Three of my bright and pretty Caucasian friends dated Jewish men. Two of these ladies married their Jewish partners. But the family of my friend’s partners openly referred to them with a condescending insult. To their face, they were called “shiksa”, meaning “whore”, a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew root, “sheigetz”, meaning “abomination.”

Needless to say, none of the relationships worked. Yet, this hatred for their son’s partner or wife because she was not Jewish, was absolutely breathtaking. I was told that this disdain for Gentiles derived from Talmudic teachings. Thus, my interest was piqued to research the Talmud—a task I felt I could accomplish without bias for although I believe in the omnipresence of God, I have absolutely no religious affiliation and, therefore, prejudice. This is a great convenience for, in our brief examination of the Talmud, we will also consider the principal books of three religions: Judaism, Islam and the Christian’s Old Testament.

The Torah, also called the Pentateuch and comprised of the first five books of the biblical Old Testament, is far different from the Talmud. Neither additions nor deletions may be made to the sacrosanct Torah. However, the Talmud is unique in this respect; it was created because the Hebrew geographical, societal and political dynamics were continuously changing; and since it is not under the same divine auspices of the sacred Torah, the Talmud could be changed and, therefore, has been adapted many times over thousands of years. It existed during the Babylonian migration of the Jews, and many centuries prior when it was primarily memorized, rather than transcribed, given from generation to generation through the spoken word. By the Sixth Century A.D., it was primarily preserved in written form. Later, in the Twelfth Century, physician-philosopher Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (1135-1204), commonly known as Moses Maimonides, wielded significant influence upon the Talmud and is considered the single greatest Jewish philosopher and codifier of Jewish law. So, the Talmud, over several centuries, possessed an adaptive progressiveness, in contrast to the immutable character of the Torah.

To be sure, the Talmud remains the social gyroscope of the Jews. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia states the Talmud is the real “Bible” of the Jews and it supersedes the Old Testament. Well-known Jewish author Herman Wouk seems to agree. He said, “The Talmud is to this day the circulating heart's blood of the Jewish religion. Whatever laws, customs or ceremonies we observe—whether we are orthodox, conservative or reform or merely spasmodic sentimentalists—we follow the Talmud. It is our common law.” Nasta Webster, came to a similar conclusion in Secret Societies and Subversive Movements: “The Jewish conception of the Jews as the Chosen People who must eventually rule the world, indeed, forms the basis of Rabbinical Judaism . . . The Jewish religion now takes its stand on the Talmud rather than on the Torah.” And, of course, we should consult the Talmud itself regarding the Judaic hierarchy of authority: “My son, be more careful in the observance of the words of the Scribes than in the words of the Torah.” The Talmud, Erubin 21b, Soncino edition.

Consequently, because of the center-stage presence of the Talmud before the backdrop of the Torah and Old Testament, I was eager to read this lodestar of the Jews . . . or to try. Upon my visit to a local Synagogue to examine the Talmud, the presiding rabbi said not only is it virtually impossible for the uninitiated to read, but, what is more, it is comprised of 80 volumes, all of which, I learned first-hand, are extremely large and cumbersome. Another rabbi told me the Talmud was contained in 60 volumes and yet another rabbi said it was within 36. Perhaps, there are many versions or sizes.

In contrast, the Koran is easy to read and is completely translated into English and many other languages. Although I do not subscribe to the Islamic faith, I found it to be quite user-friendly. Possibly, my knowledge of the Bible made its understanding much easier, for the Koran often refers to Old and New Testament characters, and always does so in a positive, respectful manner. However, I think most people can understand the Koran without a theologic background and without too much effort.

Of course, the Koran is religiously sectarian; that is to say, it egocentrically claims exclusivity to God. Those who do not accept its teachings are relegated as infidels, destined for judgement. The Old and New Testaments do likewise. Notwithstanding, the Old Testament is pleasant to read in parts; Psalms and Proverbs are particularly poetic; yet, there is a simultaneity of sublime and madness within the Bible that is difficult even for the believer to reconcile:

“From Jericho he (Elijah) went to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some young boys from the city began mocking him and making fun of him because of his bald head. He turned around and cursed them in the name of the Lord; and two female bears came out of the woods and killed forty-two of them.” The Old Testament, II Kings 2:23, 24. Elijah was, incidentally, a major prophet to the Israelites.

