The Jewish Exilarch as "Head of Exile" in Talmudic Babylon

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

If you want to understand the Talmudic mindset and Jewish criminality today and throughout the centuries... the Exilarch is a great place to start.... for it sits on many waters even today...  -- CSR

Long but informative read.

Exilarch


Exilarch (Hebrew: ראש גלות Rosh Galut, Aramaic: ריש גלותא Reish Galuta lit. "head of the exile", Greek: Æchmalotarcha) refers to the leaders of the Diaspora Jewish community following the deportation of the population of Judah into Babylonian exile after the destruction of the kingdom of Judah. The people in exile were called golah (Jeremiah 28:6, 29:1; Ezekiel passim) or galut (Jeremiah 29:22).

The Greek term has continued to be applied to the position, notwithstanding changes to the position over time, which was at most times purely honorific. The origin of this dignity is not known, but the princely post was hereditary in a family that traced its descent from the royal Davidic line. It was recognized by the state and carried with it certain prerogatives. The first historical documents referring to it date from the time when Babylon was part of the Parthian Empire. The office lasted to the middle of the sixth century CE, under different regimes (the Arsacids and Sassanids). During the beginning of sixth century Mar-Zutra II formed a politically independent state where he ruled from Mahoza for about seven years. He was eventually defeated by Kavadh I, King of Persia.[1] The position was restored in the seventh century, under Arab rule. Exilarchs continued to be appointed through the 11th century. Under Arab rule, the exilarch was treated with great pomp and circumstance.

 Development and organization

The history of the exilarchate falls naturally into two periods, separated by the beginning of the Arabic rule in Babylonia. Nothing is known about the office before the 2nd century, including any details about its founding or beginnings. It can merely be said in general that the golah, the Jews living in compact masses in various parts of Babylon, tended gradually to unite and create an organization, and that this tendency, together with the high regard in which the descendants of the house of David living in Babylon were held, brought it about that a member of this house was recognized as "head of the golah." The dignity became hereditary in this house, and was finally recognized by the state, and hence became an established political institution, first of the Arsacid and then of the Sassanid empire.

Such was the exilarchate as it appears in Talmudic literature, the chief source for its history during the first period, and which provides our only information regarding the rights and functions of the exilarchate. For the second, Arabic, period, there is a very important and trustworthy description of the institution of the exilarchate (See the sections Installation ceremonies and Income and privileges); this description is also important for the first period, because many of the details may be regarded as having persisted from it.
[edit] Holders of the office

The following list of exilarchs is based on the evidence detailed in the following sections.

Biblical and rabbinic

Exilarchs listed in the Second Book of Kings, the Books of Chronicles and in the Seder Olam Zutta, some possibly legendary, are:

    * Jeconiah or Jehoiachin, according to the chronology of the exilarchate, the last of the Davidic kings of Judah.[2] After a reign of only three months and ten days, Jeconiah's reign came to an end by Babylonian intervention, and Jeconiah and the elite of Judah were taken into Babylonian exile in 597 BCE as part of the first deportation,[3] Jeconiah continued to be regarded as the legitimate king of Judah by the Jews in Babylon. His family line was followed by subsequent exilarchs. Cuneiform records dated to 592 BCE mention Jeconiah ("Ia-'-ú-kinu") and his five sons as recipients of food rations in Babylon.[4] In any event, all the sons of Jehoiachin's successor on the throne of Judah, Zedekiah, were killed by Nebuchadrezzar II after the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE. (2 Kings 25:7)
    * Shealtiel, son of Jehoiachin (1 Chronicles 3:17)
    * Zerubbabel, son of Pedaiah, who was a son of Jehoiachin (1 Chronicles 3:17-19, Haggai 1:1) and is mentioned as a governor of the Persian Yehud Province. According to the Seder Olam Zutta, Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel.
    * Meshullam, son of Zerubbabel (1 Chronicles 3:19)
    * Hananiah, son of Zerubbabel (1 Chronicles 3:19)
    * Berechiah
    * Hasadiah, son of Hananiah (1 Chronicles 3:21)
    * Jesaiah, son of Hananiah (1 Chronicles 3:21)
    * Obadiah, son of Hananiah (1 Chronicles 3:21)
    * Shemaiah, son of Shecaniah, who was a son of Hananiah (1 Chronicles 3:21-22)
    * Shechaniah, son of Hananiah (1 Chronicles 3:21) According to the Seder Olam Zutta, Shechaniah was the son of Shemaiah, and lived at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple
    * Hezekiah
    * Akkub, son of Elioenai, who was a son of Neariah, who was a son of Shemaiah (1 Chronicles 3:22-24)

Probably historical exilarchs also found among the Davidians in the Books of Chronicles:

    * Nahum, probably the same person known as Nehunyon or Ahijah, roughly from the time of the Hadrianic persecution (135 CE)
    * Johanan
    * Shaphat
    * Anan: Anani in I Chron. 3:24; the first exilarch explicitly mentioned as such in Talmudic literature (where he is named as Huna); contemporary of Judah I (Judah HaNasi)
    * Nathan 'Ukban, alternately Mar 'Ukban (reigning in 226)
    * Huna II
    * Nathan 'Ukban II, alternately Mar 'Ukban II
    * Nehemiah (reigning in 313)
    * Mar 'Ukban III ("Nathan di Zzuta", reigning in 337)
    * Huna III
    * Abba
    * Nathan
    * Mar Kahana
    * Huna IV (died 441)
    * Mar Zutra, brother of Huna IV.
    * Kahana II, son of Mar Zutra.
    * Huna V, son of Mar Zutra - executed by King Peroz of Persia in 470.
    * Huna VI, son of Kahana II - not installed for some time because of persecution. Died 508.
    * Mar Zutra II - crucified c. 520 by Kavadh I (or Kobad).
    * Mar Ahunai - did not dare to appear in public for 30 years (until 550).
    * Kafnai, second half of the sixth century
    * Haninai, second half of the sixth century
    * Bostanai, son of Haninai - first of the exilarchs under Arab rule, middle of the seventh century.
    * Hanina ben Adoi
    * Hasdai I
    * Solomon ruled 730-761. He was the eldest son of Ḥasdai I.
    * Isaac Iskawi I
    * Judah Zakkai (or Judah Babawai)
    * Moses
    * Isaac Iskawi II
    * David ben Judah
          o see below for the rival succession of Karaite princes
    * Natronai
    * Hasdai II
    * 'Ukba, deposed, reinstated 918, deposed again shortly after
    * Brief interregnum
    * David ben Zakkai took power (921 his brother Josiah (Al-Hasan) was elected anti-exilarch in 930, but David prevailed.

David ben Zakkai was the last exilarch to play an important part in history. His son Judah survived him only by seven months; at the time of Judah's death, he left a twelve-year-old son, whose name is unknown. The only later exilarch whose name is recorded is Hezekiah, an exilarch who also became gaon in 1038, but fell from power in 1040, both the last exilarch and the last gaon.
[edit] Karaite

Karaite princes beginning in the 8th century, after the time of David ben Judah:

    * Anan ben David, son of David ben Judah (ca 715 - ca 795 or 811?), considered to be a major founder of the Karaite movement
    * Saul ben Anan, son of Anan ben David, eighth century.
    * Josiah, son of Anan ben David
    * Jehoshaphat ben Saul, son of Saul ben Anan, early ninth century
    * Boaz ben Jehoshaphat, son of Jehoshaphat ben Saul, mid ninth century.
    * David ben Boaz, son of Boaz ben Jehoshaphat, tenth century.
    * Solomon ben David, son of David ben Boaz, late tenth and early eleventh centuries.
    * Hezekiah ben Solomon, son of Solomon ben David, eleventh century.
    * Hasdai ben Hezekiah, son of Hezekiah ben Solomon, eleventh and twelfth centuries.
    * Solomon ben Hasdai, son of Hasdai ben Hezekiah. During his reign many Karaite communities were destroyed by the Seljuks.

Traced to Jehoiachin

Tradition has it that the first exilarch was Jehoiachin, a king of Judah carried off to captivity in Babylonia in 597 BCE. A chronicle from about the year 800 - the Midrashic Seder 'Olam Zuta - fills up the gaps in the early history of the exilarch. The captive king's advancement at Evil-merodach's court - with which the narrative of the Second Book of Kings closes (2 Kings 25:27) - was apparently regarded by the author of the Seder 'Olam Zuta as the origin of the exilarchate. A list including generations of the descendants of the king is given in I Chronicles 3:17 et seq.

A commentary to Chronicles [Kirchheim 1874, p. 16] dating from the school of Saadia Gaon quotes Judah ibn Kuraish to the effect that the genealogical list of the descendants of David was added to the book at the end of the period of the Second Temple, a view which was shared by the author of the list of exilarchs in Seder 'Olam Zuta. This list has been synchronistically connected with the history of the Second Temple, with Shechaniah being mentioned as having lived at the time of the Temple's destruction. The following are enumerated as his predecessors in office: Salathiel, Zerubbabel, Meshullam, Hananiah, Berechiah, Hasadiah, Jesaiah, Obadiah, and Shemaiah, all of which names are also found in I Chron. 3. (compare the list with the variants given in [Lazarus 1890]).

