You Might Be A Jewish Pagan If...

In this past week's portion of the Torah reading (Parshat Mishpatim), we read about the biblical prohibition of engaging in witchcraft."Thou shall not suffer a witch to live." The Torah wasn't merely referring to ancient times when men sacrificed each other to appease the gods. The pagan drive is still strong today, and there are many Jews who seek out the advice of  contemporary Jewish "witches". Naturally, I want to help out these headless chickens. So I've authored a list to aid the reader's self-diagnosis:

You Might Be A Jewish Pagan If.......

1. You wrap your head in a tallit ball during Birkat Kohanim, (the priestly benediction) out of concern  that if you see the kohen's hands, your eyeballs will explode like grapes. (As an aside, "The Jewish Fist" follows the authentic Jewish approach on the matter, which is to refrain from looking at the kohen during the benediction because it would be distracting.)
2. a) You believe that the Lubavitcher Rebbe (of blessed memory) is Moshiach. b) you pray to him.
3. "Nah Nah Nah...." Your holy mantra to keep away lewd thoughts. Or at least elevate them.
4. At the local tisch, you make it a practice to eat the Rebba's masticated "arbes"(a holy legume) to fulfill the ancient  mitzvah of shrayim.
5. You enjoy leaping over roaring bonfires at the grave-sites of Rishonim. 
6. When walking alone at night, you worry about Ashmodai ( the king of the demons).
7. When you attend a brit, you ask the mohel for the foreskin, as a segulah for parnasah (a livelihood).
8. You keep a clove of garlic in your pocket to ward off the "evil eye" and "agents of Lilith" aka women.(Some maintain that a piece of stale matzoh smeared with the jelly off a rotten etrog is also effective, but that's plain nonsense.)
9. Palm reading is important to you. But only if its done by a "holy person" who accepts credit cards for his holy work. Your definition of an apikorus: Someone who denies the merits of palm reading. 
10. You keep a giant ball of red string in the trunk of your car. 
11. You deal with "unwanted thoughts" by rolling around naked in the snow. 
12. You enjoy reading "spiritual books" which speak about "G-d's needs and feelings." As a committed pagan, you understand that tying your shoelace without proper kavanah can destroy entire worlds. 
13. As a warrior against pritzus, you spend the better part of the day thinking about seminal emissions and self-defilement. And about the army of deformed changelings that are waiting for  you. 

Diagnosis: If even one of these applies, you're a pagan. For starters, you might want to use your intellect for a change and learn some authentic Torah. Try studying the Rambam or Saadyah Gaon's "Emunah V'deot" to get your head right.

One last thing. If you believe that the author of "The Jewish Fist" warrants the ancient curse of pulsa d'nurah for writing this list, you're definitely a pagan. 

"Attempted Murder?" Of a Terrorist?

Man Charged for Trying to Kill Terrorist who Stabbed his Wife

by Maayana Miskin (Arutz Sheva)

Just over a year ago David Mizrachi's wife Tamar was brutally stabbed at her workplace near Kiryat Arba. David, who raced to the scene in his car, found Tamar's would-be killer, a young Palestinian Authority terrorist, in custody outside. In a rage, he ran over the man.

Now Mizrachi, 56, is facing charges of attempted murder. He was indicted Sunday in the Jerusalem District Court......More Israel news

The Jewish Fist Disclaimer: As a rule, I don't like posting articles from Arutz Sheva. As far as I'm concerned , there are too many questionable things going on over there. For one, they are soft (and worse) when it comes to dealing with the issue of missionaries in Israel.  This should come as no surprise when one consider the mounting evidence which suggests that they are in the pockets of American x-tians. A7 is also parve and ineffectual, and absolutely terrified of taking a true Torah stand on the important issues. They can call themselves "right-wing", but that means nothing as far as yahadut is concerned. They are a haven of "mamlachtiism" , if you will, where one finds all sorts of ideological nonsense masquerading as Judaism in their editorials and op-eds, and in the many advertisements that litter their site (40 Days Of tehilim at the kotel. That kind of pagan garbage). Of course, this is a general statement regarding A7, and it should not be taken as an attack on the author of this article, who I am sure is a fine person.

