http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=20

I'm very conflicted about this article. While I can't stand proselytizers, I also don't like the bigotry of the tolerant that I see here so often. I do appreciate the author's attempts to show the humanity of the other, but I don't like his dishonesty in doing so. Ah well

BTW, it is mathematically impossible for any one person to fulfill all 613 Commandments for Jews. Some are only for men, some only for women. Some are for Levi'im, some for Cohanim, some for the Cohain Gadol only. The Jesus character in the Greek Bible was neither a Levi nor a Cohain.

Finally, some Commandments come into play when one breaks another Commandment. For example, if you steal and you want to make reparations, you need to pay back double.

doth protest too much...

You got the point of my nickname.

Don't hit men. Ever. What's good for the gander is good for the goose.

I think that Obama's taking the right action with regards to Iran.

don't hit her back. Tell her she's fat and ugly and that no one will ever love her.

until we need to start borrowing in hard currency.

As someone who's been critical in the past, lemme just say good on you, and Jim Webb.

The word "Bible" is itself a very loaded term. When speaking with people of other beliefs, I use the terms "Hebrew Bible" and "Greek Bible". If anyone else has another suggestion, that'd be great.

Judaism and Christianity are very different one from the other. There's not enough space to cover it adequately here, but my nickname is a hint: the P'rushim (Pharisees) are heroes to us, having saved the Oral Tradition from extinction. Every single Jew in this country is a spiritual descendant of the Pharisees, in a manner of speaking.

Thanks Mr. Lind for pointing this out in your article.

"An eye for an eye" is a purposeful mistranslation of Torah by the King James translators. Nowhere in Torah does it command removal of body parts in exchange for body parts.

The term "Slave" in Torah is really not a good translation. Servant is better.

There are two types of "slave" in Torah: a Jewish slave and a Canaanite slave. Without getting into too much detail, Jewish servitude is a punishment for theft, while Canaanite servitude is preparation for conversion.

The Eighth Commandment explicitly prohibits the kind of chattel servitude practiced in this country. If Canaanite servitude were so awful, then why would a non-Jew trick a rich Jew into buying him (Tractate Bava Metzia, 59b-60a)?

Yes, you're right, misunderstanding those phrases has been a problem for a long, long time.

The Rambam was complaining about it before English came about.

1) They're in Hebrew, not English.

2) They don't fit on monuments very well.

3) #6 is Don't Murder, not Don't Kill.

4) #8 is Don't Kidnap, not Don't Steal (that's later, in Leviticus)

5) They are only Commandments for Jews.

6) Non-Jews have a separate set of Commandments known as the Noachide Laws.

While the US Constitution was influenced by Talmud, among other things (the Fifth Amendment was very influenced by Talmud, for example), the Halakha and the US Constitution are very different one from the other.

He's got that Strom Thurmond thing going now.

"in mean-girl parlance, comments like such as this that wrap a high insult within a thin compliment are known as 'undermining.'"

Huh? Here's a lesson for all women: men don't get hints. It takes many years and lots of love for a man to realize that when you say it's cold in here, you really want him to shut the window.

So, since it takes 2 to make an insult (one to give, one to accept), if you want to be bitchy, be clear.

Salon never seems to learn, does it?

There is no debate to speak of. Religious Jews (and Muslims) will continue to circumcise their boys no matter what anyone else thinks, what laws are passed and especially what some idiot Israeli woman thinks.

If somehow laws were passed banning infant male circumcision, we would break them. No way will our boys grow up intact.

Articles like this accomplish nothing but sensation. Better to write an article about Paris Hilton.

Non-Jews, do whatever you want.

There are so many more important things in the world. Your feelings won't change anything, nor will it prevent a baby boy from having the tip of his penis removed. There will be no law preventing it.

Your white hot rage will only hurt yourselves. There's nothing to see here. Move on with your lives.

As for Ms. Elon, I wonder how she'll face her son's rage when he chooses to have his foreskin removed later in life, when he'll remember the pain and the humiliation. What an idiot.

Just so you know, I'm not the only Pharisee around. Al Franken, Joe Lieberman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Roseanne, Jerry Seinfeld, Lenny Kravitz, that idiot Israeli woman, we're all Pharisees.

And AmyLeeTan, I prefer to get my information about Jewish Law from the Talmud rather than Google. I know you're a lunatic, but for anyone else out there who may be in doubt, no, an uncle is not allowed to marry his niece according to the Halakha.

You're absolutely right. 98% of the time, it's just a way for people to express their anti-Semitism/anti-Torah perspectives through a socially acceptable screen.

Thanks.

You say it like it's a bad thing!

Again, for non-Jews, snip, don't snip, don't care either way.

Sorry you hate Torah so much. I'd bet good money that you're a closet case. C'mon man, say it loud, say it proud! I'm a Jew and I want to do Mitzvahs!

You know you want to. You wouldn't care so much about this trivial issue if your Pintele Yid didn't want to come out and play...