The names of the next two exilarchs - Hezekiah and Akkub - are also found at the end of the Davidic list in Chronicles. Then follows Nahum, with whom the authentic portion of the list probably begins, and who may, perhaps, be assigned to the time of the Hadrianic persecution (135). This is the period in which are found the first allusions in traditional literature to the exilarch.

First historic mention

In the account referring to the attempt of a Palestinian teacher of the Law, Hananiah, nephew of Joshua ben Hananiah, to render the Babylonian Jews independent of the Palestinian authorities, a certain Ahijah is mentioned as the temporal head of the former, probably, therefore, as exilarch [Berakhot 63a, b], while another source substitutes the name Nehunyon for Ahijah [Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 19a]. It is not improbable that this person is identical with the Nahum mentioned in the list [Lazarus 1890, p. 65].

The danger threatening the Palestinian authority was fortunately averted; at about the same time, Rabbi Nathan, a member of the house of exilarchs, came to Palestine, and by virtue of his scholarship was soon classed among the foremost tannaim of the post-Hadrianic time. His Davidic origin suggested to Rabbi Meïr the plan of making the Babylonian scholar nasi (prince) in place of the Hillelite Simon ben Gamaliel. But the conspiracy against the latter failed [Horayot 13b]. Rabbi Nathan was subsequently among the confidants of the patriarchal house, and in intimate relations with Simon ben Gamaliel's son Judah I (also known as Judah haNasi).

Rabbi Meïr's attempt, however, seems to have led Judah I to fear that the Babylonian exilarch might come to Palestine to claim the office from Hillel's descendant. He discussed the subject with the Babylonian scholar Hiyya, a prominent member of his school [Horayot 11b], saying that he would pay due honor to the exilarch should the latter come, but that he would not renounce the office of nasi in his favor [Jerusalem Talmud Kilayim 32b]. When the body of the exilarch Huna, who was the first incumbent of that office explicitly mentioned as such in Talmudic literature, was brought to Palestine during the time of Judah I, Hiyya drew upon himself Judah's deep resentment by announcing the fact to him with the words "Huna is here" (Yerushalmi Kilayim 32b).

A tannaitic exposition of Genesis 49:10 [Sanhedrin 5a] which contrasts the Babylonian exilarchs, ruling by force, with Hillel's descendants, teaching in public, evidently intends to cast a reflection on the former. But Judah I had to listen at his own table to the statement of the youthful sons of the above-mentioned Hiyya, in reference to the same tannaitic exposition, that "the Messiah can not appear until the exilarchate at Babylon and the patriarchate at Jerusalem shall have ceased" [Sanhedrin 38a].

Succession of Exilarchs

Huna I, the contemporary of Judah I, is not mentioned in the list of exilarchs in the Seder 'Olam Zuta, according to which Nahum was followed by his brother Johanan; then came Johanan's son Shaphat (these names also are found among the Davidians in I Chron. 3:22, 3:24), who was succeeded by Anan (comp. "Anani," I Chronicles 3:24). From the standpoint of chronology the identification of Anan with the Huna of the Talmud account is not to be doubted; for at the time of his successor, Nathan 'Ukban, occurred the fall of the Arsacids and the founding of the Sassanid dynasty (226 C.E., which is noted as follows in Seder 'Olam Zuta: "In the year 166 after the destruction of the Temple (c. 234 C.E.) the Persians advanced upon the Romans" (on the historical value of this statement see [Lazarus 1890], p. 33).

Nathan 'Ukban, however, who is none other than Mar 'Ukban, the contemporary of Rab and Samuel, also occupied a prominent position among the scholars of Babylon' (see Bacher, "Aggadoth of the Babylonian Amoraim" pp. 34–36) and, according to Sherira Gaon (who quotes Talmud Shabbat 55a), was also exilarch. As 'Ukban's successor is mentioned in the list his son Huna (Huna II), whose chief advisers were Rab (d. 247) and Samuel (d. 254), and in whose time Papa ben Nazor destroyed Nehardea. Huna's son and successor, Nathan, whose chief advisers were Judah ben Ezekiel (d. 299) and Shesheth, was called, like his grandfather, "Mar 'Ukban," and it is he, the second exilarch of this name, whose curious correspondence with Eleazar ben Pedat is referred to in the Talmud [Gittin 7a; see Bacher, l.c. p. 72; idem, "Aggadoth of the Palestinian Amoraim" i. 9]. He was succeeded by his brother (not his son, as stated in Seder 'Olam Zuta); his leading adviser was Shezbi. The "exilarch Nehemiah" is also mentioned in the Talmud [Bava Metzia 91b]; he is the same person as "Rabbanu Nehemiah," and he and his brother "Rabbeinu 'Ukban" (Mar 'Ukban II) are several times mentioned in the Talmud as sons of Rab's daughter (hence Huna II was Rab's son-in-law) and members of the house of the exilarchs [Hullin 92a; Bava Batra 51b].

The Mar 'Ukbans

According to Seder 'Olam Zuta, in Nehemiah's time, the 245th year after the destruction of the Temple (313 C.E.), there took place a great religious persecution by the Persians, of which, however, no details are known. Nehemiah was succeeded by his son Mar 'Ukban III, whose chief advisers were Rabbah ben Nahmani (d. 323) and Adda. He is mentioned as "'Ukban ben Nehemiah, resh galuta," in the Talmud [Shabbat 56b; Bava Batra 55a]. This Mar 'Ukban, the third exilarch of that name, was also called "Nathan," as were the first two, and has been made the hero of a legend under the name of "Nathan di Zzuta" [Shabbat 56b]. The conquest of Armenia (337) by Shapur (Sapor) II is mentioned in the chronicle as a historical event occurring during the time of Mar 'Ukban III.

He was succeeded by his brother Huna Mar (Huna III), whose chief advisers were Abaye (d. 338) and Raba; then followed Mar 'Ukban's son Abba, whose chief advisers were Raba (d. 352) and Rabina. During Abba's time King Sapor conquered Nisibis. The designation of a certain Isaac as resh galuta in the time of Abaye and Raba [Yebamoth 115b] is due to a clerical error [Brüll's Jahrbuch, vii. 115]. Abba was succeeded first by his son Nathan and then by another son, Mar Kahana. The latter's son Huna is then mentioned as successor, being the fourth exilarch of that name; he died in 441, according to a trustworthy source, the "Seder Tannaim wa-Amoraim." Hence he was a contemporary of Rav Ashi, the great master of Sura, who died in 427. In the Talmud, however, Huna ben Nathan is mentioned as Ashi's contemporary, and according to Sherira it was he who was Mar Kahana's successor, a statement which is also confirmed by the Talmud [Zevachim 19a]. The statement of Seder 'Olam Zuta ought perhaps to be emended, since Huna was probably not the son of Mar Kahana, but the son of the latter's elder brother Nathan.

Persecutions under Peroz and Kobad

Huna was succeeded by his brother Mar Zutra, whose chief adviser was Ahai of Diphti, the same who was defeated in 455 by Ashi's son Tabyomi (Mar) at the election for director of the school of Sura. Mar Zutra was succeeded by his son Kahana (Kahana II), whose chief adviser was Rabina, the editor of the Babylonian Talmud (d. 499). Then followed two exilarchs by the same name: another son of Mar Zutra, Huna V, and a grandson of Mar Zutra, Huna VI, the son of Kahana.

Huna V fell a victim to the persecutions under King Peroz (Firuz) of Persia, being executed, according to Sherira, in 470; Huna VI was not installed in office until some time later, the exilarchate being vacant during the persecutions under Peroz; he died in 508 [Sherira]. The Seder 'Olam Zuta connects with the birth of his son Mar Zutra the legend that is elsewhere told in connection with Bostanai's birth.

Mar Zutra, who came into office at the age of fifteen, took advantage of the confusion into which Mazdak's communistic attempts had plunged Persia, to obtain by force of arms for a short time a sort of political independence for the Jews of Babylon. King Kobad, however, punished him by crucifying him on the bridge of Mahuza (c. 520). A son was born to him on the day of his death, who was also named "Mar Zutra." The latter did not attain to the office of exilarch, but went to Palestine, where he became head of the Academy of Tiberias, under the title of "Resh Pirka" ('Aρχιφεκίτησ), several generations of his descendants succeeding him in this office.

After Mar Zutra's death the exilarchate of Babylon remained unoccupied for some time. Mar Ahunai lived in the period succeeding Mar Zutra II, but for more than thirty years after the catastrophe he did not dare to appear in public, and it is not known whether even then (c. 550) he really acted as exilarch. At any rate the chain of succession of those who inherited the office was not broken. The names of Kafnai and his son Haninai, who were exilarchs in the second half of the sixth century, have been preserved.

Haninai's posthumous son Bostanai was the first of the exilarchs under Arabic rule. Bostanai was the ancestor of the exilarchs who were in office from the time when the Persian empire was conquered by the Arabs, in 642, down to the eleventh century. Through him the splendor of the office was renewed and its political position made secure. His tomb in Pumbedita was a place of worship as late as the twelfth century, according to Benjamin of Tudela.

Not much is known regarding Bostanai's successors down to the time of Saadia except their names; even the name of Bostanai's son is not known. The list of the exilarchs down to the end of the ninth century is given as follows in an old document [Neubauer, "Mediæval Jewish Chronicles," i. 196]: "Bostanai, Hanina ben Adoi, Hasdai I, Solomon, Isaac Iskawi I, Judah Zakkai (Babawai), Moses, Isaac Iskawi II, David ben Judah, Hasdai II."

