Before the attempted genocide of Jews in the 15th century CE – think BEFORE 1492’s Iberian version of the “Trail of Tears”, inflicted upon the Jewish people by the Christian conquers of Spain and Portugal (you know, indigenous Jews of Judea and Samaria who were forced up northward into the Iberian Peninsula by the Roman Empire’s violent occupation of our Canaan land of Israel) – some of our chacham put pen to paper and wrote a native Jewish mystical text in the 13th-century CE (aka, A.D. for the Christian Conquistadors and their colonized subjects). Thus, adding to our ever growing Jewish people’s Torah!
Here is just a taste of what our Jewish ancestors wrote before the Conquistador’s arrival:
“Fire, water, and air, as three primordial elements, were still in suspense, their activity not having become visible until the land disclosed them and so made knowable the workmanship of each one of them.” – Zohar, Introduction 12, Soncino Press, 1933
Thus began the Jewish “five souls” circle (Bereshit Rabbah 14:9, D’varim Rabbah 2:37). Which Jews who survived Conquistador genocide and settled in Michilimackinac (Colonial America) – and so, many refugee Jews thereafter – have naturally made association with the indigenous Native American (“Indian Country”) peoples’ “medicine wheel”. So, let’s be clear, our Jewish form of the “medicine wheel” is Southwest Asian in nature, and NOT a “rip off” of Native American traditions.
“It [the breath-of-life, “spirit”, “soul”] is called by five names: nefesh (Genesis 2:7), ruaḥ (Ezekiel 37:14), neshama (Genesis 2:7), yeḥida (Psalms 22:21), ḥaya (Psalms 143:3). Nefesh – this refers to blood, as it is stated: “For blood is the soul [nefesh, the physical body-mind shaped from the soil]” (Deuteronomy 12:23). Ruaḥ – because it ascends and descends, as it is stated: “Who knows the spirit of the sons of man? Does it ascend upward?” (Ecclesiastes 3:21). Neshama – this refers to man’s intellect, as people say: Intellect is good. Ḥaya – because all of one’s limbs may die, but it [the breath-of-life, “spirit”, “soul”] remains alive (ḥaya) in the body. Yeḥida – because all of one’s limbs are in pairs, but it [the breath-of-life, “spirit”, “soul”] is solitary (yeḥida) in the body.” – Bereshit Rabbah 14:9
“Rabbi Simon said: The soul is called the following five names: Ruaḥ, nefesh, neshama, ḥaya, yeḥida. The Rabbis say: Come and see that the Holy One, blessed be He, fills His world and [the Holy One’s] soul fills his body. The Holy One, blessed be He, bears His world and the soul bears the body. The Holy One, blessed be He, is One in His world and the soul is one in the body. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not sleep and the soul does not sleep. The Holy One, blessed be He, is the pure One in His world and the soul is the pure one in the body. The Holy One, blessed be He, sees but is not seen and the soul sees but it is not seen. Let the soul that sees but is not seen come and laud the Holy One, blessed be He, who sees but is not seen.” – D’varim Rabbah 2:37
P.S. – In a future post, we will talk about mekubalim. What or who is an authentic mekubal? …. On THIS post, we ask for thoughts and knowledgeable opinions and understandings. 🕎🪬 NDNCollective and The 7 Clans , you might deeply appreciate this post!
Now, let’s take this indigenous Jewish Torah on our SWANA people’s LIVED HISTORY one additional post step further! …
BEFORE the Alhambra Decree of 1492, South Asian indigenous Jews from the Canaan land of Israel wrote the Zohar in the Iberian Peninsula. The Zohar contains native Jewish discussions on the nature of the Creator god, the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of the human animal (one of the “nefashot”, physical-“souls”, shaped by the Creator god), and so forth.
