In reading Shahak's writings, one gets the impression that his upbringing
was not just "orthodox" in the sense that we now use the word. His
claims - - that one should curse a non-Jewish cemetery, or that a non-Jew
cannot be saved if it means violating Shabbat -- do line up with certain
streaks of eastern-European superstitious drivel which sadly have
accumulated in some Jewish communities over the centuries. These streaks
come from several sources and types of conditions, but the formula is
usually something like this:

1. The Jewish populace of a relatively isolated area spends many years
unconnected to the Jewish community at large, falling into a certain

of ignorance with regard to Jewish legal writings which, like any other
written work, can only be understood in their cultural context.

2. Antagonistic relations with neighboring non-Jewish communities lead to

perverted reading of complicated works such as the Talmud, resulting in
distorted Jewish "laws" which the Talmud's authors would have rejected,

which most Jews do as well.



http://www.lukeford.net/profiles/profiles/israel_shahak.htm

In reading Shahak's writings, one gets the impression that his upbringing
was not just "orthodox" in the sense that we now use the word. His
claims - - that one should curse a non-Jewish cemetery, or that a non-Jew
cannot be saved if it means violating Shabbat -- do line up with certain
streaks of eastern-European superstitious drivel which sadly have
accumulated in some Jewish communities over the centuries.