חנניה ווייסמאן Chananya Weissman

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Corona: Crazy Or Evil?

March 17, 2023 – כ״ד באדר תשפ״ג by Hyehudi

Craziness According to the Torah

Contrary to popular belief, the greatest pandemic of our time is not Covid (whatever that even is), but mental illness. Everyone but you and me seems to be mentally ill these days, and I’m not so sure about you.

If you believe what you hear, all of the following groups of people fall into this amorphous, ever-growing classification:

People who are hesitant to take vaccines

Vaccines are indisputably the reason humanity has made it this far, the only explanation for why certain illnesses have ceased to ravage the population, and our only hope for a healthy future. There is nothing even to discuss. Hence, anyone who has the slightest qualm about becoming a pharmaceutical pin cushion must be insane.

Considering the fact that the overwhelming majority of the population is done taking Covid boosters, and never would have taken them in the first place without being relentlessly brainwashed, bribed, bullied, and blackmailed, that’s a lot of crazy people.

People who believe the official narrative

According to many people who are hesitant about vaccines (among other things), the vast majority of their counterparts developed something called mass formation psychosis. In other words, they’re nuts. Psycho.

Mass formation psychosis is just as invisible and difficult to detect as Covid – there isn’t even a PCR test that one can pretend means anything – but it spreads, well, like crazy.

Then again, the psychos claim you’re crazy if you don’t believe the official narrative. The world is like a whodunnit; who’s the real crazy one?

Crazy conspiracy theorists

This is another intentionally ambiguous term that can apply to anyone who doesn’t trust the government and corporate media.

Do you believe the government ever tells a fib and the media dutifully promotes it? Crazy.

Do you believe they are covering up the truth about anything of importance? Insane.

Do you believe rich and powerful people collude to become even more rich and powerful? Lunatic.

Do you believe some of these people have nefarious intentions? That they might even be evil? Loco.

Do you believe elections might be rigged by people who will do anything to get power? And that these people will do anything to keep their power? Out of your mind.

Are you concerned that drug companies and their cohorts in high office rig the game in their favor, and have no regard for your wellbeing? You need to take your meds – their meds.

People who feel down, stressed out, overwhelmed, nervous, or otherwise unhappy

This must be a mental illness of sorts, which can be managed (never cured) with a combination of chemicals and psychotherapy. If your feelings improve, it’s to their credit, and you should continue. If your feelings don’t improve, you need more powerful doses of the former and greater supervision of the latter.

Either way, you are a certified mental patient for life. More bluntly, you’re crazy, with all that implies. Cherish the fact that you aren’t locked up in a loony bin and don’t complain.

Children who aren’t perfectly obedient and performing to expectations

There is only one explanation for this worth considering. It isn’t that school is boring, uninspiring, and downright stultifying, nor that sitting in place for hours on end having their brains washed isn’t most kids’ idea of a good time. It also isn’t that kids need to be kids, and they need to learn about the world (and how to behave) in a natural, organic way, which can be inconvenient when you have other things to worry about.

No, the only explanation for why your kid is daydreaming in the classroom, struggling academically, and misbehaving is because there is something chemically and mentally wrong with him. Drug him up and label him for life as being ADD, ADHD, OCD, on the spectrum, learning disabled, or some other moniker that is sure to make him feel better about himself. After all, his “disability” has a name, as well as a treatment plan to “manage his behavior” for the rest of his life. What joy!

Don’t worry; he can still live a full life – as long as he takes his meds religiously forever. And if the meds don’t work, or other problems mysteriously arise that have nothing to do with all those meds, we can give him more meds, more powerful meds, until we get that disorder in order!

And don’t worry about stigma, either; almost everyone is on mood-altering and mind-altering meds. It’s normal to be crazy! If you think you aren’t crazy, you must be in denial.

Now that the science is settled, let’s see what the Torah has to say.

The standard term in halacha for a crazy person is shoteh. The same word is often used pejoratively to refer to a fool or someone whose behavior is worthy of contempt. Whereas such people are legally responsible for their actions, a true shoteh lacks mental competence. Like a child, he is exempt from keeping the mitzvos.