The Jewish Commentary: Attempted murder? Outrageous. David Mizrachi should be given a medal, and then another opportunity to finish off the job. Were I in charge of this madhouse, he would be given free reign to slaughter the pig who tried to murder his wife. In any manner that suited him. Personally, I would suggest a cruel and inefficient death, in accordance with the Torah's view of justice, that you show no mercy towards the merciless. 

The spiritually diseased leftists who are trying to punish David Mizrachi will ultimately face Divine retribution for harassing this poor man. Hasn't the Mizrachi family suffered enough at the hands of Arabs? Several years ago an Arab driver plowed into their son's car with his vehicle and killed him. Incidentally, they also recently lost a daughter to apparently unknown causes. (Without knowing anything about the case involving their son, I wouldn't be surprised if the Arab murderer is still burning rubber on Israel's roads. Perhaps some leftist Jewish lawyer used the "my client's foot cramped up" defense. Surely it wasn't religiously motivated?) 

Death to the terrorist, Masawa, may his name and memory be obliterated from the face of the earth. I don't know if he's still in prison, or if Bibi freed him with a few hundred other vipers as part of some Ramadan good-will gesture to Abbas. One day soon, Jewish justice will return to Israel. Men of morality will take the reigns and declare "open season" on all terrorists. And savages such as Masawa will be hunted down and exterminated, like rats carrying the plague. No leg shots. No warnings. 

Only a lunatic society would charge a Jew with the "attempted murder" of the Arab terrorist who almost killed his wife. This is the insanity we are dealing with today in Medinat Yisroel. A nation run by quislings and cowards who have the wisdom of Chelm and the morality of Sodom. May The Almighty protect David Mizrachi and his family from both the Arabs and the "erev rav" (mixed multitude). 

Written in a dying Jew's blood. 

Jonathan Pollard- "Enough Is Enough" (video)

Free Pollard Now! Check out the website at www.jonathanpollard.org. Our inaction and silence on this matter of pidyon shvuyim is a sin that we will have to answer for one day. This travesty of justice must end.

Haveil Havalim # 301!

Haveil Havalim #301 is up! This week's carnival is hosted by The JackB. Check it out.

Baptists In The Synagogue

Martin Luther King Day at the Hebrew Institute- January 2010

Those Jews with their heads screwed on right will instantly recognize this for what it is. A pagan ceremony. An astounding chillul Hashem. How else to describe a Baptist reverend and his church choir performing in the Beit Knesset of a supposedly "orthodox" synagogue? (Albeit, one that now has a female "Rabba", and that has at least on one occasion featured a female cantor leading the Kabbalat Shabbat service. Personally, I don't consider them orthodox, nor have I for some time now.) My understanding is that the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale has been hosting this interfaith-concert for years. As seen in the screen capture below, they continued the tradition this year. I couldn't find this year's concert on the internet, but I'm quite certain that it will make its way there eventually. Thanks to technology, every outrage can now be shared with millions across the world.

Now why, you may ask, is it necessary for an orthodox synagogue to hold this function? Isn't it enough to recognize the legacy of Dr. King, and treat all people with dignity and equality? You my unenlightened friend obviously don't understand "open-minded, modern-orthodoxy." The liberal, modern-orthodox, Jew feels a burning need to atone for the sin of x-tian slavery. And what better way to engage in this "tikkun" than to host an annual church choir in the synagogue? They even had Neshama Carlebach singing niggunim.

Can you feel the holiness? I can't. 

For some time now, Avi Weiss has trampled upon his Rebbe's p'sak Halachah regarding interfaith-dialogue. Rav Soloveitchik (of blessed memory) prohibited Jews from participating in any form of interfaith-ceremony, religious discussion, debate, or dialogue with members of other faith communities. His classic essay "Confrontation" is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the Rav's definitive position on the matter. (Many of the Rav's misguided detractors falsely portrayed his stance as a radical one. The Rav's position was deeply rooted in the normative Jewish approach to interfaith matters. He differed with Rav Moshe Feinstein (of blessed memory) and the other gedolim on the question of whether it was permissible to engage in dialogue with members of other faith communities, on non-religious issues, that affect society as a whole.)  Avi Weiss's actions are merely the next logical step of one who doesn't really believe in any separation from the goyim. If your Judaism is so influenced by goyish values that you extol the benefit of interacting with priests and "moderate" imams, the next step is to take down the barrier. Enter the Baptist choir into the synagogue. 

