Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

Authored By  :
Published On :
Last Updated :

NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



During the last nine decades, few, if any, documents have
been a source of so much controversy, speculation, hatred
and animosity as the so-called 'Protocols Of The Wise Elders
Of Zion', also known as the 'Wise Men' or the 'Learned
Elders'. These documents are so controversial in nature, and
so inflammatory to the Gentile reader, that the people to
whom their origin is most often attributed, that is, the
Jews, have purportedly spent billions of dollars and gone to
great lengths to not only suppress the revelation of their
dark contents, but in fact to prove once and for all that
they are a complete forgery, and the evil invention of
anti-Semitic elements of early twentieth century tsarist
Russia. Exactly what are these 'Protocols' which have so
stirred up the ire of the Gentile world? To begin to
understand this issue, let us first consider the definition
of the word 'protocol'. The American Heritage Desktop
Dictionary provides the following definitions which are
applicable to this topic:

----- Begin Quote -----

"2. The first copy of a treaty or other document prior to
its ratification. 3. Any preliminary draft or record of a
transaction. [Old French 'prothocole', from Medieval Latin
'protocollum', from Late Greek 'protokollon', first sheet
glued to a papyrus scroll, bearing a table of contents:
'protos', first + 'kolla', glue.]"

----- End Of Quote -----

Despite vehement objections and stiff opposition by the
Jewish population of the world for many decades now, a
growing worldwide body of concerned Christians staunchly
maintain that the 'Protocols' are nothing less than the
minutes, or notes, which were kept, or possibly the actual
updated agenda which was revealed during a series of
twenty-four highly secretive meetings which were held in
Basle, Switzerland during the First Zionist Congress in the
year 1897. Whether or not there is any truth to this claim,
I will leave up to you the reader to determine for yourself
after you have read this article and the dark documents in
question. This historic meeting of the Zionist Congress was
presided over by Theodor Herzl, an Austrian Jew born in
Hungary, who is reverently referred to by the Jews as 'The
Father Of Modern Zionism'. In attendance were some three
hundred prominent members of Jewish society from around the
European continent. Aside from their political ambitions,
the common bond between all of these men is that they were
all members of the religion of the Pharisees, that is, they
were stout Orthodox Jews. In the 1934 edition of the
Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, we find the following
information under the heading of 'Pharisee':

----- Begin Quote -----

"The Jewsh religion as it is today traces its descent,
without a break, thru all the centuries, from the
Pharisees."

----- End Of Quote -----

In his work, 'The Pharisees: The Sociological Background of
Their Faith', author Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, the Chancellor
and Professor of Theology at the Jewish Theological Seminary
of America, and president of the American Academy for Jewish
Research, makes the following comment regarding the roots of
modern Judaism:

----- Begin Quote -----

"Pharisaism became Talmudism: Talmudism became Medieval
Rabbinism, which became Modern Rabbinism, but throughout
these changes of name, inevitable adaptation of custom, and
adjustment of Law, the spirit of the ancient pharisee
survives unaltered."

----- End Of Quote -----

As I point out in a number of other articles, Pharisaism is
an extremely legalistic and self-righteous religion based
upon strict adherence to the Mosaic Law. In some ways, it is
very similar to modern secular humanism, which is a worldly
attitude which seeks to elevate man and his own goodness and
human accomplishments. Like secular humanism, the ultimate
goal of Jewish Pharisaism is man's attainment to perfection
by his own hand, through his own good works of keeping the
precepts of the Mosaic Law. It was because of this obvious
clash between the Spirit and the flesh, that is, between the
Work of God, which is the Salvation of man through faith in
Jesus Christ alone, and the self-righteous works of the
religious Jews, that the Lord frequently had confrontations
with these very same pharisaical vipers in His day. The
Gospels reveal that the Scribes and the Pharisees repeatedly
tried to trap Jesus in His words, and prove that He was a
liar, a blasphemer and a Lawbreaker. Consider the following
examples:

"The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying
unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for
every cause?" (Matthew 19:3)

"Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question,
tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great
commandment in the law?" (Matthew 22:35-36)

"And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would
heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation
against him." (Luke 6:7)

"And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the
Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him
to speak of many things: Laying wait for him, and seeking to
catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse
him." (Luke 11:53-54)

"This they said, tempting him, that they might have to
accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger
wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not."
(John 8:6)

Despite these attempts by the Law-bound Jews to besmirch
Jesus, and thus further exalt themselves as prime examples
of pure religiosity, the Scriptures make perfectly clear
that we will never ever be able to achieve our own Salvation
through our own good works, regardless of the degree of
sincerity of our endeavors. Being as I discuss this topic
in-depth in a number of other articles, I will not belabor
the point here; however, allow me to share a few verses to
establish the foundation for this belief:

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of
sin...For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God;" (Romans 3:20, 23)

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the
law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed
in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of
Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of
the law shall no flesh be justified." (Galatians 2:16)

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any
man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"
(Titus 3:5)

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law
by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another,
even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should
bring forth fruit unto God." (Romans 7:4)

"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise
grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no
more grace: otherwise work is no more work."
(Romans 11:6)

As I mention in other articles, at the time of Jesus'
arrival on Earth, the Mosaic Law and Oral Tradition had
already become firmly established as the supreme authority
in regard to Jewish religious and civil matters, even
taking pre-eminence over the Lord's Living Word through His
Prophets, who were ridiculed, persecuted and killed. Today,
two thousand years later, the supreme authoritative source
for understanding Pharisaism, or Judaism as it is now known,
is found in an in-depth and lengthy work known as the
Talmud. The FAQ file, or Frequently Asked Questions, which
is distributed by the Jewish-oriented Internet newsgroup
soc.culture.jewish, describes the Talmud as follows:

----- Begin Quote -----

"The word 'talmud' literally means 'study'. The Talmud is
sometimes referred to as the Shas. Shas is a shortened form
of the term 'Shisha Sedarim' (six orders), a reference to
the six orders of the Mishna. There are two distinct works
known as Talmud: the Yerushalmi (Jerusalem or Palestinian)
Talmud, and the Bavli (Babylonian Talmud). However, the
Babylonian Talmud has greater popularity and authority, so
the generic term 'Talmud' almost always refers to the
Babylonian Talmud."

"Traditionally, the Talmud is the supreme sourcebook of Law,
as it takes the rules listed in the Torah and describes how
to apply them to different circumstances. Although
technically not a legal code (other works were created for
that purpose), it is the ultimate source material that is
used to decide all matters of Halakha (Jewish law)."

----- End Of Quote -----

As noted above, there are actually two different versions of
the Talmud which were redacted during roughly the same time
period. These were the Jerusalem Talmud, or Talmud
Yerushalmi, and the Babylonian Talmud, or Talmud Bavli.
Referring again to the soc.culture.jewish FAQ, we find the
following information concerning the Jerusalem Talmud:

----- Begin Quote -----

"The Talmud Yerushalmi, also known as the Jerusalem Talmud
(JT), the Palestinian Talmud, Talmud Eretz Yisrael (Talmud
of the Land of Israel) and Gemara de Eretz Yisrael, is the
Mishna plus the Yerushalmi gemara. It is interesting to note
that the JT that we have today is missing a huge amount of
material. There is only commentary for the first four orders
of the Mishna; The rest has somehow been lost to history.
The JT gemara is also missing for tractate Avot and Eduyot,
parts of Toharot and other sections as well. Despite
extensive scholarship, it still is unclear why this material
was not included in the final redaction of the JT."

"Rabbi Yohanan bar Nappaha was the main redactor of the JT.
It was redacted around 500 to 550 CE. Additionally, the name
'Jerusalem Talmud' is a misnomer, as it was most likely
written in Northern Israel, specifically Tiberias."

"In general, whenever the JT contradicts the Babylonian
Talmud (BT), the law follows the BT. Only on matters where
BT is silent or unclear does the authority of the JT
prevail."

