By studying the 10
Commandments, there are some clear departures we see in traditional
Rabbinic understanding, and practice. The views expressed by the
rabbis are in violation of Torah, and destructive of society.
A good example is the
commandment to observe Shabbat.
Deut 5:
11 Observe the sabbath day, to
keep it holy, as the LORD thy God commanded thee.
12 Six days shalt thou labour,
and do all thy work; 13 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto
the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou,
nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy
maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor
thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy
maid-servant may rest as well as thou.
V.12 is very important,
since a) it says we are to labour 6 days of the week, and b) this is
the labour which we refrain from on Shabbat. The rabbis allege that
work is not labour, but 39 forms of action, which then have
derivatives. For example, separating grain is a real labour, but they
extend this as applying to anything resembling this action, eg
removing a bone from food we eat on shabbat. This microscopic and
obsessive fixation with small details has no bearing on what the
Torah says. The labour which people undertake for 6 days is not the
same as tearing sheets of toiler paper for example. The proof is in
v12, which refers to one's working animals, e.g. an ox or donkey,
which also rest. The use of a donkey is to pull a workload, which is
not the type of exertion required to remove a fishbone for example.
The rabbis actually propose the complete opposite to the Torah's
train of thought. To carry a handkerchief or key outdoors is utterly
“forbidden” and they claim is subject to death penalty. On the
other hand, they claim it is perfectly permissible to carry a heavy
table indoors, even if it was the work of an ox to do so.
This perversion of the law
goes further, at least in part of the rabbinic world. Their
attitude towards earning an honest living is very negative.
“Rabbi
Yishmael teaches that the study of Torah is to be accompanied by
earning a livelihood, as in the verse "And you shall gather your
grain". Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, however, contends that when
Israel is sincerely dedicated to learning Torah, G-d sees to it that
others will do their work. Abaye remarks that many did like Rav
Yishmael and succeeded in both working and learning, while most of
those who did like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai did not succeed in
either.” - Talmud, Berachot 35b
source:
http://ohr.edu/explore_judaism/ask_the_rabbi/ask_the_rabbi/1350
The Talmud at least provides an
empirical observation, that the ultra orthodox way of life espoused
by Bar Yochai was an almost complete failure. Maimonides, who at one
point scoffs at those who choose to live off charity, remarks
elsewhere:
Halacha
13
Not only the tribe of Levi,
but any one of the inhabitants of the world whose spirit generously
motivates him and he understands with his wisdom to set himself aside
and stand before God to serve Him and minister to Him and to know
God, proceeding justly as God made him, removing from his neck the
yoke of the many reckonings which people seek, he is sanctified as
holy of holies. God will be His portion and heritage forever and will
provide what is sufficient for him in this world like He provides for
the priests and the Levites. And thus David declared [Psalms
16:5]: "God is the lot of my portion; You are my cup, You
support my lot." - Hilchot Shemita - Chapter 13
Maimonides is suggesting
that the privileges given to the tribe of Levi apply to anyone else
who wishes to study in Yeshiva. The Torah does command us to give
tithes to the Levites, but to promote a pseudo- Levite group , and
extract tithes from Israel to support them is clearly theft (which is
another violation of the 10 commandments). This is apparent in Israel
where the hareidi population with to receive government support for
all their activities, in the name of Torah, when in fact they are
actually in violation of the commandment “Six
days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work”.
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