 Baha'is accept Judaism as one of the 9 Living World Religions which are Divine Revelations from God. Its true name is "The Way of the LORD" (Gen. 18:19). Baha'is recognize Moses as a "Manifestation of God"; as they do Noah and Abraham. THE TORAH Jewish law (halacha) is based upon the Torah ("Law"); which are the first five books of Moses:
1) Genesis Over 630 specific laws are detailed in those books. Besides those laws, the Jews have other laws and precepts. These precepts are contained in the Talmud ("Teachings"); which is a combination of two works: 1) The Mishnah. A collection of decrees by the Presidents of the Great Assembly, or Beth-Din ("House of Justice" or "House of Judgment") which is said to have existed from Moses' time until 70 A.D. 2) The Gemara ("Commentary"). Later decrees and comments made by the Talmudists. THE HOUSE OF JUSTICE (SANHEDRIN) The ancient Jews believed that Moses created an assembly of seventy elders to act as judges; to interpret the Torah (Law). In the Book of Numbers it reads:
"And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. In other words, God promised that He would give the seventy elders divine inspiration in interpreting the Law (Torah) via the Holy Spirit; as He gave Moses divine inspiration in writing the Law (Torah). The Torah became known as the 'Written Law', and the decisions of the seventy elders (known as 'The Great Assembly') became known as the 'Oral Law' (unwritten Law passed down by word-of-mouth). Both were considered to be equally binding because both were inspired by the Holy Spirit. This body of seventy elders continued for many centuries. In the 6th century B.C. the Jews were forced into captivity by the Babylonians (Iraqis). The Great Assembly became known in Babylon as the Beth-Din ("House of Justice"). The head of the House of Justice was called Ha-Nasi ("The President"). The House later became known as the Sanhedrin; from the Greek, because it had seventy members (plus the President). The Sandredrin continued in an unbroken succession until the time of King Herod; who broke-up the Sandredrin in 37 B.C., killed 45 of its members, and replaced it with a group of seventy of his own lackies. This new "Sanhedrin" were political-appointees of King Herod. It was this "Sanhedrin" that slapped and spit upon Jesus, and arranged for His crucifixion. THE MISHNAH The decisions of the House of Justice were not written down, but (like the early Qur'an) passed-down by word-of-mouth. Just as many Muslims learn the Qur'an by heart, so too the Jewish scribes were expected to memorize the instructions of the Supreme House. These instuctions were called the Mishnah ("Instruction"). This oral tradition continued until about 200 B.C.; when Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi ("The President") decided to put the Mishnah into writing, and to compile its 523 chapters into 63 tractates and 6 Orders. Only two tractates deal with abortion; Sanhedrin and Oholot. In Sanhedrin, the fetus is called a "human being within a human being," and killing a human being is considered murder; punishable by death. In Oholot, a fetus is called a "child", but the decision of the House declares that if a "child" becames stuck in the womb during labor and threatens to cause the death of the mother, then the child could be killed by dismemberment in order to save the mother's life; unless "the greater portion" of the child was outside of the womb, and then nature had to take its course. The Mishnah was considered the decisions of the House of Justice; as pronounced by its President; who was always a rabbi (teacher). Many centuries later, the Talmud "Teachings") came into being. The Talmud includes the Mishnah, plus the Gemara ("Commentary" on the Mishnah). However, the Talmud also left out certain tractates and even an entire Order of the Mishnah. Some of the decisions of the House as recorded in the Mishnah were overturned by the legal opinions of prominent individual rabbis who lived centuries after the House of Justice had disbanded. The decision of the original House of Justice concerning abortion is as follows:
"We infer the death penalty for killing an embryo from the text, He who sheds the bloof of a man within a man, he blood shall be shed [Gen. 9:6]; what is 'a man within a man'? An embryo." (Mishnah, Sanhedrin 57b) The only time abortion is permitted is to save the actual life of the mother. The Mishnah says:
"If a woman was in hard travail [life-threatening labor], the child must be cut up while it is in the womb and brought out member by member, since the life of the mother has priority over the life of the child; but if the great part of it was already born, it may ot be touched, since the claim of one life cannot override the claim of another life." (Oholoth 7:6) The House of Justice was unequivocal in stating:
1) Genesis 9:6 refers to the killing of "a man within a man", an embryo. The penalty for abortion is death. ABORTION & ANCIENT JUDAISM In Jacob Neusner's and William Scott Green's Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period: 450 B.C. to 600 C.E. we read that the fetus in the womb is a...
