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The Talmud
Judaism's holiest book Unmasked
The Secret Jewish Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians
By
Rev. I. B. Pranaitis
Roman Catholic Priest; Master of Theology and Professor of the Hebrew Language
at the Imperial Ecclesiastical Academy of the Roman Catholic Church in Old St. Petersburg.
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St. Petersburg Printing office of the Imperial Academy of Sciences 1892
IMPRIMATUR
St. Petersburg, April 13, 1892
KOZLOWSKY
Archbishop Metropolitan of Moghileff
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ANTIPHONE
"Let our writings be open to all people. Let them see what out moral code is like! We need not be afraid of this test, for we
have a pure heart and a clean spirit. Let the nations investigate the habitations of the children of Israel, and of their own accord
convince themselves of what they are really like! They will then exclaim for certain with Balaam, when he went out to curse Israel: 'How beautiful are thy tents O Israel: how beautiful thy homes!'
"In its attitude towards non-Jews, the Jewish religion is the most tolerant of the the religions in the world.... The precepts of the
ancient Rabbis, though inimical to Gentiles, cannot be applied in any way to Christians."
"A whole series of opinions can be quoted from the writings of the highest Rabbinical authorities to prove that these teachers
inculcated in their own people a great love and respect for Christians, in order that they might look upon Christians, who
believe in the true God, as brothers, and pray for them."
"We hereby declare the the Talmud does not contain anything inimical to Christians."
PROLOGUE
Many people who are interested in the Jewish question are wont to ask whether or not there is anything in the Talmud which is not beautiful and sublime, and entirely removed from anything like hatred of Christians. The confusion of opinion about the matter is so great, that to listen to those who argue so wisely about it, you would think that they were discussing a very ancient and remote race of people, and not the people of Israel who live in our midst according to an unchanging moral code by which the religious and social life of the Jews has been regulated to this day.
This being so, I have undertaken to show what the Talmud really teaches about Christians, and thus satisfy the wishes of those who desire to find out about this doctrine from genuine original sources.
To this end I have translated the best known Talmudic books which refer to the Christians, and have arranged these sources in such order as to bring out clearly the picture of a Christian as represented to the Jews by the Talmud.
Lest I be accused of using a corrupted text of the Talmud or of not having interpreted it correctly, as is generally the case with those who have attempted to disclose secret Jewish teachings, I have placed the Hebrew text opposite the Latin.
I have divided the whole into two sections, the first of which treats of the teachings of the Talmud about Christians, and the other, the rules which Jews are obliged to follow when living among the Christians.
I preface these with a brief discussion about the Talmud itself in the following chapter.
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THE TALMUD
The Talmud gets its name from the word Lamud - taught, and means The Teaching. By metonymy it is taken to mean the book which contains the Teaching, which is called Talmud, that is, the doctrinal book which alone fully expounds and explains all the knowledge and teaching of the Jewish people.
As to the origin of the Talmud, the Rabbis regard Moses as its first author. They hold that, besides the written law which Moses received from God on Mount Sinai on tables of stone, which is called Torah Schebiktab, he also received
interpretations of it, or the oral law, which is called Torah Shebeal Peh. They say that this is the reason why Moses
remained so long on the mountain, as God could have given him the written law in one day.
Moses is said to have transmitted this oral law to Joshua; Joshua in turn to the seventy Elders; the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets to the Great Synagogue. It is held that it was later transmitted successively to certain Rabbis until it was no longer possible to retain it orally.
Whatever may be said about this story of the Rabbis, it is sufficiently known to us that before the birth of Christ, schools existed in Palestine in which sacred literature was taught. The commentaries of the Doctors of the law were noted down on
charts and lists as an aid to memory, and these, when collected together, formed the beginnings of the Jewish Talmud.
In the second century after Christ, Rabbi Jehuda who, because of the sanctity of his life, was called The Saint, and The Prince,
realizing that the learning of the Jews was diminishing, that their oral law was being lost, and that the Jewish people were being
dispersed, was the first to consider ways and means of restoring and preserving their oral law. He collected all the lists and charts and from them he made a book which was called the Sepher Mischnaioth, or Mischnah - a Deuterosis, or secondary
law. He divided it into six parts, each of which was divided into many chapters. We shall consider these later.
The Mischnah is the foundation and the principal part of the whole Talmud. This book was accepted by the Jews everywhere and was recognized as their authentic code of law. It was expounded in their Academies in Babylon - at Sura, Iumbaditha and
Nehardea - and in their Academies in Palestine - at Tiberias, Iamnia and Lydda.
As their interpretations increased with the passing of time, the disputations and decisions of the doctors of the law concerning the Mischnah were written down, and these writings constituted another part of the Talmud called the Gemarah.
These two parts are so disposed throughout the whole Talmud that the Mischnah serves first as a kind of text of the law, and is
followed by the Gemarah as an analysis of its various opinions leading to definite decisions.
All the precepts of the Mischnah, however, were not discussed in the Jewish schools. Those whose use was nullified by the
destruction of the Temple, and those whose observation was possible only in the Holy Land were not commented upon. Their
explanation was left until the coming of Elias and the Messiah. For this reason some parts of the Mischnah are lacking in the Gemarah.
In interpreting the Mischnah of Rabbi Jehuda, the schools of Palestine and Babylon followed each their own method, and by thus following their own way gave rise to a twofold Gemarah - the Jerusalem and the Babylonian versions. The author of the Jerusalem version was Rabbi Jochanan, who was head of the synagogue in Jerusalem for eighty years. He wrote thirty-nine
chapters of commentaries on the Mischnah which he compiled in the year 230 A.D.
The Babylonian Gemarah, however, was not compiled by any one person, nor at any one time. Rabbi Aschi began it in 327
A.D and labored over it for sixty years. He was followed by Rabbi Maremar about the year 427 A.D., and it was completed by Rabbi Abina about the year 500 A.D. The Babylonian Gemarah has thirty-six chapters of interpretations.
This twofold Gemarah, added to the Mischnah, makes also a twofold Talmud: The Jerusalem version, which, on account of its
brevity and obscurity, is not much used; and the Babylonian version, which has been held in the highest esteem by Jews of all times.
The Gemarah is followed by additions called Tosephoth. It was thus that Rabbi Chaia first styled his opinions on the Mischnah
which were made by the doctors outside the schools were called Baraietoth, or extraneous opinions.
These Commentaries were further supplemented by other decisions called Piske Tosephoth, short theses and simple principles.
For nearly five hundred years after the Babylonian Talmud was completed, the study of literature was greatly hampered partly
due to public calamities and partly owing to dissensions among the scholars. But in the eleventh century others wrote further additions to the Talmud. Chief among these were the Tosephoth of Rabbi Ascher.
Besides these there appeared the Perusch of Rabbi Moische ben Maimon, called by the Jews Rambam for short, by the
Christians Maimonides, and by Rabbi Schelomo, Iarchi or Raschi.
