Saturday, August 12, 2023

Alleged Talmud Quotes (2/2)

(Continued from Part 1)

In part 2, it seems like the meme maker/person who came up with this list of mostly-bogus quotes gave up, as there're a lot more fake books/made up quotations than in the first half.

(Libbre David 87)
If Gentiles knew that the Talmud teach Jews to destroy them they would kill us openly. Never communicate the Talmud with Gentiles.

This is completely fake. "Libbre David" does not exist.

(Kethuboth 11b)
When a grown-up man has intercourse with a little girl it is nothing.

The quote is:

"Rava said that this is what the mishna is saying: An adult man who engaged in intercourse with a minor girl less than three years old has done nothing, as intercourse with a girl less than three years old is tantamount to poking a finger into the eye. In the case of an eye, after a tear falls from it another tear forms to replace it. Similarly, the ruptured hymen of the girl younger than three is restored."

This section seems to be talking about compensation for sex with people of varying statuses (the compensation is measured in dinars). But it coheres with sex with extremely young children not being considered sex.

(Bammidber raba c21)
Every Jew who spills the blood of the non-Jew is doing the same as making a sacrifice to God.

This is completely fake. "Bammidber raba" does not exist.

(Hikkoth Akum X1)
Show no mercy to the Gentiles.

This is completely fake. "Hikkoth Akum" does not exist.

(Abodah Zara 4b)
a Gentile you may kill outright with your ownhands.

Avodah Zarah 4b does not seem to contain any context to this effect.

(Sahedrin 59a)
Murdering Gentiles is like killing wild animals.

There is nothing in here about this. The closest to this the section comes to is talking about whether gentiles can consume the blood of living animals.

(Tosefta Abda Zara V111 5)
a Gentile is forbidden to steal, rob or take women slaves from a Jew. But a Jew it's not forbidden to do all this to a Gentile.

I cannot find this "Tosefta Abda Zara". The Avodah Zarah does not contain any sections which look like they match the numbering given here.

(Simeon Haddarsen fol 56-D:0)
When the Messiah comes every Jew will have 2800 Gentiles slaves.

This is completely fake. "Simeon Haddarsen" does not exist.

(Midrasch Talpioth p225—L)
Non-Jews are in human
When the Messiah comes term so that Jews would not be served by beasts. Non-Jew is an animal in human lenn to serve the Jew day and night.

This is completely fake. "Midrasch Talpioth" does not exist.

(Schulchan Aruch Chozen Hamiszpat 156)
Property of the Gentile belongs to no one and the first Jew that passes has full right to seim it.

This is completely fake. "Schulchan Aruch Chozen Hamiszpat" does not exist.

(Tosefta Abda Zara V111 5)
a Gentile is forbidden to steal, rob or take women slaves from a Jew. But a Jew it's not forbidden to do all this to a Gentile.

I cannot find this "Tosefta Abda Zara". The Avodah Zarah does not contain any sections which look like they match the numbering given here.

(Schulchan Amen Chozen Hamisszpat 348)
All property of other nations belongs to the Jewish nation. Jews can seize it all.

This is completely fake. "Schulchan Aruch Chozen Hamiszpat" does not exist.

Of course, all this won't stop anti-Semites citing this almost totally bogus list of "Talmud quotes", since confirmation bias of hatred and envy is a thing.

In any event, the Talmud is just Jewish law. The text also says that:

"Shmuel says: The law of the kingdom is the law, and the halakhic principle is that Jews must obey the laws of the state in which they reside. Rava said: Know that this principle is true from the fact that the municipal authorities cut down palm trees without the consent of their owners and construct bridges from them, and yet we cross over them. Evidently, the wood is not considered stolen property, which one is prohibited from using, because the law of the kingdom is the law."

So just because the Talmud says something is okay or not okay does not mean that Jews must only follow what's in it. Not to mention how literalism and blind obedience is not the only way to approach old religious texts: as TheTorah.com notes, "The problem of unjust or immoral laws in the Torah and halacha is pervasive. This is true of any legal system that continues over time in radically different cultures. The Torah in particular contains quite a number of laws that are problematic for later readers".

Fun bits of the Talmud I read while writing this blog post:

"Rav Aḥadevoi bar Ami asked Rav Sheshet: With regard to one who performs the initial stage of homosexual intercourse on himself, what is the halakha? Is he liable for homosexual intercourse? Rav Sheshet said to him: You disgust me with your question; such an act is not possible." (Sanhedrin 55a)

(this just underlines the status of the Talmud as people arguing with each other, and ripe for cherry picking since it often contradicts itself when quoted in isolation)

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