"human being in the womb of the mother, regarded after forty days from conception as possessing a soul. Abortion for any purpose other than saving the life of the mother is not permitted. Until the baby is born, the mother's life takes precedence....A guardian can be appointed to protect the rights of the embryo." (Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period, p.226) The laws of the Mishnah were formulated by the House of Justice. But many of the laws of this House were neglected or overturned by the Talmudist rabbis of later periods. The ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephus commented on Exodus 21:22:
"He that kicketh a woman with child, if the woman miscarry, shall be fined by the judges of having, by the destruction of the fruit of her womb, diminished the population, and a further sum shall be presented by him to the woman's husband. If she die of the blow, he also shall die, thelaw claiming as its due thesacrifice of life for life." (Antinquities of the Jews 4:278) Liberal and pro-Choice Jewish scholars quote this statement as proof that the Palestinian Jews did not consider the fetus a human life; since only a fine was levied against the fetus, but if the woman die herself then the assailant was killed. However, they usually ignore this other statement by Josephus:
"The Law orders all the offspring to be brought up, and forbids women either to cause abortion or to make away with the foetus; a woman convicted of this is regarded as an infanticide, because she destroys a soul and diminishes the race." (Against Apion 2:202) PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA Another good ancient source to discover what the ancient Jews believed about abortion is Philo of Alexandria (25 B.C. to 41 A.D.). He taught that God created the Cosmos (universe) via His Word (called the "Logos" in Greek). The Logos was an emanation of God, and His "Son". Both the Apostle John (in the Gospel of John) and the Apostle Paul quote or paraphrase from the works of Philo in their writings. When John wrote "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1-2) he was paraphrasing Philo, and trying to convince his audience (Alexandrian Jews) that Jesus was the Logos (Word) of God "made flesh" (John 1:14). In his Special Laws under the section "Thou Shalt Not Kill", Philo writes that abortion of a formed fetus must be punished by death, and that abortion of an unformed fetus should be punished by a heavy fine. (Abortion and the Early Church, pp.35-6)
THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES An ancient Jewish work called the Sybilline Oracles declares that women who have abortions and do not repent shall suffer the same Wrath of God as adulters, thieves, the impure, and oppressors of the poor.(Sybilline Oracles 2:339-42). THE NOACHIDE LAWS The Seven Noachide Laws are those laws gleaned from those laws and commandements given to all the prophets up until the time of Moses. They are believed to apply to all of the "sons of Noah" (all humankind). The Laws of Moses are believed to apply only to the descendants of Israel. The 7 Noachide Laws are: 1) Thou shalt not engage in idol worship. 2) Thou shalt not blaspheme God. 3) Thou shalt not muder a man (human) nor a man within a man (fetus). 4) Thou shalt not engage in incestuous, adulterous, or homosexual relations, nor commit the act of rape. 5) Thou shalt not steal 6) Thou shalt establish laws and courts of law to administer these laws. 7) Thou shalt not be cruel to animals. In Genesis the Lord declares: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made he man." (Genesis 9:6) Jews refer to the laws of God as recorded in Genesis chapter 9 as the "Noachide Laws". They believe that while the Laws of Moses (Torah) are binding upon Israelites only, the Noachide Laws are binding upon all nations; since the sons of Noah (Shem, Japheth, Ham) spread out among (or became) all nations. The Hebrew word for "nations" is goyim. Jews believe there are only two types of human beings: "Jews" and "Goys" (nations). The House of Justice interpreted Genesis 9:6 not as it is translated most often today into English (i.e. "He who sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed")! They believed that this was a reference to abortion; to shed the blood of a "man within a man"; an embryo within a womb. The Mishnah itself records:
"We infer the death penalty for killing an embroy from the text, He who sheds the blood of a man within a man, his blood shall be shed[Gen. 9:6]; what is 'a man within a man'? An embryo." (Sanhedrin 57b)(quoted in The Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion, New York: Adama Books, 1986, p.208) The actual Hebrew Bible says (Genesis 9:6):
"He who spills the blood of a person within a persion his blood shall be spilled." (Breishis 8:22) Breishis (or Bereshit) 8:22 in the Hebrew Bible is the same verse as Genesis 9:6 in English Bibles. One Jewish scholar writes:
"Sanhedrin 57b defines 'a man in a man' as a preborn baby in his mother's womb. This passage specifically states that abortion is a capital crime, a view supported by one of the leading sages of the Talmud, Rabbi Yismael." (Policy Review, Spring 1989, p/45) The Midrash Rabbah Genesis we reads: "WHOSO SHEDDETH MAN'S BLOOD, etc. (IX, 6). R. Hanina said: All these are specifically Noachian laws, on the testimony of one witness, on the ruling of one judge, without a formal warning, (for murder commiteed) though an angent, and for (the murder of) an embryo.***HIS BLOOD SHALL BE SHED. For (the murder of) an embryo, for it says, WHOSO SHEDETH THE BLOOD OF MAN WITHIN (ANOTHER) MAN SHALL HIS BLOOD BE SHED." (Rabbi David Friedman, trans.,Midrash Rabbah Genesis Volume One, pp.279-80 emphasis in original) Rabbi Isaac Schorr writes of how the ancient Great Assembly (House of Justice) interpreted Genesis 9:6: "Genesis 9:6 reads: 'He who sheds the blood of man, through man shall be blood be shed.' Since the 'man, though man' (shofekh dam adam ba'adam) can also be rendered 'man, in man,' the Talmud records the exposition of Rabbi Ishmael: 'What is this man in man? It refers to the fetus in its mother's womb'." (Responsa Koah Shor, Vol. 1, No. 20, 1755, p.21) The Hebrew words shofekh ("sheds"), dam ("blood"), ha'adam ( of "man" or "human being")ba'adam ("through" "by way of" "in" "inside" "man" "human being") can be translated either as: 1) "sheds (the) blood (of) man, by (the hand of) man" or 2) "sheds (the) blood (of) man (human) in (anothe) man" (human) The House of Justice interepreted Genesis 9:6 to not to mean what most scholars today think it means ("Whosoever sheds the blood of man, by the hand of man shall his blood be shed") but they thought it meant this: "Whoseover sheds the blood of a man within a man (a child in the womb) shall his own blood be shed". Again, the Noachide Laws are believed to apply to all human beings; not just to the Israelites. It is Genesis 9:6 which the ancient Jews (via the House of Justice) condemned abortion and considered it murder except in the case where the fetus is a threat to the mother's own life (not quality of life). That is the only exception the Mishnah (and thus the House of Justice) makes and exception for. However, in 37 B.C. the evil King Herod destroyed the institution of the House of Justice. He killed or exiled most of its members, and replaced them with his own "Sanhedrin" of political-appointees. King Herod was a "Hellenist"; meaning he was a Jew (actually he was half-Jewish) who rejected Jewish culture in favor of Greek (Hellenistic) culture. The Greeks were pro-abortion, and pro-infanticide. In 70 A.D. King Herod's Sanhedrin was put out of business when the Jews rebelled agaisnt the Romans and the city of Jerusalem (and the Jewish Temple) were destroyed. This lead to individual Jewish rabbis known as the "Talmudists" arising, and they concluded that an embryo couldn't be a "man" (human being) because embryos cannot offer sacrifice nor can they be defiled through leperosy (Babylonian Talmud, Nid. 43b). The same rabbis who overturned the House of Justice also called Jesus a "deceiver", and they also made other rulings which today are embarassing to the Jews. THE TALMUDISTS The original Beth-Din ("House of Justice") was a group of seventy elders of Israel, chosen by Moses and granted by the Lord with the Holy Spirit so they could rule in cases the common judges brought to them. Their decisions were final. In 38 B.C. Herod the Great dissolved the last true House of Justice and created his own Sanhedrin; all political appointees. In 63 A.D. the Jews, led by the Zealots, revolted against the Romans, and