Christian Conquistadors sought to forcibly convert the Jewish people from our indigenous Judean beliefs, our Torah (“teaching”/”law”), to the extent of committing genocide and ethnic-cleasing of our people from Spain and Portugal. Here, in these following quotes, is a taste of what the Christians tried to erase:
“Therefore man was created from the dust of the lower Sanctuary; and the four winds of the world united at that place which afterwards was named the House of Holiness, and these four were then joined to the four elements of the lower world: fire, air, earth, and water. And when these winds and these elements were thus mingled, the Holy One, blessed be He, formed one body of wondrous perfection. Therefore it is plain that the substances composing man’s body belong to two worlds, namely, the world below and the world above.” – Zohar Vaera 3:2
“Mark well this! Fire, air, earth, and water are the sources and roots of all things above and below, and on them are all things grounded. And in each of the four winds these elements are found – fire in the North, air in the East, water in the South, earth in the West; and the four elements are united with the four winds – and all are one. Fire, water, air, and earth: gold, silver, copper, and iron; north, south, east, and west – these make altogether twelve; yet are they all one.
Fire is in the left, at the side of the North, for fire has the energy of warmth, and the power of dryness is strong in it, and the North is just the reverse, and so the two are commingled. Water is in the right, in the side of the South, and the Holy One mixes the warmth and dryness of the South with the coldness and moisture of the water, and they become one as with the previous combination.” – Zohar Vaera 3:4-5
Jews that “converted” publicly were legally titled “New Christians” (Conversos), because Old Christians wanted to legally and socially distinguish themselves from Jews even after conversion. Old Christians believed that “pure unmixed” Christian bloodlines distinguish them as a unique group, and these Conquistadors did not trust non-Spanish bloodlines to be true Christians.
Now, for those who do not know this, it was 4th century CE northern Aegean-created Roman Christianity that invented the concept of geographical racism – which metastasized into vile demonizing systemic antisemitic racism and, from this, eventually into skin-color based racism.
This anti-Indigenous racism for the glory of Colonial Christ dominionism – (duplicated by the Arabs down south, with their Hejaz Arabia-created Islam’s colonialism for Allah’s dominionism) – was believed to be caused by humans sinning against Christ before their birth. Hence, the location (the “skin color”) of their birth.
This Christian belief that justifies the need to conquer and convert non-Christians, by any means necessary, was derived from the psuedo-science religious teachings of Origen of Alexandria and became fundamental Christian theology (1):
“Let us take the risk and give an account of a few of the more profound truths which have a mystical and secret conception of the way in which different regions of the earth were divided from the beginning among different overseers [angels].”… Each human to be birthed is led “to the parts of the earth which they deserve. Some are led to parched land, for example; others to country which afflicts the inhabitants by being cold; and some to land that is difficult to cultivate; others to land that is less hard; and some to country full of wild beasts, and others to country that has them to a lesser degree.” – 249 CE (A.D.), Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 5.28, 5.30
“mala natura animae ad gentem malam destinetur, bona autem ad bonas (a soul of an evil nature is destined for an evil nation and a good one for a good nation).” – 229 CE (A.D.), Origen of Alexandria, First Principles 2.9.5
Who were these “good” nations and “evil” nations, according to this early pre-“Trinity” gentile Christianity?
Good nations according to 3rd century CE Christians were Hebrews (Jews, “with whom he finds instruction in the divine Law”) and Greeks (“themselves also wise and a people of no small learning,” though Greek Hellenization is utterly repugnant to many Jews!), and bad nations were Ethiopians (“who are accustomed to feed upon human flesh”), Scythians (“whom parricide is practiced as if by law”), and Taurians (“where strangers are sacrificed”).
By the 4th century CE (A.D.) official adoption of Christianity as the Roman Empire’s sole religion, the “Hebrews” (aka, Jews) had become worse than Ethiopians in the teachings of early Christianity:
“My enemies are the Jews; they have conspired in hatred against Me, crucified Me, heaped evils of all kinds upon Me, blasphemed Me.” … “the ceremonies of the Jews are harmful and deadly to Christians” – Saint Jerome, white Christian man, 4th century CE (A.D.), homiletic against the Jews.
