Sin City: NY Sinks Even Lower

Queen Elton Loves NY!

The sodomite lobby in America grows stronger every day.  So it should come as no surprise that New York City, the original "Sin City", has plunged into the abyss with the recent legalization of gay marriage. How long will it before the rest of the lib states legalize this sickness? And how long will it be before bestiality, necrophilia, and pedophilia receive the OK?

After all, who are we to judge? 

America has gone the way of European Godlessness, where moral relativism rules the roost. Between this general pursuit of the profane and the monumental sin of cursing the seed of Abraham, America's leaders are ensuring the destruction of their country. Righteous gentiles need to rise up and save their floundering society from the inevitable punishment. They need to reject their idolatry, (whatever version they worship), embrace the 7 Laws of Noah, and spread the message of monotheism to the world. Otherwise, the day will come when Hurricane Katrina will seem like a walk in the park.

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.

The RCA Is (Still) Dead: Part II

"What will the goyim say?"  

Recently, a group of Israeli Rabbis disseminated a letter regarding one aspect of the Halachic status of non-Jews in the land of Israel. They correctly stated that according to the Torah, Jews are prohibited from selling or leasing property to gentiles in the Holy Land. The responses to this honest but politically incorrect statement came from all ends of the political and religious spectrum. The secular leftists condemned the declaration as racist and contrary to democratic values. Unfortunately, there is little to be done with people who have no concept of Torah, and whose ethics are premised on self-indulgence, hedonism, and the diseased ideology of moral relativism. 

The real tragedy in this whole affair is that too many orthodox Rabbis (both in Israel and abroad), publicly condemned this statement and declared it to be a distortion of the Halachah (Jewish law). To my knowledge, these Rabbis consistently neglected to cite even one Torah source to support their position. Regardless of how one chooses to interpret the Halachah (assuming that it is done with intellectual honesty and the fear of Heaven), a Torah scholar always brings a Torah source to validate a position. 

One prominent opponent of the letter in Israel was Rabbi Druckman, who after expressing his own dissatisfaction with the letter, went about revising the statement and drafting a more parve version.  (I don't know whether or not the original group of Tzfat Rabbis agreed to sign the revised "Halachah" or whether they're still standing by their original position. Naturally, if they agreed to follow the latter statement, it would negate their original action.) Several other prominent mamlachti (state-worshiping) Rabbis chimed in with their dissatisfaction. An absolute chillul Hashem (desecration of The Almighty's name).

Religious opponents of the "extremist" letter received a boost from across the Atlantic, when the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) stuck its nose into the affair. Had the RCA stood up for Torah and not the perceived interest of American shtetl Jewry, their interference would have been appreciated. Unfortunately, the RCA took a stand against the Tzfat Rabbis. As the old adage goes, they should have stayed home.

For an excellent treatment of this subject, check out my friend and fellow blogger's post, Esser Agaroth On The RCA. He covers all the bases. But I wanted to make a few comments of my own about this latest disgrace from the RCA. (For some of the RCA's previous "winning moments", see my older posts The RCA Is Dead (audio), and Where Is The RCA?)  In the interest of presenting my objections to this recent RCA position, I have included the entire statement below. My own comments (in blue) follow each paragraph:

Statement on Renting to Non-Jews Tsfat RCA Statement Regarding the Sale or Rental of Property to non-Jews in Israel

Dec 14, 2010 -- The Rabbinical Council of America places great value on the judicious balancing of halachic and ethical principles of policy and action. The brilliance of the halachic tradition lies in its ability to affirm the Torah and rabbinic teachings of past generations, in a way which elevates and ennobles contemporary life, while bringing honor and respect to the Torah. This requires a special sensitivity to societal realities, widely-held ethical principles, and historical injustices. This is true no matter the particular circumstances that might militate in favor of policies or actions intended to protect a narrow community concern or interest.