Naturally this has tremendous ramifications. For example, a shoteh cannot effect a legal marriage or divorce, nor do we accept testimony from him. It is critical to differentiate between a true shoteh and someone who is merely eccentric.

The best example in Tanach of a crazy person is someone who was actually pretending to be crazy. David was on the run from Shaul, and fled to the land of the Plishtim. The servants of Achich, king of Gat, recognized the man who had killed so many of their people in battle, seized him, and brought him before the king. Desperate, David behaved like a lunatic in their presence, scraped on the gates, and drooled on himself.

Achish rebuked his servants: “Do I lack crazy people that you brought this one to be crazy by me?” (Shmuel I 21:16)

This indicates that a crazy person is someone who behaves in ways that defy all rhyme and reason, who has no understanding of appropriate behavior.

Indeed, Chazal explain that a shoteh is someone who engages in entirely senseless behavior, such as going out alone at night (it was different back then, though places like New York City and Chicago are turning back the clock), tearing his clothing, and sleeping in cemeteries. The Gemara acknowledges that such behavior does not necessarily render one a shoteh, for competent people might engage in such behaviors for specific reasons (see Chagiga 3B and related sources). The clearest indicator that someone is a shoteh is that he destroys valuable things that are given to him (Chagiga 4A), like a child who doesn’t distinguish between a rock and a bar of gold.

The Rambam in Hilchos Eidus 9:9 (also see the Tur Choshen Mishpat 35:9) elaborates as follows:

A shoteh is ineligible to testify according to the Torah because he is not liable to keep the mitzvos. A shoteh is not only one who walks around naked, breaks utensils, and throws stones, but anyone whose mind has been torn apart, and his mind is always distorted in a certain matter, even though he speaks and asks questions appropriately in other matters, he is ineligible and is considered to be in the category of shotim.

The Rambam acknowledges that even a shoteh may behave appropriately at times, but if he has taken leave of his senses, he remains a shoteh. The Rambam then contrasts this with one who suffers from epilepsy. When such a person experiences a seizure, he is ineligible, but when he is healthy, he is eligible. The Rambam notes that some people with epilepsy are not mentally competent even when they are physically healthy, and concludes that we must deliberate very carefully when it comes to accepting testimony from such people.

The Rambam continues in halacha 10 as follows:

Those who are extremely foolish, who don’t recognize when things contradict one another, and do not have basic understanding of things like ordinary people, as well as those who are terrified and impulsive in their minds, and who are extremely deranged – these are in the category of shotim. And this matter goes according to what the judge sees, for it is impossible to precisely define this in writing.

Although there are strong indicators that someone is a shoteh, it’s not always black and white, and every case must be examined on an individual basis. Sometimes we know it when we see it, but sometimes it’s complicated.

One thing that is very clear is that we cannot define someone as a shoteh for drawing conclusions that go against a supposed consensus. Today it is fashionable to label someone crazy for their beliefs about Covid, vaccines, and official narratives on a wide range of subjects. Some of these people might fall into the category of shotim depending on how they process information and jump to conclusions, but there is no doubt this would apply to a very small percentage of people, regardless of the veracity of their beliefs. After all, reasonable people can draw different conclusions even if some of them are terribly wrong at times. Being terribly wrong is not synonymous with being incompetent and crazy.

This is a vital point. Nowadays people can easily be diagnosed as “crazy” and stripped of their liberty like the lowest of criminals. Governments around the world weaponize “mental illness” against those whose beliefs may threaten their hegemony, but can’t easily be prosecuted for a crime. Labeling people as crazy is a most convenient way to stifle discourse and eliminate the most troublesome dissenters – all for their own safety, of course.

At the same time, liberally referring to people as mentally disabled absolves them of responsibility for their actions when a free pass is unwarranted. If we are to think of everyone who believes that masks and vaccines saved humanity as crazy, then we are denying their possession of free choice, and essentially giving up on them as people. These people are extremely wrong, and their ability to make responsible decisions has been seriously impaired, but they are not necessarily shotim in a legal sense. It’s critical to make this distinction.