Hasdai I was probably Bostanai's grandson. The latter's son Solomon had a deciding voice in the appointments to the gaonate of Sura in the years 733 and 759 [Sherira]. Isaac Iskawi I died very soon after Solomon. In the dispute between David's sons Anan and Hananiah regarding the succession the latter was victor; Anan then proclaimed himself anti-exilarch, was imprisoned, and founded the etc. of the Karaites. (So says the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906; the origin of the Karaites is not uncontroversial.) His descendants were regarded by the Karaites as the true exilarchs. The following list of Karaite exilarchs, father being succeeded always by son, is given in the genealogy of one of these "Karaite princes": Anan, Saul, Josiah, Boaz, Jehoshaphat, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Hasdai, Solomon II [Pinsker, "Likkute Kadmoniyyot," ii. 53]. Anan's brother Hananiah is not mentioned in this list.

Judah Zakkai, who is called "Zakkai ben Ahunai" by Sherira, had as rival candidate Natronai ben Habibai, who, however, was defeated and sent West in banishment; this Natronai was a great scholar, and, according to tradition, while in Spain wrote the Talmud from memory. David ben Judah also had to contend with an anti-exilarch, Daniel by name. The fact that the decision in this dispute rested with the calif Al-Ma'mun (825) indicates a decline in the power of the exilarchate. David ben Judah, who carried off the victory, appointed Isaac ben Hiyya as gaon at Pumbedita in 833. Preceding Hasdai II's name in the list that of his father Natronai must be inserted. Both are designated as exilarchs in a geonic responsum (Harkavy, "Responsen der Geonim," p. 389).

Deposition of 'Ukba.

'Ukba is mentioned as exilarch immediately following Hasdai II; he was deposed at the instigation of Kohen Zedek, gaon of Pumbedita, but was reinstated in 918 on account of some Arabic verses with which he greeted the calif Al-Muktadir. He was deposed again soon afterward, and fled to Kairwan, where he was treated with great honor.

After a short interregnum 'Ukba's nephew, David ben Zakkai, became exilarch; but he had to contend for nearly two years with Kohen Zedek before he was finally confirmed in his power (921). In consequence of Saadia's call to the gaonate of Sura and his controversy with David, the latter has become one of the best-known personages of Jewish history. Saadia had David's brother Josiah (Al-Hasan) elected anti-exilarch in 930, but the latter was defeated and banished to Chorasan. David ben Zakkai was the last exilarch to play an important part in history. He died a few years before Saadia; his son Judah died seven months afterward.

Judah left a son (whose name is not mentioned) twelve years of age, whom Saadia took into his house and educated. His generous treatment of the grandson of his former adversary was continued until Saadia's death in 942. Only a single entry has been preserved regarding the later fortunes of the exilarchate. When Gaon Hai died in 1038, nearly a century after Saadia's death, the members of his academy could not find a more worthy successor than the exilarch Hezekiah, a descendant, perhaps a great-grandson, of David ben Zakkai; he thereafter filled both offices. But two years later, in 1040, Hezekiah, who was the last exilarch and also the last gaon, fell a victim to calumny. He was cast into prison and tortured; two of his sons fled to Spain, where they found refuge with Joseph, the son and successor of Samuel ha-Nagid. Hezekiah himself, on being liberated from prison, became head of the academy, and is mentioned as such by a contemporary in 1046 [Jewish Quarterly Review, hereafter "J. Q. R.", xv. 80].

Later traces

The title of exilarch is found occasionally even after the Babylonian exilarchate had ceased. Abraham ibn Ezra [commentary to Zech. xii. 7] speaks of the "Davidic house" at Baghdad (before 1140), calling its members the "heads of the Exile." Benjamin of Tudela in 1170 mentions the exilarch Hasdai, among whose pupils was the subsequent pseudo-Messiah David Alroy, and Hasdai's son, the exilarch Daniel. Pethahiah of Regensburg also refers to the latter, but under the name of "Daniel ben Solomon"; hence it must be assumed that Hasdai was also called "Solomon." Yehuda Alharizi (after 1216) met at Mosul a descendant of the house of David, whom he calls "David, the head of the Exile."

A long time previously a descendant of the ancient house of exilarchs had attempted to revive in Egypt the dignity of exilarch which had become extinct in Babylon. This was David ben Daniel; he came to Egypt at the age of twenty, in 1081, and was proclaimed exilarch by the learned Jewish authorities of that country, who wished to divert to Egypt the leadership formerly enjoyed by Babylon. A contemporary document, the Megillah of the Palestinian gaon Abiathar, gives an authentic account of this episode of the Egyptian exilarchate, which ended with the downfall of David ben Daniel in 1094 ["J. Q. R." xv. 80 et. seq.].

Descendants of the house of exilarchs were living in various places long after the office became extinct. A descendant of Hezekiah, Hiyya al-Daudi, Gaon of Andalucia, died in 1154 in Castile (according to Abraham ibn Daud). Several families, as late as the fourteenth century, traced their descent back to Josiah, the brother of David ben Zakkai who had been banished to Chorasan (see the genealogies in [Lazarus 1890] pp. 180 et seq.). The descendants of the Karaite exilarchs have been referred to above.

Character of the exilarchate in the first era

Relations with the Academies

In accordance with the character of Talmudic tradition it is the relation of the exilarchs to the heads and members of the schools that is especially referred to in Talmudic literature. The Seder 'Olam Zuta, the chronicle of the exilarchs that is the most important and in many cases the only source of information concerning their succession, has also preserved chiefly the names of those scholars who had certain official relations with the respective exilarchs. The phrase used in this connection ("hakamim debaruhu", "the scholars directed him") is the stereotyped phrase used also in connection with the fictitious exilarchs of the century of the Second Temple; in the latter case, however, it occurs without the specific mention of names — a fact in favor of the historicalness of those names that are given for the succeeding centuries.

The authenticity of the names of the amoraim designated as the scholars "guiding" the several exilarchs, is, in the case of those passages in which the text is beyond dispute, supported by internal chronological evidence also. Some of the Babylonian amoraim were closely related to the house of the exilarchs, as, for example, Rabba ben Abuha, whom Gaon Sherira, claiming Davidian descent, named as his ancestor. Nahman ben Jacob (d. 320) also became closely connected with the house of the exilarchs through his marriage with Rabba ben Abuha's daughter, the proud Yaltha; and he owed to this connection perhaps his office of chief judge of the Babylonian Jews. Huna, the head of the school of Sura, recognized Nahman ben Jacob's superior knowledge of the Law by saying that Nahman was very close to the "gate of the exilarch" ("baba di resh galuta"), where many cases were decided [Bava Batra 65b].

The term "dayyane di baba" ("judges of the gate"), which was applied in the post-Talmudic time to the members of the court of the exilarch, is derived from the phrase just quoted [compare Harkavy, l.c.]. Two details of Nahman ben Jacob's life cast light on his position at the court of the exilarch: he received the two scholars Rav Chisda and Rabba b. Huna, who had come to pay their respects to the exilarch (Sukkah 10b); and when the exilarch was building a new house he asked Nahman to take charge of the placing of the mezuzah according to the Law [Men. 33a].
[edit] Retinue of the exilarch

The scholars who formed part of the retinue of the exilarch were called "scholars of the house of the exilarch" ("rabbanan di-be resh galuta"). A remark of Samuel, the head of the school of Nehardea, shows that they wore certain badges on their garments to indicate their position (Shabbat 58a). Once a woman came to Nahman ben Jacob, complaining that the exilarch and the scholars of his court sat at the festival in a stolen booth [Sukkah 31a], the material for it having been taken from her. There are many anecdotes of the annoyances and indignities the scholars had to suffer at the hands of the exilarchs' servants [Gittin 67b, the case of Amram the Pious; Avodah Zarah 38b, of Hiyya of Parwa; Shabbat 121b, of Abba ben Marta].

The modification of ritual requirements granted to the exilarchs and their households in certain concrete cases is characteristic of their relation to the religious law [Pesahim 76b, Levi ben Sisi; Hullin 59a, Rab; Avodah Zarah 72b, Rabba ben Huna; Eruvin 11b, Nahman versus Sheshet; Eruvin 39b, similarly; Mo'ed Katan 12a, Hanan; Pesahim 40b, Pappai]. Once when certain preparations which the exilarch was making in his park for alleviating the strictness of the Sabbath law were interrupted by Raba and his pupils, he exclaimed, in the words of Jeremiah 4:22, "They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge" [Eruvin 26a].

There are frequent references to questions, partly halakic and exegetical in nature, which the exilarch laid before his scholars (to Huna, Gittin 7a; Yebamoth 61a; Sanhedrin 44a; to Rabba ben Huna, Shabbat 115b; to Hamnuna, Shabbat 119a). Details are sometimes given of lectures that were delivered "at the entrance to the house of the exilarch" ("pitha di-be resh galuta"; see Hullin 84b; Betzah 23a; Shabbat 126a; Mo'ed Katan 24a). These lectures were probably delivered at the time of the assemblies, which brought many representatives of Babylonian Judaism to the court of the exilarch after the autumnal festivals (on Sabbath Lek Leka, as Sherira says; compare Eruvin 59a).

