tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3335270607657867160.post6558772485676602617..comments2023-03-01T11:37:09.936-08:00Comments on Answering Judaism: Interesting Objections from the Rabbinic CampAnswering Judaismhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08118361261862962380noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3335270607657867160.post-28168041384886549862014-01-20T17:01:37.556-08:002014-01-20T17:01:37.556-08:001. The mitzvah simply states to have children. I w...1. The mitzvah simply states to have children. I will not enter a debate about the ecosystem as it presently exists. The argument wrt Jeremiah is an old one.<br />There are two ways to view this passage. First, this can be viewed as Jeremiah<br />being commanded by God not to marry at all. In this case, it would not accrue to him<br />as a transgression of the precept in Genesis 1:28. He had no choice other than to<br />obey God’s instructions.<br />Alternatively, the phrase "in this place" [in Hebrew, בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה (ba’maQOM<br />ha’ZEH)] in verse 2 could be understood to imply that the order is tied to the<br />particular location for a specific reason, which is described elsewhere in the Book of Jeremiah. Hashem gave no such command to Jesus. He did not have children. He violated this mitzvah.<br /><br />2.The reason you may feel the reasoning wrt starvation is nonsensical is because you do not know Talmud and in your willingness to swallow the near universal vilification of the Pharisaic sect, hook line and sinker. The principal of pikuach nefesh means that any mitzvah including the Sabbath was over-riden if life was at stake. Just another silly ruling of those evil Pharisees. The NT is guilty of wholesale degradation and vilification of the Pharisees, an account which is contradicted by an examination of extra-biblical sources. Do I feel there may have been a few hypcriticial people among them. Sure. But the caricatures drawn in the NT are just propaganda-no different from the whitewash given to Pilate which also is contradicted by extra-biblical sources such as Philo and Josephus. <br />The fact is what Jesus was teaching was a violation of Shabbat- a form of agricultural labor. The Torah says if there is any dispute we should follow the ruling of the judges and in this period the Pharisees were the judges - they sat in Moses' seat. Twisting things around, Jesus admits they are the authority but then paints the picture everyone being hypocritical and not carrying out what they rule to the population at large- there is no basis for this in outside of the NT in the historical records that survive. Exodus 22:27 is another mitzvah not to curse a judge, not to revile a judge. How can you read what comes from the mouth of Jesus and not accept it as a violation of Hashem's commandment?<br /><br />I will not get into a lengthy discussion of the word genea in reference to this generation. From what I have read it most commonly refers to contemporaries. A plain reading of the text leaves little doubt that Jesus was referring to his disciples .<br /><br />Matthew 24 is quite consistent with Matthew 16:28-28 “Truly I tell YOU some who are standing HERE will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Any attempt to rationalize genea to some future generation or to the nation of Jews is just that- a poor rationalization. His followers expected something immanent in their lifetimes. <br /><br />Finally, I do not find the commentaries you referenced convincing wrt honoring one's parents. The actions decribed seem disrespectful and in violation of the commandment.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14383015622745198194noreply@blogger.com