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September 10th, 2013
02:22 PM ET
Who gets to judge Anthony Weiner?Opinion by Jeffrey Weiss, Special to CNN (CNN) - A day before the start of the Jewish High Holy Days, New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner was out asking voters to judge him favorably in Tuesday's election. He ran into a bit of unwelcome moral judgment, as well. One of the city's best-known Jewish politicians got into a heated religious argument at the Weiss Kosher Bakery in an Orthodox neighborhood of Brooklyn. The argument - replayed and reported on cable news - raised questions about how the Jewish tradition deals with transgression, judgment, repentance and rebuke. Those are all prime concerns for the days around Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Repentance, which begins Friday night. Weiner, of course, is the former congressman forced to resign after being caught in a scandal not covered by the rabbinic sages: digital infidelity. After a year of relatively private life, he decided to run for mayor of New York City, only to see his campaign slowed by revelations that his graphic sexting continued long after he’d said he’d stopped. But his campaign, incredibly, didn't stop. READ MORE: Weiner: Hate media? Love me I’ll say only this in Weiner’s support: He has enough chutzpah for an army. (Leo Rosten’s famous definition: Chutzpah is the attribute possessed by a man who, having killed his parents, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he’s an orphan.) So the day before Rosh Hashana, Weiner wanders into a bakery in Brooklyn. The first three minutes of the campaign stop, recorded on video by a blogger, is merely and painfully surreal. Weiner is trying to do the normal candidate glad-hand thing and none of the customers initiate a conversation or even make eye contact. They look at him, look away. I would bet many of them were thinking “A shanda fur die goyim.” The Yiddish translates literally as “a scandal for the non-Jews.” In the days and places where Jews were attacked for no reason, the worst sin was a transgression by a Jew that became widely known and gave anti-Semites an excuse to tar the entire Jewish community. That’s still a live concept for the Orthodox. How did Weiner expect to be received in that bakery? As the candidate leaves, one man in the shop can no longer hold his tongue: “You’re a real scumbag, Anthony Weiner.” Weiner keeps walking, but responds: “Very nice in front of kids. Very nice. That’s a charming guy right there.” And then the critic, later identified as Saul Kessler commits an error of his own, saying that Weiner “married an Arab.” Actually, Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, was born in Michigan. Her father was from India, her mother from Pakistan. Sure, she’s Muslim. But most of the world’s Muslims aren’t Arabs. READ MORE: Is Huma Abedin blaming herself? Kessler and Weiner have a heated exchange, but Abedin’s ethnic heritage doesn’t come up. Weiner challenges the man’s right to judge him. Kessler tells Weiner that he’s a bad example and should stay out of the public eye. “What rabbi taught you that you’re my judge,” Weiner demands. “You know who judges me? Not you. You don’t get to judge me because you have shown no sign you are superior to me. And you are not my God.” Is Weiner right in saying that only God can judge him? From a religious standpoint there’s a long Jewish tradition calling for those who transgress religious norms to be judged and rebuked by others in the community. (The Christian concept of “judge not lest ye be judged” has nothing to do with Judaism.) Exactly how and where it should be done – whether the right place was a shouting argument in the middle of a bakery – is more of a grey zone. As the saying goes, if you question three Jews you’ll get four opinions. But let's look at a few of the most common interpretations. Let's start with a famous passage from the Torah, in the book of Leviticus: “Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him.” The Talmud has a long passage chewing over what that means. Here’s a nugget: “How do we know that if a man sees something unseemly in his neighbor, he is obliged to reprove him? Because it is said: Thou shalt surely rebuke.” So maybe Kessler was right? But the biblical passage also seems to say that the correction must be done without incurring your own guilt – done in a proper manner. And another Talmudic passage says “judge every person on the positive side.” Which some rabbis interpret as saying that you should always give someone whatever benefit of the doubt you can. There are other instructions that rebukes should be done in private, if possible, and always in a way that minimizes humiliation of the person being corrected. So maybe Kessler was wrong? Definitely with the “scumbag” line. But what if this is the only chance he’ll have to talk to Weiner? Maybe that justifies his verbal attack in that place and time? And by putting himself in front of the public to be judged, by walking into the bakery, maybe Weiner invited this sort of judgment? And while Kessler says some nasty things about Weiner, he also makes some specific and potentially constructive suggestions about how Weiner’s behavior could be better. So maybe that part is OK? But then there’s another whole Jewish tradition called “loshon hara” (literally “evil tongue”) that covers what one should and should not say about other people. Under this teaching, passing along negative stories is generally wrong – even if the stories are true. So maybe Kessler’s public rebuke violated that idea? But there’s a loophole in loshon hara: You’re allowed to pass along the information if it’s important for others to know it. And maybe the other people in the bakery, some of whom were voters, needed to know the details of Weiner’s transgressions? Here’s what we know for sure: The voters’ secular judgment will be passed down on Tuesday. As for the judgment of the Jewish community? The annual Yom Kippur service includes a public confession where the entire congregation repeatedly ‘fesses up to imperfections. The “Al Chet” prayer starts with this: “For the sin which we have committed before you under duress or willingly. That seems to cover both Weiner and Kessler. And most of us, as well. As the prayer says, “For all these, God of pardon, pardon us, forgive us, atone for us.” Jeffrey Weiss is an award-winning reporter in Dallas. The views expressed in this column belong to him.
