Telling others, who are hurting nobody, how to live their lives based on your concept of what God wants. Fundamentalism is rioting and burning because you think seculars in Jerusalem should park on the sidewalk on Saturday and/or shouldn't sell iPods or offer internet service in a cafe. Fundamentalism is calling the Israel Police "Nazis." Fundamentalism is unreasonable. Do us all a favor, Mr. Brackman, stick to the foothills of Colorado. We have enough tzuris here.

Rediculous. You have mixed religious politics and a definiton of faith. Brackman is trying to say that the 2 points from which the groups choose to judge scriptual matter are diametrically oppsed. One from a point of faith and one from an intellectual exercise. Faith is an emotion.One either has it a nd feels it or doesnt. What you have done is tried to confuse this discussion with what is going on in the streets in what is known as religious-political activism.

Not written by Moses ,it was written By God the creator . It came at one time only ..Boom ..One book at one time ..Just like the holy bible . Only the holy Quran came over 23 years .

Do you really hate religion so much? You say that you don't want to be bothered, but you forget that Judaism, never says to nobody what they must do and is supposed not to judge, there is only One who judges and then it's to late to change things. This means, if you don't like the Jewish style of life, you will have to answer tomorrow not to us. Got it? Try not to hate, this is a time for forgiveness and it's only good for you to open your hand!

It means believing in the "fundamentum", that is foundation, that is, the Bible. The mainstream media (now moribund media) of the 1970's and on used the word with reference to Islam - an ignorant and inappropriate shift in meaning. Other inventions of the moribund media are "homophobe" (not an actual word) and "Palestinian" (not an actual people). Readers, resist the left-wing looney elite's attempts to redefine our language.

A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism. Ergo orthodox = fundamentalists.

Rabbi Brackman writes, " Thus, subjecting the Torah to a type of textual criticism that aims to prove that its text contains multiple authors and historic layers leads to a foregone and erroneous conclusion. " I would also say, the same is true to those who study with the idea that it comes directly from G-d - that is what they find. It's two sides of the same coin. I think it takes more downright faith to admit that portions of the Torah come from man, and some from G-d. It's easy to believe it's all infallible or all rubbish. I believe some of it is true prophesy, some political wranglings from man, and some that is written in such a way as to be interpreted progressively (which the Rabbis have not done).

It may well be that the text we see today was penned by different authors but each of them could have received divine inspiration in writing his section of the Torah. To the believer, it really does not make any difference if Moses penned the whole text, as accepted by tradition, that we see today or others had inspiration to pen different parts of the text. Haredi means to be afraid, but of what. Possibly, they are afraid of making the slightest transgression. This “fear” has led them down paths which may not be in accordance with true observance, and has made them live in ghettoes even in Israel.

who believes in a God is in my opinion nothing more than foolish. Anybody who believes that a God wrote a text, any text, is much more than foolish. The Torah was written by the hand of man, was not dictated to Moses or anyone else, Who said God spoke Hebrew. Where and how can anyone determine that Moses, born in Egypt, could speak Hebrew, or write Hebrew, or any other script for that matter. Forty days up a mountain in Sinai is difficult enough without having to write five volumes. Could he survive without water. And please folks do not forget that he had to write an exact description of his death, in third person, forty years hence from the time of writing. Its time for believers to get real and admit to reality and to stop believing in absurdities.

but it DOES NOT APPLY TO JEWS by definition. Since it means RIGHT OPINION, from the Greek "Orthe Doxa", it contradicts the essence of the most basic assumptions and methods of Judaism. It is a term that the Reform stuck on to observant Jews, then adopted by all those who were just too happy to find another way to deprive Torah true Judaism of another characteristic. The essence of the Talmud itself is the DIFFERENCE OF OPINIONS, ALL based on the words of Torah and its interpretations. In Hebrew we say: `ELLU UE-`ELLU DIVRE' EL-OHIM CHAIM" (those and these are the Words of the Living G-od) So, besides a whole bunch of very ignorant statements in some of the comments here, we can also attribute the same to the honourable rabbi. To stress the concept: even the Ten Commandments were pronounced with two words in one for the Sabbath: remember-observe. That is what our tradition teaches. WHICH ONE can be called THE RIGHT (orthe) ONE since BOTH are right?

last century standarts.

is kiinda mixed up, according to scolars and studies the bible had 3 or 4 different writers(if they wrote directly by god order or not that is desputed), and moses issue... well the 10 amendments r no imaginary. go do more reserch.

