THE HISTORY OF JEWS FOR JESUS, AND WHAT DOES THE BIBLE AND GOD SAY.CH 1

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THE HISTORY OF JEWS FOR JESUS, AND WHAT DOES THE BIBLE AND GOD SAY.CH1 
  • Judaism’s idea of the messiah differs substantially from the Christian idea of the Messiah. In orthodox Rabbinic Judaism the messiah’s task is to bring in the Messianic Age, a one-time event, and a presumed messiah who is killed before completing the task (i.e. compelling all of Israel to walk in the way of Torah, repairing the breaches in observance, fighting the wars of God, building the Temple in its place, gathering in the dispersed exiles of Israel) is not the messiah. Maimonides states,
But if he did not succeed in all this or was killed, he is definitely not the Mashiach promised in the Torah… and God only appointed him in order to test the masses.[17]
  • Jews believe that the messiah will fulfill the messianic prophecies of the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel.[18][19][20][21] Judaism interprets Isaiah 11:1 (“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall grow forth out of his roots.”) to mean that the messiah will be a patrilineal bloodline descendant of King David.[22] He is expected to return the Jews to their homeland and rebuild the Temple, reign as king, and usher in an era of peace[3] and understanding where “the knowledge of God” fills the earth,[4] leading the nations to “end up recognizing the wrongs they did Israel”.[23] Ezekiel states the messiah will redeem the Jews.[24]
  • The Jewish view of Jesus is influenced by the fact that Jesus lived while the Second Temple was standing, and not during an exile. Being conceived via the Holy Spirit (as espoused by orthodox Christian doctrine), it would be impossible for Jesus to be a patrilineal bloodline descendant of King David. He never reigned as king, and there was no subsequent era of peace or great knowledge. Jesus died without completing or even accomplishing part of any of the messianic tasks, which Christians say will occur at a Second Coming. Rather than being redeemed, the Jews were subsequently exiled from Judaea, and the Temple destroyed (as of yet it has not been rebuilt). These discrepancies were noted by Jewish scholars who were contemporaries of Jesus, as later pointed out by Nachmanides, who in 1263 observed that Jesus was rejected as the messiah by the rabbis of his time.[25]
  • Moreover, Judaism sees Christian claims that Jesus is the textual messiah of the Hebrew Bible as being based on mistranslations,[26][27] given that Jesus did not fulfill any of the Jewish Messiah qualifications.[28]
  • Prophecy and Jesus
  • Main articles: Prophet and False prophet
  • According to the Torah (Deuteronomy 13:1–5 and 18:18–22), the criteria for a person to be considered a prophet or speak for God in Judaism are that he must follow the God of Israel (and no other god); he must not describe God differently from how he is known to be from Scripture; he must not advocate change to God’s word or state that God has changed his mind and wishes things that contradict his already-stated eternal word.[29] There is no concept of the Messiah “fulfilling the law” to free the Israelites from their duty to maintain the mitzvot in Judaism, as is understood in much of Christianity or some Messianic Judaism.
  • Deuteronomy 13:1 says, “Be careful to observe only that which I enjoin upon you; neither add to it nor take away from it.”[30][31][32]
  • Even if someone who appears to be a prophet can perform supernatural acts or signs, no prophet or dreamer can contradict the laws already stated in the Tanakh.[33][34] Thus, any divergence espoused by Jesus from the tenets of scriptural Judaism would disqualify him from being considered a prophet in Judaism. This was the view adopted by Jesus’ contemporaries, as according to rabbinical tradition as stated in the Talmud (Sotah 48b) “when Malachi died the Prophecy departed from Israel.” As Malachi lived centuries before Jesus it is clear that the rabbis of Talmudic times did not view Jesus as a divinely inspired prophet. Furthermore, the Bible itself includes an example of a prophet who could speak directly with God and could work miracles but was “evil”,[35] in the form of Balaam.
