Why are an Overwhelming Number of Jews Evil? This May Be the Answer

How the Ashkenazi Jews conquered the West

C H U R C H   R E F O R M    S E R I E S

By Biblicism Institute
(If you do not know the origin of the Ashkenazim, you might want to do so before reading this article by clicking here.)

To conquer the West, the Ashkenazim applied a simple two-step process.

a) Morph themselves into God’s Chosen People.

b) Take over the issuance of money.

They fully understood that there are only two entities that most men on earth revere: God and Money.

“You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24

So they succeeded in steering both to their advantage.

STEP 1

To outwit the Christian West, it was essential that the Ashkenazim reinvent themselves.

To do so they had to tinkle with biblical terminologies. But first a little background.

The faith that is known as Judaism today was never called thus.

Rabbi Adolph Moses in collaboration with Rabbi H.G. Enlow explained clearly in “Yahvism and Other Discourses,” that: “Among the innumerable misfortunes which have befallen . . . the most fatal in its consequences is the name Judaism…”

And what was it called before?

Rabbi Louis Finkelstein stated in his book “The Pharisees, The Sociological Background of Their Faith” that: “Pharisaism became Talmudism, Talmudism became Medieval Rabbinism, and Medieval Rabbinism became Modern Rabbinism. But throughout these changes in name . . . the spirit of the ancient Pharisees survives, unaltered . . . From Palestine to Babylonia; from Babylonia to North Africa, Italy, Spain, France and Germany; from these to Poland, Russia, and eastern Europe generally, ancient Pharisaism has wandered . . . demonstrates the enduring importance which attaches to Pharisaism as a religious movement . . .”

Judaism is actually Pharisaism and therefore it is a misnomer since it is neither the doctrine of Judah nor the doctrine that Christ practiced.

“Pharisaism shaped the character of Judaism and the life and thought of the Jew for all the future,” explains the Jewish Encyclopedia

In fact Pharisaism is the doctrine of the Pharisees of old, an evil doctrine they brought back from their Babylonian captivity. It does not follow the truth of the Bible, neither of the Old Testament nor of the New. Its central tenets are found in a book called the Talmud, a book full of worldly traditions, lies, and superstitions.

“The Babylonian Talmud is based on the mystical religious practices of the Babylonians which were assimilated by the Judahite Rabbis during their Babylonian captivity around 600 B.C. The Rabbis then used these occult traditions in place of the word of God,” wrote Edward Hendrie in Solving the Mystery of Babylon the Great.

And that is why Jesus was constantly rebuking the Pharisees:

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44

“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” Mark 7:8

“You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?” Matthew 23:33

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” Matthew 23:15

The term Judaism was first coined by historian Flavius Josephus as he described the history, the civilization, the language, the poetry, the religion, the art, the science, the manners, the customs, the institutions, and the genocide of the Ancient Judahites. It was not coined with the intention of starting a religion and nor is Judaism even mentioned in the Bible.

The people who first seized the term Judaism and its historical content were first-century Christians. They were using it as an educational tool to acquaint themselves with the true Judahite Hebrews who practiced the doctrine of Christ. Such a mechanism allowed them to better comprehend the Epistles of the Apostles. As a result, they were able to grasp one important fact that has eluded today’s Christians: that the Judahite Hebrews who became Christians were the true Israel of God whom God spared during the Apocalypse of AD 70, but those who followed the Pharisees were not the true Israel of God and therefore were not spared during said catastrophe that saw the genocide and the end of the Hebrew race.

“For they are not all Israel which are of Israel…” Romans 9:6

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!” Matthew 23:38

In effect those Judahite Hebrews who followed the Pharisees were the seed of the Devil, a truth the Apostle John was trying to convey in Revelation by calling them “Babylon”.

“The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes, and of the abominations of the earth.” Revelation 17:5

Given that the Ashkenazim – who are not Judahite Hebrews – were followers and proselytes of Pharisaism, a religion Christians everywhere frowned upon, they realized they needed a new image, a new public relations campaign that would put them in a more favorable light. And the reason they wanted that was because they had a Machiavellian plan. They were planning to conquer the West.

