View source for Jewish views on Jesus

{{Short description|Judaism's views on the central figure of Christianity}}
{{Jesus}}

Adherents of [[Judaism]] do not believe that [[Jesus]] of [[Nazareth]] was the [[Messiah]] or [[Prophet]], nor do they believe he was the [[Son of God]]. In the Jewish perspective, it is believed that the way [[Jesus in Christianity|Christians see Jesus]] goes against [[monotheism]], a belief in the [[Jewish principles of faith#Monotheism|absolute unity and singularity of God]], which is central to Judaism;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=9970|title=Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:4}}</ref> Judaism sees the worship of a person as a form of [[idolatry]], which is forbidden.<ref name=incompat>{{cite news|first1=Rabbi J. Emmanuel |last1=Schochet |title=Judaism has no place for those who betray their roots |url=http://www.cjnews.com/pastissues/99/july29-99/feature/feature2.htm |publisher=The Canadian Jewish News |date=29 July 1999 |access-date=11 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010320161936/http://www.cjnews.com/pastissues/99/july29-99/feature/feature2.htm |archive-date=20 March 2001 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Therefore, considering Jesus [[divine]], as “[[God the Son]]”, is forbidden.

Judaism's [[rejection of Jesus]] as the [[Messiah]] is based on [[Jewish eschatology]], which holds that the coming of the true [[Messiah in Judaism|Messiah]] will be associated with events that have not yet occurred, such as building the [[Third Temple]], a [[Messianic Age]] of peace, and the ingathering of Jews to [[Jewish homeland|their homeland]].<ref name="Isaiah 2:4">{{bibleverse||Isaiah|2:4|HE}}</ref><ref name="Isaiah 11:9">{{bibleverse||Isaiah|11:9|HE}}</ref>

Judaism does not accept any of the claimed fulfilments of prophecy that [[Old Testament messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament|Christianity attributes to Jesus]]. 

==Background==
{{Main|Christianity and Judaism}}
[[File:Disputation.jpg|thumb|Woodcut carved by Johann von Armssheim (1483). Portrays a [[disputation]] between Christian and Jewish scholars]]
The belief that Jesus is [[God in Judaism|God]], the [[Son of God]], or a person of the [[Trinity]], is incompatible with [[Jewish theology]]. Jews believe [[Jesus in the Talmud|Jesus did not]] fulfill [[Jewish messianism|messianic prophecies]] that establish the criteria for the coming of the Messiah.<ref name= notmessiah>Rabbi [[Shraga Simmons]], {{cite web|url=http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Why_Jews_Dont_Believe_In_Jesus.asp|title=Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus|access-date=2006-03-14|archive-date=2006-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316040138/http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Why_Jews_Dont_Believe_In_Jesus.asp|url-status=dead}},  [http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/2637/Q1/ "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus"], [[Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem|Ohr Samayach]] - ''Ask the Rabbi'', accessed March 14, 2006; [http://www.askmoses.com/qa_detail.html?h=120&o=350 "Why don't Jews believe that Jesus was the messiah?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508095233/http://www.askmoses.com/qa_detail.html?h=120&o=350 |date=2020-05-08 }}, [[AskMoses.com]], accessed March 14, 2006.</ref> Judaism does not accept Jesus as a divine being, an intermediary between humans and God, a messiah, or holy. Belief in the Trinity is also held to be incompatible with Judaism, as are a number of other [[Christian theology|tenets of Christianity]].

===Jewish theology===

====Oneness and indivisibility of God====
{{See also|God in Judaism|Godhead in Judaism|Shema Yisrael|Shituf}}
In Judaism, the idea of God as a [[Dualism in cosmology|duality]] or trinity is [[heretical]] – it is even considered by some [[polytheistic]].<ref>The concept of Trinity is incompatible with Judaism:
* [http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/faq/faq-tr.html Response - Reference Center - FAQ - Proof Texts - Trinity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609103604/http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/faq/faq-tr.html |date=2007-06-09 }}  (Jews for Judaism)
* [http://www.outreachjudaism.org/trinity.html The Trinity in the Shema?] by Rabbi Singer (outreachjudaism.org)
* [http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/trinity.htm The Doctrine of the Trinity] (religionfacts.com)</ref> According to Judaic beliefs, the [[Torah]] rules out a trinitarian God in [[Deuteronomy]] (6:4): "Hear Israel, [[Tetragrammaton|the LORD]] is our God, the LORD is one."

