Why do Christians reject the Talmud?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rabbi
  • Start date Start date
Certainly no earlier than that, I think. Possibly when Hadrian ordered the “ethnic cleansing” of Jerusalem, the rabbis led their followers to one place (Yavneh?) while the Jewish Christians moved to Pella, in what is now the Kingdom of Jordan. But don’t get me wrong, @Rabbi, I’m not claiming to possess any specialist knowledge of the history of Judea, in the post-Herodian period or in any other period …
 
Yeah, I think historically you start to see a shift in the Church from primarily Jewish to primarily Gentile between the first Jewish War and the Bar Kochba revolt.
 
Hello Rabbi!

I’m glad you’re looking into Christianity; especially on a Catholic site. I don’t think modern Christians reject Judaism. We do respect our older brothers in the faith.

I’m currently reading the Torah in my RSV Bible and I’m seeing a lot of prefiguring of Jesus in it. The way I see it, is that Jesus was the divine Oral Torah; explaining Torah in a very concise and comprehensive way that focuses on love of God and love of neighbor with faith instead of legalistic adherence to the Torah.
 
Yes, I see your point. It was very important that Yavneh was started by Yohanan ben Zakkai, otherwise, Judaism would have ended probably in 70 CE. No, I think you are more knowledgeable then you have to be and I really appreciate your time. Thank you. Plus, I like the Indiana Jones pic, Harrison Ford is part Jewish by the way. 🙂
 
Cool. Thanks, Rabbi. Also; I’m curious if you’ve ever studied the Kabbalah. I’ve delved into it myself; reading some of the Zohar and the complete Seder Yetzirah. Judaism fascinated me, btw.
 
Thank you. It is generally not studied until after 40, but that is really just a minhag (a custome), a recommendation, that isn’t halacha (practicle law), and it actually can’t, but that’s a complicated topic we don’t have to get into. Point is, I’ve scratched the surface, so-to-speak, of Kabbalah. I find it also fascinating about the concept of gilgulim (or transmigration of souls), basically, reincarnation. But I’d like to do more research into it as there are many, many, many theories or opinions (hashkafa) on this field with many ideas and it isn’t hard to be doped by something false. Again, Chabad.org has some excellent articles on the topic, you may find this page interesting here (please note that I am not converting anyone, just sharing a passionate topic):

https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/380573/jewish/FAQ-Death-and-Reincarnation-1.htm
 
Thank you, Rabbi for the links. 🤔 My question’s are: 1) Are you Orthodox, Conservative or Reform? 2) I’m familiar with the gilgulim concept, especially where it affords the soul to fulfill each of the 613 mitzvot; but, wouldn’t reincarnation be a heretical concept in Judaism? 3) What verses do you say offer such an interpretation?
 
Thank you for your kind words! I hope you’ll stick around here at CAF. It would be good to be able to exchange information and opinions from time to time. Shalom ubrachah!
 
I second that, BartholomewB. I’d love to dialogue with a practicing Jew; especially to get a Jew’s view of Jesus. Btw; I used to date a non Practicing Jewish woman.
 
Last edited:
No, thank you! You are excellent! Yes, I am Orthodox. Ok, regarding the concept of gilgulim, from what I can tell, it isn’t exactly heretical, here’s why. In Judaism, the belief is that one has to complete most of all the laws, no one can do all 613, its impossible, for example, one a king can do certain mitzvot, regardless, the soul comes back until most of his or her duties are completed (it is a myth that women DON’T reincarnate, it just doesn’t happen often). So the reason why it isn’t heretical is because it doesn’t offend to concept of heaven and hell, since after the soul has completed the given task, it then afford the opportunity to either enter Gehenna (not a place of fire and brimstone) to review its life and missed opposites for, about 12 months, and then ascends into heaven until the time of the Messiah (now whether its really the other way around, who knows for sure, again, there are many opinions).

Now, I will show you just two sources from Tanakh which may HINT at reincarnation, please, I don’t mean to offend any other Catholics out there. This is just our belief.

2 places:

The first is found in Iyov (Job) 1:21, where it says:

“…From my mother’s womb, I emerged naked, and I will return there naked…”

So this is interesting, what does he mean? Perhaps he is again reincarnated? Who can tell for sure.

The second source comes from Kohelet (Ecclesiastics), K’tuvim. It says:

דּ֤וֹר הֹלֵךְ֙ וְד֣וֹר בָּ֔א וְהָאָ֖רֶץ לְעוֹלָ֥ם עֹמָֽדֶת

In English, that means, “A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth endures forever.”

Well, what does that mean? It is unusual, very so, for it never happens that a generation is born without the former still alive, but if this verse is taken literal, it makes no sense. Again, none of these two promote the idea per se, they are just, as some have interpreted, mere hints.

It is also important to note that some great thinkers REJECTED it, this would include the famed R. Saadiya Gaon, who, to be mild, called reincarnation a “foolish” idea. But that was his opinion, haha.

So again, perhaps a good response to Iyov (Job) was that he was punished for a past live on earth and needed correction (as opposed to taking Gehenna).
 
One last thing: how does reincarnation fit with Rambam’s 13 principles of faith, one being the resurrection of the dead, which is often spoken of in Tanankh? I’ve asked this before, and some say the “best soul” rises whereas others don’t, and they’ve gone as far to give reasons why Dovid HaMelech (King David) wouldn’t rise but that’s very esoteric stuff that even I have trouble understanding! Anyway, there once came a time when a Jewish couple met with the Bostoner Rebbe, and his reply was at first that it was a strange question, so Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb rephrased it and the Rebbe’s response is timeless. He basically said that every cell in our body regenerates every 7 years, and this goes on till death, right? So one could also ponder on which generation you’d be when HaMashiach comes? You following me? See? So what was the point by this? That such questions shouldn’t concern us, for G-d will provide when the time comes. This, to me, is insightful, and I hope it helps answer your questions.
 
I see, you should have stuck with her, just kidding. I know you are happily married, you are truly blessed and I look forward to more what you have to say. Thank you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top