Rav Moshe Feinstein makes this distinction in Igros Moshe Yoreh De’ah 1:235. This responsa concerns the case of a Jewish woman who had fallen prey to the Christian cult of scientology. She believed that it was forbidden to avail herself of medical treatment, but only to pray to “that man”. She had since passed away, and the question was if she could be buried in a Jewish cemetery despite becoming an apostate, for one of two reasons. The first reason was as follows: “Perhaps she should be considered a shoteh because this belief is crazy, since it prohibits medical treatment even though we see that their prayers to what they believe in do not help at all.”

Rav Moshe rejected this argument out of hand. He explained that all idolaters who worship wood and stone are behaving foolishly, yet they are still punished for their sins and executed. This proves that when a person does something because of a sincere belief – even if it is illogical – he cannot be considered to have lost his mind. Even highly intelligent people can be misled to believe in nonsense, or can misinterpret dreams and other such experiences, and become totally devoted to their faith, to the point of giving up their lives.

Again, these people are terribly wrong, and might behave in extremely irresponsible ways as a result, but they are not crazy. They are still responsible for their actions…and they can still potentially be persuaded away from their erroneous beliefs.

The Amalekites in power wish to leverage this designation to marginalize and eliminate those who dare oppose them, and sow discord among the citizens. The Torah, however, dissuades us from labeling and libeling the people around us as crazy, even if they hold “unacceptable views”. Our relatives and neighbors might be very wrong about things that we consider to be obvious, but that does not make them mentally ill.

It makes them human.

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A Novel Idea for the Novel Coronavirus: Follow the Torah!

February 15, 2023 – כ״ד בשבט תשפ״ג by Hyehudi

The Torah Warned Us

The last few years could have been so different, if only we allowed the Torah to guide us. Shuls, yeshivos, businesses, and the rest of public life should never have been shut down. No one should ever have worn a mask, anywhere, not for one second. Family, friends, and neighbors should never have fallen for psy-ops and isolated themselves from one another, let alone turned against each other.

And, of course, not one single person, regardless of age or “risk factor”, should have taken any shots of Amalek juice that have maimed and killed so many.

I hope those who made mistakes, who were duped or pressured into choices that harmed themselves and others – and ultimately it was a choice – will take spiritual and material measures to rectify the situation as much as possible. I also hope those who did the duping and pressuring will face the consequences without further delay. If at some future point I am given the opportunity to pull the rope on the worst of them, I would consider it an honor and a mitzvah.

In the meantime, however, we must internalize the fundamental teachings from the Torah that would have guided us away from these mistakes. I have already written extensively about this, and will continue to provide more such teachings. We cannot rely on establishment rabbis – the worst of whom are Erev Rav, and the best of whom tend to lack courage and leadership qualities – to do all the thinking for us. We must continuously increase our own knowledge, engage in critical thinking, and refrain from just going along with something if it seems wrong.

Here are two brief Torah teachings that should have guided us, and would have guided us if the system wasn’t badly corrupted. Let us internalize them now and make sure that what happened in the last few years can never happen again.

The Rambam in Hilchos Sanhedrin 10:1 states:

אֶחָד מִן הַדַּיָּנִים בְּדִינֵי נְפָשׁוֹת שֶׁהָיָה מִן הַמְזַכִּין אוֹ מִן הַמְחַיְּבִין לֹא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאָמַר דָּבָר הַנִּרְאֶה לוֹ בְּדַעְתּוֹ אֶלָּא נָטָה אַחַר דִּבְרֵי חֲבֵרוֹ הֲרֵי זֶה עוֹבֵר בְּלֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה. וְעַל זֶה נֶאֱמַר (שמות כג ב) “וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה עַל רִב לִנְטֹת”. מִפִּי הַשְּׁמוּעָה לָמְדוּ שֶׁלֹּא תֹּאמַר בִּשְׁעַת מִנְיָן דַּי שֶׁאֶהֱיֶה כְּאִישׁ פְּלוֹנִי אֶלָּא אֱמֹר מַה שֶּׁלְּפָנֶיךָ

One of the judges in a capital case who is among those who rule in favor or against, not because he says something that seems correct in his own mind, but he turns after the words of his colleague – he transgresses a negative commandment. About this it says (Shemos 23:2) “Do not respond in a dispute to turn”. From the oral tradition they derive that one should not say at the time of the vote “It is enough that I should be like so-and-so”, but say that which is before you.