Etiquette of the Resh Galuta's court

The luxurious banquets at the court of the exilarch were well known. An old anecdote was repeated in Palestine concerning a splendid feast which the exilarch once gave to the tanna Judah ben Bathyra at Nisibis on the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement [ Lam. R. iii. 16]. Another story told in Palestine [Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 74b] relates that an exilarch had music in his house morning and evening, and that Mar 'Ukba, who subsequently became exilarch, sent him as a warning this sentence from Hosea: "Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people."

The exilarch Nehemiah is said to have dressed entirely in silk [Shabath 20b, according to the correct reading; see Rabbinowicz, "Dikdukei Soferim"]. The Talmud says almost nothing in regard to the personal relations of the exilarchs to the royal court. One passage relates merely that Huna ben Nathan appeared before Yazdegerd I, who with his own hands girded him with the belt which was the sign of the exilarch's office. There are also two allusions dating from an earlier time, one by Hiyya, a Babylonian living in Palestine [Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 5a], and the other by Adda ben Ahaba, one of Rab's earlier pupils [Sheb. 6b; Jerusalem Talmud Sheb. 32d], from which it seems that the exilarch occupied a foremost position among the high dignitaries of the state when he appeared at the court first of the Arsacids, then of the Sassanids.

An Arabic writer of the ninth century records the fact that the exilarch presented a gift of 4,000 dirhems on the Persian feast of Nauruz Revue des Études Juives - hereafter R. E. J. - viii. 122. Regarding the functions of the exilarch as the chief tax-collector for the Jewish population, there is the curious statement, preserved only in the Jerusalem Talmud [Sotah 20b, bottom], that once, in the time of Huna, the head of the school of Sura, the exilarch was commanded to furnish as much grain as would fill a room of 40 square ells.

Juridical functions

The most important function of the exilarch was the appointment of the judge. Both Rab and Samuel said [Sanhedrin 5a] that the judge who did not wish to be held personally responsible in case of an error of judgment, would have to accept his appointment from the house of the exilarch. When Rab went from Palestine to Nehardea he was appointed overseer of the market by the exilarch [Jerusalem Talmud Bava Batra 15b, top]. The exilarch had jurisdiction in criminal cases also. Aha b. Jacob, a contemporary of Rab [compare Gittin 31b], was commissioned by the exilarch to take charge of a murder case [Sanhedrin 27a, b]. The story found in Bava Kamma 59a is an interesting example of the police jurisdiction exercised by the followers of the exilarch in the time of Samuel. From the same time dates a curious dispute regarding the etiquette of precedence among the scholars greeting the exilarch [Jerusalem Talmud Ta'an. 68a]. The exilarch had certain privileges regarding real property [Bava Kamma 102b; Bava Batra 36a]. It is a specially noteworthy fact that in certain cases the exilarch judged according to the Persian law [Bava Kamma 58b]; and it was the exilarch 'Ukba b. Nehemiah who communicated to the head of the school of Pumbedita, Rabbah ben Nahmai, three Persian statutes which Samuel recognized as binding [Bava Batra 55a].

A synagogal prerogative of the exilarch was mentioned in Palestine as a curiosity [Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 22a]: The Torah roll was carried to the exilarch, while every one else had to go to the Torah to read from it. This prerogative is referred to also in the account of the installation of the exilarch in the Arabic period, and this gives color to the assumption that the ceremonies, as recounted in this document, were based in part on usages taken over from the Persian time. The account of the installation of the exilarch is supplemented by further details in regard to the exilarchate which are of great historical value; see the following section.

Character of the exilarchate in the Arabic era

Upon their conquest of Iraq, the Arabs confirmed the authority of Exilarch Bustanai and the continuation of his governance of the Jewish community. For his services to the caliph during the conquest he received the hand of the daughter of the former Shah as a wife. The Muslims regarded the office of Exilarch with profound respect because they viewed him as a direct descendant of the prophet Dawood. Under the Abbassids, the Exilarch ruled over more than 90% of the Jewish nation. The subsequent fragmentation of the authority of the Abassids resulted in the waning of the authority of the Exilarch beyond Persia. A struggle for leadership between the Geonim and Exilarchs saw the slow relinquishing of power to the Geonim but remained an office of reverence to which Muslims showed respect.[5]

Installation ceremonies

The following is a translation of a portion of an account of the Exilarchy in the Arabic period, written by Nathan ha-Babli in the tenth century, and included in Abraham Zacuto's "Yuhasin" and in Neubauer's "Mediæval Jewish Chronicles," ii. 83 et seq.:

    The members of the two academies [Sura and Pumbedita], led by the two heads [the geonim] as well as by the leaders of the community, assemble in the house of an especially prominent man before the Sabbath on which the installation of the exilarch is to take place. The first homage is paid on Thursday in the synagogue, the event being announced by trumpets, and every one sends presents to the exilarch according to his means. The leaders of the community and the wealthy send handsome garments, jewelry, and gold and silver vessels. On Thursday and Friday the exilarch gives great banquets. On the morning of the Sabbath the nobles of the community call for him and accompany him to the synagogue. Here a wooden platform covered entirely with costly cloth has been erected, under which a picked choir of sweet-voiced youths well versed in the liturgy has been placed. This choir responds to the leader in prayer, who begins the service with 'Baruk she-amar.' After the morning prayer the exilarch, who until now has been standing in a covered place, appears; the whole congregation rises and remains standing until he has taken his place on the platform, and the two geonim, the one from Sura preceding, have taken seats to his right and left, each making an obeisance.

    A costly canopy has been erected over the seat of the exilarch. Then the leader in prayer steps in front of the platform and, in a low voice audible only to those close by, and accompanied by the 'Amen' of the choir, addresses the exilarch with a benediction, prepared long beforehand. Then the exilarch delivers a sermon on the text of the week or commissions the gaon of Sura to do so. After the discourse the leader in prayer recites the kaddish, and when he reaches the words 'during your life and in your days,' he adds the words 'and during the life of our prince, the exilarch.' After the kaddish he blesses the exilarch, the two heads of the schools, and the several provinces that contribute to the support of the academies, as well as the individuals who have been of especial service in this direction. Then the Torah is read. When the 'Kohen' and 'Levi' have finished reading, the leader in prayer carries the Torah roll to the exilarch, the whole congregation rising; the exilarch takes the roll in hishands and reads from it while standing. The two heads of the schools also rise, and the gaon of Sura recites the targum to the passage read by the exilarch. When the reading of the Torah is completed, a blessing is pronounced upon the exilarch. After the 'Musaf' prayer the exilarch leaves the synagogue, and all, singing, accompany him to his house. After that the exilarch rarely goes beyond the gate of his house, where services for the community are held on the Sabbaths and feastdays. When it becomes necessary for him to leave his house, he does so only in a carriage of state, accompanied by a large retinue. If the exilarch desires to pay his respects to the king, he first asks permission to do so. As he enters the palace the king's servants hasten to meet him, among whom he liberally distributes gold coin, for which provision has been made beforehand. When led before the king his seat is assigned to him. The king then asks what he desires. He begins with carefully prepared words of praise and blessing, reminds the king of the customs of his fathers, gains the favor of the king with appropriate words, and receives written consent to his demands; thereupon, rejoiced, he takes leave of the king."

Income and privileges

In regard to Nathan ha-Babli's additional account as to the income and the functions of the exilarch (which refers, however, only to the time of the narrator), it may be noted that he received taxes, amounting altogether to 700 gold denarii a year, chiefly from the provinces Nahrawan, Farsistan, and Holwan.

The Muslim author of the ninth century, Al-Jahiz, who has been referred to above, makes special mention of the shofar, the wind-instrument which was used when the exilarch (ras al-jalut) excommunicated any one. The punishment of excommunication, continues the author, is the only one which in Muslim countries the exilarch of the Jews and the catholicos of the Christians may pronounce, for they are deprived of the right of inflicting punishment by imprisonment or flogging ["R. E. J." viii. 122 et. seq.].

Another Muslim author reports a conversation that took place in the eighth century between a follower of Islam and the exilarch, in which the latter boasted; "Seventy generations have passed between me and King David, yet the Jews still recognize the prerogatives of my royal descent, and regard it as their duty to protect me; but you have slain the grandson [Husain] of your prophet after one single generation" [ibid. p. 125].

The son of a previous exilarch said to another Muslim author: "I formerly never rode by Karbala, the place where Husain was martyred, without spurring on my horse, for an old tradition said that on this spot the descendant of a prophet would be killed; only since Husain has been slain there and the prophecy has thus been fulfilled do I pass leisurely by the place" [ibid. p. 123]. This last story indicates that the resh galuta had by that time become the subject of Muslim legend, other examples also being cited by Goldziher. [Goldziher, 1884]

That the personage of the exilarch was familiar to Muslim circles is also shown by the fact that the Rabbinite Jews were called Jaluti, that is, those belonging to the exilarch, in contradistinction to the Karaites [ibid.]. In the first quarter of the eleventh century, not long before the extinction of the exilarchate, Ibn Hazm, a fanatic polemicist, made the following remark in regard to the dignity: "The ras al-jalut has no power whatever over the Jews or over other persons; he has merely a title, to which is attached neither authority nor prerogatives of any kind" [ibid., p. 125].

