Religious Exemption
One of the big discussions today is whether Judaism provides a Religious Exemption from vaccines.
Good old Judaism is subject to a very involved process of learning from primary sources to secondary sources to contemporary sources, interpreting the timeless messages of the ancient materials and adapting them to modern situations.
Certainly many Jews vaccinate. This may or may not be against the Torah.
Many Jews also eat pork and shellfish, have tattoos, violate the Sabbath, desecrate the holidays, and ignore many of the Torah's laws. This illustration is not to suggest these practices are condoned by religious Jews - they are not, as they are all against the Torah - but it does demonstrate that saying there is one rule for ALL Jews is simply not true.
In Orthodoxy, which is certainly viewed as the most traditional form of Judaism, and certainly its constituents are the most Jewishly knowledgeable of the different streams of Judaism, there is a wide array of views on EVERYTHING.
Orthodoxy is a very large tent. Halacha is subject to many different view points. The most obvious example from the Talmud is how Beis Hillel and Beis Shammai disagreed in so many ways. Even though Hillel's group was greater in number - and their authority is accepted by Jews today - the students of Shammai followed their own understandings and interpretations. Shammai's opinions were and are valid. In terms of some areas of practical law, Beis Hillel are followed because they were the majority.
Vaccines fall in a very different area of Jewish law - because it is a matter of how one views illness, God, the world, and body autonomy. The only areas in which the Torah commands to do something to one's body is Bris Milah, and to suffer on Yom Kippur.
Otherwise the Torah follows the rule of "do no harm." Do not have tattoos. Do not shave in certain places and certain ways. Do not eat food which is forbidden. Do not put things in your body which are "tameh."
So if you want to understand where the idea of a Religious Exemption, which can also be called a "religious objection," comes from, read these two links. You may not agree with what is written. But the author (who chose to remain anonymous) is clearly well versed in Torah knowledge. The information demonstrates why a majority can not dictate to the minority what to put in their bodies.
The facts about vaccines - and what you don't know - are scary. And it has only gotten worse since this was written in 2007.
It is written in both Hebrew and English, with the English content beginning on page 72
Good old Judaism is subject to a very involved process of learning from primary sources to secondary sources to contemporary sources, interpreting the timeless messages of the ancient materials and adapting them to modern situations.
Certainly many Jews vaccinate. This may or may not be against the Torah.
Many Jews also eat pork and shellfish, have tattoos, violate the Sabbath, desecrate the holidays, and ignore many of the Torah's laws. This illustration is not to suggest these practices are condoned by religious Jews - they are not, as they are all against the Torah - but it does demonstrate that saying there is one rule for ALL Jews is simply not true.
In Orthodoxy, which is certainly viewed as the most traditional form of Judaism, and certainly its constituents are the most Jewishly knowledgeable of the different streams of Judaism, there is a wide array of views on EVERYTHING.
Orthodoxy is a very large tent. Halacha is subject to many different view points. The most obvious example from the Talmud is how Beis Hillel and Beis Shammai disagreed in so many ways. Even though Hillel's group was greater in number - and their authority is accepted by Jews today - the students of Shammai followed their own understandings and interpretations. Shammai's opinions were and are valid. In terms of some areas of practical law, Beis Hillel are followed because they were the majority.
Vaccines fall in a very different area of Jewish law - because it is a matter of how one views illness, God, the world, and body autonomy. The only areas in which the Torah commands to do something to one's body is Bris Milah, and to suffer on Yom Kippur.
Otherwise the Torah follows the rule of "do no harm." Do not have tattoos. Do not shave in certain places and certain ways. Do not eat food which is forbidden. Do not put things in your body which are "tameh."
So if you want to understand where the idea of a Religious Exemption, which can also be called a "religious objection," comes from, read these two links. You may not agree with what is written. But the author (who chose to remain anonymous) is clearly well versed in Torah knowledge. The information demonstrates why a majority can not dictate to the minority what to put in their bodies.
The facts about vaccines - and what you don't know - are scary. And it has only gotten worse since this was written in 2007.
It is written in both Hebrew and English, with the English content beginning on page 72
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