Goyim
Being a member of "Israel" means to accept the obligations and the responsibilities that G-d expressed in His Torah. Any non-Jew of any ethnicity can accept them if he so chooses.
Those who are born into this responsibility have already accepted the obligations when their souls were standing on Mt. Sinai, about, 3314 years ago {at the time this was originally written, of course}.
Those who didn't accept it then can accept it anytime they choose.
Upon acceptance of those responsibilities you acquire the spiritual tools necessary to fulfill your mission - the same way any soldier is given the right weapons to do his assigned task. Those tools include the Jewish soul, and the potential for the rewards the Children of Israel receive for fulfilling the Mitzvos.
Just as you cannot get a medal of honor unless you serve in the army, and agree to accept all the responsibilities and obligations that that entails, so too you cannot get the reward of Bnei Israel unless you agree to take on the responsibilities of the Torah.
Note: Regardless of whether someone is called "Israel", they are still given a "mission" by G-d, that is, to fulfill the seven Noachide Laws. Everyone's a soldier, Jewish or not.
Hashem asked the Goyim if they want to be Jews and they refused. They had - and still have, actually, the ability to be the favorite and they refuse.
Goyim have the 7 Mitzvos of Bnei Noach, but that does not give them the same status as a Jew who does the 613. There is a Machlokes what the status of the Goyim will be when Moshiach comes, but everyone agrees they will not merit the same eternal reward that the Jews will.
----
As a Bain Adam L'Makom analogy, Goyim are not commanded against worshiping shituf - a form of idolatry where you believe that Hashem has some "partner" in power. To be sure, that does not mean that belief in Shituf is anything but idol worship. But it's not an aveirah for the Goyim to worship idols in this fashion.
So, too, holiness is holiness. It’s just that they are not commanded to be holy in many ways.
The "complaint", therefore, is that these people and this lifestyle are, well, disgusting. The fact that being disgusting is not an aveirah is a different issue.
That having been said, there is, besides the seven Mitzvos Bnei Noach, moral obligations that come from our understanding and decency as human beings, beyond that which the Torah commands. And so Chazal say, even if Hashem would not have commanded us in modesty, we would have leaned it from the dove. To the nations, who are not commanded in modesty, the lessons of nature still apply. This does not mean that Goyim have to cover their elbows, but it does mean that a freewheeling, anything-goes attitude toward morals is indeed disgusting.
---
Goyim, like everyone, are morally obligated to seek the truth. A Tinok shenishba is someone who is taught the wrong truth. And so a go can also be a tonik shenishbah.
But Ohr Lagoyim does not mean to teach the goyim Torah. That is not our obligation. It means being a source of truth if they want to access it, and teaching by example. Teaching Torah to the goyim is not priority - we have more than a lifetime to do with our primary obligations, i.e. teaching Torah to the Jews and doing Mitzvos.
---
The purpose of Akum is not to serve us, but rather to play the same type of roll that all other creations in the world play in Olam Hazeh - background players whose actions and fate are all designed by Hashem to assist the Divine Plan for the world to come to fruition. That is, the success of the Am Yisroel in sanctifying themselves and the entire world, thereby causing the coming of Moshiach and Olam Habah.
That is indeed a noble reason to be created.
Goyim also have a spiritual mission in this world, though not like the Jews. Their "urges" come from that need, but they are not the same as those of the Jews.
---
The Avos didn't have geirim, only Avrohom did. Yitzchok, for instance, only had ONE student: Yaakov Avinu.
And incidentally, the gerim that Avrohom made all went off the derech, the Rambam says. Otherwise, the vast majority of Jews today would not be descendants of Avrohom but of the Geirim, since there were lots of Geirim and only one Avrohom.
But Avrohom only did that before the Torah was given. There was no Klall Yisroel then. Even Avrohom was not for sure Jewish (there is a classic Machlokes about this).
The reason we don't run after converts is that converts, unless they are self-motivated and very sincere, tend to cause problems for us and themselves, and we are not doing anyone a favor converting them if they will only end up doing Aveiros.
R. Akiva Eger writes that when Hashem went to the nations - and the future souls - asking them if they want to accept the Torah, there were those non-Jews who did want to accept it, even though they were outvoted by the vast majority of their peers.
Those souls who wanted to accept the Torah, says R. Akiva Eger, are today's Geirim.
