"The Talmud says that 3 yea-"

Let me stop you there. Not it doesn't.

A thread on the Bible, Talmud, and Jewish view of marriage and consent. First, we need to understand what exactly the Mishna and the Talmud are. They exist to discuss the Oral Torah; more specifically, their main raison d'etre is to discuss what are considered fringe cases in Jewish law.

What does that mean? Let's me give you an example:

Do people who reject Kabbalah not understand how fringe their position is?

99%+ of Rabbanim have accepted its validity. From Maran Beit Yosef in the Shulchan Aruch to the Mishnah Berurah, Hassidim to Modern Orthodox, literally all of the Torah giants of the last thousand years. I just don’t understand the mentality of people who see that literally everyone has accepted the validity of the Arizal & the Zohar, and somehow think that they are the ones who cracked the code and figured out that Kabbalah is actually false and that they know better than them

The historicity, sanctity, and utility of the Western Wall is under attack.

In this first of three threads, I'll answer the question of whether it is a remnant of the Temple itself, a retaining wall of the Herodian Temple compound, a Roman Fort or later pagan temple.

A thread. Herod the Great, in order to endear itself to the Jewish masses and prop up legitimacy to his rule due to the (right) perception that he was a Roman client and puppet instead to rule Judea, decided to embark on a grandiose renovation and expansion project of the Second Temple.

A Jew has many souls. They all subdivide in multiple parts. So, are there two? Five? Seven? Twenty-five? Even more? Just one?

A short thread on very deep concepts.

https://twitter.com/ilanblock/status/1951394110566490231

Sefer HaTanya, the cornerstone of Chabad Chassidut, opens by telling us that man is made up of two “nefesh,” (in English, often translated as souls but not quite) which are: Nefesh HaBahamit (the Animal Soul), and Nefesh HaElokit (the G-dly soul).

Both are made up multiple parts

Jews were never kicked out of 109 countries over 1030 times throughout history.

To debunk that meme, and go through the What, When and Why of it all, we might need at least 109 posts, however.

A historical thread. The truth is that we could simply begin by pointing out that those lists are not accurate. Not only do they usually duplicate countries (France is often listed 3+ times) but they also list cities/locales as nations (Mainz by itself instead as a country instead of city in Germany)

People who have never studied the subject, who are completely oblivious to the history of American-Israeli relations, are fine with jettisoning a relationship that has favored America far more than Israel due to their ignorance.

A short thread.

https://twitter.com/history__speaks/status/1950346208225993195

General George Keegan was the head of the US Air Force Intelligence. He claimed that Israel gave to America more intelligence on the Soviets and their weapons than he would have received if he had five CIAs.

And that’s not all he said:

On the current discourse surrounding starvation in Gaza and how the pro-Israel crowd is doing more damage than good.

A thread. Here’s the thing: there is some starvation in Gaza. It is possible that some people are dying from hunger. Making fun of it as if it’s not happening is absolutely the wrong way to go about it.

This is horrible messaging & makes everyone in Israel and Jews overall look horrible.

Are you in the habit of calling such brush fires in empty lots of unknown origin a desecration in front of G-d, terrorism, and a crime against humanity whose authors must be punished to the full extent of the law?

Very disappointing.

An apology would have gone a long way.

https://twitter.com/govmikehuckabee/status/1947485289792082210

Eating crow is never pleasant, but it salvages your reputation far more than to pretend that you weren’t wrong to begin with.

It would have shown a great example of morality to the world to simply admit you were taken in by false informations & should have waited for the facts.

Debunking the idea that Israel is a haven for Jewish criminals fleeing justice in their own home countries.

A thread. Let’s start from the beginning: Israel passed its Extradition Law in 1954.

To extradite someone, it required:

1 - A valid extradition treaty/reciprocity with the other country
2 - It must be a crime in both countries
3 - Enough evidence for a ‘prima facie’ case (ie, evidence)

What Jeffrey Epstein did was absolutely monstrous. If he was in fact a Mossad agent, or working directly for the Mossad, that would deserve the highest condemnation.

However, if you think that’s the case, please explain to me how the following makes sense: 1) If he was spying for Israel and the goal was to amass blackmail on American politicians and important figures…

Why didn’t he spend time with American politicians and important figures? He was hanging out with rich people, political has been, and celebrities.

Let's debunk this once and for all:

No, the Yeshu of the Talmud is not who you think he is.

A thread. The truth is that there are far more lies being peddled against the Talmud than those two, most originating in the Middle-Age Disputations.

