[Prefatory Note: the post below is The Sarajevo Declaration of the Gaza Tribunal, a consensus document prepared in conjunction with participants in the first of two Public Sessions of the Gaza Tribunal, released on May 29, 2025. The second session of the tribunal is scheduled for late October. The proceedings in Sarajevo consisted of survivor testimony from Gaza, invited expert speakers, a roundtable on media complicity, and the reports of three chambers tasked with documenting evidence and consequences of alleged genocide and crimes associated with forcible application of the Settler Colonial Project to Gaza following October 7, as well as the failure of the UN, growing public protests, and of leading governments to bring the genocide to an end in accordance with international law and hold the perpetrators accountable. The Sarajevo Declaration is a comprehensive text intended to convey the orientation, broad scope of the goals of civil society solidarity activation and reflecting the diversity of concerns among members of the Gaza Tribunal community. Sarajevo was our chosen site to express symbolic solidarity with an earlier genocide at Srebrenica that occurred 30 years ago. Encourage wide sharing of the Sarajevo Declaration. It is my honor to serve as president of the GTP in concert with dedicated scholars, witnesses, and activists from around the world, including the inspiring participation of our Palestinian sisters and brothers.]
The Sarajevo Declaration of the Gaza Tribunal
28 May We, the members of the Gaza Tribunal, having gathered in Sarajevo from 26 to 29 May 2025, declare our collective moral outrage at the continuing genocide in Palestine, our solidarity with the people of Palestine, and our commitment to working with partners across global civil society to end the genocide and to ensure accountability for perpetrators and enablers, redress for victims and survivors, the building of a more just international order, and a free Palestine.
We condemn the Israeli regime, its perpetration of genocide, and its decades-long policies and practices of settler colonialism, ethno-supremacism, apartheid, racial segregation, persecution, unlawful settlements, the denial of the right to return, collective punishment, mass detention, torture and cruel and inhuman treatment and punishment, extrajudicial executions, systematic sexual violence, demolitions, forced displacement and expulsions, ethnic purges and forced demographic change, forced starvation, the systematic denial of all economic and social rights, and extermination.
We are horrified by the Israeli regime’s systematic devastation of Palestinian lives, lands, and livelihoods, including its intentional destruction of all sources and systems for food, water, healthcare, education, housing, culture, as well as mosques, churches, aid facilities, and refugee shelters, and its targeting of medical personnel, journalists, aid workers, and United Nations staff, and its direct targeting of civilians, including children and older persons, women and men, girls and boys, persons with disabilities and those with medical conditions.
We demand an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the genocide, to all Israeli military action, to forced displacement and expulsions, to settlement activities, to the siege of Gaza and restrictions on movement in the West Bank. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners, including the thousands of Palestinian women, men and children held in abusive Israeli detention facilities. We insist on the immediate resumption of massive humanitarian aid to all of Gaza without restriction or interference, including food, water, shelter, medical supplies and equipment, sanitary equipment, rescue equipment, and construction materials and equipment. We call as well for a complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces from all Lebanese and Syrian territory.
We call for an end of the smearing of UNRWA and other humanitarian workers, for the free and unhindered access of UNRWA and all other United Nations and humanitarian organizations in all areas of Gaza and the West Bank, for full compensation by the Israeli regime for damage caused to UN and humanitarian facilities, alongside full compensation and reparations to the Palestinian people, and for full accountability for the harassment, abduction, torture, and murder of UNRWA and other humanitarian workers and their families.
We call on all governments and on regional and international organizations to end the historic scandal of inaction that has characterized the past nineteen months, to urgently respond with all means at their disposal to end the Israeli assault and siege, to uphold international law, to hold perpetrators to account, and to provide immediate relief and protection to the people of Palestine.
We denounce the continued complicity of governments in the perpetration of Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Palestine, and the shameful role of many media corporations in covering up the genocide, dehumanizing Palestinians, and in the dissemination of propaganda fueling anti-Palestinian racism, war crimes, and genocide.
We equally denounce the wave of persecution and crackdowns on human rights defenders, peace activists, students, academics, workers, professionals, and others, perpetrated by Western governments, police agencies, the private sector, and educational institutions. We honor those who, despite this persecution, have had the courage and moral convictions to stand up and speak out against these historic horrors, and we insist on the full protection of the human rights of free expression, opinion, assembly, and association, as well as the right to defend human rights without harassment, retaliation, or persecution.
We reject the unjust tactic of smearing as “antisemites” or “supporters of terrorism” all those who dare to speak up and act to defend the rights of the Palestinian people and to condemn the injustices and atrocities of the Israeli regime and its perpetration of apartheid and genocide, or those who criticize the ideology of political Zionism. We stand in solidarity with all those who have been smeared or punished in this way.
We are convinced that the struggle against all forms of racism, bigotry, and discrimination necessarily includes the equal rejection of Islamophobia, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism, and antisemitism. It also includes an acknowledgment of the horrific effects that Zionism, apartheid, and settler-colonialism have had and continue to have on the Palestinian people. We commit to fighting all such scourges.
We also reject the destructive ideology of political Zionism, as the official state ideology of the Israeli regime, of the forces that colonized Palestine and established the Israeli state on its ruins, and of pro-Israel organizations and proxies today. We insist, in the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that there are no exceptions to this rule. We call for decolonization across the land, an end to the ethno-supremacist order, and the replacement of political Zionism with a dispensation founded on equal human rights for Christians, Muslims, Jews, and others.
We are inspired by the courageous resistance and resilience of the Palestinian people in the face of over a century of persecution, and by the growing movement of millions standing in solidarity with them around the world, including the principled advocacy and nonviolent action of thousands of Jewish activists who have rejected the Israeli regime and its ethnonationalist ideology, and have declared that the Israeli regime neither represents them nor acts in their name.
We recognize the right of the Palestinian people to resist foreign occupation, colonial domination, apartheid, subjugation by a racist regime, and aggression, including through the use of armed struggle, in accordance with and as recognized in international law and as affirmed by the United Nations General Assembly.
We recall that the Palestinian right to self-determination is jus cogens and erga omnes (a universal rule not subject to exception and binding on all states) and is non-negotiable and axiomatic. We recognize that this right includes political, economic, social, and cultural self-determination, the right to return and full compensation for all harms suffered in a century of persecution, to permanent sovereignty over natural resources, and to non-aggression and non-intervention. We respect Palestinian aspirations and full Palestinian agency and leadership over all decisions affecting their lives, and we stand in solidarity with them.
We are gravely concerned at the direction of international relations, international politics, and international institutions, and by attacks on those international institutions that have challenged genocide and apartheid in Palestine. We believe that the normative foundations of the global order, grounded in human rights, the self-determination of peoples, peace, and the international rule of law, are being sacrificed at the altar of ruthless political realism and obsequious deference to power, with the people of Palestine left undefended and vulnerable on the front lines. We insist that another world is possible and intend to fight to bring it about.
We fear that the nascent and flawed international normative order, built up since the Second World War, with human rights at its center, is at risk of collapse as a result of the sustained attack waged on the system by the Israeli regime’s Western allies in their quest to buttress Israeli impunity. We pledge to oppose this attack and to work to protect and advance the project of building a world in which human rights are governed by the rule of law, beginning with the struggle for Palestinian freedom. And we believe that the weaknesses and inequities hard-wired into the international system from the start, including the geopolitical right of exception codified in the United Nations Security Council veto, the disempowerment of the General Assembly, and the structural obstacles that mitigate against the enforceability of International Court of Justice (ICJ) decisions, must be reformed and rectified.