And, unlike the Bible, the Koran does not promote the idea that, if you are one of God’s people, you can, with a clear conscious, comfortably justify, and implement, genocide:

“. . . in the cities of these people that the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and Jebusites . . . ” The Old Testament, Deuteronomy 20: 17,18

“And suddenly the walls of Jericho crumbled and fell before them, and the people of Israel poured into the city from every side and captured it. They destroyed everything in it—men and women, young and old; oxen, sheep, donkeys—everything.” The Old Testament, Joshua 6:20b, 21

I remember when a child of seven, singing a Sunday school rhyme about the walls of Jericho falling down. We would raise our hands and when we sang the part about the walls falling down we would bring our hands down as though we were tearing down the wall and then we’d all fall on the ground and giggle. But I don’t recall pretending to slaughter of all the men, women, babies, children, the retarded, the crippled and the elderly who were not of our race, then pretending to slaughter all the animals for added spite.

“On that same day Joshua destroyed the city of Makkedah and killed its king and everyone in it. Not one person in the entire city was left alive. Then the Israelis went to Libnah. There, too, the Lord gave them the city and its king. Every last person was slaughtered, just as at Jericho. From Libnah, they went to Lachish and attacked it. And the Lord gave it to them on the second day; here ,too, the entire population was slaughtered, just as at Libnah. During the attack on Lachish, King Horam of Gerzer arrived with his army and tried to help defend the city, but Joshua’s men killed him and his entire army. The Israeli army them captured Eglon on the first day and, as at Lachish, they killed everyone in the city. After leaving Eglon, they went to Hebron, and captured it and all its surrounding villages, slaughtering the entire population. Not one person was left alive. Then they returned back to Debir, which they quickly captured with all its outlying villages. And the killed everyone just as they had at Libnah.” The Old Testament, Joshua 10:28 - 41.

Joshua was on a roll, so he killed the entire population—men, women, little boys and girls, babies, the blind, the lame, the sick and elderly—of more than 22 additional kingdoms: “Then he attacked and destroyed all the other cities of those kings. All the people were slaughtered, just as Moses had commanded long before.” The Old Testament, Joshua 11: 12, 13.

How very lovely . . . and more than a little schizophrenic. Now, let us depart from the Old Testament’s homicidal mania, and return to the more benign and much more benevolent Koran. The Koran is a book of meditation, written with the intention of being read in rather short settings during which time the reader reverently considers each day’s message. Therefore, it is repetitive. Besides this obvious difference from the Talmud, the Koran is not hateful in any way I recall. The only time it calls for fighting, indeed the singular case in which fighting of any kind is allowed, is upon the invasion of one’s country. Then every able bodied man must fight—a caveat that should have been carefully weighed, but probably was not, prior to the recent invasion of Iraq.

I recall no disrespectful comments about Christianity or Judaism in the Koran. In fact, the Koran demands utter respect for Jewish prophets and Christian apostles alike and, moreover, embraces them as integral, indeed, venerable parts of Islam. As in Christendom, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Jesus, Paul, John the author of Revelations and many others familiar to those who treasure the Bible are treated with all the visceral respect that rich orientalisms can afford.

After reading the Koran, I feel many of its critics are merely provocateurs, polarizing their own weak beliefs in order to protect them from, like the walls of Jericho, tumbling down. While I do not except the Koran as God’s word, it is mostly pleasing to read.

Contrawise, from my layman’s perspective, the Talmud appears to be somewhat discombobulated and is less than popular among many of those who have plumbed the depths of its secrets. Twentieth Century American writer, H.L. Mencken said, “I am one of the few Goyim (Jewish slang for Gentile) who have ever actually tackled the Talmud. I suppose you now expect me to add that it is a profound and noble work, worthy of hard study by all other Goyim. Unhappily, my report must differ from this expectation. It seems to me, save for a few bright spots, to be quite indistinguishable from rubbish . . ."

Among the most bazar Talmudic teachings are those concerning Jesus which Dr. Israel Shahak describes in his book, Jewish History, Jewish Religion; The Weight Of 3,000 Years. I should first introduce the author: Professor Shahak was Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he was a favorite among students for twenty-five years. American intellectual, author and confidant of United States Presidents, Gore Vidal, thought enough of Shahak and his book to write its foreword, a compliment of which any author would be truly proud. Israel Shahak appears to have been a descent friend of society, and perhaps its heroic champion, until his death at the age of 68.

