Tears of Jihad

270 million killed by Muslims.

Islam began with killing of unbelievers right from the start.

For the first century of its existence, Islam was absolutely soaked in blood. The killing only slowed down as the Islamic empire finally ran into boundaries in the 8th century, after about a century of expansionist, imperialist, unprovoked Islamic aggression. Even after the initial expansion slowed, the killings did not end.

These figures are a rough estimate of the death of non-Muslims by the political act of jihad.

Africa
Thomas Sowell [Thomas Sowell, Race and Culture, BasicBooks, 1994, p. 188] estimates that 11 million slaves were shipped across the Atlantic and 14 million were sent to the Islamic nations of North Africa and the Middle East. For every slave captured many others died. Estimates of this collateral damage vary.

The renowned missionary David Livingstone estimated that for every slave who reached a plantation, five others were killed in the initial raid or died of illness and privation on the forced march. [Woman’s Presbyterian Board of Missions, David Livingstone, p. 62, 1888] So, for 25 million slaves delivered to the market, we have an estimated death of about 120 million people. Islam ran the wholesale slave trade in Africa.

Christians
The number of Christians martyred by Islam is 9 million [David B. Barrett, Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2200, William Carey Library, 2001, p. 230, table 4-10] . A rough estimate by Raphael Moore in History of Asia Minor is that another 50 million died in wars by jihad. So counting the million African Christians killed in the 20th century we have:

60 million Christians

Hindus
Koenard Elst in Negationism in India gives an estimate of 80 million Hindus killed in the total jihad against India. [Koenard Elst, Negationism in India, Voice of India, New Delhi, 2002, pg. 34.] The country of India today is only half the size of ancient India, due to jihad. The mountains near India are called the Hindu Kush, meaning the “funeral pyre of the Hindus.”

80 million Hindus.

Buddhists
Buddhists do not keep up with the history of war. Keep in mind that in jihad only Christians and Jews were allowed to survive as dhimmis (servants to Islam); everyone else had to convert or die. Jihad killed the Buddhists in Turkey, Afghanistan, along the Silk Route, and in India. The total is roughly 10 million.

Jews
Oddly enough there were not enough Jews killed in jihad to significantly affect the totals of the Great Annihilation. The jihad in Arabia was 100 percent effective, but the numbers were in the thousands, not millions. After that, the Jews submitted and became the dhimmis (servants and second class citizens) of Islam and did not have geographic political power.

This gives a rough estimate of 270 million killed by jihad.

"Egypt was 14.5 Million people when first opened in Umar's time. When Napoleon walked in 1000 years later, the country was down to 2.5 Million people. 1000 years of bad management causing famines, ethnic cleansings, genocides, revolts. And that happened to one of the world most advanced civilizations.

1000 years and instead of increasing, instead of remaining 14.5 Million, they went down to 2.5 Million.

Islam is aids. Whoever in bed with it will be infected and die eventually. I used to say Islam is cancer, every muslim is a cancer cell in our society. Though some cancer cells may not or never spread, but once it does, it kills you. Now I found cancer is better than islam, at least cancer is not contagious.

Israel and Lebanon Gas Dispute

Massive Leviathan, Tamar Natural Gas Fields Poised to Transform Israel Into Energy Exporter

Israel’s Massive Natural Gas Reserve Discoveries Draw Enemy Eyes

Introduction

Lebanon going according to the old method, that by which were determined in the past most of the sea bounds : Take the point in which situated the border, and appoints stretch a straight line towards one. If one state situated conscience is second, and the coastline passes, generally speaking, conscience to the south, stretch a line that stands to him, i.e., westernizes to the east, and this is the border. According to this method, everything that situated conscience to the head pecked your Shais to Lebanon, and only what belongs from south to the head pecked your Shais to Israel. This is the Lebanese assertion.

Israel, in contrast, bases on method more modern, that acceptable in the current discussions between states on lines of the border are sea. This also the method that by which we will set the sea border between Israel and Jordan and Egypt, and also between Turkey and Syria in their peace agreement in2005. According to this method, the borderline needs to be stands to the exact route of the beach. Inasmuch as that our beach is stretched from southwest to the north east, also in Israel and also in Lebanon, as you know/but that the sea border need to be stretched in the stands him, i.e., in advance pecked north westward.

When stretch the sea border in advance pecked north westward until half of the way to Cyprus, arrive at the water that situated many northward to the head pecked, and even northward to Metulla. This is the base to the assertion that the directories of the gas, that part of them situated westward to Lebanon and not westward to Israel, belong to our economic water.

I.e. : If base on the norms more the up to date, as we know, Israel is right.

Yes.

Future War?

Tamar & Leviathan

The last 2 years have seen blessings bestowed on the State of Israel with the discovery of massive natural gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean by Texas based Noble Energy & Israeli consortiums. Discoveries within arms reach of the Israeli coast and within our territorial waters. In 2009 the Tamar Israel discovery rippled across energy markets, Tamar discoveries can power 50% of Israel’s energy needs for the next 4 decades.

Now in 2010 a new unbelievably larger reserve named Leviathan may yield massive amounts of natural gas, estimated at possibly twice the size of Tamar! If Leviathan yields, it can transform Israel into a global energy exporter.

The Leviathan natural-gas site off the Haifa shore could be twice the size of the Tamar prospect, the largest gas discovery globally in 2009, and position Israel as a gas exporter in coming years. Today is a day of celebration for all of us. The State of Israel is an energy independent country.