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Weiner is a true American hero.
Your sarcasm is duly noted.
It's not sarcasm.
You athiests are on these blogs to tell the lies of Mohammad, aka, God's enemy. I have a rash inside my bell-button. the Holy Bible tells us the true truth of God, given to us by his perfect son Jesus Christ.
Amen
Blahblahrashblah.
You athiests joke about the rapture when the truth known as the Holy Bible in true. I found a dead Mohammad under my left lady teet, here kitty. keep scoffing in the face of the Almighty and soon you will have your own personal worm to eat your fat drippings in hell.
Amen.
Don't be surprised that all the rocks you are throwing are landing on the wrong side of the river. The Atheist's ego prevents letting God in. My 12-year-old daughter switched back to Marlboro Lights. Keep standing on the wrong side of the tracks and see where you end up.
Amen.
and my 12-year-old Mohammad switched back to medical marijuana.
Ameen
I hope you like worms because you will have your own personal worm feeding on your fat drippings while you cook on the spindle. The kittens like the camel-toe but love the stove better. Read Jesus' letter to us, the Bible.
Amen.
Mohammad is burning in hell right now for not following Jesus' truth. I haven't been out side for three years. It smells here. Satan is expert at spreading lies to make you follow his lies about God. Read the bible and be saved from hell.
Nice effort but lets step it up a bit, ok?
can you write some more Mohammad stuff?
Double dose,
shouldn’t ought to do it
Tell myself I got to have it
But do I really crave it?
Gotta have drugs, gonna have drugs
Is addiction just a brain fuck
Or a physical attraction
You wanna get your own junk
Or find out my reaction
Gotta have drugs, gonna have drugs
Man I get ills, I need pills
I got the paper; call for delivery
Blow your own mind
doubt what you find
Gotta have drugs, gonna have drugs
Put the bottle down fool, pill popping fuck
Mecca
Blankety blank out about to catch ya
Rollin it up, got my paper
L.A. is a friendly neighbor
Don’t put on the upities and yuppities
I like dogs better
Raised on religion, living on stealin’
Mecca’s in my head buy not in my religion.
the rap project
revisions
Mecca
All Blankety blank out about to catch ya
Rollin it up, got my paper
L.A. is a friendly neighbor
Don’t put on the upities and yuppities
I like pets better
Raised on religion, living on stealin’
Mecca’s in my head but not in my religion.
🙁 .
Jesus?
Worship? Immoral
Jesus worship? Immoral
Ask me anything.
"Pick up the receiver, I'll make you a believer..."
Scotty you are no god you should get a job helping the needy. Christians come on this blog to teach the truth of Jesus. My 12-year-old daughter understands the truth every night by 2am. It is time for you to start your walk with Jesus.
Amen.
Great song Akira. Who do think made the best cover?
I think Johnny Cash followed by MM.
Nah, not MM. Loved Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt", also.
"Personal Jesus" is still my signature song from my bartending days. My former customers still play it when I come in...love me some DM.
Somebody else covered that song too but can't recall...
Go now and tell the fools the truth of their misplaced worship.
Speak loudly that religion is the true great evil on this Earth.
This Evil affects every plant and animal the Mother gave us.
