The Talmudic Character of Judaism — Kolbe, 1926

Writing in 1926, Fr. Maximilian Kolbe reveals the deep antipathy Judaism has for Christianity which, not content with its perfidy, devolved further into Talmudism

“This work, therefore, which contains twelve large volumes and which inspires hatred against Christ and Christians, is placed at the head of the rabbis and the latter are obliged to instruct the people on the basis of it, adding that it is a sacred book, more important than Holy Scripture, so much so that God himself learns the ‘Talmud’ and consults with the rabbis who are experts in the ‘Talmud.’” - Fr. Maximilian Kolbe

Fr. Maximillian Kolbe in 1940

Editor’s Introduction

Every week, for the past couple of years, I have spent many hours researching various topics that the modern world considers taboo. Readers familiar with my commentary and this publication, The Journal of American Reform, should now be familiar with these. Yet, it is the topic of Fr. Maximilian Kolbe¹ that has been—in many ways—one of the most difficult to research. It is not only his holy life, but his political and religious views, only made murkier by the unclear circumstances of his death.

That said, the correct view of these questions does seem to be gaining purchase amongst Catholics, particularly for young men and those online. Despite the myriad problems the widespread adoption of the internet and digital technology has ushered in, on the other side, it has brought tremendous good. One of which is that solid, previously inaccessible information is now readily available. Recently, and I cannot remember where from, I heard it stated that the internet has all but proven the falsity of Protestantism, particularly its claims to early Christian practice and Apostolic doctrine. This is largely true. Damning counter-evidence, or in this case salvific truth, is now only a couple of clicks away.

Returning to the present topic of Fr. Kolbe, ironically, the Italian text I am using for this series was not able to be located online. I had to rely on the old-fashioned way of research, that is heading to a specialized library. Having exhausted my internet investigation, I decided to take a day-trip to find this particular book. It made for a fun day and I quickly realized I had struck proverbial gold. Unless someone else has translated these full texts into English, which is possible but I have yet to see them, this will be the first place they can easily be read.

Now, I hope this translation will contribute, if only in a small way, to finding the historically accurate view of Fr. Kolbe and his thinking. To that end, in conjunction with an ongoing series looking at National Socialist Germany from a strictly Catholic perspective, I am beginning a new series to publish some of the forgotten writings of Fr. Kolbe. His writings on Freemasonry, Judaism and The “Protocols” of the Elders of Zion that, while often bringing embarrassment to conservatives, only demonstrate his loyalty to the Church and garner admiration in the eyes of informed Catholics. For example, in a good overview of this discordance from Karl, he points out:

This confusion on the part of authors above means that all three immediately try to rationalize and explain Kolbe's 'anti-Semitism' away. They do this by predictably referencing Kolbe's opposition to the Third Reich, how he 'saved jews' from the SS and died at Auschwitz during the 'Holocaust'.

In the first instance the 'Holocaust' had – according to the orthodox account anyway – not even been decided upon by the German authorities at the time that Kolbe died in an alleged 'starvation bunker' at Auschwitz. (12)

In the second; Kolbe's opposition to the Third Reich seems to have been rooted in the strident nationalism exhibited by the 'conservative and reactionary' (13) Roman Catholic Church establishment in Poland.

…

Getting back to the three authors quoted; in the third instance the authors bring out the jews that Kolbe 'saved', but forget to mention that his motivation for doing so is almost certainly to have been to convert them to Roman Catholicism. (17)

Few know about these details which have been, by all appearances, systematically omitted in the mainstream account of Fr. Kolbe and his energetic life. Certainly, he was no friend of National Socialism, but the reasons for his opposition, likely in some cases justified, are decidedly not what is presented. In fact, his holy life is weaponized and used, dishonestly, as a bludgeon against anyone who would oppose Judaism and the pretensions of organized Jewry. A true shame that, hopefully, in the course of time will be corrected.

Quickly, it has become clear to me that Kolbe understood and importantly appreciated the Jewish peril, not in spite of his Catholicism, but rather because of it. A loyal son of the Church he was, filled with zeal and a true love for unbelieving Jews. In reading through the below translation, one cannot help but feel inspired by the deep spirituality of his writing. Fr. Kolbe does not merely recognize the Jews as enemies of the Church and humanity (1 Thess. II, 15), he truly loves them and cares for them—as evidenced by his actions—which is commanded by Our Lord. A single example will begin to make the point. At the end of the text, he identifies Freemasonry as “nothing but an organized clique of fanatical Jews, who aim, in an unreasonable manner, to destroy the Catholic Church”, and it is grounded in the context of a prayer to Our Lady and is expressly for the purpose of converting both groups to the Catholic Church. His writing is balanced, loving and firm, all aspects in complete harmony. Perhaps this was the continuation of the “beautiful antisemitic work” that Fr. Edgardo Mortara, only decades prior, had made allusion to in his writing.

Now, without further ado, I am pleased to present the first installment of this series from Fr. Maximillian Kolbe, writing in 1926 in the first issue of the Knight of the Immaculate .