We demand immediate action to isolate, contain, and hold accountable the Israeli regime through universal boycott, divestment, sanctions, a military embargo, suspension from International organizations, and the prosecution of its perpetrators, and we commit ourselves to this cause. We equally demand individual criminal accountability for all Israeli political and military leaders, soldiers, and settlers implicated in war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, or gross violations of human rights, as well as accountability for all persons and organizational actors guilty of complicity in the regime’s crimes, including external proxies of the Israeli regime, government officials, corporations, arms manufacturers, energy companies, technology firms, and financial institutions.
We applaud the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its ongoing historic genocide case against the Israeli regime and for its landmark advisory opinion findings on the illegality of the Israeli occupation, of the apartheid wall, and of the Israeli practice of apartheid and racial segregation, and its findings that the rights of the Palestinian people are not dependent upon or subject to negotiation with their oppressor and that all states are obliged to abstain from treaty, economic, trade, investment, or diplomatic relations with Israel’s occupation regime. We celebrate the principled action of South Africa in bringing to the ICJ the historic genocide case against the Israeli regime.
We call on all states to ensure the implementation of all provisional measures adopted by the ICJ in the genocide case against Israel, to fully respect the findings of the ICJ in its advisory opinion of July 2024, to comply with all elements of the United Nations General Assembly resolution of 13 September 2024 (A/ES-10/L.31/Rev.1), ending all arms trade with and implementing sanctions on the Israeli regime, and to support accountability for all Israeli perpetrators. We urge civil society organizations and social movements around the world to initiate and strengthen campaigns to support the ICJ’s decisions and opinions on Palestine, and to press their own governments to abide by them.
We similarly applaud the International Criminal Court for (albeit belatedly) issuing arrest warrants for two senior Israeli regime leaders and call on the ICC to both expedite action on these cases and to issue further warrants for other Israeli perpetrators, both civilian and military. We call on all ICC State Parties to urgently act on their obligations to arrest these perpetrators and hand them over for trial, and we demand that the United States lift all ICC sanctions and cease all obstruction of justice.
We express our gratitude and admiration to the independent special procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council for their expert contributions and for their strong and principled voices in holding the Israeli regime to account and defending the human rights of the Palestinian people. They have shown themselves to be the conscience of the organization, and we call on the United Nations and all member states to defend and support these mandate holders without fail. We applaud, as well, the principled action of those United Nations agencies that have acted to defend the rights of the Palestinian people and to provide aid and relief to the survivors of genocide in Palestine in the face of unprecedented risks and obstacles, foremost among them, UNRWA.
We believe that the world is approaching a dangerous precipice, the front edge of which is in Palestine. Dangerous forces in both the public and private spheres are pushing us toward the abyss. The events of the past nineteen months, and our own deliberations, have convinced us that both key international organizations and most countries of the world, whether acting individually or collectively, have failed in defending the human rights of the Palestinian people and in responding to the Israeli regime’s genocide in Palestine. We are convinced that the challenge of justice now falls to people of conscience everywhere, to civil society and to social movements, to all of us. As such, our work in the coming months will be dedicated to meeting this challenge. Palestinian lives are at stake. The international moral and legal order is at stake. We must not fail. We will not relent.
* * * * * * * *
Global Justice in the 21st Century 
[image: Peace Now in Hebrew and Arabic – block before printing – roller with logo and QR – SM.jpg]
Thanks for all your work.. Peace now! S and K
This is a powerful and comprehensive Declaration which must encourage and in fact oblige all governments and international organisations to take immediate action to stop the barbaric genocide and manufactured famine in Gaza, and the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
However, we have seen that dozens of UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions have had no effect in stopping the Israeli regime’s aggressive policies and in establishing a Palestinian state in keeping with numerous Security Council resolutions. The Israeli apartheid regime has totally ignored the ICJ and ICC rulings since the start of the genocide with total impunity due to the US’s total and blind support.
What is needed is a set of practical solutions to force the US government to stop blocking the decision of more than 147 countries that have backed the establishment of a Palestinian state. The United States should not be allowed to subvert international law in the case of Israel’s apartheid regime. Otherwise, the world would be at risk of losing all the hard-won achievements in international humanitarian law since the Second World War.
As the Declaration points out, “the world is approaching a dangerous precipice, the front edge of which is in Palestine. Dangerous forces in both the public and private spheres are pushing us toward the abyss.” Mankind should not be pushed over that dangerous precipice in support of the illegal behaviour of a terrorist, genocidal regime.
Thanks for this important response to our Sarajevo Declaration.
Please share text of Declaration with your network and encourage nonviolent
solidarity initiatives.
Richard Falk
How can we support this valuable action?
As a first step please share Declaration with your network. We hope to serve
at the Gaza Tribunal as the network or networks.
Beyond this, encourage solidarity initiatives with Palestinian struggle for
basic rights, about all the right of self-determination.
Thanks for your engagement.
I admire your determination; bless you!
Thanks, Ceylan, your words give me strength. We will come soon when it
is safe for Hilal to travel. She fractured her wrist the day before our
scheduled departure. With our love, Richard
Thank you, Dr. Falk, for your humanity and steadfastness in the face of untold evil. You’re a principal hero among too few heroes.
Thanks Robert for your supportive and generous message. We need moral outrage
on a massive scale, what I call ‘the gravitas of the people.’
Solidarity sentiments,
Richard
The Vulgate and Lutheran Bible translations so disgusting – eat shit and die – “translations”. What a pathetic joke. Werewolves, Vampires, and Frankenstein … follow with the cowardly lion, down the Yellow Brick Road – Oh my! Following Cults of Personality only produce Mao, Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot like – dumbasses.
John Calvin and Martin Luther, pivotal figures in the Protestant Reformation, each contributing significantly to the movement in distinct ways. Martin Luther (1483-1546), best known for his “95 Theses,” which he famously nailed to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church in 1517. This document criticized the Catholic Church’s practices, particularly the sale of indulgences, and called for reform.
His theology emphasized the doctrine of justification by faith alone, arguing that salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned through good works or church rituals. Asserting that salvation is a gift from God, this theology day and night different from Torah common law as expressed through T’NaCH prophetic mussar common law and Talmudic halachic judicial common law. This prioritization of faith as the pursuit of judicial justice – fair compensation of damages inflicted by Jews upon other Jews, radically different from the theologies spewed forth by the Protestant Reformation.
Luther made an utterly sophomoric translation the Bible into German, which utterly failed and even compounded the Vulgate perversion of the T’NaCH. Luther’s translation became “The Word” for the ignorant Lutheran laity. He promoted the idea that individuals could interpret scripture without knowledge of Hebrew or Aramaic and despised the Roman clergy who relied upon Latin and Greek. Luther’s ideas established Lutheranism, and challenged the authority of the Pope and the Catholic Church, leading to the formation of various Protestant denominations.