The Jewish Fist Commentary: A whole lot of pseudo-babble without any Torah sources. The opening statement sounds like it was drafted by the Rabbinical Assembly, which is the international association of Conservative Rabbis. (I've often said that the RCA should drop the "c" and merge with the former group.) It pays homage to Halachic commitment while affirming the need to recognize "societal realities, widely held ethical principles, and historical injustices." Let's be honest. This is really a call for a malleable halachah that can be melted and molded to the times. What they really mean to say is that the Halachic prohibition of selling land to goyim in Israel is somehow affected by the fact that Jews (in America, and elsewhere) refuse to pack their bags and make Aliyah. This statement was written by people who are uncomfortable with an uncompromising politically-incorrect  psak Halachah coming out of the mouths of a minority of Israeli Rabbis. They don't want to be labeled "Jewish fundamentalists" by their goyish American neighbors.

For this reason, the Rabbinical Council of America finds the recent statement by certain rabbinic leaders in Tsfat, Israel, regarding rental and sale of residences to non-Jews, to be objectionable. The halachic issues at hand are indeed complex, and we are surely sympathetic to the impulse to protect a Jewish community in the face of intermarriage, communal conflict, or unsafe neighborhoods. We are also mindful of the need to respect the halachic and policy rulings of rabbis in other countries and specific locales, given their general familiarity with the facts on the ground.

The Jewish Fist Commentary: The Halachic issues are not complex. Playing pilpulisitc gymnastics with the Halachah because it makes you uncomfortable, isn't the definition of a complex issue. On this particular point, the Halachah was as clear to the Chazon Ish as it was to the Rambam. 

Rambam-Laws of Foreign Worship 10 4 [3] 

"One does not sell them houses or fields in Eretz Yisrael; but in Syria one may sell them houses, but not fields. One may rent them houses in Eretz Yisrael, provided that one does not make them a neighborhood -  and there is no neighborhood with less than three [households]. One does not rent them fields; but in Syria one rents them fields. And why were they strict regarding fields? For two reasons -[because they would] expropriate the tithes and be allowed to settle the land."

Keep in mind that there is unanimous agreement among the Rabbinic decisors (from the medieval periods to modern times), that only a ger toshav (Halachic resident stranger) who accepts 'tribute and servitude' can remain in the land.  It is important to note that while there are disagreements among these decisors regarding the exact criteria that must be met for one to be called a ger toshav, no gentile in Israel (Arab or otherwise) fulfills these criteria.

Chazon Ish-In a Letter to Rav Betzalel Zolti, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem (Kovetz Torah Sheb'al Peh, 11 pg. 44)

"I can find no pretext to allow selling land either to a non-Jew or to a Jew suspected of selling land to non-Jews."

Presumably, the RCA has sources that the Chazon Ish was unaware of. They just don't want to disclose them to us.

In spite of all of these considerations, we find it necessary to express our views from afar insofar as the statement in question affects not just Jewish communities in Israel, but communities in North America as well. In addition many rabbis across Israel whom we hold in high regard have spoken out in opposition to the statement.

The Jewish Fist Commentary: Within this statement, we see the typical reaction of shtetl Jews who worry about the goyim of the world. They pick and choose their religious Zionism. On the one hand they acknowledge the great miracles that The Almighty performed (and continues to perform for us) with the creation of the State of Israel. I'm fairly certain that most of the RCA membership would admit that the Israeli wars (past and present) constitute a Milchemet Mitzvah. However, when it comes to applying the Halachah as it pertains to goyim, the RCA suddenly becomes uncomfortable and plays what essentially boils down to as the "Satmar card." You can't upset the goyim before the Messiah arrives on eagles wings. (Of course, if a non-Jew entered Williamsburg and tried to entice Satmar girls to sin, they would hang him from the lampposts. On this issue I applaud the Satmar approach, despite their inconsistency.)

Recently, a group of religious Israeli women (their husbands are Rabbis) came out with a statement urging Jews to refrain from dating Arabs. What does the RCA make of this? Are the issues pertaining to intermarriage too complex to make such a blatant statement, or were these women correct to state what every observant Jew already knows? Isn't the RCA concerned about how American x-tians will react to such intolerant beliefs? If they are, I present Exhibit # 2 for the RCA to merge with the Conservative movement. If they agree with the position, then they need to immediately take the following actions:

• Draft a letter in support of these strong women, regarding the dangers intermarriage poses to the Jewish people.
• Make a retraction  for their recent statement and publicly acknowledge that some issues have to be stated outright regardless of how gentiles will perceive their statements.