Professor Shahak reports that on March 23, 1980, Zionist’s publicly burned the teachings of Jesus within hundreds of New Testaments in Jerusalem. They were burned in a ceremony sponsored by Yad Leakhim, a Jewish Religious organization subsidized by the Israeli Ministry of Religions. U.S. taxpayers, most of whom are Christians and who have given $90 billion dollars of their hard-earned money to Israel—and much more, will not be pleased.

Dr. Shahak says the Talmud explicitly teaches that Jesus Christ was born of a whore, had sex with his donkey, instantly went to hell upon his death on the cross and is being tortured there in human waste. I am not a Christian, nor a member of any other religion. Nevertheless, I find this altogether shocking. Beyond disrespectful, it is a brazen assault. Had it not been for Shahak’s impeccable character, I would presume these comments were contrived to make the Jews look bad. Yet, his observations are congruent with similar observations made over two millennium, creating an impressive cross-reference collaboration, a very few, for there are many, of which I have included in this essay.

Shahak says, “Jewish children are actually taught—passages such as that which commands every Jew, whenever passing by a cemetery, to utter a blessing if it is Jewish, but to curse the mothers of the dead if it is non-Jewish . . . it became customary to spit (usually three times) upon seeing a church or a crucifix . . .”

Shahak quotes the Talmudic Encyclopedia: “ If a Jew has coitus (sexual intercourse) with a Gentile woman, whether she be a child of three or an adult, whether married or unmarried, and even if she is a minor aged only nine years and a day—because she had willful coitus with her, she must be killed, and as is the case with a beast, because through her a Jew got into trouble.”

Professor Shahak also claims the Talmud teaches “only Jews are human and [Gentiles] are animals.”(Baba Mezia 114a-114b.) “For murder, whether of a Cuthean (Gentile) by a Cuthean, or of an Israelite by a Cuthean, punishment is incurred; but of a Cuthean by an Israelite, there is no death penalty.” (Sanhedrin57a) “Even the best of the [Gentiles] should be killed.” (Babylonian Talmud) “If a heathen [Gentile] hits a Jew, the Gentile must be killed. Hitting a Jew is hitting God.” (Sandhedrin 58b.) “If an ox of an Israelite gores the ox of a Canaanite, there is no liability; but if the ox of a Canaanite gores the ox of a Israelite . . . the payment is to be made in full.” (Baba Kamma 37b.) “If a Jew finds an object lost by a heathen (Gentile) it does not have to be returned.” (Baba Mezia 24a; affirmed also in Baba Kamma 113b.) “What a Jew obtains by theft from a Cuthean (Gentile) he may keep.” (Sanhedrin 57a) “[Gentiles] are outside the protection of the law and God has exposed their money to Israel.” (Baba Kamma 37b.) “Jews may use lies to circumvent a [Gentile].” (Baba Kamma 113a.) “All [Gentile] children are animals.” (Yebamoth 98a) “[Gentiles] prefer sex with cows.” (Abodah Zarah 22a-22b.)

Protestant Reformation leader, the Reverend Martin Luther, seems to collaborate Shahak’s comments. In a sermon at Eisleben, a few days before his death in February, 1546, Luther said, “If a thief steals ten gulden he must hang; if he robs people on the highway, his head is gone. But a Jew, when he steals ten tons of gold through his usury is dearer than God himself! Do not their Talmud and rabbis write that it is no sin to kill if a Jew kills a heathen, but it is a sin if he kills a brother in Israel? It is no sin if he does not keep his oath to a heathen. Therefore, to steal and rob (as they do with their moneylending) from a heathen, is a divine service . . . I maintain that in three fables of Aesop there is more wisdom to be found than in all the books of the Talmudists and rabbis and more than ever could come into the hearts of the Jews . . .”

Author and intellectual F. Trocase, said, "No obstacle discourages them; they persevere throughout the world, throughout the centuries, the unity of their race. The Talmud has given them a powerful organization which modern progress has been unable to change. Deep, ineradicable hatred of everything that is not Jewish stimulates them in war which they wage against Christian Society, which is too divided to be able to fight with the necessary energy."