Thus, the Mischna, Gemarah, Tosephoth, the marginal notes of Rabbi Ascher, the Piske Tosephoth and the Perusch
Hamischnaioth of Maimonides, all collected into one, constitute a vast work which is called the Talmud.
The main parts of the Talmud, which we mentioned above, are six:
ZERAIM: concerning seeds. It treats of seeds, fruits, herbs, trees; of the public and domestic use of fruits, of different
seeds, etc.
MOED: concerning festivals. It treats of the time when the Sabbath and other festivals are to begin, ended and celebrated.
NASCHIM: concerning women. It treats of marrying and repudiating wives, their duties, relations, sicknesses, etc.
NEZIKIN: concerning damages. It treats of damages suffered by men and animals, penalties and compensations.
KODASCHIM: concerning holiness. It treats of sacrifices and various sacred rites.
TOHOROTH: concerning purifications. It treats of the soiling and purifying of vessels, bedclothes and other things.
Each of these six parts, which the Jews call Schishah Sedarim - six orders or ordinances - is divided into books or tracts, called Massiktoth, and the books into chapters, or Perakim.
ZERAIM. Contains eleven books or Masechtoth.
1. BERAKTOTH - Benedictions and prayers. Treats of liturgical rules.
2. PEAH - Corner of a field. Treats of the corners and gleanings of the filed...The olives and grapes to be left to the poor.
3. DEMAI - Doubtful things. Whether or not tithes must be paid on such.
4. KILAIM - Mixtures. Treats of various mixings of seeds.
5. SCHEBIITH - the Sevents. Treats of the Sabbatical Year.
6. TERUMOTH - Offerings and Oblations. The Heave offerings for the priests.
7. MAASEROTH - the Tithes, to be given to the Levites.
8. MAASER SCHENI - the Second Tithe.
9. CHALLAH - the Dough, the portion to be given thereof to the Priests.
10. ORLAH - the Uncircumcised. Treats about the fruits of a tree during the first three years after its plantings.
11. BIKKURIM - the First Fruits to be brought to the Temple.
MOED. Contains twelve Books or Masechtoth.
1. SCHABBATH - the Sabbath. Treats of kinds of work prohibited on that day.
2. ERUBHIN - Combinations. Contains precepts about food for the Sabbath eve.
3. SCHEKALIM - Passover. Treats of the laws relating to the Feast of Passover and the Paschal Lamb.
4. SCHEKALIM - Shekel. Treats of the size and weight of the shekel.
5. IOMA - the Day of Atonement. Treats of prescriptions for that Day.
6. SUKKAH - the Tabernacle. Treats of the laws concerning the feast of Tabernacles.
7. BETSAH - the Egg of the Day of Feast. Treats of the kind of work prohibited and permitted on the festivals.
8. ROSCH HASCHANAH - New Year. Treats of the Feast of New Year.
9. TAANITH - Fasts. Treats of public fasts.
10. MEGILLAH - the Scroll. Treats of the reading of the Book of Esther. Contains the description of the Feast of Purim.
11. MOED KATON - Minor Feast. treats of laws relating to the days intervening between the first and last days of
Pesach and Succoth.
12. CHAGIGAH - Comparison of rites on on the three feats of Pesach, Sukkoth and Tabernacles.
NASCHIM. Contains seven Books or Masechtoth.
1. JEBBAMOTH - Sisters in Law. Treats of Levirate marriage.
2. KETHUBOTH - Marriage Deeds. Treats of dower and marriage settlements.
3. KIDDUSCHIN - Betrothals.
4. GITTIN - booklet on Divorces.
5. NEDARIM - Vows. Treats of vows and their annulment.
6. NAZIR - the Nazarite. Treats of the laws concerning the Nazarites and those who separate themselves from the world and consecrate themselves to God.
7. SOTAH - the Woman suspected of adultery.
NEZIKIN. Contains ten Books or Masechtoth.
1. BABA KAMA - First Gate. Treats of Damages and Injuries and their remedies.
2. BABA METSIA - Middle Gate. Treats of laws concerning found property, concerning trust, concerning buying and
selling, lending, hiring and renting.
3. BABA BATHRA - Last Gate. Treats of laws concerning real estate and commerce, mostly based on the traditional
law. Also concerning hereditary succession.
4. SANHEDRIN - Courts. Treats of the courts and their proceedings, and the punishment of capital crimes.
5. MAKKOTH - Stripes. The 40 stripes (minus one) inflicted on criminals.
6. SCHEBUOTH - Oaths. Treats different kinds of oaths.
7. EDAIOTH - Testimonies. Contains a collection of traditional laws and decisions gathers from the testimonies of the
distinguished teachers.
8. HORAIOTH- Decisions. Treats of the sentences of Judges and the punishment of transgressors.
9. ABHODAH ZARAH - Idolatry.
10. ABHOTH - Fathers. Treats of laws of the fathers. It is called also PIRKE ABHOTH.
KODASCHIM. Contains eleven Books or Masechtoth.
1. ZEBBACHIM - Sacrifices. Treats of animal sacrifices and the mode of their offering.
2. CHULIN - Profane things. Treats of the traditional manner of slaughtering animals for ordinary use.
3. MENACHOTH - Meat-offerings. Treats of meat-and-drink offerings.
4. BEKHOROTH - the First Born. Treats of the laws concerning the first born of man and animals.
5. ERAKHIN - Estimations. Treats of the mode in which persons dedicated to the Lord by a vow arel legally appraised
in order to be redeemed.
6. TEMURAH - Exchange. Treats of the laws concerning sanctified things having been exchanged.
7. MEILAH - Trespass, Sacrilege. Treats of the sins subject to the punishment of excision, and their expiation by
sacrifices.
8. KERITHUTH - Excisions - Treats of the sins subject to the punishment of excision, and their expiation by sacrifices.
9. TAMID - the Daily Sacrifice- Describes the Temple services connected with the daily morning and evening offerings.
10. MIDDOTH - Measurements. Describes the measurements and description of the Temple.
11. KINNIM - the Birds' Nests. Treats of the sacrifices consisting of fowls, the offerings of the poor, etc.
TOHOROTH. Contains twelve Books or Masechtoth.
1. KELLIM - Vessels. Treats of the conditions under which domestic utensils, garments, etc. receive ritual cleanness.
2. OHOLOTH - Tents. Treats of tents and houses, and how polluted and purified.
3. NEGAIM - Plagues. Treats of the laws relating to Leprosy.
4. PARAH - the Heifer. Treats of the laws concerning the red heifer and the use of its ashes for the purification of the
unclean.
5. TOHOROTH - Purifications. Treats of some lesser degrees of uncleanness lasting only until sunset.
6. MIKVAOTH - Wells. Treats of the conditions under which wells and reservoirs are fit to be used for ritual
purifications.
7. NIDDAH - Menstruation. Treats of the legal uncleanness arising from certain conditions in women.
8. MAKSCHIRIN - Preparations. Treats of liquids that prepare and dispose seeds and fruits to receive ritual
uncleanness.