A judge, a rabbi, or anyone with decision-making responsibilities is duty-bound to think for himself and arrive at his own conclusions. He is not allowed to simply kowtow to others – even if they are highly qualified experts in their own right, and even if he ultimately agrees with them. He must express his independent opinion and reasoning behind it, and must rule according to what makes sense to him.

Nowadays it is common for a rabbi to add his name to a proclamation written by a third party (often with a dubious agenda) simply because other prominent rabbis signed it. This creates the illusion not only of a consensus, but one that was formed by careful, independent consideration of the matter by every rabbi on the list. In reality, it is simply one rabbi piggybacking on another for the sake of convenience and political expediency.

I personally know of a prominent Rosh Yeshiva in Brooklyn who appeared in a propaganda video in which he forcefully instructed the public to “get tested”, wear masks, and socially distance. I have this rabbi on a recording in which he divulged that he made this video because others had presumably looked into it, and they asked him to make these statements.

In other words, he had no idea what he was actually talking about, but there he was in a widely promoted video telling people what to do, pretending to be speaking in the name of the Torah as an authority figure. Not only that, he was giving people instructions with life and death implications, both physical and spiritual, yet he was nothing more than a mouthpiece.

Not only is this a dereliction of duty, it is a fundamental violation of halacha. A rabbi must do his homework before issuing a ruling, and he must arrive at his own conclusions (even after consulting with other rabbis). Furthermore, he must be prepared to justify these conclusions based on his own reasoning, and if he sides with one authority over another, he must explain why.

This is not only halacha, but it should be common sense.

The many rabbis who ordered us to behave like paranoid hypochondriacs, suffocate ourselves, and take Pfake medicine did not arrive at these conclusions through independent research and reasoning. If they were not outright bribed and blackmailed to issue these rulings, they kowtowed to others, speaking with a voice of authority that was as fraudulent as their message.

If these rabbis followed the halacha, they would never have conducted themselves in this fashion. If the public had this halacha in mind, they would have disregarded their words without a pang of guilt. Instead, many people were misled.

Let us never let this happen again.

The Tur in Choshen Mishpat Hilchos Eidus 28:15 states as follows:

ירושלמי רב כד הוה חמי סהדי מכוונים הוה חקר כד הוה חמי סהדי הכן והכן הוה מכוון פירוש כשהיה רואה עדים שהיו אומרים עדותן מכוונים בלשון אחד היה חושש שמא משקרים ובעצה כיונו לשונם אחת והיה חוקר ודורש אותם אבל אם לא היו אומרים ממש בלשון אחד אלא זה אומר בכה וזה אומר בכה רק שתהא עדותן מכוונת בלא הכחשה לא היה דורש כל כך

We learned in the Yerushalmi, when Rav [note: our editions of Yerushalmi have it as Rav Huna] would see that witnesses would say their testimony with identical language he would worry that they were lying, and that they conspiratorially directed their tongues as one, and he would investigate and cross-examine them. But if they didn’t speak with actual identical language, but this one said it like this, and this one said it like that, just their testimony was parallel without contradiction, he would not cross-examine them so thoroughly.

How many times have we heard the media and other establishment operatives parrot the same script? What are the odds that everyone would decide all at once, entirely on their own, that those who have concerns and doubts are “conspiracy theorists” (whatever that even means)? That their toxic creations would be referred to by everyone specifically as “safe and effective” (the definition of which they quietly, conveniently obfuscated, as they routinely do, so they can trick people without technically lying)? That everyone up and down the establishment food chain, in every corner of the globe, who detest one another and can never agree on anything, would draw exactly the same conclusions about the “pandemic” and the radical, destructive measures that must be taken?

How could any rational person witness this and not be highly suspicious, no matter how they sold it and how badly we want to be able to trust our “leaders”?

We know that the bad guys are masters at overcoming our defenses. However, if we internalized this most basic and sensible halacha, we would have been protected. We would have been highly suspicious by the uniformity of the messaging, which indicates a conspiracy like little else, and we would have cross-examined the messengers with greater intensity.

Unfortunately, most people didn’t cross-examine them at all. Many of them paid dearly for this, and the carnage is ongoing.