  • Jesus and salvation
  • See also: Salvation
  • transgression against God (through a failure to fulfill ritual obligations, such as not sanctifying the Sabbath), and transgression against man (through a failure to fulfill moral obligations, such as committing gossip). To gain absolution, a person can repent of that sin, regret the sin, and commit to never do the sin again. God will then forgive their transgression against Him, although one may still be punished depending on the severity of the sin. If a sin is committed against man, the person needs to gain forgiveness from the one he sinned against; it cannot be forgiven by God or another person.[37]
  • Jesus in rabbinical literature
  • The Talmud
  • See also: Jesus in the Talmud and Yeshu
  • Various works of classical Jewish rabbinic literature are thought to contain references to Jesus, including some uncensored manuscripts of the Babylonian Talmud and the classical midrash literature written between 250 CE and 700 CE. There is a spectrum of scholarly views on how many of these references are actually to Jesus.[38]
  • Christian authorities in Europe were largely unaware of possible references to Jesus in the Talmud until 1236, when a convert from Judaism, Nicholas Donin, laid thirty-five formal charges against the Talmud before Pope Gregory IX, and these charges were brought upon rabbi Yechiel of Paris to defend at the Disputation of Paris in 1240.[39] Yechiel’s primary defence was that the Yeshu in rabbinic literature was a disciple of Joshua ben Perachiah, and not to be confused with Jesus (Vikkuah Rabbenu Yechiel mi-Paris). At the later Disputation of Barcelona (1263) Catalonian rabbi Nachmanides made the same point.[40]
  • Jacob ben Meir (11th century),[41] Jehiel ben Solomon Heilprin (17th century), and Jacob Emden (18th century) support this view, but not all rabbis took this view. The Kuzari by Yehuda Halevi (c. 1075–1141),[42] understood these references in Talmud as referring to Jesus of Nazareth based on evidence that Jesus of Nazareth lived 130 years prior to the date that Christians believe he lived.
THE HISTORY OF JEWS FOR JESUS, AND WHAT DOES THE BIBLE AND GOD SAY.CH 1 
  • Positive historical re-evaluations

Some modern Orthodox rabbis, such as Irving Greenberg and Jonathan Sacks, also hold positive views (Greenberg theorizes Jesus as “a messiah, but not The Messiah”).[63]

  1.  “Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:4”.
  2.  Schochet, Rabbi J. Emmanuel (29 July 1999). “Judaism has no place for those who betray their roots”. The Canadian Jewish News. Archived from the original on 20 March 2001. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  3.  Isaiah 2:4
  4.  Isaiah 11:9
  5.  Rabbi Shraga Simmons, “Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus”. Archived from the original on 2006-03-16. Retrieved 2006-03-14., “Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus”, Ohr Samayach – Ask the Rabbi, accessed March 14, 2006; “Why don’t Jews believe that Jesus was the messiah?” Archived 2020-05-08 at the Wayback Machine, AskMoses.com, accessed March 14, 2006.
  6.  The concept of Trinity is incompatible with Judaism:
  7.  Ta’anit 2:1
  8.  Johnson, Paul (1987). A History of the Jews. HarperCollins. pp. 144. ISBN 0-06-091533-1.
  9.  Maimonides, Mishneh Torah Madda Yesodei ha-Torah 1:5
  10.  Kaplan, Aryeh (1985) [1976]. “From Messiah to Christ”. The Real Messiah? A Jewish Response to Missionaries. New York: National Conference of Synagogue Youth. p. 33. ISBN 1-879016-11-7. During his lifetime, Jesus often spoke of God as “my Father in Heaven.” For the Jews, this was a common poetic expression, and one that is still used in Jewish prayers. For the pagan gentiles, however, it had a much more literal connotation.
  11.  “Principal Beliefs of Judaism”. ijs.org.au. Israel & Judaism Studies. Retrieved 2016-12-08.[permanent dead link]
  12.  “Anthropomorphism”. jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  13.  Deuteronomy. 4:12. The Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of the words, but saw no image, just a voice.
  14.  Exodus. pp. 25:20. … for man shall not see Me and live.
  15.  “Maimonides #3 – God’s Incorporeality”. aishcom. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  16.  “Chapter 1: G-D Part 1”. torah.org. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  17.  Maimonides, Hilchos Melachim 11:4-5.
  18.  Nachmanides in his dispute with Pablo Christiani in 1263 paragraph 49.
  19.  Simmons, Rabbi Shraga, “Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus” Archived 2006-03-16 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 14, 2006.
  20.  “Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus”, Ohr Samayach – Ask the Rabbi, accessed March 14, 2006.
  21.  “Why don’t Jews believe that Jesus was the messiah?” Archived 2020-05-08 at the Wayback Machine, AskMoses.com, accessed March 14, 2006.
  22.  Isaiah 11:1
  23.  Isaiah 52:13–53:5
  24.  Ezekiel 16:55
  25.  Nachmanides in the Disputation of Barcelona with Pablo Christiani in 1263 paragraph 103.
  26.  Michoel Drazin (1990). Their Hollow Inheritance. A Comprehensive Refutation of Christian Missionaries. Gefen Publishing House, Ltd. ISBN 965-229-070-X.