In Israel: Son Passe, Son Avenir, M. H. de Heeklingen wrote: “The former Rabbi Drach, who converted to Catholicism, says that the Talmud contains ‘a large number of musings, utterly ridiculous extravagancies, most revolting indecencies, and, above all, the most horrible blasphemies against everything which the Christian religion holds most sacred and most dear. In the matter of the translation of the Talmud by non-Jews, we have always preferred that of Luzsensky, whose accuracy has been established by the Courts. In 1923, the Public Prosecutor of Hungary caused his Hungarian Talmud to be seized on account of ‘attack on public morals’ and ‘pornography.’ The horrors contained in the translation of Alfred Luzsensky are to be found, without exception, in the Talmud. His translation is correct, in that it renders these passages, which are actually to be found in the original text of the Talmud, after their true meaning.”

Houston Stewart Chamberlain, world famed author of Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, Vol. I, page 337, wrote: “In a book, republished in 1880, by a Spanish Jew (Mose de Leon) Jesus Christ is called a "dead dog" that lies "buried in a dunghill." Besides, the Jews have taken care to issue in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century several editions of the so-called "censured passages" from the Talmud, those passages usually omitted in which Christ is exposed to our scorn and hatred as a "fool," "sorcerer," "profane person," "idolater," "dog," "bastard," "child of lust," etc . . . so, too, His sublime Mother."

These Talmudic anti-Gentilisms, sacredly preserved in Jewish writ, appear to be a source of anti-Semitism. Perhaps, they are the principle source. And it appears that the Talmud, with its anti-socialities, encourages deliberate self-estrangement from the societies in which its adherents enjoy sanctuary, principally for the betterment of their internationalism, but not for the betterment of their country of citizenship. The Talmud succeeds in fraternal consistency with its, to state it mildly, social tensions. But social tensions begets social tensions. So, although it provides social cohesion, is it worth the price?

What is more, considering the Talmud from a psychologic perspective, we see a classic case of projection wherein which our wrongs, those things about our self that a blind eye is subconsciously turned, is projected into another. Hence, many people feel quite good, especially religious and patriotic, when calling other people bad or evil. Yet, should we think or speak this way, it often simply means we have identified a trait about ourselves we feel is bad or evil. And, irony upon irony, those who commit an offense inspired of this mentality, regularly and energetically, accuse the innocent victim whom they offended of the very offense they themselves have made: a thief will often boisterously, vigorously accuse his victim of thievery. This is simple self-projection and seems to be embodied within the Talmud and Neoconist, Zionist behavior.

Now that we know the secret of the Talmud, the character assassinations of anti-Semitism hurled upon us for the mildest question or criticism shall no longer have effect except to exalt the accuser to the stratosphere of hypocrisy of which none other can come near. For what other group of people upon the Earth possesses a written sacrament of hating others yet loudly bellows foul with an epithet like anti-Semitic? Now we know the accusation “anti-Semitism” is nothing more than a projection of their own true feelings—those of anti-Gentilism.

And, indeed, since these self-imposed Talmudic social alienations seem to be their tribal cohesion, what would happen upon the Jews compliance to the divine injunction to repatriate to Israel? Should all the Jews obey God and return to Israel as residents, they would out-number the Palestinian residents of Israel. They would be a majority. How, then, could they implement these perceived ancient racial superiorities within a near homogenous society? With a limited number of others to exclude and revile, would they no longer be galvanized as a tribe? And, if they truly believe they are superior, why is it necessary to be a hemispheric tribe? Would not they be able to compete as individuals without the systemic support of their global cartel? Would not their superiority allow them to live together self-sufficiently in Israel? Would not their collective superiorites create their emancipation from utter and absolute dependence upon the U. S. taxpayer?

In consideration of the Talmudic question, I propose a pacifistic, non-religious solution: I feel rabbis have a responsibility to preserve their rich and ancient culture. This is very good and very important. At the same time, it is equally important, indeed, paramount, that rabbis openly expose the barbaric Talmudic teachings for I feel these anti-Gentilisms are the central cause of anti-Semitism. Therefore, as a pacifist and non-religionist, I call upon rabbis, and all religions and faiths, to utterly abandon hate of people and cultures . . . to recognize the obvious good within people like my virtuous friends who were so brutally insulted by their partner’s Jewish family because they were Caucasian . . . to instead, with an ever present knowledge of God, forsake religious dogma . . . to confess the secret and embrace the human family. As Israel Shahak so boldly taught us by the example of his life, they will be warmly welcomed.