The x-tian faith is a rejection of the Noachide covenant. Maimonides maintained that they are idolaters. (No posek denies that for a Jew it constitutes idolatry.) If Weiss wants to sanctify The Almighty's name, he should introduce his  friends to the 7 Noachide Laws. This is the real meaning of Tikkun Olam. To bring the knowledge of The Almighty to Jews and non-Jews. Not to host interfaith concerts that not only involve serious Halachic and Hashkafic violations, but also come across as patronizing carnivals of liberal Jewish guilt.

Racism is repugnant to Judaism, and Dr. King deserves to be remembered for his struggle to end legislated discrimination. But not with interfaith-concerts in a synagogue, where a preacher calls upon his Jewish brothers and sisters to "clap their hands together and let him hear it", to the rhythm of a church choir. I'm sure many of the deluded Jews and gentiles in the audience truly believed that they felt something "spiritual" that night. So do the animists who pound on drums and wear death masks. The pagan drive is strong. Music is a powerful but dangerous medium. (Unfortunately, many talented, religious Jewish musicians allow their emotions to shape their deot, and not the opposite.) 

No religious Jew should ever attend an interfaith concert. Not in a synagogue, or on the beach, or in a night-club. Even if it means missing a rare opportunity to hear a Baptist preacher sing, "L-rd, Get Me High" with Neshama Carlebach. (And what about the kol isha prohibition?)  Ironically, the song was written to bring Jews back to the fold. Considering the setting and the participants, renditions such as this latest one, will surely send many Jews away. And Heaven forbid, they may never come back.


The only way to truly get "high", is to elevate the soul with the intellect, by studying the Torah. The Rambam speaks about a supremely elevated state whereby a perfected man becomes almost "lovesick" (so to speak) for Hakadosh Baruch Hu. This should be the model for the authentic "spiritual experience", unattainable as it probably is, for most of us. An elevated level where one is totally immersed in the knowledge of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Not some "mystical" experience of goyish paganism. Shabbat Shalom.

Another Top Ten List- "Ortho-Feminists": Part I (you never know)

To amuse myself and others, and to irritate the rest. Enjoy.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton? Or a JOFA Member?

Top 10 Signs That You're An "Orthodox-Jewish" Feminist

1. Your favorite "life-cycle event" is the "britah". But if you have to go to a bris, at least you get some nachas hearing the baby scream.
2. You insist that your husband light the Shabbat candles while wearing a skirt.
3. You've altered the morning blessing for your husband, so that he now conveys his gratitude for being "an oppressive, loathsome member of the male species."
4. In the synagogue that you attend, the women are on the main floor while the men hang from the rafters in a chicken coop.
5.  You can do Hagbah with the Torah as good as any man. (No knees either. All in the wrists.)
6. You wear steel-toed combat boots to shul.
7. You frequently criticize the Imahot for not "rising up" against the oppressive fathers. 
8. You consider Betty Freidan's The Feminine Mystique to be a holy book and feature it prominently on your s'forim shelf next to your Tanach.
9. You have a ten foot tall bust of Blu Greenberg in your living room. To the left of the Golda Meir shrine.
10. You wear a "Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance" baseball cap on top of your mullet. (Collector's addition. Comes in a set of six. Good for family outings.) 

Why Did The Feminist Chicken Cross The Road?

"Rabba" Hurwitz with Avi Weiss. 

Q: Why did the feminist chicken cross the road?

A: To daven for the amud at The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale.