It is our view that in spite of the concerns of the authors of the statement, 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. This is especially so, when as in the statement issued by the rabbis in question, the halachic sources and arguments are a matter of debate, and even disagreement. And even were that not the case, it is not at all clear that the principles in question would apply in the State of Israel in the 21st Century.

The Jewish Fist Commentary: First we have an appeal not to use "blanket exclusionary policies against minorities..." Then the authors remind us that we have an obligation as Jews to remember that we suffered from discriminatory practices. First of all, to equate the Halachah with the kind of treatment we received at the hands of our muslim and x-tian hosts is the stuff of nausea. As if the motivations of the proper application of the Halachah have anything in common with the kind of psychopathic hatred that the goyim of the world visited upon us. Furthermore, the fact that we were treated brutally by gentiles doesn't  change the Halachah. For example, the Torah commanded us to wipe out the 7 Nations, despite the fact that we as Jews had already experienced a genocidal enemy known as Amalek. Nevertheless, the obligation to wipe out the 7 Nations (as well as Amalek) stands. Would the RCA like to cut out all sections of Tanach that make us look intolerant? 

We thus respectfully call upon the authors of the statement in question to reconsider their position, in the interest of communal harmony, societal peace, and the public sanctification of God's name, which are as always the hallmarks of the Torah way of life.

The Jewish Fist Commentary: There you have it in a nutshell. The RCA is calling upon Rabbonim to alter the Halachah so that it's more palpable for goyim to digest. It's bad enough that the RCA is unwilling to abandon the American exile and change the name of their organization to the RCI ("I" for Israel). But to call for the sanctification of G-d's name while trampling upon basic Halachic truisms, is another degree of outrage.

I remind the reader that in their entire statement, the RCA did not include one Halachic source. which permits Jews to sell or rent land to non-Jews. The problem is that there are no sources. Throughout history, this issue was never contested by those who know the Halachah. You can be certain that if there was a reliable source, the RCA would have included it. 

The Halachah is clear that the status of the non-Jew (any non-Jew) in Israel is not the same as a Jew. Only within the framework of very strict and specific conditions, (which includes acceptance of tribute and servitude) may a limited number of gentiles reside in Israel under the category of ger toshav. Without this status, no gentile can even remain in the land! This crucial point has been overlooked during this public outcry. The first Halachah that the Tzfat Rabbis (and indeed all Rabbis) should have stated is that gentiles who don't meet the criteria of resident stranger cannot remain in the land. Unfortunately, only Rabbi Meir Kahane (may G-d avenge his blood!) had the courage to state this without apologetics. The whole issue involving the prohibition of selling land to non-Jews only arises in the context of the "resident stranger", who can remain in the land with strict limitations.  Obviously, the murderous, thieving, non-Noahide Arabs do not fall in this Halachic category!

The RCA purports to represent a Torah position.  It's bad enough that they lacked the courage to state the truth.  At the very least they should have remained silent. (Not a high level, to be sure, but light years ahead of where they are now.) Instead we have this tremendous chillul Hashem that will never go away. It doesn't matter that the RCA presented their objections "respectfully" and at least superficially with respect for the Rabbis in question. That was all a veneer. They threw mud at the handful of Rabbis who had the courage to state the Halachic truth. They threw mud at the Torah, when they twisted the Halachah and declared that the impure was pure. Given the prominence of the RCA, another sin they can add to the list, is that they did it in front of the goyim. 

We can learn two important lessons from this affair:

1. After 2000 years of degradation and despair at the hands of gentiles, we have whole communities of neurotic Jews today who behave like grasshoppers. Tragically, this includes learned Rabbis who make Halachic decisions on controversial issues, while ruminating about what goyim will think on the matter. As we've already seen, this is a disease that crosses oceans. In this particular case, the first grasshoppers that chirped were heard in the Holy Land.
2. Anyone who acts like a grasshopper has no business making Halachic decisions, regardless of their intellectual brilliance or Torah accomplishments. Follow the advice of Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Forefathers) carefully. Choose for yourself a rebbe (teacher), not a grasshopper.