Let us renew our commitment to be guided strictly by the Torah. In the merit of this we should be protected from our past mistakes, and prepared to deal with the challenges that surely lie ahead.

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Dear Jewish Reader Still Stuck In America

January 26, 2023 – ד׳ בשבט תשפ״ג by Hyehudi

Darkness and the Moment of Truth Redux

The article below is from two years ago, and is available at chananyaweissman.com/article.php?id=254. My mailing list was fairly small at the time, and I wonder how many people heeded this fundamental lesson from the Torah then.

I wonder how many will heed it now.

Are we satisfied if our persecutors lighten up a little, lulling us into complacency while we remain under their evil thumb, or will we settle for nothing less than complete redemption? Are we willing to take meaningful actions to bring that day closer, or do we have to wait for more “makkos”? The Covid tyrants have given us a little breathing room; will we wait for their next offensive against us and be reactive, or be proactive and keep pushing back until we truly win?

More than ever, I can’t understand why any Jew with his head on straight wants to live in America anymore (the same is true for the rest of galus, but the yetzer hara to stay in America was always the strongest). I’d love for galus Jews to give me one really good sales pitch for a Torah-true Jew to live in America right now, without changing the conversation to Israel’s shortcomings or pretending you’re adhering to some dubious oath you won’t find in the Rambam or the Shulchan Aruch. (Just admit already that was always an excuse. It’s not as if you really make monumental life decisions based on such sources.)

Safety? Getting worse by the day, and you’re hanging by a thread at this point. Revisit the Anti-Semitism Handbook for Diaspora Jews, especially in light of government overreach these last several years, and tell me any of this is far-fetched anymore.

Cost of living? You can’t stop complaining about it, it’s spiraling out of control, and it’s hard to argue you have it better over there anymore. It’s a poor argument at best to stay in galus.

Quality of life? The rat race is killing you more than your Sundays and occasional vacation can justify.

Spiritual sanctity? Ha. A Sodomite would blush at this point. If you want your children to grow up with a spark of holiness — not addicted to screens, mood-altering drugs, secular values, and materialism — America is just about the last place you should want to raise them.

Israel is run by Erev Rav, some of the worst people around, but it also has the greatest amount of awesome, holy Jews per capita of anyplace in the world, it’s home, and we’re going to get through whatever judgment is coming upon the world. America? I wouldn’t want to be there when the shoe really drops.

Oh, and don’t think you’ll be able to “see the warning signs” and get out in time. First of all, you couldn’t see a warning sign if it was flashing neon pink right in your face. That’s the story of Jewish history.

Second of all, you’ve already gotten enough lessons about how fast airports can be closed, flights can be canceled, or travel can otherwise we severely restricted without warning.

And if you’re stuck on the wrong side of the ocean when it gets serious — and it will — don’t think the Israeli government will come and rescue you. You’ll be on your own, and that fancy home you mortgaged everything for won’t feel so safe and luxurious anymore. Assuming you can even stay there.

But don’t mind me, I’m just fear-mongering. Life in America is great, and you have a Constitution to protect you. You have rights! Your community leaders cultivated great relationships with politicians and the police! Jewish organizations are very influential and totally not corrupt! And you took a self-defense class with your shul, you Rambo! And anyway, Israel is even more scary!

I know that very few people will heed the warning, because that’s how it’s always been, and people haven’t gotten any smarter. But a few might listen, and either way, I fulfilled my responsibility by saying the straight truth.

One more thing: I don’t want people to return home out of fear. I want them to return home for all the many positive reasons. But those who want to live in Israel for the right reasons, by and large, are here already. The overwhelming majority of those who remain in galus do so voluntarily, they have internalized a galus mentality, and they simply don’t want to leave, no matter what. So as shameful as it is, they will need to be terrorized into waking up. I hope they wake up as gently as possible, but that’s the truth. Fear remains the best motivator for Jews to become homesick, and in absence of true yearning, they will be made to yearn for home the unpleasant way if that’s what it takes.

This year in Jerusalem. Dayenu.

Continue reading here…

Darkness and the Moment of Truth

January 21, 2021

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Woe to Those Who Call Evil ‘Good’ and Good ‘Evil’…!