So really, the reason why we don't go out and find people to convert is because Hashem already did it. Those who refused Him made their decision already; those who didn't will convert on their own.
---
When a non-jew asks about Torah and Judaism out of curiosity, answer them politely but with as little information as possible. It is not permitted to teach Torah to Akum.
Because the vast majority of non-Jews are not interested in converting, we do not assume they are interested until we know differently.
---
Everyone has a moral responsibility to reject obvious false beliefs, and Christianity is so messed up, so full of errors, mistakes and contradictions, that they should reject it. They could if they would think a little. Those who are incapable of figuring it out, are indeed not responsible. Ones rachmana patrei.
What about all the Moslems? And the pagans? And the olden day totem-pole and simple idol worshipers. There are so many clearly ridiculous religions, if Christianity is just one more it should not be surprising.
But more importantly perhaps, the Christians lack a scholarly system of scrutinizing their own texts, the way we Jews have. There’s no such thing as "iyun" by them. In fact, the Pope himself admitted not long ago that the narratives in the New testament are not meant as historical fact, but just as moral lessons. So they really don’t have a religion at all. But merely moral beliefs. But the vast majority of them don’t know that.
In other words, they have no idea what their own religion says, never mind if it is true or not.
If they follow the 7 Mitzvos they can't be "Christian" since Christianity violates the Noahide prohibition against idolatry.
---
Christianity is a doctrine of love? Hardly. Anti-semitism comes completely and totally from their so-called doctrine of love, which actually preaches love for those who follow their doctrine. Anti-semitism among Christians began with the canard that the Jews killed their poor little god.
Secondly, a "doctrine" isn’t merely some written word, but also the way that writing is interpreted, like our laws are interpreted by the courts, or, lehavdil, our Torah shebal peh. The Christian traditions - their authorities and their leaders - have caused hate and wanton murder throughout the generations. When we say "Don’t judge Judaism by Jews" we are NOT talking about Chazal or our leaders, c"v.
Third, unfortunately, the Christians themselves don’t agree their bad leaders were bad.. If, when encountering an evil Christian leader they would say "Don’t judge Christians by Christianity", it would be one thing - but instead, they glorify their leaders and extol them despite their evil.
The gospels record Yoshka's harassment at the hands of the Jewish leaders of his time, and in the Book of Acts states that the first Christians were persecuted by abusive Jewish groups.
There is no love for Jews preached in the New Testament; on the contrary. Here's their "doctrine of love":
"You are of your father the devil" (John 8:44) - that’s what Yoshka said to a group of Jews. The Christian commentators, including St. Bernard, assume of course, that this extends to all Jews. Not only then, but for all times. It is no surprise, therefore, that in 1941, Julius Streicher, the Nazi leader recommended "extermination of that people whose father is the devil."
Saint John Chrysotom writes:
"The synagogue is worse than a brothel ... it is a den of scoundrels and the repair of wild beasts ... the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults ... the refuse of brigands and debauchees, and the cavern of devils. A criminal assembly of Jews ... a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ .. a house worse than a drinking shop ... a den of thieves; a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, the refuge of devils, a gulf and abyss of perdition"
As for the Jewish people themselves, "I would say the same things about their souls...I hate the synagogue... I hate the Jews for the same reason."
Cardinal Newman described the author of that drivel as "A bright, cheerful, gentle soul, a sensitive heart, a temperament open to emotion and impulse; and all of this, elevated, refined, transformed by a touch of heaven - such a man was St. John Chrysostom"
It was the Church itself who sent Crusaders to slaughter Jews. Every type of degrading law was passed against Jews by Christians during the middle ages -- and the Church encouraged it. Jewish children were kidnapped and baptized as Christians - by the Church. They were rounded up and beaten on Easter, and the Church's attitude is that the Jews deserve it, for assassinating their Lord. "Kill a Jew and save your soul" was the motto of not the low, grubby Christian in the street, but of the holy Crusaders.
"Surely I doubt whether a Jew can be really human ... I lead out from its den a monstrous animal… Jew, thou brute beast." - Peter the Venerable, who was known as "the meekest of men, a model of Christian charity."