  27.  Troki, Isaac. “Faith Strengthened”.
  28.  Simmons, Shraga (May 9, 2009). “Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus”. Aish HaTorah. Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because:
    1. Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies.
    2. Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah.
    3. Biblical verses “referring” to Jesus are mistranslations.
    4. Jewish belief is based on national revelation.
  29.  Mishneh Torah Madah Yeshodai HaTorah 8:7-9
  30.  Tanakh: A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures, ©1985 by The Jewish Publication Society, 1st edition, p. 296; in christian bibles this verse is Deuteronomy 12:32
  31.  Frankel, Rabbi Pinchas, “Covenant of History”, Orthodox Union of Jewish Congregations of America, accessed March 14, 2006.
  32.  Edwards, Laurence, “Torat Hayim – Living Torah: No Rest(s) for the Wicked” Archived 2005-12-21 at the Wayback Machine, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, accessed March 14, 2006.
  33.  Deuteronomy 13:1–5 and 18:18–22
  34.  Buchwald, Rabbi Ephraim, “Parashat Re’eh 5764-2004: Identifying a True Prophet” Archived 2017-04-11 at the Wayback Machine, National Jewish Outreach Program, accessed March 14, 2006
  35.  “Balaam the Prophet of Error”. The Church of God International.
  36.  Kolatch, Alfred (2000) [1985]. “Judaism and Christianity”. The Second Jewish Book of Why. Middle Village, NY: Jonathan David Publishers, Inc. pp. 61–64. ISBN 978-0-8246-0314-4. LCCN 84-21477. Original sin, the virgin birth, the Trinity, and vicarious atonement are among the concepts that Christians embrace but Jews reject….The doctrine of original sin is totally unacceptable to Jews (as it is to Fundamentalist Christian sects such as the Baptists and Assemblies of God). Jews believe that man enters the world free of sin, with a soul that is pure and innocent and untainted.
  37.  Gerondi, Yonah (1981) [1505]. שערי תשובה [The Gates of Repentance] (in Hebrew and English). translated by Shraga Silverstein. Nanuet, New York: Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 978-0-87306-252-7.
  38.  Delbert Burkett. The Blackwell Companion to Jesus. 2010. p. 220. “Accordingly, scholars’ analyses range widely from minimalists (eg, Lauterbach 1951) – who recognize only relatively few passages that actually have Jesus in mind – to moderates (eg, Herford [1903] 2006), to maximalists (Klausner 1943, 17–54; especially Schäfer 2007).”
  39.  Saadia R. Eisenberg Reading Medieval Religious Disputation: The 1240 “Debate” Between Rabbi Yechiel of Paris and Friar Nicholas Donin
  40.  paragraph 22. Vikuach HaRamban found in Otzar Havikuchim by J. D. Eisenstein, Hebrew Publishing Society, 1915 and Kitvey HaRamban by Rabbi Charles D. Chavel, Mosad Horav Kook, 1963
  41.  David R. Catchpole The trial of Jesus: a study in the Gospels and Jewish Historiography from 1770 to the Present Day, Leiden, 1971 Page 62 “(c) Rabbenu Tam (b.Shabb. 104b) declared: ‘This was not Jesus of Nazareth.’ But his view, from the 12th century, constitutes no evidence.”
  42.  Section 3 paragraph 65.
  43.  Berger D. Jewish history and Jewish memory: essays in honor of Yosef Hayim p39 “This discussion makes it perfectly clear that Duran gave no credence to a theory of two Jesuses.” etc.
  44.  Robert E. Van Voorst Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence p108 “While Herford was somewhat critical of their accuracy, he seems almost never to have met a possible reference to Jesus that he did not like!70 On the other end of the spectrum, Johann Maier in his Jesus von Nazareth in der talmudischen …” 2000
  45.  Peter Schäfer Jesus in the Talmud
  46.  Boyarin Dying for God: martyrdom and the making of Christianity and Judaism 1999
  47.  “The Jesus Narrative In The Talmud”. talmud.faithweb.com.
  48.  “Ancient Hebrew (Talmud) account of Christ–McKinsey”. www.skeptically.org.