Judaism teaches that it is heretical for any man to claim to be God, part of God, or the literal son of God. The [[Jerusalem Talmud]] states explicitly: "If a man claims to be God, he is a liar."<ref>[[Ta'anit (Talmud)|Ta'anit]] 2:1</ref>

[[Paul Johnson (writer)|Paul Johnson]], in his book ''A History of the Jews'', describes the [[Split of early Christianity and Judaism|schism between Jews and Christians]] caused by a divergence from this principle:
<blockquote>
To the question, Was Jesus God or man?, the Christians therefore answered: both. After 70 CE, their answer was unanimous and increasingly emphatic. This made a complete breach with Judaism inevitable.<ref>{{cite book
 |last= Johnson
 |first=Paul
 |author-link=Paul Johnson (writer)
 |title=A History of the Jews
 |year=1987
 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofjews00john/page/144 144]
 |publisher=HarperCollins
 |isbn=0-06-091533-1
 |url-access=registration
 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofjews00john/page/144
 }}</ref></blockquote>

In the 12th century, the preeminent Jewish scholar [[Maimonides]] codified core principles of Modern Judaism, writing "[God], the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of a pair, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity."<ref>[[Maimonides]], [[Mishneh Torah]] ''Madda'' ''Yesodei ha-Torah'' 1:5</ref> Some Orthodox Jewish scholars note that the common poetic Jewish expression, "Our Father in Heaven", was used literally by Jesus to refer to God as "his Father in Heaven" (cf. [[Lord's Prayer]]).<ref name = "Kaplan33">{{cite book
| last = Kaplan
| first = Aryeh
| author-link = Aryeh Kaplan
| title = The Real Messiah? A Jewish Response to Missionaries
| orig-year = 1976
| year = 1985
| publisher = [[National Conference of Synagogue Youth]]
| location = New York
| isbn = 1-879016-11-7
| page = 33
| chapter = From Messiah to Christ
| quote = 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.
}}
</ref>

====God is not corporeal====
Maimonides' [[Jewish principles of faith|13 principles of faith]] includes the concept that God has no body and that physical concepts do not apply to him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ijs.org.au/Beliefs/default.spx|title=Principal Beliefs of Judaism|publisher=Israel & Judaism Studies|website=ijs.org.au|access-date=2016-12-08}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  In the "[[Yigdal]]" prayer, found towards the beginning of the Jewish prayer books used in synagogues around the world, it states "He has no semblance of a body nor is He corporeal".  It is a central tenet of Judaism that God does not have any physical characteristics;<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0002_0_01141.html|title=Anthropomorphism |publisher= Jewish Virtual Library| website= jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=2016-12-08}}</ref> that God's essence cannot be fathomed.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Deuteronomy|location=4:12|quote=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.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Exodus|pages=25:20|quote=... for man shall not see Me and live.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.aish.com/sp/ph/48924072.html|title=Maimonides #3 - God's Incorporeality|newspaper=aishcom|access-date=2016-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://torah.org/learning/ramchal-classes-fundamental-1part1|title=Chapter 1: G-D Part 1|website=torah.org|date=2 May 2007 |access-date=2016-12-08}}</ref>

==Jesus as the Jewish Messiah==
{{Main|Messiah|Messiah in Judaism}}
Judaism's idea of the messiah differs substantially from the Christian idea of the Messiah. In [[Orthodox Judaism|orthodox]] [[Rabbinic Judaism]] the messiah's task is to bring in the Messianic Age, a one-time event, and a [[Jewish Messiah claimants|presumed messiah]] who is killed before completing the task (i.e. compelling all of [[Israelites|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,
{{Blockquote|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.<ref name=HilchosMelachim>Maimonides, ''Hilchos Melachim'' 11:4-5.</ref>}}

