#Mishneh Torah

[maastrichtiana]

if anyone was ever worried

[mioritic]

Two knights clash at the border of the Mishneh Torah

Northeastern France, 1296

Dávid Kaufmann Collection #MS-A77, Oriental Collection at the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences 

[girlactionfigure]

[gliklofhameln]

Mishneh Torah, 14th century, Spain

[torais-life]

"It is a mitzvah both to say what will be heard and not to say what will not be heard"

-Morá Carolina Dabah (Machon Ora Midrashet)

[sel-lzr]

atonement

I realize only now that most, if not all, of my problems stem from the fact that I'm much more interested in worrying whether or not people like me than worrying about how my actions are impacting other people.

My priorities are wrong. "It is forbidden for a person to be cruel and not make amends."

"Five of them are things which the person who commits them drags with them perpetually, and they are all very bad character traits, and they are: (1) Slander. (2) Gossip. (3) Anger. (4) Someone who plots against their fellow. (5) Someone who makes friends with a wicked person, because he will learn from [the wicked person’s] ways and they will be inscribed in his heart."

#mishnehtorah

[dragoneyes618]

If one could speak of Biblical verses as being vilified, then "an eye for an eye" would be the most vilified verse in the Bible. It is commonly cited to "prove" the existence of an "Old Testament" ethic of vengeance, and then contrasted with the New Testament's supposedly higher ethic of forgiveness. "An eye for an eye" is often associated with modern Jews as well, and invariably in a pejorative manner. Israel's critics, for example, commonly accuse her of practicing "eye for an eye" morality when she retaliates against Arab terrorist acts.

In actuality, the biblical standard of "an eye for an eye" stood in stark contrast to the legal standards prevailing in the societies that surrounded the ancient Hebrews. The Code of Hammurabi, a legal code hundreds of years older than the Torah, legislated retaliation even against innocent parties. Thus, if A constructed a building for B, and the building collapsed and killed B's daughter, then A's daughter was put to death (Law number 229). The biblical law of "an eye for an eye" restricted punishment solely to the perpetrator. Furthermore, unlike Hammurabi's code, one who caused another's death accidentally was never executed.

"An eye for an eye" also served to limit vengeance; it did not permit "a life for an eye" or even "two eyes for an eye." The operative biblical principle was that punishment must be commensurate with the deed, not exceed it. Blood feuds and vendettas were long practiced among the Israelites' neighbors - indeed, they have persisted in the Middle East until this century - and revenge was often carried out without restraint.

Christian often contend that Jesus went beyond the standard of "an eye for an eye," that he advocated forgiveness and saw retaliation as unworthy of man. Yet the New Testament records Jesus saying, "But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven" (Matthew 10:33). In other words, Jesus seems to advocate treating others as they have treated him; a standard of justice that is perfectly commensurate with the demand of "an eye for an eye."

In the time of the Talmud, "an eye for an eye" was not carried out literally, and Orthodox Jewish scholars teach that it was never practiced. The Talmud's rabbis feared that the very process of removing the perpetrator's eye might kill him as well, and that, of course, would be forbidden (Bava Kamma 84a). "An eye for an eye" was therefore understood as requiring monetary compensation equivalent to the value of an eye. The same understanding was applied to almost all the other punishments enumerated in the same biblical verse, "a tooth for a tooth, a wound for a wound."

The only punishment in this set that was not converted to a monetary fine was capital punishment for murderers, "a life for a life." Because the Torah believed that premeditated murder deserved the death penalty, there was obviously no fear of punishing the killer excessively. Jewish law did dictate, however, that murderers be executed in the quickest manner possible. Hence, later Jewish law forbade the Roman punishment of crucifixion.

Torah law also forbade remitting a murderer's sentence with a monetary fine. Life and money, according to the biblical ethic, are incommensurate; one can never atone for murder by paying money. In this regard, too, Torah law differed from the laws of the ancient Jews' neighbors, which would sometimes fine those who had murdered people belonging to a lower social class and which made certain property crimes (for example, looting at a fire) capital offenses. In Jewish law, property crimes could never be punished with death, and murderers could never be let off with payment of money, even if the family of the victim were willing to accept it (see Numbers 35:31, and Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, "Laws Concerning Murder," 1:4).

