effect because people today are now civilized and these standards were for the barbarian Gentiles. Regardless, these are still historic rabbitical interpretations of various Old Testament passages. Imagine if Christians approached the scriptures this way. Is it even conceivable for a Christian to say that it would be okay to steal from certain kinds of people or deceive them or consider them less than human ever in history? The point I'm trying to drive home is this. The Jewish hermeneutic and the Christian hermeneutic of these Old Testament passages are fundamentally opposed to one another. This is probably because they are completely different religions and the notion that they're basically the same is complete propaganda.
Before we wrap up, there is one last topic that I believe must be addressed on the subject of the Talmud. One of the most concerning moral aspects of this text is how it approaches the subject of rape. There are multiple passages which claim if a child is raped under the age of three, it basically doesn't count. If it is a female gentile that is raped, doesn't count. If it is a child under the age of 9 and has gay sex, doesn't count. Don't believe me? Let's look at the text themselves.
Netta 44b 12. Quote, "If the girl is less than that age, younger than 3 years in one day, the status of intercourse with her is not that of an intercourse in all hulk senses. Rather, it is like placing a finger into the eye. Just as in that case, the eye constricts, sheds tears, and then returns to its original state. So too, in a girl younger than 3 years and one day old, the highman returns to its original state. end quote. Ketubat 11b: 6, quote, "An adult man who engages in intercourse with a minor girl less than three years old has done nothing as intercourse with a girl less than 3 years old is tantamount to poking a finger into the eye." End quote. Kelloboth 11a verse two quote with regard to a female convert or a captive woman or a maid servant who were ransomed with regard to the captive or who converted with regard to the convert or who was freed with regard to the maidservant when she was less than 3 years and one day old. For all of these their marriage contract is 200 dinars and their presumptive status is that of a virgin. even if they were subject to intercourse when they were younger than that age, the himman remains restored and they are subject to a claim concerning their virginity. End quote.
Sanhedrin 54b verse 21. Quote, "If a child who is less than 9 years old engages in homosexual intercourse passively, the one who engages in intercourse with him is not liable." End quote. Sanhedrin 52b 23 Leviticus 20:10 states, "And a man who commits adultery with another man's wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, both the adulter and the adulteress shall be put to death." The term a man is interpreted as excluding a minor boy who committed adultery before he came of age. The phrase who commits adultery with another man's wife is interpreted as excluding the wife of a minor boy. Marriage to a minor is not considered hawkic marriage. His neighbor's wife excludes the wife of another i.e. a gentile who is not referred to as his neighbor. Yeamat 60b 6-7. Quote, Rabbi Shimon Ben Yohai says, "A female convert who converted when she was less than 3 years and one day old is permitted to marry into the priesthood as it is stated, but all the women children that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves." Numbers 31:18. This verse indicates that these women were fit for all the warriors since Phineas the priest was with them. See Numbers 31:6. It is clear that young converts are permitted to priests. The Gamera asks, "And how do the rabbis who disagree with Rabbi Shimon interpret this verse?" The gamera responds, "They understand the phrase keep alive for yourselves to mean that they could keep them as slaves and as maidervants, but they could not necessarily marry them." The gamera asks, "If so, if the source for Rabbi Shimon's ruling is this verse, a girl who converted at the age of three and one day old should also be permitted to a priest as long as she has never had intercourse as stated by this verse." End quote.
Again, one might argue that this is simply some rabbi's opinion. To which I might very reasonably respond, why why is that an acceptable Jewish opinion at all? Why why have that view and write it down? This makes Islam really look like the religion of peace by comparison. Additionally, let's not forget how uncommon and expensive it was to write something down in the ancient world. The Jews really thought this was something important if they spent the time and money to write and preserve it over the years.
In conclusion, I chose to make this episode not just to vindicate myself and show my receipts. I have chosen to discuss this topic because it really matters. Many Christians get carried away by a completely false perception of Judaism out of their own ignorance. I too was one of those people for many years. But now that I am aware of this information, it's not something that can just be simply ignored or swept under the rug. With the understanding of how the Pharisees thought and lived out their faith, it's no wonder why Jesus was so harsh to them. And it's no wonder why he prayed so emphatically for them.
Also, I do not believe Jews are evil people. But in so far as they reject Christ, they reject life, and there is no other way to life than Christ. Indeed, it is a shame what has become of the Jews who oppose their own Messiah. Jesus came to save them and everyone, and they chose to betray and blaspheme him. The consensus of Jewish source texts make it clear the vitriolic contempt that rebinic Jews have for Christ, his mother, and his followers. Let's not get it twisted, though. While much blasphemy and hatred has been espoused in these texts, the greatest atrocity Jews have committed is rejecting Jesus Christ.
I have been unironically compared to Hitler and smeared as an anti-semite for merely observing and pointing out these deeply rooted issues within Judaism. However, it doesn't follow that just because Judaism is bad that therefore Nazism is good. Orthodoxy occupies an interesting space in between these two extremes, the royal path. St. Paul writes that in Christ there is no Jew or Gentile. We must be careful as Christians to not stoop to the level as these Jews, but rather to pray for their repentance as the Lord loves mankind and desires that all be saved. And if that doesn't happen, we must allow God to be God and let him determine when the cup of iniquity is filled, not us. I pray that all Jews will come to accept that Jesus really is the one that they've been looking for this entire time. May God have mercy upon us all.