"The absence of numerous Mishna tractates and chapters, the
numerous self contradictions, as well as other internal
evidence, suggests that the JT was _not_ in fact redacted in
the proper sense of the word, but rather was a hasty
collection of material. Many scholars believe that the
reason for the ultimate acceptance of the BT rather than the
JT had a lot to do with the power struggles between the two
Jewish communities. Thus it can be argued that the poor
preservation of the JT may be a result of its rejection
rather than its cause."

----- End Of Quote -----

Regarding the Babylonian version of the Talmud, which is the
more authoritative of the two, it is believed to have been
completed in Sura, Babylonia between the approximate years
of 495-500 A.D., thus making it as old as, or slightly older
than, the Jerusalem version. The soc.culture.jewish FAQ
provides the following additional information concerning the
'Talmud Bavli', or Babylonian Talmud:

----- Begin Quote -----

"The Talmud Bavli (BT) is the Mishna plus the Babylonian
gemara. It is much more complete than the Talmud Yerushalmi
(JT), and the redaction is much more careful and precise.
Still, it is by no means complete. The gemara only exists
for 37 out of the 63 tractates of the Mishna. Why did these
tractates remain without gemara in BT? The traditional
answer is that the laws of Zeraim and Toharot (except
Niddah) had no practical relevance; The agricultural laws
were tied only to the land of Israel. In the diaspora these
laws simply were of no use. The purity laws (except for
family purity) were no longer applicable, because there was
no longer a Temple and sacrificial system. One might think
then that there would be no BT gemara on Qodashim - but
there is. This is probably because the study of the
sacrificial regulations is generally thought of as being on
par with actually performing sacrifices."

"In the usual printed editions, the BT comprises the full
Mishna, the 37 gemaras, and the extra-canonical (minor)
tractates; This comprises 5,894 pages, and is much more
extensive than the JT."

"The overall character of BT is encyclopedic. Rabbi Adin
Steinsaltz states:

"The Talmud is the repository of thousands of years of Jewish
wisdom. And the Oral Law, which is as ancient and
significant as the Written Law (Torah), finds expression
therein. It is a conglomerate of law, legend, and
philosophy, a blend of unique logic and shrewd pragmatism,
of history and science, anecdote and humor."

----- End Of Quote -----

As can be seen by the above, whether we are speaking of the
Jerusalem Talmud, or the Babylonian Talmud, it is actually
comprised of two major parts; the Mishna, and the Gemara, of
which there are two versions; the Jerusalem Gemara and the
Babylonian Gemara. Referring again to the FAQ from the
soc.culture.jewish newsgroup, we find the following
definition for the Hebrew term 'Mishna':

----- Begin Quote -----

"The Hebrew verb 'shanah' literally means 'to repeat [what
one was taught] and is used to mean 'to learn'. The term
'Mishna' basically means the entire body of Jewish religious
law that was passed down and developed before 200 CE, when
it was finally redacted by Rabbi Yehudah haNasi (Judah the
Prince). He is usually simply referred to as 'Rabbi'."

"Prior to the time of Rabbi, all Jewish Law was transmitted
orally; It was expressly forbidden to write and publish the
Oral Law, as any writing would be incomplete and subject to
misinterpretation and abuse. However, after great debate,
this restriction was lifted when it became apparent that it
was the only way to insure that the law could be preserved.
To prevent the material from being lost, Rabbi took up the
redaction of the Mishna. He did not do this at his own
discretion, but rather examined the tradition all the way
back to the Great Assembly. Some of tractates preceded him;
these he merely supplemented."

"During this time period (around 200 CE) the Mishna, as such,
was never published. Instead the main study of Jewish law
was conducted in memorized form, except for private letters
and notes."

"The Mishna consists of six orders (sedarim). This explains
the traditional name for the Talmud as 'Shas'. 'Shas' is
simply an abbreviation of shishah sedarim, 'six orders'.
Each of the six orders contains between 7 and 12 tractates,
called 'masekhot'. Each masekhot is divided into smaller
units called 'mishnayot'."

