The Others 3: Judaism and Secularism

(8) There are three categories of infidels: (1) he who says that prophecy is altogether an invention, and that no knowledge reaches the heart of the sons of man from the Creator; (2) he who denies the prophecy of Moses our Master; (3) and he who says that the Creator knoweth not the affairs of the sons of man; every one of these three is an infidel. There are three categories of Torah traducers: (1) he who says that the Torah is not God given, even if he says that a single Verse or one word thereof was spoken by Moses on his own authority is, indeed, a traducer of the Torah; (2) he who denies its Oral explanation, that is the Oral Torah, or its exponents, even as Zaduk and Bythos did;¹⁴See Abot D’Rabbi Nathan, Ch.5; also I. Chro. 5.3G. (3) he who says that the Creator commuted this Duty for another duty and that the Torah had been nullified long ago though it really was God given; every one of these three is a traducer of the Torah.¹⁵Sanhedrin, 90a; Ibid. 99b. C.

(9) There are two categories of apostates in Israel: (1) an apostate against one commandment; (2) an apostate against the whole Torah. The apostate against one commandment is; one who emboldens himself to transgress a given commandment consciously so that it becomes his habit of doing it publicly, even it be of the minor commandments, for instance, he persistently wears garment mixed of wool and flax, or rounds the corners of his head, as a consequence whereof it appears that such commandment no longer exists in his world, such one is, indeed, an apostate in this matter, if he does such spitefully. An apostate against the whole Torah is, a convert to the religion of the idolaters, for instance, at a time when they issue arbitrary edicts and he cleaves to them, saying: "Of what profit is there for me to cleave to Israel who are down-trodden and persecuted; it is rather best for me to cleave to these in whose hand lies the power", he, assuredly, is apostate against the whole Torah.¹⁷Hullin, 5; Sanhedrin, 26b. C.