Reuven Firestone (California/Zürich); Holy War in Judaism. 

Dr. Reuven Firestone great education material

Much parallelism to 1948. The Persian reclaimed Jerusalem for the second temple to be built. The English reclaimed Palestine so you have aaliya and dream of a third temple. Both times the Jewish influential ones portray it as if it was the Israelites that drove in the victory through fighting the fight. But it breaks my heart that someone lives their entire lives or histories attaching onto “a land” instead of just living life itself. Prof Firestone lectures and mental acuity are very powerful.

All religions have their own dogma Judaism is not an exception!

Despite crucial mistakes in regards to Messianism, you've managed to tap into the ancient hebraic sacred warfare ethos and connect it to the military might of modern Israel, which is profound and astonising indeed. Thank you.

Do we have an ISIS tradition in Buddhism? If there is such a tradition I have never seen it. The same could be said for Jainism.

Awesome!

It doesn’t matter what the Torah says! It matters what the Rabbinical scholars have deduced from their scriptures and have codified as law in the Talmud or any other legal text if there are any! For example the Quran says different things about Jihad because they were revealed according to specific context and so the scholars job is to reconcile them of if unreconcilable then the later verse abrogates the earlier one however this is hardly found in Jihad because they lay down the law according to the changing status in terms of weakness and strength because the sharia is applicable for all times, places and cultures the linguistic meaning of sharia is a water hole and just as water is a source of life and changes and adapts to different shaped environments without changing its natural consistency at all! likewise the Sharia is a source of spiritual life and physical life and adapts to time, place, circumstance and culture without changing in its natural consistency at all! Hence approaching legal issues in the Quran takes a lot of dedicated study to understand it correctly and cannot be understood by a lay person reading an English translation of the Quran ! Quoting the bible will in a similar fashion not allow us to properly understand the Jewish position on holy war because only the legal texts can affirm this! We have hundreds of thousands of such books stretching over 4 main schools because our sharia is a absolutely complete law from personal hygiene to running Government and economical departments! The Jews have Jihad and I have little doubt regarding this! So Books like the Talmud are the first point of call when attempting to clarify the legal status of Jihad! The Jews also have slavery of captives from their wars with non Jews!

What is jehade?

im moshiach from California New Jerusalem im gold beach Oregon rabbi

A historical perspective is always needed for any understanding of these texts, and while there is mention of violence in the Quran - a historical context is a must - there is also the other side, of mercy, understanding, acceptance and forgiveness etc., which counter that violence. Seventh century Arabia was not a peaceful pace. There was no Pax Romana, as in other regions of the Middle East, with Arabian society organized along tribal loyalties, which was paramount. Also, issues of who is using that violence and against whom is important. The Prophet's family was targeted immediately after his death, even as his body was not even cold yet! *Arguments about using or abandoning of violence are as applicable to religions as to modern (secular) ideologies* !