Amalekites
Proof that life is stranger than fiction. Or. Putting the Nazi in Ashkenazi.
Did you know Jews are commanded by the bible to genocidally wipe out the Amalekites? "Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." (1 Sam. 15:3). Now the good news is that most rabbis will tell you that the Amalekites are dead, or at least that there is no way of knowing anymore. (I consulted with a Cohen on this one).
How strange is that? I mean the people who have been subjected to the most orchestrated genocidal campaign in modern history (you're not in an Austrian prison, right?), being commanded to commit genocide themselves. It certainly makes you question the moral authority of the text.
Did you know Jews are commanded by the bible to genocidally wipe out the Amalekites? "Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." (1 Sam. 15:3). Now the good news is that most rabbis will tell you that the Amalekites are dead, or at least that there is no way of knowing anymore. (I consulted with a Cohen on this one).
How strange is that? I mean the people who have been subjected to the most orchestrated genocidal campaign in modern history (you're not in an Austrian prison, right?), being commanded to commit genocide themselves. It certainly makes you question the moral authority of the text.
posted by Ranger | 6:36 AM
2 Comments:
check Maimonides' interpretation of the text.
the friendly Cohen.
Maimonides says the amaleks must be requested to follow the Noachide laws and to pay a tax. If they do not obey, then the commandment is implemented.
So, its reeducation and taxation or genocide, which is slightly better. Still a pretty troubling biblical passage.
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