So they sprang into action some time in the 18th century. They sharpened their Chutzpah and endeavored to get Christians to see them as the true Israel of God. Their purely cosmetic overhaul would consist in a) renaming Pharisaism Judaism; yes, that very Judaism Christians were using for educational purposes and b) reinventing themselves as “Jews”, an expression Christians were using to describe Judahite Hebrews or Judeans (i.e., people from the tribe of Judah). It was the perfect hoodwinking package that gullible Christians could easily swallow.

Jewish historian Benjamin Freedman explained it thus:

“When the word “Jew” was first introduced into the English language in the 18th century its one and only implication, inference and innuendo was “Judean.” During the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries a well-organized and well-financed international “pressure group” created a so-called “secondary meaning” for the word “Jew” among the English-speaking peoples of the world. This so-called “secondary meaning” for the word “Jew” bears no relation whatsoever to the 18th century original connotation of the word “Jew”. It is a misrepresentation.”

As it stands, the adherents of Pharisaism not only hijacked the word Judaism, but they also appropriated the word Jew. However – over time and as it pertains to Christianity – the word Jew was completely hollowed out of its “Judean” or “Judahite” meaning because those who hijacked it were not of the tribe of Judah. In fact, in many Christian circles today, that word causes quite the confusion.

Again, here’s historian Benjamin Freedman:

“The present generally accepted “secondary meaning” of the word “Jew” is fundamentally responsible for the confusion in the minds of Christians regarding elementary tenets of the Christian faith. It is likewise responsible today to a very great extent for the dilution of the devotion of countless Christians for their Christian faith. The implications, inferences and innuendoes of the word “Jew” today, to the preponderant majority of intelligent and informed’ Christians, is contradictory and in complete conflict with incontestable historic fact. Christians who cannot be fooled any longer are suspect of the Christian clergy who continue to repeat, and repeat, and repeat ad nauseam their pet theme song “Jesus was a Jew“. It actually now approaches a psychosis.

“Countless Christians know today that they were “brain washed” by the Christian clergy on the subject “Jesus was a Jew”, The resentment they feel is not yet apparent to the Christian clergy. Christians now are demanding from the Christian clergy “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”. It is now time for the Christian clergy to tell Christians what they should have told them long ago. Of all religious groups in the world Christians appear to be the least informed of any on this subject.”

The evolution of the word “Jew” is similar to the evolution that befell the word “gay”. Gay=Merry became Gay=Homosexual. Try telling someone who’s happy (and who’s not a homosexual) that you’re glad he’s so “gay” and see what happens.

Another example is when many Christians today meet a Jew and as they interact their immediate reaction is to say: “Oh, Jesus was a Jew too.” What they’re unwittingly saying is that “Oh, Jesus was a Pharisee too.”

Oh, the blasphemy!

The word “Jew” is so entrenched in describing one who follows Pharisaism (or Judaism) that it’s been completely emptied of its original meaning. Hence it no longer describes a Judahite or Judean. That is why it needs to be struck from the bible.

Furthermore, was Benjamin Freedman referring to Ashkenazi Jews when he spoke of “a well-financed international pressure group” that influenced the “secondary meaning” of the word Jew as it applies to the followers of Pharisaism? Though he didn’t overtly confirm it, he however alluded to it (i.e., he alluded to the Jews).

Let us go back to the 18th Century and unveil that international group. And since Mr. Freedman mentioned that it was well-financed, the only way to really discover it is to unearth the MONEY behind it. After all, money talks and that other stuff floats.

Beginning in the 18th century, one family stood out as the ultimate MONEY family, the German-born Ashkenazi Jews known as the Rothschilds.

Wikipedia explains:

Mentmore Towers, one of the many Rothschild properties

“The family’s ascent to international prominence began in 1744, with the birth of Mayer Amschel Rothschild in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was the son of Amschel Moses Rothschild, (born circa 1710), a money changer who had traded with the Prince of Hesse. Born in the “Judengasse“, the ghetto of Frankfurt, Mayer developed a finance house and spread his empire by installing each of his five sons in the five main European financial centres in London, Paris, Vienna and Naples, as well as Frankfurt.

“During the 19th century, when it was at its height, the Rothschild family is believed by some to have possessed the largest private fortune in the world, as well as the largest private fortune in modern world history.”