It's been a while since I wrote about Avi Weiss, who heads the Hebrew Institute in Riverdale, NY, and whose list of radical innovations in a supposedly "orthodox" synagogue include the recent ordination of a women, Sara Hurwitz, as a "Rabba."  When I last visited this issue, I castigated the Rabbinical Council of America for a weak-kneed response and their failure to throw Weiss out of the organization.The following link contains the RCA's official statement.  Essentially, the RCA told him not to do it again, and he agreed. It's important to note what the RCA did not require of him. They did not demand that Weiss remove the title Rabba from Sara Hurwitz, or remove her from her post. They neglected to deal with the dangerous precedent that even one Rabba represents to Torah Judaism. This concession was a major victory for Weiss and the other ortho-feminists out there. At the end of the day, the Hebrew Institute has a female Rabba. (For more on this subject, read my post, The RCA Is Dead.) As seen by this screen shot from the HIR website, Sara Hurwitz still retains her title.

I wasn't even aware of Weiss's latest outrage, until I stumbled upon an online article from The Jewish Week entitled, "Weiss Moves Beyond Rabba."  The title was appropriate, for indeed Weiss had moved beyond the issue, by allowing a female congregant to lead the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service one Friday night. 

I don't feel like regurgitating the article. Read it yourself and consider the following points that jumped right off the screen at me:

• Just how smug and brazen is Avi Weiss, to take this next descent into the abyss right after a public clash with the RCA? He's making an absolute laughingstock of the RCA, and they have neither the courage nor the intellectual honesty to remove him.

• Consider the contempt he has for many of his former and present congregants, some of whom have already left his congregation, and others who may now reconsider it, after being put off by this latest incident. Avi Weiss does what he wants and the congregation can come along for the ride or leave. Of course there are many sheep in his congregation who will adapt to the innovations of their esteemed rabbi and mentor. In time they may even learn to enjoy it. And then they will hail him as an even greater innovator of "open orthodoxy."

• Surprisingly, Rabbi Shafran of the Agudath Israel of America had mild words about the incident. While obviously opposing these innovations as contrary to yahadut, his response was parve. This is what I got out of Rabbi Shafran's words. "Rabbi Weiss's move saddens me." Really earth-shaking sentiments. I would have expected the condemnation to have some bite. It did not. And for that the Agudah should be ashamed of itself. Of course, in the grander scheme of things,  the Agudah is irrelevant to Avi Weiss. We're talking about two different planets.

• Ironically, Rabbi Shmuel Goldin of the RCA had stronger words on the matter, as seen in the following segment of the article. This makes the RCA's subsequent failure to address the issue even more inexplicable:

Rabbi Shmuel Goldin of Englewood, N.J., a vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America, said RCA leadership is critical of Rabbi Weiss’ action, but has not yet decided on any action it may take.

“A woman serving as shaliachat tzibbur [the cantor] for any portion of synagogue services is unacceptable,” Rabbi Goldin said. “If such a thing occurred, it would obviously be wrong and not in keeping with Orthodox tradition.”

The recent RCA agreement with Rabbi Weiss, in which he agreed not to ordain women, did not foresee and “did not address” a woman leading services, Rabbi Goldin said, so Rabbi Weiss’ action is not in technical violation of the agreement. “The question is, is it a violation of Jewish tradition, and we believe it is.”

Does Rabbi Weiss face disciplining by, or suspension from, the RCA?

“It is premature for us to comment on any particular action that we will be taking,” Rabbi Goldin said, “but all actions are on the table.” 

This article was from August 4, 2010 (one day short of a mere five months after the RCA's "Rabbah statement"). From the tone of Rabbi Goldin's words, it sounded like Weiss was in trouble with the RCA.  I've checked the RCA website. I've clicked on every link and searched the site repeatedly. I don't even see a reference to the incident, let alone a statement reflecting any discipline. I don't know about you, but I find this this very disturbing. (I suspect that one or more philanthropists who support  Weiss and the RCA may have put a damper on any plans to oust him.) The RCA purports to represent "Torah true" Judaism. Yet time and time again, they fail to stand up for the Torah. Exactly how far can Avi Weiss push the envelope before they throw him out? Perhaps when a lesbian "Rabba" blows the shofar following neilah.Then again, maybe not.

Where is the public outrage from Torah leaders? There are striking similarities between orthodoxy's collective  failure to address the menace of Lubavitch messianism that arose after the Rebbe's (of blessed memory) death, and this very different but no less dangerous infection that endangers many segments of the "modern-orthodox" world.

