Lubavitch’s Slippery Slope

Whenever I write about Lubavitch it usually stirs up quite a bit of controversy. In my last entry on that subject once again some of the commentary revolved around the idea of: So what if they believe he is Moshiach? It isn’t Apikursus. Leave them alone and who cares what they believe!

Here's the thing: Lubavitch is big. It is getting bigger. It is spreading "The Word" to more places than ever. Will every Torah Jew ultimately become a Lubavitcher? No, of course not. But this is the first time in the history since the advent of Christianity that there is a significant chance for new "religion" to take hold born of Jewish roots. It is a different situation than that of the Sabbateans or the Frankists whose epoch was short lived. Both of those guys converted “out” of Judaism. The Rebbe died a Jew and even a saint in the eyes of many.

It is also true the current belief is not Apikursus. But the idea of a resurrected Christ (...Christ is derived from the Greek word Christos meaning Messiah) is not exactly what Judaism is about either. There is also a danger that at some point down the road the same thing might happen to Lubavitch that happened to Christianity. Remember that the first Christians were all sincere observant Jews who followed their "Rebbe". And just like the Rebbe, Jesus may have seen himself as Moshiach; not as God. That little gem of an idea occurred to someone else much later in history and along with it the idea that Christianity was not meant only for Jews but for all of mankind and as such the laws of the Torah no longer had to be observed, good ideas though they are.

Who is to say that the same thing won't happen to Lubavitch? They already have a few nutballs that think he is God.

The Rebbe is viewed by current Lubavitchers as a Christ. (I’m sure that word turns them off and makes them angry which is my reason for using it. They need to know exactly what they are preaching). Although it is now 2000 years later, the parallels are not that dissimilar. In fact Lubavitchers are more similar to early Hebrew Christians than they are to the Sabbateans because Shabsai Tzvi abrogated the need for observance of Halacha during his rein (i.e. before his capture and conversion to Islam).

So as I said, with the numbers being as great and increasing geometrically, and Kiruv being their main staple, I think there is a definite danger in them splintering off from mainstream Judaism at some point in the future and becoming another religion. Internally they will believe that THEY are the true bearers of our Mesorah and bring all kinds of “proofs” about the validity of their views. Additionally they can easily make the claim that they are the most Medakdek as a whole in Mitzvah observance and therefore the most rightful heirs to our Mesorah.

The rest of the Torah world will claim they are Apikursim or nearly that; and that their Hashkafos are contrary to our Mesorah. The result: two large segments of observant Jews claiming that each is authentic with one being seen by the other as inauthentic as Islam or Christianity. And both will be competing for the hearts and minds of fellow Jews. With Lubavitch’s Kiruv organization growing at unprecedented levels... well, do the math.

As I have said so many times, they were and could eventually still be one of the most valuable assets the Torah world possesses. Their Ahavas Yisroel is legendary as is their dedication to Kiruv. Their dedication to Torah and Mitzvos are exemplary. All they need to do is... come home. They need to stop being an entity unto themselves, reject in totality that their Rebbe is or will be Moshiach. If this happens maybe Moshiach WILL come soon.

Right now the opposite is happening.

Merry... What?

There’s been something bothering me for a few days and I thought I would get it off my chest.

In years past, the Christmas season was one of those times of year where I really felt... well... Jewish. What I mean is that during this time of year with all the holiday decorations and the “Christmas Cheer” in the air, I felt like I really didn’t belong. This was the only time of year I felt that way and it was somewhat of an uncomfortable feeling for a Centrist like me. . But in recent years I guess I wasn’t paying so much attention to it and it hasn’t bothered me at all... until this year.

This year there more then ever there has been a backlash from our Christian friends And it hasn’t been only from the religious right. Even the irreligious left has been doing it.

Doing what? ... you ask? Well, I’ll tell you.

They have been doing everything from poking fun at the political correctness of saying happy holidays instead of merry Christmas to actually making a crusade out of getting the word Christmas back into the lexicon.

I have always been against this push, usually by the likes of the ACLU, to do way with Christmas as an American holiday. Not because I don’t think they’re right. They are. A secular country should not have a religious holiday as a national holiday. It is as simple as that. Having a national Christmas tree is at least against the spirit if not the letter of the separation of church and state clause in the constitution. In fact this is why I am against big public Menorah displays as well.

But in point of fact, who really cares if there is a national Christmas tree? So what if the people of this country, the vast majority of whom are Christians want to celebrate their holiday this way? Who does it hurt? It doesn’t hurt me. They don’t make me do it.