From Martin Luther (leader of the "reformation" of the Church):
"First, their synagogues should be set on fire ... secondly, their homes should be likewise broken down and destroyed ... Thirdly, they should be deprived of their prayer books and Talmuds ... Fourthly, their rabbis must be forbidden under threat of death to teach anymore ... Fifthly, passports and traveling privileges should be absolutely forbidden to Jews ... Sixthly, they ought to be stopped from usury ... Seventhly, let the young and strong Jews and Jewesses be given the flail, the ax, the hoe, the spade, the distaff, and spindle, and let them earn their bread by the sweat of their noses ... We ought to drive the rascally lazy bones out of our system .. Therefore away with them ... if this advice of mine does not suit you, then find a better one so that you and we may all be free of this insufferable devilish burden - the Jews."
Gerhard Kittel, a Lutheran, one of the greatest New Testament "scholars", wrote a book describing what to do about the "Jewish question." His conclusion: Let the Jews accept persecution, for that is what they deserve.
---
{NOTE: This was written to a ger whose non-jewish but curious brother was being approached by a "messie"/missionary -taon}
There is of course no reason to encourage your brother to convert to Judaism - it is his decision, and he is under no obligation to do so. Not only do we not actively proselytize we bend over backwards not to.
However, Christianity is pure idolatry (never mind stupidity) and if you can, you should try to prevent him from believing it. But only do this if he will not become a total atheist if he abandons Christianity. Better an idol worshiper than an atheist.
Start by alerting him to the obvious contradictions in Christianity: Was J a descendant of King David from his father's side as is required for the Messiah? Or was he of virgin birth? See the anti-missionary information on these boards, and make him aware of the material.
It does help if you point out that you were Christian and you realized the foolishness and emptiness of the religion. Please note that it may be better to emphasize the "foolishness" of it, or it may be better to emphasize the "emptiness" of it, depending on whether your brother perceives religion more as spirituality (the "emptiness" is the way to go), or as rules and discipline ("foolishness" will make a greater impact).
Your general tone should be casual and even amused. The the one, in-a-nutshell idea to convey is that Christianity is pathetic, which means funny, but in a sad way. Don't show that you are scared - you don't want him to think that you feel threatened by his Christianity, which is what the "messie" will claim.
You must convey the idea that you are not impressed with Christianity. Like, a "Been there, done that, nah, nothing there" kind of thing.
---
Those who are born into this responsibility have already accepted the obligations when their souls were standing on Mt. Sinai, about, 3314 years ago {at the time this was originally written, of course}.
Those who didn't accept it then can accept it anytime they choose.
Upon acceptance of those responsibilities you acquire the spiritual tools necessary to fulfill your mission - the same way any soldier is given the right weapons to do his assigned task. Those tools include the Jewish soul, and the potential for the rewards the Children of Israel receive for fulfilling the Mitzvos.
Just as you cannot get a medal of honor unless you serve in the army, and agree to accept all the responsibilities and obligations that that entails, so too you cannot get the reward of Bnei Israel unless you agree to take on the responsibilities of the Torah.
Note: Regardless of whether someone is called "Israel", they are still given a "mission" by G-d, that is, to fulfill the seven Noachide Laws. Everyone's a soldier, Jewish or not.
Hashem asked the Goyim if they want to be Jews and they refused. They had - and still have, actually, the ability to be the favorite and they refuse.
Goyim have the 7 Mitzvos of Bnei Noach, but that does not give them the same status as a Jew who does the 613. There is a Machlokes what the status of the Goyim will be when Moshiach comes, but everyone agrees they will not merit the same eternal reward that the Jews will.
----
As a Bain Adam L'Makom analogy, Goyim are not commanded against worshiping shituf - a form of idolatry where you believe that Hashem has some "partner" in power. To be sure, that does not mean that belief in Shituf is anything but idol worship. But it's not an aveirah for the Goyim to worship idols in this fashion.
So, too, holiness is holiness. It’s just that they are not commanded to be holy in many ways.
The "complaint", therefore, is that these people and this lifestyle are, well, disgusting. The fact that being disgusting is not an aveirah is a different issue.
That having been said, there is, besides the seven Mitzvos Bnei Noach, moral obligations that come from our understanding and decency as human beings, beyond that which the Torah commands. And so Chazal say, even if Hashem would not have commanded us in modesty, we would have leaned it from the dove. To the nations, who are not commanded in modesty, the lessons of nature still apply. This does not mean that Goyim have to cover their elbows, but it does mean that a freewheeling, anything-goes attitude toward morals is indeed disgusting.