Lebanon & Its Embarrassing, Ugly Islamic Step Child – Hezbollah

Of course, If Israel has it, you can rest assured Hezbollah wants to lay its greedy little Islamofacist hands on it. The exploratory permits licensed to Noble and its partners where these discoveries are being made are clearly off Israeli waters.

The Lebanese know that the messy little country they have thanks to their pals like Syria & Hezbollah will not draw the billions in foreign exploratory & drilling investment needed to tap whatever reserves may be off their own coast. That has not stopped Lebanon jealously eyeing Israel’s new reserves, or Hezbollah from issuing threats. After all, Israel belongs to them as per Hezbollah ‘logic’ – Muslim lands occupied by Zionist invaders!

Hizbullah: Israel’s Gas Belongs to Us

Hizbullah claims that that the natural gas fields recently discovered in the Mediterranean, belong to Lebanon and warned Israel against extracting gas from them.

Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri told “AFP”, “Israel is racing to make the case a fait accompli and was quick to present itself as an oil emirate, ignoring the fact that, according to the maps, the deposit extends into Lebanese waters. Lebanon must take immediate action to defend its financial, political, economic and sovereign rights.”

Marine law expert Amir Cohen-Dor of the S. Friedman & Co. told “Globes” that the Dalit and Tamar gas fields are within Israel’s contiguous economic zone, and that under the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention, Israel can exploit resources in its economic zone.

Gas War Zone?

Both Hezbollah & the Lebanese Parliament which are today one & the same are getting in on the threats. Make no mistake, this is a threat against infrastructure, pipelines, rigs, shipping and investment needed to tap the reserves that will all be required in the future. The Lebanese have gone so far as to issue veiled war threats..

Lebanese parliamentarians made similar accusations following the discovery of the Tamar and Dalit gas reserves in 2009.

Halami Mussa said, “The area where the seismic survey was carried out is offshore from the coast of Lebanon, between the international border of Palestine and Cyprus.” He utterly ignores the presence of Israel.

The Ministry of National Infrastructures Map of Petroleum Rights shows that the Tamar license, as well the licenses that make up the Leviathan structure are located west and northwest of Haifa, south of the Israel-Lebanese border

Potential for Conflict is Real

With Israeli sovereignty being questioned as usual by Islamists & terrorists, and Lebanon laying absurd claim to Israeli natural gas discoveries the potential for conflict is real. Israeli withdrawals from Lebanon have been certified by the UN, yet that did not stop Hezbollah from launching a war in 2006. The Israeli coastal demarcations are also clear, there is little reason to believe that will stop Hezbollah or its patrons from trying to initiate conflict, terrorism & violence either.

This is part and parcel of the Noble partnership with Israel. Infrastructure - both sea based and land based to process the LNG will need to be patrolled, secured. The State may even be forced into war to secure safe resource extraction.

Lieberman slams Lebanese rejection of borders: 'Hezbollah looking for friction, but we won't give up what is rightfully ours'

Landau added: "The border between us and them has been unequivocally set – this is our legally and professionally-based opinion that will be placed on the table of the UN,"

Peace and even clean burning energy in the Middle East does not come cheap.

Arab and Muslim Death Toll

"In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful"
The following list shows the death toll from internal conflicts in the Islamic World since the end of WWII to the present.

The list specifically is only partial of the total Muslim death toll and excludes the death toll in conflicts that involved foreign non-Arab or non-Muslim forces, for example the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s, or the U.S. invasion of Iraq in the 2000s. Which means that the death toll on the list is solely the result of conflicts, wars, and genocide campaigns within or among Arab or Muslim majority countries.

It is evident that far more Arabs and Muslims were killed by other Arab or Muslim countries than by Israel – in fact, about 100 times more!

Alger's Civil War 1990-1998

The Algerian Civil War was an armed conflict between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups which began in 1990. It is estimated to have cost between 100,000 to 200,000 lives.

Chadian–Libyan Conflict 1978-1987

The Chadian–Libyan conflict was a state of sporadic warfare events in Chad between 1978 and 1987 between Libyan and Chadian forces. The 1987 war resulted in a heavy defeat for Libya, lost one tenth of its army, with 7,500 troops killed. Chadian losses were 1,000 troops killed. Total, 8,500

Chad's Civil War 2005-2010

The civil war in Chad began in December 2005. According to the United Nations, Despite of 30,000 dead people, Chad has been affected by a humanitarian crisis since at least 2001. As of 2008, the country of Chad hosts over 280,000 refugees from the Sudan's Darfur region, over 55,000 from the Central African Republic, as well as over 170,000 internally displaced persons.

Sudan's Genocide 1950-present

The conflict in Sudan has many faces, the best known are a ‘North-South’ conflict, ‘that problem in Darfur’ or an ‘Arab-African’ conflict. Death is no stranger in Tawila, Sudan, where thousands of Darfurians are crowded into a sprawling, makeshift refugee camp. 2.6 million people have been killed and another 2.5 million people have been displaced and are living in refugee camps, mostly in Chad.

Somalia's Civil War 1977-present

The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1977, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces. UN humanitarian information unit: estimate of 500,000 people have been killed.

Lebanese Civil War 1975-1990

The Lebanese Civil War lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people (a quarter of the population) were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced.

Syria, 1982 - Hama Massacre

In 1982 the Syrian government killed 30,000 – 40,000 of its own citizens. Assad leveled an entire city with an air bombardment followed by artillery and tank fire. Why? They were anti Baath party, and apparently in 1982 in Syria that was a death sentence…

Jordan, Black Spetember 1970

The nature of the Arab purpose in Palestine was illumined, was indeed dramatised, by the clash between the terrorist organisations and the Jordanian government that began September 1970. Arafat claimed that 10,000 had been killed.