I'm not going to be debunking all of them; I will deal with the two most common, and either add to this thread or make a longer one later.

I think as a Jewish community we have to reflect that the reason why many Jews end up being radicalized against Israel has very little to do with the actions of the State as much as it’s a question of status, acceptance in social circles, and likes on social media.

And money. That’s not to say that there are no true believers, some people who had very little to do with Jewishness in the first place and embraced ideology, there’s no erev Rav, etc. I’m not discussing those people. That’s another discussion.

I’m talking about a different phenomenon.

If you’re confused as to why almost all anti-LGBT white supremacists are coming out in support of a left-wing homosexual Jewish man with two adopted boys, it’s because their only uniting principle is antisemitism. Everything else falls by the wayside.

But it goes deeper: Before turning journalist, Greenwald was the high profile attorney of Matthew Hale of the World Church of the Creator (white supremacist church) and the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi organization. He even broke Illinois law in defending Hale and was barred from representing him.

You have been lied to: the palestinians do not want peace, and the war has barely affected their desire to keep fighting Israel, much less destroy it.

A thread with receipts: We are now almost 600 days since October 7th. We keep hearing about how Gaza has been turned into rubble, starvation is imminent, and a genocide is happening.

Yet 59% of them still believe that 10/07 was the right thing to do. That’s only a 13% drop since December 2023.

Here we go again

Another debunking of anti-Talmudic nonsense.

https://twitter.com/a_westgate/status/1924909037587444186

1. The Talmud instructs Jews to burn the gospels while it speaks positively of Islam

Neither are the gospels or the quran mentioned at all in the Talmud. Off the bat, this is false. Let's dive a bit deeper:

https://x.com/a_westgate/status/1924909043300155591

Jews believe Non-Jews don’t have souls? We seethe about Catholics Kings on a daily basis?

Debunking an inane rant from the most Mexican of white nationalists:

https://twitter.com/etherxwave/status/1917734241586274796

There’s a lot to unpack but let’s make this clear:

The vast majority of Jews absolutely do not care about the CIK slogan. We do realize that it’s said in a childish way to try to get at us, but it doesn’t bother us anymore than someone saying to you Mohammed is the last prophet.

Judaism says that if you are forced to worship idols, have forbidden relations, or to murder someone, you have to give up your life instead.

If you are told in public to break even a minor custom or halacha, such as tying your shoes the wrong way, you give up your life instead.

https://twitter.com/thirdandjauan/status/1913341534285824274

We do not seek out martyrdom, but martyrdom was foisted upon us many times throughout history, and to die sanctifying G-d’s name is literally considered the holiest sacrifice you can do (the holiest thing you can do being to live for Torah, not die for it)
chabad.org/library/articl…

Orthodox Leaders were not only not mistaken to tell their congregations to stay in Europe prior to the Holocaust, but they were justified and right to say so.

A thread to put things in perspective. Now I understand that this seems like a very provocative statement to make, but I hope that by the end of me making the argument, you will realize that there was no other way.

I am assuming most who will read this are not Orthodox, and will make two preambles prior to it:

Sure. Let’s go ahead and give a few:

1.Supported Western bloc, aligning with U.S. Cold War interests.
2.Shared captured Soviet weapons from Arab armies with U.S. analysts.
3.Provided intelligence on Soviet military advisors in Egypt and Syria.
4.Allowed CIA access to monitor Soviet activity in the Middle East.
5.Supplied real-time updates on Arab military movements during key conflicts.
6.Helped intercept Soviet arms shipments to hostile regimes.
7.Provided early intelligence on Egyptian and Syrian WMD programs.
8.Shared valuable aerial and radar data from Yom Kippur War.
9.Secretly assisted U.S. airlift efforts during Yom Kippur War.
10.Gave the U.S. access to captured Soviet-made military technology.
11.Played key Cold War buffer role after U.S.-Israel strategic memorandum.
12.Hosted joint exercises to test U.S. electronic warfare and desert operations.
13.Helped expose Soviet-backed terror networks in Lebanon.
14.Assisted in countering Soviet influence in Ethiopia and Africa.
15.Shared early counter-terror innovations later adopted by U.S. agencies.
16.Provided captured Soviet MiG fighter jet to U.S. for analysis.
17.Participated in Cold War maritime surveillance coordination with U.S. Navy.
18.Contributed to American missile defense research post-Reagan’s SDI initiative.
19.Signed 1983 agreement institutionalizing military cooperation with the Pentagon.
20.Provided intelligence on Iraqi Scud missile locations during Gulf War.
21.Maintained full restraint under U.S. pressure during Iraqi missile attacks.
22.Shared extensive counter-terrorism data with U.S. post-1993 WTC bombing.
23.Collaborated with U.S. on Arrow missile defense development.
24.Helped uncover Iranian nuclear procurement through intelligence channels.
25.Supported U.S. sanctions enforcement against Saddam Hussein.
26.Led regional cyber-defense initiatives benefiting U.S. interests.
27.Aided U.S. in dismantling terror finance networks.
28.Contributed to real-time surveillance of Iranian Quds Force activity.
29.Trained U.S. police and military in counter-terror strategy.
30.Became a launch site and testbed for U.S. advanced missile tech.