in 70 A.D. the city of Jerusalem itself was totally destroyed; along with the Temple. The Sanhedrin was permanently dissolved. This lead to the Talmudist period; where individual rabbis came forth to interpret and establish halakah (laws). By the year 600 A.D. the Babylonian Talmud was produced by Jews living in Iraq. It contained the decisions and opinions of the Talmudists; inviduals learned rabbis. The decisions of the Talmudists sometimes overturned or overruled the decisions of the original House of Justice; that was destroyed by King Herod in 38 B.C. The spirit of the Talmudists is very different from that of the House of Justice. Here are a few examples: 1) The Law of Moses said "And thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind." (Leviticus 18:22). The House of Justice interpreted that to mean no homosexuality whatsoever. However, the Talmudists said "What is a man?" They concluded that young boys who do not produce semen cannot be "men", and thus sex between young boys or between men and young boys under 9 years and 1 day wasn't a violation of the Law (Lev. 18:22) and therefore was permitted. (Sanhedrin 69a). 2) The Talmudists considered sex between a man and a little girl to be nothing, and outside the pervue of the Law: "When a grown up man has intercourse with a little girl it is nothing, for when the girl is less than this (6 years), it is as if one puts the finger in the eye,...." (Kethoboth 11a) 3) Girls at least three years and 1 day old can be married and have sex: "A maiden three years and a day may be acquired in marriage by coition,...." (Sanhedrin 55b). 4) Only Jews are human beings. Akum (non-Jews) are beasts (Bab Mezia 144b) 5) The souls of non-Jews come from killed pigs (Jalkut Rubeni Gadol 12b) 6) Jesus was born of an adulteress, and He was a fool and liar (Adhodah Zarah II, Schabbath 104b) 7) The origin of the Negro race was from Ham (the son of Noah) seeing his father naked in the Ark and laughing about it. Noah got drunk and forgot to cover his nakedness. Ham came in and saw his father, then made a joke of it to his brothers. His brothers told their father Noah, and when Noah awoke he cursed Ham's firstborn son (Canaan) and their descendants to become the slaves of the descendants of the other sons of Noah (Japheth and Shem--Europeans and Semites), and Noah is said (by the Talmudists) to add:
"'Canaan's children shall be born ugly and black. Moreover, because you [Ham] twisted your heard around to see my nakedness, your grandchildren's hair shall be twisted into kinks, and their eyes, red; again, because your lips jested at my misfortune, theirs shall swell; and because you neglected my nakedness, they shall go naked, and their male members shall be shamfully elongated.' Men of this race are called Negroes; their forefather Canaan commanded them to love theft and fornication, to be banded together in hatred of their masters and never to tell the truth..." (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 108b, see also Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis, 1983, p.121) 8) Jews who become Christians may be killed (Hikhoth Akum X,2). 9) Adam had sex with all the animals in the Garden of Eden but found no satifaction until had had sex with Eve (Yebamouth 63a). 10) A fetus is like the 'thigh' of its mother, and thus not a human being. A fetus does not become a human being until 30 days after it's birth(Ket. 20b, Shab. 135b, Evel Rabati I). In the time of the Talmudists it became the Jewish custon of not naming a child until the 30th or 31st day after it was born. There was also a belief that a child couldn't be named after a living relative, because the Angel of Death may come for the old relative but mistake the child if he or she had the same name; thereby taking the child instead of the relative. This led to the superstition that if a child has no name, it has no soul to take by the Angel of Death. Thus, a child unnamed had no soul. If an unnamed child died, then no mourning rituals or burial rites were performed. Only after the 30th day was the child named, and thus considered a "person". Pro-Choice Jews who try to use Jewish Law to support their position quote the Talmudists, and totally ignore the decisions and declarations of the House of Justice. PRO-CHOICE JEWS There are four major schools or sects of modern Judaism:
1) Orthodox Only the Orthodox branch of Judaism still condemns abortion outright. Conservative Jews in the U.S. and Europe are almost always pro-choice; although some are at least moderately pro-Life. Conservative Jews in Israel are mostly moderately pro-Life. Almost all Reformed and Reconstructionist Jews are pro-Choice. Orthodox Judaism says:
"The Unborn child has a right to life. Even if a pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, ofif tests reveal abnomalities, that right may not be abridged unles the life of the mother is threatened...her physical life." (Ethical Values of Judaism, p.6 online) Pro-Choice Jews and others who wish to portray the Torah (Law) as being Pro-Choice simply ignore (totally) Genesis 9:6 (the Noachide Law against abortion) as well as the decisions of the House of Justice. They simply quote Talmudic Rabbis to the effect that the fetus is considered part of the mother's body. They also say (quite incorrectly) that the only text that the Tanakh (the Jewish Scriptures/Old Testament) has to say about abortion is in Exodus:
"If men strive and hurt a woman with child so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow, he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life." (Exodus 21:22-23) Pro-Choice Jews quote this and say that this is the only verse in the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) that has anything remotely to do with abortion. Then they say that the "life for life" applies only if the woman dies. The miscarriage carries only a fine; to be determined by the husband and the judges, but not "life for life"; thus, they conclude, the fetus (fruit) is not considered a human life. They add that the Tanakh does not anywhere forbid the removal of a fetus by the woman if she so chooses, and "Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to the fetus; since Exodus 21:22-23 has only a monatary fine towards men who accidently cause a miscarriage. The conclusions of pro-Choice Jews have a lot of problems: 1) They totally ignore the decisions of the House of Justice ("Great Assembly") as recorded in the Mishnah. The House of Justice declared the fetus to be "a man within a man" and considered Genesis 9:6 to be God's law against abortion that applied to "all mankind"; Jews included. 2) Their interpretation of Exodus 21:22-23 does not coincide with how the ancient Jews interpreted it. Around 280 B.C. a group of seventy Greek-speaking Jews got together to translate the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) into the Greek language. They did this because Greek by that time (thanks to Alexander the Great) was becoming the universal language of the ancient middle east and mediterranean area. Many Jews were moving to Greek-speaking cities, and their children could not read or undestand Hebrew. So a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible was necessary. The translation of the Hebrew Bible into the Greek became later known as the Septuagint (from the Latin word for "seventy": septus). The Septuagint was created over many decades; from about 280 B.C. to about 130 B.C. It was translated during the time that all Jews were under the House of Justice or Beth-Din.(also called "The Great Assembly"). Any Jewish translations into Greek would have been ultimately supervised and approved by the House of Justice. The Septuagint may even have been translated by the House of Justice itself. The Septuagint translates the Hebrew word for "mischief" (arson) as "form". If the fetus is born then dies as a result of the pre-birth and has no "form" (does not resembly at all a human baby) then the penalty is a heavy fine, but if the child is born and dies as a result of the pre-birth and it has "form" (resembles a human baby) then it is "life for life". The ancients generally believed that a fetus was "formed" at the time of quickening; which was seen as the 40th to 80th day of gestation. Also, a reading of the original Hebrew does not support the pro-Choice rendering of Exodus 21:22! The Hebrew word for miscarriage (when a child is prematurely born dead) is shakol. The words in Exodus 21:22 are: "...so that her fruit depart from her,..." The word translated "fruit" in the King James Version is yeled; which means: "something born, i.e. a lad or