Turkey - Kurdistan 1984-present

The Turkey – Kurdistan conflict is an armed conflict between the Republic of Turkey and various Kurdish insurgent groups, which have demanded separation from Turkey to create an independent. From August 1984 to June 2007, the Turkish government put the total casualties at 37,979 dead kurds. According to human rights organisations since the beginning of the uprising 4,000 villages have been destroyed, in which between 380,000 and 1,000,000 Kurdish villagers have been forcibly evacuated from their homes.

Kurdish-Iraq War 1961–1970

By early 1960, it became apparent that Qasim would not follow through with his promise of regional autonomy. As a result, the KDP began to agitate for regional autonomy. A peace plan was announced in March 1970 and provided for broader Kurdish autonomy. 105,000 people died during this war, with little achivements to both sides.

Iraq, Saddam Hussein 1979-2003

The total number of deaths related to torture and murder or wars during this period are unknown. Human rights officials" est: 500,000, Iraqi politicians est:: over a 1,000,000

Iran's Islamic Revolution 1978-1979

Demonstrations against the Shah commenced in October 1977, developing into a campaign of civil resistance that was partly secular and partly religious, and intensified in January 1978. Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, stated that between 60,000 - 80,000 men, women and children were martyred by the Shah's regime,and these numbers appears in the constitution of the Islamic Republic.

Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988

The Iran-Iraq War, which ended in August 1988, one month short of its eighth anniversary, was one of the longest, bloodiest and costliest Third World armed conflicts in the twentieth century. 1,000,000 people have been killed, over than one million wounded and over than 2 million refugees.

Tajikistan's Civil War 1992-1997

The June 27, 1997 Peace Accord opened a new phase in Tajikistan's short history, formally ending the civil war begun in 1992. The war left at least 50,000 dead and 700,000 displaced people.

Bangladesh War of 1971

In East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) the President of Pakistan, General Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan, and his top generals planned to murder its Bengali intellectual, cultural, and political elite. They also planned to indiscriminately murder hundreds of thousands of its Hindus and drive the rest into India. Estimate of 1,500,000 people have been killed.

Indonesia 1965-66

One of history's biggest massacres ever took place, is in Indonesia in 1965/66, when around over than 400,000 people were killed in the suppression of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). The killings in Indonesia started when a group of army officers loyal to President Sukarno assassinated several generals on 30 September 1965.

East Timor 1975-1999

East Timor was occupied by Indonesia from 1975 to 1999 as an annexed territory with Indonesian provincial status. Estimates of deaths during the occupation range from 150,000 to 200,000

Massacres are still taking place in many Arab countries as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Irqa, Libya, Syria, and many other Arab/Muslim countries.. Shooting, beheading, suicide bombing, hanging, etc. Up to 135 places around the world under Muslim attack. Muslims are killing Muslims AND none-Muslims.

Total of 51,000 Arabs have been killed by Israel since 1948. Not to mention it was self defense actions of Israel while the Arabs wanted to wipe Israel from the global map and to exteminate the Jews.

Yet, no other country’s actions are delegitimized by Arab countries like Israel’s. No other country’s right to exist is challenged and threatened by Arab countries like Israel’s. No other country’s actions are called “blood-thirsty“, “genocidal“, “terrorist“, or “Nazi” by Arab countries like Israel’s actions are.

This means that the Arab public’s outrage over Israel’s treatment of Arabs and Palestinians is not an objective response to the situation on the ground. Rather, this outrage is manufactured by the Arab media, and Arab political and social elites.

All these points to the conclusion that Arab leaders are not interested in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Rather, they are exploiting the situation to promote their political agenda: the destruction of the Jewish state.

Is the Quran Contain the Words of God?

Who Wrote the Quran?

According to the Muslims the Quran contains the words of God. Quran is to be read as if God Himself had spoken these words stated in it. It is important to emphasize this point because if Quran is the word of God then it should not contain any errors and it should hold true for all times. However, such is not the case.


The most notable authors of the Qur’an were:

* Mohammed himself
* Khadijah - Mohammed's first wife
* Aisha - Muhammad's child bride
* Imrul Qays - an ancient poet of Arabia who died a few decades before Muhammad's birth
* Zayd b. Amr b. Naufal - an 'apostate' of his time who preached and propagated Hanifism
* Labid - another poet
* Hasan b. Thabit - the official poet of Muhammad
* Salman, the Persian - Muhammad's confidante' and an advisor
* Bahira - a Nestoraian Christian monk of the Syrian church
* Jabr - a Christian neighbour of Muhammad
* Ibn Qumta - a Christian slave
* Waraqa - Khadijah's cousin brother
* Ubay b. Ka'b - Muhammad's secretary and a Qur'an scribe

There were other parties involved too:

* The Sabeans
* Abdallah b. Salam b. al-Harith - a Jewish convert to Islam
* Mukhyariq - a Rabbi and another Jewish convert to Islam

We will see how some of the verses in the Koran itself show clearly that these words were obviously spoken by Mohammed and Not God.

The Opening Sura Fatihah: Quran 1:1-7
In the name of the Merciful and Compassionate God. Praise belongs to God. The Lord of the worlds, the merciful, the compassionate, the ruler of the day of the day of judgement! Thee we serve and Thee we ask for aid. Guide us in the right path, the path of those Thou art gracious to; not to those Thou art wroth with, nor of those who err.