Could it be that the Rothschilds were the ones behind this “pressure group” that commandeered the word Jew and hijacked the word Judaism as part of their Machiavellian plan?

If so what did they stand to gain?

Actually there are two good reasons why the Rothschilds would absolutely be involved, if not being themselves the originators of said plan of conquest.

i. They had an insidiously wicked vision. They wanted to transform Palestine into Israel.

Again, Wikipedia explains:

“After the death of James Jacob de Rothschild in 1868, his eldest son Alphonse Rothschild took over the management of the family bank and was the most active in support for Eretz Israel. The Rothschild family archives show that during the 1870s the family contributed nearly 500,000 francs per year on behalf of Eastern Jewry to the Alliance Israélite Universelle. Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, youngest son of James Jacob de Rothschild, was a patron of the first settlement in Palestine at Rishon-LeZion, and bought from Ottoman landlords parts of the land which now makes up present-day Israel.

“In 1917 Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild was the addressee of the Balfour Declaration to the Zionist Federation, which committed the British government to the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.

“In 1924, Baron Edmond James de Rothschild established the Palestine Jewish Colonisation Association (PICA), which acquired more than 125,000 acres (50,586 ha) of land and set up business ventures. In Tel Aviv, there is a road, Rothschild Boulevard, named after him as well as various localities throughout Israel which he assisted in founding including Metulla, Zikhron Ya’akov, Rishon Lezion and Rosh Pina. The Rothschilds also played a significant part in the funding of Israel’s governmental infrastructure. James A. de Rothschild financed the Knesset building as a gift to the State of Israel and the Supreme Court of Israel building was donated to Israel by Dorothy de Rothschild. Outside the President’s Chamber is displayed the letter Mrs. Rothschild wrote to the then current Prime Minister Shimon Peres expressing her intention to donate a new building for the Supreme Court.”

Baron David René de Rothschild, current French chairman of N M Rothschild & Sons

Thus, in cahoots with the British Empire, the Rothschilds conspired to create the state of Israel on the stolen land of Palestine. Apparently they got tired of these random land purchases. They wanted the whole enchilada. So they gobbled up the whole thing, the whole of Palestine using the British army (much the way AIPAC is using the US Army to wage all these Middle East wars to benefit Israel).

Only powerful money could have caused something of that dimension to materialize. What other private individuals in history do you know of who managed to accomplish something of that magnitude? It’s not everyday one gets to buy his own country or in this instance steal one, especially since in so doing one is putting at risk the very Empire that’s helping. See Israel: the Scourge of Empires. Consequently and because of said risk more than money was needed for the realization of such an audacious plan.

In other words, the Ashkenazim needed a miracle.

They needed to be recognized by the West as the true Israel of God in order to keep the populace of the Christian Empires mollified and agreeable as they endeavored to steal the Holy Land which was mostly controlled at the time by the Catholic Church/Empire thanks to its many crusades to unseat the “infidel” Muslims.

So Pharisaism became Judaism while its adherents miraculously became the “Jews” of the Bible. Whoever said money can’t buy miracles. :-)

Consequently, as the Ashkenazim finalized their naturalization as “Jews” of the bible, they sent out a loud message to the Christian world: the kinsmen of Christ were still around and therefore had the right to return to “their homeland” Israel, temporarily called Palestine in their eyes (even though the Ashkenazim and all the other racially identifiable “Jews” are not even remotely related to our Lord Jesus Christ, and none of their ancestors ever lived neither East nor West of the Jordan). See Are Jews the Israelites of the Bible?

ii. They wanted respect, control, power, and possibly even worship.

By pretending to follow Judaism, the doctrine of Judah (by inference the doctrine that Christ the Judahite practiced), and by pretending to be Jews or Judahites, the Rothschilds and their pharisaic brethren would be seen in a whole new light by Western Christians.

No longer would Christians see them as the dreaded Pharisees of old whom Jesus was constantly rebuking. No longer would Christians paint a mental picture of them as the children of the Devil.

And no more would they be treated as pharisaic heathens deserving of calumnia as the Europeans were wont to appraise them as followers of Pharisaism.

Now they would be seen as those of Judah who escaped and await God’s salvation.

