Due to the popularity of my essay on Moses' Black Wife (a Qoton Qlassic) both here and on academia.edu, I have recently received several letters via email from a Christian missionary trying to read Christian ideas into my writings in an effort to sway Jews from HaShem and His Torah to follow in the path of the bastard of Bethlehem. I will try to address some of the issues raised by this missionary, even though some of his drivel is simply so ludicrious and nonsensical that it barely deserves the recognition granted to it by refutation.
Furthermore, the Talmud (Yebamoth 61b-62a) mentions a dispute as to how many offspring one is required to produce in order to fulfill the commandment of procreation. According to one opinion (Beis Shammai), one is required to have two sons and the source of this opinion is Moses who fathered two sons before separating from his wife Zipporah. Everyone is required to engage in procreation to contribute to mankind in a perpetual way, even great Rabbis like Moses did so. In fact, the Talmud (Shabbat 31a) tells that when one dies, one of the first questions he is asked in the Heavenly Court is whether or not he engaged in procreation (עסקת בפריה ורביה).
According to the other opinion (Beis Hillel), one is required to have a son and a daughter, but, nonetheless, Moses had a special dispensation which exempted him from fulfilling this commandment because HaShem agreed that his prophecy was on such a level that he could not longer sustain normal intimate relations with his wife for technical reasons: that is, sexual relations includes seminal emissions which renders one ritually impure. If Moses had stayed married to Zipporah, he would, as part of his husbandly duties, be required to sexually satisfy his wife which inevitably requires ejaculation of semen which would render him ritually impure. Moses attained a level of prophecy greater than any other prophet as explained by Maimonides (Foundations of the Torah chs. 7 and 8) in that he was able to speak to HaShem on demand without making preparations like other prophets. HaShem would sometimes appear to Moses very suddenly. As such, it would be inappropriate for Moses to be ritually impure if maybe HaShem might decide to speak to him in that state. Because of this, Moses separated from his wife and continued his life in abstinence, even though he had yet to fulfill the commandment of procreation.
But--you ask-- even if Moses would separate from his wife Zipporah, he could still potentially be ritually impure when HaShem wants to speak to him from other types of seminal emissions not related to sex. The answer to this is simple: Moses was so great and powerful that he was able to control his sexual urges and desires so much so that he did not have an seminal emissions. This means that Moses did not engage in masturbation or pedophilia with altar boys or non-marital fornication or homosexual sodomy.He simply had no need to express his sexual desires. Moses was and is alone in this ability. No one else is able to suppress their most natural desires and inhibitions. Catholic Priests who outwardly live a life of "ascetic chastity" are known to be the most debaucherous depraved individuals. They have no outlet for channeling their sexual desires and passion in a permitted way because they are sworn to a life of abstinence. Instead, they engage in the most heinous of sexual crimes in an effort to indulge in their sexual depravity. They are known to engage in regular masturbation, pedophilic acts, homosexual acts, and the like. The lucky priests are the ones housed at monasteries which also host nuns, that way they can ease their sexual frustrations with their equally promiscusus female counterparts. People who do not have an accepted socially permitted medium for releasing their sexual frustrations will turn to illicit channels for doing so.
I am not aware off-hand of any other Old Testament characters who were celibate other than Deborah the Judgess. According to some sources, Deborah separated from her husband for forty years because she was a reincarnation of Zipporah and was required to fix the sin of Zipporah's forced abstinence by engaging in her own consensual abstinence.
The only other important figure who I can recall that was celibate seems to be Ben Azzai. Yet, nonetheless, Ben Azzi was lightly castigated by his Tannaic contemporaries who did not agree that his complete and utter devotion to his Torah studies precluded his ability to get married. Also, according to some sources, Ben Azzai was actually briefly married to a daughter of Rabbi Akiva.
Have a Happy Sweet New Year!!
Sincerely,
Reb Chaim HaQoton
http://rchaimqoton.blogspot.com
Kol Tuv,
Reb Chaim HaQoton
http://rchaimqoton.blogspot.com
On Tue, Sep 10, 2013 at 10:14 AM, Menachem Mevashir <mevashir@aol.com> wrote:I'm sorry to see that you have changed direction so much in life. To go from a regular Ultra-Orthodox Jew to Chabad to Breslov to Protestantism to Catholicism. You must be a truly confused individual. I pray that you finally return to the one absolute truth. Living a life of uncertainty and confusion is not fun.
From the fact that even after the seventy judges were appointed Moses still did not live with his wife, Miriam understood that Moses had separated from her because he was a prophet. Based on this understanding, Miriam complained to Aaron that both she and Aaron were prophets and did not have to refrain from relations, so why did Moses. To this complaint, HaShem answered that Moses' prophecy was on a higher level than any other prophet's was so he required a higher level of purity.
Dear Rabbi Chaim,Your article explaining Miriam's complaint about Moses in Numbers 12 is fantastic!!! Very few people realize this important Jewish teaching about the celibacy of the greatest Jewish prophet! (See passage cited above.)
I am a Jewish believer in Jesus. I lived as an ultra-Orthodox Jew and later follower of Chabad and Breslov for 18 years before being baptized. I have been Protestant most of the time since my baptism, but lately I have been exploring the claims of the Roman Catholic Church to be Christ's True and Original Church body.