offspring:--boy, child, fruit, son, young man (one)." (Srong's Dictionary of Hebrew Words, no.3206) The word translated "depart" in Exodus 21:22 is yatsa, and means "to go out", "to shoot out", "begotten" and "bring forth". (Strong's, no.3318). Nowhere is the word shakol used! This was not a "miscarriage", but rather a pre-mature birth of a living child. Thus, the verse actually says: "If two men are fighting, and a pregnant woman is accidently struck in the fight, and she has a pre-mature birth of a child, but neither the child nor the woman is dies afterwards, then a fine must be levied against the men, to be determined by her husband and the judges. But if the woman or the child later dies, then "life for life". The Jewish scholar Moses David Umberto Cassuto translates Exodux 21:23 as follows:
"But if any mischief happen, that is, if the woman dies or the children die, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye,..." Pro-Choice Jews has nothing to stand on except the interpretation of the Talmudists in the Babylonian Talmud; a work which none of them abides by or accepts as valid in all other cases regarding Jewish law. In conclusion, Pro-Choice Jews and others who write about abortion and Judaism do the following: 1) They totally ignore Genesis 9:6 (the universal anti-abortion law). 2) They deliberately misinterpret Exodus 21:22-3; not in accordance to the Septuagint. 3) In order to justify abortion they quote from the Babylonian Talmud; a work by Talmudist Jews which is admitted by all to be racist, sexist, pro-pedophile, and contains laws which no Jew today would think of following or agreeing with (especially Liberal Jews!). Rabbi Balfour Brickner, National Director of the Commission on Interfaith Activities gives the Pro-choice Jewish position:
"Jewish law is quite clear in its statement that an embryo is not reckoned a viable living thing (in Hebrew, bar kayama) until thirty days after its birth. One is not allowed to observe the Laws of Mourning for an expelled fetus. As a matter of fact, these Laws are not applicable for a child who does not survive until his thirtieth day. (The Position of the Jewish Faith on Abortion, p.1 online) The pro-Life Jewish position is as follows:
Pro-Choice Jews who want to convince people that abortion-on-demand is permitted in Judaism rely on the Babylonian Talmud. The position of the pro-Choice Jew who argues from the Babylonian Talmud is hypocrisy. It is diplicity to try to argue from a work that they mostly disagree with on many subjects. Do they agree that Negroes are liars and fornicators and thieves by nature? Do they agree men can have sex with young girls and boys and that not being sinful? Do they agree that babies less than 30 days old have no souls and can be discarded or killed outright? Of course not! Why then do they use the Babylonian Talmud to try to argue that ancient Judaism was pro-Choice? You already know the answer. Many Jews, of course, are Humanists and secularists, and don't care in the least what ancient Jewish law says or doesn't say. For many modern Jews (as with many 'Christians'), religion is not a set of laws to govern the behavior of society and the individual, but merely a set of traditions and rites. Therefore, nothing written by Moses or decided upon by the Beth-Din has any real bearing on their lives or worship. As King Herod, it is not the Law of God which guides them, but their secular education and the consensus-reality of popular culture. Orthodox Jews follow what the Noachide Law actually says on the matter. The Beth-Din (House of Justice or House of Judgment) agreed, and ruled that the fetus was a "human within a human" and could only be maimed or killed if he became a "persuer" (i.e. threatens the actual physical life of the mother). CONCLUSION Ancient Judaism saw the fetus as "a man (human) within a man (human)" and considered abortion to be murder; to be punished by "a life for a life". Abortion was allowed in labor: only to save a mother's life. The ancient Septuagint (Greek Bible) made exceptions between a "formed" and "unformed" fetus. Only an abortion of a "formed" fetus was punished with death. Abortion of an "unformed" fetus was still a crime, but punished by heavy fine. |
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The Baha'i Faith and Abortion |