By becoming Jews who practice Judaism, the Ashkenazim positioned themselves and their co-religionists in the minds of Christians as those whom God has not rejected.

“I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be!” Romans 1:11

By implication they became the chosen people.

Thereupon, all followers of Pharisaism would no longer be identified by the outside world as Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Samaritans, Europeans, or Africans, but simply as Jews, the kinsmen of Jesus Christ, the God of the Western world.

With such favorable disposition, the Rothschilds could now peacefully amass their fortunes through wars, usury, and fiat money of their own central banks in partnership with their Ashkenazi brethren. This in turn would allow them to accumulate more power, control world events, and dispossess another people (the Palestinians) of their land. As kinsmen of Jesus, no one would dare frown upon them as they go about their nefarious activities. After all, Jews are “God’s chosen” and as such God is the one who is blessing them.

So, hands off.

But if, God forbid, they were to be frowned upon, they could always buy off their detractors or accuse them of being conspiracy theorists or destroy their lives by labeling them anti-semites when Jews are not even Semites.

“…it is impossible to change the genetic make-up from Caucasian to Semitic. Which automatically nullifies their claim to be returning to Israel, the land of their forebears, because their forebears were never in Biblical Israel,” explained Benjamin Disraeli, a former Jew himself and a Victorian Prime Minister of Great Britain, referring to the Ashkenazim who were migrating from Russia and Eastern Europe.

So, lo and behold, the reality of the modern Pharisees was re-calibrated. “Abracadabra,” incanted the genie and there they were, the adherents of the doctrine of Judah, the “Jews” of the bible, the chosen Hebrews (when all Hebrews are irrevocably dead).

“We came to this country (Palestine) that was populated by Arabs and we are establishing a Hebrew, that is a Jewish state there,” vomited Ashkenazi-Israeli General Moshe Dayan, now deceased burning-in-hell war criminal.

Oh, the Chutzpah!

STEP 2

“Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes its laws” – Mayer Amschel  Bauer Rothschild

Rothschild Coat of Arms

The Rothschilds and their fellow Ashkenazic partners began their international control of money in Europe and from there extended it throughout the world.

Wikipedia and the Jewish Encyclopedia clarify it thus:

“Mayer Rothschild’s strategy was to keep control of their banks in family hands, allowing them to maintain full secrecy about the size of their fortunes. In about 1906, the Jewish Encyclopedia noted: ‘The practice initiated by the Rothschilds of having several brothers of a firm establish branches in the different financial centres of the world was followed by other Jewish financiers, like the Bischoffsheims, Pereires, Seligmans, Lazards and others, and these financiers obtained credit not alone with their Jewish confrères, but with the banking fraternity in general. By this means Jewish financiers obtained an increasing share of international finance during the middle and last quarter of the 19th century. The head of the whole group was the Rothschild family…’ “

Said share of international finance reached its apex in 1913 when they finally established a Central Bank in America. It would be known as the Federal Reserve System. They managed to bring it to life by bribing their way through the US Government and Congress. Such method was necessary because the Federal Reserve System is in fact a private enterprise that is pretending to be a US Government institution. It is a cover to secure the privilege of issuing money.

To conceal their scheme, the Rothschilds and their co-conspirators attached to said central bank the “FEDERAL” moniker, a clear misnomer intended to hoodwink gullible Americans – quite the obvious pattern, isn’t it? As a result, money creation in the US went from the People’s Representatives to a group of wealthy men who all strangely happened to be Ashkenazi Jews (except for their token non-Jewish partners):

1. Rothschild Banks of London and Berlin.
2. Lazard Brothers Banks of Paris.
3. Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy.
4. Warburg Bank of Hamburg and Amsterdam.
5. Lehman Brothers of NY.
6. Kuhn, Loeb Bank of NY (Now Shearson American Express).
7. Goldman Sachs of NY
8. National Bank of Commerce NY/Morgan Guaranty Trust (J. P. Morgan Bank – Equitable Life – Levi P. Morton are principal shareholders).
9. Hanover Trust of NY (William and David Rockefeller & Chase National Bank NY are principal shareholders).

