In June 2022, president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, received an honorary doctorate from Ben Gurion University in the Negev Desert. During the ceremony, she gave a speech which clearly expressed her support for the Israeli-European partnership and the request to fight anti-Semitism in Europe.
In the first words of the speech, she said:
"As long as I was able to think, I was convinced of 2 very simple facts. Firstly, there is no Europe without European Jews. Secondly, Europe and Israel must be friends and allies. due to the fact that Europe's past is the past of the judaic people. Europe is Simone Veil and Hannah Arendt. Europe is Mahler, Kafka and Freud. Europe is the values of the Talmud, a judaic sense of individual responsibility, justice and solidarity."
President von der Leyen continued, drawing attention to the rebirth of judaic life in Europe, but besides to the continuing dangers:
"Today, almost 80 years after Shoah, judaic life in Europe flourishes again. Yet, the lives of European Jews are besides threatened and threatened. Anti-Semitism hasn't disappeared. It's inactive poisoning our societies. Anti-Semitic attacks are happening in Europe today. It's a fresh threat, but it's the same old evil. Each fresh generation must take work so that the past does not return."
She further stressed the importance of common values and links between Europe and the judaic diaspora:
"Our democracy will flourish if judaic life besides flourishes in Europe. For centuries the judaic people were “light to the nations.” And they will be a light for Europe for many centuries. ...
Long live Europe!
Am Israel Chai!”
The von der Leyen speech was a clear signal of the European Union's commitment to defending judaic heritage and combating anti-Semitism, nevertheless it would not be defined. It was besides a declaration of deep relationship between Europe and Israel – not only political, but besides cultural and moral.
What is Talmud?
The Talmud is 1 of the key works of the judaic tradition, which are a collection of comments, discussions, laws and teachings relating to the Torah (The Five-Earth of Moses). It was created as a consequence of the centuries-old work of rabbinic scholars, mostly between the 3rd and 6th centuries C.E. It consists of 2 parts:
- Mishny – an orderly set of oral legal traditions, codified around 200 AD
- Gemary – comments and debates of rabbis concerning Mishna, written for respective more centuries.
The Talmud exists in 2 versions: the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud – the second is more extended and considered more authoritative in rabbinic Judaism.
Often the Talmud is mistakenly identified with rabbinic Judaism of the first century C.E., or spiritual context of Jesus' life. In fact, however, the Talmud was only created after the demolition of the Temple in 70 C.E., in a completely different socio-religious situation. Rabbinic Judaism developed as a consequence to the fall of temple worship – it was the beginning of a long process that Talmud is only documenting and developing. spiritual pluralism existed in Jesus ’ day: there were Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and another groups. Only after the demolition of the Temple did the Pharisees become the dominant tradition, whose spiritual legacy was rabbinic Judaism, later developed in the Talmud.
The Talmud besides contains passages relating to Jesus and early Christians – any of them are clearly negative.
