Talmud

The Talmud is a foundational text in Rabbinic 02_ARCHIVE/08 heresies/Judaism, understood as the oral tradition written down and meticulously debated by rabbis over centuries.

Remnant Network · 9 min read

The Talmud is a foundational text in Rabbinic 02_ARCHIVE/08 heresies/Judaism, understood as the oral tradition written down and meticulously debated by rabbis over centuries.

According to Jewish tradition, the Talmud originates from 70 elders of the Sanhedrin, who are said to have received the oral tradition at Mount Sinai. Following the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, Jews returned to Babylon, and the Babylonian Talmud was subsequently compiled and written down around 140 AD, completed around 500 or 550 AD.

This extensive collection comprises volumes of arguments between rabbis, with each section commencing with the Mishna, the written oral tradition, followed by lengthy responses and debates from rabbis known as the Gemara. The content is largely composed of discussions on how to apply Jewish law in minutely detailed scenarios.

Although the Talmud’s contents are expansive and rabbinic opinions often contradict, Jews do not consider it dogmatic or infallible. Nevertheless, its contents are highly illuminating to the Jewish mindset, demonstrating a moral divergence from Christianity and providing context for Jesus’s responses to the Pharisees in the Gospels.

#### Historical and Religious Context

Rabbinic Judaism, which established itself approximately 1500 years ago, emerged as a reformed version of the Pharisee party after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. This event rendered traditional temple sacrifices impossible, forcing Jewish factions to confront a new religious landscape. The Talmud, completed centuries after the New Testament was canonised, functions as the Jewish response to Christianity. It is considered the oral law of Rabbinic Judaism and is accorded greater weight than the Old Testament. It is observed to be ten times more legalistic than Catholicism.

#### Portrayal of Jesus in the Talmud

Talmudic passages express a spectrum of views towards Jesus, ranging from moderate disapproval to outright hatred and blasphemy. The Talmud does not deny Jesus's miracles but asserts that he performed them through magic or sorcery. It explicitly claims that Jesus intentionally led some Jews astray by performing magic through idolatry, a consistent accusation with those made by the Pharisees in the Gospels (e.g. Matthew 9:34, Matthew 12:24).

Specific passages from the Talmud articulate severe condemnations of Jesus:

Execution and Accusations: Sanhedrin 43a states that on Passover Eve, Jesus the Nazarene was hanged after being stoned. A crier publicly proclaimed for 40 days that he was to be stoned for practicing sorcery, enticing people to idol worship, and leading the Jewish people astray. The court did not find reason to acquit him. Ula stated that Jesus was unworthy of a search for acquittal due to his being an "insider to idol worship," for which the merciful one states, "With regard to an insider to idol worship neither shall you spare neither shall you conceal him" (Deuteronomy 13:9). However, due to his close ties with the government and gentile authorities’ interest in his acquittal, he was given every opportunity to clear himself to prevent claims of false conviction. Some Jewish historians assert that this passage and others do not refer to the Jesus worshipped by Christians; however, Safaria, a website preserving Jewish texts, hyperlinks this name to references within the Talmud, and the Jewish text Toledot Yeshu also references this passage.
Healing and Heresy: Avodah Zarah 27b recounts an incident involving Ben Dama, who, bitten by a snake, was offered healing by Yakov of the village of Sana, a disciple of Jesus the Nazarene and considered a heretic. Rabbi Ishmael forbade the treatment, leading to Ben Dama's death before he could complete a defence for accepting medical treatment from a heretic. This demonstrates that Jews viewed Jesus as a heretic and would forbid healing from his followers.
Illicit Teachings: Avodah Zarah 17a implies Jesus taught his followers to profit from illicit sexual behaviour. Rabbi Lizar encountered a student of Jesus, Yakov of Kafar Sakana, who asked about the permissibility of using payment to a prostitute for a bathroom in the Temple, referencing Deuteronomy 23:19. This is consistent with a continuous slander that Jesus himself engaged in such behaviour.
Sorcery and Leading Astray: Sotah 47a describes an incident where Jesus, a student of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Perachia, was criticised for gazing at women, leading to his excommunication. Despite Jesus’s daily attempts to return, he was rejected. One day, Jesus mistook Rabbi Yehoshua’s signal to wait as a rejection, causing him to worship a brick as an idol. When urged to repent, Jesus reportedly stated, "This is the tradition that I have received from you anyone who sins causes the masses to sin and is not given the opportunity to repent". The Gemara explains that Jesus caused the masses to sin by performing sorcery, inciting and subverting them, and causing the Jewish people to sin. Sanhedrin 107b also makes this claim.
Punishment in the Afterlife: Gittin 57a states that Jesus is punished with boiling excrement in the next world because "he mocked the words of the sages". The Jewish Encyclopedia article on Jesus confirms this Talmudic passage, noting that Jesus's advice from hell is for people on Earth to bless the Jews.