9. ZABHIM - Concerning nightly pollution and gonorrhea. Treats on the uncleanness arising from such secretions.
10 TEBHUL IOM - Daily washing.
11. IADAIM - Hands. Treats of the ritual uncleanness of hands, according to the traditional law, and of their purification.
12. OKETSIN - Stalks of fruit. Treats of stalks and shells of fruit as conveying ritual uncleanness.
The complete Talmud contains 63 books in 524 chapters.
Added to these are four other shorts tracts, which have not been included in the regular Talmud. They have been added by
later writers and exponents.
These four are:
MASSEKHETH SOPHERIM - the Tract of Scribes. Treats of the mode of writing the books of the law. Has 21 chapters.
EBHEL RABBETI - a large treatise on Mourning. Has 14 chapters.
KALLAH - the Bride. On the acquisition of the bride. Has one chapter.
MASSEKHETH DEREKH ERETS - the Conduct of Lide. Divided into RABBAH - major parts, and ZUTA - the minor parts. Has 16 chapters. At the end is added a special chapter - PEREK SCHALOM - on Peace.
Since the Talmud was such a voluminous and disordered work, there was a need of a compendium which would facilitate its
study. To supply this need, therefore, Rabbi Isaac ben Jacob Alphassi, in 1032, published a Shorter Talmud, which he called
Halakhoth - Constitutions. He omitted all lengthy discussions and preserved only those parts which had to do with the practical things of life. Since this work, however, had no order to it, it was not considered of great worth.
The first to issue a well ordered work on Jewish Law was Maimonides, styled the "Eagle of the Synagogue." In 1180 he
produced his celebrated work Miscnhah Torah - Repetition of the Law, also called Iad Chazakah - the Strong Hand. It contains four parts or volumes and 14 books and includes the whole Talmud. Maimonides also included much philosophical discussion in this work and attempted to establish many laws of his own. Because of this he was excommunicated by his people
and condemned to death. He fled to Egypt where he died in the year 1205.
In spite of this, the value of his work increased in time, and for a while an expurgated version was held in the highest esteem by the Jews. A drawback to this work is that it contains many laws which were of no value after the destruction of the Temple.
An edition of the work of Maimonides, expurgated of all his philosophical innovations and of all the old, useless laws, was edited in 1340, in strict accord with the ideas of the Rabbis, by Jacob ben Ascher, to which he gave the name Arbaa Turim
- The Four Orders, which are:
ORACH CHAIIM: The seeds of Life, and treats of the daily life in the home and in the Synagogue.
IORE DEAH: which teaches knowledge about foods, purifications and other religious laws.
CHOSCHEN HAMMISCHPAT: private judgments about civil and criminal laws.
EBHEN HAEZER: The Rock of Help, which treats of the laws of marriage.
Since Alphasi, Maimonides and Jacob ben Ascher disagreed on many points, which gave rise to different interpretations of the
same law, there was great need of a book which would contain short, concise solutions to controversies, and which would
supply to the Jewish people a law book worthy of the name.
Joseph Karo, a Rabbi of Palestine (born 1488, died 1577), supplied this need by his celebrated commentary on the Arbaa Turim, which he called Schulchan Arukh - the Prepared Table. Since, however, the customs of oriental Jews differed greatly
from those
of western Jews, even the Schulchan Arukh, of Joseph Karo did not suffice for Jews everywhere. And for this reason
Rabbi Mosche Isserles wrote a commentary on the Schulchan Arukh, entitled Darkhe Mosche, the Way of Moses,
which received the same acceptance in the West as the work of Joseph Karo in the East.
At the present time, the Schulchan Arukh is regarded as the obligatory Law Code of the Jews, and they use it principally in
their studies. Many commentaries have been written on each part of this book.
An important point to note is that this work has always been regarded by the Jews as holy. They have always held it, and still
hold it, as more important than the Sacred Scriptures.The Talmud itself shows this very clearly:
In the tract Babha Metsia, fol. 33a, we read:
"Those who devote themselves to reading the Bible exercise a certain virtue, but not very much; those who study the Mischnah
exercise virtue for which they will receive a reward; those, however, who take upon themselves to study the Gemarah exercise
the highest virtue."
Likewise in the tract Sopherim XV, 7, fol. 13b:
"The Sacred Scriptures is like water, the Mischnah wine, and the Gemarah aromatic wine.
The following is a well-known and highly praised opinion in the writings of the Rabbis:
"My son, give heed to the words of the scribes rather than to the words of the law."
The reason for this is found in the tract Sanhedrin X, 3, f.88b:
"He who transgresses the words of the scribes sins more gravely than the transgressors of the words of the law."
Also when there are differences of opinion between the Law and the doctors, both must be taken as the words of the Lord God.
In the tract Erubhin, f.13b, where it is related that there was a difference of opinion between the two schools of Hillel and Schamai, it is concluded that:
"The words of both are the words of the living God."
In the book Mizbeach, cap. V, we find the following opinion:
"There is nothing superior to the Holy Talmud."
Contemporary defenders of the Talmud speak of it almost in the same way.
What Christians have thought of the Talmud is amply proved by the many edicts and decrees issued about it, by which the supreme rulers in Church and State proscribed it many times and condemned this sacred Secondary Law Code of the Jews
to the flames.
In 553 the Emperor Justinian forbade the spread of the Talmudic books throughout the Roman Empire. In the 13th century "Popes Gregory IX and Innocent IV condemned the books of the Talmud as containing every kind of vileness and
blasphemy against Christian truth, and ordered them to be burned because they spread many horrible heresies."
Later, they were condemned by many other Roman Pontiffs - Julius III, Paul IV, Pius IV, Pius V, Gregory XIII, Clement VIII,
Alexander VII, Benedict XIV, and by others who issued new editions of the Index of Forbidden Books according to the orders of the Fathers of the Council of Trent, and even in our own time.
At the beginning of the 16th century, when the peace of the Church was disturbed by new religions, the Jews began to distribute the Talmud openly, aided by the art of printing then recently invented. The first printed edition of the whole Talmud, containing all its blasphemies against the Christian religion, was published in Venice in the year 1520. And almost all Jewish
books published in that century, which was favorable to them, are complete and genuine.
Towards the end of the 16th century and at the beginning of the 17th, when many famous men undertook diligently to study the
Talmud, the Jews, fearing for themselves, began to expunge parts of the Talmud which was published at Basle in 1578 has
been mutilated in many places.
And at Synod in Poland, in the year 1631, the Rabbis of Germany and many other countries declared that nothing which would
annoy the Christians and cause persecution of Israel, should be printed. For this reason there are signs of many things missing in
the Jewish books which were published in the following century and thereafter. The Rabbis explain from memory what these
things mean, for they possess the genuine books which Christians rarely see.
However, Jewish books were published later with very few mutilations in Holland - where the Jews who were expelled from Spain were kindly received. The Talmud published there in 1644 - 1648 is almost similar to the Venetian edition.