---
Goyim, like everyone, are morally obligated to seek the truth. A Tinok shenishba is someone who is taught the wrong truth. And so a go can also be a tonik shenishbah.
But Ohr Lagoyim does not mean to teach the goyim Torah. That is not our obligation. It means being a source of truth if they want to access it, and teaching by example. Teaching Torah to the goyim is not priority - we have more than a lifetime to do with our primary obligations, i.e. teaching Torah to the Jews and doing Mitzvos.
---
The purpose of Akum is not to serve us, but rather to play the same type of roll that all other creations in the world play in Olam Hazeh - background players whose actions and fate are all designed by Hashem to assist the Divine Plan for the world to come to fruition. That is, the success of the Am Yisroel in sanctifying themselves and the entire world, thereby causing the coming of Moshiach and Olam Habah.
That is indeed a noble reason to be created.
Goyim also have a spiritual mission in this world, though not like the Jews. Their "urges" come from that need, but they are not the same as those of the Jews.
---
The Avos didn't have geirim, only Avrohom did. Yitzchok, for instance, only had ONE student: Yaakov Avinu.
And incidentally, the gerim that Avrohom made all went off the derech, the Rambam says. Otherwise, the vast majority of Jews today would not be descendants of Avrohom but of the Geirim, since there were lots of Geirim and only one Avrohom.
But Avrohom only did that before the Torah was given. There was no Klall Yisroel then. Even Avrohom was not for sure Jewish (there is a classic Machlokes about this).
The reason we don't run after converts is that converts, unless they are self-motivated and very sincere, tend to cause problems for us and themselves, and we are not doing anyone a favor converting them if they will only end up doing Aveiros.
R. Akiva Eger writes that when Hashem went to the nations - and the future souls - asking them if they want to accept the Torah, there were those non-Jews who did want to accept it, even though they were outvoted by the vast majority of their peers.
Those souls who wanted to accept the Torah, says R. Akiva Eger, are today's Geirim.
So really, the reason why we don't go out and find people to convert is because Hashem already did it. Those who refused Him made their decision already; those who didn't will convert on their own.
---
When a non-jew asks about Torah and Judaism out of curiosity, answer them politely but with as little information as possible. It is not permitted to teach Torah to Akum.
Because the vast majority of non-Jews are not interested in converting, we do not assume they are interested until we know differently.
---
Everyone has a moral responsibility to reject obvious false beliefs, and Christianity is so messed up, so full of errors, mistakes and contradictions, that they should reject it. They could if they would think a little. Those who are incapable of figuring it out, are indeed not responsible. Ones rachmana patrei.
What about all the Moslems? And the pagans? And the olden day totem-pole and simple idol worshipers. There are so many clearly ridiculous religions, if Christianity is just one more it should not be surprising.
But more importantly perhaps, the Christians lack a scholarly system of scrutinizing their own texts, the way we Jews have. There’s no such thing as "iyun" by them. In fact, the Pope himself admitted not long ago that the narratives in the New testament are not meant as historical fact, but just as moral lessons. So they really don’t have a religion at all. But merely moral beliefs. But the vast majority of them don’t know that.
In other words, they have no idea what their own religion says, never mind if it is true or not.
If they follow the 7 Mitzvos they can't be "Christian" since Christianity violates the Noahide prohibition against idolatry.
---
Christianity is a doctrine of love? Hardly. Anti-semitism comes completely and totally from their so-called doctrine of love, which actually preaches love for those who follow their doctrine. Anti-semitism among Christians began with the canard that the Jews killed their poor little god.
Secondly, a "doctrine" isn’t merely some written word, but also the way that writing is interpreted, like our laws are interpreted by the courts, or, lehavdil, our Torah shebal peh. The Christian traditions - their authorities and their leaders - have caused hate and wanton murder throughout the generations. When we say "Don’t judge Judaism by Jews" we are NOT talking about Chazal or our leaders, c"v.
Third, unfortunately, the Christians themselves don’t agree their bad leaders were bad.. If, when encountering an evil Christian leader they would say "Don’t judge Christians by Christianity", it would be one thing - but instead, they glorify their leaders and extol them despite their evil.