Jews believe that the messiah will fulfill the messianic prophecies of the prophets [[Isaiah]] and [[Ezekiel]].<ref name=nachmanides2>[[Nachmanides]] in his dispute with [[Pablo Christiani]] in 1263 paragraph 49.</ref><ref name=simmons>[[Shraga Simmons|Simmons, Rabbi Shraga]], [http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Why_Jews_Dont_Believe_In_Jesus.asp "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316040138/http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Why_Jews_Dont_Believe_In_Jesus.asp |date=2006-03-16 }}, accessed March 14, 2006.</ref><ref name=ohr>[http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/2637/Q1/ "Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus"], [[Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem|Ohr Samayach]] - ''Ask the Rabbi'', accessed March 14, 2006.</ref><ref name=askmoses>[http://www.askmoses.com/qa_detail.html?h=120&o=350 "Why don't Jews believe that Jesus was the messiah?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508095233/http://www.askmoses.com/qa_detail.html?h=120&o=350 |date=2020-05-08 }}, [[AskMoses.com]], accessed March 14, 2006.</ref> 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 [[David|King David]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Isaiah|11:1|HE}}</ref> He is expected to return the Jews to their homeland and [[Third Temple|rebuild the Temple]], reign as king, and usher in an [[Messianic Age|era of peace]]<ref name="Isaiah 2:4"/> and understanding where "the knowledge of [[God in Abrahamic religions|God]]" fills the earth,<ref name="Isaiah 11:9"/> leading the nations to "end up recognizing the wrongs they did Israel".<ref>{{bibleverse||Isaiah|52:13-53:5|HE}}</ref> Ezekiel states the messiah will redeem the Jews.<ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|16:55|HE}}</ref>

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 [[Virgin birth of Jesus|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 (Roman province)|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 [[Rabbi|rabbis]] of his time.<ref>Nachmanides in the [[Disputation of Barcelona]] with [[Pablo Christiani]] in 1263 paragraph 103.</ref>

Moreover, Judaism sees Christian claims that Jesus is the textual messiah of the [[Hebrew Bible]] as being based on mistranslations,<ref>{{cite book
 |author=Michoel Drazin
 |title=Their Hollow Inheritance. A Comprehensive Refutation of Christian Missionaries
 |year=1990
 |publisher=Gefen Publishing House, Ltd.
 |isbn=965-229-070-X
 |url=http://www.drazin.com
}}</ref><ref>Troki, Isaac. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929141607/http://faithstrengthened.org/FS_TOC.html "Faith Strengthened"]}}.</ref> given that Jesus did not fulfill any of the [[Messiah in Judaism#Scriptural requirements|Jewish Messiah qualifications]].<ref name = "Aish">{{Cite web
| url = http://www.aish.com/jw/s/48892792.html
| title = Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus
| date = May 9, 2009
| last = Simmons
| first = Shraga
| author-link = Shraga Simmons
| publisher = [[Aish HaTorah]]
| quote = Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because: {{ordered list |Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies. |Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah. |Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations. |Jewish belief is based on national revelation.}}
}}
</ref>

===Prophecy and Jesus===
{{Main|Prophet|False prophet}}
According to the [[Torah]] ({{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|13:1-5|HE}} and {{bibleverse-nb||Deuteronomy|18:18-22|HE}}), the criteria for a person to be considered a [[Prophets in Judaism|prophet]] or speak for God in Judaism are that he must follow the [[Yahweh|God of Israel]] (and no other god); he must not describe God differently from how he is known to be from [[Hebrew scripture|Scripture]]; he must not advocate [[Supersessionism|change to God's word]] or state that God has changed his mind and wishes things that contradict his already-stated eternal word.<ref>[[Mishneh Torah]] ''Madah'' Yeshodai HaTorah 8:7-9</ref> There is no concept of the Messiah "fulfilling the law" to free the Israelites from their duty to maintain the ''[[Mitzvah|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."<ref>''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</ref><ref name=ou>Frankel, Rabbi Pinchas, [https://www.ou.org/judaism-101/glossary/history/ "Covenant of History"], [[Orthodox Union|Orthodox Union of Jewish Congregations of America]], accessed March 14, 2006.</ref><ref name=urj>Edwards, Laurence, [http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=2819&pge_prg_id=26382&pge_id=3453 "Torat Hayim - Living Torah: No Rest(s) for the Wicked"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051221220040/http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=2819&pge_prg_id=26382&pge_id=3453 |date=2005-12-21 }}, [[Union for Reform Judaism|Union of American Hebrew Congregations]], accessed March 14, 2006.</ref>