The latest device invented to deceive the censors was to insert the word haiah (was) with the genuine text, as if to indicate that the matter in question once had its place there. But by so doing they only cleanse the outside of the cup. For in many places
they do show what they mean, ex.gr. by the words gam attah, "even now," viz. "this law obliges"; and aphilu bazzeman
hazzeh, "even to this day" viz. "this law holds," and such like.
We must add a few remarks about that other very well known book of the Jews, called the ZOHAR.
According to some Rabbis, Moses, after he had been instructed in the interpretation of the law on Mount Sinai, did not pass
this information to Joshua nor he to the Elders, but to Aaron, Aaron to Eleazer, and so on until the oral teachings had been put
into book form called the ZOHAR, so called from the name ZEHAR, meaning to shine forth. For it is an illustration of the
books of Moses, a commentary on the Pentateuch.
The author is said to have been R. Schimeon ben Jochai, a disciple of R. Akibha who, fifty years after the destruction of the Temple, ended his life as a martyr about the year 120 A.D. in Hadrian's war against the Jews. Since, however, names of men
appear in this book who lived many centuries after the year indicated, and since neither Rambam (R. Mosche ben Nachman),
nor R. Ascher, who died about the year 1248 A.D., make no mention of it, it is more likely that those are nearer the truth who
say that the book of Zohar first saw the light about the 13th century. Especially is this considered likely since about this time a
book was produced which is similar in argument and style to the Chaldaic type of writing.
It consists of three volumes in large octavo.
Many other works have been published by the Jewish teachers which are used in the study of Jewish law, and which are held in
high esteem since they explain many obscure passages in the Talmud. Some of them are cited in this book, and are as follows:
BAR - Declaration, elucidation, Commentary on another Commentary. These declarations differ from one another.
HALAKOTH - usually written HILKHOTH - Decisions or Dissertations. Separate books of Holy Scriptures and of the Talmud by different Rabbis: Maimonides, Beshai, Edels, Moses of Kotzen, Kimchi and others. In most cases citations are
given from HILKOTH AKUM by Maimonides. These contain dissertations on stars and planets and the status of nations.
There is another -
HILKOTH MAAKHALOTH ASAVOROTH - dissertation about forbidden foods.
IUCHASIN or SEPHER IUCHASIN - dissertations on lineage. Treats of Sacred and Jewish history from the beginning of the
world until 1500. Printed at Cracow, 1580.
JALKUT - a collected commentary from various ancient books. Supposed to have not a literal but allegorical meaning.
Author: Rabbi Shimeon of Frankfurt.
KED HAKKEMACH - Barrel of flour. Contains places of theological communities in alphabetical order. Author: Rabbi
Bechai of Lublin.
MAGEN ABRAHAM - Shield of Abraham. Author: Perizola.
MIZBEACH HAZZAHABH - the Golden Altar. A Cabalistic book. Author: R. Schelomon ben Rabbi Mordechai. Printed at
Basle, in 1602.
MACHZOR - a Cycle. Book of Prayers used on great festivals.
MENORATH HAMMAOR - Candlestick of light. A Talmudic book. Contains Aggadoth and Medraschim. i.e., allegorical
and historical comments on the entire Talmud. Author: Rabbi Isaac Abhuhabh. Printed in 1544.
MAIENE HAIESCHUAH - Fountains of the Savior. An exquisite Commentary on Daniel by Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel.
There are numerous disputations against Christians. Printed in 1551.
MIKRA GEDOLAH - the Great Convocation. A Hebrew Bible with commentaries by R. Salomon Iarchi and R. Ezra.
MASCHMIA IESCHUAH - The Preacher of Salvation. Explanations on all the Prophets. On future redemption.
Author: R. Abarbanel.
NIZZACHON - Victory. Attacks on Christians and on the Four Gospels. Author: Rabbi Lipman. Printed in 1559.
SEPHER IKKARIM - Book on fundamentals or articles of faith. It contains one very bitter attack against the Christian faith.
EN ISRAEL - the Eye of Israel. A celebrated book. Has a second part - BETH JAKOBH - the House of Jacob. Embraces
the most delightful Talmudic histories. Printed in Venice, in 1547.
SCHAARE ORAH - the Gates of Light. A most celebrated Cabalistic book. Author: Ben Joseph Gekatilia.
SCHEPHAA TAL - Abundance of Dew. A Cabalistic book. A key to the book of Zohar and other similar books. Author:
Rabbi Schephtel Horwitz of Prague.
TOLDOTH IESCHU - the Generations of Jesus. A little pamphlet full of blasphemies and maledictions. Contains the history of
Christ. Full of false and deceiving manifestations.
In preparing this booklet I have used the following source material:
The TALMUD. Edition of Amsterdam, 1644-48, in 14 volumes.
SCHULKHAN ARUKH, by Rabbi Joseph Karo. Edition of Venice, 1594. Without commentaries.
IORE DEAH. Numerous quotations. Edition of Krakow.
ZOHAR. Edition of Amsterdam, 1805. 3 volumes.
MIKRA GEDOLAH. Edition of Amsterdam, 1792, 12 volumes, edition of Basle, 1620, 2 volumes, edition of Venice.
HILKHOTH AKUM, of R. Maimonides, edition by Vossius, 1675
As auxillary works I have used:
JOANNES BUXDORFIUS. a Lexicon Chaldaicum, Talmudicum et Rabbinicum, Base, 1640. b. De Abreviaturis Hebraicis;
Operis Talmudis Recensio; Biblicothea Rabbinica. Basle, 1712. c. Synagoga Judaica. Basle, 1712.
JOH. CHRISTOPHORI WAGENSEILII, Sota. Aldtorfi Noricum, 1674.
GEORGII ELIEZ EDZARDI: Tractatus talmudici "AVODA SARA." Hamburg, 1705.
JACOBI ECKER: "Der Judenspiegel im Lichte der Wahrheit," (The Jewish Mirror in the Light of Truth). Paderborn, 1884.
AUGUST ROHLING: Die Polemik und das Manschenopfer des Rabbinismus. (The Polemics and Human Sacrifice of Rabbinism).Paderborn, 1883.
I have only used the works of those who are held in the highest esteem by the Jews themselves, and to whom the Jews appeal
when disputing with Christians, by quoting impartially the opinions of these learned men. Their great dilligence in quoting from the texts of books which I was able to examine, has been a proof to me that I used the same diligence even in quoting from
less known sources to which they have much greater access than I.
PART ONE
THE TEACHING OF THE TALMUD
CONCERNING CHRISTIANS
First we shall see what the Talmud teaches
about Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity;
and secondly, about his followers, the Christians.
CHAPTER I
JESUS CHRIST IN THE TALMUD
Many passages in the Talmudic books treat of the birth, life, death, and teachings of Jesus Christ. He is not always referred to
by the same name, however, but is diversely called "That Man," "A Certain One," "The Carpenter's Son," "The One Who Was Hanged," etc.
Article I. - CONCERNING THE NAMES OF JESUS CHRIST
1. The real name of Christ in Hebrew is Jeschua Hanotsri - Jesus the Nazarene. He is called Notsri from the city of Nazareth
in which he was brought up. Thus in the Talmud Christians also are called Notsrim - Nazarenes.
