© 2011 Yirmeyahu Ben-David
The reason that the world—and 95+% of Jews—have rejected Ultra-Orthodox rabbis and their view of Tor•âh′ (in addition to their eschewal of education and tenacious clinging to blatantly medieval magic and superstitions) has been chronicled for years in Israeli newspapers: Jewish lives damaged on an existential scale; countless lives irreparably ruined forever, by numerous intolerant and cruel khareid•im′ (Ultra-Orthodox, as distinguished from Orthodox) rabbis who keep Tor•âh′ rituals to extremes but have lost all connection to the central Tor•âh′ tenet that was championed by Rib′i Hi•leil′ and Rib′i Yәho•shu′a: Love your fellow as yourself.
Contrast these with Oprah (a woman some of these Ash•kәnaz′im khareid•im′ rabbis, more than a few being racists, would disrespect as a ëÌåÌùÑÄéú), who loves and does her best to serve the Creator and has dramatically improved the lives of millions—although, unknowingly in her ignorance of 2nd-4th century Christian history, she is an idolater who makes no attempt to keep the mitz•wot′ of Tor•âh′, eats tâ•reiph′ and desecrates Shab•ât′.
Which of these does the Creator of the universe view as more closely fulfilling His job description of a bën-â•dâm′, loving and shepherding the creatures He has created? And which does He view as "ro•i′ hâ-el•il′," ravaging His flock? Consider. Which is more vital? Which will inherit ha-O•lâm′ ha-•Ba′ in Yom ha-Din? é--ä promised the bәrit to Av•râ•hâm′, Yitz•khâq′ and Yi•sә•râ•eil′ – not Ei•sau′ despite his being a twin-brother by the same mother!
On the other hand, those who do their best to keep Tor•âh′ are absorbed into Yi•sә•râ•eil′ like Rut–maternal ancestor of Dâ•wid′ ha-Mël′ëkh and the Mâ•shi′akh.
So… who is keeping Tor•âh′, ritualistic rabbis or Oprah?
Despite her lesser transgressions of Tor•âh′, I say, Oprah—and some Orthodox rabbis!
The wrench is in what one considers major or minor transgressions of Tor•âh′; and there is no more major transgression of Tor•âh′ than transgression of the core principle of Tor•âh′: love your fellow as yourself.
Surely, Jews cannot have strayed from the true meaning of Tor•âh′? The rabbis teach that in all cases of doubt, the Jewish majority is infallible—in direct contravention of Shәm•ot′ 23.2, the paradigm of the Golden Calf and é--ä being the Only Infallible and Omniscient Singularity.
On the other hand, surely, Christians and Muslims—relying on their clerics and traditions while often denying and defying legitimate historians of eminent world universities, earliest-extant original-language source documents and hard physical archeological evidence—cannot be mistaken about their own Christian or Islamic history in the 2nd-7th centuries?
Christians define "Pharisee"–today's Orthodox Jews–as a metonym for hypocrite. But which are the hypocrites? Are these not all hypocrites? How did Rib′i Hi•leil′ and Rib′i Yәho•shu′a—both Pharisees—define hypocrites? Tunnel-visioned, slavish worship of ritual and liturgy that loses sight of the prime directives of Tor•âh′: Here's life's "Instruction Manual" setting forth "how to":
love é--ä and
love your fellow as yourself
In return for doing your best to keep these é--ä promised, in His bәrit•ot′, ki•pur′ with corresponding life in ha-O•lâm′ ha-•Ba′.
There can be no more grave transgression than turning either of these two directives on their head, whether for the sake of ritual, liturgy, superstition, hate or any other reason!
Whether Jew, Christian or Muslim, the knee-jerk response is always the same: "My religion is right; they are all ignorant bigots and fools who don't know the (in other words, your) Bible (or Koran). They are enemies of G-o-d!"
Instead of making a battle out of it, insisting on your personal (or your clerics') infallibility to conclude that any critic of you or your religion is an enemy of G-o-d, the person who in truth serves é--ä is the bën-â•dâm′ who will take the criticism and examine it carefully for hard evidence, for historical documentation and discrete (mathematical and scientific) logic. After all, the Creator is Truth. Therefore, no one who serves the Creator can fear—or defy—truth.
Belief is often incompatible with truth. Everyone finds such contradictions if they look and examine. Which will you choose?
The only Bible that Jews, Christians and Muslims all purport to recognize as original and true is the Hebrew Ta•na"kh′. If you cannot read it, don't pretend to teach it. If your cleric cannot read it, then you are following a false cleric. If your religion is incompatible with it, then you are following a false religion–an antichrist, from which you need to extricate yourself to follow Tor•âh′.
The person who brings you factual, documented, mathematically and scientifically logical truth (as opposed to traditional "truth" preached by various clerics and believed in ignorance of factual, documented, mathematically and scientifically logical truth) is a servant of the Creator of the universe and the real world. Factual, documented, mathematically and scientifically logical truth is the real world, as real as the universe reflects a real Singularity Creator; reality as opposed to cultish or charlatan supernatural mumbo-jumbo that sends you back to medieval superstition-land that enslaves you to some cleric. The Creator doesn't need to contradict Himself with super-natural anomalies to accomplish His Perfect (perfectly natural) Will. When we don't understand something it's a miracle: beyond current understanding, but not supernatural. To break His own Perfect Laws of the universe would be self-contradicting, an intrinsic flaw.
