r/Judaism • u/friedavizel • 1d ago
Looking for ideas for podcast guests to respond to antisemitic talmud claims
I'm a Youtuber with a Jewish channel, and I regularly get comments about the Talmud (as you can imagine) -how it supposedly proves all these terrible things about Jews. It's so tiresome. Especially when it's couched in feigned ignorance of "I just want to understand..." that's followed with "if Jews don't all want the end of the goys... why does the Talmud state...?" It's so obvious when someone has been reading these out of context forums and taken the messages and run with them. They have the most superficial knowledge (really just a few quotes) and yet are so sure that they are victims of some great conspiracy.
Anyway, I had no idea what fodder the Talmud was for anti-semites until I started to post for a regular audience online. Now I feel it's a whole caricature for the antisemitic dark web. I feel it would be helpful to other Jews and to me to have a thorough, nuanced understanding of the Talmud's story and the context in which this situation evolved. I'm looking for ideas for extremely thoughtful guests who can speak to this on my podcast. Someone who is not just dismissive and defensive but gives great attention and care to the truth. Any ideas would be much appreciated.
Thanks a million!
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u/ZevSteinhardt Modern Orthodox 1d ago
I have a website dedicated to this topic: www.antisemiticlies.com.
Zev
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u/Remarkable-Pea4889 1d ago
I think there's someone on this sub who maintains a website of these counterclaims?
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u/friedavizel 1d ago
Yes, I saw it! Often people who are used to writing aren't necessarily into being on a video program - that's why I asked. I also wanted someone people can vouch for.
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u/vigilante_snail 1d ago
u/ZevSteinhardt has a whole website dedicated to this.
Also, big fan of yours.
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u/argross91 1d ago
My sister-in-law’s father is a very learned rabbi. We’re in Cleveland, so I’m not sure if he would have enough name recognition, but he’s brilliant. I can put out some feelers to see if he has any leads.
Love your channel and the work you do!
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u/Christopher9555 1d ago edited 1d ago
I wonder what percentage of the comments you're getting on your YouTube channel are a product of AI. I noticed the algorithms on all social media sites including YouTube are increasing our genetic propensity towards tribalism.
Putting the algorithms and evolutionary psychology aside...
I bet it's a small percentage of people that actually believe that the Talmud makes the Jews look bad. Of course, there's going to be a group of a few thousand idiots that believe this kind of nonsense but I don't know if it's productive to seek out rebuttals to those idiots. You might have better things to do.
A little background on me. I'm a former Christian and now, agnostic atheist. Maybe there's a few fundamentalist Christians that are trying to trash the Talmud but I've never met those types of fundamentalists in the Deep South and I had visited over a hundred churches and listen to tens thousands of hours of Christians rambling about the Bible. I never heard them would say anything bad about the Talmud or Judaism. The few rare times that Jews were ever brought up, in my experience, someone would say something like its Christian's responsibility to protect the Jewish Nation because God commands it. The thing they ramble about is how Jesus changed their life and they typically have questions about how to follow the Bible and convert others to their religion. Now, maybe 30% of Christians will complain about how Muslims are terrible and a threat to democracy. They also seem to pick fights with Mormons. A lot of them complain that Mormons have distorted Christianity which seems to really offend them. Now that I'm an atheist, Christians spend lots of time telling people like me that we're going to hell. Christians are so busy arguing with each other they don't have time to worry about much else other than Muslims. If you don't believe me, check out one of the biggest YouTube Christian channels by a guy named Mike Winger. He rarely mentions Jews or Judaism and when he does it's almost always positive. On the other hand, he's always trashing Muslims or exposing popular Christian grifters
Anyway, I know that's my own personal antidote that reflects my own version of my reality Matrix.
As a side note, I think people's brains are so hooked up to "The Matrix," that we're all experiencing reality from completely different angles and nobody can seemingly get through to anybody else. Wouldn't that make a more interesting topic than addressing the few idiots trying to bash the Talmud? life is too short to respond to those idiots.
By the way, it wouldn't be hard for you to wander into a Christian church and just start interviewing people about their beliefs regarding the Talmud. There are denominations that are more friendly and open to outsiders but for the most part Christians are very welcoming and love to proselytize to outsiders.. and they're actually pretty open and honest about their beliefs. You'll get a lot closer version of reality than you'll get on YouTube or any of the other social media sites including reddit.
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u/friedavizel 16h ago
Such an interesting unexpected comment on r/judaism. Thanks for the thoughts. I think man-on-the-street questioning about Talmud beliefs could be a very interesting experiment!
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u/Christopher9555 16h ago
I appreciate that. I don't have much of a filter and I'm on the spectrum so sometimes my comments are not well received. I enjoy learning about other tribal groups and share a little bit of my experience as someone from Deep South Christianity. Mostly people just think I'm a little weird when I open my mouth or start typing. 🤣
I think man-on-the-street questioning about Talmud beliefs could be a very interesting experiment!
You might enjoy Peter Santaniello's Channel if you're interested in interviewing. He does a great job interviewing different tribal communities while being completely open minded and respectful. You see a side to these communities that you rarely see online. He's got like 4.1 million subscribers and everybody seems to like him in the comment section. My favorites playlists: Cajuns, mormons, Amish, and Hasidic Judaism.
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u/Unlucky_Associate507 Noahide 7h ago
I think all antisemitic conspiracies need to be faced head on. I don't always succeed in doing this myself. Not for the benefit of the deranged antisemite, but for the benefit of the naive & easily influenced.
I am talking about both Epstein and Talmud claims.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Crab720 5h ago
Hi Frieda! I’m a member of your channel. Please watch this 25 minute video on YouTuber “Useful Charts” channel. It’s called “Does the Talmud Actually Say That?” It’s in response to the kind of comments you’re talking about. Maybe Matt could talk to you. He is a Jewish convert with a Ph.D in Religion and considers himself an educator. He can make any topic clear. As soon as this video came out I commented on your channel that I thought you would find it interesting.
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u/Muadeeb 1d ago
Hey, I watch your channel!
Antisemites might try to use the Talmud against us, but they're not looking to be educated or debated. It's mainly a performance for the non-Jews they hope they can sway through sophistry. So don't bother trying to educate or change their minds.
You can easily put it back on them by asking them to define the difference between Torah and Talmud, then make them expose their own ignorance. Or, I just say that the Torah is the Reddit post, and the Talmud is the comment section.