John Calvin (1509-1564), Calvin built upon Luther’s ideas but introduced a more systematic theology. His work, “Institutes of the Christian Religion,” laid out his beliefs about predestination, the sovereignty of God, and the nature of the church. He established Geneva as a center of Protestantism, implementing a theocratic government that enforced moral discipline and promoted education and social welfare. Calvin’s teachings led to the development of Reformed theology, influencing various Protestant groups, including the Presbyterians and the Huguenots. He stressed the importance of a disciplined Christian community and the role of the church in guiding believers’ lives.
The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572; the Huguenots were French Protestants influenced by John Calvin’s teachings. Tensions between the Catholic majority and the Protestant minority led to a series of civil wars known as the French Wars of Religion. The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre was a turning point, where thousands of Huguenots were killed in Paris and across France, marking a significant moment of barbaric religious violence. This period was characterized by political intrigue, shifting alliances, and brutal conflicts, ultimately leading to the Edict of Nantes in 1598, which granted limited religious freedoms to the Huguenots. However, this tolerance was revoked in 1685, leading to further persecution and the exodus of many Huguenots from France.
The immediate trigger for the Thirty Years’ War came in 1618 with the Defenestration of Prague, where Protestant nobles in Bohemia revolted against the Catholic Habsburg rule. This event marked the beginning of the war, but the underlying tensions had been building since the formation of the Catholic League and Protestant Union. The events of 1609, particularly the formation of the Catholic League under Maximilian of Bavaria, were crucial in setting the stage for the Thirty Years’ War. The conflict would evolve into a complex struggle involving various European powers, driven by both religious and political motivations, leading to widespread devastation across the continent.
The Protestant Union, established in 1608, was indeed led by Frederick IV, the Elector Palatine, and aimed to protect the rights and interests of Protestant states against Catholic encroachments. This was a response to the increasing tensions and conflicts arising from the Reformation and the subsequent political landscape in Europe.
In reaction to the Protestant Union, the Catholic League was formed in 1609, primarily to counter the influence of Protestant states and to protect Catholic interests. This military alliance included several Catholic states and was a significant factor in the lead-up to the Thirty Years’ War, which began in 1618. These alliances were crucial in shaping the religious and political dynamics of the time, leading to significant conflicts and changes in power within the Holy Roman Empire and beyond.
The Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which ended the Thirty Years’ War, was primarily focused on resolving the conflicts arising from that war rather than directly addressing the earlier events of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. The Peace of Westphalia consisted of a series of treaties that concluded the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) and the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic. It marked a significant turning point in European history, establishing a new order based on state sovereignty.
The Peace of Westphalia and the ensuing treaties recognized the coexistence of Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism within the Holy Roman Empire. This was a crucial step towards religious tolerance, as it aimed to stabilize the region by allowing various Christian denominations to coexist. The treaties recognized the coexistence of Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism within the Holy Roman Empire. France gained territories in Alsace and parts of Lorraine, while Sweden gained influence in northern Germany.
While the Peace of Westphalia did not directly address the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, it did contribute to a broader context of religious tolerance and the recognition of Protestant rights in Europe. The massacre had already highlighted the violent tensions between Catholics and Protestants in France, leading to a long period of civil strife. The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (1572) deepened the divide between Catholics and Protestants in France, leading to further civil wars and conflicts. It exemplified the extreme violence and intolerance that characterized the period.
In the same year as the ‘Peace of Westphalia’ (1648), witnessed the barbaric explosion of the Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack-Polish War. Bohdan Khmelnytsky was the leader (1648-57) of the Zaporozhian Cossacks who organized a rebellion against Polish rule in Ukraine that ultimately led to the transfer of the Ukrainian lands east of the Dnieper River from Polish to Russian control. His barbarian Cossack hordes slaughtered perhaps 1 million Jews living in the Ukraine and Poland.
Germany annexed Prussia from Poland during the partitions of Poland, which occurred in three stages. (1772) – Prussia gained the region of West Prussia, which included parts of Polish territory. (1793) – Prussia acquired additional territories, including parts of Greater Poland. (1795) – Prussia annexed the remaining parts of Poland, including areas that would later be known as Prussian Poland.
After World War II, the Allies did not restore Poland to its pre-partition borders; instead, they established new borders based on the outcomes of the war and the decisions made at conferences among the Allied powers. Poland lost significant territory in the east to the Soviet Union, including areas such as Lviv (Lwów) and parts of what is now western Ukraine and Belarus. In compensation, Poland was granted territory in the west, including parts of former German territories such as Silesia, Pomerania, and the southern part of East Prussia. Poland was re-established as a sovereign state after the war, but its borders were significantly different from those before the partitions in the late 18th century.
Goyim superficially read “their” bible abominations of Av tumah avoda zarah. But continuously, from generation to generation, and Age from Age, they fail to learn and apply the rebuke given to them by their own God! JeZeus said: “By their fruits, you shall know them”. Reactionary Xtians read their bible trash translations oblivious to this fundamental rebuke. Its not the Nicene Creed theologies etc or Luther or Calvin theologies that determine their faith, rather its their barbaric Yatzir Ha’Rah to pursue violence and judicial injustice which testifies to the bankrupsy of every Xtian theology starting with that of Paul and JeZeus. Xtian Av tuma avoda zara just as crude and utterly devoid of humanity as the ancient Babylonian, and Greek and Roman empires which this NT theology replace those cultures and customs practiced by peoples from earlier times.
Bottom line … no belief in JeZeus in any theology, creed, or dogma can atone for the Shoah and the generational crimes which led up to the Shoah. Belief in JeZeus, regardless of Xtian or Koran theologies decrees those believers an eternal fire in Hell. Xtian parents should cast their bible abominations to the flame of Hell before permitting this Av tuma avoda zarah to infect the souls of their children.
The perceived omissions or failures of others, such as Leo Tolstoy, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, and Amy Katz, can be viewed as complicity or indifference in the face of injustice. The consequences of such omissions can be profound, especially during times of crisis, as they may contribute to a culture of silence or inaction regarding pressing issues like antisemitism. Leadership morally opposes antisemitism, it does not quietly ignore violent pogroms like the Oct 7th 2023 Hamas surprise attack!
Leaders especially those who make claims of moral superiority and hold positions of influence, if they actively oppose hatred and discrimination they must do it equally across the board. Calling Israeli leaders “war criminals” while quiet upon war crimes committed by others, like Hamas, makes such people antisemitic pigs.
The bankrupt 35 Trillion dollar national debt Federal Government took post Civil War to present Federal corruption to currently threaten America with its 2nd Civil War.
OKC bombing redux
In the past I’ve written about it ad nauseam — the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. Then, two nights ago, there it was again in a series of three hour-long episodes
_________________________________
_________________________________
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols their motivations were deeply rooted in their opposition to government actions, particularly the Waco siege in 1993, where the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian compound, leading to a standoff that resulted in the deaths of 76 individuals. Additionally, the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992, which involved a confrontation between federal agents and the Weaver family, further fueled their anti-government sentiments. McVeigh and Nichols meticulously planned the bombing, believing that it would send a strong message against what they perceived as government overreach and tyranny.
On April 19, 1995, McVeigh parked a rented Ryder truck filled with explosives outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The explosion, which occurred at 9:02 AM, caused widespread destruction and resulted in significant loss of life. The bombing resulted in the deaths of 168 people, including 19 children, and injured over 600 others. It caused significant destruction to the surrounding area and damaged or destroyed several nearby buildings.
