Posted on 04/14/2016 11:09:03 AM PDT by SJackson
One can only picture the results of this cringe-worthy moment with President Kasich and a group of Muslims instead
John Kasich Tries to Teach the Bible to Talmudic Scholars
So did you hear the one about Republican presidential candidate John Kasich and the students of the Talmud? Sadly, it’s not a joke. It does have a punchline – of sorts. Whether it’s funny or not depends on your point of view.
While campaigning in New York Tuesday, in what Jewish Insider‘s Jacob Kornblush calls “a pre-Passover learning tour in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn,” Kasich first had a debate with Ezra Friedlander – a Democrat by the way – about who is the most admired person in the Torah.
Friedlander: “I would say, Moses.”
Kasich: “What about Abraham? What happened to Abraham?”
Friedlander, as Kornbluh relates, then “explained that the story of the Jewish people accepting the Torah from G-d started when they left Egypt led by Moses.”
To which Kasich responded: “What are you talking about? Get outta here. The story of the people are Abraham – when God made a covenant with Abraham, not Moses.”
Friedlander: “Yeah, but you know what? In our prayers, we do mention Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — ” (here Kasich interrupts with, “Yeah, like they were important”) – “but we refer to the laws as the laws of Moses and Israel. So, Moses is up there.”
Opportunity to look the fool rained down on Kasich like manna from heaven, for he then ran across the group of Hasidic yeshiva students. Now, as Wikipedia will tell you, yeshiva is “a Jewish institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study.”
This gave Kasich an opportunity to show the world just how clumsily he can handle himself around non-Christians. And it’s not like the world is full of those, or anything.
This is how Kornbluh describes the encounter:
“What are you studying?” he asked. “Talmud,” one student replied. “Okay, but what are you learning now?” Kasich pressed. “Shabbat laws,” they said. “Do you know who I like? Joseph,” Kasich started lecturing them.
Now as Judaism 101 will tell you, or as you no doubt can figure out for yourself, Shabbat corresponds to “Sabbath” and what they were studying were laws concerning the Sabbath. As any Christian should know from a reading of the New Testament, there are some laws concerning this topic – laws Jesus himself ran afoul of.
Perhaps Kasich doesn’t know this. Perhaps he doesn’t care. Perhaps he just likes to hear himself talk. So he said,
“You study Joseph? What do you think about Joseph? Did you hear what was the most important thing Joseph said to his brothers? ‘My brothers, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.’ Did you know that?”
This facepalm moment was followed immediately by another:
“They sold [Joseph] into slavery, and that’s how the Jews got to Egypt. Right? Did you know that?”
No, I bet they didn’t know that. They only study it all day long.
Watch courtesy of Jacob Kornbluh: at link
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John Kasich links Jesus’ blood to Passover at Hasidic matzah bakery
Uriel Heilman April 14, 2016
If Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s visit to Hasidic Brooklyn this week had yielded only one amusing moment, Dayenu – it would have been enough.
But, thank God, there were many in the Republican presidential candidate’s visit to a Jewish bookstore, shmura matzah bakery and Hasidic school in Borough Park on Tuesday.
“It’s a wonderful, wonderful holiday for our friends in the Jewish community – the Passover,” Kasich told reporters after emerging from the matzah bakery, a box of the fresh-baked stuff in hand.
Yes, Jews are known to love The Passover, almost as much they love The Pre-Election Drop-By from vote-seeking politicians.
Flanked by Hasidic publicist Ezra Friedlander, Kasich then launched into a brief appraisal of the links between Passover and, um, the blood of Jesus Christ.
“The great link between the blood that was put above the lampposts” – er, you mean doorposts, governor — “the blood of the lamb, because Jesus Christ is known as the lamb of God. It’s his blood, we believe …”
Kasich’s only saving grace was that his remarks kept getting interrupted by the subway rumbling on the elevated tracks overhead.
Talking about Christ’s blood during a visit to Borough Park? Oy vey. Please, somebody, prep this guy. Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn want to hear about food stamps, affordable housing, Medicaid. Ix-nay on the Jesus-nay.
“He’s very knowledgeable and he takes his religion very seriously,” Friedlander later told JTA in an interview. “In context, I thought it was appropriate.”
Friedlander is a registered Democrat who plans to vote for Hillary Clinton in next week’s primary election.
Kasich also made the cardinal error of shaking his box of shmura matzah as he spoke to punctuate his remarks – a cringe-worthy move for Jewish shmura matzah consumers. If the high-priced, delicate matzahs inside are broken, they become unsuitable for ritual use.
Like!
Schmuck.
It’s “Ix-nay on the Esus-Jay” if you want to use correct pig latin.
I see your point. But he may have just been trying to “talk to them in their own language” - just trying to engage them in their own familiar subject but doing a clumsy job of it and coming on a little too strong. Doubtless, it didn’t seem to go over very well from the reports.
The articles I’ve read haven’t been all that critical of him, kind of treat him as a goof. As did the people at the Yeshiva he was addressing. FR makes a lot more of it, and I’m sure sites on the left do, or would if he was a contender. I think it was just a boneheaded mistake, he was trying to demonstrate his “knowledge”, not correct Jewish doctrine.
Appropriate for Passover, since his name on the ballot will be passed over. Thanks SJackson.
I’m surprised he didn’t call “The Passover” the Jwwish Easter.
Politically, Kasich is nothing more than a liberal Democrat who endorses big government. He welcomed Obamacare to Ohio, and promises to deal with illegals (amnesty, path to citizenship, or whatever cloak he chooses to use) in the first 100 days of his presidency.
Kasich a lonely guy and this is his one big chance of getting out and having people pay attention to him.
That’s really good.
It was difficult, hearing what Kasich said. It’s something to be forgotten as quickly as possible.
In reference to his comment after the bakery visit.
Oh that’s perfect. Cliffy Kasich. Well done!
Mind if I keep this for future use?
I think that can be arranged.
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