Both in its insistence that evil must be punished and in its equal insistence on setting limits to that punishment, "an eye for an eye" is a basic principle of biblical justice.

- Jewish Literacy, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, pages 558-560

[thejewitches]

The earliest depiction of people wearing costumes on Purim, from Sefer Zemanim (the Book of Holidays), in Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. Original in Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. From northern Italy, ca. 1470. Image courtesy of Shalom Sabar.

Reminder that the Catholic Church looted, pillaged, rounded up, murdered, and committed atrocities against Jews while stealing our sacred and precious texts, including our art; much of which has not been returned.

[jdsquared]

In remembrance of Arnon Zamora. May his memory be a blessing to his family and all Israel.

“There is no mitzvah greater than the redeeming of captives.” Maimonides, Mishneh Torah

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,493

"The god of Christians, Jews, and Muslims made only two genders" is not a sound claim even if we were to assume for the sake of argument that God exists and created genders.

Israelite society had several genders, not just two.

Ay’lonit [איילונית]

A person who is identified as “woman” at birth but develops “man” characteristics at puberty and is infertile. 

There are 80 references to this gender in the Mishna and Talmud and 40 in the classical midrash and Jewish law codes.

Androgynos [אנדרוגינוס] (Ancient Israel, from at least 1st century CE to 16th century CE)

A person who has both “male” and “female” sexual characteristics. 

There are 149 references to the gender in the Mishna and Talmud and a whopping 350 mentions in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.

Saris [סריס:] (Ancient Israel)

A person who is identified as a “man” at birth but develops “woman” characteristics at puberty and/or is lacking a penis. 

A saris can be “naturally” a saris (saris hamah), or become one through human intervention (saris adam). 

There are 156 references to this gender in mishna and the Talmud and 379 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.

Tumtum [טומטום] (Ancient Israel)

A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured.

According to Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, Mada, Avoda Zara, 12, 4 Tumtum is not a separate gender exactly, but rather a state of doubt about what gender a person is (kind of like a Schrödinger’s gender?).

[badass-at-fandoming]

I have an image in my head of Beckett deciding to visit a creation museum just for the hell of it cuz he felt bored, and stands around bemused as he takes in the absurd exhibits and displays purporting to show that humans really did coexist with dinosaurs while the tour guide prattles on, unaware that before them stands a cursed, unholy creature of hell(tm).

As a scholar who doesn't believe in Caine I think he would find kine literalist interpretations of the Bible to be very amusing.

I didn't know creationist museums existed [searches DuckDuckGo] oh snap there's a famous one in Kentucky. Doesn't sound as fun as the Center of PostNatural History in Pennsylvania. No idea the connection between creationist belief and demons. A creationist may believe the world is young, but the appreciation of demonic booty is not.

Regardless, you've touched on a fun irony of Beckett. Our fav Noddist believes the story of Caine and Abel mythologizes the transition from hunter + gather society to settled agrarian society. I can't speak to Protestant sects, but today's Catholics and Catholic scholars also believe that. Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, and Seth may have been literal, historical people, but it's impossible to know for sure. They for sure are narrative archetypes and play out the consequences of original sin (aka whatever triggered life to suck sometimes). Some scholars think Caine and Abel play out the tensions between nomadic desert tribes and the establishment of cities. Scholars propose that Caine founded the first city, but it was tiny and sucked major ass. Catholic Encyclopedia Answers here.

Another fun element of your proposed scenario is Beckett was definitely alive for Catholic scholars to go bananas about the Ussher chronology of earth. That's the one referenced at the beginning of Good Omens, if you've watched/read/listened to that. Some fucking nerd interpreted the Book of Genesis super literally so he could make Ye Official Timeline. Earth is a Libra. I bet Beckett hated Ussher with a passion 😂 He was probably SO glad when Ussher's ideas lost popularity.