Someone need not be a rocket-scientist to comprehend that these words are clearly addressed to God, in the form of a prayer. They are Mohammed's words of parise to God, asking for God's help and guidance.

Quran - Sura: 113:1
I take refuge with the Lord of the Dawn.

One can clearly see, its Mohammed and NOT GOD HIMSELF who is seeking refuge in God.

Quran - Sura: 27:91
For me, I have been commanded to serve the Lord of this city, Him Who has sanctified it and to whom (Belong) all things; and I am commanded to be of those who bow in Islam to Allah's Will

Again, the speaker here is clearly Mohammed who is trying to justify killing of innocent Meccans who were not willing to follow Mohammed's version of God.

Quran - Sura: 84:16-19
I swear by the afterglow of sunset, and by the night, and by the moon when she is at the full.

God would never swear in the sun OR the moon. Obviously, you can never read such a thing in the Bible. Once again it is Mohammed and NOT God. He is unable to disguise his pagan heritage. He swears again in the name of the Sun and Moon, both of which were considered as holy deities by pre-Islamic Arabs.

According to Islam, questioning the Allah's absolute authorship of the Qur'an is a serious blasphemy. A Muslim may face death sentence simply for nurturing an atom of doubt on Qur'an's authenticity. The Qur'an is above all. Nothing in the creation of Allah is holier than the Qur'an. Making Allah the author of the Quran, I think, is the prime lie perpetrated on mankind for more than a millennium. We can, with certainty, say that it was not even Muhammad alone who authored the Qur'an. In fact, the major part of the Qur'an was actually either composed by or inspired and written by a few other individuals.

The Quran, will never be corrupted?

Changes of Mohammed

The Satanic Verses of the Qur’an Sura an-Najm 53:19-22

This term has been used for some time to describe two verses of Mohammed that were "abrogated" or taken out. In pre-Islamic Arabia, Allah was a god with three daughters, al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat.

Sura 53:19-20
"Have ye thought upon al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?"

Originally followed by

"These are the exalted cranes (intermediaries) Whose intercession is to be hoped for."

It is interesting to read how Allah could have what are called "abrogated verses" in Suras 13:39; 16:101; 2:106.

vs.

"Are yours the males and His the females? That indeed were an unfair division."

At one time Mohammed compromised and said concerning the daughters of Allah in Sura 53:19 that "their intercession was to be hoped for." In other words, Mohammed said we should hope for the help of these three idols. Mohammed’s followers were amazed that he said this. Mohammed later changed and said Satan had deceived him. These verses were abrogated or taken out.

Changes After Mohammed

Bukhari Hadiths saying parts of the Qur’an were missing and/or abrogated are vol.4:57,62, 69,229; vol.6:510,511 p.479-480.

Since there were various versions of the Qur’an, some with two more Suras than other versions, the Caliph ‘Uthman ordered everyone to turn in their Qur’an, and he would issue a "standardized" version.

Muslims claim that God’s Word, the Qur’an, will never be corrupted. Be that as it may, apparently some years after Mohammed’s death, the Qur’an needed standardizing, since Caliph ‘Uthman standardized the Qur’an way after Mohammed’s death. Apparently in order that nobody could second-guess his editing, he burned almost all copies besides his standard ones. (Bukhari vol.6:510 p.479) For example, Ubai had several Suras in his Qur’an that ‘Uthman omitted from the standardized text, and thus Muslims do not read today. The Meccan Abdollah Sarh, who once made suggestions to Mohammed, and later renounced Islam, was killed. Presumably he knew too much about how Mohammed changed the Qur’an. However, a few very interesting variant copies did survive and are now in the Azhyar Library in Cairo.

Conclusion

The Holy Qur'an is not authored by almighty Allah. A few ambitious and opportunistic persons, in the name of Allah gathered together under the tutelage of Muhammad to construct the Qur'an by adapting, amending and outright plagiarizing other scriptures and heresy of the time. This they did to advance and perpetuate their political ambition to dominate the then Arabian peninsula, and later, many other peaceful countries.

Qur'an is the handiwork of a few cunning persons - an attempt to fool the gullible world - a deliberate effort to impose Arab superiority. All Muslims must learn the Arabic language to be able to recite the Qur'an and to offer prayers, adopt Arabic name and conform to Islamic (read Bedouin Arab) culture. This is naked Arab imperialism in the guise of propagating the message of the 'Holy Qur'an'. When the undeniable truth about the authorship of the Qur'an and its hidden scheme is clearly understood, this Arab imperialism by the stealth stands out to be the main agenda of the Qur'an.

The Torah

• Torah in the narrowest sense refers to the first five books of the Bible
• In a broader sense, Torah includes all Jewish law and tradition
• Torah was given to Moses in written form (Ten Commandments) with oral commentary
• The oral component is now written in the Talmud
• There are additional important writings

Torah
The word "Torah" is a tricky one, because it can mean different things in different contexts. In its most limited sense, "Torah" refers to the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. But the word "torah" can also be used to refer to the entire Jewish bible (the body of scripture known to non-Jews as the Old Testament and to Jews as the Tanakh or Written Torah), or in its broadest sense, to the whole body of Jewish law and teachings.

Written Torah (Tanakh - Bible)
To Jews, there is no "Old Testament." The books that Christians call the New Testament are not part of Jewish scripture. The so-called Old Testament is known to us as Written Torah or the Tanakh.

