Any bastard can be a rabbi

Jews end up forever eternally punished for not keeping gods convenent... The halakha says that any bastard can be a rabbi, and he can even give his own kashrut certificates in return for money. And the Chief Rabbinate in Israel is nothing but a depleted organ in a body that is bruised all over Until Jews stop listening to the words of rabbis and start following the laws of god......punsihment will keep on happening...and it dosnt matter how many bombs you have.... its quite simplw you have been given tem simple commandments to follow.... thou shall not murder etc..... and you keep breaking them on a daily basis...

I won't even weigh in on the issue - there is no point in doing so as this article seems to reflect a rapidly growing trend at haaretz.com to keep it's pages stocked with pointless, inflammatory garbage. It's as if Haaretz gave up on news seekers and is now tailoring it's content to get as many outraged "talk backs" as possible. Can you throw us a bone and publish something remotely interesting or thoughtful?

The government of Israel should obey the Torah given to Moshe in regards to people who "add or subtract from the Torah of Moshe". Do that, and your Rabbinical problems will be solved.

First I think the Rabbis had parents married before going under the bedsheets. So they are not likely bastards. Yet, you think the Glenn Beck way. You sound like a Liberatarian: one who wants lower taxes and lower government control (or Rabbi control). Thanks for being the ARCHIE BUNKER of Haaretz. You hate everyone equally. :) Keep up the Glenn Beck job. It is fun at the Rally today in DC at the Lincoln Memorial. Shabbat Shalom, Daniel

How true, how very, very true! Poor, poor Israel.

Minister Sarid, It's a wonder anyone would want to visit your country given the way you constantly bad mouth it? Do you have anything nice to say, or is not just in your nature?

This is the beginning of the end of the State of Israel. Our enemies simply have to sit aside and do nothing but wait. This is not the country my parents, survivors of the holocaust, wanted to live in. Nor do I.

These primitive idiots will be the downfall of the State.

It's considerably easier to become a self-ordained commentator in the mass media.

Come now Yossi, don't you understand that the law only applies to liberals and sub-humans? Those who are 'RIGHT' in their opinions and desires are exempt.

ummmm...errrrrr...hmmmm? Never mind...

Your Country is turning to be like every other place with religious Authority dictating everything. Welcome to the Middle East! I take back the hahahahaha, you have nukes and with the funnies gaining control slow of the country and the IDF, the end game wont be funny.

Watch out secular Israelis. Just at the freak Meir Kahane once declared in public while eggs were being thrown at him, 'today you throw eggs at me but tomorrow when the religious (nuts) are in power we will castrate yours'. The religious right are in battle with the secular population - their weapon- a very high bith rate. When they hold a voting majority, it will be time for the sane to run. And THANK YOU YOSSI SARID for consistently speaking out on the subject.

can be yossi sarid. Thats haaretz for blocking my talkbacks. Great job proving what you are. The left is loosing Jews should celebrate, maybe finally the holiday of Hannukah will be complete.

Now Sarid complains. But when he was in the government did he attempt to form a secular block to deal with these issues? I doubt it. He was busy selling out to the religious in order to advance the "peace process."

Israel won't last. As a jew, I am sad to say this, but thereisno future. Can't get married, can't be divorced or buried without the religion. It is a theocracy and will get much worse as the number of the haredi parasite grow.

The advantage of not having a Pope in Judaism is that one can pick one's own rabbi, as long as he is an approved halakhic authority. This is also true for rabbis employed by the state. For example: the writer of the book "Torat Hamelech" (The King's Torah ) which permits killing innocent Arabs, is a rabbi in a Hesder Yeshiva in Yitzhar (a Kahanist settlement). The "Hesder" is a permit given by the IDF to delay and shorten military service for religious high-school graduates preferring to study Torah first, before military service. Why should the IDF approve of such Yeshivas if they employ rabbis of such opinions? Such a choice is really contrary to the values the IDF wants to inculcate in its soldiers. It has the choice not to approve and to order the termination of such rabbis if the Hesder is to apply. Likewise, Rabbi Lior (rabbi of Kiryat Arba) and Rabbi Yaakov Yosef (a rabbi of a Jerusalem neighborhood) get their salary funded by the state. Why should the state pay for such people? It has the choice to exclude them from any state jobs due to the harm they cause. Somebody is not thinking.

cheeky bastards!

not only is sarid an intellectual fraud but also a mean sp[irited soar looser now that the left is evaporating

Yossi Sarid ultra - leftist was one of the architects of the Oslo accord which brought death to hundreds of Jews and thousands of Arabs. Not having learned his lesson, he still advocates giving away half the country to our enemies thus endagering even more people. The rabbis are not bastards. Let Sarid look in the mirror if he wants to see one.

that don't charge me anything for Yom Kippur.