In my view the ACLU has done us a disservice in advocating the elimination of Christmas from the public square. This has caused an unpleasant backlash from everyone but the President. He has sent out Holiday cards without mentioning Christmas. A thoughtful man indeed. But he was the only one in the country that seems to have understood that Jews and other religions do not celebrate Christmas and saying Merry Christmas to us meaningless. Others have felt differently. The parody on it I saw on SNL ridiculing the elimination of the word Christmas from the public discourse really drove this point home.

So who needs it? Who needs all this political correctness? And its attendant backlash?!

Let them have their Christmas. If you don’t like being wished a Merry Christmas, well all I have to say to you is: Get a Life.

"Yechi"

I attended a Lubavitch wedding last night. The group there, I would say, represents the mainstream of Lubavitch in Chicago. Mainstream Lubavitchers here claim that the Meshichists are a small but vocal minority here and across the world. But you would not know it from this crowd. The Chupah ceremony (as well as every other Lubavitch wedding I ever attended since the Rebbe's death) contained the famous "Yechi" expression which declares that the Rebbe is Moshiach, long may he live! The mantra is repeated serially three times by the Rabbi given the Kibud under the Chupah and then the audience. Throughout the evening, there were references and songs proclaiming the Rebbe to be Moshiach.

There were Lubavitch antis were there and I didn't see any of them blink an eye. No Protests. Nothing! In fact, one of the leaders of the so called anti-Meshichists was the Mesader Kedushin. When I asked him about it, he said he was caught off guard but that he didn't think that this group represented mainstream Lubavitch thinking.

Right!

I know that Lubavitch leadership on a national level is against the Meshichists... or at least their public expressions of Meshichism. But I am more convinced than ever that the mainstream of Lubavitch are all true believers.

Lubavitch is huge... bigger than ever and growing by leaps and bounds. If the vast majority of them believe that the Rebbe will be resurrected as the Christ messiah, this can only cause great harm to Klal Yisroel, even if they are not eleohists. The huge numbers they produce through their vast Kiruv efforts and their high birth rates can make them the single biggest demographic in years to come.

WHY AREN’T GEDOLEI YISROEL DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT?!

Where is the Agudah? Mizrachi, other Chasidic Rebbes? The OU? YU? All I hear is silence.

Is Rabbi David Berger the only one with the courage to raise his voice?

Hooray for Hollywood? ...Not!

There is a culture war in this country.

I still believe that the majority (over 50 percent) is moral. The problem is that there is a large minority (near 50 percent) that is a-moral or immoral. The source of the problem is Hollywood. They belong to the latter group and they have an undue influence on society, because of the constitutional guarantee to freedom of speech. That enables them put out this garbage which is fueled by the demands of a public clamoring for even more.

The Torah world need to lobby congress together with other religious groups including Christians and Catholics, to insist that Hollywood's claim that they are merely exercising their right to free speech is not free speech at all. Producing smut is akin to yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater. Free speech that incites a riot ceases to be free speech and causes damgage which impinges on the rights of others. This is not what the founding fathers intended. The "Fire" that Hollywood is "yelling" is an increasing level of smut which they claim is free speech protected by the constitution. It is time to reverse the trend.

It is our duty as citizens of this country to try and maintain some semblance of decency in our standards of behavior and in the kind of entertainment that is in the public square.

And the obligation is not only the domain of Centrists, but of Charedim as well. Just because they are able to insulate themselves does not meant they can ignore it. Because no matter how insulated they are, it creeps in. Agudah, Mizrachi, the OU, Edah, Chasidim, Misnagdim... All should join together to protest the ever increasing lowering of decency standards that Hollywood is foisting upon us. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Gay Cowboys and Marriage

For quite some time now there has been a great debate about whether this country should liberalize our marriage laws. We are on the precipice of making a monumental and historic decision on whether we will, as a nation and as great society with unparalleled freedom, recognize homosexual marriage on par with heterosexual marriage.

There are two conflicting principles here:

1. The Judeo-Christian ethic that defines the moral character of our founding fathers and the vast majority of our nation, thereby defining those who commit homosexual acts as immoral.

2. Democracy’s imperative to protect the rights of any identifiable group to be free to practice any and all behaviors as long as those behaviors do no individual or communal harm... and leave any moral issues behind the church door.