This is a list of the books of Written Torah, in the order in which they appear in Jewish translations, with the Hebrew name of the book, a translation of the Hebrew name (where it is not the same as the English name), and English names of the books (where it is not the same as the Hebrew name). The Hebrew names of the first five books are derived from the first few words of the book. The text of each book is more or less the same in Jewish translations as what you see in Christian bibles, although there are some occasional, slight differences in the numbering of verses and there are some significant differences in the translations.

TORAH (The Law):
* Bereishith (In the beginning...) (Genesis)
* Shemoth (The names...) (Exodus)
* Vayiqra (And He called...) (Leviticus)
* Bamidbar (In the wilderness...) (Numbers)
* Devarim (The words...) (Deuteronomy)

NEVI'IM (The Prophets):
* Yehoshua (Joshua)
* Shoftim (Judges)
* Shmuel (I &II Samuel)
* Melakhim (I & II Kings)
* Yeshayah (Isaiah)
* Yirmyah (Jeremiah)
* Yechezqel (Ezekiel)
* The Twelve (treated as one book)
o Hoshea (Hosea)
o Yoel (Joel)
o Amos
o Ovadyah (Obadiah)
o Yonah (Jonah)
o Mikhah (Micah)
o Nachum
o Chavaqquq (Habbakkuk)
o Tzefanyah (Zephaniah)
o Chaggai
o Zekharyah (Zechariah)
o Malakhi

KETHUVIM (The Writings):
* Tehillim (Psalms)
* Mishlei (Proverbs)
* Iyov (Job)
* Shir Ha-Shirim (Song of Songs)
* Ruth
* Eikhah (Lamentations)
* Qoheleth (the author's name) (Ecclesiastes)
* Esther
* Daniel
* Ezra & Nechemyah (Nehemiah) (treated as one book)
* Divrei Ha-Yamim (The words of the days) (Chronicles)

Written Torah is often referred to as the Tanakh, which is an acrostic of Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim.

Torah Scrolls
The scriptures that we use in services are written on parchment scrolls. They are always hand-written, in attractive Hebrew calligraphy with "crowns" (crows-foot-like marks coming up from the upper points) on many of the letters. This style of writing is known as STA"M (an abbreviation for "Sifrei Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzot," which is where you will see that style of writing). For more information about the STA"M alphabet, including illustrations and relevant rules, see Hebrew Alphabet used in writing STA"M.

Yad
You are not supposed to touch the parchment on these scrolls; some say because they are too holy; some say because the parchment, made from animal skins, is a source of ritual defilement; others say because your fingers' sweat has acids that will damage the parchment over time. Instead, you follow the text with a pointer, called a Yad. "Yad" means "hand" in Hebrew, and the pointer usually is in the shape of a hand with a pointing index finger (I always find this incredibly amusing). The scrolls are kept covered with fabric, and often ornamented with silver crowns on the handles of the scrolls and a silver breastplate on the front.

Aron Kodesh
The scrolls are kept in a cabinet in the synagogue called an "ark," as in Ark of the Covenant, not as in Noah's Ark. The words are different and unrelated in Hebrew. Noah's ark (and also the ark that Moses was placed in) are called in Hebrew teyvat (ship). I was taught that the "Ark" of the Covenant and the ark in synagogue are an acrostic of "aron kodesh" (holy cabinet), but others have told me that it is merely an archaic English word derived from the Latin arca (cabinet).

The Torah scrolls that we read from in synagogue are unpointed text, with no vowels or musical notes, so the ability to read a passage from a scroll is a valuable skill, and usually requires substantial advance preparation (reviewing the passage in a text with points). See Hebrew Alphabet for more on pointed and unpointed texts.

Chumash
Jewish scriptures are sometimes bound in a form that corresponds to the division into weekly readings (called parshiyot in Hebrew). Scriptures bound in this way are generally referred to as a chumash. The word "chumash" comes from the Hebrew word meaning five, and refers to the five books of the Torah. Sometimes, a chumash is simply refers to a collection of the five books of the Torah. But often, a chumash contains the entire first five books, divided up by the weekly parshiyot, with the haftarah portion inserted after each week's parshah.
Oral Torah: The Talmud

A Page of TalmudIn addition to the written scriptures we have an "Oral Torah," a tradition explaining what the above scriptures mean and how to interpret them and apply the Laws. Orthodox Jews believe G-d taught the Oral Torah to Moses, and he taught it to others, down to the present day. This tradition was maintained only in oral form until about the 2d century C.E., when the oral law was compiled and written down in a document called the Mishnah.

Over the next few centuries, additional commentaries elaborating on the Mishnah were written down in Jerusalem and Babylon. These additional commentaries are known as the Gemara. The Gemara and the Mishnah together are known as the Talmud. This was completed in the 5th century C.E.

There are actually two Talmuds: the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud is more comprehensive, and is the one most people mean if they just say "the Talmud" without specifying which one.

There have been additional commentaries on the Talmud by such noted Jewish scholars as Rashi and Rambam. Adin Steinsaltz is currently preparing a new edition of the Talmud, with his own commentary supplementing the Mishnah, Gemara, and Rashi commentaries.

The Talmud is not easy to read. It reminds me of someone else's class notes for a college lecture you never attended. There are often gaps in the reasoning where it is assumed that you already know what they are talking about, and concepts are often expressed in a sort of shorthand. Biblical verses that support a teaching are often referenced by only two or three words. The Talmud preserves a variety of views on every issue, and does not always clearly identify which view is the accepted one.