As you probably know, the Catholic Church has a celibate priesthood. I have shared with people the Jewish tradition about Moses' celibacy following his vision of the Burning Bush. (Indeed Rabbi Nachman of Breslov says that the instruction to him to remove his sandals was a veiled command to separate from his wife, which was required for Moses to attain the supreme level of personal sanctity necessary to liberate his people from Egyptian bondage.)I fail to see the connection between Moses' celibacy and the practice of celibacy in the Catholic priesthood. As far as I understand, Catholic priests are required to take a life-long pledge of complete abstinence from sex and are barred from ever getting married. Moses was actually married. According to some explanations, as I mentioned in my essay, Moses actually did marry the Queen of Cush for forty years (granted according to some commentators he did refrain from sexual relations with her). And surely he married Zipporah, who bore him two sons, as attested to in the Bible. Moses contributed to the continuity of humanity by engaging in the commandment of procreation and ever fathered offspring to continue his progeny to the next generation.
Furthermore, the Talmud (Yebamoth 61b-62a) mentions a dispute as to how many offspring one is required to produce in order to fulfill the commandment of procreation. According to one opinion (Beis Shammai), one is required to have two sons and the source of this opinion is Moses who fathered two sons before separating from his wife Zipporah. Everyone is required to engage in procreation to contribute to mankind in a perpetual way, even great Rabbis like Moses did so. In fact, the Talmud (Shabbat 31a) tells that when one dies, one of the first questions he is asked in the Heavenly Court is whether or not he engaged in procreation (עסקת בפריה ורביה).
According to the other opinion (Beis Hillel), one is required to have a son and a daughter, but, nonetheless, Moses had a special dispensation which exempted him from fulfilling this commandment because HaShem agreed that his prophecy was on such a level that he could not longer sustain normal intimate relations with his wife for technical reasons: that is, sexual relations includes seminal emissions which renders one ritually impure. If Moses had stayed married to Zipporah, he would, as part of his husbandly duties, be required to sexually satisfy his wife which inevitably requires ejaculation of semen which would render him ritually impure. Moses attained a level of prophecy greater than any other prophet as explained by Maimonides (Foundations of the Torah chs. 7 and 8) in that he was able to speak to HaShem on demand without making preparations like other prophets. HaShem would sometimes appear to Moses very suddenly. As such, it would be inappropriate for Moses to be ritually impure if maybe HaShem might decide to speak to him in that state. Because of this, Moses separated from his wife and continued his life in abstinence, even though he had yet to fulfill the commandment of procreation.
But--you ask-- even if Moses would separate from his wife Zipporah, he could still potentially be ritually impure when HaShem wants to speak to him from other types of seminal emissions not related to sex. The answer to this is simple: Moses was so great and powerful that he was able to control his sexual urges and desires so much so that he did not have an seminal emissions. This means that Moses did not engage in masturbation or pedophilia with altar boys or non-marital fornication or homosexual sodomy.He simply had no need to express his sexual desires. Moses was and is alone in this ability. No one else is able to suppress their most natural desires and inhibitions. Catholic Priests who outwardly live a life of "ascetic chastity" are known to be the most debaucherous depraved individuals. They have no outlet for channeling their sexual desires and passion in a permitted way because they are sworn to a life of abstinence. Instead, they engage in the most heinous of sexual crimes in an effort to indulge in their sexual depravity. They are known to engage in regular masturbation, pedophilic acts, homosexual acts, and the like. The lucky priests are the ones housed at monasteries which also host nuns, that way they can ease their sexual frustrations with their equally promiscusus female counterparts. People who do not have an accepted socially permitted medium for releasing their sexual frustrations will turn to illicit channels for doing so.
I am not aware of any source which states that Jeremiah was celibate. In fact, I am aware of sources to the contrary. See Otzar Midrashim (pg. 43) which quotes an oft-repeated Midrash that tells about the parentage of Ben Sira: One time Jeremiah was sitting in the bathhouse when he happened upon a group of wicked men who were masturbating. Jeremiah began to reprove them and reproach them to save them from this horrible sin, but to no avail they did not stop and instead threatened to sodomize him if he did not join them in their ritual masturbation. Seeing that he no choice, Jeremiah succumbed to the request of these wicked men and ended up releasing semen into the bathwaters. (The sin of masturbation is to be considered a lighter sin than homosexuality, see here.) The Midrash tells that HaShem miraculously preserved the sperm in the drops of semen emitted by Jeremiah until Jeremiah's daughter happened to chance upon the same bathhouse and became pregnant with her father's seed. See there for the continuation of the story. The point is that Jeremiah actually a daughter and it seems she was indeed his legitimate daughter, unlike your blasphemous assertion that Jeremiah was celibate.
I am aware, too, that other Old Testament saints, like Jeremiah, were celibate.
I am not aware off-hand of any other Old Testament characters who were celibate other than Deborah the Judgess. According to some sources, Deborah separated from her husband for forty years because she was a reincarnation of Zipporah and was required to fix the sin of Zipporah's forced abstinence by engaging in her own consensual abstinence.
The only other important figure who I can recall that was celibate seems to be Ben Azzai. Yet, nonetheless, Ben Azzi was lightly castigated by his Tannaic contemporaries who did not agree that his complete and utter devotion to his Torah studies precluded his ability to get married. Also, according to some sources, Ben Azzai was actually briefly married to a daughter of Rabbi Akiva.
