The last few years could have been so different, if only we allowed the Torah to guide us. Shuls, yeshivos, businesses, and the rest of public life should never have been shut down. No one should ever have worn a mask, anywhere, not for one second. Family, friends, and neighbors should never have fallen for psy-ops and isolated themselves from one another, let alone turned against each other.
And, of course, not one single person, regardless of age or “risk factor”, should have taken any shots of Amalek juice that have maimed and killed so many.
I hope those who made mistakes, who were duped or pressured into choices that harmed themselves and others – and ultimately it was a choice – will take spiritual and material measures to rectify the situation as much as possible. I also hope those who did the duping and pressuring will face the consequences without further delay. If at some future point I am given the opportunity to pull the rope on the worst of them, I would consider it an honor and a mitzvah.
In the meantime, however, we must internalize the fundamental teachings from the Torah that would have guided us away from these mistakes. I have already written extensively about this, and will continue to provide more such teachings. We cannot rely on establishment rabbis – the worst of whom are Erev Rav, and the best of whom tend to lack courage and leadership qualities – to do all the thinking for us. We must continuously increase our own knowledge, engage in critical thinking, and refrain from just going along with something if it seems wrong.
Here are two brief Torah teachings that should have guided us, and would have guided us if the system wasn’t badly corrupted. Let us internalize them now and make sure that what happened in the last few years can never happen again.
The Rambam in Hilchos Sanhedrin 10:1 states:
אֶחָד מִן הַדַּיָּנִים בְּדִינֵי נְפָשׁוֹת שֶׁהָיָה מִן הַמְזַכִּין אוֹ מִן הַמְחַיְּבִין לֹא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאָמַר דָּבָר הַנִּרְאֶה לוֹ בְּדַעְתּוֹ אֶלָּא נָטָה אַחַר דִּבְרֵי חֲבֵרוֹ הֲרֵי זֶה עוֹבֵר בְּלֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה. וְעַל זֶה נֶאֱמַר (שמות כג ב) “וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה עַל רִב לִנְטֹת”. מִפִּי הַשְּׁמוּעָה לָמְדוּ שֶׁלֹּא תֹּאמַר בִּשְׁעַת מִנְיָן דַּי שֶׁאֶהֱיֶה כְּאִישׁ פְּלוֹנִי אֶלָּא אֱמֹר מַה שֶּׁלְּפָנֶיךָ
One of the judges in a capital case who is among those who rule in favor or against, not because he says something that seems correct in his own mind, but he turns after the words of his colleague – he transgresses a negative commandment. About this it says (Shemos 23:2) “Do not respond in a dispute to turn”. From the oral tradition they derive that one should not say at the time of the vote “It is enough that I should be like so-and-so”, but say that which is before you.
A judge, a rabbi, or anyone with decision-making responsibilities is duty-bound to think for himself and arrive at his own conclusions. He is not allowed to simply kowtow to others – even if they are highly qualified experts in their own right, and even if he ultimately agrees with them. He must express his independent opinion and reasoning behind it, and must rule according to what makes sense to him.
Nowadays it is common for a rabbi to add his name to a proclamation written by a third party (often with a dubious agenda) simply because other prominent rabbis signed it. This creates the illusion not only of a consensus, but one that was formed by careful, independent consideration of the matter by every rabbi on the list. In reality, it is simply one rabbi piggybacking on another for the sake of convenience and political expediency.
I personally know of a prominent Rosh Yeshiva in Brooklyn who appeared in a propaganda video in which he forcefully instructed the public to “get tested”, wear masks, and socially distance. I have this rabbi on a recording in which he divulged that he made this video because others had presumably looked into it, and they asked him to make these statements.
In other words, he had no idea what he was actually talking about, but there he was in a widely promoted video telling people what to do, pretending to be speaking in the name of the Torah as an authority figure. Not only that, he was giving people instructions with life and death implications, both physical and spiritual, yet he was nothing more than a mouthpiece.
