JAHG-USA:
Newsletter of Judaic Theocracy

Week of 23 Iyar, 5766 / May 21, 2006

Editor: Boruch (Bryan) Ellison

"Issues of World War III" Survey

"To what extent should archaeological findings be protected?" The responses to last week's survey question were, interestingly, all over the map, while the additional comments all seemed to agree on one basic viewpoint. The answers were almost evenly divided between (1) strongly protecting ancient artifacts, (2) protecting some more than others, (3) having less protection overall, and (4) "other." Here are excerpts of notable comments:

• "…The value of the findings is determined by what is found. Idolatrous items cannot be valuable.…"
• "All idolatrous artifacts must be destroyed… All artifacts of the Jerusalem Temple must be protected… for the construction of the Third Temple."
• "…if Abraham destroyed all the idols in his father's workshop, then we should do likewise…"

Factual Background:
The modern science of archaeology came into full bloom since the early 1800s, and has produced a wealth of information. Whether the many cities of Troy (each built over the ruins of the previous), the "Sumerian" civilization of pre-Babylon, or the astronomical observatory sites of pre-Incan Indians, the multiplying digs have uncovered vast data on human history and have filled museums with innumerable displays.

As raw material through which to develop a genuine understanding of history, the finds are valuable. But like any other crude data, they lack intrinsic value, being nothing but ruins of abandoned structures or junk rejected from an earlier day. And in many or most cases, they are fragments of actual evil — the objects or accessories of idolatrous worship of false "gods." Because objects of stone, metal, or pottery can most readily weather the trials of time, they are over-represented among archaeological artifacts. And the tools of paganism — whether the idols themselves, the vessels of ritual worship ceremonies, or the temples in which they resided — were commonly made precisely of such long-lasting materials. Naturally, then, idolatry features prominently in the excavations of the pagan societies that ruled virtually everywhere in the world.

This sheds new light on the concept of archaeological preservation, a concept which was promoted by the Johnson presidential administration in the 1960s, and which developed into the international treaty governing the World Heritage Program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1972. Almost all governments have since joined the UN treaty, and some 650 "cultural" World Heritage Sites (mostly ancient ruins or archaeological findings) are now governed and protected by the UNESCO program.

Given the well-documented control of the entire United Nations by the Soviet Union and its international network of Communist agents, one can begin to understand the real objectives of the UNESCO treaty. It has been used, for example, to interfere with construction or development around those protected sites.

But more insidiously, UNESCO wields the treaty as leverage to undermine monotheistic religion. Many or most of the designated World Heritage Sites are remains of pagan temples in Egypt, Greece, India, Japan, and elsewhere, or are primitive artwork of idolatrous cultures (art that is hardly uplifting). By conferring protected status on these sites, the pagan values of those earlier cultures receive honor and reverence they certainly don't deserve.

The two giant Buddha statues of Bamiyan, carved into the sides of sandstone cliffs in what is today Afghanistan, provide a case in point. Created about 15 centuries ago, the statues were the focal point of a once-thriving culture of Buddhist monasteries in the area. The Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb, a Muslim believer in monotheism, recognized the pagan evil of the statues and tried to destroy them centuries ago. UNESCO, on the other hand, included them on its official list of World Heritage Sites for preservation.

The former "Taliban" regime of Afghanistan, composed primarily of Soviet-trained Communists in religious disguise, actually went out of its way to protect the statues. It was not until international economic sanctions provoked the Taliban to lash back that they suddenly reversed course and destroyed the Buddha statues as a symbolic act — barely even trying to conceal the true reasons behind a bit of religious rhetoric. The act had its intended result; the United Nations and leading governments, including even the Vatican, protested the elimination of two of the world's largest idols, acting as if the statues were somehow "precious" simply by virtue of being old.

Such has been the impact of UNESCO's World Heritage Program that people commonly attribute a sense of awe or reverence for idolatrous artifacts from ancient cultures, and by extension, have developed a stronger tolerance or even respect for idolatrous religions today.

Relevant Torah Principles:
1) Under the Noahide commandment of idolatry, it is forbidden to worship idols or to believe in false gods; the penalty for violation is death. According to the Rambam (Maimonides), the Noahide Laws also prohibit the making or ownership of idols or the accessories of idolatry, giving honor to false gods (such as swearing in their names), and studying idolatrous religious practices and beliefs. These latter prohibitions, under the Noahide Code, have no prescribed penalty in human courts, but a person is answerable to G-d for such sins.