Rabbis who have nationalistic motives above spiritual motives are not Jewish rabbis, they are nationalist rabbis. The religion of Israel is nationalism, not Judaism. It is an example of the paradox of trying to go from religion (a group activity) to spirituality (an individual pursuit) and instead ending up in merely another religion (i.e., nationalism).

can be a Haaretz journalist.

Is the way of our Arab neighbors. Soon it will be hard to distinguish between their religious based governments and ours. Ancient thinking, discrimination toward women and all who don't follow their ancient beliefs and allowing lawlessness in the name of God.

Yossi- enough with your Rabbi/Religion bashing. Don't you have something better to do with your retirement? I dare you to learn one day in a yeshiva with an open mind. I dare you!

WRT the self-appointed rabbinical authorities: Who died and left you in charge? Even Moshe rabbeinu took HaShem’s instructions and trained Joshua. Any rabbi who sets himself as 'the' authority on Halakha needs to go back for semikhah from a rabbi who understands a little about humility.

Imagine if they became the next army - bullets from heaven!

Of course, one cannot become a professor unless one is pure Left.

Seen from a great distance (and therefore subject to great misunderstanding) the situation is simply this: Israel (practically speaking) has TWO sets of laws--(a) secular and (b) sectarian--and how that will ULTIMATELY play out--no one can REALLY be sure.

An apartheid theocracy. ..for those of you who like your racism sprinkled with some religion.

The police investigator that closes his eyes, the prosecutor that decides not to decide, the politician that licks the boots of these influencial people, the shop owner who pays these people lots of money for a kashrut permit, THEY are the ones you should complain about, In any society, Dutch, israeli, Chinese, whereever, there is a percentage of the people that abuse or try to abuse the state system. It is SOCIETY at large that should stand up against this, You know why you are so angry at those 'rabbis'? Not because of what they do, but because THEY GET AWAY WITH IT. A courageous mnister of police should install a courageous police investigator and a courageous minister of Justice should install courageous prosecutors. Sadly, the culture of flunking responsibility in Issraeli society is so strong after decades of occupation, the state system is so corrupted, that this won't happen anymore. Israelis should prepare for much worse. including public bus serivces with sex separated busses in the entire country,

when a man,as an example,takes legal action,as do his pupils,to avoid Universal draft-and then incites to or favours extreme martial measures,that result in more danger to the actors(no comment on non "practical considerations"),through harder war and resistance-is a hypocrite,not to be taken seriously.yossi could quote this from halakha,or jewish lore:"my son,be not afraid either of the pharisees,or the sadducees,but only of the hypocrites".when a serious teacher presents a definitive precept,an adjudication,he is bound to present all sides of the issue,known to him,after due diligence.eg.doctor(med.)maimonides-how would he go about preempting muslim babies?or,if you're secular,proud of jews,what would einstein say,in a letter to the N.Y. times maybe? the exception mentioned is the unpleasent fact that these are all either state salaried or funded,along with any needs,such as housing and all it entails,to provide shelter for these centres of learning.

Why would anyone publish what this guy has to say? It's a baseless and mindless rant. Isn't Haaretz embarrassed to be putting out this sort of material?

among the things you don't care for, you can certainly take things out of context and extrapolate events conveniently to your way of thinking. bottom line, you lack a jewish spine and wisdom and your entire orientation is based on ignorant hostility. what else have you done constructively in your lifetime other than malign those you are different from. You have every right to fear the Torah- It has you marked pretty well- in almost every parsha.

After finishing the article, Yossi probably felt that he may be a reincarnation of Voltaire, notorious for exposing the clergy of his time. After reading the talkbacks, we may be approaching the next stage-Off with their heads!