Curiously enough the exilarchs are still mentioned in the Sabbath services of the Ashkenazim ritual. The Aramaic prayer "Yekum Purkan," which was used once in Babylon in pronouncing the blessing upon the leaders there, including the "reshe galwata" (the exilarchs), is still recited in most synagogues. The Jews of the Sephardic ritual have not preserved this anachronism, nor was it retained in most of the Reform synagogues, beginning in the nineteenth century.

References

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.

   1. ^ http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp? ... ar%20zutra
   2. ^ Ezekiel never mentions by name Jeconiah's successor, Zedekiah, with dates in the book of Ezekiel being given according to the year of captivity of Jeconiah.
   3. ^ Babylon installed his uncle, Zedekiah on the throne, who continued as king of Judah for eleven years.
   4. ^ James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969) 308.
   5. ^ Lucien Gubbay, "Sunlight and Shadow: The Jewish Experience of Islam", 2000, Other Press, LLC, ISBN 1892746697 pg. 31

This article is an evolution of the corresponding article in the public-domain Jewish Encyclopedia, which gives the following bibliography:

    * Heinrich Grätz, Geschichte iv., v., vi.
    * Felix Lazarus, Die Häupter der Vertriebenen, in Nehemiah Brüll's Jahrbuch 1890
    * Jacob Reifman, Resh Galuta, in Bikkurim, 1864
    * Abraham Krochmal, Perushim we-Haggahot le-Talmud Babli, pp. 5–68, Lemberg, 1881;
    * Salomon Funk, Die Juden in Babylonien, Berlin, 1902
    * Goldziher, Renseignements de Source Musulmane sur la Dignité du Resch-Galuta, in R. E. J. 1884, pp. 121–125:
    * Brüll's Jahrbuch v. 94 et seq.
    * S. Jona, I. Rasce Galutà, in Vessillo Israelitico, 1883–86
    * Seder 'Olam Zuta, in A. Neubauer's Mediæval Jewish Chronicles, ii. 68 et seq.

The following is a reconstruction of some other references used in that Jewish Encyclopedia article but not explicitly mentioned in its bibliography:

    * Sherira (also Sherira Gaon or Gaon Sherira), was one of the post-Talmudic geonim.
    * Raphael Kirchheim, Commentar zur Chronik aus dem Zehnten Jahrhundert, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1874. The Jewish Encyclopedia article refers to this as "A commentary to Chronicles (ed. Kirchheim)".
    * S. Pinsker, Likkute Kadmoniyyot, Vienna, 1860. Various sources transliterate differently the name of this Hebrew-language work on Karaite history and literature, e.g. Likkutei Kadmoniyyot [1], Likute kadhmoniot [2]
    * The Jewish Encyclopedia article from which this derives relies heavily on material from the Talmud. Unless otherwise noted, references are to the Babylonian Talmud; Jerusalem Talmud or Yerushalmi preceding the name of a Talmudic tractate means it is from the Jerusalem Talmud. This article uses the following tractates as reference material:
          o Avodah Zarah, a tractate in the order of Nezikin.
          o Bava Batra, a tractate in Nezikin.
          o Bava Kamma, a tractate in Nezikin.
          o Bava Metzia, a tractate in Nezikin.
          o Berakhot -- Berachos, a tractate in Zeraim.
          o Betzah, a tractate in Moed.
          o Eruvin -- Eruvin, a tractate in Moed.
          o Horayot, a tractate in Nezikin.
          o Gittin, a tractate in Nashim.
          o Hullin, a tractate in Kodshim.
          o Kilayim, a tractate in Zeraim.
          o Lam. R., Eicha (Lamentations) Rabba, a book of midrash.
          o Megillah, a tractate in Moed.
          o Men. -- Menachos, a tractate in Kodshim.
          o Mo'ed Katan, a tractate in Moed.
          o Pesahim, a tractate in Moed.
          o Sanhedrin, a tractate in Nezikin.
          o Shabbat, a tractate in Moed.
          o Sheb. -- Shebuot, a tractate in Nezikin.
          o Sotah. a tractate in Nashim.
          o Sukkah, a tractate in Moed.
          o Ta'an. -- Ta'anis, a tractate in Moed
          o Yebamoth, a tractate in Nashim.
          o Zech. -- Zachariah, a book of the Tnach
          o Zevachim, a tractate in Kodashim

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exilarch

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

This is who the Jews actually used to worship in Babylon...--The CSR

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Asherah

Adonis | Anat | Asherah | Astarte | Ba'al | Berith | Dagon | El | Elyon | Elohim | Hadad | Mot | Salem | Shaddai | Yaw

Adonai | El | Elohim | Elyon | Shaddai | Shekinah | YHWH

Adad | Amurru | An/Anu | Anshar | Asshur | Abzu/Apsu | Enki/Ea | Enlil | Ereshkigal | Inanna/Ishtar | Kingu | Kishar | Lahmu & Lahamu | Marduk | Mummu | Nabu | Nammu | Nanna/Sin | Nergal | Ninhursag/Damkina | Ninlil | Tiamat | Utu/Shamash
For the small research submarine, see Asherah (submarine).

Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה) generally taken as identitical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more pedantically but accurately ʼAṯirat) was a major northwest Semitic mother goddess, appearing occasionally also in Akkadian sources as Ashratum/Ashratu and in Hittite as Asherdu(s) or Ashertu(s) or Aserdu(s) or Asertu(s).

In the Ugaritic texts (before 1200 BC) Athirat is three times called ʼaṯrt ym, ʼAṯirat yammi, 'Athirat of the Sea' or as more fully translated 'She who treads on the sea', the name understood by various translators and commentators to be from the Ugaritic root ʼaṯr 'stride' cognate with the Hebrew root ʼšr of the same meaning.

In those texts, Athirat is the consort of the god El and there is one reference to the 70 sons of Athirat, presumably the same as the 70 sons of El. She is clearly distinguished from ʿAshtart (better known in English as Astarte). She is also called Elat (the feminine form of El) and Qodesh 'Holiness'.

Among the Hittites this goddess appears as Asherdu(s) or Asertu(s), the consort of Elkunirsa and mother of either 77 or 88 sons.

In Egypt, beginning in the 18th dynasty, a Semitic goddess named Qudshu ('Holiness') begins to appear prominently, equated with the native Egyptian goddess Hathor. Some think this is Athirat/Ashratu under her Ugaritic name Qodesh. This Qudshu seems not to be either ʿAshtart or ʿAnat as both those goddesses appear under their own names and with quite different iconography and appear in at least one pictorial representation along with Qudshu.

But in Persian, Hellenistic and Roman periods there was a strong tendency towards syncretism of goddesses and Athirat/Ashrtum then seems to have disappeared, at least as a prominent goddess under a recognizable name.

Biblical references have been taken to indicate that a goddess Asherah was worshipped in Israel and Judah, as the Queen of Heaven whose worship Jeremiah so vehemently opposed:
"Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger." —Jeremiah 7:17–18 "...to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem" —Jeremiah 44:16

The Hebrews baked small cakes for her festival.

But the word asherah also refers to a standing pole of some kind, pluralized as a masculine noun when it has that meaning. Among the Hebrews' Phoenician neighbors, tall standing stone pillars signified the numinous presence of a deity, and the asherahs may have been a rustic reflection of these. Or asherah may mean a living tree or grove of trees and therefore in some contexts mean a shrine. These uses have confused Biblical translators. Many older translations render Asherah as 'grove'. There is still disagreement among scholars as to the extent to which Asherah (or various goddesses classed as Asherahs) was/were worshipped in Israel and Judah and whether such a goddess or class of goddesses is necessarily identical to the goddess Athirat/Ashratu.

Most of the 40 references to Asherah in the Hebrew Bible derive from sources edited by the Deuteronomist. In her study Asherah: Goddesses in Ugarit, Israel and the Old Testament (1997, p. 141), Tilde Binger noted that there is warrant for seeing an Asherah as, variously, "a wooden-aniconic-stela or column of some kind; a living tree; or a more regular statue." For Asherah often a wooden-made rudely carved statue planted on the ground of the house was her symbol, and sometimes a clay statue without legs and stood in the same way. Her idols were found also in forests, carved on living trees, or in the form of poles beside altars that were placed at the side of some roads. When the young reformer Hezekiah came to the throne of Judah (possibly some time around the 7th century BC): "He removed the high places, and broke the pillars (massebahs), and cut down the Asherah." (2 Kings 18.4). In the Authorized Version of the Bible, the name Asherah is always mistranslated "grove": that error caused a theory that "the Hebrews cut down all the sacred groves, whereupon the land soon stopped flowing with milk and honey": see deforestation.
Asherah - Asherah and gods

Two painted inscriptions "Yahweh of Samaria/the guardian and his Asherah" on fragments of the type of large terracotta pot that archaeologists call a pithos were found in the site of a caravanserai of the 8th century BC at Kuntillet ʿAjrud (in Hebrew Horvat Teman) in the Negev. They have raised great speculation. Other gods appear in the Kuntillet ʿAjrud graffiti— along with the title Baʿal. There are accompanying drawings (not a Hebrew custom) and an oasis is a center of the religious cross-fertilization called syncretism. However, from a site west of Hebron, identified as Biblical Makkedah, a furtively excavated inscription reads "Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh and by his asherah; from his enemies he saved him!" (Berlinerblau)

Although forbidden by Hebrews, the cult of goddesses lasted during the Roman occupation in Israel in the hidden form of temple prostitution, until emperor Constantine closed those houses after converting to Christianity.

Asherah pole
Asherah - Ashira in Arabia

A stele, now at the Louvre, discovered in the ancient oasis of Tema (the modern transcription is Tayma) in southwestern Arabia by Charles Huber in 1883, and believed to date to the time of Nabonidus's retirement there in 549 BC, bears an inscription in Aramaic which mentions Ṣalm of Maḥram and Shingala and Ashira as the gods of Tema. This Ashira might be Athirat/Asherah. Since Aramaic has no way to indicate Arabic th, corresponding to the Ugaritic th (more pedantically written as ṯ), if this is the same deity, it is not clear whether the name would be an Arabian reflex of the Ugaritic Athirat or a later borrowing of the supposed Hebrew/Canaanite Asherah.

Asherah - Asherah and `Ashurah

In the ancient lunar calendar that became the Islamic calendar, the Day of ʿAshurah, transliterated also as Aashurah, Ashura or Aashoorah, falls on the 10th day of Muharram. On that day, in the year of the Hejira 61 (AD 680), Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of Muhammad
was killed by Umayyad forces at the Battle of Karbala (now in Iraq). Still called the "Day of Aashurah", it has been observed ever since as a day of mourning by Shī`ites.

The name `Ashurah is interpreted as meaning 'Ten' in Arabic. (The normal Arabic word for 'ten' is `asharah cognate to the Hebrew root `śr = 'ten', the differing forms of s being the normal correspondence found in cognate roots between Arabic and Hebrew.) Some try to connect the Arabic `Ashurah instead to the goddess Athirath/Asherah through the Ashira of Tema. But `Ashurah with initial letter `ain is difficult to equate with 'Asherah; with beginning 'alef (here indicated by an apostrophe but normally omitted initially in popular transliterations from Semitic languages). It is as though in English one were to say that the word juice refers to the god Zeus. The sound difference is very distinctive to Arabic ears. Yet cognate Semitic roots display this switching between ain and alif, and some Arabian accents pronounced, and indeed still do, pronounce `ain as a glottal stop (like the tribe of Tamim whose name is given to this way of pronunciation).

Asherah - Related Publications

Judith M.Hadley: The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judaism (U of Cambridge 2000)

Jenny Kien: Reinstating the Divine Woman in Judaism (Universal 2000)

Asphodel P. Long: In a Chariot Drawn by Lions (Crossing Press 1993).

Raphael Patai: The Hebrew Goddess (Wayne State University Press 1990 and earlier editions)

See also

    * Asherah pole

Categories: Ancient Israel and Judah | Fertility goddesses | Torah | Levantine mythology

Other related archives

1200 BC, 1883, ʿAshtart, Aashurah, Abzu/Apsu, Adad, Adonai, Adonis, Akkadian, Amurru, An, Anat, Ancient Israel and Judah, Anshar, Anu, Aramaic, Asherah (submarine), Asherah pole, Asshur, Astarte, Authorized Version, Ba'al, Baʿal, Berith, Bible, Christianity, Constantine, Dagon, Deuteronomist, El, Elohim, Elyon, Enki/Ea, Enlil, Ereshkigal, Fertility goddesses, Hadad, Hathor, Hebrew, Hebron, Hellenistic, Hezekiah, Hittite, Husayn bin Ali, Inanna, Ishtar, Islamic calendar, Israel, Jeremiah, Judah, Karbala, Kingu, Kishar, Lahamu, Lahmu, Levantine mythology, Louvre, Marduk, Mot, Mummu, Nabonidus, Nabu, Nammu, Nanna, Negev, Nergal, Ninhursag/Damkina, Ninlil, Persian, Roman, Salem, Samaria, Semitic, Shaddai, Shamash, Shekinah, Shī`ites, Sin, Tamim, Tayma, Tema, Tiamat, Torah, Ugaritic, Umayyad, Utu, YHWH, Yahweh, Yaw, caravanserai, cognate, deforestation, forests, glottal stop, idols, lunar calendar, root, syncretism, trees

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

The Brit-am Jews and Priory of Sion Jews (as deluded "rulers" of the EU?) rather go all in for this crap. I suspect the Rothschild's did too.


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Questions about the Exilarchs

My name is Brandon Curtis. I was just curious if it would be possible to get a copy of the genealogy of the Exilarchs of Babylon as far back as you have records. I have back to Exilarch Hanini David dating around 590 c.e. My family history is very important to me and I would like to learn more about those that came before me. Any information would be much appreciated. Thank You.

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Babylonian Exilarchs

I have been researching the Davidic descent of the European Royal Families for many years. Zuckerman claims that Machir is Natronai. However the old Jewish sources say that Machir's father was the Exilarch Judah. He is also known as Zakkai ben Ahunai. His brother was Gershom ben Judah who was called Girart de Vienne in the chansons. Their sister called Bertrade was the mother of Charlemagne. Their mother Sussannah was known as Blanchefleur.

Athol Bloomer



All this has now been superceded by the modern Exilarch declaring himself as such.

Davidic Dynasty

I am currently in the midst of writing a book in Hebrew on the Dividic dynasty; a panaromic look at the Davidic Kings, the Exilarchs of Babylonia and the Patriarchs of Israel. Any info you have on the subject would be much appreciated.

Yoel Weisberger

Scribe:
The line of Babylonian Exilarchs came to an end in 1270 following the destruction of the Abbassid Empire by the Moguls 12 years earlier. However, the office has been revived 700 years later in 1970 by Naim Dangoor in the new dispersion of Babylonian Jewry.

The office is backed by The Exilarch's Foundation, a charitable establishment, to which Mr Dangoor has endowed £25 million.
Please refer to Issue No. 74 (now in its 31st year) where you will find correspondence between David Hughes, a reader and the Editor, relating to this subject.

After 100 or more generations the genes of David are so diluted that they become universal and meaningless. None of the old family trees claimed today can be said to be authentic without any reasonable doubt.

2nd letter:

The book I am currently working on will focus on the history and genealogy of the House of David beginning with King David until the last of the Judean Kings (Part 1), a look at the Exilarch's and the Nesiim in Judea (part 2). Finally a look at the the latter day Davidic families. Another section will deal with the gentile royal families who claim Davidic descent such as the British Royal house as well as the Ethiopian Royal family (which claims descent of Menelik, son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba).

I am not trying to represent any particular point of view (other maybe than to show the fulfillment of the Biblical promise that the House of David shall never whither). The book is meant for scholar and layman alike. I am actually currently in touch with Susan Roth who heads an organisation whose purpose is to gather all the descendants of David together http://www.davidicdynasty.org I am also in touch with Yosef Dayan, a member of the Davidic Dayan family of Syrian Jewish origin.

About my own Genealogy, I have discovered that my family is descended of Rabbi Jonah Teumim Fraenkel, a renowned Polish Rabbi who was descended of Rashi (who was of the seed of Hillel the Prince). I am also descended of the Bohemian sage Rabbi Lowe the elder who was directly descended of Rav Sherira Gaon who wrote in his famous Igeret that he is of the family of the Exilarchs and of the seed of David. I hope to list my entire genealogy on my website sometime in the near future.

I would appreciate if you can send me any materials that may aid me in my research.

Yoel Weisberger

http://www.dangoor.com/75046.html

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Interesting site BTW...

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The Talmudic Effect on Judeo-Christianity!

THE EVIDENCE:

We will begin our study by reviewing the book, Invitation to the Talmud. (a teaching book) written by Jacob Neusner (a Jew) and published by Harper and Row in 1973. Neusner was a university professor and Ungerleider Distinguished Scholar of Judaic Studies at Brown University. He is author of Invitation to Midrash and has written or edited over 250 books on Judaism. He is known as one of the world's preeminent Judaic scholars and can be considered an expert on the Jewish religion. Excerpts from the Introduction to Invitation to the Talmud follow:

    p. XVI It (The Talmud) is the revealed word of God.

    p. XVII It (The Talmud) is the revealed teaching -from heaven down to earth and conversely, to make the pro fane sacred. (Profane: not sacred; common, not connected with religion; not initiated into the inner mysteries for esoteric knowledge of something. Ed.)

    p. XVI II They (the Jews) rightly see The TALMUD as TORAH, God's revelation to Israel, the Jewish people, and they study it because it is TORAH.

What is the TORAH? The New World Dictionary of the American Language states that it is:

    The whole body of Jewish religious literature, including the Scripture and The TALMUD. In some instances it refers to the Penteteuch which are the five books of Moses; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

    p. XXII Jewish intellectualism without Jewish faith proves wanting. For divorced from the soul of TALMUDIC being, secular reason among Jewish intellectuals remains formless and formal, producing on the one side the grotesque and absurd and, on the other side, an empty formalism.

    p. XXIV Why does the Judaic tradition find God in the thrust and parry of argument as it does when it claims that God Himself studies the TORAH?

The basic text on which The TALMUD is constructed, is the MISHNAH, a philosophical law code brought to closure at about 200 AD The TALMUD then draws together the MISHNAH and yet another argumentative text which is called the TOSTEFA, meaning supplements.

    p. XXV The TALMUD is really two TALMUDS, for there was one systematic commentary for the MISHNAH, composed by Rabbis in the landoflsrael (Palestine - hence called The PALESTINIAN TALMUD) or the TALMUD OF THE LORD OF ISRAEL, Or the YERUSHOLOMI or theTALMUD OF JERUSALEM. The other was composed by the Rabbis of Babylonia. The YERUSHOLOMI reached its conclusion at about 4000 AD and the BOOLI or BABYLONIAN TALMUD, a century or two later.

    p. XXVII From it (The TALMUD) flows whatever truth Jews have to offer the world of Judaism.

(The BABYLONIAN TALMUD is the work most often used by Orthodox Judaism, therefore it is the point of our interest.)

    p. XXX When The TALMUD raises an ethical question it speaks of "the good way in which a person should walk, not necessarily in which a Jew should walk." (Emphasis added. Ed.) When it treats dilemmas of social conflict, all parties to the conflict are assumed to be plain men and women - Jewish men and women to be sure . . . the discipline of the TORAH is the revealed will of God given to the people of Israel (Jews), and while the Rabbis are well aware that some people are Jews and many are not, The TALMUD is essentially interested in Jews.

    (As we go along, we will be able to determine whether this statement is true or not.)

At this point, we look into the main body of the book.

    p.1 The TALMUD IS THE SINGLE MOST INFLUENTIAL DOCUMENT In the history of Judaism.

It might be well for us to realize at this point that Judaism did not exist as a religion until the Babylonian captivity, about 590 BC. The Judahites went into captivity in Babylon as Hebrews, but returned seventy years later as Jews with a heathen occult religion which became known as JUDAISM. Theodore Hertzl, the father of the modern Zionist Movement once said: "It was during the Babylonian captivity that Israel (The majority of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, along with the ten tribes of Israel, had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians some 150 years earlier and no longer lived in that area. Those who remained of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were subsequently captured by the Babylonians and moved to Babylon to live and became known as Jews. Ed.) found itself. It not only rediscovered the TORAH, and made it their rule of life, but under its influence new religious instructions, such as the synagogues . . . came into existence."

Christians need to remember, as we look closely at The TALMUD, that the JUDAISM which today follows TALMUDIC teachings is the PHARISAISM of Jesus' day. You will recall that Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 15:6 - "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." And, in verse nine, He accused them of: ". . . teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

The famous Jewish Rabbi, Louis Finklestein, in the foreword to his book The Pharisees. The Social Background of Their Faith, said: ". . . Judaism . . . Pharisaism became Talmudism, Talmudism became Medieval Rabbinism and Medieval Rabbinism became Modern Rabbinism. But Through all these changes in name . . . the spirit of the ancient Pharisees survived unaltered . . . From Palestine, to Babylonia; from Babylonia to North Africa, Italy, Spain, France and Germany; from there to Poland, Russia, and Eastern Europe generally, ancient Pharisaism has wandered . . ." (Demonstrating the enduring importance which is attached to Pharisaism as a religious movement Ed.)

In order for us to better understand The Talmud, we must first look at the men who were responsible for compiling and writing this reference work over a span of some 1 ,000 years. The Talmud is the product of a small group of Jewish sages ("profoundly wise counselors" - The Reader's Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary) who lived in the land of Israel, which is called the Holy Land, and in the land of Babylonia.

Four facts emerge regarding the "wise men" who contributed to The Talmud and about the social environment at the time:

    1. They saw themselves as men of wisdom. This view of themselves led to the emphasis of two instructions:

        A. Learning what was already known.

        B. Understanding the new in terms of the old.

    2. These wise men perceived that the land they dwelt in, Palestine, was holy.

    3. They lived in a time of religious ferment in which religions were coming into being and fading away. The first century marked the beginning of Christianity.

    4. They were comprised exclusively of men. This should come as no surprise since men of antiquity had a low opinion of women. The Christian Apostle Paul taught that they should be silent in the church. Philo, a Jewish philosopher, taught that sexual relations were permissible only to produce children. Hyrcanus, a first century Rabbi said that a Jew should not teach his daughter the TORAH.

The rabbis were not the ones who held power in the Jewish community. In the first century AD, Judea, and those who lived there who had become known as Jews, were under Roman control, and Babylonia was a province in the Persian (Iranian) Empire. But the day-to-day governing of the Jewish people was left in the hands of a Jewish authority who, when holding the title, was called the EXILARCH. This meant he was the ruler of the Jewish community while they were in exile from the Holy Land. He was recognized by the Romans because he served the purposes of Rome. When these Judahites lived in their own land, the leaders were called "PATRIARCHS" and they ran the country to maintain the peace and well-being of the people.

Both the EXILARCH and the PATRIARCH had one thing in common; they both claimed Davidic descent. This did not mean they could trace their genealogy back to David, but each supposed his family was one of those who might produce the coming King-Messiah.

The Macabees claimed this as did King Herod, who was an Edomite. The rabbis formed the religious and political movements of the land. There were two major political parties, the Saducees and the Pharisees. They served in the government of the EXILARCH or PATRIARCH. The rabbi taught that when all Jews did as he did, then the Messiah would come. One of them was quoted as saying: If all the Jews will keep the Sabbath for one time only, the Messiah will come.

The rabbis stood apart from the regular Jewish populace and encompassed the myths revealed in The BABYLONIAN TALMUD which centered on Moses and the story of his piety. They teach that due to the piety of Moses, God gave him the Law twice; once orally and the other in God's own handwriting. And, they hold that just as God had given Moses the Law, or the TORAH, they would teach it to their disciples in the same manner.

The rabbis taught that Moses was a rabbi, and for the rabbis, God dons ecclesiastical garb and wears the phylactery which is two small leather cases holding slips inscribed with Scripture passages. One is fastened to the forehead and one to the left arm. The rabbis teach that they study the TORAH on earth as God and the angels study it in heaven. These heavenly school teachers are aware of the Babylonian discussions and enjoy the exceptional grace of heaven. They want to transform the entire Jewish community into an academy where the TORAH is studied and kept because they believe Jews will be redeemed by keeping the TORAH (Law). This is one of the major dividing points between Judaism and Christianity for Christians are taught: "For by grace are ye saved; through faith. . . ." (Ephesians 2:

The Jew is taught that he merits God's favor by obeying the Torah. Thus each Jew becomes a rabbi as he practices the commandments and does good deeds. When all Jews become rabbis, then the Messiah will come.

The rabbinical religion consists of two elements. One is the esoteric, secret doctrines pertaining to the very essence of God, and the second is an often self-centered view of man's relationship to God. If a Jew sins by omission (by not doing something), he will be held responsible and punishment will follow here and now through physical suffering. If people who are wicked prosper, or if they do not sin and suffer, the rabbi always has an easy explanation for it.

Other elements of rabbinical theory center on demons, witchcraft and incantations; revelations through omens, dreams and astrology; the value of prayer and magic formulas; rabbinical blessings and curses and the merit gained through study of the TORAH.

The rabbis believe in invisible beings which populate space and carry out Divine orders. The prayers of the rabbis center on four major themes:

    1. The temple and its cult.

    2. The wrath of God.

    3. The humility and helplessness of men.

    4. The ideas and sacred symbols found in the TALMUD.

A world of difference separates the ordinary Jew from the rabbi. The rabbi is separated because his social life is completely alien to that of outsiders, and because of his study. The Jewish people listen to the Scriptures and to the TORAH as it is read in the synagogue. They observe the Sabbath and most of the ritualistic laws, but they under-stand the TORAH and The Talmud about as much as the average Christian understands the Bible. When a question arises, just as in the Christian realm, instead of searching for the answer themselves, they go to the rabbi just as the Christian goes to his pastor. The rabbis teach that what the average Jew does not understand about God, they, the rabbis, do understand. This is really not so much different from the dogmas of some preachers.

The Hebrew word MISHNAH is from a root word which means "to repeat." The TALMUD teaches that Moses received the TORAH on Mt. Sinai; once in written form on stone by God Himself and the other by oral instructions which were to be passed on by repetition, or through memory. These have been handed down for many generations.

The MISHNAH is divided into six major sections entitled, "Orders," or, in Hebrew, SEDER. The first deals with agricultural law and is the ZERAIM, meaning "seeds." The. second is the Sabbath and festival law, called MOED, meaning "season." The third deals with the family, various vows, oaths, marriage, divorce and inheritance and it is called NASHIM, meaning "women." The fourth concerns civil law, torts, damages, criminal law and punishments and is called NEZIKIN meaning "damages." The fifth deals with sacrifices and things pertaining to the temple in Jerusalem, such as the order and cult of animal sacrifices. It is called KODASHIM, meaning "holy things."

The MISHNAH orders are sub-divided into sections called TRACATES of which there are 63. The six major sections of the Orders, are divided as follows:

    ZERAIM, 11 tracates, with 74 chapters;

    MOED has 12 tracates with 88 chapters;

    NASHIM, seven tracates with 71 chapters;

    NEZIKIN, ten tracates with 73 chapters;

    KODASHIM, 11 tracates with 91 chapters, and

    TOHAROT, with 12 tracates and 126 chapters.

It is obvious we are dealing with a book a good deal larger than our Holy Bible.

