Dear Verus Israel, I’ve read the entire thread with much fascination and appreciation. My question is: I believe you stated that Judaism does not consider man to be inherently sinful on the one hand…and on the other, you are hoping for the Messiah to come and put right all the evil and injustice in the world (that’s a very loose paraphrase - and I hope it was of something you said and not somebody else on here). My question is: Where does the evil that messiah must fix come from if it is not from man’s natural (fallen) inclination to sin? What meaning to you find in the story of Adam’s transgression and the resulting entry of pain, thorns, sweat and death into the world in Genesis 3?
A second question: In the Torah the Hebrew word “one” echad can mean day one (the first counted day) or the two become one/united (in marriage). If two persons can become one in marriage (Gen. 2) is there any linguistic reason why Christians can not understand three persons being one in the Shema: Hear O Israel the Lord is our God, the Lord is one (Deut. 6).?
Thank you in advance for your answer.
Thank you very much for your kind words! I’m glad you’ve found my responses useful thus far.
As you noted, Jews traditionally do not view human beings as intrinsically “evil.” While we are all prone to mistakes, no one is possessed of an inherently negative nature; we all have the freedom to choose our paths in life, and the responsibility that accompanies such freedom. A popular understanding of the episode in the Garden posits Adam’s primary mistake not in the eating of a fruit, but rather in his
failure to take responsibility for what he did. If you recall, his reaction upon being confronted by God was to shift the onus onto Eve - even going so far as to imply that it was ultimately
God’s fault for giving her to him!
The consequences of their mistakes entailed a disruption in their relationship and the inauguration of a human society based on false authority (those who claim to “be like Elohim” simply because they have an opinion as to what is good/evil), control hierarchies (cf. the “sons of princes” who violated the “daughters of commoners” under the mandate of
primae noctis), and popular acquiescence. This is one traditional Jewish understanding of the pagan world - an early phase of human history. Within our literature, the Tora - a law prescribing equality, autonomy, and responsibility - is portrayed as the means by which humanity may move beyond this unjust social order.
It is along these lines that many Jews perceive the role of the messiah, a human instrument of a much bigger “plan” for humanity. The messiah is expected to liberate us from our current circumstances - in which many of us do not even know the degree of our subjugation! - and restore us to life under our own law. Ultimately, it is up to each and every one of us to remove the “evil” of our actions from the world - just as it is up to us to bring about the messiah in our own lives and lifetimes.
You are correct in your understanding of the word “ehadh”!
In truth, the trinity - like most nebulous concepts - is not inherently or necessarily problematic. In fact, it is very compatible with many theories propounded by Jewish mystics, such as the construct of the Sefiroth (see
Israel and Humanity by Eliya ben-Amozegh, of blessed memory, for more on the subject of this compatibility). Many Jews’ discomfort with the idea of the trinity lies with our zealousness for monotheism; we are loathe to ascribe to God corporeality, partners, or even internal composition! When all is said and done, however, the idea of the trinity is just an idea - one that has been interpreted by some (e.g. the Greek Orthodox Church) to express the ineffability of God and by others to reject the very notion of God’s unique unity and singularity. As long as one is careful to recognize that Jesus is
not the Father, did
not create the universe, and is
not deserving of the worship due the Father, I believe that one is on safe ground vis-a-vis Jewish tradition.
Again, I can not claim to speak for other Jews or for Judaism, which contains within it so many diverse and opposing viewpoints and perspectives. I hope that my answers help, however!