Dean Henderson in his article The Federal Reserve Cartel clearly explained and confirmed the private ownership of the Federal Reserve:

“J. W. McCallister, an oil industry insider with House of Saud connections, wrote in The Grim Reaper that information he acquired from Saudi bankers cited 80% ownership of the New York Federal Reserve Bank – by far the most powerful Fed branch – by just eight families, four of which reside in the US. They are,
• the Goldman Sachs, Rockefellers, Lehmans and Kuhn Loebs of New York
• the Rothschilds of Paris and London
• the Warburgs of Hamburg
• the Lazards of Paris
• the Israel Moses Seifs of Rome

“CPA Thomas D. Schauf corroborates McCallister’s claims, adding that ten banks control all twelve Federal Reserve Bank branches. He names,
• N.M. Rothschild of London
• Rothschild Bank of Berlin
• Warburg Bank of Hamburg
• Warburg Bank of Amsterdam
• Lehman Brothers of New York
• Lazard Brothers of Paris
• Kuhn Loeb Bank of New York
• Israel Moses Seif Bank of Italy
• Goldman Sachs of New York
• JP Morgan Chase Bank of New York

“Eustace Mullins came to the same conclusions in his book The Secrets of the Federal Reserve, in which he displays charts connecting the Fed and its member banks to the families of Rothschild, Warburg, Rockefeller and the others.

“The control that these banking families exert over the global economy cannot be overstated and is quite intentionally shrouded in secrecy. Their corporate media arm is quick to discredit any information exposing this private central banking cartel as ‘conspiracy theory’. “

Woodrow Wilson bitterly regretted the bribe he took for his role in creating the Federal Reserve: “I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world — no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.”

Many pundits love to explain that the Federal Reserve is a partnership between the private banks and the Federal Government.

Bull biscuit!

“Some people think that the Federal Reserve Banks are United States Government institutions. They are private monopolies which prey upon the people of these United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign customers; foreign and domestic speculators and swindlers; and rich and predatory money lenders,” explained the Honorable Louis McFadden, Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee in the 1930s.

Pity the poor soul that believes the Fed is playing by the Federal Government’s rules! The only rule the Fed knows is the one that enriches its secret and not so secret members.

According to Forbes, the Federal Reserve in 2008 alone – under the oh! so responsible watch of the Ashkenazi Ben ‘Helicopter’ Bernanke – single-handedly allocated “over $16 Trillion to corporations and banks internationally, purportedly for ‘financial assistance.’ ” And none of that money has been accounted for. These transactions were only discovered after a “quick audit” that then Congressman Ron Paul miraculously managed to squeeze out of the Fed when he was beating the drums trying to get Americans to pay attention to the secretive bank.

So who really got all that money? Was it only $16 Trillion? And how much money has actually been stolen since the founding of the Federal Reserve? No one knows. Not even Congress. And no politician would even utter a word about it. Plus notice how such brazen thievery did not get any play in the mainstream media.

If you think that these Ashkenazim who took control over the US Central banking system did not turn on the money spigot for their fellow Jews in order to create a Jewish stranglehold on the US economy and beyond, then you’re a bigger fool than Judas who sold his Lord for 30 pieces of silver.

No wonder close to half of all billionaires (“half” is what we’re told) in the US are Ashkenazi Jews. And it’s no coincidence either that they dominate the US Media.

“…the Jews will have all the property of the whole world in their hands,” predicted Baruch Levi in his Letter to Karl Marx, La Revue de Paris, p574, June 1st. 1928.

By controlling the money supply, they’re able to buy anything and anyone – anyone who serves the MONEY god that is. Said control abets the Jewish financiers to steer the US Government which in turn steers the world.

The heart of the US Government is Congress. It is full of Judases who have sold out their country to said MONEY god. That is why every single Congressman (except for a handful few) kowtows to AIPAC (secretly known as the Ashkenazi-Israeli Political Action Committee), its bribe money, its control of the corrupt Federal Reserve, and its treasonous attitude in favor of Israel above American interests. Whatever Israel wants, Israel gets. As Pat Buchanan quipped: “Congress is Israeli-occupied territory.”

The MONEY god

The only modern-day US politician who went head-to-head with the MONEY god was President Kennedy. He signed Executive Order 11110 which authorized the US Treasury to issue Silver Certificates and to coin Silver Dollars, a smart move that if fully implemented would have put the Federal Reserve out of commission. Strangely, five months after issuing said order, he was assassinated. Silver Certificates and Dollars were then shelved into the dustbin of oblivion.