The gospels record Yoshka's harassment at the hands of the Jewish leaders of his time, and in the Book of Acts states that the first Christians were persecuted by abusive Jewish groups.
There is no love for Jews preached in the New Testament; on the contrary. Here's their "doctrine of love":
"You are of your father the devil" (John 8:44) - that’s what Yoshka said to a group of Jews. The Christian commentators, including St. Bernard, assume of course, that this extends to all Jews. Not only then, but for all times. It is no surprise, therefore, that in 1941, Julius Streicher, the Nazi leader recommended "extermination of that people whose father is the devil."
Saint John Chrysotom writes:
"The synagogue is worse than a brothel ... it is a den of scoundrels and the repair of wild beasts ... the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults ... the refuse of brigands and debauchees, and the cavern of devils. A criminal assembly of Jews ... a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ .. a house worse than a drinking shop ... a den of thieves; a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, the refuge of devils, a gulf and abyss of perdition"
As for the Jewish people themselves, "I would say the same things about their souls...I hate the synagogue... I hate the Jews for the same reason."
Cardinal Newman described the author of that drivel as "A bright, cheerful, gentle soul, a sensitive heart, a temperament open to emotion and impulse; and all of this, elevated, refined, transformed by a touch of heaven - such a man was St. John Chrysostom"
It was the Church itself who sent Crusaders to slaughter Jews. Every type of degrading law was passed against Jews by Christians during the middle ages -- and the Church encouraged it. Jewish children were kidnapped and baptized as Christians - by the Church. They were rounded up and beaten on Easter, and the Church's attitude is that the Jews deserve it, for assassinating their Lord. "Kill a Jew and save your soul" was the motto of not the low, grubby Christian in the street, but of the holy Crusaders.
"Surely I doubt whether a Jew can be really human ... I lead out from its den a monstrous animal… Jew, thou brute beast." - Peter the Venerable, who was known as "the meekest of men, a model of Christian charity."
From Martin Luther (leader of the "reformation" of the Church):
"First, their synagogues should be set on fire ... secondly, their homes should be likewise broken down and destroyed ... Thirdly, they should be deprived of their prayer books and Talmuds ... Fourthly, their rabbis must be forbidden under threat of death to teach anymore ... Fifthly, passports and traveling privileges should be absolutely forbidden to Jews ... Sixthly, they ought to be stopped from usury ... Seventhly, let the young and strong Jews and Jewesses be given the flail, the ax, the hoe, the spade, the distaff, and spindle, and let them earn their bread by the sweat of their noses ... We ought to drive the rascally lazy bones out of our system .. Therefore away with them ... if this advice of mine does not suit you, then find a better one so that you and we may all be free of this insufferable devilish burden - the Jews."
Gerhard Kittel, a Lutheran, one of the greatest New Testament "scholars", wrote a book describing what to do about the "Jewish question." His conclusion: Let the Jews accept persecution, for that is what they deserve.
---
{NOTE: This was written to a ger whose non-jewish but curious brother was being approached by a "messie"/missionary -taon}
There is of course no reason to encourage your brother to convert to Judaism - it is his decision, and he is under no obligation to do so. Not only do we not actively proselytize we bend over backwards not to.
However, Christianity is pure idolatry (never mind stupidity) and if you can, you should try to prevent him from believing it. But only do this if he will not become a total atheist if he abandons Christianity. Better an idol worshiper than an atheist.
Start by alerting him to the obvious contradictions in Christianity: Was J a descendant of King David from his father's side as is required for the Messiah? Or was he of virgin birth? See the anti-missionary information on these boards, and make him aware of the material.
It does help if you point out that you were Christian and you realized the foolishness and emptiness of the religion. Please note that it may be better to emphasize the "foolishness" of it, or it may be better to emphasize the "emptiness" of it, depending on whether your brother perceives religion more as spirituality (the "emptiness" is the way to go), or as rules and discipline ("foolishness" will make a greater impact).
Your general tone should be casual and even amused. The the one, in-a-nutshell idea to convey is that Christianity is pathetic, which means funny, but in a sad way. Don't show that you are scared - you don't want him to think that you feel threatened by his Christianity, which is what the "messie" will claim.
You must convey the idea that you are not impressed with Christianity. Like, a "Been there, done that, nah, nothing there" kind of thing.
---
Labels: Non-Jews
posted by Moderator at 2:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home