In a free non-sectarian society such as ours here in the United States, where religious doctrines are not a part of that society’s charter it behooves the government to protect the rights of any non-religious minority against the tyranny of a religious majority whose guiding principles are governed by religious doctrine. This argues in favor of granting rights to a homosexual population who does not harm the majority through their practices.

However, any nation which claims to have concepts of morality cannot divorce itself from their religious origins no matter how much they claim to be a moral nation without them. Furthermore morality cannot be relative, for then it loses all real meaning and becomes simply a whim of the times... the so called zeitgeist which is fickle at best and can become evil at worst.

This then becomes a dichotomy: Do we sacrifice absolutist concepts of democracy in order to maintain the moral teachings of the Judeo-Christian heritage? Or do we sacrifice our religious heritage upon the alter of unfettered freedom at any cost?

What cost? It is nothing short of the decay and the ultimate destruction of civilization as we know it. Because once relativism takes hold as the definitive morality of a free society then nothing but a whimsical public that is strongly influenced by a powerful entertainment industry will begin to accept any and all of even the most morally reprehensible of behavior.

It is this industry based in Hollywood which is saturated with an ethic of moral relativism and guided mostly by a profit motive which is the driving force behind the current moral decay. Combine this with a huge percentage of the public whose insatiable appetite for pornography is demonstrated by the virtual explosion of available pornography on the internet and everywhere else... and it can and only lead America down a path of self destruction.

Hollywood constantly pushes the envelope of what is considered acceptable sexual behavior to be presented to the public. The most recent example is the newly released feature film “Brokeback Mountain” a movie about two “gay cowboys” which as I understand it contains the most explicit sexual scenes between two homosexuals ever filmed by a mainstream Hollywood production company. With moral relativism as a guide, can bestiality, incest, pedophilia, and ...God knows what else!... be far behind? All of this can easily become as acceptable as apple pie, if presented in gradual fashion over time. Is this what we want for our county’s future? I hope not.


It therefore becomes necessary to choose the absolute morality as defined in the Judeo-Christian ethic over the complete freedom of an unfettered free democracy and not accept gay marriage as equal to heterosexual marriage. To equalize homosexual marriage with heterosexual marriage could take us down the slippery slope of the suicide of Western civilization as we know it.

The buck has to stop here.

Bee Season

There is a movie playing now in theaters called "Bee Season". A review I have read says that it is in part, a story involving Kabala.

The current pop culture fascination with Kabala is somewhat of an enigma to me. I could never understand its draw and being a rationalist by nature, have never wanted to pursue its study. But Kabala is a legitimate part of Judaism and because it has been getting so much attention lately ...and now with this new movie... I want to make a few comments about the current phenomenon.

I haven’t seen the movie yet so I will reserve judgment on that. But Kabala in general has entered mainstream America because of a pop icon by the name of Madonna. She has almost single handedly made Kabala a household word. Is this a good thing?

Well, the truth is, I don’t know.

There is another person responsible for the current fascination by the name of Philip Berg. He is the head of the Kabbalah Centre and has been around for decades trying to sell his wares. He was pretty much been ignored until Madonna came along. She has bought into it big time. And she has brought other celebrities along with her and in the process has drawn a great deal of public attention to it.

Is the Kabala that she studies legitimate? Or is it false? Is Berg a charlatan or L’Shma... is he doing God’s work or the devil’s?

Well, it depends upon who you ask. But mostly, mainstream Judaism has repudiated Berg completely as an opportunist and fraud. On the other hand the Kabala he teaches is not entirely made up. It is based on the Zohar. The kinds of paraphernalia he is currently hawking like the red string, has been around a long time, especially in Sephardic communities who are much more oriented towards Kabala than Ashkenazic ones. He did not make it up. Of course, he does a good job in spinning Kabala to his own benefit and his organization spreads it not only to the traditional parameters of Jewish study which is reserved for men over forty but even beyond the walls of Jewry. He has been promoting it to non-Jews. The truth is I’m not sure how Halacha deals with promulgating it beyond Jewish students. But my gut feeling is that in and of itself teaching legitimate Kabala and not some perversion of it may not be such a bad thing.

Be that as it may I am not here to write about Berg. My guess is that he is somewhere between a charlatan and a true believer... probably more the former than the latter.

The question in my mind is whether all this attention is a positive development for Judaism or not. Is it a good thing for celebrities like Madonna and others to sing the praises of things Jewish? Is that good PR for us? Is it a Kiddush HaShem when a non-Jew so sincerely embraces a complete stream of our teachings? Or... is Madonna’s association with Kabala a Chilul HaShem because of status as one of the worst promoters of immorality in modern times.