The RCA is (still) dead. 

Shabbat Shalom! 

A Jewish Letter To Turkey (audio)

This is the kind of letter you send to Turkey. One of Jewish strength, not the pathetic groveling of a lowly dhimmi.

The Rambam's Legacy-Part I (Audio)

Part I of an analysis of the Rambam's true teachings, which unfortunately have been distorted by many religious Rabbis, whose skewed sense of universalism clashes with authentic Judaism. The 7 Laws of Noach are a good example of this tragic tendency. Many Rabbis delude their followers when they falsely maintain that Muslim's and x-tians are Noachides. Nothing can be further from the truth. Judaism does not recognize any formula for gentiles to obtain spiritual perfection other than the Noachide Laws.

This audio is by no means an anti-"goy" polemic. Yahadut maintains that the righteous of the world are guaranteed a share in the world to come. As a general rule, for the non-Jew, the Noachide Laws are the sole vehicle for obtaining this. Certainly, individual Gentiles may merit reward for their actions independent of whether or not they ever commit themselves to these laws. The Talmud records such instances. Certain actions are by themselves a manifestation of righteousness and sanctifying The Almighty's name, and a gentile may merit reward for engaging in such actions, despite their failure to embrace the Noachide covenant. (Ex. Those who endangered their lives and saved Jews during the Holocaust.) Furthermore, a gentile may die before obtaining the Torah truth. Think of Yitro, a day before his decision to embrace yahadut. The Almighty alone knows what's in a man's heart, and to what extent he committed himself to the pursuit of truth in his lifetime.

Nevertheless, it is a distortion of Halachah to say that x-tianity or Islam is fine for gentiles. The former is still a primitive form of idol-worship, the latter a pagan "monotheism" of blood-worship. Both are usurpers who either suscribe to "replacement theology", or in the case of Islam, a convoluted distortion of history. Ultimately, it is irrelevant. Even a genuine monotheist fails to qualify as a Noachide if he forms a religion, rejects the eternal Jewish covenant with The Almighty, believes in false prophets, or creates his own festivals. All of these are contrary to the Noachide requirements.

Gentiles have an obligation to study and adhere to the 7 Laws of Noach. There is nothing else to say on this matter. As Jews, we have an obligation to embrace the role of teacher as our forefather Abraham did, and spread this universal knowledge to the world. Failure to fulfill this obligation constitutes a Chillul Hashem, that will lead to further distortions from "religious" Rabbis who corrupt the message to temper it's politically incorrect overtones.

More Heresy From "Rabbi" Shlomo Riskin

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEO CONTAINS UN-JEWISH HERETICAL NOTIONS THAT ARE DANGEROUS TO THE JEWISH SOUL. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

It seems that the most prominent leaders of "modern-orthodoxy," Haskel Lookstien, Avi Weiss, and Shlomo Riskin, are having a contest to see who can desecrate G-d's name the most. In their own distinct style, each one is leading their followers into the abyss by engaging in one form or another of "interfaith-dialogue." Ironically, all three profess to be students of Rav Soloveitchik, of blessed memory. I can say with 100% certainty that the "Rav" would be tearing kriyah if he saw this. Rav Soloveitchik was always consistent in his stated position that Jews are prohibited from engaging in any form of religious discussion, debate, or dialogue with members of other faith communities. His so-called students are trampling upon their Rebbe's p'sak Halachah.
Shlomo Riskin's love affair with x-tians is absolute madness. It seems that all he does these days is make videos where he fawns all over them. He even sounds like a missionary when he refers to the dead Jew as "rabbi jesus" and uses such ideologically dangerous terms as "branches" (or "grafting" as he did in a previous video) that are laden with x-tian associations. I'll bet the missionaries are having a field day. Videos such as this are surely being translated and distributed by the thousands to misguided Jews, who are now being told by an "orthodox rabbi" that the accursed one (may his bones be crushed to dust!) was also a "rabbi."