Since the word Jeschua means "Savior," the name Jesus rarely occurs in the Jewish books. It is almost always abbreviated to
Jeschu, which is maliciously taken as if it were composed of the initial letters of the three words Immach SCHemo Vezikro -
"May his name and memory be blotted out."
2. In the Talmud Christ is called Otho Isch - "That man," i.e. the one who is known to all. In the tract Abhodah Zarah, 6a, we
read: "He is called a Christian who follows the false teachings of that man, who taught them to celebrate the feast on the first
day of the Sabbath, that is, to worship on the first day after the Sabbath"
3. Elsewhere he is simply called Peloni - "A Certain One." In Chagigah, 4b, we read: "Mary...the mother of a certain one,
of whom it is related in Schabbath..." That this Mary is none other than the mother of Jesus will be shown later.
4. Out of contempt, Jesus is also called Naggar bar naggar - "the carpenter son of a carpenter", also Ben charsch etaim -
"the son of a wood worker."
5. He is also called Talui - "The one who was hanged." Rabbi Samuel, the son of Mair, in the Hilch. Akum of Maimonides,
refers to the fact that it was forbidden to take part in the Christian feats of Christmas and Easter because they were
celebrated on account of him who was hanged. And Rabbi Aben Ezra, in a commentary on Genes. also calls him Talui, whose
image the Emperor Constantine reproduced on his banner. "...in the days of Constantine, who made a change of religion and
placed the figure of the one who was hanged on his banner."
Article II. - THE LIFE OF CHRIST
The Talmud teaches that Jesus Christ was illegitimate and was conceived during menstruation; that he had the soul of Esau;
that he was a fool, a conjurer, a seducer; that he was crucified, buried in hell and set up as an idol ever since by his followers.
1. ILLEGITIMATE AND CONCEIVED DURING MENSTRUATION
The following is narrated in the Tract Kallah, 1b:
"Once when the Elders were seated at the Gate, two young men passed by, one of whom had his covered, the other with his
head bare.Rabbi Eliezer remarked that the one in his bare head was illegitimate, a mamzer. Rabbi Jehoschua said that he was
conceived during menstruation, ben niddah. Rabbi Akibah, however, said that he was both. Whereupon the others asked
Rabbi Akibah why he dared to contradict his colleagues. He answered that he could prove what he said. He went therefore to the boy's mother whom he saw sitting in the market place selling vegetables and said to her: "My daughter, if you will answer truthfully what I am going to ask you, I promise that you will be saved in the next life." She demanded that he would swear to
keep his promise, and Rabbi Akibah did so -but with his lips only, for in his heart he invalidated his oath. Then he said:
"Tell me, what kind of son is this of yours"? To which she replied: "The day I was married I was having menstruation, and because of this my husband left me. But an evil spirit came and sleptwith me and from this intercourse my son was born to
me." Thus it was proved that this young man was not only illegitimate but alsoconceived during the menstruation of his mother.
And when his questioners heard this they declared: "Great indeed was Rabbi Akibah when he corrected his Elders"! And they
exclaimed: "Bleddes be the Lord God of Israel who revealed his secret to Rabbi Akibah the son of Joseph"!
That the Jews understand this story to refer to Jesus and his mother, Mary, is clearly demonstrated in their book Toldath
Jeschu - "The Generations of Jesus" - where the birth of our Savior is narrated in almost the same words.
Another story of this kind is narrated in Sanhedrin, 67a:
"Of all who are guilty of death by the Law, he alone is caught by a ruse. How is it done? They light a candle in an inner room
and place witnesses in an adjoining room outside where they can see him and hear his voice, but where they cannot be seen
by him. Then the one whom he tried to seduce says to him "Please repeat here privately what you told me before." If the
seducer repeats what he said, the others ask him "But how shall we leave our God who is in heaven and serve idols?" If the
seducer repents, then all is well.But if he says "This is our duty and it is right for us to do so," then the witnesses outside, who have heard him, bring him before the judge and stone him to death. This is what they did to the son of Stadi in Lud, and they hanged him on the eve of the Passover. Forthis son of Stada was the son of Pandira. For Rabbi Chasda tells us that Pandira
was the husband of Stada, his mother, and he lived during the time Paphus the son of Jehuda. But his
mother was stada, Mary of Magdala (a ladies' hairdresser) who, as it is said in Pumbadita, deserted her husband."
The meaning of this is that his Mary was called Stada, that is, a prostitute, because, according to what was taught at
Pumbadita, she left her husband and commited adultery. This is also recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud and by Maimonides.
That the mention here is of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is verified in the Tract Chagigah, 4b:
"When Rabbi Bibhai was visited once by the Death Angel (the devil), the latter said to his assistant: "Go and bring to me Mary
the hairdresser" (that is, kill her). He went and brought Mary the children's hairdresser - in place of the other Mary."
A marginal note explains this passage as follows:
"This story of Mary the Ladies' hairdresser happened under the Second Temple. She was the mother of Peloni, "that man," as
he is called in the tract Schabbath."
In Schabbath the passage referred to says:
"Rabbi Elizer said to the Elders: "Did not the son Stada practice Egyptian magic by cutting it into his flesh?" They replied: "He
was a fool, and we do not pay attention to what fools do. The son of Stada, Pandra's son, etc." as above in Sanhedrin, 67a.
This magic of the son of Stada is explained as follows in the book Beth Jacobh, fol. 127 a:
"The Magi, before they left Egypt, took special care not to put their magic in writing lest other peoples might come to learn it.
But he devised a new way by which he inscribed it on his skin, or made cuts in his skin and inserted it there and which, when
the wounds healed up, did not show what they meant."
Buxtorf says:
"There is little doubt who this Ben Stada was, or who the Jews understood him to be. Although the Rabbis in their additions to
the Talmud try to hide their malice and say that it is not Jesus Christ, their deceit is plainly evident, and many things prove
that they wrote and understood all these things about him. In the first place, they also call him the son of Pandira. Jesus the
Nazarene is thus called in other passages of the Talmud where express mention is made of Jesus the son of Pandira. St. John
Damascene also, in his Genealogy of Christ, mentions Panthera and the Son of Panthera. "Secondly, this Stada is said to be Mary, and this Mary the mother of Peloni "that certain one," by which without doubt Jesus is meant. For in this way they were accustomed to cover up his name because they were afraid to mention it. If we had copies of the original manuscripts they
would certainly prove this. And this also was the name of the mother of Jesus the Nazarene.
"Thirdly, he is called the Seducer of the People. The Gospels testify that Jesus was called this by the Jews, and their writings to
this day are proof that they still call him by this name.
"Fourthly, he is called "the one who was hanged," which clearly refers to the crucifixion of Christ, especially since a reference to
the time "on the eve of the Passover" is added, which coincides with the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. In Sanhedrin they
wrote as follows:
"On the eve of the Passover they hanged Jesus"
"Fifthly, as to what the Jerusalem Talmud says about the two disciples of the Elders who were sent as witnesses to spy on him,
and who were afterwards brought forward as witnesses against him: This refers to the two "false witnesses" of whom the
Evangelists Matthew and Luke make mention.