Tell them and care not if they are vulgar, for you are the light.
The Atheists must rise now and prepare the planet for the future.
In the future, religion won’t be tolerated.
I was waxing poetic but in all seriousness.
Being a militant atheist is a GOOD thing.
The atheists on this blog hate the fact that Jesus is the one and only Lord and they are not gods. My camel-toe got back from Laughlin. Ask Jesus for forgiveness and join Him in heaven.
Amen.
lol i dont know if you are a troll posing as an atheist, or an atheist who has become a worshipper of your religion.
Either way you are hilarious.
I want to see Judge Judy judge the Weiner, who else?
who cares!
I care Dyslexic doG. I care very much indeed.
If I were Kessler , I would've simply pointed to the commandment-Thou shall not commit adultery!
How does a Jewish man believe that he gets his sins forgiven? The scriptures say "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins" (Leviticus 17:11, and Hebrews 9:22) but they don't sacrifice anymore, and they don't receive Christ as the Messiah. Do you know? (honest question because I've got no clue what they believe in that regard)
The following passage might help in your understanding,
"We call this "tikkun", which means repair–a type of healing of the soul, the body and the world. Not always can it be achieved in a single lifetime. We may have to return again and again until the tikkun is achieved. A tzaddik can often assist a person to find the proper tikkun for specific sins.But, the first step is to feel true regret and determine to abandon the sin altogether. That alone is enough to procure forgiveness."
So where is "tikkun" prescribed in the Law or the Prophets? It advocates what others have called "reincarnation" whose tennants are rejected in Genesis 3:19, Psalm 90:3, Psalm 104:29, Ecclesiastes 12:6-7, then again in the New Covenant in Hebrews 9:27, and 2 Corinthians 5:10. I relize that a non-Messianic Jew will reject the teachings found in the New Covenant, but was it a rabbinical teaching that has refuted David, Moses, and Solomon?
This site has better answers to your question – http://whatjewsbelieve.org/
The last site listed definitely answers your question, just checked it!! It is a fascinating read.
Wow.. That is an interesting site. It seems that they would do well to take a course in Biblical Hermaneutics.
There is a very informed commenter who posts here, 'MD225', if he posts here you should have a conversation with him. He seems to be well read and familiar with the Torah, Talmud and the Scriptures.
I am sorry, I am not Jewish. I found that passage in chabad.org
I am inclined to believe that they believe that if they repent, pray and do good works they will be forgiven of their sins.
10-4, thanks for the help though! I was in a Jewish community in New Jersey last year for work, but because I was wearing company logo, I couldn't ask the questions that I've been excited to talk about.
Check out the book on Amazon called 300 Times 0. It will answer your questions on repentance and all passages are quoted directly from the Scriptures. I promise it's worth the small price. It's changed many lives including my own.
Shalom
The concept of Atonement is another point of disagreement between Christianity and Judaism. Christians believe that only the shed blood of the perfect Lamb of God [Jesus] is capable of washing away sin. Besides the logical problems with this concept, such as God creating a world with sin and having everyone go to Hell until after the death of Jesus some 4,000 years after creation, the Hebrew Bible never required human sacrifices for atonement. It is incomprehensible how one can believe that a loving and merciful God would create a world containing sin, yet would not give mankind a way to atone for it until a 4,000 year waiting period was completed for the death of his son. This is tantamount to creating an office building and not putting fire exits in the structure until an actual fire broke out, by then it would be too late. The means [repentance] was built into the very fabric of creation. The fire exits were built, before the office building opened for business. In Judaism, repentance has always been a necessary and accessible means of atonement since the very moment of creation.
Judaism has always held belief in the biblical concept of Teshuvah, which means “return to God”. When someone is penitent and feels remorse and regret for the sins they have committed, they are immediately returned to favor with God and all their sins are forgiven. To a Jew, the most important question is not “how are we saved?” which is what Christians ask, but how can I best serve my God? As such, God gave the Jewish people 613 commandments to help us improve our lives and build a stronger connection to him. The more we strive to follow the commandments, the closer we come to understanding God and his role in our lives. Let us look at how the Torah instructs both Jews and Gentiles on the proper way to get saved.