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.<ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|13:1-5|HE}} and {{bibleverse-nb||Deuteronomy|18:18-22|HE}}</ref><ref name=buchwald>[[Ephraim Buchwald|Buchwald, Rabbi Ephraim]], [http://rabbibuchwald.njop.org/2004/08/09/reeh-5764-2004/ "Parashat Re'eh 5764-2004: Identifying a True Prophet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411054517/http://rabbibuchwald.njop.org/2004/08/09/reeh-5764-2004/ |date=2017-04-11 }}, National Jewish Outreach Program, accessed March 14, 2006</ref>  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]] ([[Nashim|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",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cgi.org/salaam-the-prophet-of-error|title=Balaam the Prophet of Error|website=The Church of God International}}</ref> in the form of [[Balaam]].

===Jesus and salvation===
{{See also|Salvation}}
Judaism does not share the [[Salvation (Christianity)|Christian concept of salvation]], as it does not believe people are born in a [[Original Sin|state of sin]].<ref name = "Kolatch">{{cite book
| last=Kolatch
| first=Alfred
| title=The Second Jewish Book of Why
| orig-year=1985
| year=2000
| publisher=Jonathan David Publishers, Inc.
| location=[[Middle Village, Queens|Middle Village]], [[New York (state)|NY]]
| isbn=978-0-8246-0314-4
| lccn=84-21477
| pages=61–64
| chapter=Judaism and Christianity
| quote=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.
}}
</ref> Judaism holds instead that man is born to strive for perfection, and to follow the word of God.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} 
Sin is then divided into two categories; 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 [[Lashon hara|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.<ref name = "ST">{{cite book
| last=Gerondi
| first=Yonah
| author-link=Yonah Gerondi
| title=שערי תשובה
|trans-title=The Gates of Repentance
| others=translated by [[Shraga Silverstein]]
| orig-year=1505
| year=1981
| publisher=[[Feldheim Publishers]]
| location=[[Nanuet, New York]]
| language=he, en
| isbn=978-0-87306-252-7
}}</ref>

==Jesus in rabbinical literature==

===The Talmud===
{{See also|Jesus in the Talmud|Yeshu}}
Various works of classical Jewish [[rabbinic literature]] are thought to contain references to Jesus, including some uncensored manuscripts of the [[Talmud#Babylonian Talmud|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.<ref>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)."</ref>

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.<ref>[[Saadia R. Eisenberg]] ''Reading Medieval Religious Disputation: The 1240 "Debate" Between Rabbi Yechiel of Paris and Friar Nicholas Donin''</ref> 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.<ref>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</ref>

[[Rabbeinu Tam|Jacob ben Meir]] (11th century),<ref>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."</ref> [[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]] ({{circa|1075–1141}}),<ref>Section 3 paragraph 65.</ref> 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.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} [[Profiat Duran]]'s anti-Christian polemic ''Kelimmat ha-Goyim'' ("Shame of the Gentiles", 1397) makes it evident that Duran gave no credence to Yechiel's theory of two Jesuses.<ref>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.</ref>

Modern scholarship on the Talmud has a spectrum<ref>[[Robert E. Van Voorst]] Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence p108 "While [[R. Travers Herford|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</ref> of views. From [[Joseph Klausner]], [[R. Travers Herford]] and [[Peter Schäfer]],<ref>Peter Schäfer ''Jesus in the Talmud''</ref> who see some traces of a [[historical Jesus]] in the Talmud, to the views of [[Johann Maier]] and [[Jacob Neusner]], who consider that there are little or no historical traces and texts have been applied to Jesus in later editing, to others such as [[Daniel Boyarin]] (1999), who argue that Jesus in the Talmud is a [[literary device]] used by [[Pharisees|Pharisaic]] rabbis to comment on their relationship to and with early [[Jewish Christianity|Jewish Christians]].<ref>Boyarin ''Dying for God: martyrdom and the making of Christianity and Judaism'' 1999</ref>

