Libels about the Talmud are almost as old as the Talmud itself, and have been used as a justification for centuries of Jew-hate. Misquoting Talmudic texts or taking them out of context is an age-old method used to incite antisemitism.
In fact, most people do not even know what the Talmud is: the textual record of generations of rabbinic debate about law, philosophy, and biblical interpretation, compiled between the 3rd and 8th centuries and structured as commentary on the Mishnah with stories interwoven.
The libels continue to this very day and are being disseminated online by the worst of the worst.
The supposed quotes and meaning behind them that we are seeing these days come from a Third Reich book: Unmoral im Talmud (translation: Immorality In The Talmud) By Nazi Alfred Rosenberg.
I have decided to publish this new series as an online, easy-to-find record for fighting these libels. The responses are primarily based on those given by Rabbi Yisrael M. Eliashiv, who goes by the name Shevereshtus on Twtter/X, but in some cases also other sources. Each post will deal with one of the libels.
Avodah Zara 22a-22b: Gentiles “Goys’ prefer sex with cows
This is another mistranslation and something taken out of context.
The Mishnah suspects gentiles of bestiality, rape, or murder and thus prohibits a Jew from leaving an animal, a woman, or themself alone with a gentile of those days. For instance, bestiality was commonplace in ancient Greece and not punishable by death there. Having said that, the ensuing discussion brings opinions that they should not be suspected of bestiality.
The Meiri, a famous medieval commentary, asserts that these prohibitions do not apply to contemporary Christians or Muslims, as they are “nations restricted by the ways of religion and punish these actions.” According to Meiri, Avodah Zarah discusses idolatrous gentiles who are “filthy in their actions and ugly in their attributes.” However, the immoral, primitive gentiles discussed by Avodah Zarah do not represent the Christians and Muslims of his time. Thus, the Meiri exempts Christians and Muslims from any prohibitions motivated by fear of crass immorality.