“…as for these enemies of mine [Jews] who did not want me [Jesus] to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.” … “Jews are impure and impious, and their synagogue is a house of prostitution, a lair of beasts, a place of shame and ridicule, the domicile of the devil, as is also the soul of the Jew. As a matter of fact, Jews worship the devil: their rites are criminal and unchaste; their religion a disease; their synagogue an assembly of crooks, a den of thieves, a cavern of devils, an abyss of perdition! Why are the Jews degenerate? Because of their hateful assassination of Christ.” – St John Chrysostom, white Christian man, 4th century CE (A.D.), Sixth Homily Against the Jews
“Not by bodily death, shall the ungodly race of carnal Jews perish … ‘Scatter them abroad, take away their strength. And bring them down O Lord’.” – Saint Augustine, white Christian man, 4th century CE (A.D.)
So, back to the beginning of this post we go, now, to address the “why?” for all this antisemitism. Jews are the original Indigenous people that were appropriated from, by the creators of Christianity and Islam. And, we refuse to be assimilated into these Colonial theological religions! We refuse to be socially erased, despite the easily verifiable fact that we Jews are extremely outnumbered and always spoken for.
“Therefore the human was created from the dust of the lower Sanctuary [literally, according to our Torah, the human was “shaped” into form from the humus, the “topsoil”, and the breath-of-life, the “soul” of the Creator, was breathed into this adam (the intersex human, soon to be split in half into male and female genders)]; and the four winds of the world united at that place which afterwards was named the House of Holiness, and these four were then joined to the four elements of the lower world: fire, air, earth, and water. And when these winds and these elements were thus mingled, the Holy One, blessed be He, formed one body of wondrous perfection. Therefore it is plain that the substances composing human’s body belong to two worlds, namely, the world below and the world above.” – Zohar Vaera 3:2
1 – Matthijs den Dulk, Origen of Alexandria and the History of Racism as a Theological Problem, The Journal of Theological Studies, Volume 71, Issue 1, 07 April 2020, pages 164–195.
On this birth of the new moon 🌑, the new lunar month, let’s learn the meaning of animals that are found in Pirkei Avot 5:20 (“Ethics of the Fathers”), as taught to us by Rabbi Joshua Kulp who is rosh yeshiva of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem:
“Judah ben Tema said: Be strong as a leopard, and swift as an eagle, and fleet as a gazelle, and brave as a lion, to do the will of your Father who is in heaven. Judah ben Tema uses images that are taken from the animal world.
Strong like a leopard to stand up against people who denounce those who observe the Torah. Others say that this refers to the strength needed to rebuke those who don’t observe the commandments.
Swift as an eagle to run away from sin. Others say this refers to ministering to Torah scholars, which should be performed with great speed.
Fleet as a gazelle to perform the commandments. Others say that this refers to moving to a place where one can study Torah.
Brave as a lion to conquer one’s evil inclination. Others say that this refers to getting up at night to learn Torah.
He used to say: the arrogant is headed for Gehinnom and the blushing for the garden of Eden. The word “arrogant” in Hebrew is the same word used in section one to mean “strong”. Although one should be strong, this is only so if the strength is used for holy purposes, for the sake of Heaven [here on our SHARED planet Earth].
However, arrogance, which is unjustified demonstrations of strength, leads one to despise those who might legitimately criticize him. An arrogant person will not check his deeds to make sure that he is acting correctly [for example, Trumpy kinds of people].
One who is embarrassed and blushes at his mistakes, will learn from them and will not continue to sin.
Judaism does not seek out perfection [like a theological/ideological religion], but rather moral progress. One who is capable of such embarrassment will, in the end, inherit the garden of Eden.”
We felt that this teaching was the NEEDED teaching for this new lunar moon 🌒. Rather, than focusing on the present Parashat Bo 5785 – to address, in WARNING, this time in history of “Trump”-ism return to the world stage.