I do not see any principle of celibacy in what you have written. The celibacy of Moses (which only started when he was EIGHTY YEARS OLD and already had at least two sons) is the exception rather than the rule. No one else, male or female, was ever expected to remain unmarried or to separate from sexual relations (expect for perhaps Deborah and Ben Azzai). Moses, an explained above, was unique in two aspects: Firstly, the level of prophecy that he attained has never been reached by anyone else. It was this level of prophecy which created a very close relationship between HaShem and Moses that blocked Moses from maintaining his marriage. Secondly, only Moses had complete and utter control of his sexual impulses so that abstinence of marital relations would serve to purify him as opposed to all other human beings for whom abstinence of marital relations would simply serve as a catalyst for sexual release in other venues, which are certainly prohibited.
Can you explain why rabbinical Judaism has abandoned this principle of celibacy? Many Jews mock the celibacy of Jesus and also of the Roman Catholic priesthood, but it seems clear that Jewish Tradition upholds the concept of celibacy as a concomitant condition for attaining the highest levels of prophecy and spiritual leadership.
Thank you and Shana Tova Metuka vaMetukenet,
Sincerely baShem Yeshua,Michael Korn/Menachem MevashirI do not send out mass emails to people who are not interested. I will email you alone and not to all the other people which you sent your letter. If you want to continue this discussion, you can do so in the comments section of this post. Please encourage your entourage to do the same.
PS Please reply to everyone in the Cc line above! Toda Rabba!!!
Have a Happy Sweet New Year!!
Sincerely,
Reb Chaim HaQoton
http://rchaimqoton.blogspot.com
It close to impossible for a mere mortal to truly engage in celibacy. Anyone who says otherwise is either unhealthy or fooling himself (and fooling around).
On 09/10/13, Menachem Mevashir<mevashir@aol.com> wrote:
[Full article by Reb Chaim HaQoton- ר' חיים הקטן appears at end of this email]
[Another perspective on this strange story from the Chabad organization.]
M&A were jealous of Moses; they were interested in promoting self (not an uncommon tendency in humans). The excuse was Moses’ wife. Was it because she was dark-skinned? The punishment given to the sister (“white as snow”) may support such this theory. In other words, perhaps it was something like this: You complain about dark skin, preferring white. Okay, you are going to get some white skin—see if you like it.
Pastor Paul,
This is a good insight. Mida kenegged mida - Measure for measure. Very good! But only as far as it goes.
You were unaware of the importance of Moses' celibacy in Jewish Tradition. You cannot be blamed for that, but now that I have found a good article about it, please ponder more deeply!
Jesus and Paul both taught that celibacy is a great gift. If it is not for you, then don't do it. But I don't think we should denigrate those who do. That will only bring unimaginable curse upon us I fear.
Much has been written about the dual meaning of the word Olam in the Written Torah (Bible) as a dimension of time and in the Oral Torah (the Rabbinic writings) as a dimension of place. I will only add one more point to this discussion and that is that in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word Olam is used in its Rabbinic context i.e. to refer to space, not time. Most scholars agree that the DSS predate the supposed existence of the bastard from Bethlehem. If so, it seems that the usage of the word in such a meaning does not attempt to delegitimize Christianity--that fairytale did not exist yet. As for the rabbinic concept of Olam seeming similar to the pagan Greek concept of eternal existence (a concept which Maimonides goes at great lengths to chide Aristotle for believing in), it would seem to me that the Rabbis adopted a word whose meaning is similar to the concept to which they are trying to relate even if the term does not exactly mean the same thing. There are countless examples of Latin, Greek, and Persian words in the Mishna, Midrash, and Talmud whose meanings are slightly different from their original meanings in those languages.
Obviously celibacy has been viewed as a virtue from the earliest times of Christendom. Even the Orthodox churches who permit priests to marry require monks nuns and bishops to be celibate. Since this practice prevailed for 1500 years until the time of Martin Luther, I think it is upon the "Reformers" to prove the old way is wrong and their way is better. Even St. Paul spoke about the role of sacred Tradition in his own teachings. Likewise Paul referred to himself as a "father" to the flock of his disciples. And similarly he spoke of "my Gospel."
Another point is the saying in Pirkei Avot that a strong man is one who overcomes his desires. This suggests that a celibate priest is among the truly mighty ones of Israel!
It also is of interest that the Hebrew word for separation as the Midrash says Moses did is Prishut - פרישות which is the root for the word Pharisee! And Jesus praised what the Pharisees taught (eg, the celibacy of Moses in order to attain the highest levels of prophecy) if not what they did!
Finally, it is more than ironic and also unjust to condemn Catholicism for supposedly restraining God's command about be fruitful and multiplying. It is safe to say that there is no Christian denomination more fecund than Roman Catholicism! This is due to its prohibition of divorce, contraception and abortion and its view of marriage as a sacrament. So it seems clear to me at least that the demand for priestly celibacy in no way impedes the first commandment in the bible!
Since I have rabbi Chaim HaQoton's attention, I would like to ask him two more things relating to the use of the word HaShem for God or YHWH and also the use of Olam in the Hebrew blessing formula: Eloheinu Melech HaOlam = Our God King of the "Universe". I think both these expressions may be related.
