pizza wrote:Saul: Here is an opportunity for you to learn something useful about the Halachas concerning rescue, and their history. Pay particular attention to Maimonides' Code. Note that nowhere is there any reference to distinctions between Jews and Gentiles, friends or enemies, or the like with regard to their application. They apply uniformly to one's
fellow man.
Enjoy!
http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/kitveyet/ass ... enbaum.htm
This M.J says :' encouraging active intervention to assist a fellow human being in peril and thus transforming the unconcerned bystander into a Good Samaritan'.
I don't want to be a 'good Samaritan' I want to be a good Jew.
Or did you forget that the Samaritans were one of our greatest enemies?
Again he infuses here Christian Theology into Jewish Theology. The famous Christian passage of a man fallen sick and in need of assistance was approached by a Levite and was ignored and then was Approached by a Priest and was ignored , and later on was approached by a Samaritan and was rescued is a classical anti Semitic blood libel where the Christians blame the Jew of not been able to perform the most basic acts of kindness towards his fellow human beings. But who then can perform an act of kindness? the Samarian, the enemy of the Jews, so the Christians believe.
Aaron Kirschenbaum, J.D. who is he a Rabbi? since when he became an authority on Jewish law?
Do you know how many gentiles hold degrees in Talmudic studies and Jewish law? Should we then look upon them as authority when it comes to Jewish law?
Of course not.
We have our Jewish authentic Rabbinical authorities, and only they have the authority when it comes to Jewish law, not some J.D or any other 'intellectuals' of any sort.
Among the total rumble and huge salad that he made with that article, Pizza, nowhere does he say anything about helping our sworn enemies.
He talks about bystanders, and neighbors, friends, , fellow human beings 'FELLOW' not sworn enemies.
If I go in the street and I hear the cries of a woman been raped, I don't care if she is Jewish or not I am obligated to help, that's clear. But if I knew that yesterday she murdered 20 Jews in cold blood, I will not help. It all has to do with information, what kind of information do you have.
If I didn’t know anything about Hamas' murderous actions towards my people, you are right, I would have naturally helped, because its my nature to be compassionate. But I f I know that these people want to murder me, and my people, I will not help, and there is no Jewish law or verse or teaching that obligates me to help these murderers.
Also you must remember that there are thee types of peoples in this world corresponding to the 3 different spiritual traits , they are :
Hessed - Benevolence
Gvurah - Judgment
Tiferet - A middle power that unites these 2 traits into a balanced one.
Hessed - Benevolence, is the trait of the Christians, assist and help no matter what, only doing things of kindness whether you deserve it or not, even to your worst enemies, forgiveness, love without any limits without any context, we learn this from their teaching :'Give the other cheek'.
Gevurah - Judgment - is the trait of the Muslims, they say: if you are not Muslim, you will be killed, kill all the infidels, there is no other God then Allah, and anyone who doesn’t believe in him will be put to death, by the power of the sword. Zealotry and judgment are the traits of Islam.
Tiferet- Balanced middle power that unites these two somewhat 'extreme' traits, belongs to Israel our father, the Jewish people.
We believe that everything has its measures (God Excluded), context, and our actions must have wisdom. Therefore we are for helping human beings, our people, our friends, even the gentiles, but we are not obligated to help our enemies. On the other hand, we must give judgment, but it must be infused with a measure of Benevolence, that is why the Talmud says "any court that carried out a capital punishment once in 70 years, is a murderous court'. We are not excited to give judgment and we are not rejoicing when the transgressor has been put to death, that's why we try to find ways to release him, but if he is guilty nevertheless, and there is no shadow of doubt that he indeed committed the crime, then Judgment must be enforced.
That is the Jewish way. You are trying very hard without even realizing it, to turn Judaism into Christianity.
We are not Christians, and are not willing to give 'the other cheek' to our enemies. We will help any person, even those who don't deserve it, but we will never help our sworn enemies.