  49.  Apocryphal gospels: an introduction ：Hans-Josef Klauck p213. “An unfriendly interpretation of the child’s name is offered: ‘But the name Yeshu means: “May his name be blotted out, and his memory too!”‘ (§ 58). The three letters of which the name Jesus in Hebrew consists, yod, sin and waw,”
  50.  Schäfer Jesus in the Talmud 2009 p4 “Whereas in the early modern period the “Jesus in the Talmud” paradigm served almost solely as an inexhaustible source for anti-Jewish sentiments, the subject gained more serious and critical recognition in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.”
  51.  Jerald d. Gort, ed. (2006). Religions view religions : explorations in pursuit of understanding ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Amsterdam [u.a.]: Rodopi. p. 102. ISBN 9042018585.
  52.  “Epistle to Yemen Complete”, “Maimonides, Trans. Boaz Cohen”, url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Epistle_to_Yemen/Complete,
  53.  Astren, Fred (2004). Karaite Judaism and historical understanding. University of South Carolina Press. p. 119. ISBN 9781570035180.
  54.  Revel, Bernard (1913). The Karaite Halakah And Its Relation to Saduccean, Samaritan and Philonian Halakah. Part 1 · Volume 1. Press of Cahan printing Company. p. 88. ISBN 9781548603533.
  55.  Berger, David (2012). New Perspectives on Jewish-Christian Relations. Brill Publishing. p. 486. ISBN 9789004221178.
  56.  “Emden’s letter about Jesus” Archived 2013-01-15 at the Wayback Machine, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 19:1, Winter 1982, pp. 105-111. “The Nazarene brought about a double kindness in the world. On the one hand, he strengthened the Torah of Moses majestically, as mentioned earlier, and not one of our Sages spoke out more emphatically concerning the immutability of the Torah. And on the other hand, he did much good for the Gentiles.”
  57.  Gregory A. Barker and Stephen E. Gregg. Jesus beyond Christianity: The Classic Texts, Oxford University Press, 2010, ISBN 0-19-955345-9, p. 29-31.
  58.  Elijah Benamozegh, Israel and Humanity, Paulist Press, 1995, ISBN 0-8047-5371-7, p. 329. “Jesus was a good Jew who did not dream of founding a rival church”.
  59.  Matthew B. Hoffman, From rebel to rabbi: reclaiming Jesus and the making of modern Jewish culture, Stanford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0-8047-5371-7, p. 22: “Mendelssohn depicts Jesus as a model rabbinical Jew… as a loyal rabbi”; p. 259: “Mendelssohn was not the first to make such claims. Jacob Emden (1696-1776), a leading figure of traditional Judaism in eighteenth-century Germany, also looked vary favorably on Jesus”; p. 50: “Elijah Benamozegh (1823-1901) showed the resemblance between parables and ethical imperatives in the gospels and the Talmud, concluding that ‘when Jesus spoke these words he was in no way abandoning Judaism'”; p. 258: “Levinsohn avowed that Jesus was a law-abiding Jew”
  60.  “Rehearing Buber’s Jesus Deepens Jewish-Christian Dialogue / By Kramer, Kenneth P.” Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  61.  Neusner, Jacob (2000). A rabbi talks with Jesus (Rev. ed.). Montreal [Que.]: McGill-Queen’s University Press. p. 4. ISBN 0773568395. For a long time Jews have praised Jesus as a rabbi, a Jew like us really;
  62.  Magid, Shaul (2013). American Post-Judaism: Identity and Renewal in a Postethnic Society. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253008091.
  63.  Feinstein, EveLevavi (19 June 2011). “JESUS FOR JEWS”. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  64.  Zev Garber (ed.) The Jewish Jesus: Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation, Purdue University Press, 2011, ISBN 1-55753-579-5, p. 361. “Both Greenberg and Sherwin use this model of a bifurcated messianic in different ways to suggest that Jews could, perhaps, accept Jesus as a “messiah” without agreeing with the Christian demands that he is the ultimate messiah.”[clarification needed]
  65.  Shmuley Boteach, Kosher Jesus (Gefen Publishing House, 2012, ISBN 9652295787).
  66.  Simon Rocker (January 26, 2012). “Seconds out: rabbis scrap over Jesus Christ“, The Jewish Chronicle.
  67.  Mayefsky, Chana (January 25, 2012). “Shmuley Boteach: Was Jesus Kosher?”. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved September 26, 2012.\\
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THE HISTORY OF JEWS FOR JESUS, AND WHAT DOES THE BIBLE AND GOD SAY.CH 2