The Vatican's [[papal bull]] issued in 1554 censored the Talmud and other Jewish texts,{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} resulting in the removal of references to Yeshu. No known manuscript of the [[Jerusalem Talmud]] makes mention of the name, although one translation (Herford) has added it to ''[[Avodah Zarah (tractate)|Avodah Zarah]] 2:2'' to align it with similar text of ''Chullin 2:22'' in the [[Tosefta]].{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} In the Munich (1342 CE), Paris, and [[Jewish Theological Seminary of America]] manuscripts of the Talmud, the appellation ''Ha-Notzri'' is added to the last mention of a Yeshu in ''[[Sanhedrin (Talmud)|Sanhedrin]] 107b'' and ''Sotah 47a'' as well as to the occurrences in ''Sanhedrin 43a'', ''Sanhedrin 103a'', ''[[Zeraim|Berachot]] 17b'' and ''Avodah Zarah'' 16b-17a. [[Gil Student|Student]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://talmud.faithweb.com/articles/jesusnarr.html|title=The Jesus Narrative In The Talmud|website=talmud.faithweb.com}}</ref> Zindler and McKinsey<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.skeptically.org/bible/id4.html|title=Ancient Hebrew (Talmud) account of Christ--McKinsey|website=www.skeptically.org}}</ref> ''Ha-Notzri'' is not found in other early pre-censorship partial manuscripts (the Florence, Hamburg and Karlsruhe) where these cover the passages in question.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Although ''Notzri'' does not appear in the Tosefta, by the time the Babylonian Talmud was produced, ''Notzri'' had become the standard [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word for Christian and the ''[[Yeshu|Yeshu Ha-Notzri]]'' found in the Talmud has become the controversial rendition of "Jesus the Nazarene" in Hebrew. For example, by 1180 CE the term ''Yeshu Ha-Notzri'' can be found in the Maimonides' ''[[Mishneh Torah]]'' (''Hilchos Melachim'' 11:4, uncensored version).

===''Toledot Yeshu''===
In the ''[[Toledot Yeshu]]'' the name of Yeshu is taken to mean ''[[yimakh shemo]]'' (''May his name be erased)''.<ref>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,"</ref> In all cases of its use, the references to Yeshu are associated with acts or behaviour that are seen as leading Jews away from Judaism to ''[[Heresy in Judaism|Minuth]]'',  or  "[[Heresy in Judaism|heresy]]" , "[[Apostasy in Judaism|apostasy]]". Historically, the portrayals of Jesus in the Talmud and Jewish literature were used to justify [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] sentiments.<ref>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."</ref>

===Maimonides===
[[Maimonides]] lamented the pains that Jews felt as a result of new faiths that attempted to supplant Judaism, specifically Christianity and Islam. Referring to Jesus, he wrote:
<blockquote>Concerning Jesus of Nazareth who imagined himself to become the Messiah and [[Pilate's court|was put to death by the court]], the Prophet [[Daniel (biblical figure)|Daniel]] said already: "also the rebellious sons of thy people will lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they will stumble." (Dan.11,14) And can there be a greater stumbling block than this: All the prophets affirmed that the Messiah would redeem Israel, save them, gather their dispersed and strengthen the commandments, but he caused Israel to be destroyed by the sword, their remnants to be dispersed, and humiliated, their changing the Torah, and misleading the world to serve gods besides the Lord.</blockquote>

Nonetheless, Maimonides continued, developing a thought earlier expressed in [[Judah Halevi]]'s ''[[Kuzari]]'',<ref>{{cite book|editor=Jerald d. Gort|title=Religions view religions : explorations in pursuit of understanding|date=2006|publisher=Rodopi|location=Amsterdam [u.a.]|isbn=9042018585|page=102|edition=[Online-Ausg.].}}</ref>
<blockquote>Yet no man can grasp the thoughts of the Creator of the world, for our ways are not His ways, and our thoughts are not His thoughts; And all these ways of Jesus of Nazareth and of [[Muhammad|This Ismaelite]] who rose after him, were only to clear the way for Messiah the King." ... ." when the Messiah will really arise and he will succeed and will reign supreme, at once they shall all return and will know that they inherited lies from their forefathers and that their prophets and forefathers have misled them. (''Hilkhot Melakhim'' 11:10–12.)</blockquote>

====''Epistle to Yemen''====
Jesus is mentioned in Maimonides' ''[[Epistle to Yemen]]'', written about 1172 to Rabbi [[Jacob ben Nathanael|Jacob ben Netan'el al-Fayyumi]], head of the [[Yemenite Jews|Yemenite community]]:
{{Blockquote|
Ever since the time of Revelation, every despot or slave that has attained to power, be he violent or ignoble, has made it his first aim and his final purpose to destroy our law, and to vitiate our religion, by means of the sword, by violence, or by brute force, such as [[Amalek]], [[Sisera]], [[Sennacherib]], [[Nebuchadnezzar]], [[Titus]], [[Hadrian]], may their bones be ground to dust, and others like them. This is one of the two classes which attempt to foil the Divine will.