It's impossible to remain silent when yahadut is being rolled through the mud by supposed men of Torah. Not only is everything and anything related to "jesus" un-kosher, it is the epitome of chillul Hashem. There is no commonality whatsoever between Judaism and any other faith on earth. Not one iota of commonality exists with a lunatic theology that stole it's basic motifs from the pages of the most ancient pagan books and worships a pagan man-god. There is no common ethic between yahadut and a theology that believes that only by blindly accepting the dead one as a savior can we find salvation. The x-tian faith is a blatant rejection of the Noachide covenant. They are idolaters. Is Riskin such a child that he cannot see through the ruse of these sneaky people, who support Israel solely because they believe the "second coming" is upon us?

May The Almighty grant Jews the wisdom to see these dangerous men for who they are, and the courage and strength to combat them, before they destroy more Jewish souls. The day will come when Shlomo Riskin will have to answer for his original support of the Oslo Accords that resulted in so much Jewish bloodshed. Now he has another sin to answer for. The destruction of untold numbers of Jewish souls, that will surely result from his insane love-fest with the descendants of Edom.

While the Arab Amalekites continue to try to wipe us out, the missionaries are enjoying unprecedented success in their eternal war with the Jewish soul. Tragically, the physical and spiritual enemies of Judaism are being aided by so many representatives of the "modern-orthodox" mixed-multitude, who use their pulpits to help them carry out their insidious plans. With Chief Rabbis such as these, who needs enemies?

Another Winner Visits Yasuf

Another prominent leader of the "modern-orthodox" camp of religious pluralists pays a visit to the Arab occupied town of Yasuf.

Rabbi Meir Kahane Memorial- Video and Analysis

*Please read the addendum following the video footage, for a critical analysis of this event that I neglected to provide when I originally posted it.*

This video speaks for itself. Now and then a righteous man rises up among the gentiles. Here's an extraordinary video of a non-Jewish preacher honoring the Torah and Rabbi Meir Kahane (may G-d avenge his blood!) at a recent memorial for the Rav. May he be strengthened and blessed in his mission of truth.

Thanks to Yekutiel Ben Yaakov of the VOJ Newsletter for posting a link to this video. To subscribe to his fascinating newsletter: voj-subscribe@israelnewszone.com

Visit www.AllYisrael.com

"The seal of G-d is truth."

Addendum: "The Jewish Fist" blog is dedicated to perpetuating those core ideas of yahadut that are ignored, distorted, and have become corrupted by Jews. I want the reader to know that I do not consider myself infallible. If I am wrong about something, or upon further contemplation I come to the conclusion that an issue is more complex than I previously expressed in a post, I will always follow-up with a correction, re-assessment, clarification or whatever is necessary. I will surely follow up with any Rabbonim if I require additional input that I may be lacking. This video presented such a situation.

My previous comments about Pastor Manning did not address the question of whether it was even halachically appropriate or permissible for the preacher to speak in front of the synagogue assembly, no matter how well his intentions were. When I first saw the video, I had several fleeting questions in my head. Why was he speaking in a synagogue? Was this proper? I neglected to reflect on them sufficiently. I think that initially I assumed that he was either a former preacher or one whose views departed radically from traditional church theology. In the video, the pastor himself expressed ideas about other practitioners of his faith in a negative light, which may have led me to this premature conclusion. Once the video started, I was more focused on what he said. It was only after reading an article from Ariel Ben Yochanan of "The Torah Revolution" blog and engaging in some back and forth dialogue that I properly reflected on some key points. The following comment to Ariel explains my rationalization for why I originally posted the video:

"I posted this video on my blog. I was impressed to hear a black preacher express sentiments that are a rarity from the gentile community, not to mention the black community which unfortunately has more than it's share of race-baiters and bigots. You raise some excellent points though that should be addressed. I agree that it was halachically problematic to have a preacher speak in the shul. Was he invited or did he ask to speak? Had he proselytized from the pulpit that would have constituted an unimaginable chillul Hashem. From what I saw he did not. I agree that his praise for the Torah doesn't mesh with the fact that he remains a worshiper of the dead Jew. If he follows what he is saying, the only logical path is to become a Bnai Noach. I think that the next time I am in the states I will try to meet with this preacher. If he agrees to meet with me, I will thank him for his support but will point out to him that the only true path for him is to abandon the idolatry of his faith and follow the Laws of Noah.