Isaiah 1:16 – Wash, cleanse yourselves, remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes, cease to do evil. Learn to do good, seek justice, strengthen the robbed, perform justice for the orphan, and plead the case of the widow. Come now, let us debate, says the Lord. If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow; if they prove to be as red as crimson dye, they shall become as white wool.
God requires more than just faith; he also requires that we stop doing evil and perform acts of kindness. In fact, Isaiah 3:10 says “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds”. As Jews, we believe that what we do in this world, directly impacts us in the next which is why God is so concerned with how we live. A Gentile who lives a life of kindness and love for his fellow man is guaranteed a place in Heaven.
Hosea 14:2 “Take words with you and return [Teshuvah] to the Lord. Say to him: Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the bulls [sacrifices] of our lips”. Here, Hosea shows us that words enable us to return to the Lord If we ask him to forgive our sins, he will; this is the concept of repentance.
Psalms 51:16 & 17 “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise”. King David shows us that sacrifices are not needed or wanted; God requires only a broken heart. If one is truly repentant, God always forgives. We do not need anyone’s shed blood to atone for us.
Hosea 6:6 “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings”. Once again, no sacrifice needed or wanted. God just wants our acknowledgement.
Jonah 2:1 & 9 “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord”. Again we see that Jonah’s song of thanks to the Lord was considered a sacrifice. God heard his call and saved him.
Psalms 50:14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me”. God desires the “sacrifices” of prayer and thank offerings for salvation. He does not desire the blood of goats or of men.
Psalms 40:6 “You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I understand you do not require burnt offerings or sin offerings.” It doesn’t get clearer than this.
1 Samuel 15:22 “But Samuel replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams”. Here, Samuel clearly shows that “faith” is only part of the equation. Obeying the voice of the Lord is better than sacrifice.
The Hebrew word for sacrifice is ‘Korban’ which is a derivative of the word ‘Karov’ meaning to ‘come close’. The concept of sacrifice is not that the blood itself atones for you; the concept of a sacrifice is that you feel remorse that it should have been you that is punished to die, but instead, an innocent animal is being killed because of you. The blood provides a way to help you atone and ‘come closer’ to God. The purpose of the sacrifice was that when you participate in slaughtering an animal, you commit yourself to try and sin-less because you don't want to take another creature’s life. The sacrificial process was designed to develop compassion, remorse and sensitivity in the offender; however, since the intentional sinner is unapologetic and lacks these necessary characteristics, the sacrifice cannot absolve him of guilt. This is why the Bible specifically states that the sacrifices were only for unintentional sins [Leviticus 4:2, 4:13, 4:22, 4:27, 5:15 and 5:18]. This is extremely logical because if someone sins intentionally, knowing full well that they would need to slaughter an animal, they really don’t care that another living creature must die and therefore the sacrifice itself will not expiate the sin.
The only way to completely atone for intentional sin is through repentance and this is the concept of the sacrifice. Now, blood was the best way for atonement because it required the sinner to play an active role in the sacrificial process by giving up and slaughtering his own animal, however not everyone owned animals which is why God arranged alternate processes to give flour and money as atonement offerings. Exodus 30:15 states “The rich shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less than half a shekel, with which to give the offering to the Lord, to atone for your souls. You shall take the silver of the atonements from the children of Israel and use it for the work of the Tent of Meeting; it shall be a remembrance for the children of Israel before the Lord, to atone for your souls." The fact that the Bible says that the money was atonement for your souls, shows that blood alone was not needed. In addition to money, when people were unable to give an animal they were permitted to use fine flour for the sin expiation process. Leviticus 5:11 “But if he cannot afford two turtle doves or two young doves, then he shall bring as his sacrifice for his sin one tenth of an ephah [measurement] of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall not put oil over it, nor shall he place frankincense upon it, for it is a sin offering. However, the flour and money also only worked when repentance was part of the process. In fact, money is still used as an offering today in conjunction with other forms of repentance. God provided Yom Kippur, the Day
of Atonement, [Leviticus 16:30] once a year to atone for our sins. We are to afflict our souls by fasting, which is abstinence from eating or drinking for a 25 hour period. The Torah says in the passage that the day itself atones for our sins, once again, only if we are penitent.
