Asher Norman is the author of Twenty-six reasons why Jews don’t believe in Jesus* which has been widely distributed in Jewish circles. Kevin Daly answers the argument put forward by Norman that the suffering servant of Isaiah chapter 53 is not Jesus, as Christians claim, but Israel. Some of the author’s other “reasons” (or excuses) will be dealt with in time. Who would have believed […]
Unbelieving Israel – Victim or rebel
October 4, 2012 by
The Sunday Times recently published an editorial (17 June 2007) by the Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Warren Goldstein, entitled, “Look again: Israel is the victim, not the root of all evil”. In the sub-title to his article Goldstein writes, “Blaming the Middle Eastern conflict on the Jewish state is an error that could see […]
Torah or God? Judaism’s crisis of absolutes
October 4, 2012 by
לכבוד רעי אחי באמת In the introduction to his book Tiferet Yisrael, Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague (the Maharal) 1voiced the previously unspoken dilemma of his religion: does devotion to Torah exclude a simultaneous devotion to God? According to Professor Abraham Joshua Heschel, few Jews have contemplated this point of tension: “Jews have often loved the Torah […]
The stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone | Psalm 118
October 4, 2012 by
Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. […]
The origins of Christian-Jew hatred ― Is the New Testament Antisemitic?
October 4, 2012 by
This was the provocative title of a talk held at the Sydenham Highlands North Community Centre recently, under the auspices of the CAJE as part of a series of talks on Antisemitism. While not agreeing with many of the conclusions reached, the speaker, Dr. Jocelyn Hellig, to her credit, was well aware of the provocative […]
The Judgement of the Sanhedrin on Jesus
October 4, 2012 by
Many Jewish people reject the claim that Jesus is the Messiah on the assumption that the religious leaders of Judaism, who are learned in the Scriptures, would have accepted him as such if it were true. They reason, that if the religious leaders rejected Jesus as the Messiah, they can trust in their judgement which […]
Saved from what?
October 4, 2012 by
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring Good News, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Is.52:7, Joel 2:32). The Scriptures speak everywhere of God’s salvation, but people who are self-righteous and prosperous, and who […]
Road to Peace?
October 4, 2012 by
Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails (Pr. 19:21). We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;…(Isaiah 53:6). While the powers that be struggle to find what they hope will be the road to peace in the Middle […]
Rabbinic views . . . on the coming of the Messiah
October 4, 2012 by
Dies auch in Deutsch erhaeltlich In his work, Mishneh Torah, Maimonides (1135-1204) set forth what he believed to be the primary objectives of the coming of the Messiah, whom he believed was yet to appear for the first time: “The King Messiah will in some future time come and: I. Restore the kingdom of David to […]
Rabbinic views on Psalm 22 – They pierced my hands and feet
October 4, 2012 by
Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz, of Jews for Judaism, suggests that Christians have deliberately mistranslated Psalm 22:17. He writes, “When read out of context and mistranslated as ‘They pierced my hands and feet,’ as appears in Christian versions, the passage intentionally conjures up thoughts of Jesus.” However, he fails to mention two important facts: Firstly, the Jewish […]