Even the President of the United States is no match for the MONEY god. Poor Kennedy had to be made an example of in order to warn all American politicians to beware of bearding the Devil in his den.

CONCLUSION

Jesus was right.

One cannot serve both God and Money. One must choose.

Jesus whips the money changers

Money is governed by the Devil himself. He knows that most people fear him and won’t worship him, but that they sure will worship Money. And when they do, their hearts would no longer be available to genuinely worship the true God whom he hates.

So that sly Devil carefully chose whom he would hand the control of money to. But unfortunately for him and his minions, God is the one who has the final say.

Besides, Jesus already wrote the end of the story, and it favors those who worship Him:

“Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Judahites and are not, but lie– I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.” Revelation 3: 9

Read also: Jesus was not a Jew

Read also: Can a Man Have Many Wives?

Addendum

(As submitted to us by Mr. Larry Silverstein)

You must ALWAYS say Talmudic Jew and Talmudic Judaism, when speaking about Rabbinism (Pharisaism):

RABBINISM

Unwitting Disciples of Zoroaster: The Influence of Zoroastrianism on Rabbanism in the Talmud and Midrash.

From 226 to 379, the Persian kings gathered and systematized the works of Zoroaster. The result was twenty-one great volumes – against the twenty-one words of the most holy Persian prayer, the Ahuravarrya. Known as Nusk, it is the Talmud of the Zoroastrians (speaking anachronistically).

Due to the hostilities between the Persians and the Arabs in the latter half of the eighth century, the books of the Nusk were singled out for destruction. What now remains to the remnants of Zoroastrianism are five volumes:

(1) Yasna – the book of sacrifices, which contains seventy-two chapters among them the Gatha passages (the oldest and most hallowed writings of the Zend-Avesta)

(2) Vendidad – twenty-two chapters on the laws regulating evil spirits.

(3) Yasht -an elaborate, detailed account of the Persian deities.

(4) The Vispered – twenty-four chapters (a supplement to Yasna).

(5) Khorda – an abridged edition of the laws in the Zend-Avesta.

The Talmud was greatly influenced by Persian culture. It derives, in fact, much of its content directly from the Zend-Avesta, as will be detailed in brief below. One finds in the Talmud not only Persian superstition and legend, but many legal decisions handed down in accordance with Persian code. Not to mention the customs and usages of Persian life. Even the forms and expressions of the literary Pahlavi entered into the Talmud in no small way. The Persian influence on the Talmud is so great that, at times, it is difficult to separate what is Jewish from what is Persian in it.

DEMONS

Let’s start with a look at Ahriman. Ahriman’s myriads of helpers are referred to as divs, what we now call devils. Vendidad I, 21 notes that these divs are more numerous than the dust of the earth (as does Talmud Masekhet Berakhot 6, Midrash Tehillim 17, Tanhuma, etc.,). The following passages from the Talmud and Midrash regarding demons (divs) were derived or directly copied from Vendidad II:

Masekhet Sanhedrin 25 notes that devs are particularly active in graveyards. Masekhet Gitin 68 and Midrash Qohelet state that divs are male and female. Masekhet Berakhot 61 and Masekhet Hulin 105 state that demons can assume the shape of human beings, or flys. Masekhet Hagigah 16 contends that demons, like human beings, can reproduce. Masekhet Gitin 68 calls Ashemdai (Aesmadiv in Persian) the greatest of the divs. One of the fundamental teachings of Persian religious conduct is the avoidance of unclean hands (Masekhet Shabbat 109). It was believed that Sabetkh, a div, rests upon such hands: The Qissur Shulhan Arukh 2.1 quoting Yosef Caro’s Beit Yosef states, “when a man is asleep, the holy soul departs from his body, and an unclean spirit descends upon him. When rising from sleep, the unclean spirit departs from his body except for his fingers, and does not depart until one spills water upon them three times alternately. One is not allowed to walk four cubits (six feet) without having one’s hands washed, except in cases of extreme necessity.”