Nevertheless, I don't believe we should throw this man to the dogs. Clearly he has found some truths. The only question is will he be honest with himself and truly finish his work. The strong Jewish approach is to take the "hirhur tshuvah" that this man may have started and light a fire underneath it. The true Jewish path is to do exactly as he himself said, not apologize for the Torah, but rather state the absolute facts to his face as the Rav himself would have done."

I want to emphasize that my initial reaction was not the result of any personal excitement that most nebbish Jews get when a gentile says some things that are true. Personally, I suffer from no such burning need to be loved or rebuked from well-intended gentiles "telling it like it is" to the Jew.

Upon further contemplation, I decided to watch the video again. I ended up watching it several more times, and I discovered certain things that made me uncomfortable. I want to reiterate that I believe the preacher's intentions were noble. Nevertheless, what I heard and saw seemed to me to be an outright violation of the Torah's prohibition of "engaging" in any form of interfaith dialogue. I understand that it was not a real dialogue, but what it amounted to was some recognition of a "level playing field" between the two faiths, as well as what may be understood as a type of "preaching" from the synagogue pulpit. Here are some examples that concerned me. Pastor Manning noted himself that this was the first time that he was "preaching" in front of a synagogue. I don't believe it was mere semantics. After all, he is a preacher, and his world view and outlook is shaped by his faith regardless of what he states. I am concerned that his speech inadvertently became a forum to articulate ideas through a ch**-ological framework. I cannot get past this very real concern.

Another issue that bothered me was his warm invite to the Jewish attendees of the memorial to visit his church in Harlem, particularly his invite to a Jewish individual (cantor?) attending the memorial who apparently sang two songs which he enjoyed. Clearly, there were no ground rules of "non-reciprocity" and the pastor was obviously unaware that a religious Jew may not enter another faith's house of worship. (Haskel Lookstien aside.) The fact that there were Rabbis present makes it much worse.

Although Pastor Manning only referenced the "Old Testament", it must be stated outright that he is still committed to a faith which the Rambam defines as an idolatrous one. See uncensored version of the Rambam, Hilchot Avodat Kochavim.. (9:4), and his Commentary on the Mishna (Avodah Zarah 1:3). As Ariel points out in the following link, a look at his church's beliefs ( a little research via the web) shows that they have a long to go before rejecting the basic tenets of their faith. With permission from Ariel I am posting a link to his thought provoking article. Kol Hakavod to him for raising several critical points:

http://thetorahrevolution.blogspot.com/2009/12/black-preacher-from-harlem-praises.html

In summation, I believe that Pastor Manning should be praised for his support of the Jewish people and the Rav. Nevertheless, upon careful review of the incident, there is no doubt in my mind that it was halachically problematic and very likely a violation of the Torah, for him to speak at the memorial. I am now certain that what transpired was an unintended chillul Hashem. I do not blame him. The organizers dropped the ball on this one. Nevertheless, the pastor has work to do. Despite what some rabbinical pluralistic Hellenists state, his particular faith is not "okay for gentiles" as one often hears. He has an obligation to abandon his worship of the dead Jew and become a Ben Noach.

I am not comfortable with what happened. Gentiles have an obligation to find the Torah truth. To the extent that they are on the path to truth (a truth they may never fully attain), The Almighty alone will judge them. In this case, the reverend should be firmly encouraged to follow the logical conclusion of his arguments and listen to what the Torah really says. Rise up, be courageous, and sanctify The Almighty's name by becoming a leader of the "Sons of Noach". Only then would it be appropriate for him to speak in front of Jews, regarding matters of faith. May the pastor find the truth of yahadut in his lifetime and perpetuate it among his followers.

*On an unrelated note, I didn't make the connection right away that this was the same "Pastor Manning" who made numerous derogatory comments (and hilarious ones, if you ask me) about Barak Hussein Obama (y'mach sh'mo v'zichro) prior to the last election.