The fact that some in Berg’s organization have been arrested for fraud and that his organization has been accused of greed as their primary motive argues the Chilul HaShem side. The fact that a high profile celebrity like Madonna has changed her life for the better because of it, argues the Kiddush HaShem side.

Those are some of my thoughts. I am as of yet not sure whether all this interest in Kabala is a good or bad thing.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

The Tents of Jacob

From an article in the Jerusalem Post:

"...a 20-year-old Ponevezh Yeshiva student was severely beaten and stabbed by a number of assailants. Police said the youth, from Jerusalem, was attacked inside the yeshiva building and evacuated to
Sheba Hospital in moderate condition. The stabbing, police said, appeared to be part of an internal turf war atthe prestigious Lithuanian yeshiva, which has been torn apart
recently byrivaling rabbis fighting for control of the institution. However, Ponevezh yeshiva students denied police claims that the incident was related to the ongoing feud between rabbinic camps vying for control of the yeshiva."

How low! ...this flagship Yeshiva of the Torah world has sunk! It seems that a Torah atmosphere cannot guarantee against hooliganism of the most violent type.

The denial by students that it wasn't related to the ongoing feud between camps rings a bit hollow. One of the sons of the two Roshei Yeshiva in question has left the yeshiva because of it. I met him in a suburb of the city of Bet Shemesh last Sukkos where he now lives. The Machlokes is going strong. He left because he could not take it anymore.

Just to be clear, I am not so concerned that there is a dispute about who will head the Yeshiva. Disputes like this have happened many times in Jewish history. Most recently it happened in Telshe Yeshiva between Rav Binyamin Gifter and Rav Yitzchak Sorotzkin. It was a bitter fight but was ultimately resolved... without anyone getting stabbed!!!

The fact that there is such unbelievable violence in the “tents of Jacob” is a manifestation of something far worse than a simple dispute over power. And it isn't the first time this type of assault happened. If the two camps involved can't put a stop to it then the Yeshiva should have all government funding stopped.

It is a major Chilul HaShem!

The Solomon Schechter Schools: An Orthodox Quandary

I have often pondered the value of the Solomon Schechter School system.

The Solomon Schechter schools are the primary educational institutions of the Conservative movement. On the one hand they are indeed teaching a view of Judaism that from an Orthodox viewpoint is considered to be heretical. The heresy consists of a belief in the concept of biblical criticism which denies that the events at Sinai ever took place. They say instead that it was written much later in various different periods in Jewish history, mostly during the Babylonian Exile. They do, however, say that biblical narrative is an allegory written by the scribes and was divinely inspired.

On the other hand, Solomon Schechter schools teach that Mitzvah observance as mandated by the Torah, the Talmud and the Codes are binding. While they dispute Orthodoxy’s interpretation of those codes in some instances they agree to their binding nature generally.

So a child who attends such a school has a mixed bag of information to deal with, a combination of heresy and Halacha observance. In light of the proliferation of the Solomon Schechter schools, (...a somewhat late development in their history but never-the-less an increased presence on the Jewish landscape)the question arises as to how one should view attendance in such schools by those who would otherwise attend public schools.

Most of those attending those schools will quite likely continue to assimilate into oblivion, but, a significant minority will be inspired to continue in the movement as committed Conservative Jews believing themselves to be a legitimate denomination. This is a dangerous proposition in that the Torah world will have to face yet another group of educated Jews with apostate beliefs who will be difficult to distinguish from Modern Orthodox Jews with a legitimate view of the events at Sinai. They will think, act and look like Orthodox Jews, observing Mitzvos some attending Orthodox synagogues and participating in Jewish life in much the same way that the Modern Orthodox do. The only difference will be their views about the events at Sinai. Many/most do not believe it ever happened.

On the other hand, they will be learning elements of Judaism that are essentially true. And perhaps they will be motivated to seek truth by looking into Orthodox Judaism after seeing the hypocrisy of the Conservative movement. This has indeed happened. Many times. Without Solomon Schechter, these very sincere Baalei Teshuva would never have been exposed to Judaism at all.

Until a few years ago many of the graduates of the Solomon Schechter elementary schools attended the Modern Orthodox High school here in Chicago. After four years at an Orthodox high school many (but not all) of those graduates remain Orthodox.

