| Rabbi vs. Morley
TODAY'S PAPER CONTAINED A REBUTTAL OF MY EVALUATION OF JOE LIBERMAN'S VIEWS. I EXPECTED SOME JEW IN OUR AREA TO RESPOND AND IN FACT, THE TOP JEW IN OUR AREA DID. RABBI JONATHAN BROWN--
TITLE: SETTING THE ABORTION RECORD STRAIGHT
It takes a certain degree of chutzpah for a Christian clergyperson to quote Scripture in determining that Joseph Lieberman's views contradict his Jewish heritage. Yet that is exactly what the Rev. Gabriel J. Morley did in his letter to the editor recently. (THIS FELLOW THINKS I AM WRONG FOR COMPARING J. LIEBERMAN'S VIEWS WITH THE OLD TESTAMENT! I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT JEWS CLAIMED TO FOLLOW.) Let's set the record straight. Orthodox Judaism does not say that abortion is against God's law or that it is murder. (MAYBE HIS RADICAL, LIBERAL STRAIN OF JUDAISM DOESN'T.) The traditional Jewish view about abortion is derived from the verse in Exodus 21:22: "If two men strive together and hurt a pregnant woman so that her fetus departs and yet no harm follows (to the mother), he shall be surely fined." But a fine is not an acceptable punishment for murder. Therefore, the death of a fetus is not considered a capital crime. (HE CONVENIENTLY SKIPS THE FOLLOWING VERSE WHICH SAYS "AND IF MISCHIEF FOLLOW, THEN THOU SHALT GIVE LIFE FOR LIFE." HIS ADDED WORDS "TO THE MOTHER" ARE ERRANT. A PROPER INTERPRETATION WOULD BE THIS: IF THE STRIVING CAUSES A MOTHER TO GIVE BIRTH AND THE BABY IS ALLRIGHT, THE MAN SHALL BE PUNISHED VIA FINE OR WHATEVER. BUT IF EITHER MOTHER OR BABY LOSES THEIR LIFE, THE MISCHIEF-MAKER MUST LOSE HIS. THE RABBI'S OPINION IS CLEARLY TAINTED BY HIS PRO-CHOICE IDEAS.) Orthodox Judaism adds to this understanding a concept of 'pursuit;' something that is pursuing a person and will cause harm must be stopped with all necessary force, up to and including its destruction. Thus, if a fetus will cause the death of the mother, you are obligated to destroy it. (WHAT A FAITHLESS, GODLESS, MURDEROUS PHILOSOPHY! WHERE IS HIS O.T. BACKING? HOW LONG HAVE JEWS BEEN ABLE TO TELL IF A MOTHER'S LIFE WAS IN JEOPARDY?) Most Orthodox Jews will also accept serious psychological trauma as a justification for an abortion. (WHY DOESN'T HE SAY "MOST LEFTIST JEWS"? WOULD THEY ALLOW PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA AS JUSTIFICATION FOR THE MURDER OF ONE'S ABUSIVE MOTHER?) If Lieberman chooses to go further than that in defining when abortion may be performed, he is moving beyond what Orthodoxy teaches,(HE DOES) but it should be clear that 'murder' is not part of any Jewish discussion on the subject. (AS A DEVIANT, BLASPHEMOUS JESUS-HATER, HE VIEWS UNBORN BABIES AS MERE BLOBS.) Accepted rabbinic interpretation, not simply quotations from Scripture, is the only proper way to assess whether a Jewish person does indeed have a Jewish perspective on issues and events. (THIS RABBI WOULD MAKE A GOOD POPE{EXCATHEDRA!}--MAN'S WORD ABOVE GOD'S. Rabbi Jonathan M. Brown State College (IS IT NOT INTERESTING THAT MR. BROWN IS ONE OF THE 729 RABBIS WHO LOBBIED CONGRESS NOT TO PASS THE PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BAN? JUDGEMENT IS COMING, MR. BROWN! REMEMBER KING MANASSEH!)
September 4, 2000 |