Consider,… Parashat Bo (“Come”, Shemot/Exodus 10:1-13:16) recounts the last three plagues that G-d inflicts on the Egyptians: locusts, darkness, and death of firstborns. G-d commands the Israelites to offer a lamb sacrifice for Pesach. After the last plague, Pharaoh and the Egyptians demand that the Israelites leave. WHY?!
Even our Torah scroll is teaching at this time in our SHARED human history that it is a very bad time to be a citizen of European and Arab Conquistador nations ☪️☭✝️ . Who is the present Paro (Pharaoh) or Paro(s) that are not “letting our people go” – not allowing our Indigenous nations to peacefully and securely decolonize amongst you?
This new moon of Sh’vat 🌑 happens in the morning hours of the 29th of Tevet, 5785 – Wednesday, 29 January 2025. The new lunar month of Sh’vat, 5785 – 🌒 Rosh Chodesh Sh’vat 🌒 – begins on Thursday, 30 January 2025.
https://www.sefaria.org/English_Explanation_of_Pirkei_Avot.5.20.2?lang=bi
Pirkei Avot 5:20 – an Explanation
Rabbi Ysoscher Katz shared, “Agam Berger, who was released from Hamas captivity earlier today, is presenting observant parents, teachers and rabbis with a huge challenge. They/we will need a lot of סייעתא דשמיא to successfully thread a fine line, and it won’t be easy.
During her time in captivity, Agam refused to eat non-kosher food, which obviously put her in great danger. The worst, chas ve’shalem could’ve happened. She could have died.
There is a huge debate among poskim if that’s permissible, if one is allowed to risk death in order to avoid transgressing any aveira other than the three cardinal sins (Idolatry, certain sexual transgressions and Murder). Rambam believes that it is prohibited, while a significant number of Chachmei Ashkenazi think that it’s permitted. The Halakha follows Rambam, that one indeed is not allowed to put their lives in harms way in such circumstances.
Therefore, if she would have asked beforehand any posek what to do, the unanimous answer would have been that she’s definitely allowed to eat non-kosher food, ne’ not only allowed, she actually has to do it. In technical terms: she’s chayevet.
Nevertheless, there is no doubt that after the fact, this courageous choice makes her a real kedosha, a sacred soul, on par with the many in our history who lost their lives al kiddush Hashem. She was willing to die in order to avoid transgressing God’s will.
We, as a result should be in awe of her and inspire our children, congregants and students to admire her unfathomable level of devoutness. We should encourage reverence for a person like Agam whose love for God is so great that she couldn’t fathom transgressing ANY of God’s commandments, even at the risk of being in immeasurable danger.
And yet:
At the same time, we also have to teach them that if, God forbid, they ever find themselves in a similar situation, they should never ever emulate her. In that sense she is a negative role model. A-priori, it is wrong to choose death over one of the remainder six hundred and ten mitzvot, the non-cardinal ones. We need to ensure that they internalize the fact that Halakha values life above everything else. That one should NEVER risk their life for the sake of avoiding a non-cardinal sin.
Striking this perfect balance is undoubtedly extremely hard but refusal to grapple with this challenge would be parental and rabbinic malpractice.”
As an Indigenous person, to what degree are you willing to go to keep your Native ways? EVEN when those who’ve captured you desire your humiliation and your abandonment of your very identity?
Torah laws are a tree life for our Jewish people of the Canaan land of Israel! This is why it is true Indigenous resistance ✊🏼🪬💪🏼 to refuse forced assimilation at the risk of dying for this. Such resistance comes from neshama kedosha, a truly “sacred soul”! BUT,…
Our Torah, the foundation to our Jewish derech (“path”, “lifeway”), demands that we break with tradition in times of extreme danger for the sake of preserving life and the sanctity of it!
“If one ate a forbidden item in a place of danger, he is allowed to bless on it.” – Orach Chayim, Siman 196:2
Those who eat non-kosher food for survival or are forced to eat such for their very survival will not suffer the effects of timtum halev, the “defiling of the indigenous heart (Yoma 39a:2-3)”. In fact, it is obligatory in Jewish halacha to feed yourself non-kosher food when in life-threatening danger!