"Sixthly, concerning what they say about the son of Stada that he practiced Egyptian magical arts by cutting into his flesh: the
same accusation is made against Christ in their hostile book Toldoth Jeschu.
"Lastly, the time corresponds. For it is said that this son of Stada lived in the days of Paphus the son of Jehuda, who was a
contemporary of Rabbi Akibah. Akibah, however, lived at the time of the Ascension of Christ, and for some time after. Mary
is also said to have lived under the Second Temple. All this clearly proves that they secretly and blasphemously understand this
son of Stada to be Jesus Christ the son of Mary.
"Other circumstances may seem to contradict this. But that is nothing new in Jewish writings and is done on purpose so that
Christians may not easily detect their trickery."
2. Furthermore, "In the secret books, which are not permitted to fall easily into the hands of Christians, they say that the soul
of Esau came into Christ, that he was therefore evil and that he was Esau himself."
3. By some he is called a FOOL and INSANE
In Schabbath, 104b:
"They, [the Elders] said to him [Eliezer]: "He was a fool, and no one pays attention to fools."
4. A CONJURER AND MAGICIAN
In the infamous book Toldoth Jeschu, our Savior is blasphemed as follows:
"And Jesus said: Did not Isaiah and David, my ancestors, prophesy about me? The Lord said to me, thou art my son, today I have begotten thee, etc. Likewise in another place: The Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand. Now I ascend
to my father who
is in heaven and will sit at his right hand, which you will see with your own eyes. But you, Judas, will never reach that high.
Then Jesus pronounced the great name of God (IHVH) and continued to do so until a wind came and took him up between
earth and sky. Judas also pronounced the name of God and he likewise was taken up by the wind. In this way they both
floated around in the air to the amazement of the onlookers. Then Judas, again pronouncing the Divine Nane, took hold of
Jesus and pushed him down to earth. But Jesus tried to do the same to Judas and thus they fought together. And when Judas
saw he could not win out over the works of Jesushe pissed on Jesus, and both thus being unclean they fell to earth; nor could
they use the Divine name again until they had washed themselves."
Whether those who believe such devilish lies deserve greater hatred or pity, I cannot say.
In another place in the same book it is related that in the house of the Sanctuary there was a stone which the Patriarch Jacob
anointed with oil. On this stone were carved the tetragrammatic letters of the Name (IHVH), and if anyone could learn from
them he could destroy the world. They therefore decreed that no one must learn them, and they placed two dogs upon two
iron columns before the Sanctuary so that if anyone should learn them the dogs would bark at him coming out and he would
forget the letters through fear. Then it is related: "Jesus came and entered, learned the letters and wrote them down on parchment. Then he cut into the flesh of his thigh and inserted them there, and having pronounced the name, the wound healed."
5. IDOLATER
In the Tract Sanhedrin (103a) the words of Psalm XCI, 10: "No plague shall come near thy dwelling," are explained as follows:
"That thou mayest never have a son or a disciple who will salt his food so much that he destroys his taste in public, like Jesus
the Nazarene."
To salt one's food too much or to destroy one's taste, is proverbially said of one who corrupts his morals or dishonors himself,
or who falls into heresy and idolatry and openly preaches it to others.
6. SEDUCER
In the same book Sanhedrin (107b) we read:
"Mar said: Jesus seduced, corrupted and destroyed Israel."
7. CRUCIFIED
Finally as punishment for his crimes and impiety, he suffered an ignominious death by being hanged on a cross on the eve of the
Passover (as we have seen above).
8. BURIED IN HELL
The book Zohar, III, (282), tells us that Jesus died like a beast and was buried in that "dirt heap...where they throw the dead
bodies of dogs and asses, and where the sons of Esau [the Christians] and of Ismael [the Turks], also Jesus and
Mahommed, uncircumcized and unclean like dead dogs, are buried."
9. WORSHIPPED AS GOD AFTER HIS DEATH BY HIS FOLLOWERS
George El. Edzard, in his book Avoda Sara, quotes the following words of the commentator on the Hilkoth Akum (V,3) of
Maimonides:
"In many passages of the Talmud mention is made of Jesus the Nazarene and of his disciples, and that the Gentiles believe that there is no other God besides him. In the book Chizzuk Emunah, part I, ch. 36, we read: "The Christians build up an argument
from this [Zachary XII, 10] and say: Behold how thew Prophet testified that in future ages the Jews would would lament
and weep because they crucified and killed the Messiah who was sent to them; and to prove that he meant Jesus the Nazarene,
possessing both the divine and human nature, they quote the words: And they looked upon him whom they transfixed and
they wept over him as a mother over her first born child.""
Maimonides attempts to prove how much Christians err in worshipping Jesus in his book Hilkoth Melakhim (IX, 4):
"If all the things he did had prospered, if he had rebuilt the Sanctuary in its place, and had gathered together the dispersed tribes
of Israel, then he would certainly be the Messiah....But if so far hew has not done so and if he was killed, then it is clear he was not the Messiah whom the Law tells us to expect. He was similar to all the good and upright rulers of the House of David who died, and whom the Holy and Blessed Lord raised up for no other reason but to prove to many, as it is said (in Dan. XI, 35):
And some of them who understand shall fall, to try and to purge them and to make them white, even till the end of
time, because the appointed time is not yet. Daniel also prophesised about Jesus the Nazarene who thought he was the Christ, and who was put to death by the judgment of the Senate: (Dan. V.14): ...and the robbers of thy people shall exalt
themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fail.
What could be plainer? For all the Prophets said that the Christ would set Israel free, would bring it salvation, restore its dispersed peoples and confirm their laws. But he was the cause of the destruction of Israel and caused the rest of them to be
dispersed and humiliated, so that the Law was changed and the greater part of the world was seduced to worship another
God. Truly no one can understand the designs of the Creator, nor are his ways our ways. For all that has been built up by Jesus
the Nazarene, and by the Turks who came after him, tend only to prepare the way for the coming of Christ the King, and to prepare the whole world equally for the service of the Lord, as it is said: For then I shall give a clean moth to all peoples
that all may call upon the name of the Lord, and bow down in unison before him. How is this being accomplished? Already the whole world is filled with the praise of Christ, the Law and the Commandments, and his praises have spread to far
distant lands and to peoples whose hearts and bodies are uncircumcized. These discuss with one another about the Law
that was destroyed - some saying that the commandments were once true, but have ceased to exist; others that there is
a great mystery about it, that the Messiah-King has come and that their doctrine has revealed it. But when the Christ truly
comes and is successful, and is raised up and exalted, then everything will be changed and these things will be shown to be
false and vain."