If you do a concordance search for the word Olam, it almost always is an adjective meaning Eternal or Invisible. In Yeshiva we were told that the rabbis created Olam as a noun meaning "Universe" or World to connote the idea that God is hidden or concealed in the Creation, especially after the fall of man in Eden. Unfortunately Olam seems similar to the pagan Greek notion of an eternally existent uncreated universe, which surely contradicts the Creation story in Genesis 1! I wonder if on a subconscious level Jews use this term because they do not accept the Christian claim that Jesus is the revelation of the fulness of God!
I do not find it problematic to say that HaShem would stage a massive deception and corruption of His own Torah in order to test the strength of the Jews' commitment to it. We have seen this countless times throughout history. The entire creation of the state of Israel and Zionism (according to the Satmar Rebbe) is a test by HaShem to see who will remain faithful to His Torah and who will stray from it. The same is true of the horrors of the Holocaust, the intellectual draw of the Haskala movement, and many other such instances (many of which have long been forgotten). HaShem enjoys giving extra credit to those who are faithful to Him, the way to achieve extra credit is by passing His tests. Life is full of such tests some bigger some smaller. They are all chances for one to prove his steadfast commitment to the Torah and Judaism and gain greater reward in the Heavens.
This point is even more relevant given that Jesus demonstrated in the Lord's prayer the following wording:
Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be Thy NameThy Kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus uses language that hearkens back to the Genesis 1 Creation account of heavens and earth:
Bereishit bara Elohim et hashamayim wa'et ha'aretz - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Jesus does NOT use the strange rabbinical term "Olam" alluding to a hidden and eternal universe. This is even more relevant since there are many parallels between the Lord's Prayer and the Jewish Kaddish prayer, with the great exception that Kaddish uses "Olam"!
Related to all this is the Jewish use of HaShem as a euphemistic substitute for YHWH or even Elohim - God. The source for this unusual word seems to be in Leviticus 24:10-16, when a member of the tribe of Dan curses God. Scripture there employs HaShem to serve as a buffer before the Divine Name, so the man is cursing the name of YHWH rather than YHWH itself. Thus HaShem seems to be associated with the idea of cursing God's Holy Name.
Again I wonder if Jews utilize this as a subconscious reflection of the fact that they curse and denigrate Jesus as a bastard (mamzer) whose Virginal Mother was a whore (God forbid) and who engaged in witchcraft to "lead Israel astray." Anti-missionary rabbis love to quote the warnings of Deuteronomy 13:1-12 and Deuteronomy 17:1-7 about not following a false prophet or miracle worker who teaches against Torah, but they are hard pressed to explain why God would raise from the dead such a "deceiver"! I have heard Orthodox Jews claim that God would indeed stage such a massive deception and corruption of His own justice simply in order to test the commitment of Jews to the Law of Moses. This reflects an understanding of God's nature that truly seems paranoid and sinister, to say the least!
I would be grateful, rabbi Chaim HaQoton, for any insight you might be able to share.Shalom baShem Yeshua - שלום בשם ישוע Peace in the Name of JesusI hope that I have adequately answered some of your misconceptions about Judaism and that my letter will help in bringing you closer to the one absolute truth.
Ayn Shalom bli Sar haShalom - אין שלום בלי שר השלום No Peace without the Prince of Peace
Shalom haShabbat rak im Adon haShabbat - שלום השבת רק אם אדון השבת Shalom of Shabbat Only with the Lord of Shabbat
Michael Korn/Menachem Mevashir - מנחם מבשיר
Kol Tuv,
Reb Chaim HaQoton
http://rchaimqoton.blogspot.com
On Tue, Sep 10, 2013 at 1:37 PM, Menachem Mevashir <mevashir@aol.com> wrote:True True, but there is more to it than that...
I hope you will see that I made a few improvements!
I hope you will see that I made a few improvements!
By the way, rabbi Chaim calls himself HaQoton - the little - because the famous head of his Mirrer Yeshiva was also called rabbi Chaim. You might find of interest the amazing story of how he and his entire yeshiva found refuge in Shanghai during WWII. The Japanese official who helped them escape from the clutches of Nazi Germany was awarded honorary Israeli citizenship for himself and all his descendants in perpetuity!
By the way, rabbi Chaim calls himself HaQoton - the little - because the famous head of his Mirrer Yeshiva was also called rabbi Chaim. You might find of interest the amazing story of how he and his entire yeshiva found refuge in Shanghai during WWII. The Japanese official who helped them escape from the clutches of Nazi Germany was awarded honorary Israeli citizenship for himself and all his descendants in perpetuity!
orcid.org/0000-0001-9317-3282
13 comments:
(1/3)
rabbi Chaim the Small,
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.
I am glad you survived the rigors of the fasting and were able to give your attention to this important point.
Of course I realize that Moses was married and sired children prior to the command to him to separate from his wife. But the point I am making is that such separation was necessary for him to attain the highest level of spirituality in order to redeem his people from bondage. On that I am certain you can agree.
Jesus and St. Paul also spoke about those who make themselves celibate for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. These people are not sexless or neutered, but rather are able to embrace a much larger family unit in Divine Love due to their celibacy, which perhaps more accurately could be termed chastity. That was all I wished to apply to my Christian friends: for them to understand that indeed there is precedent in Judaism to praise the virtues of chastity and celibacy. So far as your comment about Jeremiah, I have no idea what you mean. See here for example. It also is obvious that celibacy is not the norm and is a rare spiritual gift. The point is not to force it upon anyone but rather to help people recognize its blessedness. And certainly our estimation of Jesus as God's Son and Divine Redeemer makes it totally understandable that celibacy is an appropriate and expected way of life for Him. Likewise for St. Paul, whose commission to remove pagan idolatry from the Roman Empire and to travel perhaps 20,00 miles in arduous missions journeys also makes celbacy a necessary concomitant to his spiritual calling. (Indeed I have often wondered if rabbi Shlomo Carlebach would not have had a much more successful and less controversial and morally compromised ministry if he too had embraced celibacy, but unfortunately Judaism has renounced this high idea!)
