tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309929059139673041.post3148725896412964403..comments2024-03-29T12:21:24.976+03:00Comments on Daas Torah - Issues of Jewish Identity: Ran - concerning witchcraftDaas Torahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07252904288544083215noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309929059139673041.post-51515380640406181462018-05-15T04:59:15.353+03:002018-05-15T04:59:15.353+03:00There's a name for the ailment you suffer from...There's a name for the ailment you suffer from. It's called "<i>non sequitur</i>."Passaic friendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309929059139673041.post-24473515950796135352018-05-15T04:45:44.499+03:002018-05-15T04:45:44.499+03:00I read the work way too long ago to speak ably abo...I read the work way too long ago to speak ably about it now. But you raise a far more interesting question: Does a witch have to show themselves actually competent in their sorcery to be condemned? In other words, would a would-be sorcerer who's undoubtedly self-deceiving as to their abilities be halakhically no more than a fool, or would their mere intent to bewitch, however foolhardy, qualify them as <i>chaiyiv misa</i>?<br /><br />Note that the RaN only elaborates that in his view the craft had to be considered authentic; no mention of the specific craftsman's authenticity, who's to be condemned.Passaic friendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309929059139673041.post-16014352743520795712018-05-14T11:47:42.453+03:002018-05-14T11:47:42.453+03:00“What does cause me wonder, however, is the Torah&...“What does cause me wonder, however, is the Torah's explicit prohibition of witchcraft,”<br />See https://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/22146<br />“Lesson Number 1 – Ask the same question over and over again a hundred times…and, shades of the Russia probe and the entire Resist Trump movement, keep at it without letup.That is sure to make anyone beg for mercy and start spilling the beans – anything, but please stop!... The grilling resumed through the cruelty of repetition, the same tactic Democrats have been using for more than a year to torture the rest of America.”<br />Hertz Chumash on “You shall not tolerate [lit. let live] a sorceress” (Exodus 22:17).<br />Sorceress to live. Not because there was any realty in witchcraft, but because it was a negation of the unity of God and an abominable form of idolatry. It is noteworthy that the Septuagint translates the heb. Word for sorceress by poisoner. Ancient witchcraft was steeped in crime, immorality and imposture; and it debased the populace by hideous practices and superstitions. Hence the place of this command in this chapter. It is preceded by provisions against sexual license (v. 15) [“If a man seduces a virgin for whom the bride-price has not been paid, and lies with her, he must make her his wife by payment of a bride-price.”] and followed by condemnation of unnatural vice and idolatry (v. 18 and 19) [“Whoever lies with a beast shall be put to death. Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord alone shall be proscribed.”]. The wording of the command is in unusual form. We should have expected, A sorceress shall surely be put to death. Some commentators, therefore explain it as a prohibition of resortin to the sorceress, and thus enabling her to thrive in her nefarious avocation. The law applied to the sorcerer as well (Lev. 20:27) [“A man or a woman who has a ghost or a familiar spirit shall be put to death; they shall be pelted with stones—their bloodguilt shall be upon them.”]. <br />There was no realty in the Salem witch trials and there’ no reality in the Mueller investigations…Gerald Aranoffhttp://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=7Y27bY0AAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&view_op=list_works&pagesize=100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309929059139673041.post-1648876429888054312018-05-14T00:43:02.726+03:002018-05-14T00:43:02.726+03:00Can you define what sort of witchcraft was practic...Can you define what sort of witchcraft was practiced in Salem and what sorcery those witches were capable of doing?Moe Ginsburgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309929059139673041.post-39948549133191296742018-05-13T16:18:41.922+03:002018-05-13T16:18:41.922+03:00According to one well-researched revisionist study...According to <a href="http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/bnreview.html" rel="nofollow">one well-researched revisionist study</a>, the answer is: Both. There WAS witchcraft practiced in Salem. Yet the political factions of the town wasted no time twisting the trial to their own economic ends once the matter started coming to light.<br /><br />Far shorter, <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/11/12/specials/miller-salemoped.html?scp=6&sq=salem&st=cse" rel="nofollow">this memorable editorial</a> from the author of <i>The Crucible</i> also worth reading.Passaic friendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309929059139673041.post-63098395742637801252018-04-30T01:35:26.115+03:002018-04-30T01:35:26.115+03:00The halachic penalty for witchcraft is death.
Wer...The halachic penalty for witchcraft is death.<br /><br />Were they right in Salem? Or, arguably, the accusations were false.Moe Ginsburgnoreply@blogger.com