The Waco siege and the Ruby Ridge incident were two significant events in the 1990s that involved confrontations between federal law enforcement and individuals or groups that were perceived as threats to public safety or law and order. Both incidents raised serious questions about the use of government authority and the actions taken by federal agents. The Waco siege involved the Branch Davidian religious sect, led by David Koresh, who was suspected of stockpiling illegal weapons. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) attempted to execute a search warrant on February 28, 1993, which led to a gunfight and the deaths of four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians.
The federal government, under President Bill Clinton, justified the siege as a necessary action to enforce laws regarding illegal weapons and to protect public safety. The FBI took over the operation, which lasted for 51 days, culminating in a final assault on April 19, 1993, that resulted in a fire that consumed the compound, killing 76 individuals, including many women and children. The handling of the siege was widely criticized for its aggressive tactics and the loss of life. GOP opposition critics of President Clinton accused his leadership of complete, utter and criminal incompetence. Clinton apparently to busy forcing young women to give him a blow job. The GOP opposition condemned the Clinton government for grossly overstepped its authority and its utter and complete incompetence to negotiate effectively. The impeachment of Clinton served as a Parliamentary vote of No Confidence in the Government!
The Ruby Ridge incident involved Randy Weaver, who was wanted for failing to appear in court on a firearms charge. A standoff occurred between Weaver’s family and federal agents, including the U.S. Marshals and the FBI, which escalated into violence, resulting in the deaths of Weaver’s wife, Vicki, and his son, Samuel. The federal government, under President George H.W. Bush, guilty of State War-crimes in his illegal invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and strongly suspected of justifying this imperialist nation building through the 9/11 inside job attack which resembles something like the Dec 7th Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
But Cheney/Bush in their absolute and insane criminal arrogance did not approach Congress and ask for a Congressional Declaration of War. Instead these corrupt opportunistic war criminals passed their vile Patriot Act which negated the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution. Similar to Waco, the actions taken at Ruby Ridge were criticized for being excessive and poorly managed, leading to unnecessary loss of life.
In both cases, there was significant public outcry and criticism of the government’s actions, but very few individuals faced legal consequences. Federal bureaucraps almost Universally operate without any accountability for their actions or regulatory laws they illegally impose upon the American people. This illegal forth branch of the US Government shares an incestuous relationship with Federally established Corporate monopolies. The latter has a revolving door incest/taboo relationship with Federal homo-bureaucraps.
This illegal 4th Branch of the post Civil War Washington over-reach Government negates the Commerce Clause which relegates intra-state autonomy to the Legislatures of the States of the Union to bureaucratically regulate all intra-state trade & commerce, independent and free from Big Brother Federal carpet-bagger pervert bureaucraps overwatch. Post Civil War the Lincoln GOP dismantled the States authority to appoint Federal Senators to Congress through a Constitutional Amendment.
The damned Yankees despise States Rights in favor of mob rule democracy. Hence Federal agents often operate under legal fiction protections that shield them from prosecution – when they act in the name of the State! This perversion of the Constitution set the stage wherein the incest revolving door Bureaucrap-Government established (Socialist) Corporate Monopolies function as a concealed Government which pulls the strings of the elected puppets of the 3 Branches of the Federal Government. Herein explains why it cost over a billion dollars to elect a US President to Office. The State established Federal corporate monopolies shape and determine the outcome of all “democratic” elections. These “elections” do not employ paper ballots!
Investigations into the actions of federal agents invarably conclude that the use of bureaucrapic force – completely justified. Leading to a mafia like shielding – lack of criminal charges of politicians and bureaucraps; Obama can spy on candidate Trump with a fraud hoax Russia-Gate/Water-Gate, with complete and total impunity or risk. The Federal Government plays by a completely different set of rules than those imposed upon the peasant citizens\serf populations. Federal employees enjoy far more benefits than the bread crumbs thrown to the mob masses; the bankrupt social security by which the Federal government taxes the people does not apply to Federal employees and Congress personnel. The decision not to pursue charges against government officials based upon this illegal two-tiered corrupt legal system the direct result of the Lincoln rejection of Jeffersonian Democracy.
The Oklahoma City bombing occurred on April 19, 1995, and was one of the deadliest acts of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. The attack was carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, who sought to retaliate against the federal government, particularly in response to the Waco siege in 1993 and the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992. Civil War Santa Claus is coming to town.
Selective Memories
loboteroIn Saner Thought
Historical Events
NOTE: This is not necessarily about the current mash-up in Gaza just a few observations that I have made in my many years.
I would like to reiterate that I am NOT anti-Jew, personally I do not give a shit about their religious beliefs.
This post is more about the selective memories of the American people than it is about the current situation.
WARNING: This post may include some offensive language that may offend the sensibilities of some readers….so if you are easily offended then maybe this post is not for you.
The date is 04 November 1979….US ally Iran has had months of protests against the policies and tactics of the Shah and on this date Iranian students stormed the walls of the US embassy in Tehran breaching them and taking 52 Americans hostage which were held for 444 days until their release on 20 January 1981.
Since that fateful day Americans have despised anything remotely Iranian. (There so much more to that action than just a bunch of pissed off students)
To this day they, Iran, can do nothing right in the eyes of most Americans….for they are evil.
The date is 08 June 1967….during the 6 Day war when Israel was fighting against the combined forces of the Arab nations.
The US signit ship, USS Liberty, was patrolling in the Eastern Mediterranean….when suddenly the ship was attacked by Israeli jets and gunboats….the attack left 34 American sailors dead and 174 wounded.
Yet Americans ignore this murderous attack and support Israel in everything they do….why?
If you are interested, which you are not, I have a post the has articles about this attack….fucking read them and see what our good ally is capable of doing.
___________________________
___________________________
Prior to the outbreak of the 2nd Israeli War of Independence, commonly referred to by Goyim as the June 6 Day War, France – not the US – functioned as the key ally to the Jewish state. Charles de Gaulle duplicated the British treachery. In 1939 PM Chamberlain’s London passed the 2nd White Paper which sealed the borders of the League of Nations Palestine Mandate to Jews seeking to flee from the Nazi barbarians. FDR supported the British White Paper betrayal of the League of Nation Balfour Declaration Palestine Mandate of 1922 when the US closed its borders as well to all European Jews seeking refuge from the Nazi barbarians. Neither Churchill nor FDR consented to bomb the rail lines leading to the Death Camps, despite this Nazi abomination clearly known and exposed by 1942.
President Truman, to his great credit, the first country to recognize the independent Jewish state in 1948. Eight years following Israeli Independence England and France engaged a military alliance with Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion. England and France sought to seize the Suez Canal away from Nasser after the Egyptian President nationalized the Suez Canal as a means to pay off the huge expense required to build the Aswan Dam/Nasser Lake.
England and France mutually faced the collapse of their respective empires. Both Algeria and Vietnam demanded their National Independence and freedom from their French aristocratic feudal over-lords. The loss of the crown of the British empire – India & Pakistan directly threatened the First World Great Power status of England post WWII. Hence both London and France consoled the collapse of their respective world empires by dreaming of stealing the Suez Canal away from Nasser’s Egypt.