The Mishnah is divided into six sections called sedarim (in English, orders). Each seder contains one or more divisions called masekhtot (in English, tractates). There are 63 masekhtot in the Mishnah. Approximately half of these masekhtot have been addressed in the Talmud. Although these divisions seem to indicate subject matter, it is important to note that the Mishnah and the Talmud engage in quite a bit of free-association, thus widely diverse subjects may be discussed in a seder or masekhtah. Below is the division of the Mishnah into sedarim and masekhtot:

* Zera'im (Seeds), dealing with agricultural laws
o Berakhot
o Peah
o Demai
o Kilayim
o Shebiit
o Terumot
o Maaserot
o Maaser Sheni
o Challah
o Orlah
o Bikkurim

* Mo'ed (Festival), dealing with Shabbat and festivals
o Shabbat
o Erubin
o Pesachim
o Sheqalim
o Yoma
o Sukkah
o Besah
o Rosh Hashanah
o Taanit
o Megillah
o Moed Qatan
o Hagigah

* Nashim (Women), dealing with marriage, divorce and contracts
o Yebamot
o Ketubot
o Nedarim
o Nazir
o Sotah
o Gittin
o Qiddushin

* Nezikin (Damages), dealing with tort laws and other financial laws
o Baba Qamma
o Baba Mesia
o Baba Batra
o Sanhedrin
o Makkot
o Shabuot
o Eduyyot
o Avodah Zarah
o Avot (also known as Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers)
o Horayot

* Kodashim (Holy Things), dealing with sacrifices and the Temple
o Zevachim
o Menachot
o Chullin
o Bekhorot
o Arakhin
o Temurah
o Keritot
o Meilah
o Tamid
o Middot
o Qinnim

* Toharot (Purities), dealing with laws of ritual purity and impurity
o Kelim
o Ohalot
o Negaim
o Parah
o Tohorot
o Miqvaot
o Niddah
o Makhshirin
o Zabim
o Tebul-Yom
o Yadayim
o Uqsin

In recent times, many observant Jews have taken up the practice of studying a page of Talmud every day. This practice, referred to as daf yomi, was started at the First International Congress of the Agudath Yisrael World Movement in August, 1923. Rav Meir Shapiro, the rav of Lublin, Poland, proposed uniting people worldwide through the daily study of a page of Talmud. Daf Yomi is currently in its 11th cycle. A calendar of the cycle can be found at Daf Yomi Calendar.

Other Writings
In addition to these works, we have midrashim, which are basically stories expanding on incidents in the Bible to derive principles or Jewish law or to teach moral lessons. For example, there is a midrash about why Moses wasn't a good speaker (he put coals in his mouth as a child basically as a way of proving that he wasn't greedy), and another one about Abram discovering monotheism and rejecting his father's idolatry (that's a nifty one: basically, he smashes up all his father's idols except the big one, then blames the mess on the big one, as a way of showing his father that the idols don't really have any power). Some of them fill in gaps in the narrative. For example, in Gen. 22:2, why does G-d say, "thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac." Wouldn't the name alone be enough? One story says that the narrative is skipping out Abraham's responses. "Take thy son." "Which one?" "Thine only son." "But I have two!" "Whom thou lovest." "I love them both!" "Even Isaac." (I'm not sure this is a traditional one -- I got it from a questionable source -- but I like it).

There is also a vast body of responsa, answers to specific questions of Jewish law. Beginning in the middle ages, when local rabbis were faced with difficult issues of Jewish law, they often wrote to the most respected rabbis in the world to get answers to these questions. The local rabbi would present the situation, often including detailed references to the Talmudic passages he had reviewed and his own interpretations of these authorities, and the world-renowned rabbi would provide a reasoned argument in favor of his answer. Over time, these responsa were collected into printed volumes. This tradition continues to the present day, and there are several rabbis in this century who have developed responsa on issues relating to modern technologies. For example, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, who died in the 1980s, wrote responsa on such diverse topics as the permissibility of cosmetic surgery, the kashering of dishwashers, and artificial insemination. There are literally thousands of volumes of responsa. A project at Bar-Ilan University is compiling these responsa into a computer database. See their website at The Responsa Project for more information.

As you can see, the body of Jewish tradition is very vast. Is there any place to get quick answers? In the middle ages, there were several attempts to create definitive codes of Jewish law. The best-known of these codes are Rambam's Mishneh Torah and Joseph Caro's Shulchan Arukh. In their own time, these works were very controversial, because they did not identify the Torah or Talmudic basis for their opinions and generally ignored conflicting opinions. There was concern that such works would discourage Jews from studying the primary sources: Torah and Talmud. Today, however, these sources are well-respected. In fact, the Shulchan Arukh is often treated as a primary source.

We also have a mystical tradition, known as Kabbalah. The primary written work in the Kabbalistic tradition is the Zohar. Traditionally, rabbis discouraged teaching this material to anyone under the age of 40, because it is too likely to be misinterpreted by anyone without sufficient grounding in the basics.



Judaism 101

Crash Course in Islam and Arab Lies

MYTH 1: ISRAEL OCCUPIES ARAB PALESTINE

This is a genocidal claim made by the Muslim Students Association and other pro-Arab groups. It is genocidal because it obliterates the Jewish state. If Israel is actually “Occupied Palestine” then there is no legitimate Jewish state in the Middle East.

