In Hebrew Voices, Ivanka and the Religious Police, Nehemia Gordon shares how some Jews came out against Ivanka Trump and her husband, for violating Rabbinic precepts. This type of judging and shaming is unfortunately common in many communities. Have you been a victim of the “Religious Police“?
Looking forward to reading your comments!
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Michael: Well, this week I got an alert from Nehemia Gordon. He said that the Torah Police were on the march in Washington DC, that the inauguration did not even get started before they were out in force. Nehemia is with us. Nehemia, tell us what is going on in Washington DC with the Torah Police.
Nehemia: Michael, I don’t know if you know this, but President Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, actually converted to Judaism and has openly said that she’s an Orthodox Jew. And her participation in the inauguration triggered alerts all over the Jewish Internet about how she was going to observe Shabbat. I mean, they were talking about this weeks before the actual inauguration. And finally, when the inauguration came, it was a buzz. It was exploding all over Twitter and Facebook, condemning her as not observing properly all the rules and stipulations of the Orthodox Jewish understanding of observing Shabbat. They call it “shomer shaming.” It’s the first time I heard the term. “Shomer” is keeping, and somebody who keeps the Shabbat is called “shomer Shabbat,” or “shomer Shabbos,” in America. So, she wasn’t doing everything according to their rules and regulations, so they’re “shomer shaming” her, and they actually used this term, the “Frum Police.” Frum is the Yiddish word that means “observant,” similar to shomer. So, the shomer shaming and the frum police came out in force to attack Ivanka.
So, here you have, imagine this, the first Jewish first daughter and first son-in-law in over 200 years of American history. As far as I know, there’s never been a first daughter and a first son-in-law who were Jewish. And instead of being proud that, here are these people who are professing to adhere to the Torah, instead they had to do what we call in Hebrew, “lepashpesh batzitziyot,” to “pick through their tzitzit.” What it means is, you got your tzitzit that you wear, and usually you wear it under your garments. It’s nobody else’s business, they don’t see it. “Lepashpesh” is you’re picking through, “Do they have the right number of strings? Do they have the right number of knots? Are the strings the right color and the right hue?” This is to pick through the tzitzit. This is what they were doing to poor Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared, who were just trying to live according to the laws of the Creator of the Universe, according to His Torah, as they understood it, and they were attacking her. It was insane, Michael.
There were people who took photographs that were published of her standing in the Oval Office on Shabbat while her father is signing these executive orders. And they blew up these JPEGs to see, what does she have in her hand? Is that a phone? Is she taking photos on Shabbat? And you might be thinking, if you’re not Orthodox, well, who cares if she’s taking photos on Shabbat? The Rabbis have deemed that forbidden, and so, she’s violating these rules of these modern day pharisees of Orthodox Judaism, which she says she’s a part of.
Michael: Now, I have to point out; this is the world that you were raised in.
Nehemia: Oh, absolutely.
Michael: So, your comments on this… your father was a Rabbi. He is the son of a Rabbi, a son of a
Rabbi. This is your world and being raised as the next pharisee Rabbi for the next generation, that’s the world you came from.
Nehemia: Well, my father’s father wasn’t a Rabbi, but on my mother’s side we have Rabbis going back about 1,000 years, at least. And then my father was a Rabbi, and I was absolutely raised with this. And you can’t understand the anxiety that an Orthodox Jew goes through. I’ll just give you a quick story.
I was with a friend who is an Orthodox Jew, lived in the Old City. We were driving somewhere in Israel, and he had to get back before Shabbat. Okay, no problem. Well, he was wearing a plaid shirt, not a white shirt, and on Shabbat you need to wear the white shirt. And he started sweating and was all nervous. He knows there’s nothing wrong with wearing a plaid shirt on Shabbat, but what will happen if my neighbors see me as I walk in from Jaffa Gate. It’ll be after sunset, and I’ll be wearing a plaid shirt instead of a white shirt as the Rabbis require. And this was deep anxiety that he was going through.
I don’t know if poor Ivanka was going through this, but I guarantee you Jared was nervous. There’s this expression, “Ma yomru habriyot,” “What will the creatures say?” And what that means is, we know this isn’t something that God forbids. God hasn’t commanded us not to do these things, but people have said we can’t do them. And what will they say if they see us doing something that the Rabbis have forbidden, or that even looks like something the Rabbis have forbidden? So, he was terrified he’d be seen in his plaid shirt, which is a violation of the Shabbat for an ultra-Orthodox Jew. And Ivanka, she did three things she has been widely condemned for in the Jewish blogosphere. She took photos on Shabbat, according to the evidence.