Nowadays Catholicism has no official teaching on the age of earth, but there is an injunction to celebrate and uplift science and scientific thought: the findings of modern science "[...] have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers," (Catechism 283). The Cathechism is like this brick-sized synthesis of Catholic theology and morality. I think the closest Jewish equivalent would be the Mishneh Torah? It's a lot of Catholic Thought™️ brought back down to earth so the layman can look up references and specific questions.

In any case, World of Darkness dropkicks all progression of theological thought out the window and says Caine is literally real, literally a vampire, and literally wants to boink Beckett.

Thanks for the ask! This was fun to think about. I feel like you activated by Catholic trap card, haha.

[archaeocommunologist]

The Talmud is a record of discussion and debate across centuries were contributors recorded on the same folio might be writing centuries apart, not to mention the commentary and the source reference/topic being discussed.

The Talmud is not a record of legal decisions or interpretation, though it is studied to inform legal interpretation. The most authoritative set of legal interpretations are the Shulchan Aruch and the Mishneh Torah, but Jewish law is always evolving.

But!!! Jewish Law is tribal Law, not religious law... Sometimes the law pertains to religion.

If you study a folio a day of the Babylonian Talmud, it will take you almost 7 and a half years, understanding the structure of the Talmud folio is a craft in itself.

There is no stream of Judaism in the world that endorses those who worship Powers other than HaShem as a part of the tribe. It is the first and most foundational principle of our people. We are happy to be one people of many. We can accept and even celebrate that our G-d might not be the only god, and that others worship differently. We accept that our people doubt or disbelieve, or have conflicting concepts of the Shekinah. An atheist Jew is no challenge to Jewish culture, Atheists lead our synagogues and contribute to Jewish cultural philosophy.

But WE do not have other gods, and to have other gods is to be something other than a Jew. It is Foundational to our culture.

Look, I find it difficult to respond seriously to you. You must recognize, on some level, that citing 12th and 16th Century religious law is not particularly persuasive to a person who has already identified himself as a militant atheist. Why not just quote the Diamond Sutra, or the Hadiths, or the Summa contra Gentiles? These are all equally nonsense. Interesting as a subject of historical study, interesting as cultural artifacts, but totally out of place in the modern world and no basis for any kind of ethics and certainly no basis for a legal system.

Now, I am perfectly happy to grant that you are allowed to bar non-believers and idolators from your particular branch of religion, or to exclude them from your religious services. I have absolute contempt for this kind of religious person, but I don't think this is a problem. But as you know, Jewishness is not defined by religious observance alone. Jewishness is an ethnicity and it is a culture, just like Irishness is, and unfortunately for you, you don't get to ban people from their ethnicity or their culture over differing opinions.

This is all boils down to more special pleading (the favorite activity of the Zionist). You are claiming that, unlike all other ethnic cultures, Jewish culture is defined by a specific, religious belief: there are no gods other than HaShem.

This makes you no different than somebody claiming that you can't really be Irish unless you're a Catholic, or claiming that you're not really an Arab unless you're Muslim. It makes you a run-of-the-mill bigot. It makes you just another religious fundamentalist among all the others.

And the kicker! Is that the Israeli government doesn't even back you on this. The Israeli government does not define Jewishness according to halachic law, since they allow people to trace descent from either the mother's or the father's line. You're really going to tell me that you believe some large portion of those who make aliyah are fake Jews? I haven't been able to find an avodah zarah exemption in the Israeli citizenship laws, but maybe I just haven't looked hard enough.

You don't actually believe any of this, of course. This whole digression over idolatry and Seder Nezikin and avodah zarah is secondary to your true conviction: that anti-Zionist Jews are fake Jews. The fact that your stance very obviously contradicts the entire Israeli project of Jewish settlement doesn't matter, because in that context you'd never think to even raise the objection. A Zionist Jew practicing Wicca is perfectly fine.

It's only when it comes to anti-Zionist Jews that you reach for the rationales to discredit them. It's the same way that Norm Finkelstein can be discredited for transphobia or "Holocaust denial," but you'd never dream to try and discredit Yair Golan for openly calling to starve Gaza. Zionism, no matter what, is the defining feature of Judaism in your eyes. This is obvious to the rest of us, even if you keep it hidden from yourself.