Not only is this a dereliction of duty, it is a fundamental violation of halacha. A rabbi must do his homework before issuing a ruling, and he must arrive at his own conclusions (even after consulting with other rabbis). Furthermore, he must be prepared to justify these conclusions based on his own reasoning, and if he sides with one authority over another, he must explain why.
This is not only halacha, but it should be common sense.
The many rabbis who ordered us to behave like paranoid hypochondriacs, suffocate ourselves, and take Pfake medicine did not arrive at these conclusions through independent research and reasoning. If they were not outright bribed and blackmailed to issue these rulings, they kowtowed to others, speaking with a voice of authority that was as fraudulent as their message.
If these rabbis followed the halacha, they would never have conducted themselves in this fashion. If the public had this halacha in mind, they would have disregarded their words without a pang of guilt. Instead, many people were misled.
Let us never let this happen again.
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The Tur in Choshen Mishpat Hilchos Eidus 28:15 states as follows:
ירושלמי רב כד הוה חמי סהדי מכוונים הוה חקר כד הוה חמי סהדי הכן והכן הוה מכוון פירוש כשהיה רואה עדים שהיו אומרים עדותן מכוונים בלשון אחד היה חושש שמא משקרים ובעצה כיונו לשונם אחת והיה חוקר ודורש אותם אבל אם לא היו אומרים ממש בלשון אחד אלא זה אומר בכה וזה אומר בכה רק שתהא עדותן מכוונת בלא הכחשה לא היה דורש כל כך
We learned in the Yerushalmi, when Rav [note: our editions of Yerushalmi have it as Rav Huna] would see that witnesses would say their testimony with identical language he would worry that they were lying, and that they conspiratorially directed their tongues as one, and he would investigate and cross-examine them. But if they didn’t speak with actual identical language, but this one said it like this, and this one said it like that, just their testimony was parallel without contradiction, he would not cross-examine them so thoroughly.
How many times have we heard the media and other establishment operatives parrot the same script? What are the odds that everyone would decide all at once, entirely on their own, that those who have concerns and doubts are “conspiracy theorists” (whatever that even means)? That their toxic creations would be referred to by everyone specifically as “safe and effective” (the definition of which they quietly, conveniently obfuscated, as they routinely do, so they can trick people without technically lying)? That everyone up and down the establishment food chain, in every corner of the globe, who detest one another and can never agree on anything, would draw exactly the same conclusions about the “pandemic” and the radical, destructive measures that must be taken?
How could any rational person witness this and not be highly suspicious, no matter how they sold it and how badly we want to be able to trust our “leaders”?
We know that the bad guys are masters at overcoming our defenses. However, if we internalized this most basic and sensible halacha, we would have been protected. We would have been highly suspicious by the uniformity of the messaging, which indicates a conspiracy like little else, and we would have cross-examined the messengers with greater intensity.
Unfortunately, most people didn’t cross-examine them at all. Many of them paid dearly for this, and the carnage is ongoing.
Let us renew our commitment to be guided strictly by the Torah. In the merit of this we should be protected from our past mistakes, and prepared to deal with the challenges that surely lie ahead.
Rabbi Chananya Weissman is the author of hundreds of articles and seven books on a wide range of subjects. He is also the director and producer of a documentary, Single Jewish Male, and a series of short films. His work can be found at chananyaweissman.com and rumble.com/c/c-782463. He can be contacted at endthemadness@gmail.com.
We were warned and its time to heed the warning and maybe look into what Nostradamus predicted
American and Israeli Jewish leadership failed us. They blindly accepted the words of “experts” without question.
The COVID rules violated ALL past safety and legal procedures to impose an “experimental” inoculation. They were also “mandated” by unauthorized officials that threatened others with loss of employment. The “vaccine” makers were also legally shielded against adverse reactions including death from the vaccine.
Despite all these dangers the bulk of Jews in the U.S. and Israel blindly embraced the whole program. At the very least they should have demanded that those who mandated the shots should first prove that they were fully vaxxed. This demand never occurred to anyone.
Today with proof that these COVID shots are dangerous the Jewish leaders still remain compliant and confused.
As a passionate truth seeker, I prefer to get to the roots of issues so that we can get to the proper solutions & prevent further obstacles in the way of our Divine missions. So, you claim that the problems stem from our “MISLEADERs”.