Regarding your allegation about the "bastard from Bethlehem" I urge you to watch these shows on the Holy Shroud of Turin which present scientifically verifiable evidence for Christ's crucifixion and resurrection:
The Real Face of Jesus From the Shroud of Turin
The Lost 40 Days of Jesus - Full Documentary
May God illuminate your eyes with His Holy Truth and pull away the veil from upon your mind and the stone from within your heart.
Mevashir
PS Please do not hesitate to respond to all the Cc list. These people are both Jewish and Christian scholars with a deep respect for Jewish roots in order to understand the life and works of Jesus. They will be most grateful to interact with an Orthodox Jewish scholar of your eminence. Indeed when I was at Ohr Samayach in the 1980s, a number of my instructors were associated with the Mirrer Yeshiva (eg Avraham Rockmill), so truly it is an honor and privilege to communicate with a scholar from that most famous of yeshivas! But from this point forward I will try to post directly to your blog, beseder???
PPS Your answer to my question about whether God would raise from the dead an evil man in order to test Jews is truly sobering:
I do not find it problematic to say that HaShem would stage a massive deception and corruption of His own Torah in order to test the strength of the Jews' commitment to it. We have seen this countless times throughout history. The entire creation of the state of Israel and Zionism (according to the Satmar Rebbe) is a test by HaShem to see who will remain faithful to His Torah and who will stray from it. The same is true of the horrors of the Holocaust, the intellectual draw of the Haskala movement, and many other such instances (many of which have long been forgotten). HaShem enjoys giving extra credit to those who are faithful to Him, the way to achieve extra credit is by passing His tests. Life is full of such tests some bigger some smaller. They are all chances for one to prove his steadfast commitment to the Torah and Judaism and gain greater reward in the Heavens.
(2/3)
It raises the question of whether we can ever trust God to speak to us via signs and miracles in order to shatter our complacent existences! I am well aware of the warnings of Deuteronomy 13 and 17 about false prophets who perform signs and wonders which also is sobering. But Jesus Himself seems to have addressed this. When accused of using satanic powers to exorcise people (as I believe the Talmud asserts against Him), Yeshua responded saying that personal insults against Him can be forgiven (such as your calling him bastard from Bethlehem) but insults against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven, since they blaspheme God's very spirit operating within us! Jesus also explains that satan would not exorcise people thereby dividing and weakening his own wicked kingdom. But this raises the very question you pose from Deuteronomy about a false prophet displaying signs and wonders that we are meant to disregard. How can we reconcile this?
Perhaps the answer is that the false prophet displaying signs and wonders of whom Deuteronomy warns us does not help people at all. Rather he might do what Isaiah did to demonstrate a sign to King Hezekiah: turn back the sundial. But Yeshua seems to be saying that any act of genuine love and compassion such as releasing a person from demonic oppression, cannot possibly be an act of satanic deception! And furthermore He warns us that anyone who claims so is guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit! See here:
Mark 3:23-30 Amplified Bible (AMP)
23 And He summoned them to Him and said to them in parables (illustrations or comparisons put beside truths to explain them), How can Satan drive out Satan?
24 And if a kingdom is divided and rebelling against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house is divided (split into factions and rebelling) against itself, that house will not be able to last.
26 And if Satan has raised an insurrection against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is [surely] coming to an end.
27 But no one can go into a strong man’s house and ransack his household goods right and left and seize them as plunder unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may [thoroughly] plunder his house.
28 Truly and solemnly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever abusive and blasphemous things they utter;
29 But whoever speaks abusively against or maliciously misrepresents the Holy Spirit can never get forgiveness, but is guilty of and is in the grasp of [a]an everlasting trespass.
30 For they [b]persisted in saying, [c]He has an unclean spirit.
Could one have argued that Moses' splitting of the Red Sea and indeed performing all the miracles associated with the Exodus were deceptions, since he was leading the people out of the wilderness 190 years too early according to some calculations? How about all the signs and wonders Moses performed? Were these too deceptions? Furthermore, you seem to ignore the fact that you cannot fulfill the Law properly, that most of the commandments are null and void today, and that even the ones you do perform are riddled with hypocrisy and inconsistency.
For example, let's say you have $1000 to spend any way you wish. How should you allocate it? Should you upgrade your tefillin and mezuzot (assuming you are blessed to have a home)? Should you buy an extra set of tefillin like rabbeinu Tam? or perhaps three extra sets as Moshe Sternbuch is reputed to do? Should you buy Torah commentaries? Spend money on your wife and children? Give tzeddaka to a yeshiva? To a hospital? To hachnassat kala? To feed the poor? You see the problem: since your religion is based totally on works without faith in the sacrifice of Yeshua as atonement for the world, then you are faced with a hopeless task of sorting through innumerable possibilities without any certainty of what is the right decision!