Congratulations Yossi upon uncovering another latrine and blowing some of the stink in all directions. Read the talkbacks and be ashamed!

specially in israel. hey never talk peace. they never talk respect. they only talk about women uniform. and on their books they talk about young boys. I DONT KNOW WHAT BUSTERD MEANS IN ENGLISH. IT IS PRETTY BAD IN MY OWN.

who thought himself The Greatest Specialist in all disciplines. He "couldn't read without pangs of jealousy" Engels' deliberations on the Role of Zero in Mathematics" . But despite "repeated browsing thru Jefimov's " Mathematics for 3D Grade pupils in Elemantary Schools ",he couldn't find any inspiration to a disseration on Math ,just couldn't " So he threw himself on wrinting on Role of Language in Communist Consceince and (stealing with both arms from works of his fellow Georgian Marat writings ain Geogian ,Stalin's mothertongue) become a Great Linguist (like Noam Chomsky after him). Sarid has also come to his roots too ,after lifetime of poring over Collected Works of Lenin ,Stalin ,Pol Pot he decided he is not up to the task ,just can't. contribute with anything so great. So he becomes the Great Rabbi ,as was his parentsdream(just like the dream of Yossif's parents was him becoming a Priest ) and passes judgements on Torah . Way to go Yossi !!!!

Just read the stuff Sarid writes. When is the last time he has had a good word to say about anybody?

Any bastard can be a Rabbi; Catholics don't have it so easy. First, to be born illigitimate is a Defect of Birth. Second, to enter the priesthood a Rescript is required and only given by the Pope. Thirdly, there is no hope for a priest to become a Bishop. If a priest seeks to follow the valid process within Church Law to retain some sense of dignity and requests a Rescript of Ligitimation to protect his child he is refused; to protect the priesthood avoid scandal and of course inheritance rights. Therefore, the world has thousands of children of priest's who have no father, no true identity, ((father unknown on Birth and Baptism Certificates) and no inhertance, family or otherwise on the father's side. Interesting concept to say the least. It appears your halakha is the more altruistic , good for you.

I think it is wise and kind to stop using the word "Rabbi" so generally, It is grotesquely insulting. My Rabbi is a wise, kind and refined person and I resent you including him in your beastliness. I mean I would never write what people think of politicians... generally and you, specifically. I refuse to listen, even about you, Mr Sarid!

The perverted terrorists of Islam, the White Chrisian Supremacists of Christianity and the Rabid Rabbis of Israel's fanatical fringe, all of them as one, turning reigion into its own abomination. Peace on Earth? In their sick sense of "spirituality" these "Guardians of the Faith" see this as the greatest abomination of all.

unfortunately, there are religion manipulators everywhere and they mostly harm the real believers.

... is Israel a theocracy or a democracy? Some day Israelis are going to have to decide which is more important to them.

But Israel will continue to be eaten away from within by their power and control. Fact IS though, that God's laws are pretty straight forward and simple and need no 101, or 1001, interpretations by so-called "men of God". They need to be limited strictly to the realm of religion, and the tending of the spiritual needs of their flock...because when they are allowed to excede their boundaries by using their influence and zealotry to mettle in matters of state and civil law, the potential for a despotic theocracy becomes a very real possibility. And once it's overtaken you - it's too late to stop it...

No, it went some years back. Israel has become a de facto Theocracy. And, most curiously, a nation ruled largely by those living outside it's borders. Israel has the society it has allowed to take control of it. Mazel tov!

What do you do when you are immersed from childhood in pre-medieval law which distinguishes between killing a Jew and killing a Gentile? While killing anybody is forbidden by Halakha, the murderer is punished by execution if he killed a Jew, but is only "punished by Heaven" if he killed a Noahide (e.g., a Muslim). Today you have rabbinic opinions that allow killing of Arabs, even innocents, that endanger Jewish control of the Land. They simply compare the importance of the various commandments and come to such conclusions. Rabin's assassination was also sanctioned by some according to Jewish law of "mosser". The settlers see no problem in burning down Arab crops, or uprooting their olive trees, just to get back at the IDF, and not for any wrong the Arabs committed. The Halakha was not updated much, certainly did not have a chance to evolve naturally under conditions of Jewish control over Gentiles. Since changes in it are extremely slow, it is best to override it wholesale, as was done in laws concerning financial issues, according to the ruling of "Dina d'malchuta dina", "the law of the land is valid." But I wonder how long it will take to also change the moral/ethical influence that goes with the outdated Halakha.