Masekhet Megillah 3 states that during the period of night, no one must offer or receive the hand of another (for fear of an evil spirit). Masekhet Shevu‘ot 15 and Masekhet Berakhot 4 contain the Persian prayer to repel the unseen forces of evil.

The driving off of evil spirits by adjuration was an integral part of the Persian religion. Whole systems of conjuration were devised by them; and many were the invocations with which some of them commanded the devils. All of these spells and “prayers” can be found in the Talmud. A few examples will serve to illustrate:

Vendidad II, 223 and Masekhet Qiddushin 81 state that the chief thing to utter when exorcising a demon was, “I expel you from me.”

If one has been bitten by a mad dog, a spell must be intoned in order to eject the hurtful spirit. [This very incantation, from Vendidad I.30, as well as the spell to ward against forgetfulness and the spell to insure that the sheep of the slaughterhouse may be fat have been written in the Talmud]

The Persian beliefs in cameos, amulets, and talismans were also absorbed into the Talmud, along with the reading of sacred writings to restore health. In general, Zoroastrian influence is directly responsible for the presence of demons and devils in the Midrash and Talmud.

OTHER ELEMENTS

To attempt to detail every point where the Talmud draws upon the Zend-Avesta would take a book. The following section will detail some of the more prominent concepts:

The matter of benedictions, or the saying of grace over something that is eaten is of Persian origin (Vendidad II.112)
The entire marriage ritual, with its special blessings, ceremony and rites is fully delimitated in the Zend-Avesta (II.157, 158, III.228)
Vendidad II.130 and Midrash Tehillim both contend that the righteous who dwell in Paradise are as luminous as the stars.
Vendidad 18, 166 and Masekhet Sanhedrin 17 state that the art of magic does not come from the Evil Power, and all wise men (in the case of the Talmud the men of the Sanhedrin can practice it).
Both the Zend-Avesta (according to the Persians) and Torah (according to the Talmud) are able to repel demonic influences, merely by their recitation (c.f., Seder Eliyhau, Zuta 82, Masekhet Megillah 31, and Masekhet Ta‘anit 27).
The passage in the Zend-Avesta where Ahura Mazda speaks to Zoroaster of the life of virtue that follows death has been copied directly into the Talmud (Masekhet Avot 86).
The disciples of Zoroaster are assured of a heavenly existence, so the Talmud says of the nation of Israel (Masekhet ‘Eruvin 10).
God is with him who studies and mediates in the night (Vendidad 18, Masekhet ‘Avodah Zarah 3, Masekhet Berakhot 30).

The Persians believed that life is but a passing, unimportant state of existence, only after death does one truly begin to live, so Midrash Qohelet Rabba. Zoroastrians were loath to convert others to their faith, so too is found in the Talmud a discouragement to prosetylization (Masekhet Qiddushin 70).

Though the Zend-Avesta was unknown before the coming of Zoroaster, the righteous who had lived before him were aware of it, and followed the precepts it contained. The Talmud, in this vein, contends that the Patriarchs perfectly observed the Torah even though it had not yet been given (Masekhet Yoma 28).

Truly, all of the enjoinments concerning demons and spirits detailed in the Vendidad may be found in the Talmud. It is as if the authors of the Talmud sat down and copied the Vendidad into the Talmud. Many of the laws of Yasna: sacrificial arrangement, rendering of divine service, and regulations of cleanliness form the major portion of Talmudic law in these matters. The list goes on and on, to the extent that one begins to wonder if Rabbanites are unwitting disciples of Zoroaster.

THE TALMUD IN JUDAISM

Both classical and modern-day Judaism gives precedence to the Talmud more than the Torah and other books of the Old Testament. The article establishes the central role and authority of Talmud from standard Jewish and secular sources.

There is a misconception about Judaism common among Christians and Muslims. This is the misleading idea that Judaism is a ‘biblical religion’; that the Old Testament has in Judaism the same central place and legal authority which the Bible has for Protestant or even Catholic Christianity. The legal interpretation of sacred texts is rigidly fixed in Judaism – but by the Talmud, rather than by the Bible itself (Shahak 1994).