Portrayal of Mary, the Mother of Jesus

The Talmud contains references to Mary, the mother of Jesus, consistently portraying her infidelity and Jesus as a bastard child.

Nickname and Illicit Relations: Shabbat 104b discusses Jesus's name, Ben Stada, and states that his mother's husband was Stada, but the one who fathered him was named Pandira. It further explains that his mother was Miriam, who braided women's hair. "Stada" is stated to be a nickname meaning "this one strayed from her husband," implying her infidelity. Sanhedrin 67a reports a similar narrative. The name Miriam, or Mary, is understood to refer to the mother of God, and the description of her braiding women's hair, or in some translations, letting her hair grow long, is interpreted as an effort to depict her as a harlot, as women in the ancient world who wore their hair down did so as a signal of sexual availability. The notion of Jesus being a bastard child is a consistent view within rabbinic Judaism.
Unclear Reference: Sanhedrin 106a contains a passage that some claim refers to Mary, though it is not specific and does not mention her by name. This narrative, which describes a woman enticing a man to drink wine and engage in intercourse, and then demanding he worship an idol and deny the Torah, is consistent with the general narrative about Jesus's mother.

#### Portrayal of Gentiles in the Talmud

The Talmud contains numerous passages concerning Gentiles (non-Jews), revealing views that set them apart from Jews and permit specific actions against them:

Deception and Business Restrictions:
Returning Lost Items: Baba Kamma 113b states, "It is only to your brother that you return a lost item but you do not return a lost item to a gentile".
Deception: Baba Kamma 113a indicates that it is permitted to deceive a gentile, as the court's usual avoidance of trickery to vindicate a Jew is only for the sanctification of God's name, and this consideration does not apply to Gentiles.
Financial Benefit from Errors: Baba Kamma 113b permits financially benefiting from a business error of a Gentile, meaning it need not be returned.
Business with Christians: Avodah Zarah 7b prohibits a Jew from engaging in business with a Christian on any day of the week, due to Christian festivities taking place every Sunday, and three days before and after Sunday constituting the entire week.
Non-Human Status:
Not Called "Adam": Keritot 6b states that Gentiles are not included in the meaning of "person" (Adam), as Ezekiel 34:31 states, "And you my sheep the sheep of my pasture are people Adam," from which it is derived that only the Jewish people are called Adam, but Gentiles are not.
Graves and Impurity: Baba Metzia 114b further supports this by stating that the graves of Gentiles do not render one impure, echoing Rabbi Shimon bin Yohai’s interpretation of Ezekiel 34:31 that only the Jewish people are called "man," but Gentiles are not.
"Like Animals": Gentiles are also described as being like animals.
Death Penalty for Gentiles:
Keeping Animals: Mishna Avodah Zarah 21:1 forbids keeping animals in Gentile inns due to suspicion of bestiality, as Gentiles are prohibited from it, and a Jew doing so would violate the prohibition against placing a stumbling block before the blind (Leviticus 19:14).
Seclusion: It is also prohibited for any person to seclude themselves with Gentiles due to suspicion of bloodshed.
Childbirth and Nursing: A Jewish woman is forbidden from delivering a Gentile woman's child because the child would engage in idol worship; conversely, a Gentile woman may deliver and nurse a Jewish woman's child.
Torah Study: Sanhedrin 59a states that a Gentile who engages in Torah study is liable to receive the death penalty, citing Deuteronomy 33:4, which implies Torah is an inheritance for Jews and not for them.
Striking a Jew: Sanhedrin 58b declares that a Gentile who strikes a Jew is liable to receive the death penalty, as striking a Jew is considered striking the Divine Presence.
Killing the Best: Another Talmudic rabbi, Simeon Ben Yohai, stated that "The best of the Gentiles should be killed".

These historical rabbinical interpretations of Old Testament passages are considered to have applied to "barbarian Gentiles" and not necessarily to modern "civilised" people, yet they remain historic interpretations. The Jewish hermeneutic, particularly in these areas, is fundamentally opposed to the Christian hermeneutic, indicating that they are completely different religions.