(3/3)
Another example: the Talmud teaches that the chassidim rishonim would pray nine hours per day: three hours for each of the three prayers. But in shuls today, most people rush through Shacharit in perhaps 30 minutes and then run off to get to work, kollel, or whatever. Now why can't a person say If it is more righteous and pious to pray longer and with more attention, then I will prolong my prayers and trust God to make up the lost salary! This is an obvious idea based on the Talmud extoling the faith of these people, yet hardly anyone does this. Instead they rush through their prayers in what I call Fax Machine Dovening, spewing words out with little attention, and then rush off to pursue their secular careers. Who says this is what God wishes? Who says He even accepts it?
We who follow Jesus can trust that the Holy Spirit He sent to us will stir our emotions and thoughts to do the right thing which we discern through prayer and contemplation. But you who do all based on works or righteousness are faced with a hopeless task of trying to weigh an infinitude of halachic and Talmudic possibilities and choices with no assurance you are making the right choice. You in the end are like the Moslems, who after all their fervent religious devotions have zero certainty they are fulfilling Allah's will or that they will get to Heaven. How dreary and discouraging!
I recognize that it is unlikely that you will be able to admit your admiration for Jesus especially publicly. I was able to become His follower only after many years of suffering, in which I lost my marriage and was basically a nomad within the world of Orthodox Judaism. The Messianic teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov also prepared my heart to embrace the truth of Yeshua. I realize I was in a unique position to accept Jesus with minimal embarrassment or sacrifice vis a vis the rest of the Orthodox Jewish community.
So my goals with you are humble. I just hope to jog your mind and spirit a bit and help you see Yeshua in a different light than 2000 years of rabbinical animosity would normally permit. Start perhaps with this article from Roi Tov, a former IDF officer who has become a follower of Yeshua: True Faith in the Word Notzri!
Thanks again for your willingness to correspond and for the long and thoughtful response you formulated.
Shalom baShem Yeshua,
Mevashir
Links from my above 3 comments:
http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/celibacy.html?vm=r#Celibacy%20Prior%20to%20the%20New%20Testament
http://www.amazon.com/review/RMBOULH5O7LBQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0615414281&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNJPJ4JwHeE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz9cuRxN4Ug
http://www.roytov.com/articles/nazareth.htm?vm=r
Regarding this comment from you:
[[But--you ask-- even if Moses would separate from his wife Zipporah, he could still potentially be ritually impure when HaShem wants to speak to him from other types of seminal emissions not related to sex. The answer to this is simple: Moses was so great and powerful that he was able to control his sexual urges and desires so much so that he did not have an seminal emissions. This means that Moses did not engage in masturbation or pedophilia with altar boys or non-marital fornication or homosexual sodomy.He simply had no need to express his sexual desires. Moses was and is alone in this ability. No one else is able to suppress their most natural desires and inhibitions. Catholic Priests who outwardly live a life of "ascetic chastity" are known to be the most debaucherous depraved individuals. They have no outlet for channeling their sexual desires and passion in a permitted way because they are sworn to a life of abstinence. Instead, they engage in the most heinous of sexual crimes in an effort to indulge in their sexual depravity. They are known to engage in regular masturbation, pedophilic acts, homosexual acts, and the like. The lucky priests are the ones housed at monasteries which also host nuns, that way they can ease their sexual frustrations with their equally promiscusus female counterparts. People who do not have an accepted socially permitted medium for releasing their sexual frustrations will turn to illicit channels for doing so.]]
I have no thought that Moshe would engage in masturbation, God forbid. It never occurred to me and I wonder why you would imagine so. I never posed this question to you in my initial email either. Perhaps you are projecting or protesting too much?
I do not believe that all Catholic priests are unchaste. Or Catholic nuns or monks either. I imagine a small minority of them engage in unchaste activities.
And perhaps you should contemplate the sobering reality of rampant sexual abuse within Orthodox Jewish society, as this website somberly attests: http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/
And perhaps you should contemplate the sobering reality of rampant sexual abuse within Orthodox Jewish society, as this website somberly attests: http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/
Why do you suppose all these happily married rabbis are molesting young yeshiva boys? Clearly marriage in itself is no assurance against sexual depravity.
When I lived in Israel I read an article that claimed close to half the clients of the many prostitutes who have proliferated throughout the unHoly Land are Orthodox Jewish men!
Clearly your community is in great need of spiritual deliverance, and you have zero cause for smugness or complacency!
As our Lord taught:
Mark 9:42
And whoever causes one of these little ones (these believers) who acknowledge and cleave to Me to stumble and sin, it would be better (more profitable and wholesome) for him if a [huge] millstone were hung about his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.
Luke 17:2
It would be more profitable for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were hurled into the sea than that he should cause to sin or be a snare to one of these little ones [lowly in rank or influence].
Here are the unhappy and sobering sex abuse links:
http://www.google.com/cse?cx=000902744158846101839%3Aio79lozdeti&q=sex+abuse&sa=Search&siteurl=failedmessiah.typepad.com%2F&ref=mail.aol.com%2F38041-111%2Faol-6%2Fen-us%2Fmail%2FPrintMessage.aspx&ss=1725j435849j9#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=sex%20abuse&gsc.page=1
Please note that in the previous link about sex abuse in the Orthodox community, there are over 10,000 reports! This is a community in deep need of spiritual deliverance that only Jesus Christ can provide! May you have the wisdom and humility to seek His help!
rabbi Chaim the Small,
In our bible study tonight we discussed the Virgin Birth of Jesus to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I'd like to ask you about Rashi's comment to Isaiah 7:14 which Christians believe alludes to the birth of Christ to a virgin.