“And his face changed – and without his face changing, despite saying that his heart is weak and he needs to eat, they do not feed him… because he is considered healthy, since the sick person himself, who knows the bitterness of his soul, can take it for himself and eat it, whether on Yom Kippur or with the other prohibitions*, since he feels for himself that he could be in danger.” – Mishna Berurah 617:6, *- “other prohibitions”, for example, eating non-kosher food in a situation of pikuach nefesh, “saving life”.
In fact, it is a machloket if it is even permissible to refuse to eat food that is permitted based on bitul – see Pitchei Teshuva, Yoreh De’ah 116:10 and Mishneh Halachot VII:104.
“…Thus, it means that if a vessel contains a s’ or a vessel containing a s’, it is not necessary to be strict. That is, there is no obligation on a person to be strict. But if the M.M. wants to be strict in this matter as well, it is a mitzvah…” – Pitchei Teshuva, Yoreh De’ah 116:10
Torah is a tree of life for every Jew!
“For someone who has a dangerous illness, it is a commandment to break Shabbat for him. One who hurries to do this is praised. One who asks about this is a murderer.” – Orach Chayim, Siman 328:2
In a follow up post, Rabbi Ysoscher Katz clarifies the intention of his post on Agam Berger, “Friends and “friends,”
Quickly, a brief note of clarification before shabbos regarding yesterday’s discussion about Agam Berger’s choices, especially for friends in Israel for whom shabbat is literally knocking on the door.
As you know, I live in multiple physical and virtual universes simultaneously. One of those consists of people who are hyper halakhic, halakha is almost the exclusive prism by which they encounter the world. (really the world of my youth, my birth community).
The moment it was revealed that Agam refused to eat non-kosher meat, that world has been buzzing with intense discussion about the halakhic legitimacy of such a choice. For the most part, the consensus was that halakhically it was not the correct choice.
And some raised the concern that perhaps frum women will take away the wrong message from her heroism and assume that it is indeed what one should always do. Whenever there is a choice between being observant or risking one’s life, the ideal choice is the latter. The truly devout would choose to die rather than taint their souls with treif food.
My post yesterday was directed to them. Attempting to offer a means by which to negotiate the difficult challenge of talking about Agam to a hyper halakhic audience, with nuance and sophistication. Primarily the question those groups were grappling with was how to convey to people the notion that if halakha is your exclusive point of reference, don’t make the mistake of thinking that halakha indeed demands of you to take unreasonable risks just so that you don’t commit any sin, regardless of how big or small that transgression is.
The big challenge was to do that in a way that doesn’t diminish one iota of Agam’s heroism. How can we diminish the halakhic weight of that choice without compromising the immense spiritual value of her decision?
My post was an attempt to add my two cents to this conversation, to model how one can hold on to competing truths, whereby on the one hand Agam’s choice is not halakhically endorsed, but that fact nevertheless doesn’t diminish her religious and spiritual stature.
But, as I said at the outset, I was talking to a particular audience, people who look at the world almost exclusively through an halakhic prism, who by the time I wrote my post had already spent a couple of hours grappling with the above mentioned question.
If you are not that kind of person, your prism is much broader and isn’t limited to the confines of halakha, then the post wasn’t at all for you.
Therefore, some of the critical feedback, while undoubtedly well intended, was driven by a misunderstanding of who I was trying to talk to. If any of the first principles informing and undergirding the conversation I was trying to have irked you or seemed foreign to you, I indeed wasn’t talking to you.
Regardless, I am nevertheless truly indebted to (almost) all of you for a vibrant and (for the most part) mature and sensitive discussion, one that was mostly shtooch free. And honestly, the few pricks and taunts were fine too.That’s what one signs up for when choosing to be a rabbi 🙂
Shabbat shalom and (a belated) chodesh tov,
Ysoscher”
Shlomo Fingerer – “I come to Rebbi Ysoscher’s feed specifically for his Torah – this is his beis medrash. I once considered applying to Chovevei to learn under him but quickly realized how wildly off that would be!