"Separate but equal." An obscenity when it comes to dividing people based on skin color, or absurd notions of race. But in yahadut, separate but equal is essential to the perpetuation of the mesorah (tradition). One could surely argue that the role of the woman is even more essential than the man's. In many aspects I believe this to be true. The Torah requires a separation in roles, both for halachic and hashkafic (idealogical) reasons. And both are critical for the Torah observant Jew. Gender confusion, role reversal, these will prove to be the spiritual death of the Jewish family. Jews will leave the fold in even greater numbers if the fundamentals of our tradition become warped, skewed, and finally abandoned. (When Jonathan's Ema starts behaving like a second Aba, something is bound to go wrong.)

Women are as good as men. And Jewish women are as essential to Judaism as men are. But they are not men, and men are not women. Let women find fulfillment as Jewish women in accordance with the Halachah. And let them not be led astray by the false shepherds, who would sacrifice the flock to the wolves, to satisfy a feminist agenda. 

"Brother Esau" (video footage)

David Haivri (Head of Shomron International Liason Office) 

with Tommy Waller, a x-tian missionary.

Warning: The following is a segment of a video from the x-tian missionary group "Hayovel" (The Jubilee). As seen in this clip, the sneaky idolaters have found a way to infiltrate the Holy Land under the pretext of helping Jewish farmers with their fields and vineyards. Tragically many greedy Jewish farmers accept this halachically prohibited free labor, rather than employ Jews with an honest day's wages. The most outrageous thing of all is that these Jesus freaks are aided by "religious" Jews. At the end of this clip, we can see an outrageous example of this phenomenon. David Haivri is a religious Jew who heads the Shomron International Liaison Office. Yet in this video, Haivri can be seen standing next to Tommy Waller (of the notorious missionizing Waller family, may their names and memories be blotted out!) encouraging (actually inviting) thousands of x-tians to join "The Harvesters." Is he out of his mind? How dare he invite these soul-snatching idolaters into the Holy Land! (Check out the link at Tomer Devorah to learn more about the malevolent Waller family.)  

I was initially going to include an email from Tommy Waller in this post (it was forwarded to me), which betrays his diseased beliefs and intentions. His rambling email is littered with x-tian verses and pagan references as he implores an associate to bring more missionaries to Israel. (To the missionaries out there who fear that Jews have infiltrated their organizations, the answer is yes. From top to bottom.) I decided to omit the email after a friend reminded me of the Halachic problems involved in even posting the message due to the idolatrous "new testament" verses.

• The Un-Kosher Part- "Hayovel" Missionary video

• End of Un-Kosher Section.

The Jewish Fist Commentary: What does the Torah have to say about religious tolerance in the Holy Land? Were there calls to arrange interfaith-meetings with the Canaanites? Let's take a look at the authentic Bible.

Deuteronomy 12:3: "And you shall destroy their name from this place."  

Judges 2:1-2: "'The angel of the L-rd came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, "I made you go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the Land which I swore unto to your fathers, and I said....'You shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land. You shall smash their altars..." 

Altar smashing? Pretty rough stuff. 

If you are a spiritually healthy Jew who is unaffected by 2000 years of exile, this won't bother you. Of course, many Jews are upset by this. They have a name for it. Jewish fundamentalism. Let them take it up with The Almighty. When Jews are in control of the Holy Land, religious pluralism goes out the window. It has nothing at all to do with racism, which is repugnant to Judaism. It has to do with the unique mandate and mission of the Jewish people. In order to spread the knowledge of G-d to the world, we need to have that knowledge ourselves. That requires separation. We need to live alone and apart from the nations of the world.The Torah prohibits gentiles (even when they aren't preying on Jews) from living in Israel unless they accept the conditions of "resident strangers."  Even non-hostile gentiles (with the exception of "resident strangers") have a deleterious effect on the spiritual integrity of the Jewish people.

We have many enemies in Israel. On the one hand we have the Arab Amalekites who want to exterminate us. And then there are the spiritual Nazis who want our souls. Many religious Jews recognize the danger of the former, but not of the latter. An apparent lesion of the brain makes them forget 2000 years of mass slaughter, mutilation, and rape at the hands of Esau, who simply wanted us to kiss the cross. Now that the sword isn't an option (for the time being) they prey on us with love. Esau. Ishmael. They both want to destroy us. It's simple logic:

• Jews without souls are worse off than the dead. 
• Jewish souls without Jewish bodies are usually six feet under the ground. 