Text: Gli scritti di Massimiliano Kolbe eroe di Oswiecim e beato della Chiesa, vol. III, pgs. 252-8

Knight of the Immaculate

Issue No. 1 | January, 1926, pgs. 2-7

The Poor Ones

God always exists: in the past, in the present and in the future.

In time, He called spiritual beings, endowed with reason and free will, from nothingness into existence. As such, they had to consciously choose their own future and prove their faithfulness. Some of them, though mere creatures—that is, nothingness in themselves—attributed to themselves what they were and wanted, by their own efforts alone, to become like God. They sinned through pride. At the same time, they received the punishment they deserved, reprobation. Those who remained faithful, however, having humbly acknowledged the truth—that they must attribute to God all that they were and could, and that they were capable of knowing Him increasingly only through Him, the source of existence, of loving Him, of possessing Him ever more, and thus of becoming more divine (if one may so express it)—God made them happy by taking them with Him to paradise.

God also created a being made of flesh: to him too He gave a soul endowed with reason and free will. He also offered him a period of probation. The proud spirit, with God’s permission and out of envy for the happiness of this being, suggested to him that with his own strength “he would become like God” [cf. Gen. III, 5]. Man allowed himself to be deceived, the mania of pride generated disobedience. The human mind, however, does not possess the clarity of knowledge proper to a pure spirit, therefore the guilt was also less. And so God did not inflict eternal punishment on him, but condemned him to suffering and death.

Who, then, is capable of offering divine justice adequate satisfaction? The magnitude of an offense is measured by the dignity of the one who has been offended, namely, the infinite God. No finite creature, therefore, nor even all creatures together, are capable of offering infinite satisfaction. God, and only the infinite God, can satisfy infinitely.

And something inconceivable happens. God humbles himself to his creatures, becoming man to redeem them and to teach them humility, silence, obedience, and truth. So that men might recognize him, he chose a man, Abraham, and surrounded his descendants with special protection; so that they would not lose faith in the true God, he raised up prophets among them, who foretold the time of His coming, the location, and the details of His life, death, and resurrection.

He came to a poor stable, took up residence in a poor little house, remained submissive in humility for thirty years, taught a way of life, kindly welcomed sinners who did penance, rebuked the hypocritical Pharisees and finally was hung on the tree of the cross, thus fulfilling the prophecies.

Man is redeemed.

Christ the Lord is risen, He founded His Church on the rock, Peter, and he promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against it [cf. Matt. XVI, 18].

Some of the Jewish people recognized him as the Messiah, while others, especially the proud Pharisees, refused to recognize him. They persecuted his followers and passed a large number of laws that forced Jews to persecute Christians. These laws, along with some narratives from previous rabbis, were collected in the year 80 AD by Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, and were finally completed around the year 200 by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, and thus the “Mishnah” arose. Later rabbis added many more things to the “Mishnah”, so that around the year 500 Rabbi Achai ben Huna was able to collect these appendices into a separate volume, called the “Gemara”. The “Mishnah” and the “Gemara” together constitute the “Talmud”. In the “Talmud” these rabbis call Christians: idolaters, worse than the Turks, murderers, impure libertines, dung, animals in human form, worse than animals, children of the devil, etc. The priests are called “kamarim”, that is, fortune tellers, and “galachim”, that is, bald heads, but in particular they do not like souls consecrated to God in religious life.

Instead of “bejs tefila”, a house of prayer, they call the Church “bejs tifla”, a house of foolishness, of filth.

They call images, medals, rosaries, etc. “elylym”, that is, idols.

In the Talmud, Sundays and holidays are called “jom ejd,” that is, days of perdition.

They also teach that a Jew is permitted to deceive and rob a Christian, since “all the property of the unbelievers,” that is, of the Christians, “is like the desert: whoever takes it first becomes its owner” (baba batra).

This work, therefore, which contains twelve large volumes and which inspires hatred against Christ and Christians, is placed at the head of the rabbis and the latter are obliged to instruct the people on the basis of it, adding that it is a sacred book, more important than Holy Scripture, so much so that God himself learns the “Talmud” and consults with the rabbis who are experts in the “Talmud”.

It is not surprising, therefore, that neither a common Jew nor a rabbi usually has a correct idea of the religion of Christ: nourished only by hatred towards his Redeemer, buried in temporal affairs, greedy for gold and power, he does not even imagine how much peace and how much happiness the faithful, ardent, and generous love for the Crucified offers even on this earth! How it surpasses all the “happiness” of the senses or of the intelligence offered by this miserable world!

Not long ago, I met a young Jew on a train, about eighteen years old. The conversation turned to the topic of happiness. He declared with complete sincerity that neither money nor riches bring happiness; in fact, happiness cannot even be found in sensual pleasures. As he continued the conversation, eager to know the true source of happiness, the voice of an older Jew suddenly came from the next compartment, urging him not to delve too deeply into the subject. Disappointed by such an impediment to his search for the truth, the young man turned to the other Jew and asked, “Tell me, then, how things stand”. But receiving no answer on this matter, he could not refrain from uttering a few harsher words of rebuke. Thus, there are also some among the Jews who seek the truth, both among the common people and among the rabbis. It often happens that sincere searches, supported by fervent prayer and accompanied by a pure life, lead to knowledge of the truth, to conversion.