2) The Torah lays out a procedure for the "nullification" or neutralizing of idols through disrespectfully damaging them, such as by chipping off the nose of a statue of Buddha, Jesus, or Mary; such actions would allow the pieces or raw materials of the idol or its accessories to be used for other purposes, though not the intact idol itself. But this nullification does not work unless performed by an idolater who personally believes in and worships that particular false god. Once the idolatrous items fall into the possession of any Jew, or of a gentile who does not believe in that god, no nullification is possible. The idol and all of its accessories must be ground to dust and scattered to the four winds, so that no trace of them remains. Even the pieces and raw materials (or the dust itself) cannot be used for any other purpose.

Analysis:
Without question, all nations must withdraw from the UNESCO World Heritage Program and its governing treaty (and from the Communist-created and -controlled United Nations as well, while they're at it). All "World Heritage Sites" must lose their specially protected status.

But that's not nearly enough. It is wrong, and possibly forbidden by Torah, for many archaeological artifacts even to continue existing, since they are idolatrous in nature. The passage of time changes nothing; once worshipped (or used in pagan ceremonies), the objects remain eternally evil.

So while, for the sake of information and scientific investigation, it may be appropriate to document what items or ancient temples are discovered (perhaps even including photographing everything), there is no need to keep the artifacts or ruins themselves. They have no intrinsic value, they contribute nothing further to knowledge (once documented and described), and they are innately evil. So not only should they not be preserved, they must absolutely be destroyed. In general, any attitude of respect toward pagan religions must disappear.

The coming of the Messianic king and the Redemption means, among other things, that museums will find themselves seriously emptied of displays and many countries will lose some of their tourist attractions. But those losses are in the same general category as the approaching end of the illicit drug industry and prostitution. It's time for people involved in those pursuits to change their way of doing business — or get new jobs.

And now for this week's survey question:

How much should the U.S. participate in the international effort to limit nuclear proliferation? (1) Withdraw from the IAEA and refuse to participate. (2) Continue working to stop nuclear proliferation. (3) Start new, more aggressive efforts to prevent spread of nuclear weapons. (4) Other

Only one answer per e-mail address will be accepted; only e-mail addresses on our subscription list are eligible. Please send your input by Tuesday, May 30th, 2006, 12pm PST.

THE HALL OF SHAME…
Have Some Jewish Leaders Betrayed the Torah?

This week's example:
Rabbi Eliyahu Zev Brog, Cong. Bais Yisrael, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Brog was shown our PLO-defunding Proclamation last September 18th. He looked it over, then politely excused himself from participating, first by insisting that his signature wouldn't help (trying the false modesty approach), then reversing his excuse by claiming that his congregation — non-rabbis — were already signing various other petitions (although he didn't point any out in particular). Apparently the rabbi couldn't make up his mind whether his own signature was too unimportant or his congregants' less-official signatures were too important, but either way, the outcome was the same: He wouldn't sign, despite finding nothing wrong with the Proclamation or the PLO-defunding campaign.

Obviously he was worried about possible social ramifications of participating in some campaign not yet widely popular. Being a non-Lubavitch rabbi of a typical congregation in the heavily Jewish Flatbush area of Brooklyn, one can only imagine he was somehow concerned about his social standing in those non-Hasidic circles. The odd thing is that the Flatbush area is filled with Jews who have historically been among the most active pro-Israel Jews in America. So what on earth was Rabbi Brog worried about? Probably his own shadow!

…AND THE HALL OF FAME
Many Jewish Leaders Are Helping the JAHG-USA Campaign

This week's examples:
Rabbi Chanina Sperlin, Exec. VP, Crown Heights Jewish Community Council, Brooklyn, NY;
Rabbi Abraham Geller, Mirrer Yeshiva, Brooklyn, NY; and
Simcha Brailofsky, Mesivta Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, Brooklyn, NY

Rabbi Sperlin saw the PLO-defunding Proclamation last July 27th and signed without hesitation. He is a leader of the official organization governing the political affairs of the Lubavitch community in Brooklyn, and his voice therefore carries weight both among Lubavitch Jews and among non-Jews in New York politics.

Rabbi Geller teaches at the famous (non-Lubavitch) Mirrer Yeshiva in Brooklyn, and when approached with the Proclamation last August 3rd, read and signed it on the spot. His willingness to speak out contrasts with the shameful performance of Rabbi Nelkenbaum, the "refusenik" Assistant Dean of the same yeshiva profiled last week (who also supported the Proclamation, but was afraid to be identified with the yeshiva). Perhaps Rabbi Geller's common sense will ultimately push Rabbi Nelkenbaum to do teshuva ("return," or "repentance") and publicly endorse the life-saving JAHG-USA campaign.