Incompetent France and England both failed to seize the Suez Canal, despite tiny Israel’s success at capturing the whole of the Sinai desert from the Egyptian Army. What a disgrace! President IKE compounded this 2nd tier status of both England and France in the Middle East by insisting that Israel return the captured Sinai and England and France peddle their papers elsewhere. Israel obeyed the command of President IKE – the post WWII Super-Power of the Planet Earth.
The USSR successfully competed with the dominance of the US when it acquired nuclear capabilities in August 1949. Both President IKE and Secretary Stalin directly rejected the notion that England and France could seize the Suez Canal. Such a radical action would have dramatically changed the balance of power in the Middle East, wherein England and France would sit as equals to the US and USSR. President IKE forcibly declared: “HELL NO!”
The French turn to betray Israel came just prior to the outbreak of the June War of 1967. President Nasser swore that in this war the Arabs would complete the Nazi Shoah and throw the Jews into the Sea. Tel Aviv took Nasser serious and ordered the digging of mass graves. The June War of ’67 turned out to become the 2nd Israeli War of Independence! Charles De Gaulle like PM Chamberlain before him betrayed the French alliance with Israel, by declaring French neutrality just prior to the outbreak of hostilities. London and Paris gambled that Nassers’ horse would win the Derby Race. Ooops.
During the June War President LBJ – tied down in Vietnam. LBJ too broke faith with President IKE just like he might have involvement with the Kennedy assassination! President IKE demanded that Israel return the Sinai back to Egypt in return for both Stalin and himself slapping London and Paris as second rate powers in the Middle East. LBJ permitted England and France to become the chief authors of UN Security Council Chapter VI Resolution 242. A UN Chapter VII Resolution resulted in the Korean War. UN 242, despite being merely a Chapter VI “suggestion” has evolved unto a “Pie in the Sky” ONLY two-state solution dictate! This Resolution constitutes revisionist history which pretends that Israel lost the June 1967 War; that Israel merely illegally occupies Samaria and Gaza! This UN propaganda stinks as bad as the UN joining Hamas in the Oct7th 2023 pogrom invasion of Israel; and the ICC declaration which assumes that Israeli leaders bear the Shoah guilt of genocide!
LBJ elevated England and France back to a first tier status in determining the balance of power in the Middle East by allowing the European disgraceful lie that pretends that Arabs did not lose the June 1967 War. That England and France as first tier Great Powers have the right to dictate to Israel the terms of UN peace, known collectively as UN Resolution 242. Where does the USS Liberty fit into this equation of betrayal?
Prior to the June 1967 War the US in no shape manner or form qualified as a major ally of the Jewish state. Post the ’67 War with the coward betrayal by De Gaul, only then did the US become the key major power ally of the Jewish state. The USS Liberty served the purpose as a spy ship. It had acquired key information of Israeli strategic tank formations positioned within the Sinai desert. It attempted to communicate these critical Israeli tank formations using a code that the Mossad knew that the Soviets had broken and deciphered. Israel could ill afford to permit the Egyptians to gain this critical information. Therefore the IDF bombed the USS Liberty spy shit into submission.
The Ripple Effect of Human Error
SA Examiner
Sandra Cruz·saexaminer.org·Mar 9, 2025
Mysticism for the Modern Seeker: A Review of ‘Embodied Kabbalah’ by Matthew Ponak
Matthew Ponak is a rabbi, a teacher of Jewish Mysticism, and a spiritual counselor. His book “Embodied Kabbalah: Jewish Mysticism for All” is a collection of 42 mystical texts with commentary that presents the essential teachings from Kabbalah and places them side-by-side with profound inspirations from our era and the world’s great wisdom traditions.
The never before translated texts shed light on unknown traditions of mystical enlightenment. Fascinating descriptions of the paradoxical nature of reality are placed next to cautionary guidance against travelling too quickly on the road to expanded consciousness. Spiritual practices for dealing with depression and sadness come along with illuminated poetry of what our world could look like if we all tried to be truly loving. Using the stunning visual layouts of traditional Torah commentary, Ponak opens the gateway for Judaism to add its much needed voice to the universal quest for meaning, inner knowing, and rooted transcendence. (Barnes & Noble, 2025)
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Historical Narrative: Timeline of Key Events and Figures
Tzeddukim (Sadducees): A Jewish sect active during the Second Temple period, known for their rejection of oral law and emphasis on the written Torah.
Karaites: Emerged in the 8th century, rejecting rabbinic authority and relying solely on the Hebrew Bible for religious practice.
Saadia Gaon (882–942 CE): A prominent Jewish philosopher and legal scholar who integrated Jewish thought with Islamic philosophy and emphasized rationalism.
Rambam (Maimonides, 1135–1204 CE): A key figure in Jewish law and philosophy, known for his works like the Mishneh Torah and Guide for the Perplexed.
Shlomo (Solomon): Often refers to King Solomon, known for his wisdom and contributions to Jewish thought, particularly in the context of the Hebrew Bible.
David: King David, a central figure in Jewish history, known for uniting the tribes of Israel and establishing Jerusalem as the capital.
Philosophical/Jurisprudential Argument: Key Concepts
Pardes vs Greek logic:
Pardes: A method of interpreting Jewish texts that includes four levels: Peshat (literal), Remez (hint), Drash (interpretative), and Sod (mystical).
Greek Logic: Refers to the rational and philosophical frameworks established by Greek philosophers, emphasizing deductive reasoning and empirical evidence.
Saadia Gaon and Rambam, though themselves deeply engaged with rediscovered Greek thought, fiercely opposed the Karaites and placed them under excommunication, just as the ancient P’rushim did to the Tzeddukim.
Common Law vs. Statute Law:
Common Law: A legal system based on judicial decisions and precedents rather than written Legislative statute decrees, allowing for flexibility and adaptation.
Statute Law: A legal system based on written government laws usually enacted by some legislative body, providing clear and codified rules. Both the Tzeddukim and Karaites denied the Sanhedrin’s legislative review. Both prioritized “belief systems” over the Torah’s demand for judicial justice—restoring damages, making peace between Jews.
The Karaim, while not as radical as Samaritans, still rejected the prophetic mussar of NaCH, as taught through Talmudic Aggadah – as binding mussar precedents which shape the k’vanna of mitzvot elevated to Av tohor time-oriented Torah commandments.
Theological Critique: Key Issues
Assimilation: The process by which Jewish communities adopt elements of surrounding alien Goyim cultures & customs; potentially leading to a dilution of Jewish Cohen-identity and practice.
Karaites, like the ancient Tzeddukim, rejected the revelation of the Oral Torah at Horev; as as similarly does NT Xtians and Muslims. This rejection undermines the core of Jewish law – as a judicial common law system. Both movements embraced Greek deductive logic over Rabbi Akiva’s Pardes inductive sh’itta\methodology—the (so to speak) loom that weaves warp and weft into a common cultural fabric which shapes and defines the identity of the chosen Cohen people and equally separates Talmudic law from Avoda Zara.
(Idolatry): The worship of foreign gods or practices that contradict Jewish Oath brit alliance which continuously creates the chosen Cohen people through the dedication of tohor time-oriented Av commandments throughout the generations, often critiqued in the context of historical interactions with other cultures and religions.