There's nothing much to respond to in your second ask, other than more outpourings of dark age religious bigotry, so I'll end here. From the river to the sea.

[feministdragon]

while poking around the wikipedia article "Religious views on pornography", came across this bit:

"Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, writes, based on the Talmud,[59] that "A person who stares at even a small finger of a woman with the intent of deriving pleasure is considered as if he looked at her genitalia. It is even forbidden to hear the voice of a woman with whom sexual relations are prohibited, or to look at her hair."[60] This is further codified in the Code of Jewish Law,[61] which includes further prohibitions (based on the Talmud) such as "watching women as they do the laundry." Accordingly, pornography would be forbidden"

It makes me think about how discussions about controlling men's behavior (this guy's very reasonable discourse about 'don't even think about their little finger sexually') always turn into control of women's behavior (better cover up so men won't sexualize you).

men just don't like to be told 'no', even by other men

[girlactionfigure]

[dramoor]

“The foundation of foundations and firmest pillar of all wisdom is to know that there is a first being, that He caused all beings to be, and that all beings from heaven and earth, and from between them, could not be if it were not for the truth of His own Being.”  

~Maimonides, Mishneh Torah

[ancestorsofjudah]

1 Kings 7:9-10. The Foundation Structures.

9 All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and smoothed on their inner and outer faces.

 10 The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits[e] and some eight.[f]

The Foundation and Eaves are the beliefs in a King of Israel who is also Mashiach, "sovereignty and universal peace." They are detailed in a kind of Jewish Hebrew Nicene Creed, a statement of Fidelity:

Based on the Thirteen Principles of Faith formulated by the Rambam in his Commentary on the Mishnah (tractate Sanhedrin 10:1).

1. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the Creator and Guide of all the created beings, and that He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.

2. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is One and Alone; that there is no oneness in any way like Him; and that He alone is our G‑d - was, is and will be.

3. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is incorporeal; that He is free from all anthropomorphic properties; and that He has no likeness at all.

4. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the first and the last.

5. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the only one to whom it is proper to pray, and that it is inappropriate to pray to anyone else.

6. I believe with complete faith that all the words of the Prophets are true.

7. I believe with complete faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace unto him, was true; and that he was the father of the prophets, both of those who preceded and of those who followed him.

8. I believe with complete faith that the whole Torah which we now possess was given to Moses, our teacher, peace unto him.

9. I believe with complete faith that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will be no other Torah given by the Creator, blessed be His name.

10. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the deeds and thoughts of human beings, as it is said, "It is He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who perceives all their actions." (Psalms 33:15).

11. I believe with complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, rewards those who observe His commandments, and punishes those who transgress His commandments.

12. I believe with complete faith in the coming of Moshiach, and although he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait every day for him to come.

13. I believe with complete faith that there will be resurrection of the dead at the time when it will be the will of the Creator, blessed be His name and exalted be His remembrance forever and ever.

 The foundation of all foundations [and basic principles of the Torah] and the pillar of all wisdoms is to know that there is a First Being Who brings every existing thing into being. All existing things – in heaven, on earth and what is between them – come into being only from His true existence. If it should enter one's mind that He does not exist – no other thing could have any existence. 

Mishneh Torah, Yesodei HaTorah, 1:1-2

11 Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 

12 The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the Lord with its portico.

=Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who became Israel, Father of the 12 Noble Skills are the Trimmed Cedar Beams and dressed stones that support the Palace Entrance.

="Compassion, laughter, and the Following overcome the surmountable barriers between man and the true nature of his existence."

Infidelity to the above principals has led to the downfall of mankind. The result of "anti-cubits", our ancestral ignorances. The Foundation states we will endeavor to witness our own behavior with the same level of illumination as God and curb any behavior He says is forbidden, and this will deliver mankind into final sovereignty over his emotions and his country.

How is it the world is so rife with corruption and abuses of power? The signs are there. Do we not find them repugnant enough?