10. AN IDOL
In the Tract Abhodah Zarah, (21a Toseph), we read:
"It is of importance to inquire the reasons why men nowadays even sell and rent their houses to Gentiles. Some say this is legal
because it is said in Tosephta: No one shall rent his house to a gentile either here [in the land of Israel] or elsewhere because it
is known that he will bring an idol into it. It is nevertheless allowed to rent them stables, barns and lodging houses, even
though it is known that they will bring idols into them. The reason is because a distinction can be made between a place into
which an idol will be carried in order to leave it there permanently, and a place where it will not be left permanently, in which
case it is allowed. And since the gentiles, among whom we now live, do not bring their idol into their homes to leave it there
permanently, but only for a time - while someone is dead in the house or when someone is dying, nor do they even perform any
religious rites there - it is therefore permitted to sell and rent them houses."
Rabbi Ascher, in his Commentary on Abhodah Zarah (83d) speaks not less clearly on this matter: "Today it is permitted to rent
houses to Gentiles because they bring their idol into them only for a time, when somebody is sick." And in the same place he
says "Today they have a practice of incensing their idol.""
All this, and much more like it, proves beyond a doubt that when the Rabbis speak of the idols of the Gentiles among whom they lived at that time, when no idols were worshipped, they clearly meant the Christian "idol," namely, the image of Christ on
the crucifix and the Holy Communion.
NOTE ABOUT THE CROSS
In Jewish writings there is no directly corresponding word for the Christian Cross. The cross T on which those condemned to
death were crucified, was called Tau by the Phoenicians and the Hebrews, and this name and sign for it was afterwards taken
over into the alphabet of the Jews and of the Greeks and the Romans. The Cross honored by the Christians, however, is called
by the following names:
1. Tsurath Haattalui - the image who was hanged.
2. Elil - vanity, idol.
3. Tselem - image. Hence the Crusaders in Jewish books are called Tsalmerim (ein Tsalmer)
4. Scheti Veerebh - warp and woof, which is taken from the textile art.
5. Kokhabh - star; on account of the four rays emanating from it.
6. Pesila - a sculpture, a carven idol.
But whenever it is mentioned it is always in the sense of an idol or of something despicable, as can be seen from the following
quotations:
In Orach Chaiim, 113,8:
"If a Jew when praying should meet a Christian [Akum] carrying a star [a crucifix] in his hand, even if he has come to a place in
his prayer where it is necessary to bow down to worship God in his heart, he must not to so lest he should seem to bow down
before an image."
In Iore Dea, 150,2:
"Even if a Jew should get a splinter in his foot in front of an idol, or if he should drop his money before it, he must not stoop
down to remove the splinter or to gather his money lest he should seem to adore it. But he should either sit down or turn his
back or his side to the idol and then remove the splinter."
But whenever it is not possible for a Jew to turn away like this, the following rule must be observed (in Iore Dea, 3, Hagah):
"It is not permitted to bow down or to remove one's hat before princes or priests who wear a cross on their dress, as is their
custom. Care must be taken, however, not to be noticed in failing to do so. For instance, one can throw some coins on the ground and stoop down to pick them up before they pass by. In this way it is permitted to bow down or to remove one's hat
before them." A distinction is also made between a cross which is venerated and a cross which is worn around the neck as a
souvenir or as an ornament. The former is to be regarded as an idol, but not necessarily the latter. In Iore Dea, 141, 1, Hagah,
it says:
"The image of a cross, before which they bow down, is to be treated as an idol, and it is not to be used until it is destroyed.
However, a 'warp and woof' if hung around the neck as a souvenir is not to be regarded as an idol and can be used."
The sign of the cross made with the hand, by which Christians are wont to bless themselves, is called in Jewish "the moving of
the fingers here and there" (hinc et hinc).
Article III. - THE TEACHINGS OF CHRIST
The Seducer and Idolator could teach nothing but falsehood and heresy which was irrational and impossible to observe.
1. FALSHOOD
In Abhodah Zarah (6a) it says:
"A Nazarene is one who follows the false teachings of that man who taught them to worship on the first day of the Sabbath."
2. HERESY
In the same book Abohah Zar. (Ch.I, 17a Toseph) mention is made of the heresy of James. A little further on (27b) we learn
that this James was none other than the disciple of Jesus:
"...James Sekhanites, one of the disciples of Jesus, of whom we spoke in chapter 1."
But James taught, not his own doctrine, but that of Jesus.
3. IMPOSSIBLE TO OBSERVE
The author of Nizzachon argues as follows on this point:
"A written law of the Christians is: If a Jew strike you on one cheek, turn the other also to him and do not in any way return the
blow.And ch. VI, v. 27 says: Love your enemies; do good to them who hate you; bless them who curse you and pray for
those who do you harm; unto him who strikes you on one cheek offer him the other. To him who takes away thy cloak
do not forbid him to take thy coat also, etc. The same is found in Matthew ch. V, v.39. But I have never seen any Christian
keep this law, nor did Jesus himself behave as he taught others to do. For we find in John ch XVIII, v22, that when someone
struck him on the face, he did not turn the other cheek, but became angry on account of this one stroke and asked "Why do you strike me"? Likewise in the Acts of the Apostles, ch.XXIII, v. 3, we read: that when the High Priest ordered them that
stood by to strike him on the mouth, Paul did not turn the other cheek; he cursed him saying "God shall smite thee thou whited
wall, etc." This is contrary to their beliefs and destroys the foundation upon which their religion rests, for they boast that the law
of Jesus is easy to observe. If Paul himself, who may be called the Dispenser of Jesus, could not preserve the precept of Jesus,
who among the others who believe in him can prove to me that he can do so?"
The author, however, who had the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles under his hand, could not have failed to understand in
what sense Christ commanded his followers to turn the other cheek to him who would strike them, since in another place he
commanded his followers to cut off a hand or an arm, and to pluck out an eye if these should scandalize them. No one who has
had the least acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures ever thought that these commands should be taken literally . Only deep
malice and ignorance of the times in which Jesus lived can explain why the Jews, even to this day, use these passages to detract
from the teachings of Jesus Christ.
CHAPTER II
THE CHRISTIANS
There are three things to be considered in this chapter:
1. The names by which Christians are called in the Talmud.
2. What kind of people the Talmud pictures Christians to be.
3. What the Talmud says about the religious worship of the Christians.
Article I. - The Names Given to Christians in the Talmud
As in our languages Christians take their name from Christ, so in the language of the Talmud Christians are called Notsrim, from
Jesus the Nazarene. But Christians are also called by the names used in the Talmud to designate all non-Jews: Abhodah Zarah, Akum, Obhde Elilim, Minim, Nokhrim, Edom, Amme Haarets, Goim, Apikorosim, Kuthrim.
1. Abhodah Zarah - Strange worship, idolatry. The Talmudic Tract on Idolatry is thus entitled: Obhde Abhodah Zarah - Idol
Worshippers. That Abhodah Zarah really means the cult of idols is clear from the Talmud itself: "Let Nimrod come and testify
that Abraham was not a server of Abhodah Zarah ." But in these days of Abraham there existed no strange cult either of the
Turks or the Nazarenes, but only the worship of the true God and idolatry. In Schabbath (ibid. 82a), it says:
"Rabbi Akibah says: How do we know that Abhodah Zarah, like an unclean woman, contaminates those who subscribe to it?
