Jerusalem – A senior Haredi rabbi has decreed that it is forbidden to speak to Christians, and forbidden to even look at the new NIS 50 banknote, because it bears the image of the Hebrew poet Shaul Tchernichowsky, who married a non-Jew.
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Rabbi Ben Tzion Motzpi, a respected and highly conservative Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rabbi from the Sephardi community, gave these rulings recently in response to questions submitted to his ask-the-rabbi forum on his website.
One questioner said that he attended a lesson the rabbi gave in Haifa last Wednesday night, and was surprised to see Motzpi take out a NIS 50 bill and tell everyone that it was forbidden to look at it.
“It is known that he was ‘married’ to a fervently Christian woman who would pray in church every Sunday,” said Motzpi.
“People say that during the time of [first Ashkenazi chief] Rabbi [Abraham Isaac Hacohen] Kook, he pleaded, requested and tried to persuade him that she convert, and he refused,” the rabbi continued.
In an undated question – but which is numbered in the rabbi’s questions-and-answers series after the NIS 50 bill question – the rabbi is asked “how one should reply to impure Christians here who ask if you’ve read the New Testament, or if you believe in the impure,” a reference to Jesus.
“It’s forbidden to talk with them,” replied Motzpi. “The breath of their mouths defiles.”
“It’s forbidden to talk with them,” replied Motzpi. “The breath of their mouths defiles.” Really?
Are you saying that Yeshivos, mosdos & meshulochim will no longer accept donations of 50 shekel notes? I doubt it
What about American bills of various dollar denominations which have pictures of non-Jews? Currency with pictures of women? And currency from Muslim countries? And all sorts of other currency? In Europe there were currencies with soneh Yisrael and leaders of pogroms – did anyone forbid using these currencies?
The haredi rabbi has committed lashon hora, and needs to punish himself, overriding the Almighty One, blessed is He.
Chazal forbid gazing at the face of evil people for kabbalistic reasons. This Rav didn’t just make it up. What is VIN’s intent in pushing an anti-Torah anti-Orthodox article by the left wing chiloni Jerusalem Post?
You mean to tell me that no shul or yeshiva would take cash from any Crown Colony e.g. Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand etc. It boggles the mind. What about the change? Also, here in the USA, Purim time, does the Rabbi check all the silver dollars? Some have women!!
for collectors please ue 2×20 and 1×10
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. First there are the Rabbis who pasken their followers shouldn’t use the new 100 sh notes because there is a woman’s picture, & now this?
Are they insane or just want to make headlines? They shouldn’t accept any cash from UK because everything, including pennies, has the Queen’s image on it. But not to worry, the new Royal Kallah is a biracial Jew (after a “conversion” to marry husband #1 ), so she will make the Queen kosher.
I seem to remember some lady named Esther who married a non-Jew, but apparently she did the right thing.
In the article he didn’t say that you may not speak to Christians in general. That statement was made in reference to speaking with missionaries or others that would like to engage in missionary type conversations.
Certainly the strangest story of the day.