----- End Of Quote -----

Thus we see that the Mishna basically consists of the Oral
Law, or Oral Tradition, in written form. Concerning the
second half of the Talmud known as the Gemara, the
soc.culture.jewish FAQ provides the following explanation
for us as well:

----- Begin Quote -----

"The term 'gemara' means addition; The gemara is an addition
to the Mishna. Interestingly, although there is only one
Mishna, there are _two_ gemaras, each developed by many
rabbis over a few centuries. One gemara was developed in
Israel, and is called the Yerushalmi; the other was
developed in Babylonia, and is called the Bavli. You _never_
find the gemara printed by itself. It is _always_ printed
along with the Mishna."

"When you have the Babylonian gemara and the Mishna printed
together, it is called Talmud Bavli (The Babylonian
Talmud)."

"When you have the Israeli gemara and the Mishna printed
together, it is called Talmud Yerushalmi (or the Jerusalem
Talmud, or the Palestinian Talmud, or the Talmud of the Land
of Israel.)"

"Keep in mind that the gemaras do not stick closely to the
text, but offer a huge amount of additional material which
is only loosely connected to the Mishna. They supplement the
Mishna with haggadic materials and biblical expositions, and
are a source for history and legend."

----- End Of Quote -----

To complete this explanation of the Rabbinical writings,
let's look at a few more Hebrew terms one often hears
associated with the Jewish Law, or Halakha. These include
the terms Torah, Tanakh, Oral Law, and Written Law. Again we
refer to the soc.culture.jewish FAQ to find our explanations
for the first two words, Tanakh and Torah:

----- Begin Quote -----

"The Written Law consists of the books of the Hebrew Bible,
the Tanakh. It should be noted that the term 'Bible' is more
commonly used by non-Jews, as are the terms 'Old Testament'
and 'New Testament'. The appropriate term for Jews to use
for the Hebrew Bible is 'Tanakh'. Tanakh is an acronym for
Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim.

_T__orah_:
Books of Genesis (B'reishis), Exodus (Sh'mos),
Leviticus (Vayikra), Numbers(Bamidbar), and
Deuteronomy (D'varim).

_N__'viim (Prophets)_:
Books of Joshua, Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings,
II Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habukkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. (The last
twelve are sometimes grouped together as "Trei Asar."
["Twelve"])

_K__'Tuvim (Writings)_:
Books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth,
Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel (although
not all that is included in the Christian Canon),
Ezra and Nehemiah, I Chronicles, and II Chronicles.

It should be noted that the breaking of Samuel (Shmuel),
Kings (Melachim), and Chronicles (Divrei hayamim) into two
parts is strictly an artifact of the Christian printers who
first issued the books. They were too big to be issued as
single volumes. Because every one followed these de facto
standards, the titles of Volume 1 and Volume 2 were attached
to the names. The division of the Tanach into chapters was
also done by medieval Christians, and only later adopted by
Jews.

Many Christian Bibles have expanded versions of several of
these books (Ester, Ezra, Daniel, Jeremiah and Chronicles)
inlcuding extra material that is not accepeted as canonical
in Judaism. This extra material was part of the ancient
Greek translation of the Tanakh, but was never a part of the
official Hebrew Tanakh. Jews regard this extra material as
apocryphal. Among Christians, there is a difference of
opinion. Catholics regard this material as canonical, while
many Protestant sects regard this material as Apocrypha.
What is and is not regarded as Apocrypha varies among the
many Christian sects. Some of the most famous Apocryphal
stories are closely associated with the book of Daniel, and
indeed are printed as part of that book in some Chrisitian
Bibles. These stories include: Susan and the Eldars, The
Song of the Three Children, and Bel and the Dragon.

The Torah is also known as the Chumash, Pentateuch, or Five
Books of Moses. The word 'Torah' has the following meanings:

1. A scroll made from kosher animal parchment, with the
entire text of the Five Books of Moses written in it by a
sofer [ritual scribe]. This is the most limited definition.