January 13, 2023 – כ׳ בטבת תשפ״ג by Hyehudi

The Torah on Word Games and Reality

It’s nauseating that the subject matter in this article is contested and needs to be discussed in seriousness, let alone within Israel and among “educated” Jews. Our society has sunk to such a low spiritual and intellectual state that the most basic and self-evident truths are denied in favor of fantasy and science fiction, all in the name of progress.

So be it. If society is on the 49^th level of impurity, here’s a booster shot of Torah truth to raise it back up a notch or two.

The Mishna in Shevuos 29A teaches about shevuas shav, an oath made in vain, which, of course, is a serious transgression. It begins as follows:

איזו היא שבועת שוא נשבע לשנות את הידוע לאדם אמר על העמוד של אבן שהוא של זהב ועל האיש שהוא אשה ועל האשה שהיא איש

What is an oath made in vain? If one swears about something that is contrary to what is known to man; he says about a pillar of stone that it is gold, about a man that he is a woman, or about a woman that she is a man…

This is codified in Jewish law without controversy (Rambam Hilchos Shevuos 5:22, Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De’ah 236:4, etc.). It’s as basic as it gets.

Chazal offered examples of statements that are so absurd, such obvious distortions of that which is self-evident, that one who takes an oath to that effect transgresses the prohibition of taking an oath in vain. According to the Torah, one who swears that a man is a woman, or a woman is a man, is not taken seriously. He is flogged for swearing in vain.

Even if he brings a peer-reviewed “scientific” study.

There are those today, faux intellectuals, who claim there is Torah support for gender-bending madness, as they do for every perverse notion that emerges from the spiritual sewage of the Western world. It is not enough for them to be perverts and idolaters; they have to claim they are righteous followers of the Torah, in fact the most righteous of all.

When they go on their inevitable hunt for Torah sources to cherry-pick, take out of context, and distort beyond recognition, you can be sure this one won’t make it into their little basket.

Nedarim 24B is another illuminating source for dark times such as these. The Gemara discusses the legal consequences of foolish oaths and vows. For example, someone swears that he saw “like those who went up from Egypt on the road”. This is an impossible exaggeration – surely he did not see millions of people in one place – and therefore it is a foolish vow.

But is it? The Gemara continues:

Ravina said to Rav Ashi, maybe this man saw a nest of ants and called them by the name “those who went up from Egypt”, and hence he swore appropriately!

He said to him, when one swears, he swears according to our minds [according to the understanding of the average person], and we don’t refer to ants in this way.

It’s standard practice for Amalekite institutions to play word games and change the definition of common words to trick people and promote a nefarious agenda – all while “technically” telling the truth.

The Torah doesn’t accept such chicanery. If, for example, you want to advertise a pharmaceutical product as being “safe and effective”, the definitions of “safe” and “effective” have to align with what the average person understands them to be, not technical jargon (see here) that obfuscates how unsafe and ineffective many such products actually are.

The same is true with all the other word games that the snakes play to avoid giving straight answers to questions, avoid legal trouble, and, most of all, mislead unsuspecting people down a harmful path.

It doesn’t matter what they call something. It matters what normal people understand it to be.

This is supported by sources in Tanach as well. When Yaacov agreed to work for Lavan for seven years in exchange for the right to marry Rachel, he stipulated “for Rachel, your youngest daughter” (Bereishis 29:18). Why all the details? Everyone already knew that Rachel was his youngest daughter.

Rashi cites the Midrash, as follows: Because he knew that [Lavan] was a swindler. [Therefore Yaacov] said to him, I will work for Rachel. And lest you say [we agreed upon] a different Rachel from the market, therefore it says “your daughter”. And lest you say “I will switch Leah’s name and call her Rachel,” therefore it says “your youngest”. Even so, it didn’t help, for he tricked him.

They didn’t just come up with this game yesterday.

As Yeshaya 20:5 warns:

הוי האמרים לרע טוב ולטוב רע שמים חשך לאור ואור לחשך שמים מר למתוק ומתוק למר

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who profess darkness to be light and light to be darkness, bitter to be sweet and sweet to be bitter.

I wonder if this phenomenon has ever been so literally true.

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