We don't need Esau to fight the Ishmaelites. We need to follow the Torah, and purify the land of both types of contagions. The nauseating spectacle of men with kipot (and even peyot!) and women with skirts and mitpachot dancing the hora with missionaries, is as egregious a chillul Hashem as is the failure to throw the Arabs out. Here is an important point to remember. Dancing with idolaters doesn't become kosher, even if the pious pagans put  up a  mechitzha (divider betweeen the sexes). That's akin to eating pork with shmura matzo. 

Shabbat Shalom.

The Hornet's Nest (audio)

MP3 Fil

The haters of G-d, both Jewish and non-Jewish, often portray biblical warfare as an expression of violent degenerates who were mirroring the barbarism of their times. These fools are irrelevant. The Torah is eternal. The various manifestations (both old and new) of gentile morality have no commonality with the authentic truths of Torah. The Halachah is true, even when the law goes against the politically correct grain. I believe in fighting Jewish wars according to Jewish law. The Joshuah of the bible wasn't a primitive, he was a prophet. He was the successor to Moses, the greatest prophet of all, and the most righteous Jew that ever lived. Joshua was following the Halachah. He understood that you have to be merciless towards those who have no mercy, otherwise they will wallow in your blood. The Arabs and Muslims of the world are a testament to this eternal law of the Torah.

Biblical warfare was brutal. That's the way it must be when you fight evil people. Brutality towards the brutal. As the Chosen People, we cannot coexist with barbarians and idolaters. Physically, they are committed to our extermination, spiritually they defile our souls. During  a "milchemet mitzvah" (obligatory war), the Halachah demanded (and demands) total warfare against the enemy. This is the only model for fighting a war against the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people. This is obviously a pipe-dream today, when you consider that the Israel of today is a G-dless state run by Jewish heathens. The "mercy of fools" is the prevailing ideology.

Gaza 2011. Hamas-Land. Let's be honest for a moment. Gaza isn't a civilian region (click on link for video). Bombing Gaza into oblivion is at the very least, the moral equivalent of bombing Dresden during WWII. Now I know that there are sick people today, (many of them Jews) who would have opposed this moral action which ended the war a day earlier than it might have. Anyone with common sense understands that there were no "innocent Germans" in a society that allowed a Hitler to arise, and a Holocaust to consume European Jewry. Similarly, there are no civilians in Gaza today, a place where they distribute candy in the streets whenever some human disease detonates himself in a crowd of Jews. Innocent civilians? They don't exists in Gaza. Let the innocent civilians pick up and leave or revolt, if they disagree with the tactics of Hamas. Otherwise, let them reap the punishment of the Torah.

I am not a ghoul. Despite what my detractors might think, I have no innate blood-lust within me that desires carnage. I value the lives of decent people, including the lives of decent gentiles. But I understand that one cannot live with a genocidal enemy. The recipe for such foolishness is another Holocaust. I am calling for the application of the Halachah, as it was articulated by the sword of King David and codified as the Halachah by Maimonides.

That is why I want to see Gaza drowned in napalm and allowed to burn itself clean. Then we can bring back the dispossessed victims of Sharon's War Crime and allow them to resume their lives. Every shekel of reparation should be paid for by the State. A national sin should be repaired by the institution that committed the sin, not by the generosity of world Jewry. May we see it with our eyes.

Haveil Havalim # 299 Is Up!

Esser Agaroth is back hosting the Haveil Havalim blog carnival. No surprises here. He did an awesome job. Check out Episode # 299!

Jonathan Pollard- Prisoner of Zion (video)

9178 days and counting in captivity. Insanity. Naked antisemitism. A grotesque injustice that must end today. (Although Joe Lieberman disagrees.)