Since Roman times when the Philistines inhabited the region around the Jordan (hence the name “Palestine”) there has never been a political entity – neither a province nor a state – called “Palestine” and no one claimed there was until well after the United Nations created Israel in 1948. The land on which Israel was created by the U.N. was also used by the colonial powers to create Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan. It was land that had belonged to Turkey for 400 years. The Turks are not “Palestinians” and are not even arabs.

There never was an Arab country called “Palestine” or inhabited by “Palestinians.” Before the creation of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964, which was sixteen years after the birth of Israel, no Arab political entity was called by that name.

MYTH 2: ISRAEL IS AN APARTHEID STATE

The term Apartheid refers to the segregation of groups on the basis of ethnicity or race, and the denial of basic civil rights to the segregated group. There is no such segregation in Israel. Arabs are granted full civil rights under Israeli law, which forbids discrimination on the basis of race, creed, or sex. Arabs take part fully in Israeli society and government. Arab citizens of Israel vote in national elections, have representatives in the Israeli Parliament, sit on the Israeli courts and on the Israeli Supreme Court benches, and serve as tenured professors teaching in Israeli colleges and universities. The Arab citizens of Israel have more rights, and enjoy more freedom, education, and economic opportunity than the Arabs of any Arab state.

MYTH 3: THE ARABS WANT PEACE AND A STATE ON THE WEST BANK

The Arab nations rejected peace and a state on the West Bank first in 1948 when it was offered to them by the U.N. and then in 2000 when it was offered by Presidents Clinton and Barak. In 1949, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which the U.N. had designated as a homeland for the Arabs, were annexed respectively by Jordan and Egypt. When the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed in 1964 its covenant made no mention of liberating the West Bank or Gaza from Jordan and Egypt. The PLO leadership stated that its goal was to “push the Jews into the sea.” Today the “liberation” of Palestine “from the river to the sea” is still the goal of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA). The war in the Middle East is about the desire of the Arab nations and Muslims to destroy Israel; it is not about the desire for a Palestinian state.

There are 1.4 million Arabs living in Israel with civil rights that are the envy of the Arab world. Israeli Arabs vote in Israel’s elections, have representatives in the Israeli Parliament, sit on Israeli courts and on the Israeli Supreme Court, and serve as tenured professors teaching in Israeli colleges and universities. The Arab citizens of Israel have more rights, and enjoy more freedom, education, and economic opportunity than the inhabitants of any Arab or Muslim state.

MYTH 4: THE HOLOCAUST IS EUROPE’S PROBLEM; PALESTINIANS HAD NO ROLE IN IT

The father of Palestinian nationalism, Haj Amin Al-Husseini, planned death camps for the Jews in the Middle East. Haj Amin Al-Husseini, was a devoted follower of Hitler who spent the war in Berlin, recruited an Arab legion to the Nazi cause and planned a “Final Solution” for the Jews of the Arab world. The Muslim Brotherhood, which created Hamas, the government of Gaza, translated Mein Kampf into Arabic in the 1930s and called for the destruction of the Jewish state at its birth.

MYTH 5: ISRAEL’S SECURITY FENCE IS AN “APARTHEID” WALL

This is two myths in one. The West Bank fence is a fence, not a wall. About 97% of the fence is made of chain-link material. The remaining 3% is concrete, designed to repel sniper fire in particular areas. The fence was built in 2003 in response to thousands of suicide bombings and rocket attacks on Israeli citizens by Palestinian terrorists, sponsored and armed by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The fence was built to keep out terrorists, not Arabs.

In the years since the construction of the fence, terrorist attacks have declined by more than 90%. The fence is Israel’s legitimate defense against a ruthless and amoral terrorist aggressor.

MYTH 6: ISRAEL IS THE CAUSE OF THE REFUGEE PROBLEM

The Palestinians claim there are 5 million Palestinian refugees who fled Israel during the 1948 war. This is false. There were only 500,000 Arab refugees from the 1948 war – an unprovoked war that Egypt and four other Arab states had launched against the newly created state of Israel. In the aftermath of the war, 500,000 Jewish refugees were driven out of the Arab states in the Middle East. There are no Jewish refugees today, sixty years later, because Israel resettled them. Why are there still Arab refugees? The Arab regimes have been given billions of dollars by Israel and the United States to relocate their refugees. But the Arabs are still in refugee camps. While Israel resettled Jewish refugees, no Arab country would take in the “Palestinians” who were forced into camps and were kept there by the Arab regimes to stir up hatred against the Jews. The refugee “issue” has been created by the Arab regimes as a weapon in their war against the Jews. It should be resolved by resettling the inhabitants of the refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza where almost all of them have lived all their lives.

MYTH 7: ISRAEL COMMITS WAR CRIMES BY KILLING CIVILIANS

This is the Big Lie, coming as it does from some Palestinians who have made terrorist attacks on civilians a weapon of choice, and who make martyrs and national heroes out of suicide bombers.

The Gaza strip was a base for 7,000 rocket attacks against schoolyards and townships in Israel before the Israelis responded in 2007. During Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza rocket sites there was one civilian death for every 30 terrorists. By contrast, a 2001 study by the International Committee of the Red Cross found that the civilian-to-military death ratio in wars fought since the middle of the 20th Century has been 10:1 – ten civilian deaths for every soldier death. In other words, the Israelis protect civilians at a rate 300 times greater than any other national army. As Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz observes, “No army in history has ever had a better ratio of combatants to civilians killed in a comparable setting.”

