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.
Previous debunkings can be found here.
Antisemite Arthur Kwon Lee, aka Kungfulander, recently tweeted the following supposed quote from the Talmud:
Naturally, this “Talmudic scholar” has cherry picked an altered quote (probably from a Neo Nazi website) without any context whatsoever. Here is the full quote:
Firstly, this is the opinion of a Rabbi (Ilai) and not a general law. Secondly, he opines that any person (not necessarily a Jew) tempted to do evil should do these things – not as a way to commit the crime – but rather as psychological advice in order to get him to back down from doing the evil.
In Rabbi Illai’s opinion, telling the person “don’t do it” will likely not help, since a person steeped in desire has likely lost control of his actions. So instead, he recommends the person first delay their intended actions by going to a city where they are not known. This lengthy trip is meant to serve as a cooling off period. They are then told to dress humbly which should further serve as a reminder of what they should be doing compared to what they plan on doing.
As Rabbi Gil Student writes, rather than offering carte blanche permission to sin, the Talmud is suggesting a form of indirect rebuke to prevent the person from sinning. The desecration of G-d’s name is a subterfuge to convince this sick individual to follow the path to health.
We urgently need your support to continue our impactful work. To donate, please click on the below:
