Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The Vatican and its stolen Jewish Possessions

B"H

Almost 2000 years ago, Christianity didn't show any hostility towards Torah believing Jews. Everyone was still Jewish and the only difference was that there were very few Jews who kept the Torah but believed in J.C. as the Meshiach; and there was the majority of Jews keeping the Torah according to their ancestors and tradition. Nevertheless, those Jews believing in J.C. still kept Halacha and it would have never occurred to them abandoning their religion in order to found a new one.

However, everything changed due to the Jewish Hellenistic Apostle Paul. He completely failed in missionizing the Jews and therefore, he thought about a new marketing strategy. His plan was to missionize Gentiles, but how should this work out when the Torah explicitly says that the Jewish people have a special task in this world. That there is a unique covenant between G – d and His chosen people (the Jews). How can someone sell this idea to the Gentiles ?

As Paul's background was a Hellenistic cult, he took over its idea that a person with a unique task in life must first die and then be resurrected. This procedure is only taking place when the person is worthy of fulfilling this task. This idea wasn't the only one Paul took over from Gentile ideologies. Additionally he claimed that people who decided to follow him, would be called the "real Israel". And there would be a "new" Torah for all those followers and G – d would choose them as His "new" chosen people.

At least a thousand times I have asked myself why it seems to be so hard for the Gentiles to accept the Jewish people as G – d's chosen people. Where is the problem ? Jealousy ?

Yes, jealousy is probably the most significant reason of all. However, one has to understand the concept of what it means to be the chosen people. There have countless misinterpretations of the concept. Being chosen by G – d means "being a light onto the nations". And this is the task of the Jews: "Being a light onto the nations and teaching them morality". The concept of being chosen doesn't mean that Jews are superior. On the contrary, being chosen to us means a lot of responsibility and many Jews even try to escape their special task. Not too successfully, as you can surely imagine. And by the way, the task is not a Jewish claim but it comes from G – d and everyone with a little Torah knowledge can read it there.

So, was G – d out of His mind when He appointed the Jews to be His chosen people ? Is there a need for a "new" chosen people, as Paul stated ? The answer is NO because the Torah is eternal and nothing can be changed or added. The Jews will always be the chosen people; if they like it or not.

Just like Paul, Augustine continued inventing anti – Jewish ideas. According to Augustine, the Jews were, and still are, blind because they are unable to accept the truth called J.C. Thus, Augustine added more fuel into the conflict. The same as the Protestant Martin Luther, a cleric admired and respected until today. In his days, however, Luther was one of the greatest anti – Semites and when you read his speeches, you won't see a big difference between him and Hitler. If Hitler, Paul, Augustine and Luther had met, they would have been a great anti – Semitic team. Luther referred to the Jews as the devil (Satan) and Hitler must have really liked such statements.

Almost every year, Israel's two chief rabbis travel to the Vatican in order to convince the pope to return all the Jewish original writings and the Temple Menorah. Until today, the Vatican possess the greatest Jewish library in the world and especially during the Middle Ages, the church stole (or took) many Jewish original writings. The Rambam (Maimonides) may be the most famous case. When the Romans plundered the Second Temple after its destruction, they obviously took the Menorah to Rome. The question is "Where is the Menorah today?" And many people say: "In the Vatican".

For hundreds of years, the church has been living a lie. Stealing Jewish possessions and original literature in order to cover up its secrets. Keeping up a religion and an ideology which isn't true because some heretics just invented it. The intentions of the Vatican keeping all any Temple relics in their catacombs is obvious. If today, the Vatican was returning anything Jewish to the Jews, the truth would come to light and that might be the end of Christianity. Maybe not the end, but thousands of unwanted questions would be asked. That's why it is easier making a claim that there is nothing whatsoever in the Vatican and let the world move on. The only disturbing problem is G – d. One day, He is going to judge the church and its clerics, as at Him they cannot lie.

Before the present pope took over his position, he was the head of a Vatican department which, during the Middle Ages, was called "The Holy Inquisition". If anyone knows all the secrets then it is the present pope. From the Nazi Reich to the Inquisition. I think that Augustine or Luther would have really loved to identify themselves with such a past.