Because Isaiah says: Thou shalt cast them away like a menstruation cloth; and shalt say unto it, Get thee hence."
In the first part of this verse mention is made of idols made from gold and silver.
The learned Maimonides also clearly demonstrates that the Jews regarded Christians as Abhodah Zarah. In Perusch(78c) he
says: "And be it known that Christian people who follow Jesus, although their teachings vary, are all worshippers of idols
(Abhodah Zarah)."
2. Akum - This word is made up of the initial letters of the words Obhde Kokhabkim U Mazzaloth - worshippers of stars and
planets. It was thus that the Jews formerly styled the Gentiles who lacked all knowledge of the true God. Now, however, the
word Akum in Jewish books, especially in the Schulkhan Arukh, is applied to Christians. This is evident from numerous
passages: In the Orach Chaiim (113,8) those who use a cross are called Akum. In the Iore Dea (148, 5, 12), those who celebrate the feasts of Christmas and New Year, eight days afterwards, are called worshippers of the stars and planets:
"Thus if a gift is sent to the Akum, even in these times, on the eighth day after Christmas, which they call the New Year," etc.
3. Obhde Elilim - Servers of idols. This name has the same meaning as Akum. Non-Jews are frequently called by this name. In the Orach Chaiim, for example (215, 5), it says:
"A blessing should not be pronounced over incense which belongs to the servers of idols."
But at the same time when the Schulkhan Arukh was written there were no worshippers of the stars and planets (Akum); there
wereno 'servers of idols' among those who lived with the Jews. Thus, for example, the author of the Commentary on the
Schulkhan Arukh (entitled Magen Abraham), Rabbi Calissensis who died in Poland in 1775, in note 8, on No. 244 of the
Orach Chaiim (where it is allowed to finish a work on the Sabbath with the help of an Akum) says: "Here in our city the
question is raised about the price of hiring worshippers of the stars and planets who sweep the public streets when they work
on the Sabbath."
4. Minim - Heretics. In the Talmud those who possess books called the Gospels are heretics. Thus in Schabbath (116a) it
says: "Rabbi Meir calls the books of the Minim Aven Gilaion [iniquitous volumes] because they call them Gospels."
5. Edom - Edomites. Rabbi Aben Ezra, when he speaksabout the Emperor Constantine who changed his religion and placed the image of him who was hanged on his banner, adds: "Rome therefore is called the Kingdom of the Edomites."
And Rabbi Bechai, in his Kad Hakkemach (fol. 20a, on Isaiah, ch. LXVI, 17) writes:
"They are called Edomites who move their fingers 'here and there'" (who make the sign of the cross).
Likewise Rabbi Bechai, commenting on the words of Isaiah (loc. cit.), "those who eat the flesh of swine" adds: "These are the
Edomites." Rabbi Kimchi, however, calls them "Christians." And Rabbi Abarbinel, in his work Maschima Ieschua (36 d) says:
"The Nazarenes are Romans, the sons of Edom."
6. Goi - Race, or people. The Jews also call a man a Goi - a gentile; they call a gentile woman a Goiah. Sometimes, but very
rarely, Israelites are called by this name. It is mostly applied to non-Jews, or idolators. In Jewish books which treat of Idolatry,
worshippers of idols are often called by this single word Goi. For this reason, in more recent editions of the Talmud the use of
the word Goi is purposely avoided and other words for non-Jews are substituted.
It is well known that in the Jewish language, the Jews call Christians among whom they live, Goim. Nor do the Jews deny this.
Sometimes in their popular magazines they say that this word means nothing harmful or evil. But the contrary can be seen in
their books written in the Hebrew language. For instance, in Choschen Hammischpat (34, 22), the name Goi is used in a
depraved sense:
"Traitors and Epicureans and Apostates are worse than Goim"
7. Nokhtrim - strangers, foreigners. This name is used for all who are not Jews, and therefor for Christians.
8. Amme Haarets - People of the earth, idiots. There are some who say that people of other races are not meant by this, but
only crude and uneducated people. There are passages, however, which leave no doubt about the matter. In the Holy
Scripture, Book of Esra, ch. X, 2, we read: We have sinned against our God, and have taken strange wives [nokhrioth] of the
people of the earth. That people of the earth denotes idolators is clear from Zohar, I, 25a: "The People of the earth - Obhde
Abhodah Zarah, idolaters.
9. Basar Vedam - Flesh and blood; carnal men who are destined to perdition and who can have no communion with God.
That Christians are flesh and blood, is proved from the prayer book:
"Whoever meets a wise and educated Christian can say: Blessed art thou O Lord, King of the Universe, who dispenseth of thy
wisdom to Flesh and Blood," etc.
Likewise in another prayer, in which they ask God soon to restore the kingdom of David and to send Elias and the Messia,
etc., they aak him to take away their poverty so that they will have no need to accept gifts from "flesh and blood," nor to trade with them, nor to seek wages from them.
10. Apikorosim - Epicureans. All are called by this name who do not observe God's precepts, as well as all those, even Jews
themselves, who express private judgments in matters of faith. How much more, therefore, Christians!
11. Kuthim - Samaritans. But since there are no longer any Samaritans, and since there are many references in recent Jewish
books to Samaritans, who can doubt that this does not mean the Christians?
Furthermore, in this matter of naming those who are not Jews, it is to be particularly noted that Jewish writings apply these
names indiscriminately and promiscuously when they speak of the same thing, and almost in the same words. For instance, in the Tract Abhodah Zarah (25b) the word Goi is employed, but in the Schulkhan Arukh (Iore Dea 153, 2) Akum is used.
Kerithuth (6b) uses Goim; Jebhammoth (61a) uses Akum; Abhodah Zar. (2a) uses Obhde Elilim; Thoseph uses Goim
and Obhde Ab., Choschen Ham (Venetian ed.) uses Kuthi; (Slav. ed.) Akum. And many more instances could be quoted.
Maimonides in his book on Idolatry indiscriminately calls all the following idolators: Goim, Akum, Obhde Kokhabhim, Obhde
Elilim, etc.
Article II. - What the Talmud Teaches About Christians
In the preceding chapter we saw what the Jews think of the Founder of the Christian religion, and how much they despise his
name. This being so, it would not be expected that they would have any better opinion about those who follow Jesus the
Nazarene. In fact, nothing more abominable can be imagined than what they have to say about Christians. They say that they
are idolaters, the worst kind of people, much worse than the Turks, murderers, fornicators, impure animals, like dirt, unworthy
to be called men, beasts in human form, worthy of the name of beasts, cows, asses, pigs, dogs, worse than dogs; that they
propagate after the manner of beasts, that they have diabolic origin, that their souls come from the devil and return to the devil
in hell after death; and that even the body of a dead Christian is nothing different from that of an animal.
1. IDOLATERS
Since Chri
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