An additional argument in favor of those schools is that it is much easier to mainstream kids who have had an elementary education consisting of reading Hebrew, learning Chumash, Navi, Jewish history, and other Jewish subjects, than it is trying to educate Baalei Teshuva who have virtually no background. Without the Solomon Schechter Schools, most of these kids would have gone to public schools and would have almost certainly been lost to assimilation.

So are we better off with the Solomon Schechter school system, or are we better off without Them?

I simply don’t know.

Munich

There has bee a lot of talk about the new, and as of yet, unseen movie “Munich” by filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

First, a word about Mr. Spielberg. Although a non-observant Jew (a Tinok SheNishba) He is none-the-less a hero in a town that is usually concerned with anything but heroics. Hollywood is all about money and self indulgence. Although he one of the wealthiest and most successful people in Hollywood, Mr. Spielberg is not about that. Ever since his magnum opus, “Schindler’s List”, he has been elevated into in a category all to himself. He took the subject of the holocaust and made it front burner more than anyone else. That movie with its vivid images of the horrors of the holocaust combined with the heroics of a single individual non-Jew who rose to the occasion was one of the most honored films in history.

But Mr. Spielberg went beyond that. He donated all the profits from that movie to the holocaust museum and the preservation of the testimony of as many survivors as possible through his Survivors of the Shoah Foundation.

And this makes it all the more perplexing as to why he made this particular film at this particular time. For those who don’t know, Munich is about the events that took place after eleven Israeli athletes were murdered by Arab terrorists at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, in which the Israeli government, of Prime Minister Golda Meir mounted a secret war of revenge against the murderers.

This event may or may not have been the most moral decision Israel ever made but that is beside the point. How can anyone judge a government decision of over 30 years ago by today’s standards? Why this film and why now? ...and of all people to write a screenplay about this movie... why Tony Kushner? Who is Tony Kushner? Here is a pertinent quote:

“(Israel) was founded in a program that, if you really want to be blunt about it, was ethnic cleansing, and that today is behaving abominably towards the Palestinian people”. (Yale Israel Journal: September 28, 2004)

I cannot imagine why Steven Spielberg chose this man for this job. But it can’t have been one of his more lucid moments. To chose this man to write a movie about a controversial event in Israel’s history seems to be at the very least, a lapse in judgment. How could any real balance be written into a script by a man who thinks that the country he is writing about was founded through ethnic cleansing a term formerly used only to describe the actions of Nazis?!

In the current climate of world hostility towards Israel (with the very important exception of the United States, thankfully) and in this great battle against Islamic terrorism it would seem prudent to not make a movie that can only generate even greater hostility to Israel than currently exists. Israel does not need any more condemnation and to bring up this piece of history now in a major motion picture by perhaps the greatest living director in the world is an act which lacks any common sense at all. What makes matters worse is that the respectability of director Spielberg lends prestige to this movie it might not otherwise get. The fact that he is Jewish adds and undue credibility to it and the fact that he is so identified with his great contribution to preservation of the memory the holocaust makes it almost impossible to accuse him of anything but the noblest of motives.

Mr. Spielberg has responded to criticism about this movie by saying:

"I'm always in favor of Israel responding strongly when it's threatened. At the same time, a response to a response doesn't really solve anything. It just creates a perpetual-motion machine," he says. "There's been a quagmire of blood for blood for many decades in that region. Where does it end? How can it end?" (Time magazine: December12th)

This is a morally repugnant view because of its moral equivalency. He is in essence saying “The cycle of violence must end.” ...as if to say each side is guilty of the same violence for equally valid reasons. The implication of such statements is that if one side stops the other will no longer respond. Then there will be Shalom Al Yisroel, peace on earth; good will towards men. But only the most naive person would see the Israeli Palestinian conflict in those terms. I don’t want to get into a whole discussion about it but suffice it to say that terrorist suicide bombers blowing up innocent civilians is in no possible way equivalent to Israel’s justified targeted executions of terrorist leaders responsible for suicide missions. But this seems to be how Mr. Spielberg sees things.

To be fair, the movie is as of yet unseen except by a few critics and the reviews as I understand it have been mixed. I will have to wait and see. But in my opinion this was not a wise move for a man who has done so much for his fellow Jews.

Of Jews and Gentiles

There are several seemingly contradictory beliefs about non-Jews in Torah Judaism; On the one hand we have the belief that we are the Am HaNivchar... the Chosen People. We were chosen by God to receive His Torah. Other nations were given the opportunity and rejected it so we were given the "Take it or die" option at Maamid Har Sinai. So it is our Torah adherence that makes us superior. Not because of anything that we innately have but because of what Torah does for us. It is the Torah that raises us above the fray, not any inherent biology. And the Torah wasn't even voluntarily accepted till the events of Purim. It took the Am K'shei Oref (...not a particularly flattering trait) that long... to understand its benefits enough to finally say Kimu V’Kiblu... and accept it voluntarily.