You have to be part of his old world to truly appreciate the unique genius of his approach. I’ve never found anything he says to be inconsistent with what my roshei yeshiva would say – if only they dared to navigate such modern waters.
In fact, I’ve jokingly challenged the idea that there’s anything “new world” about his approach, since, as a virtual student of his, I’ve never encountered anything different from what his classmates – who are my charedi roshei yeshiva – would say if they dared to approach these topics.”
Joseph Tsefanyahu Farkasdi, Yosef ibn Yehuda, and we here at Jewish Indigenous Rights Advocacy – JIRA fully emphasize and absolutely agree with Shlomo Fingerer about Rabbi Ysoscher Katz!!!
The Palestinian 🇵🇸 fighter for Islamic HAMAS that wants to stay in Israeli prison 🇮🇱 , rather than be returned to Gaza. Some amongst us would say “Send him back regardless what he wants”.
That’s NOT our Jewish people’s Indigenous derech. It’s Shabbat, so let’s learn together:
“If one encounters one’s friend on the road and sees that that person’s animal is suffering from its burden, whether the burden is appropriate for the animal or is excessive, it is a mitzvah to remove this burden (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Rotzeah 13:1).” This includes an animal belonging to an enemy (Kesef Mishneh, Hilkhot Rotzeah 13:9)
“But should he say to you, ‘I do not want to leave you [and be returned to my slave master, aka HAMAS 🇵🇸 ]’ — for he loves you and your household and is happy with you — you shall take an awl and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall become your slave in perpetuity [meaning, until the Jubilee of release and rebalance]” – D’varim 15:16-17
Such prisoners should be well fed and not given useless or endless work to perform “in the manner that the Egyptians used to oppress the Israelites”, for the goal of Jewish/Israeli society 🕎🪬🇮🇱 is to move humans away from slavery and sacrifice, and bring humans to tefilla and life-affirming contemplation (Mishneh Torah – Slaves 9:8).
Ysoscher Katz also shared, “How in the world did I not know about this evocative and highly pertinent tefilah, composed by the Piaseczno rebbi zecher tzadik ve’kadosh livracha, and recited yesterday at the UN by Israel President Isaac Herzog? (During the holocaust, he was a Rebbi in the Warsaw Ghetto, until he was killed by the Nazis, who earlier killed his only son, daughter in law and sister in law.)
I of course will not start reciting it everyday until …
רבונו של עולם,
האזינה לקול בכינו ולאנקת לבנו, ראה את צערנו וענינו, והושיענו ממצוקתנו הגדולה. קרובי נפשנו, נשים וילדים,אבות ואמהות, אחים ואחיות ושאר אחינו בני ישראל, נעקרו מתוכנו, הם נלקחו בשבי ועקבותיהם לא נודעו.
היה נא אתה, אל שדי, מגנם של כל השבויים, שמור עליהם מכל צרה וצוקה, תן להם כוח לעמוד בענויי מעניהם מחרפיהם ומגדפיהם. המצא להם חיות למען יזכו לשוב אל משפחותיהם, והילדים והתינוקות הרכים, אלה שנגזלו מחיק אביהם ואמם, עשה נא שיתגלו ויזכו לשוב אל אבותיהם כבימי צאתנו מארץ מצרים
Master of the Universe,
Hear the sound of our weeping and the cry of our hearts. See our suffering and anguish, and deliver us from this great distress. Our loved ones—women and children, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, and many others among the people of Israel—have been torn away from us. They have been taken captive, and their fate remains unknown.
Almighty God, the protector of all those in captivity, shield them from harm and hardship. Grant them the strength to withstand the torment of their captors, who abuse and revile them. Sustain them with life so that they are able to return to their families.