Simcha Brailofsky, who works at a prominent "misnagged" (non-Hasidic) yeshiva in Brooklyn, saw the Proclamation the same day (August 3rd) and signed immediately. Although he works as an administrator and does not have the title "rabbi," Mr. Brailofsky comes from a community where it is common for Jews to grow up receiving more yeshiva education than many officially ordained rabbis. Certainly he knows Torah well enough to endorse the Proclamation with confidence, and he sets an excellent example for other orthodox leaders everywhere.

For a complete listing of all rabbis who have received our proclamation, the up-to-date status of their responses, and how you can help the campaign, visit ATTAC Report at http://www.attacreport.com/plo/.

Letters to the Editor

NOTE: We continue our publication of, and responses to, letters sent in during the last several weeks.

• (In response to the recent article on art, specifically to where we wrote, "Degrading or subversive art… must be completely censored — and the subversive artists executed before they can bring down the system into Communist anarchy and the Red Terror"):
"…As to what to do about today's art or lack thereof — the best path is to change people's hearts.… this can be difficult for modern-day Judaism, which not only does not believe in evangelizing, but is exceedingly exclusive, trying to keep people from converting.…" — DJ.

Our response to this letter, part 3: The Christian Church was established mainly as a spiritual weapon to divert people off the path of G-d's Truth (taught by his chosen nation, the Jews). It was created by Gnostic secret societies based in Egypt to lure and entrap Jewish souls; the Roman government later institutionalized and altered Christianity to target gentiles and keep them in darkness.

So of course, the Church has worked overtime to propagate the myth that Jews have no message for the world at large. To make sure the Jews cooperated and remained silent, Crusades and pogroms were incited against them, murdering hundreds of thousands of Jews and burning many thousands of copies of G-d's holy Talmud during the Middle Ages, just to ensure gentiles would never hear the Truth. Meanwhile, the Roman government carefully selected Greek writings claiming Jews have nothing to teach and compiled them as its "New Testament"; since then, priests and ministers keep the myth alive, solemnly telling their congregations that Jewish Law has no application to gentiles.

While it's true that Judaism now (and always in the past) strongly discourages conversion of gentiles to become Jewish and to follow the 613 Biblical commandments for Jews, that hardly means proselytization isn't part of Judaism. Now that Jews, in the modern world, have freedom of speech, that proselytization is returning and being rediscovered by gentiles.

The message for gentiles is commonly known as the "Noahide Laws," named for the fact that all people descend from Noah, who was re-commanded those Laws upon leaving the ark after the Flood. Though officially seven in number, the Noahide Laws incorporate the substance of as many as two or three hundred of the Jewish Laws in their content, often with differences in detail and application. But overall, the Noahide Code is considerably easier to follow than Jewish Law. A gentile who does teshuvah ("return" or "repentance") and commits himself to being obligated by the Noahide Laws is known as a "Hasidic Gentile," and he thereby gains eternal life; those who remain outside the Noahide Laws lack that everlasting "salvation."

Jews don't just preserve the knowledge of the Noahide Laws and their complex details; they are commanded to spread that knowledge and proselytize gentiles to become Hasidic Gentiles. The strength of this proselytizing obligation on Jews was summarized by the Rambam (Maimonides) about eight centuries ago (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 8:10; translation from the Hebrew is ours):

…But [a gentile] who did not want [to convert to Judaism], we do not force him to accept the [full] Torah and commandments [i.e., to become Jewish]. And therefore Moses was commanded from the Mouth of the Al-mighty to force all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments given to the descendants of Noah. And anyone who will not accept them is executed.…

The obligation to force conversion literally by the sword only applies, of course, when Jews have political power (otherwise it couldn't be carried out anyway). But another rabbinical sage of several centuries ago, pen-named the Tosafos Yom Tov, wrote in his commentary on the Mishnah portions of the Talmud (Pirkei Avos 3:14) that even when literal force isn't possible, Jews are still obligated to do the next best thing — namely, to proselytize aggressively through persuasion and education. (At times of persecution, such as in the Medieval Era, Jews are not obligated in this, either, since it brings danger of persecution or death.)

The Church leadership desperately wants to prevent gentiles from discovering the Jewish message of conversion (to become Hasidic Gentiles rather than Jews), but modern communication is causing the myth to unravel. And soon, with the coming of the Redemption, the Messiah will fulfill his role of forcing the entire world to come back under G-d's Law (the Noahide Laws).

The proselytization has just begun.

(Next issue: Part 4 of our response to this letter on the issue of theocracy and rule by G-d.)

Send your letter to the editor to newsletter@noahide.com.

Be sure to visit our Web site, Noahide.com.