Why do I say this: 1) They dress like 1th century Poles 2) They don't work 3) They dont serve on the army 4) They feel free to screw anyone outside their cult 5) They have taken an established religion (Judaism) and by slectively observing it have twisted it beyond recognition

I listened to your critcism of others with the statement "more to do with the one interpreting it than with the text itself." BINGO! When was the last time you saw a table of haredi youth set up in public where they had a chumash (Torah) set out and discussed the words in it as commanded in the shmah. More like forbidden Ezikeil 13:18 hats and compartments by the armpit stealing souls. You see incantations books (give G-d an orginal prayer is a commandment), bumper stickers with illegal magic incantaions, and pictures of cult leaders. "na na nach nachman" is built just like classic wizardry incantaions that flow power of one word into and object or being. Asur! Ballam and Ballak would love to see this. How about the Jainism chakra? Judasim? jaccobs tents have never been so exposed. Stop being friars. Torah is ours not someone else to feed us their interpretations. Chicken being boiled in their mothers milk? Couldn't find that one. By the way, only Devarim is written in the first person, if that means anything.

is the scientific method. Flying in airplanes, mobile phones, global internet, space stations, electric cars, solar energy technology, and technology for the production of food, housing, clothes and medicine all have a greater impact on our daily lives than any religious belief system of the past. Believe whatever you want, but we better start looking forward into the future, instead of trying to relive the past. In a billion years from now, our Sun will heat up, boil off the oceans and burn this planet to a crisp (well before the Sun dies out 4 billion years later). So planet Earth is not going to be forever. We human beings have to stop fighting each other, like animals, and start working together if we are going to survive the future that's coming.

"ALL based on the words of Torah " Torah clearly states not to add a word or subtract a word. Shabbat is two words and all the trees in garden is a single stand alone sentence? Oldest trick in the book If opinions are used to create law to add to Torah, there is no base. A castle on sand not on the Rock. What part of "no adding" was not clear? You can pick apart the word Orthodox but haredim dress like christian noblemen and enforce kippas as described in Hezikeil 13:18. To cult followers, get of your high Hasus, put down the incantaions and step away from misrepresenting Torah as a superiority cult. It's not a country club and it is not yours to do as you please. Shma teaches "Israel" to teach the words of Torah, not false opinions or 14 step repetions of performative language incantaions that even Moses could not do himself with his thick speech. Tell me why we are asked to stand before God and say he commanded us to light shabbat candles when he never did? "ALL" you say. Ha! Provocations, incantations and lies are not based on Torah. . How would you feel if your child stood before you and said dad you tols me to say this when you never did?

Whereas I do believe in some sort of a creative force, I agree with you wrt religions, the bible and all the rest of those "inspired" tracts. Either God is a total moron, who couldn't keep his "inspirations" straight from one day, book. tribe and/or chapter to the next or He/She scewed up big time picking ghost writers, some of whom must have guzzled too much of some vile, strawberry-flavored Boone's Farm stuff, and/or puffed a lot of bad weed before scribbling. Looking back to the hippie days of the 60's and 70's, some grass-induced, wine-enhanced experiences and pronouncements were down-right awe-inspiring and religious, even if they didn't make a lick of sense and left you with a pounding headache and occasional death wish the next day. It just seems that when it comes to that tax-exempt status, there's never a shortage of "original," "new & improved," "ultra," "super-blend" and pretty soon, I'm sure, some eco-friendly, green version of all of the above, with, of course, armies of interpreters for the poor slobs, whom God hasn't blessed with the good sense to find their way from point A to point B without help, or to whom He/She won't give the time of day. On the other hand, if that "old-time religion" keeps people from messing with/stealing my stuff or inflicting bodily harm on somebody else, by all means, let's hope they'll keep at it! For every hour they spend in the house of worship of their choice or sit around trying to figure out their befuddled God, life is a little safer for the rest of us..

So, what then is "Torah true Judaism" if not insisting to hold the right opinion (and others not) of Torah? Those and these - but not Reform?

I do appreciate your sense of humour and, in general, your comments on Talkback.

of our planet. I was immediately reminded of the poem "To The Stonecutters" which appeared in the book of poems entitled "Tamar" by the great American poet, Robinson Jeffers. I will just quote a few lines to indulge my appetite and to interest the reader: Stonecutters fighting time with marble, you fordefeated challengers of oblivion ... For man will be blotted out, the blithe earth die, the brave sun Die blind and blacken to its heart: Yet stones have stood for thousands of years ... The lines are not correct as my ability to computerize is not up to par but I hope the reader gets the point. Jeffers was called an "inhumanist" during his lifetime yet, in fact, he just wished human beings to see themselves as a part, but not an overwrought part, of nature and, in the context of the universe both spatially and timewise, not a particularly important part but bent on an innate path of self-destruction. He helped me form my own philosophy on "man" in my university years and that may be one reason for my longheld response to, and interest in, the Plains Indians of North America who, like most primitive peoples (I think), do not overevaluate the importance of human beings. This may also be one of the reasons that the actual teachings of Judaism, as I learned about them, do not resonate strongly for me. There is just to much importance attached to human beings, it seems to me. As an aside, I learned about Robinson Jeffers in a coffee house in Greenwich Village in New York City, maybe it was the "Dollar Sign", in 1959-60, at the end of the Beatnik era. The man who told me about Jeffers was a printer by trade, a non-intrusive yet masculine being (masculine like Jeffer's poetry) a few years older than me (age twenty). Glad to relive this memory and glad for the opportunity to express it.