Jonathan Pollard is a genuine  Jewish hero. A man who showed his true loyalty to the Jewish people when confronted with evidence of the U.S. betrayal of Israel. He in turn was betrayed by Israel's weakling when he sought asylum in the embassy. Pollard's lifetime imprisonment exposes the pervasive antisemitism that can be found at the highest levels of the U.S. government. This outrage must end. Let Pollard Go! Every moral politician in America should stand up and demand this of Barack Obama (y'mach sh'mo v'zichro). They will surely be blessed by The Almighty for their efforts.

Rabbi Meir Kahane- A Shiur At YU (audio)

A classic Torah shiur from Rav Meir Kahane (may The Almighty avenge his blood!), that he delivered at Yeshiva University. In this fascinating audio, the Rav enlightens the students on the Halachah of goyim in the land of Israel. A classic lecture, delivered with the Rav's usual brilliance and wit. Essential listening for those who like their Torah undiluted, without resorting to the pilpulistic gymnastics that the PC crazed "modern-orthodox" often use to explain away the Halachah.


MP3 File

The "Tzfat Statement"

The recent statement of the "Tzfat Rabbis", addressing the Halachic prohibition of selling and/or renting property to non-Jews in Israel. (The Arabs are not a separate category.  They are goyim
who do not meet the criteria of Halachic "resident strangers.")

A Pop Quiz For The RCA

Disclaimer: The following post should not be taken as an attack against individual rabbis within the RCA. My problem is with the organization itself, which purports to represent  a segment of the "orthodox Rabbinate", and then releases a statement that is contrary to Halachah. A rabbinical organization has an obligation to formulate a statement from a Torah framework, without resorting to the kind of politically correct nonsense that one expects to hear from the Anti-Defamation League. Naturally, I have zero confidence in the RCA, which leads me to my next point. If there are individual rabbis within the RCA who disagree with the official position, I believe they have an obligation to publicly state their opposition and then rescind their membership. In this manner, they will be able to distance themselves from an egregious desecration of The Almighty's name. As a general rule, in the interest of maintaining respect for the Torah, one should accord respect to the individual rabbis within the RCA (Most of them anyway. Some have gone off the deep end.), despite the collective chillul Hashem of the organization's statement, which cannot go unanswered. Yahadut maintains that whenever there is a desecration of G-d's name, one cannot remain silent.


As Ricky Ricardo would say, the RCA has some "splainin to do." I'm still waiting for a comprehensive Halachic statement from the RCA which addresses the issue of renting and selling property to non-Jews in the land of Israel. After all, they were the ones who interfered when several Tzfat Rabbis stated the Halachic prohibition of selling or renting property to Arabs  in Israel. According to the RCA, the issue is more "complex", yet in their entire statement they neglected to mention even one Torah source. Somehow, I don't think that Rav Soloveitchik (of blessed memory) would have authored such a statement (whatever his position would have been). So much for their commitment to "Halachic Man." So I'm waiting for something more substantial from the RCA. Something with meat in it. Perhaps there are sources that the Tzfat Rabbis are unaware of. I want to see these sources. Don't lecture us, without giving us a proper shiur. 

No. There were no Torah sources, but there were a lot of tired cliches from the PC obsessed RCA. Instead of Halachah, we were lectured on the need to show "special sensitivity to societal realities, widely-held ethical principles, and historical injustices." The RCA noted that, " it is wrong and unacceptable to advocate blanket exclusionary policies directed against minorities of other faiths or ethnic groups. Of all people, Jews should know that such practices are beyond the pale, having ourselves suffered from them in the past." Very moving of course, but what about the Halachah? 

I'm not finished with the RCA. I've got a pop quiz for them. Open book, in fact. It shouldn't be difficult for anyone who underwent the rigors of semicha (rabbinical ordination). The questions may seem a bit disjointed, but I assure you they were chosen with great deliberation. I wrote them because I am concerned with the theoretical mindset behind this recent RCA statement. The purpose of the quiz is to get a sense where they are coming from. Obviously, the "7 Nations" are not around anymore (see question 1) but a response to the question will tell us a lot about the hashkafah of the individual members. To ascertain if they are more modern than orthodox. To gauge their perception of yahadut. (I'm considering emailing this quiz to the RCA, with a request to take my test. I don't expect that any of them will oblige me. Of course, my readers can also print up this post and hand it to their local RCA affiliated Rabbi. With respect of course. Always with respect.) 