Using this logic, it now becomes crystal clear why all the prophets above said God doesn't need sacrifices. It was because the whole purpose of the sacrifice was only to make you repent, if someone repents than that is truly what God wants. Active participation in the sacrificial process was the means through which the person was able to ‘come close’ to God in order to feel remorse. The concept that Jesus died for the sins of the world, and that the sinner had no part in the atonement process completely contradicts the entire point of the Korban Sacrifice. If however, we actively repent and feel remorse for our transgressions we come close to God through our own actions and do not require an animal sacrifice. Human sacrifice and specifically the sacrifice of the Messiah was never part of the Jewish atonement or salvation process. This concept was born from the integration of other cultures and beliefs into the Christian faith. This has never been part of the Jewish belief system and runs contrary to its very foundation.
The people who he would have vote for him should judge him, I would think.
An interesting topic for understanding the nuances of reproval v. atonement in the days leading up to Yom Kippur.
But, as for Anthoy Weiner, the voters of New York city will have their say. My guess is that they will not only say "no", but "hell no".
Yeah, and I do hope that Weiner will keep this passage in mind as the Day of Atonement approaches, and hopefully it will aid in removing his arrogance and pride...
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 – Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
the bible clearly states you shall rebuke YOUR FRIEND, if the fellow is NOT an acquaintance or a friend you are NOT allowed to rebuke him. see end of this chapter: http://www.chabadnw.org/library/tanya/tanya_cdo/aid/7911/jewish/Chapter-32.htm
What verse are you looking at?
I was thinking of 2 Timothy 3:16 – All scripture is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
He is right when he said, God.
However, when you run for public office there is a certain degree of accountability to the public at large, who choose to elect you into office , who have the right to demand basic sense of decorum from you.
Yeah, tell me that part about Bill Clinton again???
I don't believe he was discussing President Clinton.
So? If we hold one politician to a high standard (as I believe we should) then shouldn't we hold them all? It's amazing to me how some people can condemn some while excusing another, and each for the same crime. "Not Casting Stones" is right, they're serving in a high office, they should be held to a higher standard.
The Christian (and the Jew for that matter) should be held to an even higher standard than that because they are representing something that is higher than the law of man and his politics.
Oh, Jeez. St. Reagan cheated on his then-wife, Jane Wyatt, with the future First Lady Nancy. Keep your stupid partisan name-smearing to yourself.
If Hillary got over it, YOU certainly can.
Get over yourself.
How about the part about David Vitter and Mark Sandford, both of whom are currently holding office.
Ouch that video made my head hurt...
There's a common misconception these days that says that we're not supposed to judge anyone. The most common misquoted verse in scripture is "Judge not lest ye be judged." It's just too bad that those people don't read the next few sentences... What the scripture says is that we are to make judgments, just not hypocritically...
As a matter of fact, that's one of the purposes of scripture, to form the moral basis upon which right and wrong is determined. No, we don't have the "moral authority" as Weiner put it, to "judge" anyone, but if someone is practicing sin, then they stand judged already – all we can do is inform them of that, based upon the truth of the law of God.
...for the purpose of repentance.
I forgot to add that into my first post.
You cannot inform them of anything as there is no proof of the truth of the law of God.
The 10 Commandments form the basic tennants of law as we know it. When two Jewish men are arguing over whether or not one has a right to judge them or not, it is possible to take them to Exodus 20 to show that they are judged already, and if they are even cursory students of the Torah, they'll understand that.
Furthermore, when looking at the Day of Atonement approaching, a Jewish man should welcome any indightment of his wrongdoing so that he could better repent. Obviously, Weiner is not repentant, but proud and arrogant over his sins.
Meh, just euphemistically call it "discernment" instead of "judgment" and you'll get away with it...
"What the scripture says is that we are to make judgments, just not hypocritically... "
So a bunch of fallible humans, or people that are imperfect, get to judge someone who is blatantly committing a sin? And as long as the person judging doesn't commit the same sin, he gets to judge it unconditionally? How absurd!
Is there even any reasoning behind this?
Do Jews even believe in afterlife? Why do they think being hairy, not eating pork, and eating flat bread once a year will somehow invoke a 6,0000 year old bronze age God to........bless them? He doesn't even give them eternal life?
The Jewish Torah just implies if your a "good" person (blindly follow Judaism & overly complicated rules) your generations will be "taken care of"? Does God provide a stipend?
Idiots.
🙁