The MISHNAH is comprised principally of the sayings of the rabbis who lived in the first and second centuries. There is very little written before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD (That can be explained by the fact that prior to the Babylonian captivity, the Judahites were under a patriarchal system and worshiped God as prescribed by their forefathers and the Scriptures. During the captivity, those Judahites who were taken captive by Babylonia adopted much of the mysticism and occultism of their captors and mixed it with the belief structure they had at the time. That is when The Talmud came into existence, and following the destruction of the Temple, the opinions of the rabbis began to be written down as "law." These opinions were largely the "traditions" they had gleaned from their captors by mixing God's Law with man's mysticism and occultism.) It is a document of imagination and fantasy, describing how things are using but shreds and remnants of reality. It tells how things were or how the rabbis wanted them to be. It is an orderly document, narrow-minded, dull and very routine.

No wonder Judaism has so little comfort to offer its adherents. It lacks hope of sins forgiven, no hope for the future; their god is money, and their holy city is not old Jerusalem, but New York City. More Jews are leaving old Palestine to come to America than there are migrating to it.

The aftermath of the Jewish rebellion against Rome in 132 - 135 AD was that the temple site was permanently prohibited to Jews, and Jerusalem became a closed city to them.
 
 

A REVIEW OF DR. NEUSNER'S BOOK -
INVITATION TO THE TALMUD:

This is a capsule introduction to The Talmud. Only the surface has been scratched, but you now have a working knowledge of its origin. In the coming chapters, we will examine the book itself. First, we will discuss Dr. Jacob Neusner's comments from his book, Invitation to the Talmud. which can be purchased at many Christian book stores. Then we will allow The Talmud to reveal itself. From an in-depth study done by Elizabeth Dilling entitled, The Plot to Destroy Christianity, you will see some reproduced pages from The Babylonian Talmud.

Dr. Neusner admits that The Babylonian Talmud is a vast compilation of Jewish law and fairy tales. At this point it is appropriate to read what our Holy Scriptures have to say about fables.

    "As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus, in order that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering God's provision which is by faith." (I Timothy 1:3-4)

    "But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; . . " (I Timothy 4:7)

    "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;" (II Timothy 4:3-4)

    "This testimony is true. For this cause reprove them severely that they may be sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth." (Titus 1:13-14)

    "For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty." (II Peter 1:16:)

This latter verse indicates that Christians are not to follow "cunningly devised fables (tales)." Unfortunately, many Christians have overlooked this admonition in their eagerness to accept Jewish teachings as the truth.

The vast work of The Babylonian Talmud was put together by Jewish rabbis from Palestine and Babylonia between the first and seventh centuries A.D. The Talmud attempts to compel interest by approaching all problems from a "rational," rather than a "spiritual" perspective. Neusner states that a study of The Talmud allows a disciplined intellect to exercise itself through clean, sustained, and vigorous argument. How clean this argument is will be clearly seen when we delve into The Talmud itself.

The Talmud is not an ordinary document of antiquity. It is the "heart's blood of the Jewish religion." To understand the Jewish mind, you must know something about his Talmud. The ability to enter a discussion on the issues and arguments of these learned rabbis is, to the Jews, a measure of intellect, piety and the virtue of holiness.

My Christian friends, wake up and realize that we are engaged in a struggle for the souls of men and women and for their freedom. It is a struggle between those who, as Dr. Neusner says, put their faith in the "traditions of men" and those of us who believe in 'faith" which, according to Hebrews 11:1, is: ". . . the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Neusner claims that while Gentile (who, according to Jews, are non-Jews) skepticism yields corrosive and negative results, that of the Talmudic skeptic produces "measured, restrained, limited insight." (Such as the restraint that is being shown to thousands of Palestinian Christians by the Israeli.)

For The Talmud, the alternative is not faith, as the Christian knows it, but a blind reliance on the arguments of rabbis, thousands of years dead, few of whom can agree on anything.

The Talmud, unlike the Holy Bible, conforms to the social pressures of the community. When the Bible says in Exodus 23:2: Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; . . ."

The Talmud says:

    Let's see what the ancient rabbis have to say about it then we will decide.

Where the Christian Bible says:

    Thus saith the Lord!

The Talmud says:

    Thus saith rabbi so-and-so.

The Talmudic rabbis, like their liberal counterparts today, believed that "environment, or society, forms the individual." So they teach that in order for man to be righteous in the eyes of God, he must give strict observance to the rabbinical laws not as laid down by God, but as interpreted by the ancient rabbis. So the Jew concentrates on such things as racial issues and uses the other races whom he despises and calls "goyim" (non-Jew animals) for his ulterior purposes in changing society to conform to his ideas and his one-world objectives. He is willing to use the black man as cannon fodder in a racial conflict if it will further his desired changes in the world. You will come to understand this more fully as The Talmud itself reveals beliefs and practices toward the goyim. In his review, Dr. Neusner adheres closely to the positive aspects of Talmudic teaching and makes no references whatsoever to the unnatural teachings toward the non-Jew.

The Talmud teaches that among the Talmudic sages there were literal miracle workers, sort of Jewish Oral Roberts, I guess. But while the so-called miracle workers of Christianity are usually found in the realm of physical healing and the casting out of demons, in the world of The Talmud they are the lawyer-magicians of Babylonia, skilled in the occult practices of the CABALA. This is the occult philosophy of the Talmudists based on mystical interpretation of Scripture.

While the Talmudists make much of their appeal to reason and human deduction, the religion of Judaism is actually rooted and grounded in the mystic occult superstitions of ancient Babylonia. This approach to life is that of the secular humanists which is directly opposed to everything which is taught in the Bible. We read in Jeremiah of the Christian concept of man. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)

The Talmudists say that man's actions are governed by his environment and his obedience to the rabbinical laws. James 4:1 says that, wars and fightings of mankind come because of their lusts and goes on to warn in James 1:14 - 15: "But every man (or woman, Ed.) is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it bringest forth sin: and sin, (which Scripture defines as "transgression of God's Law" - I John 3:4, Ed.) when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

Can you see the difference between the two avenues of thinking? One excuses man for anything he does, while Christianity holds him accountable since he is capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong and has the power to choose which path he will take.

The Talmudists say:

    Put men and women in the proper environment and they will become as God.

Christians say:

    There must be a change of heart. Ye MUST be born again! (John 3:3)

Dr. Neusner makes a remark on page 287 which cannot be substantiated in Jewish life. He states that the teaching of The Talmud brings about a: "renunciation of brute power, affirmation of the force of ideas and reason . . . these represent the Jewish discovery."

Tell this to the Palestinians who have been driven from their homes by the Israeli and who are now being subject to as much brutality as Hitler ever exhibited against the Jews. This idea is prevalent in Jewry. Not so long ago I listened to a radio talk show broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia. A caller was decrying the suffering of the Palestinians when a woman called in to the show. She identified herself as a Jewess. With supreme arrogance she said: Why are you so concerned about the Arabs? After all, they are only animals!

On page 291 of Neusner's book he represents the Jewish attempts to neutralize and eventually destroy Christianity, by saying:

    The Talmud raised abiding skepticism about what people offered as salvation as the final solution to the problems of the human condition. The Talmudists did not expect final solutions and were trained to ask devastating questions about their finality. The Talmud readied the Jews for the modern situation of doubt, of provisional truths, and hypotheses subject to testing and revision.

It is for this reason that Judaism is built upon the foundation of shifting sand. It can be revised in any age, to fit the whims of the people. It fits Paul's admonition in II Timothy 4:3 - 4: For the time will come when they (the people) will not endure (put up with) sound doctrine,' but after their own lusts (desires for material things) shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables.

Have you ever wondered why Santa Claus and the Easter bunny have become more important to many so-called Christians than Jesus Christ? Think about it.

Dr. Neusner's comments on page 292 show why the Apostle Paul said these strange alien people are "contrary to all men" (I Thessalonians 2:15). Dr. Neusner states:

    The best proof of the duty to make reasonable decisions among unreasonable alternative was the Jews themselves, who, because of their international character and their memories of many lands and empires, saw the world in all its complex plurality (this is the Jewish one-world mentality, Ed.) but they chose to form the most vivid and intense of all groups, to sustain what is after all the most particular (and peculiar, Ed.) of all literary traditions, the Talmud itself. Yet they did so in full knowledge that their group (Jews, Ed.) was not co-extensive (having extent with time and place, Ed.) with society . . ."

This is one of the reasons Jews were expelled from every country in Europe at one time or other. It was not because they were "God's chosen people whom Satan hated," as Baptist evangelist Jack Van Impe implies, but because of their anti-social, treasonous efforts against every people who tried to help them. This is one of the major reasons that American Jews, citizens of this country who have pledged their loyalty to America, will nevertheless give their first loyalty to world Judaism and its international government. This is why we have seen so many Jews tried for treason in America since World War II. Their first loyalty is to World Zionism and any program, or political persuasion, which will further its purpose.

A completely reliable English translation of The Babylonian Talmud was published in England by the Soncino Press between 1935 and 1948 in thirty-five volumes. These translations were accompanied by brief notes which explained the passages. A close perusal of Neusner's book will reveal that he deliberately avoided mentioning any part of it which might be repulsive to the Christian. There are many examples of these passages, and we will look at a few as we progress in our study. These are often morally reprehensible and full of outright hatred of Jesus Christ and anything pertaining to His church.

Continue:  The Talmudic Effect on Judeo-Christianity!

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