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Title: Judaism's Strange Gods by Michael A., II Hoffman, Michael A. Hoffman II ISBN: 0970378408 Publisher: Independent History Pub. Date: 30 August, 2000 Format: Paperback List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4
Rating: 2
Summary: Hoffman's Strange Book
Comment: The title of this book refers to two Jewish texts: The Talmud and Kabbalah. Theauthor contends that these are the "gods" of Judaism in the present day. Without even criticising the contents of the book, the title alone may be proven erroneous. It is true that Jews revere the contents of the Talmud and show a high level of respect for its authors, however it is absurd to assert that the aforementioned texts are actually held high above God and his commandments in the Old Testament. It is true instead to say that The Jewish people study the contents of these sacred texts to bring them closer to the one and only God whom they worship.
Throughout his book, Hoffman attempts to discredit and vilify the Talmud and the Kabbalah by citing numerous unsavoury quotes which he says prove that the they are the work of Satan. His view is extreme and misguided to say the least. Given the time period that these texts were written (from approximately 200 AD onwards), it would be miraculous not to find a trace of sexism or racism within them. It is absurd to expect that the authors of that time period would be "politically collect". Some teachings are indeed quitesuperstitious and by today's standards inappropriate. However, if one is willing to search through what Hoffman calls "God's Word" (Old and New Testament) one may find the same level of atrocious behaviour being perpetrated by the people's of the Biblical era as well as equally inappropriate conduct on the part of the deities they worshipped.
In response to Hoffman's criticism of the Talmud, the following may be said. It is correct to say that the Talmud is a very important part of the Jewish Religion. However, Hoffman's portrayal of the Talmud is very twisted, dishonest and distorted. He attempts to deceive the reader by only citing quotes that portray the Talmud as some sort of evil document. This is quite far from the truth and hence requires some explanation. The majority of the Talmud provides commentary on the Old Testament texts as well as a framework for Jewish law with respect to all aspects of Jewish life. Hoffman draws a distinction between Judaism and the religion of the Israelite people that worshipped the God of the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament). He asserts that Judaism today is based upon the Pharisaic religion (tradition ofthe elders or more commonly the teachings of the Talmud) that Jesus rejected. Judaism is indeed highly reliant on the Talmud with regards to matters of JewishLaw (Halakhah), however Hoffman's contention that Judaism does not even recognise the Torah/Old Testament as authoritative is a ridiculous statement. He even goes as far as to say that the Talmud nullifies the teachings of the Bible and that Christianity is the only true religion based on the Old Testament. This isone of the most spurious statements that Hoffman makes in his book, and it may be refuted with a simple example. Take for instance the commandment in the Torah, which states that the Israelites must not eat unclean animals i.e. pig. Traditional Judaism observes this commandment to this very day. It has therefore NOT been nullified by the Talmud nor any other Jewish text. Ironically, this law is not observed by Christians as it has been "nullified" by the NewTestament. This is also the case with many other commandments laid down in the Old Testament such as observing the Sabbath. Unfortunately, the audience that Hoffman targets is most likely not very well versed in Jewish law and the teachings of Judaism. Hence, the notions that Hoffman espouses can be quite convincing when relayed to the minds of the uninitiated.
Another ridiculous point that Hoffman promotes in his book, which directly contradicts his premise that Jews do not assign any importance to the Old Testament text, relates to the Torah Scroll. He claims that Jews worship the Torah Scroll as if it were a god (recall that the Torah comprises the first five books in the Old Testament). Didn't he say earlier that Jews don't assign any validity to the Old Testament text?? BIG contradiction! Jews believe that the Torah is the word of God as written down by Moses. Therefore, the Torah scroll contains sacred text that is studied and revered by Jews because it contains God's commandments. However, Judaism has a very strict view with regards to worshipping idols or material possessions. The Torah is a material object, and therefore CANNOT be worshipped as Hoffman wrongly asserts. He also says that Torah scrolls do not contain vowels so that totalpower can be given to Rabbis. He claims that most Jewish congregants can't readHebrew text without the vowels and that Rabbis who read the text can interpret the meaning anyway they wish. What a vivid imagination!! If any Jew or Non-Jew wishes to read the Torah with vowels, there are many books available that contain them. If anyone wishes to read the translation of the Torah, the same applies. It is not a conspiracy, as Hoffman would have us believe! These types of deceptions catch Hoffman red-handed and really discredit him as an honest, objective researcher.
(...) I would recommend that people read this book and then read other books on the sacred texts and the true nature of Judaism so that, uponcomparison, Hoffman's twisted assertions may be laid to rest.
Rating: 5
Summary: Debunking Orthodox Judaism : not for fundamentalists!
Comment: Having been raised in Orthodox Judaism I can credit most of his critic. Debunking Judaism has been such a taboo for decades that the only recent book that has a little bit of this is was Prof. Shahak's Jewish History, Jewish Religion. I had actually been waiting for a book like Hoffman's for years.
Readers will learn many things that are sprayed over many books difficult to find and that they would probably never get. Hoffman's has made the compilation nobody else dared to write. For example the talmudic interpretations of the passage over Noah's Son Ham and how they were used to justify slavery and racism of blacks.
