Apostasy in Judaism
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Apostasy in Judaism is the rejection of
Classes of apostates and relevance
A mumar is someone who does not observe a certain mitzvah or who doesn't observe any mitzvot at all. Rabbinic categories differentiate between a mumar ledavar echad (מומר לדבר אחד) who doesn't observe a certain mitzvah, and a mumar lekhol hatorah kulah (מומר לכל התורה כולה) who doesn't observe any of the Torah. Likewise they differentiate between a mumar l'teyavon (מומר לתיאבון) who transgresses mitzvah(s) wantonly due to craving (teyavon) or convenience, versus a mumar l'hakh`is (מומר להכעיס) meaning one who transgresses out of spite, who defies the mitzvah willfully.[4]
Some
However today another category, tinok shenishba ("captured infant"), a Jew who sins as a result of having been raised without sufficient knowledge and understanding of Judaism, is widely applied and should be considered.[citation needed]
Examples
In the Bible
The first recorded reference to apostasy from Judaism is in Deuteronomy 13:6–11, which states:
"If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again."
In the Talmud
In the Talmud, Elisha ben Abuyah (referred to as Acher, the "Other One") is singled out as an apostate by the rabbis.[6]
Medieval Spain
In
Several inquisitors of the Spanish Inquisition, such as Tomás de Torquemada and Francisco de Quiñones, are thought to be descendants of apostate Jews. Known apostates who made their mark in history by attempting to convert other Jews in the 14th and 15th centuries include Juan de Valladolid and Astruc Remoch.[citation needed]
Some
Sabbatai Zevi and Jacob Frank
In 1648
In the 1750s
See also
- Conversion of Jews to Islam
- History of Jewish conversion to Christianity
- Heresy in Judaism
- Humanistic Judaism
- Jewish atheism
- Jewish Buddhist
- Jewish schisms
- Jewish secularism
- List of converts to Christianity from Judaism
- List of Jewish atheists and agnostics
- Messianic Judaism
- Off the derech
- Religious disaffiliation
- Self-hating Jew
- Zera Yisrael
Notes and references
- ^ Apostasy is defined as "renunciation of a religious faith".
- ^ "Definition of APOSTASY". www.merriam-webster.com.
- ^ Kopelman Foundation. Archivedfrom the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ "Archived copy". www.hashefa.co.il. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "אנציקלופדיה יהודית דעת – מומר בהלכה היהודית ;". www.daat.ac.il.
- ^ Hagigah 14b. (in Hebrew) – via Wikisource.
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Figures of Conversion: The Jewish Question and English National Identity, Michael Ragussis, Duke University Press, 1995, p. 128, Quote: "The persecutions of the Jews that dominated fifteenth-century Spain, including the forced conversion of masses of Spanish Jews"
- ^ A Social and Religious History of the Jews, Salo Wittmayer Baron, Columbia University Press
- Jewish Encyclopedia. JewishEncyclopedia.com.
- Citadel Press: Quote: "Sabbatai Zevi converted to Islam under threat of death"
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions, Wendy Doniger, p. 358, Published by Merriam-Webster
External links
- Kopelman Foundation. Archivedfrom the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2021.