The Talmud in Arabic

RECENTLY, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Jordan completed a six-year project of translating the Babylonian Talmud into Arabic.

On a gut level, even if somehow the translation is faithful to the original, it immediately feels wrong.

Our precious, sacred treasure and teachings are now freely and superficially in the hands of a people who seek Israel’s destruction.

So what could have been the motivation in translating our central Jewish text and achievement?

It could have been a genuine academic pursuit. After all, some of our greatest scholars wrote in Arabic — Maimonides, for example — and it was the language of affirmative philosophic debate between Jews and Muslims in the Middle Ages.

But unfortunately, the introduction to the Arabic translation leads to a different reality. For the most part, in the introduction, Talmudic passages are quoted to illustrate that Jews are racists. The Talmud is being held up as official evidence of a — caricatured — view of the Jews. This is much like what happened in Christian Europe. Distortions of Jewish texts or customs were used against Jews to justify rabid Christian hate.

Also, the contextualizing of these comments by a Koran follower — which preaches injustice to dhimmi’s, infidels and women — is almost humorous.

From the mere printing of a cartoon in a Danish newspaper, perceived to be offensive to Muslims, a holy war was practically declared; but going to the effort of translating the entire Talmud and then using it as a text against the Jews — now that is supposed to be credible?

The truth is, it would be nice to think that an Arab translation of the Talmud would have been motivated to promote respectful interfaith dialogue, but this project is not sending out that vibe.

In the introduction, modern day Zionism and Judaism are conflated in an absurd way. The introduction to the translation assumes that the choices of secular Israeli leaders are informed by the teachings of the Talmud. Nothing could be further from the truth. Again, almost humorous.

WHAT would the sages of the Talmud have said to this new Arabic translation?

On the eighth day of Tevet, when the Torah was translated by the 70 Jewish sages at the request of the Greek King Ptolomey in antiquity, the Talmud writes: “A three day long period of darkness descended into the world.”

Although the sages were each locked into 70 different chambers and were miraculously guided from above to translate the Torah identically — despite that open miracle, it was darkness, not light, that the Talmud teaches was the result of this seminal translation, today known as the Septuagint.

Darkness — you know why? Because as any translator will tell you, “something is lost in translation.” How much more so for the Torah, which is so layered, so untranslatable. Even for learned, lifelong student of Torah who can understand the nuances of the text, and who has translated it trying retain the meaning of the text without alteration, this translation is a weighty, lifetime achievement.

Aside from what’s lost in translation, there is a more general sense of loss — a certain loss of ownership, of reverence and specialness once a text meant for just you is randomly translated, and then used against you.

I find it hard to believe that non-Talmudic scholars, unfamiliar with the knotty hermeneutics and unique Talmudic phraseology were really able to capture the full body, spirit and accuracy of the Talmud — especially given that a whole school of Talmudic scholars needs a couple of decades to translate the Talmud.

Regardless, there are bound to be some uncomfortable passages. First of all, the Talmud was meant as a guide for life for Jewish ears only. When you are behind closed doors, when you speak among trusted family, there will always be a different way of communicating than when communicating with strangers, not to mention with those who seek your destruction.

It is important to bear context in mind, too. No doubt, there will be those rare laws that may seem racist by today’s definition. It was a different world back then, and no doubt the attitudes gleaned from the relentless and murderous persecutions the Jews were experiencing affected them. The lines in the sand between Jews and non-Jews were drawn quite differently back then, understandably so.

While studying certain laws, I have struggled with certain distinctions. I came to understand the context of living in a reality based constant mistrust of a gentile neighbor.

My generation’s attitude toward gentiles, especially those in Europe just 65-70 years after the Holocaust, is still different from that of my European-born grandmother.

So, what would the rabbis of the Talmudic era say about the translation of the Talmud into Arabic?

Based on their reaction to the Greek translation of the Torah, I don’t think they would have approved.

Copyright © 2012 by the Intermountain Jewish News