Underneath his brief explanation, Bilzerian posted twelve quotes allegedly taken from the Talmud. “If a Goy hits a Jew he must be killed,” one reads. “A Jew may ‘violate’ but not marry a non-Jew girl,” says another.
Needless to say, Bilzerian’s “quotes” are either mistranslated, decontextualized, or entirely made-up. Rabbis including Yisrael Eliashiv and Daniel Rowe have taken to social media to combat the misinformation, painstakingly analysing each reference, in keeping, ironically, with the traditions of Jewish scholarship that the Talmud exemplifies.
Orthodox Jews gather to celebrate the completion of study of the entire Talmud religious text at MetLife Stadium on August 1, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Up to 90,000 Orthodox Jews attended the celebration in 2012 (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)Getty Images
Some quotes on the viral graphic are entirely falsified. Tosfot Yevamot 84b for example does not say If you eat with a Goy it’s the same as eating with a dog,” Gad. Shas 2:2 – allegedly that “a Jew may violate but not marry a non-Jewish girl” – is also fictional. In fact, Gad. Shas is not an abbreviation for any Tractates of the Talmud.
Others are falsely quoted, or mistranslated – something Rabbi Rowe says is not surprising, given the complexity of the Talmud. “It is very difficult to read the Talmud,” he explains, “even if you have studied it for a long time. This makes it even harder for the average person to immediately refute these claims”.
The viral post, for example, quotes Sanhedrib 58b as saying “If a Goy hits a Jew he must be killed”. Leaving aside the deliberately provocative translation, this is not exactly what Rabbi Chanina is saying. He argues that if a non-Jew were to hit a Jew, they would deserve to be killed. Jewish law, though, states that a non-Jew would not be executed for this. As Rabbi Eliashiv explains, this extract is an opinion about what ought to happen to someone if they commit a crime, not what will under the law. Reading the Talmud with the intention of looking for the worst possible interpretation, though, leads to the publicised quote – and suggests, entirely falsely, that Jewish law devalues non-Jewish life.
A boy looks on as tens of thousands of Ultra Orthodox Jews attend Siyum HaShas, a celebration marking completion of a seven-and a half year daily study-cycle of the entire Babylonian TalmudEach of the 2711 pages of the Talmud is studied in sequence, one day at a time. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)Getty Images
The Talmud is “fertile ground for antisemitism,” Rabbi Rowe, the former executive director of Aish UK, told The JC. “It’s the most natural target of antisemitism, and it’s been going on for centuries”. “Obviously, the Torah has historically been very hard for Christians to attack, because it’s the Old Testament, but the Talmud is something separate, and it’s easy to attack because it’s so hard to access and understand – so it’s seen as a secret document”.
Orthodox Jewish boys study the Hebrew Talmud in the Jewish area of Warsaw, 1938. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)Getty Images
While attacking the Talmud may be a feature of historical antisemitism, its latest iteration is as modern as it is ancient. “There’s a lot of anger against Israel and the Jews at the moment,” Rabbi Rowe explains. “Antisemitism is not a standard bigotry,” he says, “and the trajectory is unique. It is always demonisation, and it’s always about justifying that demonisation. People want to justify their emotional hatred of Jews, and say ‘Look, these guys are really hateful and really demonic,’ and people are primed to believe this”.
The latest viral graphic certainly plays into pre-concieved antisemitic tropes. Take Bava Kamma 113a, which is quoted as “Jews may use lies to circumvent a ‘Goy’ Gentile”.
Examining the extract properly is important here. This quote comes from a discussion about tax collectors who were extorting both Jews and non Jews, by asking them to pay taxes they did not owe. The Talmudic argument here is that in this case, Jews can – according to halacha – lie to circumvent this, to protect themselves and their money. Somehow, a discussion over how Jews can protect themselves from extorsion has become a quote that “reveals” Jewish extorsion of non Jews. Why? Of course, a preconceived understanding of Jews as scheming and conniving.
Another quote included in the graphic is from Bava Matzia 24a – that “If a Jew finds an object lost by a Gentile ‘Goy’, it does not have to be returned”. This is also taken out of context. The relevant portion of the Talmud is a discussion over whether a Jew can keep an object found lost after a flood or taken by a wild animal. The debate is precise – is the object now ownerless or not? According to Rabbi Shimon, it depends whether the owner is still expecting to find the lost object (if so, it is not ownerless) or if he has given up. If he has given up, it is ownerless, and free to keep. Effectively, a slightly more complex “finders keepers”.
The only reference to non-Jews is that – at the time – it was considered that non-Jewish societies were less likely to return lost goods, so if a non-Jew were to lose an object, he would likely immediately assume he wouldn’t get it back, making the object “ownerless” and free to keep. The rule of thumb, then? If you’re in a non-Jewish area and find a lost object? Keep it. But through an intentionally provocative translation, and a simplified framing, the instruction sounds malicious, and offensive to non-Jews.
Actively antisemitic interpretations of the Talmud, like these – have traditionally been a feature of what Rabbi Rowe calls the “Neo-Nazi world,” but now, it is spreading.
“That’s where it’s been circulating,” he says, “but now there is a lot of interest in trying to connect ancient Jewish texts to the idea of Israel being a ‘demonic state’”.
“I’ve had Muslim people, and lots of people on the left, reaching out to me very genuinely to ask if these things are true,” Rabbi Rowe explains, “which means that this stuff, which used to be just the realm of Neo Nazis, is becoming mainstream”.
Social media doesn’t help. In fact, on X, Tiktok, and Facebook, misinformation about the Talmud spreads at “a really shocking rate,” Rowe says. “It’s everywhere”.
Still, Rowe is hopeful. “It’s also important not to get despondent because of the darkness in the world,” he says. “We have to keep shining a light on what is true and what goodness is out there, and people will understand that. We shouldn’t be listening to a very loud minority”.
But, with Dan Bilzerian’s post reaching almost six million people, and more where that came from, you have to wonder if the minority is just growing in volume, or numbers, too.