The Jewish Fist Pop Quiz: Answer the questions as detailed as possible, citing any and all classical Torah sources that are available. Feel free to bring in the Acharonim.

1. What was the Halachic mandate regarding the "7 Nations", when the Jews first entered Israel? 
2. What were the Jews required to do with the rampant idolatry (temples, altars) ?
3. What is a ger toshav? What are the criteria for becoming a ger toshav?
4. What is the Halachah regarding selling or renting property to non-Jews in Israel? (What did you expect, that I wouldn't ask this?)
5. What is Judaism's classical approach to individuals who want to convert Jews to another faith? 
6. May Jews date or marry non-Jews? 
7. What is a milchemet mitzvah? How does the Halachah instruct us to treat the enemy, during a milchemet mitzvah?
8. In your opinion, was Matityahu, the Hasmonean priest, correct in slaughtering the idolatrous Jew in Modiin? If yes, what halachic justification can be cited for killing a man without following the standard halachic procedure of justice?
9. The Torah speaks of an ongoing war "from generation to generation" against the nation of Amalek, including an eventual final showdown where Amalek is obliterated. How do you rationalize the original mandate (as well as any implications for the future) which calls for collective annihilation against seemingly innocent members of society? In your understanding of the issue, will the future war with Amalek require us to slaughter men, woman, and children? 
10. Is Israel's current democracy consistent with the Halachah? Theoretically, would it be proper for an Arab to become Prime Minister if Israeli demographics were to change? What should a religious Jew do when the secular state of Israel engages in actions that contradict or violate the Torah? May one evict Jews and tear down Jewish homes?

Oh, and one last thing, before I forget. I expect Torah answers to these Torah questions.

We Have Other Plots

A Zionist Candiru Fish

To the Arab and Islamic world, may your names and memories be blotted off the face of the earth.

The Israeli government may choose to deny it, but you know better than that. There really are a thousand, nay ten thousand, international Jewish plots to destroy you. Killer bees, leprosy, earthquakes, termites, the plague, lumbar lung, berry-berry, AIDs, robot vipers, poisonous humus platters, LSD laced pita bread, wild pigs, rabies, yellow-fever, Scarlett fever, botched circumcisions, food poisoning, scurvy, typhoid, herpes, the television program Glee, and the National Basketball Association. Naturally, some of these plots are bound to be discovered. Truth be told, we sometimes release the information ourselves, for the sole purpose of messing with your minds. We are everywhere and anywhere. 

• The Iranians recently discovered that one of our more famous Mossad agents (J.K. Rawlings), authored the Harry Potter novels. It's all an elaborate plot to spread Zionism. Ogres, magic, warlocks. All a metaphor to spread our propaganda. It doesn't matter at this point. The damage is already done. Billions of young Muslim children now adore Golda Meir. 

• The Egyptians found one of our killer sharks in their waters. But they haven't found the 999 other Mossad trained sharks that are waiting to gobble up Egyptians and German tourists. And then of course there are the hundreds of Candiru fish that were recently released in the sea. PS-They have a nasty habit of swimming up the urethra of unsuspecting swimmers. (Biologically engineered, of course, to avoid the Jewish urethra.) Its all part of an elaborate plot to put an end to the Egyptian birthrate once and for all. On a related note, the Nile river is filled with Mossad crocodiles. 

• The Saudis discovered one of our vultures. At first they thought it was a winged Jew. Here's the scoop. We wanted them to capture him. He was a carrier for a unique strain of syphilis which is already spreading to the Saudi masses. We have another treat for the Saudis. There's a radioactive rod planted inside the actual Kaaba itself (courtesy of a specially trained team of microscopic Zionist robots with little drills) which has been causing brain tumors for over 15 years. 

Here's my message to the Islamic and Arab world. I know that you're frightened. You should be. For every Zionist plot that you uncover, a hundred more will go undiscovered. In the meantime, continue to drink your water, and wonder what those damn Jews might have done to it. You don't drink water, you say? How about Turkish coffee? Surely the Mossad couldn't be inside your coffee mug.

Or could they?