The touchstone is whether the message
is factual, documented, mathematically and scientifically logical truth and
adheres to Dәvâr•im′ 13.1-6
or contradicts and defies factual, documented, mathematically and scientifically logical truth. Don't dare to define a messenger of factual, documented, mathematically and scientifically logical truth as your enemy; for you will have defined yourself as the enemy of é--ä! That messenger is not attacking you. He or she is trying, however awkwardly, to impart to you a far more rewarding life.
Tzëd′ëq is both an Attribute of é--ä and a metonym of the Mâ•shi′akh. This has implications: perfection cannot coexist with imperfection. Identically, tzëd′ëq cannot coexist with transgression. If you don't receive ki•pur′, which é--ä promises in return for doing your utmost to keep Tor•âh′, then you remain imperfect—and the Perfect Singularity cannot coexist with an imperfect you.
You may have been misled to believe that a man, or Egyptian and Hellenist-derived man-god, can grant you salvation. But that contradicts Tor•âh′ in numerous places. Contrary to misojudaic Christian teachings, Tor•âh′ never requires or expects anyone to be perfect!
é--ä promises perfection by means of His own (not any other's) gracious Jesus or Mohammed. It is spiritually fatal.
All three "Abrahamic" religions correlate Idolatry with "Doomed to hell." Infidels. Sub-humans. Cannon fodder.
Not so fast!
Though we would disagree regarding valid means, all three "Abrahamic" religions also recognize that idolaters can be forgiven by turning away from their idolatry. Within Tor•âh′, the same applies to eating tâ•reiph′ and profaning Shab•ât′. All of the Tor•âh′ Sages agree: doing one's utmost to correct his or her life practice enables ki•pur′—and a clean slate to serve é--ä.
In fact, the same holds true for any transgression of Tor•âh′, putting all transgressions on the same plateau of importance. Without ki•pur′, one imperfection and you're done! Without doing one's utmost to keep Tor•âh′, no ki•pur′!
Yet, doing one's utmost enables, according to é--ä's promise in Tor•âh′, ki•pur′.
Therefore, a transgression of Tor•âh′ is a transgression of Tor•âh′. Failure to do one's utmost and receiving ki•pur′ and any transgression is a spiritual terminator.
However, the converse is that an idolatrous goy is no worse than a (racial!) Jew who eats tâ•reiph′ or ignores Shab•ât′. In fact, goy simply means "a people." The Bible defines Jews as a goy.
A transgression of Tor•âh′ is a transgression of Tor•âh′. Therefore, ki•pur′ is as accessible to an idolater who is genuinely doing his or her utmost to serve the Creator as best (s)he knows as it is to an Orthodox Jew. Here's an earthshaking newsflash: the value of being born of a Jewish mother is in being raised in a Tor•âh′ household, not any racial advantage!!! The same is true of marriage restrictions, and for the identical reasons.
On the other hand, the fate of the goy•im′ who don't do their utmost to keep Tor•âh′, identifying with Israel and the Jews, is unambiguous: Yәsha•yâh′u 2:2-4, 11-12; 27:12-13, 35; 66:18-24; Yi•rәmәyâh′u 3:15-25; 16:14-21; 23:1-8; 30.31; Yәkhëz•qeil′ 11:14-21, 34:11-31; 36:8-38, 37, 40-48; Ho•shei′a 1:10-11; 2:16-23; 3:1-5; Yo•eil′ 3; •mos′ 9:9-15; Mikh•âh′ 5; Tzәphan•yâh′ 3; Khaj•ai′ 2; Zәkhar•yâh′ 10:6-12; 12-14. Is the Ël•oh•im′ of Yi•sә•râ•eil′ a liar?
Put your trust solely in é--ä and His Tor•âh′—not any man. Christianity is Christ-centric and Islam is Mohammed-centric. But Judaism is Tor•âh′-centric. Don't confuse them. Don't try to pervert Judaism into "Messiah"-centric or Mohammed-centric. Your eternal life depends on it.
When each of us stands before the Bench in the final Beit Din on Yom ha-Din, we will each have to demonstrate that we have done our utmost (not perfection) relative to both directives:
Will you have done your utmost to satisfy both directives (i.e., the indivisible, whole Tor•âh′) in order to receive the ki•pur′ of é--ä–promised in His Tor•âh′?
Does Oprah demonstrate love for é--ä as best she knows? Though her knowledge needs boosting and weaning from reliance upon belief in men, most reasonable people agree that her personal testimony is genuine and she has a strong case that she's trying, as best she knows, to do her best. That likely includes open-minded study.
Do (Ultra-Orthodox) khareid•im′ rabbis and their (Ultra-Orthodox) khareid•im′ followers demonstrate love for é--ä as best they know? Some: yes; but, sadly, many: no! It is not reasonable to eschew education, reality or truth. It is not reasonable to put ritual or liturgy–much less magic, superstition or commitment to medieval ways–before people's welfare, including ëÌåÌùÑÄéí and goy•im′.
Relative to the second directive, there is no contest! Even Khabad, who excels among Jews in this directive, should be awed, as I am.
Perhaps we can all, including Oprah and the khareid•im′, learn from reflecting on this; for to lose sight of either directive is to selectively subtract from Tor•âh′ in defiance of Dәvâr•im′ 31.1.
(Pâ•qid′ Yirmәyâh′u, Ra•a•nan′â(h), Yi•sә•râ•eil′) 
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