The supremacy of the Talmud over the Bible may be seen in the case of the black Ethiopian Jews. Ethiopians are very knowledgeable of the Old Testament. However, their religion is so ancient that it pre-dates the Talmud, of which the Ethiopians have no knowledge. The New York Times wrote,

“The problem is that Ethiopian Jewish tradition goes no further than the Bible or Torah; the later Talmud and other commentaries that form the basis of modern traditions never came their way.”[1]

Because they are not versed in Talmudic tradition, the black Ethiopian Jews are discriminated against and have been forbidden to perform marriages, funerals and other services in the Israeli state. It is the natural consequence of Jewish belief of considering the Talmud superior to the Torah. The Talmud states,

Erubin 21b (Soncino edition):

“My son, be more careful in the observance of the words of the Scribes than in the words of the Torah.”

Rabbi Adin Even Israel Steinsaltz is the founder of the Israel Institute for Talmudic Publications, and has enjoyed the backing of Israeli presidents and prime ministers; he is a recipient of Israel’s highest civilian honor, the Israel Prize. He is currently translating the Talmud into English, French, and Russian. He writes,

“If the Bible is the cornerstone of Judaism, then the Talmud is the central pillar, soaring up from the foundations and supporting the entire spiritual and intellectual edifice. In many ways the Talmud is the most important book in Jewish culture, the backbone of creativity and of national life. No other work has had a comparable influence on the theory and practice of Jewish life, shaping spiritual content and serving as a guide to conduct.”[2]

“Historically speaking, the Talmud is the central pillar of Jewish culture. This culture is many faceted, but each of its numerous aspects is connected in some way with the Talmud. This is true not only of the literature that deals directly with the interpretation or continuation of the Talmud, but also of all other types of Jewish creativity.”[3]

The importance of the Talmud and its authority can be understood by what the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia states,

“The Talmud is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable literary productions of all times. It is an encyclopedia covering the whole scene of human life. It is almost impossible to convey to one who has not spent years in the study of this complex work an idea of its true nature, as even the most exact translations cannot catch the inner spirit of the Talmud … As a repository of the Oral Law, the Talmud’s authority is regarded as divine by Orthodox Jews, and hence it is held to be binding and immutable. Conservative and Reform Jews, however, do not recognize the absolute binding power of the Talmud, although they acknowledge the great part it has played in determining Jewish religious ideas and observances.”[4]

Herman Wouk is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of eleven novels, three plays, and two works of nonfiction. In his book, This is My God; the Jewish Way of Life, serialized in the New York Herald-Tribune in 1959, he wrote:

“The Talmud is to this day the circulating heart’s blood of the Jewish religion. Whatever laws, customs or ceremonies we observe — whether we are Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or merely spasmodic sentimentalists — we follow the Talmud. It is our common law.”[5]

THE ROLE OF THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD IN JUDAISM

The Talmud is not an ancient document with no relevance to modern Judaism. On the contrary, the Encyclopedia Britannica tells us that with the rebirth of a Jewish national state since 1948 and the revival of Jewish culture, the Talmud has achieved renewed importance. Orthodox Judaism has always focused upon its study and has believed it to be the absolute religious authority. It has become one of the aims of religious (Orthodox) Jews there to establish the law of Talmud as the general law of the state. Aside from Israel, the legal system described above has continued to function down to the present day in Jewish communities all over the world. The jurisdiction of rabbinic courts is voluntarily accepted by Orthodox Jews. These courts continue to exert authority, especially in the areas of family and dietary law, the synagogue, and the organization of charity and social activity. Furthermore, Conservative Judaism, too, has always been committed to the Talmud. Thus, a network of day schools and higher institutions of learning in which the Talmud occupies a major role in the curriculum has been established. Scores of young Conservative Jews now search in the Talmud for answers to their crucial problems.[6]

Footnotes:
[1] N.Y. Times: Sept. 29, 1992, p.4
[2] Rabbi Adin Even Israel Steinsaltz, The Essential Talmud, page 3
[3] Adin Steinsaltz, The Essential Talmud, trans. Chaya Galai (New York: Basic Books, 1976) 266
[4] Herschel Revel, Librarian of the Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, New York, The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, s.v. “Talmud,” Volume 10, page 165.
[5] Herman Wouk, This is My God; the Jewish Way of Life quoted by Elizabeth Dilling in The Jewish Religion: Its Influence Today, page 2.
[6] “Talmud and Midrash.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006.