Answering Itzhak Shapira’s “Kosher Pig”

Itzhak Saphira

Written by Menachem Ali

Shalom ‘aleychem
Assalamu ‘alaykum

Baruch Atta Adonai Eloheynu Melech ha-‘olam, Elohey avoteynu ha-rishonim asher bara ha-shemayim ve ha-aretz.

Dear all

An Israeli Jewish Messianic Rabbi wrote a book ” the Return of the Kosher Pig: the Divine Messiah in Jewish Thought ” by (Rabbi) Itzhak Shapira (Maryland, USA: Messianic Jewish Publishers) to prove the divineship of Yeshu ha-Talui as the divine Messiah. He is a leader of Messianic group which so called Messianic Judaism.

” It is a fraudulent group of Evangelical Christians who disguise themselves and their rituals as Jews, to fool and trick ignorant Jews into the PURE IDOLATRY OF CHRISTIANITY. They are a well-trained group of charlatans, and are sadly too successful in their deceit. Definitely the work of Shaitan -Satan”, Avi Ibrahim said.

(Rabbi) Itzhak Shapira claimed that Yeshu ha-Talui is the divine Messhiah and G-d Himself, as HaShem in our rabbinical references. But after reading his book, I read many data in a speculative analysis and full in the paradigm of selected judgment. Even, he really corrupted the rabbinic texts, out of context. It is the first problem in the academic tradition.

The second, he claimed that B’nei Yishmael worshipped other god, the god of pagan, and crazy, his name is ALLH, not G-d of B’nei Yisrael, YHWH baruch Hu.

The Semitic scholars such as Philip K. Hitti in his book ” History of the Arabs: from the Earliest Times to the Present (New York: the Macmillan Company, 1951) proved that
He is the Owner of two dialects who is only ONE. All rabbinic references proved that ALLH and YHWH is similar and the same, neither begets, nor was He Begotten לא ילד ולא ילד

Surely He is the ONE and ONLY ONE G-d, G-d of our forefathers, HaShem habbore. In Arabic dialect, ALLH is called Al-Ism al-A’dzam (The Great NAME) as well as in Hebrew dialect, YHWH is called Ha-Shem (The NAME).

Rav Saadia Gaon ben Yosef al-Fayyumi zichrono livrachah, in his Targum Judeo-Arabic which so-called Chamesh Megilloth Sefer Ruth 2:12 יהוה אלהי ישראל he linguistically wrote as follows: אללה אלאה אסראיל (ALLH Ilahu Isroil). ALLH is not a translation of YHWH in Arabic, but the name is a dialect of YHWH in Arabic. Arabs called Him as the Great Name (Al-Ismu al-A’dzam), and Hebrews called Him as the Name (Ha-Shem).

In his presentation via Youtube, he always refers to Sefer Ha-Galui. It means that he regards the Sefer is an authoritative work, written by the Gaon. In his book Sefer Ha-Galui, Rabbi Saadia write that his belonged to the noble family of Shelah son of Yehudah the 4th son of Yacov and counted among his ancestors Rabbi Hanina Ben Dosa (1st century CE). In 923 CE. he went to the rabbinical center of Torah in Babylon, joining the Talmudic academies of Pumbedita and Sura. He spent six months at the important Torah center in Aleppo – Syria – where he wrote his work ABTIDA’ KALAMNA (Ten Commitments), Arabic written with Hebrew letters which so called the Judeo-Arabic. To this day, this book is yearly read by Aleppo Jews on the holyday of TU BiShvat. The great Kabbalist Rabbi Yosef Chaim, the ” Ben Ish Hay ” praised Rabbi Saadia’s commentary which so called Targum ha-Tafsir be Aravit Chamesha Chumshe Torah in Judeo-Arabic warmly in his book of Halachot (part 2 parshat Ki Tetze, Hilchot Talmud Torah, item 25): ” …. and here in our town of Baghdad there is the Commentary of Rabbi Saadia on the Torah in Arabic. It includes many points very well clarified in the Arabic language and in order to understand the precious diamonds of his commentary and there he gives an example.” Ibn Ezra also stated in his commentary on the book of Genesis 2:12 ” the Gaon has acted for the glory of G-d by translating the Torah into the language of Ishmaelite and into their script so that no one can say that the Hebrew Torah contains words that nobody understands.” Even, the famous commentator Rashi in his commentary on Sefer Shemot 24:12 referred to Rabbi Saadia Gaon as Rabbenu Saadia (Our Teacher Saadia).

If (Rabbi) Itzhak Shapira reject Rabbi Saadia Gaon, he exactly rejects all of his references, including Ibn Ezra’ work and Rashi’s commentary. I think he will be a scholar, and not a pseudo-scholar.