2. More often, this term means the text of the Five Books
of Moses, written in _any_ format, whether Torah scroll,
paper back book, CD-ROM, sky-writing or any other media.

Any printed version of the Torah (with or without
commentary) can be called a Chumash or Pentateuch. However,
one _never_ refers to a Torah Scroll as a Chumash!

3. The term 'Torah' can mean the entire corpus of Jewish
law! This includes the Written and the Oral Law, which
includes the Mishna, the Midrash, the Talmud, and even later
day legal commentaries. This definition of Torah is probably
the most common among Orthodox Jews. Usually you can figure
out which definition is being used by the context."

----- End Of Quote -----

From the writings of the Old Testament, we know that the
five Books of Moses, known as the Pentateuch or the Torah,
were either verbally given to Moses by God word for word, or
at least inspired by God's Spirit, and then written down
either by Moses personally in his own human words, or else
dictated by Moses to some other priest or scribe. This fact
is verified for us by verses such as the following from the
Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy:

"And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man
speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp:
but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man,
departed not out of the tabernacle." (Exodus 33:11)

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in
a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will
utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under
heaven." (Exodus 17:14)

"And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the
audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD
hath said will we do, and be obedient." (Exodus 24:7)

"And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he
shall blot them out with the bitter water:" (Numbers 5:23)

"And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing
the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the
covenant of the LORD, saying, Take this book of the law, and
put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD
your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee."
(Deuteronomy 31:24-26)

It should also be noted that while we sometimes refer to the
Books of Moses as the Books of the Law, they are not limited
to just the Mosaic Law, but also include the Creation Story,
the pre-Diluvial era, or the pre-Flood times, and the early
history of the Patriarchs beginning with Noah, and extending
up to the time that the Children of Israel entered the
Promised Land of Canaan. Unlike the Christian view which
holds that the five Books of Moses are whole and complete of
themselves, Jewish tradition states that the Written Law was
accompanied by what is referred to as the Oral Law, the
purpose of which is to explain how to apply the Written Law
in one's everyday life. As time has progressed, various
Jewish Rabbis have seen fit to periodically update the
'midrash', that is, the interpretation or exegesis, of the
Law. The purpose of doing this has been to make it more
viable with our changing times. The soc.culture.jewish FAQ
provides this extended definition of the Oral Law, or Oral
Tradition as it is also known:

----- Begin Quote -----

"The Torah makes it clear that it was being transmitted side
by side with an oral tradition. Many terms and definitions
used in the written law are totally undefined. Many
fundamental concepts such as shekhita (slaughtering of
animals in a kosher fashion), divorce and the rights of the
firstborn are all assumed as common knowledge by text, and
are not elaborated. The term "oral law" thus reflects the
knowledge about how to fulfill the laws and regulations of
Torah that was transmitted orally, from generation to
generation. The Oral Law can be thought of as a body of
jurisprudence and procedure that accompanies the statutes of
the Written Law. It is believed to have been passed down
from the time of Moses, restored after the first exile by
Ezra and Nehemiah, and finally written down by the academies
at Yavne and in the Galilee in the two generations following
the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. It consists
of specific interpretations and elaborations of the Written
Law, and some commentary on the principles by which the
Written Law can be expounded."

----- End Of Quote -----

At this point you may be wondering how this information
concerning the Babylonian Talmud is related to our main
topic of discussion. If that is the case, then I encourage
you to continue reading as everything will become clear to
you shortly. As some of my long-time readers are aware, my
approach to writing these articles is to establish a
foundation, and then to build upon it one idea at a time
until the whole puzzle has been revealed. In the second part
of this series, I will be discussing the topics of Christian
and Jewish canned spam, the modern Christian compromise, the
very sensitive issue of Biblical herds and the 'goyim
cattle', the Patriarchal slave masters, the diplomatic
British translators of the KJV Bible, slave traders, Jospeh
and his brethren in Egypt, and Abraham and Hagar the runaway
Egytptian slave. There is still plenty of shocking and
revelatory information to come; so I hope you will join me.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

---

---

Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.