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
First let’s address the Title of this piece. Karaites, like their predecessor Tzeddukim, they reject the revelation of the Oral Torah. The After meal blessing, remembers the Tzeddukim attempt to cause Israel to forget the Oral Torah. Both the ancient Tzeddukim — remembered through the mitzva of lighting the Lights of Hanukkah — their ignoble disgrace, of a pre-New Testament Civil War which also rejects the Oral Torah revelation of Horev, just as much as does the church today; and the later Dark Ages European Karaites – who relied upon Greek deductive logic to determine that a mezzuzza on the door post must include the 10 commandments – neither during in ancient times, nor the stupidity of the Middle Ages – from about 900 CE, which famously aroused the indignation of Saadia Gaon (882–942 CE), and the even more famous Maimonides (1135–1204).
These two influential “Orthodox Jewish scholars”, likewise erred and reached assimilated avoda zara ideas which, in their own unique ways, perverted the Horev revelation of the Oral Torah. Both these “Orthodox” men, raped the 2nd Sinai commandment – highly assimilated and wholeheartedly embraced the rediscovery of ancient Greek texts which had dominated the ancient world which witnessed the P’rushim/Tzeddukim Civil War remembered every year when Jews light the lights of Hanukkah. Assimilation to alien foreign cultures or customs fundamentally rejects the revelation of the Oral Torah at Horev, and the Legislative Review Torah mandate of Sanhedrin common law courtrooms through the kabbalah of rabbi Akiva’s Pardes inductive logic reasoning.
Nonetheless both of the Gaonic and Reshonic “orthodox” Era scholars absolutely rejected the Karaite heretical theology belief system. None the less the error of personal belief in some theologically defined God, this foreign assimilated error trapped both “orthodox” scholars. Both men, similar to the Tzeddukim and Karaite errors, likewise rejected the Courtroom authority of Sanhedrin common law to rule the Jewish Republic through the mandate of Legislative Review, as established through the Talmud Oral Torah codification. Both these famous rabbinic authorities placed the Karaite Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dumb supporters into a charem excommunication, just as did the ancient P’rushim did to the Tzeddukim sons of Aaron.
Both Saadia and the Rambam violated the Torah commandment not to duplicate how the Goyim worship their Gods – no different than as did the kingdom of Shlomo, the pre Ezra Samaritans, the post Ezra Tzeddukim, the messiah crazies New Testament and the Dark Ages Karaites and modern Reform Judaism of the early 19th Century. This classic error traced through the generations, commonly referred to today as “ASSIMILATION”\”AVODA ZARA”.
The re-discovery of the ancient Greek texts consequent to the Muslim invasion of Spain, reopened the Tzeddukim Civil War can of worms – some thousand years after the P’rushim lit the Hanukkah lights … the Rambam embraced Roman statute law which effectively abandoned the study of Talmudic common law and the logic sh’itta of Pardes introduced by rabbi Akiva. Cults of personality, famous rabbinic personalities, like for example Yosef Karo author of the Shulkan Aruch, post the Rambam Civil War, they dominated the determination of halacha. This new “replacement theology” supplanted the Sanhedrin courts-room common law jurisprudence “faith”, which stands upon the foundation of judicial precedents rather than personalized belief systems in some theologically defined God as an act of “faith”.
The revelation of the Oral Torah at Horev, 40 days following the Sin of the Golden Calf, on Yom Kippur: rabbi Akiva’s kabbalah – known throughout the Talmudic and Gaonic Midrashim literature as “PARDES” p’shat, drosh; remiz, sod. This logic format radically differed from the ancient Greek deductive reasoning based upon the Aristotle model, his 3-Part syllogism format. The Talmudic codification of the kabbalah – rabbi Akiva’s 4-Part Pardes inductive logic. This Pardes system of logic – it manifests itself through the 6 Orders of the Mishna and its ensuing Gemara commentary, based upon the working model of a LOOM. Talmudic scholarship seeks to “cement” the culture and customs practiced by all generations of the chosen Cohen people. Herein defines the purpose & scope of the Horev Oral Torah revelation.
As a loom has warp & weft opposing threads. The codification of Oral Torah common law into the written Talmud and Gaonic Midrashim, seek to employ the kabbalah of rabbi Akiva and rabbi Yishmael’s Pardes inductive precedent based learning & 13 middot corollaries, as the basis to shape and determine the Jewish, chosen Cohen people, common law cultural identity which shapes and defines the Cohen people seed of Avraham, Yitzak and Yaacov.
The Talmud prioritized judicial common law as the basis of the revelation of the Torah at Sinai. Tzeddukim and Karaism, Samaritans and New Testament Xtians all universally reject this definition of faith, which commands the pursuit of judicial justice. The Book of D’varim expresses the comprehension: the righteous pursuit of judicial common law justice which dedicates, (think korban), the sanctification of common law courtrooms/Sanhedrins, which strive to make fair restoration of damages inflicted by Jews upon other Jews as the WAY to make shalom among the divided and conflicting Jewish people – throughout all the generations which the Chosen Cohen people experience a Torah blessing and govern the sworn oath brit lands.
Both the Tzeddukim and Karaim, instead embraced the Goyim assimilation which defines faith as belief in some theologically determined God personal I-believe- belief systems. The Rambam would write his ‘Mishna Torah’ statute law code based upon Greek and Roman statute law which organizes law into bureaucratic categories like farmers sell eggs by the dozen.
T’NaCH & Talmudic common law shaped rabbi Yechuda’s Sha’s common law Mishna; all based D’varim common law; consequent to its second explicit re-defining Name: Mishna Torah. The latter means “Common Law”. Rabbi Yechuda’s Mishna, (a common law judicial system) premised upon D’varim judicial Sanhedrin common law. The D’varim judicial mandate empowers the Sanhedrin Federal Court-room system to exert their Torah constitutional mandate of Legislative Review (A second interpretation of Mishna Torah) over all governments, kings, or Tribal Princes which rule governments as Judges. Like the T’NaCH Book of Judges portrays.
Both the ancient Tzeddukim and Middle Ages Karaim rejected the prioritization of common law Sanhedrin courtrooms as having the mandate power of Legislative Review. Hence small wonder that the new testament revolt likewise in this same vein rejects the revelation of Oral Torah pursuit of judicial common law justice. Both the Tzeddukim and Karaim rejected the common law basis of judicial justice-Faith; that later courtroom Judicial rulings stand upon prior Sanhedrin common law courts’ judicial rulings – as codified in the 6 Orders of rabbi Yechuda’s Mishna.
The later Karaim did not go as far as the ancient Samaritans. The latter replaced the 10 Tribal kingdom known as Israel. These ‘latter-day saints’, established their own Mormon like religion, they too rejected the Oral Torah prophetic mussar as codified throughout the NaCH prophets and Holy Writings! The later Karaim did not reject the masoret of the NaCH. They restricted their rejection of the Oral Torah only to their rejection of the authority of the Talmud and rabbinic Midrashim.
However, lacking the Pardes Kabbalah their “Torah wisdom” skills lacked the will to do mitzvot L’shma, a fundamental requirement to affix prophetic mussar precedents as the Aggadic basis to determine the k’vanna of tohor time-oriented commandments – the key revelation of the Oral Torah at Horev. The Mishna Torah common law re-interpretation of Written Torah based on positive/negative commandment toldoth precedents & T’NaCH prophetic mussar, their Mormon like new religion simply could not grasp. The public sanctification of the Name – only achieved when Jews elevate toldoth Torah commandments unto Av tohor time-oriented commandments by making precedent case/rule comparisons.