Arutz 7
The Vatican, for example, is said to have the largest repository of Hebrew manuscripts in the world, accumulated over the centuries as a result of church-inspired pogroms and persecutions. These include early medieval copies of the works of Maimonides and Rabbi Jacob ben Asher, along with some of the earliest-known illuminated copies of the Bible.
These treasures are Jewish in content, in history and in origin, and many were ripped from the hands of their owners just moments before their massacre, forced conversion or expulsion. Why they should these stolen pieces of our heritage now sit abandoned in a Vatican basement rather than being returned to their rightful owners, the Jewish people? And how about the 14th century rimonim, the decorative silver ornaments known in English as finials which are placed on the wooden staves of a Torah scroll, that currently sit in the La Seu Cathedral in Spain's Palma de Majorca? What does it say about our sense of national pride that we allow these sacred religious objects to be displayed in a Catholic church?


Jewish artifacts in catacombs

Jewish Treasures in the Vatican

http://www.templemountfaithful.org/News/20030112.htm

6 comments:

  1. Do you really think God chose the Jewish people? Have you ever read the tanach? Just read it, no Rashi, no other commentaries, just the text? Try it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. B"H

    Yes, I do study Tanach and in the Torah the concept of the chosen people is mentioned.

    As G-d states in the Torah:

    "Now, if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be My special treasure among all the nations…"

    "And you shall be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…"

    "G-d has similarly declared allegiance to you today, making you His special nation… you are called the priests of G-d, the servants of the Almighty..."

    The emphasis, as you can clearly see, is on being priests. Priests are not rulers or kings; rather they are teachers and examples.

    Sources:

    * Exodus 19:3,6
    * Deuteronomy 4:20, 26:17-19
    * Isaiah 61:6


    Countless times, G - d calls the Jewish nation His beloved nation.


    http://www.aish.com/literacy/concepts/The_Chosen_People.asp

    I have some further remarks:

    Whoever claims that the Jews weren't chosen, is denying the entire Torah and hasn't understood its context.

    In opposite to other religions, also Gentiles have a chance of receiving a place in Olam HaBah (the World to Come). However, one condition is that Gentiles keep the seven Noachide Laws.

    We don't just read the Torah and make up our own minds. Just as it suits us.

    We study Torah and are fully aware of the fact that the Torah is full of metaphors. And those metaphors, if possible, have to be interpreted. And this is why we have commentators.

    Whoever just reads the Torah only literally is a fool and didn't get the point.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for your explanations. This question of Chosen has been bantered around by many of my friends as well--all Jews! I am unable to properly explain as I am not learned enough, but it occurs to me that people in general don't understand Torah and this in turn creates many problems. I hope you will continue to address these topics because for many people Torah study is something they avoid and it is only through blogs like yours that understanding will come. Please keep writing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. B"H

    Many Jews are embarrassed by the concept of being "chosen". The reason is that most people, no matter if Jews or non - Jews, have the wrong understanding about what it means to be chosen.
    Chosen means nothing else than being a light to the nations and being a moral example. This is the task of the Jews. Fulfilling G - d's Torah Mitzwot and thus showing other nations that there is ONE eternal G - d who created and rules over everything.

    It is not easy to explain such concepts and I will try my best. But maybe you should also take into consideration to study Judaism in professional classes run by certain communities, AISH HaTorah or Chabad.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The intentions of the Vatican keeping all any Temple relics in their catacombs is obvious. If today, the Vatican was returning anything Jewish to the Jews, the truth would come to light and that might be the end of Christianity. Maybe not the end, but thousands of unwanted questions would be asked. That's why it is easier making a claim that there is nothing whatsoever in the Vatican and let the world move on.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm not real big on any organized religion, but it does appear to be very plain that the Vatican ought to return any and all Jewish treasures. At the very least, they have a millennium or so of persecution to apologize for, and returning some of the spoils they stole with blood and torture should be the least of their reparation.

    ReplyDelete