Michael: Number one, okay. We got one strike on her.
Nehemia: Number two is, she was a passenger in a car on Shabbat, and it’s forbidden to drive on Shabbat, according to the Rabbis. Why is it forbidden? Because in Exodus 35 it says not to kindle a fire, and a car uses internal combustion. And the Rabbis will tell you that has nothing to do with the work involved in building a fire, of chopping wood, and gathering sticks, and rubbing sticks, and building a fire. What it means is that there’s something special about fire. That fire is this supernatural, ethereal concept that you can’t cause to burn on Shabbat.
And so, she, by being a passenger, increased the weight of the vehicle by even a fraction and therefore increased the amount that was burning. So, she’s violated Shabbat by being a passenger in the car. And why did she do that? Because she didn’t want to get stomped by the protesters in Washington DC who came out against her father, and she wanted to go to the…
Michael: Oh yeah, they were burning limos. I mean, I bet they even had to drive that one a little bit on the fast side.
Nehemia: Well, they burned a Starbucks, yeah, and they smashed up a limo. I’m sure she has good security. But the point was, the Orthodox blogosphere was telling her, “Ivanka, Yael,” that’s her Hebrew name. “Yael, you should have walked from your home to the inauguration. You shouldn’t have driven in a car as a passenger.”
And number three is, on Friday night after sunset, she went to a church service. And according to the Orthodox Jewish understanding, it is forbidden to go to a church. And just so you understand, my father, the Orthodox Rabbi, in his whole life never stepped foot into a church. He had one of his best friends die, and the service was in a church, and he was not allowed to go into that church.
And it’s really kind of strange to me, but the Rabbis teach that you’re allowed to walk into a mosque, but it’s forbidden to walk into a church. This is what they teach, because a church may have images and idols, statues, and there won’t be any statues in the mosque. And so, my father in his whole life never went into a church. Well, Ivanka and Jared, who are supposed to be Orthodox Jews, went into a church, and you know, it’s literally the phrase, “Ma yomru habriyot,” “What will the creatures say?” Well, the creatures were speaking. The Orthodox Jews were pointing fingers and condemning her as a traitor to the faith, and as a khilul Shabbat, a desecration of the Sabbath, khilul Hashem, that she has desecrated the Name. I’d say, Michael, they are the ones who have desecrated the Name by picking through this poor woman’s tzitzit instead of standing by her.
It reminds me of this documentary I recently saw called “The Way.” It was about Christians who came out of the church and started keeping Torah. And the man tells this story of when he first got into Torah. He went with his wife to a football game on Shabbat and he posted a photo, and he was so scared when he posted the photo. What will the people say? And of course, the Torah Police condemned him. He was shomer shamed. He was attacked by the frum police, so it’s no different even in the Hebrew Roots world. It’s incredible.
Michael: Yeah, we were saying the same thing. It’s like every week we got the Torah Police that attack our Shabbat Night Live, which we record live to tape. But they say, “Oh, I see all these people working, getting ready for Shabbat.” And it’s like, no, this was recorded once. I think it was recorded in the morning, the opening of this thing, but it’s like they’re always trying to find fault. They add nothing to life at all. They’re just trying to attack and to shame other people. You know, it seems to be kind of a spirit.
Nehemia: I think there’s a Pharisee spirit that we’re dealing with here, Michael, this spirit of condemning people. I was once condemned for teaching Torah in a synagogue on Shabbat, because I was teaching things that were in a book I wrote. And people said, “They’re gonna buy your book, because you’re talking about the information in your book.” I said, “I’m speaking about the word of God. What are you doing on Shabbat? What are you doing to proclaim His name and teach His Torah?”
And Michael, the way she was condemned on Shabbat really made me think of Colossians 2:16, which we’ve talked about in the Karaite Files, where Paul is dealing with a similar thing, or some similar issue. He said, “Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival, or a new moon, or Sabbaths.” And this is literally happening today, where people are condemning her for keeping Shabbat not in the way that they believe it should be kept. And Michael, if you take what happened with Ivanka and look at Colossians, this explains a key concept in the Book of Galatians. Everything falls into place. It’s some really cool stuff.
Michael: Yeah, we’re going to have to do that, because what you’re talking about right now, this really explains the whole Book of Galatians. Come back, be with me next week. Let’s go into the Book of Galatians, because this is exactly what Paul, what Shaul was dealing with Peter there in Antioch, and he’s talking about this in Galatia. So, come back and we’ll do this again next week. Thanks for being with us, Nehemia.