Actually, it’s the “people” who CHOOSE their leaders, often unconsciously & out of unwillingness to put their feet down & truly test & vet the moral character of potential leaders. EVEN if they’d “test” up on the scale of good character, there needs to be established accountability checks as to how well the followers are doing in their lives.
No such system is in place. Surely ALL the guidance/hadracha/wisdom that we need to live an authentically wondrously healthy & abundant life is straight up in Torah. However, when “Torah” is shoved down the throats of youth and they’re induced to compete in the spitting back of the text, commentary, arguments, etc., what do think happens to our relationship with the Torah’s guidance???? ALL the dysfunction, illness, & early mortality is because of the fraudulent & damaging “Chinuch system” – including how we are DISeducated on how to enhance our personal well being, how to communicate, how to build a marriage relationship, & optimal parenting.
Blaming NEVER gets us anywhere! Taking responsibility takes us straight up huge mountains of Divine nachas!
As somone who believes in accuracy, I don’t see where I claimed “that the problems stem from our “MISLEADERs”.
I also disagree with your assertion that “Blaming NEVER gets us anywhere!” The Torah devotes quite a bit of space to blaming people, particularly corrupt leaders, you brought ruin on the people. There is no contradiction between holding the guilty accountable and taking personal responsibility.
Furthermore, corrupt leadership is self-perpetuating and quickly impairs the ability of young people to make responsible decisions. You cannot correct the problems in the education system that you correctly identify if you do not address the leadership who control it.
(I do find it odd that you proceed to blame a nebulous system, right before asserting that “blaming NEVER gets us anywhere”. It seems as if you innately recognize the necessity of blaming actual human beings, but cannot bring yourself to do so, so you blame a “system”, as if the system created and runs itself.)
Bottom line: those responsible for misleading the people must be held accountable AND people need to take responsibility for their own choices.
The US and China had a deal to keep the effects of the vaccine a secret. That should tell us all we need to know, this was on Judicial Watch.
A 1,100-Year-Old Hebrew Bible, Missing Only a Few Chapters of Genesis, Could Fetch Up to $50 Million at Auction
The Codex Sassoon could become the most valuable historical document to be sold at auction.
Hebrew Bible. In May, one of the oldest and most complete of these texts, the Codex Sassoon, is estimated to fetch between $30 to $50 million when it goes on auction at Sotheby’s.
Reaching the high-end of such an estimate would make it the most valuable historical document ever sold at auction. The lofty price tag is ascribed to its age (around 1,100 years old), its condition (though it’s missing the first 10 chapters of Genesis), and the precedent set by previous historic texts. In 1994, Bill Gates bought a Leonardo da Vinci manuscript for $30.8 million, and Ken Griffin, famously, paid $43.2 million for a first printing of the U.S. Constitution in 2021.
“ If at some future point I am given the opportunity to pull the rope on the worst of them, I would consider it an honor and a mitzvah.”
This makes me feel a little better, thank you, I will happily join you.
The World pHarma Organisation is at the heart of this. PHarma and the WHO cannot be separated they are the organisation that created this alleged virus and the dangerous injections.
They are part of the UN that considers itself the world governing body. It creates international law and it wants western white people exterminated. They should be removed now.
My old synagogue in Palm Springs, Temple Isaiah, adopted a stringent rule that all who were participating in services or special feast days had to have written proof of vaccination and also wear masks. For all practical purposes they excommunicated me and others like me.
It’s persecution against Religious organizations. No-one should be forced to take a vaccine that has proven to be deadly….all over the world, the statistics on deaths, miscarriages, heart attacks, blood clots, Parkinsons, cancer, and other neuromuscular maladies are documented. This is the beginning of the WHO and China dictating Health Care Policy to every nation
Know the Truth now, and Stand on God’s Word in the Days of Deception.
The Prophets of Old wrote about the Second Coming of Christ. It is Zechariah who gave us the clearest and most concise prediction of all.