I believe that "literalist" is a better descriptive word than "fundamentalist." There may be many ingredients to one's fundamental belief system but that does not necessesarily mean that one is bound to the literal meaning of the written word. It has been my experience that literalist usually lose sight of the intent of a particular law and adhere only to the written word. Times change and it is our duty to reinterpret the meaning of written Torah law in such a way as to make it meaningful for our generation and the generations to follow. Not to change makes us stagnent and stagnation leads to death. If Judaism does not make certain changes to the old interpretations of the written law it will become stagnent and die.

no but fundamentalists are orthodox jews..

I am very familiar with the fasts of Plains Indians here in North America as I have taken part in many of them (in my younger years). They normally last four days and four nights, without food nor water and sometimes without shelter so one is exposed to the elements. Elders spoke about people whose fasts lasted even longer and there were those who underwent the suffering of being tied up during a long fast and only being untied when the "Spirits" took pity on them and untied them themselves with no human intervention. I have viewed many religious ceremonies of this nature and can say without a doubt and solidly that these events do occur and, I think, have always occurred. People cannot survive such enduring trials without help from a spiritual source. While fasting, I used to think about Moses and other sages. Their spiritual strength was sufficent to help them get through the most unbelievably difficult trials even though modern medicine remarks that it cannot be achieved and modern science (at least until recent revelations in quantum theory) disputes any basis for spiritual energy being able to inspire and strengthen our lives. So, yes, I believe that Moses (and Jesus the Jew) and the Essenes who preceded Jesus all had the ability to survive harsh trials because their respective faiths were so strong and they understood how to call the "Spirits" (substitute "Angels" if you like) to sustain them. Our modern lives work against this, of course and I know many of you will disbelieve but that's more a limitation imposed by "rationality".

The good rabbi should check the definition of 'fundamentalism' before he accepts the title. From the dictionary: 1. “a religious or political movement based on a literal interpretation of and strict adherence to doctrine, especially as a return to former principles; 2. the belief that religious or political doctrine should be implemented literally, not interpreted or adapted. Unless the rabbi is a believing Karite or Zadokite he is not a fundamentalist.

@LeviBrackman hi thanks again for your response. Sol Schimmel does say in his book that he used "implausible" exchangeably for "unreasonable" - perhaps that takes away some of the sting... As for implausibility, your argument is neat and one I have tried using myself in the past to be honest but I think it is not sustainable. Schimmel suggests reading books such as James Elliott Friedman's "The Bible with Sources Revealed" - from one of the Amazon reviews

Evidence for this elaborate theory consists of differences in linguistics, terminology, content, narrative flow, connections with other parts of the Bible, relationships among the sources to each other and to history, and convergence (several different lines of evidence converge)

The reason I don't accept your argument any more is that evidence for biblical criticism is compelling and needs to be considered in its own context as well as from an orthodox perspective which of course sees the Torah as Divine See http://www.jameskugel.com/apologetics.pdf for an interesting piece by James Kugel who is an orthodox Jew and modern bible scholar which I think addresses this though more needs to be said Also worth mentioning is a book called "Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah" http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Scholarship-Study-Torah-Orthodox/dp/1568214502 - to my mind the best approach presented is that of the late Rabbi Mordechai Breuer, namely that God wrote the Torah from "multiple perspectives ... each one constituting truth, [for] it is only the combination of such truths that gives expression to the absolute truth" - if I understand him correctly this is using metaphysics as a "get out of jail free" card but without metaphysics religion in general seems pretty unjustifiable to me. I'd add as well that "absolute truth" is of course unknowable. This allows him to accept all the results of modern scholarship as complementing the traditional understandings - I'd suggest this presents the basis of a good way forward

...of them. but chabadniks sure are!

its people. This new god, need not use archaic "fingers" to write down things for people just learning to read, number puzzles for those who already read, and flesh eating bacteria so they can know how it feels. Apply to the nearest corrupt religious system.

In reality, the world was created in 7 days, and humanity did not evolve from apes. Secular scientists today find fossils contradicting this, but apparently that's only because they are deliberately looking for the fossils and want to find them.

Palestinian American- in Jerusalem? Are you serious? You mean to say the books of the Bible- as well as the Torah were dropped by parachute from heaven? Come on- not even you can believe this. This happened to the Mormon Bible- so don't get it all mixed up here. Of course if you believe the world was created in literally 7 days- then you might as well believe in a Bible book a day thrown down to earth. LOL