The conversion of Ratisbonne, a fanatical Jew, after he accepted the miraculous medal caused a great stir throughout the world; moreover, the religious institute he founded subsequently washed many of his compatriots with the water of holy baptism.

I will never forget the prayers of a converted Jew, a famous musician from northern Italy, who later became a religious man, a Conventual Franciscan, Father Emilio Norsa.

I met him in Rome. He loved the Immaculate Conception very much. During his final illness, he always kept a little image of the Immaculate Conception on his table and often kissed it. When he was told that those moments of solitude could be on favorable evenings for his musical inspiration, he would point to the painting of the Madonna hanging on the wall opposite him and say: “This is where my inspiration comes from”. Well, this ardent devotee of the Immaculate Conception, a Jew, a priest of the Order of the Conventual Franciscan Fathers, asked me to join his intentions to mine in the celebration of Holy Mass (feeling a temporary improvement, he thought he could celebrate Holy Mass for another three days). The intentions were the following: 1) for the Holy Father, 2) for peace in the world, 3) for the conversion of the Jews.

Accepting the wish of the late Father Norsa, I also ask you, dear readers, to pray to the Immaculate Conception “for the conversion of the Jews,” of this people who, as Father Norsa used to say, are “the most unhappy of all peoples”, since they are buried in earthly and transitory affairs.

So:

1. Let every member of the Militia recite attentively and fervently our short prayer: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee... and for all those who do not have recourse to thee..., especially for the Freemasons...”, since the Freemasons are nothing but an organized clique of fanatical Jews, who aim, in an unreasonable manner, to destroy the Catholic Church, which the God-Man himself has assured that the gates of hell will not be able to overcome [cf. Matt. XVI, 18]. Poor, madmen, they are going to bang their heads against a rock!

2. When one of us meets a Jew, let us address a brief prayer to the Immaculate for his conversion, even if only mentally, for example: “Jesus, Mary”; while if we happen to meet a rabbi, who has a greater responsibility, since he must answer to God for himself and for those he leads, we should offer a more intense prayer, perhaps a “Hail Mary”.

3. Let us remember well that Jesus died for each one of us, regardless of nationality, and that each one of us, including every Jew, is ungrateful, yet is also a child of our common heavenly Mother. Let us devote ourselves to prayer (especially the recitation of the Rosary), to mortification (of sight, hearing, taste, and will), to good example, and, if prudence permits, to wholesome conversation, but above all to a prudent diffusion of the Miraculous Medal, even among the lost children of Israel. Let us strive to lead them to the knowledge of the truth and to the attainment of true peace and happiness, through unlimited consecration to our common Lady and Queen, and through her, to the Most Sacred Heart of God the Savior, which burns with love for every soul.

4. To demonstrate one’s love for the Immaculate, let everyone do everything, according to the ability of intelligence, cunning, willpower and zeal will allow, to ensure that the Knight of the Immaculate, starting from this January issue, reaches everywhere, perhaps even among non-Catholics, among Jews, if there is any hope that they might benefit from reading it.

   Let no one neglect even one of their relatives, friends, or people they know now or have known in the past, whether at home or abroad. After having asked in prayer for the Immaculate’s blessing—indeed, all the fruit of their efforts depends on her—please urge everyone, either verbally or by letter, to subscribe to the Knight of the Immaculate, or at least send us their addresses so we can send them a promotional issue.

Our purpose is clear:

The Immaculate Conception, Queen of Heaven, must be recognized, and as soon as possible, as Queen of all men and of every single soul, both in Poland and beyond its borders, in both hemispheres of the earth. On this, we dare say, depends the peace and happiness of individual people, of families, of nations, of humanity.

From today, therefore, all of us, without any respite, placing all our trust not in gold, nor in a proud presumption, like the poor Masons, but exclusively in the Immaculate, who can do everything, through the power of her divine Son, let us offer ourselves actively (through prayer, mortification, and work) to the Immaculate “without any reserve”, to become, in her hands, an effective instrument for the spread of her kingdom in all souls. Let us make every effort so that she may conquer the world with her Knight and her medal.

***

How sweet it will be for us in the last hour... to remember the work... the sufferings... the humiliations... endured for Her, especially if there were many, as many as possible.

N.K.

END.

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1. Owing to our theological position on the present status of Authority in the Catholic Church, The Cassiaciacum Thesis, we do not regard Fr. Maximillian Kolbe to be a Saint, publicly. This is not to be viewed as a “knock” against him or an “insult” to his legacy. That said, in private, we consider him to be a Saint and believe his life worthy of imitation—by all available evidence. When God wills it, i.e. pontifical Authority being restored in the Catholic Church, we hope a declaration of canonization for Fr. Maximillian Kolbe will be made, which will formally and infallibly recognize him as such.