Then the Lord will go forth And fight against the nations, As he fights in the day of battle. And in that Day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. Zechariah 14:3-4. Notice how Zechariah deals in specifics, even pinpointing the geographic location where Christ will return: “In that Day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. Zechariah 14:4. Revelation 1:7. the Bible is clear that every person will see Him descend to earth.
Dear Rabbi Weissman,
Your article is very inspiring, I was told that not wanting to go in the synagogue was my personal Erev Rav leading me. When I read you, I believe that it was unfair to wear a mask or get vaccinated, which I was lucky not to do, by pure context, not by real knowledge, just being too overwhelmed to do it. I also think that the term Lashon Hara is used to silence some truth, not really to prevent our tongues to say bad things. Even though, it’s a good intention not to speak badly from each other, I don’t really understand how we can denounce injustice, which is often bad, by not being allowed to describe it? You give hope with your common sense. Sincerely.
Thank you. The same is true about pretending to be shocked and offended every time someone makes a Holocaust reference. If we can’t compare anything to the Holocaust — especially to the events that led up to the actual genocide — then we cannot learn anything from the Holocaust and prevent it from happening again. “Never again” is an empty slogan. Everyone agrees that gassing and burning millions of people is bad. Now let’s have a real conversation about how the many, many people involved laid the groundwork for that to happen
Oh, but you can’t…that’s offensive, especially to those who are doing the same things today.
Dear Rabbi, thank you for your kind reply. Your point is very true. I read Primo Levi, Robert Antelme, Etty Hillesum, so I knew a little about what happened during the Shoah. I knew that some kapos were Jews, I learned here by Daniel Greenfield the childhood of George Soros. First my generation in Europe has no class on the Shoah, to the contrarily, Jews were murdered for economic reasons, that was the only point I heard. Then, I observed that the current global socialists are hidding behind the Holocaust to pretend being concerned. The number of them who are writing or playing about that period, pretending to be concerned by this jewish mass murders, but are hating the existence of Israel publicly everywhere, is another cover up. Plus, there is another big part, the fact that the Sepharadis were kicked out from all Muslims countries, but are still defending the Andalousia myth, behaving like dhimmis, is as bad as those who mocked that the Ashkenazis were killed only by their own sin. I think the mindsets of a lot of people are totally destroyed, hopefully, there are still people who are not totally damage and resist to the global cruaulty, very well described by Elias Canetti. It conforts me that not all Jewish leaders are behaving like dhimmis, I was very happy when I read your articles during the Covid tyranny, because your views are closer to my love for the Torah than what I was observing around me.
Often the reproach of human “authority” and the favor of God are the same thing
“Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to G0d.”
— Some of this former Republic’s more prominent Founding Fathers
When I saw so many of my observant brethren rushing to get poisoned with a so-called “vaccine” and masking up in order to “keep everybody safe”, I wondered if we still have, at some deep epigenetic level, a terror of being accused of being plague-carriers. If we do, we’d best get over it. If the world wants to equate us with Norway rats and the plague-causing fleas that inhabit them, let them. We need never go along with their revolting fantasies.
Not to excuse the outcome, but in defense of the rabbis who only repeated what they were told to say (by either rabbinic colleagues or medical personnel), I think it was unavoidable.
They were especially swayed by US Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt, who proclaimed back in 12/2020 that “the opinion of gedolim representing all sectors of Orthodoxy” – both in the USA and Israel – was in favor of the jab. He named them, and concluded, “The essentially unanimous psak of these contemporary gedolim from across the Orthodox spectrum is that taking these vaccines if your physician advises it is highly recommended.”
Glatt actually condemned the idea that people should research vaccines and trust their own judgment above all else – he said it came from “influences outside” the Torah community.
Glatt also came out in 06/2021 against using ivermectin or HCQ, calling it “outright ridiculous, incorrect information; it is simply sheker,” He denied that the jabs cause injuries or infertility. And he insisted that the jab “absolutely prevents the transmission of COVID,”
In Israel the haredim ordered all their people to get the jab, thanks to similar insiders working for the Health Ministry.
If what they are following isn’t Torah, that would explain it. But it would point to a much bigger problem.