C
Crumpy
Guest
I’ve reviewed two other books recently which are basic introductions to Judaism (Everyone’s Talmud by Abraham Cohen and What You Should Know about Jews and Judaism, by Yechiel Eckstein).
This 148-page book published in 1963 is another introductory book for Jews, primarily to explain the Talmud.
I’m getting my fill of these type of books, although I have another one that I picked up along the way. I’m really interested in understanding the issues of Judaism that are playing out in the New Testament. Jesus and Paul take big swipes at Judaism in the NT.
Jesus supercedes some of the OT laws (commandments) as does Paul.
Each of these books takes a turn here and there swiping at Christianity: 1) to identify sources of anti-Semitism in the New Testament, 2) to contradict Jesus or Paul, as it may be convenient, or to correct something else that Jews object to.
So, the books DO explain this somewhat, but they do so from the vantage point of the 20th Century in which they were written. I have to decide if their argument is applicable in the actual context of Jesus’s time.
This book does lay out the perspective and vantage point of Judaism, contrasting very vividly with Christianity. Often, it is on a case by case basis. They don’t like the idea of “original sin” as Catholics emphasize it. They hardly admit that it is a sin. And, they dispute that any guilt or anything has been inherited by each person, which requires the waters of Baptism, for example.
What that does illustrate to them is the idea of the “evil impulse” that each person must conquer in their life.
He profusely explains that Jews do not consider the commandments to be a burden, but rather the opposite. They cite that mankind IS saved by its actions, nothing like the “grace only” emphasis in the NT. This gives them a positive impetus to do the positive things that are commanded in the Torah (first five books of the Bible), and the related commandments that the rabbis have interpreted the Torah to contain, over the centuries.
This gives Judism the advantage of using the Torah for education in the commandments, and the study of the Torah is itself commanded. In its own terms, it gives Judaism a very positive direction. Jews wrestle with the same kinds of sins that Christians do, but they have much less the sense of navigating a minefield of moral dangers.
It is their expressed goal to put a “fence” around the Torah, God’s will for Israel, His chosen people. This way, they’re doing good things at the same time that they are avoiding the bad things.
There’s lots of interesting things, like: they’re not concerned about heresy. The author says that the Torah does not present a “vise” of dogma that must be adhered to. The scripture never talks about being a “good Jew” but rather a “good man (and woman).” Man’s redemption is within his own power. The Bible is actually the most anti-semitic book ever written (see Isaiah 1). They like to use reason with the Torah because it frees them from the “tyranny of passion and dogma.” Etc. Judaism is not a religion, per se, although they will commonly use the term in the superficial sense.
Th
This 148-page book published in 1963 is another introductory book for Jews, primarily to explain the Talmud.
I’m getting my fill of these type of books, although I have another one that I picked up along the way. I’m really interested in understanding the issues of Judaism that are playing out in the New Testament. Jesus and Paul take big swipes at Judaism in the NT.
Jesus supercedes some of the OT laws (commandments) as does Paul.
Each of these books takes a turn here and there swiping at Christianity: 1) to identify sources of anti-Semitism in the New Testament, 2) to contradict Jesus or Paul, as it may be convenient, or to correct something else that Jews object to.
So, the books DO explain this somewhat, but they do so from the vantage point of the 20th Century in which they were written. I have to decide if their argument is applicable in the actual context of Jesus’s time.
This book does lay out the perspective and vantage point of Judaism, contrasting very vividly with Christianity. Often, it is on a case by case basis. They don’t like the idea of “original sin” as Catholics emphasize it. They hardly admit that it is a sin. And, they dispute that any guilt or anything has been inherited by each person, which requires the waters of Baptism, for example.
What that does illustrate to them is the idea of the “evil impulse” that each person must conquer in their life.
He profusely explains that Jews do not consider the commandments to be a burden, but rather the opposite. They cite that mankind IS saved by its actions, nothing like the “grace only” emphasis in the NT. This gives them a positive impetus to do the positive things that are commanded in the Torah (first five books of the Bible), and the related commandments that the rabbis have interpreted the Torah to contain, over the centuries.
This gives Judism the advantage of using the Torah for education in the commandments, and the study of the Torah is itself commanded. In its own terms, it gives Judaism a very positive direction. Jews wrestle with the same kinds of sins that Christians do, but they have much less the sense of navigating a minefield of moral dangers.
It is their expressed goal to put a “fence” around the Torah, God’s will for Israel, His chosen people. This way, they’re doing good things at the same time that they are avoiding the bad things.
There’s lots of interesting things, like: they’re not concerned about heresy. The author says that the Torah does not present a “vise” of dogma that must be adhered to. The scripture never talks about being a “good Jew” but rather a “good man (and woman).” Man’s redemption is within his own power. The Bible is actually the most anti-semitic book ever written (see Isaiah 1). They like to use reason with the Torah because it frees them from the “tyranny of passion and dogma.” Etc. Judaism is not a religion, per se, although they will commonly use the term in the superficial sense.
Th