You can see the Rashi at this link on the chabad website:
http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/15938#v=14&showrashi=true
Immanuel: [lit. God is with us. That is] to say that our Rock shall be with us, and this is the sign, for she is a young girl, and she never prophesied, yet in this instance, Divine inspiration shall rest upon her. This is what is stated below (8:3): “And I was intimate with the prophetess, etc.,” and we do not find a prophet’s wife called a prophetess unless she prophesied. Some interpret this as being said about Hezekiah, but it is impossible, because, when you count his years, you find that Hezekiah was born nine years before his father’s reign. [[And some interpret that this is the sign, that she was a young girl and incapable of giving birth.]]
Please note the second part of Rashi in the section marked with [[ ]].
Can you explain why Jews find this miracle of a pre adolescent girl falling pregnant and giving birth more plausible than the New Testament account of Jesus' birth to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was a mature woman and betrothed in marriage?
Indeed, if a girl were too young to give birth, what Jew would marry her? Aren't marital relations forbidden if a girl has not yet reached puberty?
Thanks for clarifying. I feel that Rashi is alluding to a miracle like that reported in the New Testament, but not quite as plausible or reasonable.
Blessings to you for your erudite response.
Mr. Qoton, you are a blasphemer as the xristians you are arguing. Saying those execrable things about The Great Jewish Navi Jeremiah, using mythological Medieval sources (the Alphabet of Ben Sirah, etc..) to justify your views, you are libeling him as Kidush Hashem, that's is lack of scrutiny.
Good evening, Rabbi Chaim:
I'm not sure if this needs to be said, but (just in case) should anything in the comments below seem offensive or even blasphemous, it was not my intent to be rude or inconsiderate of your feelings. We hold different beliefs to be true, but I respect your right to believe what you do and am hopeful that the reverse is also true on your part. I do know that I can benefit from your knowledge of Scripture and your wisdom even though we belong to different faiths. Hopefully, you will be able to help me answer some questions and to further develop my understanding of Scripture. Oh, and (just so you know) I have very thick skin, so you don't need to mince words unless you want to.
I recently found your blog and this post while searching for information regarding Jewish marriage customs in the 1st Century and their application with respect to the betrothal of the Virgin Mary, Jesus' parthogenic birth, and her husband Joseph. I'm a Roman Catholic Christian, a follower of (as you amusedly (from my perspective) put it) the "bastard from Bethlehem", who understands that it is impossible to fully understand Christianity without understanding the Jewish roots of that faith, and who is in the process of figuring out the correct interpretations of certain Catholic doctrines, ones (the interpretations) that are in line with the Torah, Psalms, Prophets, etc. if not necessarily the Talmud, although ideally also consistent with it. Your blog raised questions and ideas that don't relate to Moses and his black wife (Zipporah?), but that I am hopeful you will be able to clarify.
Do I understand "Hashem" to be a way to not write or say one of the 11 names of G*d derived from the Tetragrammaton? I've been told that Jews do not believe it proper to write or say aloud any of the names of G*d, but I'm not sure of the source in the Torah or Talmud regarding this. Exodus 23:13 talks of the names of other gods and not the one and only true G*d that we both serve and love, whether you believe that or not. What does "Hashem" mean (translated) in English? Is it similar to "Adhonai", "Lord of All"?
In your ninth paragraph, do you really believe that what you have written is true of all priests and nuns? Of Gentiles who have dedicated their lives to serve G*d as they understand Him? When you stated:
"No one else is able to suppress their most natural desires and inhibitions. Catholic Priests who outwardly live a life of "ascetic chastity" are known to be the most debaucherous depraved individuals."
I don't believe that to be a fair or objective statement. If you haven't watched the movie "Spotlight" about the pedophilia by priests in the greater Boston area, it noted that approximately 50% of priests are involved in some sort of sexual (romantic?) relationship and that there were roughly 90 priests in the city that were abusing or had abused children. This works out to approx. 6% of the total priests, bishops, etc. in Boston between 1950 - 2015, the period covered by the journalists' investigation. Refer to the following articles:
http://melbournecatholic.org.au/Archive/Reviews/spotlight-reviewed-by-father-richard-leonard-sj
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2690575/Pope-Francis-admits-two-cent-Roman-Catholic-priests-paedophiles-interview-Italian-newspaper.html
[Part 2 of Comment]
Sobering statistics to be sure, which I accept (as a Catholic) to be accurate, but not the picture that you have painted. It occurs to me that perhaps you simply have an extremely strong (or even extraordinary) libido and have made the mistake of believing that yours is average in nature, leading to your belief that "mere mortals" are incapable of resisting these natural urges. I suppose it could also be a Gentile thing; that there is something in the DNA of the Jewish people, but that seems unlikely to me. Variation of libido seems more likely on an individual basis rather than on an ethnic one, thus varying from individual to individual. Your's could simply be on the high end of the spectrum.