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as jesus said…..the sabbath was made for man….man was not made for the sabbath…..
the sabbath was meant to be a BLESSING……..NOT A BURDEN….
it is surprising that the spirit of “adding to the commandments of god” are still prevalent today….
jesus also said….(paraphrased)….how is it that you bend over backwards keeping your own added commandments and burdens which I never said….(traditions of man, added fat)…….while you trample my own commandments…(the lean)….
also……it is interesting to note that….the pharisees parallel another burdensome entity….
.. this is the same thing that government also does upon it’s citizens…..by their pretentious arrogance they abuse their authority and powers by passing laws that go way beyond their authority prohibited by the declaration of independence…..which describes the spirit of liberty and free will……expecting the citizens to keep stringent laws when they dont keep them themselves…..
The subject of the religious police is all too relevant as the spirit behind it has invaded our daily lives in one form or another for millennia. Every single person on the planet can give an account of the personal abuse experienced from such an oppressive and systematic form of spiritual wickedness. It is a principality that attacks our birthright to spiritual freedom. Not to mention all the true Martyrs throughout human history, who gave their lives in this life and death struggle we find ourselves.
My only concern is that such an influential and highly charged political figure was cited to bring this subject to light. Granted, the figures involved seem very promising and I’m sure, are poised to bring about some very interesting and unprecedented changes. But, to cite Tolkien, it’s “One Ring to rule them all” it doesn’t matter who wields the Ring of Power as such power will always corrupt the wearer. So, it would be most ironic if the political figures cited actually become the new religious police.
Shalom
All kinds every religions got them the SJWs the feminist’s the Catholics, the baptists, the orthodox, the conservative all trying to push their own power their own wheelbarrow of issues. Torahs supposed not to hard isn’t it ?
Sadly, the Pharisees are alive and well today, in Judaism by adding to the commandments, and Roman-based Christianity by taking away from them. Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32
Funny how rabbis have justified their additions to shabbat about fire by focusing on the fire (spiritually inert) instead of the clear manner of violation in the instance of requiring work and distraction from the only commanded aspect of Shabbat, rest. There is no commandment against an inanimate machine doing the work, but rather for God’s creation not to work.
It’s as if common sense no longer applies to understanding these commands and the stories teaching us the practical application. Stories in the gospels also provide such greater understanding. The actual words in Torah or the takanot of the Pharisees?
The story goes something like this … There was an elderly Black man who loved Yehovah with all his heart and wanted to attend Church in order to worship. The man was in a strange town while traveling so he showed up as was his custom on Sunday morning to worship Yehovah. After walking into the Church, he quickly realized there were no other Blacks in attendance. No sooner had he noticed that he was the only Black person in the Church, he was approached by two nicely dressed White men to ask him to leave. The elderly Black man was escorted out of the Church where he found himself saddened and crying about what has just transpired. As he began to recount to himself what had just occurred, a “bat kol” broke the morning silence saying, ” Do not take it personally my son, they won’t let Me in either.”.
Back in 2004, me and my husband ‘applied’ to live in a religious moshav called Mevot Yericho. The board met, and decided we were not religious enough to ‘qualify’ to live there, so we went somewhere else. It is quite a feeling of rejection, when something like this happens. I cried for days. Looking back, I am sure that Yah had something better for us, because we did qualify to live in a Sfaradi moshav near Beer Sheva. I find the Sfaradim much more forgiving than the Ashkenazim.
I am sure there really is a spirit that likes to accuse the brethren day and night for not doing this well enough or that well enough, and it is mighty ugly! It is especially ugly when it accuses in matters of holiness because of the gravity of that subject, and because it winds up causing confusion in its wake. This is because people are already trying to “be good” and that spirit plays into their sense of self-questioning, undermining them at the same time ostensibly “edifying” or rebuking them – AS IF that spirit is being helpful! I can only think of one who generates such a spirit and that is the ever-cunning Evil One.
Thanks, Nehemia and Michael, for bringing these deeds to light!
Thank you and Michael Rood for this!
It makes my heart glad to hear Nehemia elevate the words of the new testament and teachings of the great apostle Paul!
A comment on the statue issue in churches…. from what I have heard regarding the difference between Rabbinical Jews and Keraite Jews, and the comments made by Nehemia (you) regarding Christians (and christian teaching). It would be like me saying Jews and lumping the Kerites in with the Rabbinical Jews. I am Apostolic – kind of a Kerite of the christian world. We don’t believe in idols, no statues in our churches. Which is an example of when Jesus speaking to the Pharisees, they prevent people going into churches because of statues that aren’t there?