And that’s just the military aspect of things. Should I go on? Let’s do the economy now

1.Imported American goods and machinery to build early Israeli infrastructure.
2.Created stable Western-oriented market amid socialist Arab nationalist economies.
3.Signed trade agreements favoring U.S. exports to Israel.
4.Promoted U.S. investments in Israeli development and agriculture sectors.
5.Bought U.S. surplus military equipment, stimulating American defense industries.
6.Built early pharmaceutical and agritech sectors using American patents and tech.
7.Offered American firms a safe regional base near oil routes.
8.Increased U.S. agricultural imports following 1973 war disruptions.
9.Encouraged Jewish-American capital investment in Israeli startups and infrastructure.
10.Imported American construction tech for rebuilding post-war.
11.Joined U.S. Cold War boycott on Arab oil producers economically.
12.Signed 1975 trade agreements expanding U.S. economic reach in the region.
13.Became major importer of American civilian aircraft and aviation parts.
14.Offered U.S. arms suppliers reliable post-Vietnam market.
15.Signed 1985 U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement (first U.S. FTA ever).
16.Boosted U.S. exports through tariff-free access to Israeli markets.
17.Encouraged U.S. firms to outsource R&D to Israeli universities.
18.Developed early computer hardware/software industries using U.S. capital.
19.Supported U.S. tech dominance in the region through joint innovation.
20.Expanded Intel’s operations, making Israel key in chip development.
21.Integrated into U.S. aerospace supply chains (e.g., for Boeing, Lockheed).
22.Attracted billions in American VC investment into Israeli high-tech.
23.Partnered with Motorola, IBM, and Microsoft for R&D hubs.
24.Contributed to American cell phone and communication tech evolution.
25.Created massive demand for U.S. medical and defense equipment.
26.Enabled joint biotech breakthroughs used by U.S. pharma companies.
27.Drove American private equity expansion into Middle East via Israel.
28.Supported U.S. energy companies exploring offshore Mediterranean gas tech.
29.Provided U.S. defense contractors with combat-proven tech for export.
30.Co-developed UAV tech adopted into American defense platforms.

Sounds like a pretty good ally!

I have a genuine question for non-Jews, but I hope we can have a mature & respectful discussion as I’m not trying to say anything inflammatory. It’s an outgrowth of the last thread about Orthodox Judaism’s view, and I’m genuinely interested in the ramifications.

Here we go:

Isn’t the treatment of Xianity by Islam far more theologically problematic than Judaism’s?

In Judaism we flat out say ‘We both believe in G-d, but we don’t agree on the identity/details.’

In Islam, it’s not simply a question of rejecting the identity/details, but outright denial of the crucifixion, death on the cross, and resurrection while simultaneously relegating him as 100% human and subordinate to someone they see as more perfect.

As a Jew, I know that I personally consider it far worse to take the Jewish Bible and rewrite it, versus adding books to it that I do not consider valid as canon. Or is it a case of partial acceptance and therefore it’s not considered theologically as bad? And before anyone interjects with “But, in the Talmud it says…,” please read the following two wonderful articles by @GilStudent that will demonstrate how memes on the internet are there to mislead, not educate:

talmud.faithweb.com/articles/jesus…
talmud.faithweb.com/articles/jesus…

If someone is not familiar with Judaism, rather than pontificating on it, they should ask those who are.

For Jews, their beliefs are entirely considered idolatry. The G-d who took us out of Egypt is not a man.

For non-Jews, it is shittuf, an association. A theological mistake.

https://twitter.com/pastordeberny/status/1904603792307318891

According to the majority of decisors in Jewish law, we believe non-Jews who have embraced the gospels truly want to be monotheists, it’s simply that they were lead astray from proper beliefs but ultimately their meaning is not idolatry, and that’s why it’s not qualified as such.