#### Talmudic Views on Sexual Morality and Rape

The Talmud contains concerning moral aspects regarding sexual behaviour, particularly rape:

Intercourse with Minors:
Under Three Years Old: Niddah 44b and Ketubot 11b state that intercourse with a girl less than three years and one day old is not considered full intercourse in all halakhic senses; it is akin to placing a finger into the eye, and the hymen returns to its original state, making the act not "count" as rape.
Virginity Claim: Ketubot 11a indicates that a female convert, captive woman, or freed maidservant who was less than three years and one day old when subject to intercourse is still considered a virgin, and their marriage contract is 200 dinars.
Priesthood Marriage: Yevamot 60b refers to Rabbi Shimon Ben Yohai’s view that a female convert under three years and one day old is permitted to marry into the priesthood, based on Numbers 31:18, indicating such women were fit for warriors and, by extension, priests. Other rabbis disagree, interpreting the verse as permitting them only as slaves or maidservants.
Homosexual Intercourse: Sanhedrin 54b states that if a child under nine years old engages in homosexual intercourse passively, the one who engages in intercourse with him is not liable.
Adultery: Sanhedrin 52b interprets Leviticus 20:10 ("And a man who commits adultery with another man's wife... both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death") as excluding a minor boy who committed adultery before coming of age, and the wife of a minor boy from being considered a halakhic marriage. It also excludes the wife of a Gentile, as a Gentile is not referred to as one's "neighbour".

The existence and preservation of such views in the Talmud underscore their perceived importance within Judaism.

#### Relationship with Other Jewish Texts

The Talmud’s views on Jesus and Mary are supported by other Jewish texts. The Jewish Encyclopedia article on Jesus confirms the Talmudic passage about Jesus burning in excrement in hell. Additionally, the Toledot Yeshu, an anti-Christian Jewish polemical story likely from late antiquity to the early medieval period, corroborates many Talmudic claims. This text asserts that Jesus was a bastard child and that he acquired his power by stealing the ineffable name of God, inscribed on the foundation stone of the Temple, and using it to perform miracles and deceive the masses into believing he was the Messiah.

The Toledot Yeshu relates a scene where young Jesus is called a "bastard son of a minstrel" and "son of Joseph Pandera who bedded your mother in her menses," leading him to confront his mother about his paternity. Upon his return to the village, he is banished from the congregation for being a bastard. According to late medieval sources, it was a Jewish custom to read the Toledot Yeshu on Christmas Eve.

#### Distinction from Biblical Judaism and Christianity

Modern Judaism, particularly Rabbinic Judaism, differs significantly from Biblical Judaism, which was not monolithic at the time of Christ and included various factions like the Pharisees and Sadducees. Rabbinic Judaism emerged as a reformation following the destruction of the Temple, developing new doctrines centered around the Old Testament and the Talmud.

The content of the Talmud clearly displays an outright contempt and hatred for Jesus, his mother, and his followers. The Talmud boasts that Jews were right to crucify Jesus because he deserved it. It claims that all Christians will join Jesus in burning in a pile of excrement in hell and that his mother is a whore. It is also stated that Jesus was a bastard child who engaged in constant sexual sins, orgies, and sex cults. Gentiles, or non-Jews, are referred to as "goy" and are depicted as animals, considered lesser beings than the superior Jewish master race, with the implication that they should be killed.

Judaism is an ethnoreligion that looks down upon all who are not Jewish, and the Talmud resembles demonic propaganda.

The Jewish rejection of Jesus, the Messiah, is viewed as a fundamental departure from God's path. The Jewish people ignored warnings, experienced the destruction of their Temple, and the removal of their priesthood, yet doubled down on their chosen path.

They are seen to create elaborate alternative explanations for Old Testament passages that point to Jesus, denying the obvious. Rabbinic Judaism is a demonic religion. Christians worship a Trinitarian God, whereas Jews worship a Unitarian God, like Muslims, indicating that they do not worship the same God.

This rejection of Christ by Rabbinic Jews is the greatest atrocity they have committed. It has neutered the faith of Abraham, blasphemed their Messiah, and produced a weak, incoherent conception of God.

While Christianity is open to all, Judaism has become an ethnoreligion whose primary aim is to acquire land for Jews to work out their salvation, with limited consideration for others.