The much later Talmudic common law codification employs, so to speak, a 70 faces to the Torah — blue-print, diamond faceted, re-interpretation of the original Mishnaic language. Through employment of halacha contained within Gemara sugyot as the precedents by which to make a critical different perspective “view” of the language of the Mishna, based upon an all together different sugya of Gemara- halachic “facet” perspective.
Hence the Baali Tosafot common law commentary to the Talmud likewise jumps off the dof of any given Gemara, to re-interpret a given Gemara sugya, viewed from a wholly different sugya perspective. This common law commentary seeks to duplicate the sh’itta of how the Gemara learns the language of any given Mishna. Much like and similar to how a building contractor reads a blue-print, which contains front/top\side view perspectives. Ancient Greek deductive reasoning logic – basically flat or two-dimensional. Hence 19th Century Hyperbolic Geometry refuted Euclid’s 5th Axiom of plain geometry.
Both the Samaritans, the assimilated Tzeddukim, the NT Xtians, Dark Ages Karaim, and Middle Ages Rambam – One & all they rejected, or did not grasp the Pardes Kabbalah of logic taught by rabbi Akiva. The warp/weft loom, the Talmud’s most essential definition of Oral Torah, as judicial common law Mishna Torah – Legislative Review. However this most essential conflict, pre-dates itself back to kings David and Shlomo, and even to the Judges who ruled following the Yehoshua conquering of Canaan, long before the introduction of the Samaritans, after the fall of the kingdom of Samaria by the Assyrian empire!
The prophet Natan warns David not to copy the ways of the Goyim. Not to build a massive Cathedral like church/Temple. The Jerushalmi Talmud debates a 3 opposed by 3 Tannaim dispute. This famous Yerushalmi debate questions the central issue -Did king David, after conquering Damascus, established that city – as a City of Refuge with its own small Sanhedrin Federal Capital Crimes Courtroom. The pro opinions argue that Israel has a claim to Syria as part of the post Balfour/League of Nations Jewish state. The negative opinions reject the idea that Israel has a claim to nationalize Syria as part of the Jewish state.
Just as king Shlomo’s son at Sh’Cem rejected the advice given by the elder advisors to king Shlomo; so too young king Shlomo likewise rejected the prophetic mussar of the prophet Natan; king Shlomo decided to construct a grand duplication of how Goyim civilizations worship their Gods; king Shlomo worshipped avoda zara when he ordered the construction of the First Temple and failed to judge the Capital Crimes case of the two prostitutes – dead baby – before a Great Sanhedrin Federal court in Jerusalem.
The Talmud refers to this error as “Descending Generations”. This idea starkly contrasts with Calvin’s theology known as “Predestination”. The descending generations idea views downstream generations comparable to ripples consequent to a stone striking a pond. Once a powerful influential leader, such as either king Shlomo or the Rambam, made their respective decisions which rejected the revelaltion of the Oral Torah at Horev, all later generation followed the identical error.
King Shlomo prioritized duplicating how the goyim worshipped their Gods by constructing a grand Temple; while Rambam embraced the sh’itta of the T’zeddukim and sought to convert the Talmud (not into a polis city state) but rather into a statute law syllogism Greek logic belief system which perverted faith away from judicial justice — which strives to make fair restitution of damages. Unto a belief system theology which prioritizes the Ego ‘I believe’ avoda zarah and thereby perverts the God of Israel unto just another treif Av Tuma monotheistic god. Monotheism, by definition, profanes the 2nd Sinai commandment. Herein traces Human error made throughout the Ages where upon Man has walked the Face of this Earth.
Based upon the response of my last article, the volume and diversity of reactions caused me to re-write a second part to the original document.
This 2nd Parsha of the Book of בראשית, Parshat Noach. The opening two Parshaot serve as an introduction of the Torah which formally begins with the 3rd Parsha – the introduction of Avraham the father of the chosen Cohen people. What do the opening first two Parshaot of בראשית introduce? This fundamentally basic question – it defines these two Parshaot.
Notice that the Torah introduces the Name אלהים rather than the שם השם לשמה. Herein serves as an introduction to the 7th Oral Torah middah רב חסד, which the Talmud interprets to mean as מאי נפקא מינא? The 7th Oral Torah attribute spirit distinguishes – something like as does the קידוש\הבדלה of shabbat the distinction between Av tohor time-oriented commandments from positive commandments. A fundamental מאי נפקא מינא wherein the Talmud discerns that the former Av Torah commandments require “k’vanna (an as yet undefined term which fundamentally requires definition) whereas the latter Torah mitzvot do not require k’vanna/כוונה.
The aggadic mussar story of the Book of בראשית, not at all challenged by the late 19th Century German Higher Criticism. The catastrophic events of the World Wars prompted a reevaluation of Enlightenment ideals, including the objectivity and rationality that underpinned Higher Critical methods. Scholars began to question the biases inherent in historical analysis. Post Shoah no more get out of jail free for Xtianity, with its Nazi rat-lines to prevent the execution of justice upon Nazi war criminals.
Fear of Heaven shapes the reputation of both Man in general and religious institutions in particular. The alliance between Lutheranism and Nazism during the Nazi regime in Germany presents a complex and troubling history which ultimately undermined late 19th Century German Higher Criticism. That both Catholic and Protestant Xtianity aided and assisted the Nazis. Pope Pius XII failed to even protest the Nazi slaughter of Rome’s Jews! Actions speak louder than priests or pastors screaming “Fear God”. The Nazi systematic slaughter of 75% of Western European Jewry while the Xtian church ignored oppression, theft, injustice and genocide permanently destroyed the good name of Xtianity.
Had the church condemned FDR’s decision to embrace Chamberlain’s White Paper and bar European refugees entrance to America perhaps the charge that the Xtian church lacks Fear of Heaven, would not stick to all eternity thereafter. Fear of Heaven, means protecting the Good Name reputation – just that simple. Post Shoah, Hitler and his Nazi SS mafia permanently destroyed the Good Name reputation of all branches of Xtianity; starting with German Protestant ‘Higher Criticism. Higher Criticism, which began to deconstruct traditional interpretations tied to authoritarian and nationalistic ideologies.
Perhaps the Talmud did not clarify crystal clear when Goyim abandoned all together the Brit faith and ipso facto worshipped other Gods. The בראשית aggadic mussar story therefore opens with אלהים כלל rather than the שם השם לשמה פרט. Why did HaShem accept the korban of young Hev’el and reject the Cohen First-born son Cain’s korban? The Torah revelation validate both types of korbanot! The Torah contains the רמז word ברית אש\בראשית. Just as the dispute between the two sons of Adam equally reflected in the רמז word ב’ ראשית. Rabbi Yechuda Ha’Nasi interprets the language of kre’a shma בכל לבבך\כם based upon the Torah precedent: ב’ ראשית, two opposing Yatzirot struggle within the heart like as did Esau and Yaacov wrestled within the womb of Rivka.