Deuteronomy 9:4-8 makes it clear that the ancient Israelites were not chosen by G*d to be His (first) chosen people because of spiritual superiority over Gentiles, and I expect the same is true regarding any physical superiority. As I understand it, G*d doesn't "play favourites", but rather selected Israel to be a people set aside from Gentile nations to serve as an example for what G*d commands of Gentiles as well. We Gentiles were never under the Mosaic Covenant (Law), but it serves to us as a guide to what G*d seeks from us spiritually. The Law is, after all, both spiritual and physical (written) in nature; unlike Jews, Gentiles are to follow its spiritual principles, precepts, and commands. Jews are, of course, to follow both, and it is by the standard of the Law that they will be judged by G*d when the time comes.
I firmly believe that faith can move (metaphorical) mountains and that there are many people who have learned to discipline their minds and bodies to the degree necessary to achieve perpetual celibacy, including many priests, nuns, Buddhist monks, etc. One does not need to be "damaged" (unhealthy) in some way to master one's worldly (physical) desires and cravings; one does have to be dedicated to one's reasons for doing so. I believe the Essenes were an example of Jews who learned (with difficulty) how to do so. Moses, of course, was able to do so easily, not having any temptation to give into these natural urges, but that hardly means that others are (with greater difficulty) incapable of it. And G*d and faith can work wonders (miracles).
If I understand the Jewish marriage process in the 1st Century at least, the Virgin Mary was betrothed to Joseph although the marriage had not (yet?) been consummated, so I fail to see how Jesus could be called a bastard as His mother and step-father were married fully under Jewish law. While the rabbinic community does not accept this, Christians believe that Jesus' birth was parthogenic in nature. His not having a human father means that there was no adultery on Mary's part (as per Isaiah?), making it impossible for Him to be a bastard. Of course, I do understand that your beliefs cannot allow you to accept a virgin birth, but parthogenesis is an authentic medical possibility that occurs when two naturally occuring genetic mutations that do not naturally occur together do occur together. Even the late Christopher Hitchens, a famous Antithiest, did reluctantly have to admit the possibility of a parthogenic birth with respect to Jesus, and he refused to admit that G*d was anything more than a primitive myth, so that's something significant. Parthogenesis would be (and is) easily possible for G*d who also preserved Jeremiah's sperm in bathwater until it could "take seed" in his daughter.
About that, as it was G*d who made this happen, is it correct to say that this pregnancy could not have been classified as incestuous (making it a sin for Jeremiah) and the child would not have been a bastard despite Jeremiah not being married to his daughter (which would have been very wrong)? After all, technically, the child's human parents were not married, whereas Mary and Joseph actually were.
[Part 3 of comment]
You mentioned that Deborah the Judgess may have been the reincarnation of Moses' wife Zipporah. Is reincarnation a part of what Jews believe happens after death? I didn't think it was; I thought that was Buddhists and faiths related to eastern philosophy (mysticism?). Is reincarnation the means by which Elijah will return and (if so) will he remember his previous life or lives? Spiritually, he will, of course. I mean physically; with his (new?) physical brain? If I understand correctly, Elisha saw Elijah carried up into heaven in a vision, although not necessarily the 3rd (?) heaven. Physically, if a whirlwind is anything like a tornado, it's not hard to conclude what would have happened to Elijah's physical body. As to where it (ie. his corpse?) was "spit out" of such a whirlwind is anyone's guess, but a body minus its soul is not that important, not even the body (shell) of a great Prophet like Elijah. It's Elijah's soul that is important and that was carried into the heavens, though which heaven I'm not sure of. Or would Elijah's spiritual journey have ended in his being delivered to "Abraham's Bosom" in Sheol, two concepts that I am still in the process of learning about? And is there any teaching about Enoch being a previous life of Elijah?
As I have thus far been successful in finding interpretations of doctrines that are in line with the Torah, Psalms, Prophets, etc. but sometimes not the Talmud, it seems more and more (as I proceed) that the Christian and Jewish faiths are not at odds fundamentally; it's simply a matter of determining, with a circumcised heart and mind, what the correct interpretations are for this to be true, and for Christianity (as it existed in the 1st Century) to be a natural evolution of Judaism (as it existed in the 1st Century) based on the Hebrew Scriptures and their Greek translation, which the Dead Sea Scrolls have demonstrated is extremely accurate and faithful to the Hebrew (Scriptural) source material that was translated.
The most significant point of disagreement is, of course, who we respectively believe the Messiah to be and whether He (and Elijah) have come once before, roughly 2000 years ago. Both faiths hold that Elijah and the Messiah are coming; Christians simply believe that it is a case of returning rather than coming for the first time.
Where the disagreement comes in, as I understand it, is with the Christian belief that the Messiah, willingly humbling Himself to serve G*d as the Suffering Servent Isaiah foretold, decisively defeated the single, greatest enemy of Israel and the entire world: the spiritual consequences of sin, spiritual death, as only a Messiah could be expected to successfully do. Due to this singular victory on the level of spiritual reality, the forgiveness of sins (past, present, and future; universally across time) "became" possible, thus allowing humanity to stand before G*d justified in His sight and His love.
The sacrifice of animals could never be entirely sufficient to cancel out the sins of human beings, simply because animals are not human beings. Those sacrifices, as I understand it, were instead a physical foreshadowing of what G*d always had planned to make happen in order to undo the damage (Original Sin) that Adam and Eve caused with their rebellion against Him. One man, the first man, caused Original Sin and so it necessitated another, the Messiah, to defeat (negate) it and thus make the salvation of Jews and Gentiles alike possible. The question becomes whether this victory on the part of the Messiah, whomever He may be, has already happened or is yet to be accomplished.
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