And for the children, the tender infants stolen from the embrace of their parents, please let them be found and reunited with their families, as in the days of our exodus from Egypt.
(This is only part of the tefilah. For the complete version, see the comments.)”
And, now for a more somber thought on the necessity of our public displays of Indigenous resistance ✊🏼🪬🕎💪🏼 for the sake of Torah!
This is BlueSky, folks. Praised for being not like X-Twitter! This social media benevolence only applies so long as you’re NOT a Jew.
@joy.msnbc.com , @chrislhayes.bsky.social , @ayman.msnbc.com , (etc) this kind of racist hate trolling happens to our native Jewish people every single day. And your antisemitic disinformation broadcasts about Israelis only adds to this virulent anti-Indigenous racism. Good job!
While Jews in the European diaspora were speaking and writing in the Colonial narratives of Europe, we Middle Eastern Jews were busy restoring our land and waters sovereignty in preparation for sovereign decolonization. It worked!
Ahistorical! The British gave the Arabian Hashemite family the British and French established Colonial nations of Jordan, Syria, and Iraq as a reward for helping to re-colonize Southwest Asia. Take your disinformation campaign elsewhere.
The Jewish people of our Canaan land of Israel have had a nonstop 3,500 year presence upon our SWANA sacred land – despite every single attempted ethnic cleansing of our Indigenous Judean people by the European and Arab Conquistadors for Colonial Allah, Christ, and Marx ruling dominionism!
Learn something!!! – http://www.takemeon.org/dir/the-history-of-canaanite-jews-from-beginning-to-present-day/
For those who may believe we have committed lashon hara with this post, consider two things:
1) It is a halachic obligation to report wrongdoing when it threatens the safety of others. And, 2) by publicly addressing the situation of implicit antisemitism that is fueling explicit antisemitism, we are saving lives – Jewish lives – through this mitzvah.
This is permitted lashon hara within the Jewish people! We will now provide sources:
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your fellow, but you shall not bear a sin on his account. (Vayikra 19:17)”
This obligation exists regardless of whether the action harms others, and the requirement lasts until the wrongdoer begins to curse or scream at you.
“But if one knows that his words would not be listened to he should not say publically, that they should be admonished except once. But he should not increase the admonishing, since he knows that they will not listen to him. However, in private a man is obligated to admonish him (the transgressor) until this transgressor beats him (the admonisher) or curses him, (ר״ן ס״פ הבע״י).” – Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 608:2; also see Shulchan Aruch ha-Rav, ibid. 608:4–6.
Next, this is shared directly from Chofetz Chaim: Ethics of Speech:
“The 7 conditions for speaking L”H we discussed in chapter 10 of Hilchot L”H-
(1) The information must be true.
(2) The information cannot be exaggerated.
(3) The speaker should verify that the information is an objective violation of Jewish Law.
(4) The speaker must have pure intentions.
(5) The speaker should first approach the transgressor before resorting to speaking L”H about him.
(6) If the purpose can be achieved in a way other than speaking L”H, that alternative method should be tried first.
(7) The L”H should not cause more damage to the subject that would have been decreed in a Beit Din.” – Chafetz Chaim, Hilchot Issurei Lashon Hara 10:1–17 and Hilchot Rechilut 9:1–15. See, https://torah.org/learning/halashon-rchapter9/
META Description : Jews and Native Americans share similar understandings of reality in our respective Indigenous peoples’ Torah!
For more blogs available on this site, click here now.
Link to the book directly below. Touch the cover!
Read this book and you won’t disparage the Jewish people nor Israel ever again! This book exposes the Colonial lie of false equivalency between Jews (Indigenous Judeans of the land of Israel) and Christians and Muslims (world colonizing European and Arab religions), that have been assimilating Indigenous lands worldwide for 1,600 years in the names of Jewish ancestors. Zionism is the Jewish people’s “land back” movement. Israel’s successful full decolonization is every Indigenous People’s/Nation’s hope!
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