Therefore, when exactly did the Goyim reject the ברית אש\בראשית? Concerning the two korbanot dedicated by the two opposing sons of Adam, Hevel’s korban accepted because his k’vanna dedicated the korban through the Torah oath (שם ומלכות) in the Name of the Creation oath brit. Cain’s korban rejected because his korban lacked k’vanna. Hence the distinction between Av tohor time-oriented commandments which require k’vanna from positive תולדות commandments which do not require k’vanna. Do the תולדות follow the Avot? This defining מאי נפקא מינא detail both mesechtot Shabbat and Baba Kama ask – this very question! Clearly the distinction in the case of the two opposing “Yatzirot” of Adam: Doing mitzvot stam does not follow doing mitzvot with the k’vanna of “oath brit”.
ולשת גם הוא ילד בן ויקרא את שמו אנוש אז הוחל לקרא בשם השם.
Following the murder of Hevel, Chava the wife of Adam gave birth to a third son. This third son, who did he follow? The masoret of murdered Hevel or the masoret of Cain? Touching Enosh, the Tanna Targum Onkelos writes: בכן ביומוהי חלו בני אנשא מלצלאה בשמא דהשם. Rashi, an early major Reshon, interprets – אז הוחל. לשון חולין, לקרת את שמות האדם ואת שמות העצבים בשמו של הקדוש ברוך רבים. הוא, לעשותן אלילים ולקרותן אלהות
Recall that the HaShem permitted Adam to call the created animals names in the last p’suk prior to the third aliya to the Torah. But the first born cohen son of שת, the son born after Cain murder Hevel. The Targum employs the verb מלצלאה בשמא דהשם. They prayed to HaShem. Whereas the Rashi explanation the 2nd generation אנוש, comparable to Chava’s: ותאמר האשה אל הנחש מפרי עץ הגן נאכל ומפרי העץ אשר בתוך הגן אמר אלהים לא תאכלו ממנו ולא תגעו בן פן תמתון. Chava added on to the original commandment as did the 2nd generation of Adam, Enosh, who started naming the stars with Divine Names. Just as the snake deceived Chava so to later down stream generations did a ירידות הדורות domino effect and stared worshipping other אלהים. This action of avoda zarah created Man created Gods in the image of Man.
Mesechta Sanhedrin asks the famous question: What caused the Flood disaster in the days of Noach? Answer ברית אש, the fire of the brit sworn oaths (שם ומלכות); the generation of Noach made false oaths! A Torah oath has the power to create through tohor time-oriented Av Torah commandments מלאכים; a Torah oath fundamentally requires שם ומלכות. But only Av tumah avoda zarah assumes that man can create Gods by means of swearing a Torah oath. This tumah yatzir/Yatzir Ha’Raw within the heart literally reads בראשית ברא אלהים. Attempts to create Gods יש מאין profanes ברית אש\בראשית. Herein the מאי נפקא מינא which distinguishes tohor middot from tumah middot; the Divine service of the chosen Cohen people forever separates Shabbat from Chol, זמן גרמא מצוות מן תולדות מצוות.
Its the discernment of fine distinctions which separates like from like which defines the concept of “understanding”. Upon this יסוד breathes the Divine Spirit רב חסד. This middah discerns time-oriented commandments which require k’vanna from תולדות commandments which do not require k’vanna. HaShem accepted the korban of 2nd born Hevel because he dedicated the korban לשם ברית. HaShem rejected the korban of Adam’s first born son Cain, because he dedicated his korban – as a reactionary barbeque unto Heaven. A fundamental מאי נפקא מינא.
The concepts discussed this text concerning Prophetic Mussar vs. Higher Criticism – likened to strategic elements in American football, where the interplay of different philosophies and techniques shapes the game’s outcomes. The interpretation of religious texts, particularly the T’NaCH and Talmud, through the lens of Protestant Higher Criticism highlights a significant divide similar to competing teams in sports. This comparison illustrates how differing interpretations can create rival perspectives akin to the dynamics observed in competitive sports.
The ethical conflicts discussed, like the rejection of Cain’s offering, resemble the moral decisions players and coaches face during the game. Decisions made in split seconds can have far-reaching implications, just as ethical considerations shape spiritual narratives. The tensions between different interpretations of faith parallel heated rivalries in American football, where teams vie for dominance based on different strategies—some focusing on offense (like allowing emotional decisions to guide Korban choices), while others emphasize defense (like the analytical approach of Higher Criticism, showing how such a path leads to a 4th down punt or worse a fumble or interception.)
Protestant Higher Criticism perceives the T’NaCH as a historical document rather than instruction which teaches mussar as it applies to the generations. The former compare to placing an idol upon a plinth pedestal and worshipping this superior theologically created being – as a God. Both Xtianity and Islam do exactly this with their treatment and behavior toward Jesus and Muhammad. Recall when western magazines mocked Muhammad and Muslims physically attacked both institutions and persons. Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” declared blasphemous by many in the Muslim community which resulted in Rushdie hiding for his life. The Salem witch trials, between February 1692 and May 1693. The Puritans, held strong beliefs in the supernatural. They viewed the world as a battleground between God and the Devil, leading to fears of witches as instruments of evil.
Both this and that absolutely insist that Jesus and Muhammad lived as historical persons. Protestant Higher Criticism denounced the Hebrew T’NaCH as a fraud. They declared that multiple authors actually wrote the Torah and say the book of Isaiah over the span of centuries. This idea that “scholarship” must interpret T’NaCH literature as physical and historical rather than as mussar rebukes equally applicable to all persons in all generations separates Traditional Judaism from Conservative and Reform Judaism which likewise views the T’NaCH as primarily historical documents.
Hence how a person interprets the T’NaCH and Talmud pits two or more sets of opposing teams. The same equally applies scholarly disputes within the Talmud itself. Publication of the Rambam’s Yad Hazakah exploded into a Jewish Civil War whose impact destroyed generations of Jews even after Napoleon freed Western European Jews from the Catholic ghetto gulags of three Centuries. The Rambam Civil War pits judicial Talmudic common law against assimilated Greek/Roman statute laws. Four part פרדס inductive logic against three part Syllogism deductive logic. Just as sports teams build their programs around acquiring the best talented players, so to T’NaCH and Talmudic scholarship disputed and fought over down through the millennium.
The violent reactions to perceived blasphemy, such as attacks following disrespect towards religious figures (Muhammad, Jesus), parallel heated rivalries in sports, where fans quite often react vehemently against perceived slights to their teams or athletes in both American and European football. Competing interpretations of sacred texts create a dialogue similar to rival teams focusing on their strengths and weaknesses. The debate over Talmudic interpretation—judicial common law vs. foreign legislative statute law—resembles the endless strategizing that teams engage in to outmaneuver their opponents.
The tension between interpretations of the T’NaCH and Talmud can be likened to rivalry in sports, where competing teams navigate through a complex landscape of strategies, beliefs, and interpretations. Just as sports teams flourish through their scholar-like understanding of gameplay and competition, religious communities develop their unique culture, customs, identities and philosophies around the interpretation of sacred texts—creating a dynamic and ongoing dialogue, in fact – quite similar to violent conflict between the fans in the world of sports. A rich tapestry of beliefs and practices that, while distinct, often results in far wider fan clashes inside and outside both arenas and society. Violence influences wider cultural and social dynamics across American and European societies which inherit hatred which equals the Sunni Shiite rivalry which divides Arab and Muslim civilizations.