The other side of the coin is the constant appellation used to describe the gentile's relationship with the Jew: Halacha Hee, Esav Sonei Es Yaakov. Then there is the constant haranguing by some Mechanchim about how Bnei Noach are Michuiv Misah if the violate any of the Sheva Mitzvos Shelahem.

Sometimes there are religious inspirational figures who, when trying to exhort us toward ethical behavior, they point to the “Goy” as the model for unethical behavior. One Mechanech I know has made the statement, “He cannot be MiZera Yisarael” when disapproving of someone’s perceived unethical behavior. I hear these kinds of statements all the time. The subliminal message: Zera Yisrael... is superior Zera!

Even in my own early education there was certainly more of an emphasis on the inherent evils of “the Goy” than there was on their Tzelem Elokim aspect. How often I heard, and still hear, the comparisons between “the Jewish way” and “the “Goyish way”?

The famous Hadran given at any Siyum Mesechta is chock full of such comparisons: Anu Mashkimim, VeHeim Mashkimim... Anu Ameilim, VeHeim Ameilim... Anu Ratzim, VeHeim Ratzim... The subliminal message is that we are inherently better then “them”.

But it is not true. It is not us. It is our beliefs... beliefs that translate into actions. It is the observance of Halacha... the practice of Mitzvos Bein Adam LaMakom AND bein Adam L’Chavero, which make us better, not any inherent superiority.

When secular culture is constantly denigrated the easy association to make, is that the “evil culture” is the Goyishe culture. When a Jew is seen doing something wrong, it is always blamed on the Goyishe Kop (gentile mindset).

In short it is rare to hear anything positive about Goyim. Goyim are automatically deemed inferior. That this is because they lack Torah is skimmed over and the Goy is looked upon as an inferior being. The very word “Goy” is a pejorative.

Is it any wonder then that in certain Yeshiva high schools there is such a dichotomy in behavior of young high school age Bnei Torah between in the way Rabbeim are treated and the way secular teachers are treated? The Rebbe is venerated, as he should be. But the secular teacher is the object of scorn mostly behind his back and occasionally even to his face! This creates enormous Chilul HaShem but these young people are oblivious to it.

The secular teacher is often subjected to ridicule and treated like a moron... there to be tolerated only because of some “silly” rules by state government about educational requirements but never to be taken seriously. Did not the Charedi press in Israel essentially endorse this attitude (if not this behavior) by claiming that all secular knowledge is “emptiness”? Is it not the attitude by many Roshei Yeshivos and Rabbeim that serious study of secular subjects (i.e. the entire academic universe of the gentile) is Bitul Zman?

On the other side of the coin, there is one undisputable damning fact about the non-Jew. It is the history of evil in Europe that he has perpetrated to his Jewish neighbor over the centuries culminating in the ultimate evil, the Holocaust. Even prior to the holocaust Jews were persecuted whether by pogrom, massacres, or by simple prejudice as they were in some cases barred from entire countries. Those countries that did allow a Jew residence barred him from certain neighborhoods and professions forcing them to live in ghettos and become moneylenders. This reinforced the negative Jewish image of Jews as “Shylocks” out for their “pound of flesh” so immortalized by William Shakespeare. Jews were constantly vilified in literature even by some of the most distinguished of authors who used the most negative of stereotypes when writing about the Jew. It is no small wonder that Jews have come to look so negatively upon the gentile. 2000 years of persecution can do that to you.

Unfortunately this image of the persecution of Jews by the non-Jew (or his government) has been retained well into the mindset of some American Jews... especially amongst Chasidim. They who have absorbed and retained their parent’s feelings about the Goy... transferred those feelings to non-Jewish Americans, and believe to this day, that it is a Mitzvah to lie, cheat, or steal from a Goy as long as you don’t get caught. They believe all Goyim to be on the very lowest rung of humanity and deserving of such treatment, even though there is little if any evidence that American non Jews harbor any kind of ill feeling toward their fellow Jewish citizens.

It has thus become the mindset of the some Jewish educators that anything Goyish is automatically inferior. It does not take much of a leap to believe that the Goy is a genetically inferior being.

But this is wrong, wrong, wrong... and is a gross failure of the Jewish educational system.