Luk_11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
“What will the creatures say!?” I love that. They say what they say. Better to listen to what The Creator says. It will be a blessed, blessed day when Messiah comes and gets us all in order. So many people are out of order. But let us not be dismayed; we have truth, great love, and peace – beyond what this world presents.
I really love what is written in the book of Acts 15:40. After Shaul and Bar-Nabba had their arguments, I love what the brothers did. “the brothers had committed him to the love and kindness of the Lord” when I read this, I asked Yehovah Father what would happen if we committed each other to the love and kindness of You Father.
I am Shomer Tanakh or how that would be stated. I’ve been physically attacked to the point of drawing blood for observing the WRITTEN Torah by Christians and I’ve been mocked and laughed at by Messianics, too. Scripture says to work out YOUR Salvation with fear and trembling. No where does it say for me to work out ANYone else’s Salvation. I avoid both types of folks like the plague!
I am more concerned about the fact that Jared is a slum landlord which is against so many of Biblical principles
Wow, I could write a book on the spiritual abuse that goes on in churches and I have seen it also in Messianic Synagogue. My son and I were so mistreated and abused by leadership that were so consumed by their own agendas, that anyone who questioned their teaching were accused of having demons. This kind of “demon hunt” tore my family apart and caused such harm in our lives, we are still trying to recover. I have been accused of being Jezebel, of having the spirit of anti-christ. I had one teacher come to my home and tell me to keep my mouth shut because I questioned a book she was teaching in bible study. A pastor came to my house to try and cast demons out of my son, that weren’t there. Than he turned on me. I wrote down all our experience in these congregations and what we went through over the years. I clung to Yehovah and Yeshua because He was all we had. He is helping us heal from the harm that was caused. I’ll tell you, a little leaven really does leaven the whole lump. I learned much from these experiences about what you yoke yourself to. I feel like some people are using Yehovah’s words as weapons. Like bible bullets to condemn others. It’s very sad.
Laurie, I do not meet with organized churches and even the Messianic Synagogue. I love Nehemiah because he has given me healing words of what the Torah, teaching the WORD OF GOD, points out what the Pharisee Police and those rabbis torment with their shaming and condemnation. It applies to the churches who came out of the Jews salvation role of the world. They take the seat of Moses and only One in my honest belief, is Jesus Christ whom Yehovah, the Blessed Name of God’s Israel, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob invested in His Beloved Son. He is the Judge to come. He lives in us in His Holy Spirit judging us today so we do not receive the judgment of this world. We are not the Holy Spirit. Yet these ones think they are. It is ashamed that these unloving religious dogs use Yehovah’s words as weapons. I have experienced throughout my life and believe I am on the mark walking as a disciple of Jesus, cast out, downtrodden, crucified, blasted, spit upon, considered an outcast just because of my relationship with the God of Israel. I am like you, Laurie, I have learned a lot and only draws me closer in my walk with Jehovah, our heavenly Father. Jesus on the earth told those Pharisees He had a lot to say in judging them, but that was not why He came the first time. I love the God of Israel and being a Christ Follower, went to a Messianic Synagogue because I love the Hebrew language and the Jews as well as others who claim Christ as their Meshiach. But the lead Rabbi was pointing me out in the assembly without naming me for being a Gentile seductress because he was attracted to Christ in me, the hope of glory, just because I am looking for Christ to appear to us in revealing His Person, Work and Glorification through His Torah. Is it my fault they are dead in works and actions? That shows you how full of darkness they are and full of incest with their man made religion. I WILL NEVER EVER SET FOOT IN THAT CORRUPT MESSIANIC SYNAGOGUE AGAIN! Laurie, I am your kindred spiritual sister in the flesh living on this earth and I pray daily for God to send His Messiah soon to bring in the reign and glory of Jerusalem, Israel. Maranatha!Come Lord Jesus! That is the only way to clear up these corrupt so-called leaders who appoint themselves as elders, pope, priests, rabbis, etc. Amen! May it be TODAY!
Amen Cecille! We are sisters in Messiah. And amen may He come soon!
Cecille, I would just like to add how much I appreciate your encouraging words. I have read them a couple of times over. No one can understand unless they have gone through it. Yehovah bless you.
Why, oh why does it appear to be so difficult for people to simply mind THEIR own business, and work out THEIR own salvation with fear and trembling?
Dear Barbara , when I read your post I said are you kidding me, but then I guess we should all still be asking YHVH for miracles!