MYTH 8: JEWS HAVE LITTLE HISTORICAL CONNECTION TO ISRAEL

Jews have lived continuously in the land of Israel for over 3000 years; the Arabs arrived through multiple invasions, beginning in the 7th Century AD. In the year 70 AD, when the Jewish civilization was already over 1000 years old, the Romans forced most of the Jews of Judea and Samaria (now the West Bank) into exile. By the end of the 19th Century, the majority population of Jerusalem was Jewish.

MYTH 9: THE KORAN DESCRIBES JERUSALEM AS HOLY TO ISLAM

The Koran does not mention Jerusalem because Mohammed never set foot in the city. Jerusalem was conquered by Muslim armies in 636 after the death of Mohammed. Muslim jihadists claim that the Koran mentions “The Furthest Mosque” — Al-Aqsa in Arabic – and that this is a Koranic reference to Jerusalem. This is a lie. The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem had not been built when the Koran was written, so the reference is to some other (or any other) “furthest mosque.” In contrast, Jerusalem is and has always been a holy city to Jews. The daily prayers of the Jews are focused on Jerusalem. The Hebrew Bible mentions Zion and Jerusalem a total of 809 times.

MYTH 10: THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON IS NOT JEWISH

This myth is one of many designed to steal the history of the Jews in order to justify erasing them from the Middle East. When the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994, it immediately began a campaign to delegitimize Israel by rewriting history with the intention of denying Israel’s right to exist. Among its false claims is that the remains of the Temple of Solomon – the Western Wall – are in fact the remnants of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Al-Aqsa Mosque was deliberately built on top of the Temple after the Muslim conquest to humiliate the conquered.





Rad More:
Wall of Truth

Tzvika Pik - Thousand Kisses - אלף נשיקות

LYRICS: Mirit Shem Or
MUSIC: Tzvika Pik
SINGER: Tzvika Pik

A Thosand Kisses	Elef Neshikot	אלף נשיקות
First kiss on your white forehead like a bond in the middle of your figure and from it come out in glowing abundance of kisses to your hair like a crown of pearls made of kisses I will rain down on the ebony of your curls that you'll be my beautiful girl the perfect princess of all the girls in the city. Chorus (x2): A thousand kisses to you my love a thousand a kiss and a kiss a thousand kisses to you my cutie beautiful little sweetie. And also to your ivory white innocent neck flexible like the neck of a swan I will cover in chains of kisses girl of (pure) water, my little one and right now I'll just put my head on your shoulder in order to find in it your heartbeat and kisses for no reason too without lust or limit like flowers thrown by a bride. Chorus x2 The sky isn't in front of my sinful eyes and I'm not indulging in you till I'm fully satisfied The light isn't in front of my impure lips and my chest is scorched until the end thousandth kiss is not possible, love the last kiss is missing only 999 sweet thundering kisses but still I'll kiss you a thousand kisses. Chorus x2	Neshika rishona al mitschech halavan k'mo kesher be'emtzah dmutech umimena yetz'u beshifat zohora neshikot neshikot lis'arech koteret pninim asuyah min'shokot al shchor taltalaich amtir shet'hi li yalda hayafa ban'sichot hamushlemet bachol banot ha'ir Chorus (x2): Elef neshikot lach ahuvati Elef neshika uneshika Elef neshikot lach chamudati hayafah haktanah hametukah . Vegam et tsavarech hashilgi habetuli hagamish kmo tsavar habarbur achase bin'shikot machrozot machrozot yaldat mayim ktantonet sheli ve'ata som asim et roshi al k'tefech kdei limtso bo et dofek halev vegam stam neshikot bli ta'avah vetichla kmo prachim mushlachim al kalah. Chorus x2 Hashamaim einam be'ad einai hachot'ot ve'eineni shote bach ad r'vot ha'or eino be'ad sfatai hatme'ot vechazi bi nitsrav lo ad klot neshikat ha'elef einah efsharit ahuvah chaserah neshikah achronah rak t'sha meot tish'im veteisha neshikot li soarot ohavot metukot ubechol zot anashkech elef neshikot Chorus x2	נשיקה ראשונה על מצחך הלבן כמו קשר באמצע דמותך וממנה יצאו בשפעת זוהרה נשיקות, נשיקות לשערך כותרת פנינים עשויה מנשיקות על שחור תלתלייך אמטיר שתהיי לי ילדה היפה בנסיכות המושלמת בכל בנות העיר. אלף נשיקות לך אהובתי אלף נשיקה ונשיקה אלף נשיקות לך חמודתי היפה, הקטנה, המתוקה. וגם את צווארך השלגי, הבתולי הגמיש כמו צוואר הברבור אכסה בנשיקות מחרוזות מחרוזות ילדת מים, קטנטונת שלי ועתה שום אשים את ראשי על כתפך כדי למצוא בו את דופק הלב וגם סתם נשיקות בלי תאווה ותכלה כמו פרחים מושלכים על כלה. אלף נשיקות לך אהובתי אלף נשיקה ונשיקה אלף נשיקות לך חמודתי היפה, הקטנה, המתוקה. השמיים אינם בעד עיני החוטאות ואינני שותה בך עד רוות האור אינו בעד שפתי הטמאות וחזי נצרב לו עד כלות נשיקת האלף אינה אפשרית אהובה חסרה נשיקה אחרונה רק תשע מאות תשעים ותשע נשיקות לי סוערות אוהבות ומתוקות ובכל זאת אנשקך אלף נשיקות אלף נשיקות לך אהובתי אלף נשיקה ונשיקה אלף נשיקות לך חמודתי היפה, הקטנה, המתוקה.