What may anger even more Orthodox Jews and fundamentalist Christians is Hoffman's contention that Orthodox Judaism is in noway the religion of the Tanakh (Old Testament), but that its theology, structure, etc. are based on the Mishnah and the rabbis' interpretations of the Mishnah.
Actually one just has to read the introduction to Prof. Neusner's The Mishnah : A New Translation to see Hoffman's point vindicated, or other books by Prof. Neusner such as Rabbinic Judaism : Structure and System.
The only thing orthodox Judaism has in common with the religion of the Hebrews is the holy feasts. But this also Reform Judaism has, with the advantage that it does not have some the latter theological superstitions.
The bad point with this book is Hoffman's resentment against "Jews" -- he should rather speak of orthodox Jews. On the other hand I can understand the resentment he may feel when seeing his fellow Christians (the book is written for Christians, BTW, but I found this to be no problem) interpret the Old Testament in the "light" of the Talmud or believe that Orthodox Judaism is to be equated with the religion of the Old Testament.
All in all, a unique book filling in a big gap -- and I hope more books in the future will dare debunk orthodox Judaism. And a book that is religiously politically incorrect : not for the religious fundamentalists!
Rating: 4
Summary: No masterpiece, though an important and necessary work
Comment: This book was intended to be provocative, and judging by the passionate reviews against and for it displayed in this page, it has succeeded completely.
The first thing to be known before reading it, is: it was written from a Christian perspective. The author is a Christian, and his profound knowledge on Talmudic and Kabbalistic literature makes him a probable convert from Judaism. "The religion of the God of Israel is Christianity", says he with very little impartiality. And that is, in my opinion, the first of the book's weaknesses: the arguments it presents are not scientific, but theological. Instead of just pointing out the Oral Torah as an opportunistic fraud, the author calls it "a diabolic fantasy", "a heinous hoax concocted in hell", besides using Jesus' words in the Gospels to condemn it.
Although too vehement like any discussion involving more faith than reasoning, most of the argumentation is very accurate. The "strange gods" of the provocative title are the Talmud and the Kabbalah, more revered by Jews, in Hoffman's opinion, than God himself and the Bible he inspired. Rabbinic Judaism is indeed a Babylonian distortion of the original Judaism, introduced by the infamous Pharisee sect after the Israelite exile in Babylon (Hoffman believes it is even more recent, flourished in Babylon centuries after Christ was crucified). The Karaite movement and the Ethiopian Falasha, the former labeled as heretic and the latter discriminated by Orthodox rabbis, are much closer to original Judaism than Rabbinism. Talmud, and not the Bible, is the book that primarily determines the practices and doctrines of Orthodox Jews, and such words are endorsed by Prof. Israel Shahak, who was raised to be a rabbi. The theory of the Khazar origin of Ashkenazic Jewry is also more than plausible. However, I disagree with the author's exaggeration of the influence of Kabbalism in the West, and its supposed creation of 18th century's Age of Enlightenment.
Hoffman's book is important simply because it belongs to a major movement against Jewish fundamentalism leaded by Jewish intellectuals like Prof. Albert Lindemann and Prof. Israel Shahak, among many others. Everyone knows that Orthodox Jews work restlessly against the peace process in Middle East, and that Yitzhak Rabin's assassin was indoctrinated by them. Almost everyone is familiar with Rabbinic Judaism's hatred towards Jesus Christ, whose name is not even pronounced by Orthodox Rabbis, who refer to him by words like "the Nazarene", "that man" and so on. Not to mention that the Talmud contains the most offensive and imbecile things ever written against the founder of Christianity.
The accusations of racism against Rabbinic Judaism in Hoffman's book are even more distempered, but unfortunately very pertinent. Few people know that Orthodox Jews give thanks in their prayers for not being "women, gentiles or servants". Jewish scholar Norman Cantor says in "The Sacred Chain", Chapter 10: "Racism is itself a central doctrine in traditional Judaism and Jewish cultural history. The Hebrew Bible is blatantly racist, with all the talk about the seed of Abraham, the chosen people, and Israel as the light to the other nations. Orthodox Jews in their morning prayers still thank God daily that he did not make Jews 'like the other peoples of the earth'. If this isn't racism, it is hard to envisage what is."
Regrettably, any educated and traveled Jew who could sympathize with the author's contempt for Orthodox Rabbis, gets offended by his opening statement that "Christianity is the only religion that represents the Old Testament creed of Yahweh", feeling immediately compelled to take their side.
Now, the reason why I think this book is not only important but also necessary, is that it defies the paranoiac and widely spread notion that anything said against Jews or Judaism can cause another Holocaust. This is not only hysterical, is also very convenient for fanatics and fundamentalists, who make themselves untouchables. No one should be above criticism, and the word "Anti-Semitism" must stop being used as an excuse for censoring free debate. The monopoly of persecution suffering mustn't be detained by Jews, or by followers of any other faith as a matter of fact. Someone in this very page has talked about censoring and forbidding this book, and that kind of statement (as if censorship could change for the better anyone's opinions about the censor) is the really dangerous one. If Catholics, for instance, must accept the publishing of a book that calls Pius XII "Hitler's Pope", there is no reason why religious Jews should not accept all kinds of criticism and opinions contrary to their own. Nazis used to make bonfires to burn Jewish books; it is nothing less than distressing to see now some Jews, among all people, invoking such methods of disagreement.
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