The second class consists of the most intelligent and educated among the nations, such as the Syrians, Persians, and Greeks. These also endeavor to demolish our law and to vitiate it by means of arguments which they invent, and by means of controversies which they institute....

After that there arose a new sect which combined the two methods, namely, conquest and controversy, into one, because it believed that this procedure would be more effective in wiping out every trace of the Jewish nation and religion. It, therefore, resolved to lay claim to prophecy and to found a new faith, contrary to our Divine religion, and to contend that it was equally God-given. Thereby it hoped to raise doubts and to create confusion, since one is opposed to the other and both supposedly emanate from a Divine source, which would lead to the destruction of both religions. For such is the remarkable plan contrived by a man who is envious and querulous. He will strive to kill his enemy and to save his own life, but when he finds it impossible to attain his objective, he will devise a scheme whereby they both will be slain.

The first one to have adopted this plan was Jesus the Nazarene, may his bones be ground to dust. He was a Jew because his mother was a Jewess although his father was a Gentile. For in accordance with the principles of our law, a child born of a Jewess and a Gentile, or of a Jewess and a slave, is legitimate. (Yebamot 45a). Jesus is only figuratively termed an illegitimate child. He impelled people to believe that he was a prophet sent by God to clarify perplexities in the Torah, and that he was the Messiah that was predicted by each and every seer. He interpreted the Torah and its precepts in such a fashion as to lead to their total annulment, to the abolition of all its commandments and to the violation of its prohibitions. The sages, of blessed memory, having become aware of his plans before his reputation spread among our people, meted out fitting punishment to him.<ref>
"Epistle to Yemen Complete", "Maimonides, Trans. Boaz Cohen", url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Epistle_to_Yemen/Complete, </ref>}}

==In Karaite Judaism==
The historical view of Jesus within [[Karaite Judaism]] is a complex one. While Karaites share Rabbanite views in rejecting Christian beliefs of Jesus' divinity and claims to messiahship, Karaites throughout history have held warmer opinions about him. Karaite scholar [[Jacob Qirqisani]] stated that some Karaites of his day believed that: 

{{Blockquote|Jesus was a good man and his was in the way of [[Zadok]], [[Anan ben David|Anan]], and others; and that the Rabbanites conspired against him and killed him just as they sought to kill Anan, without success. This is their way with all who oppose them.<ref name="AstrenF">{{cite book |last=Astren |first=Fred |title=Karaite Judaism and historical understanding |page=119 |date=2004 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=9781570035180}}</ref>}}

Persian historian and Islamic theologian [[Al-Shahrastani]] reported that Karaites believed that Jesus was indeed a righteous man, but was not a prophet, and that the Gospels were not divinely revealed, but created and compiled by Jesus and his disciples.<ref name="AstrenF"/> ''[[Hakham]]'' [[Abraham Firkovich]] believed Jesus himself was actually a Karaite.<ref>{{cite book |last=Revel |first=Bernard |title=The Karaite Halakah And Its Relation to Saduccean, Samaritan and Philonian Halakah. Part 1 · Volume 1 |page=88 |date=1913 |publisher=Press of Cahan printing Company |isbn=9781548603533}}</ref> Controversial ''hakham'' [[Seraya Shapshal]] said:

{{Blockquote|We call him Yeshua haTzadik, that is, the "Just". For us Christ did not modify the Old Testament. On the contrary, he affirmed it… Christ is for us a great prophet, but not the messiah.<ref>{{cite book |last=Berger |first=David |title=New Perspectives on Jewish-Christian Relations |page=486 |date=2012 |publisher=Brill Publishing|isbn=9789004221178}}</ref>}}

==As a Nazarene==
{{See|Nazarene (sect)|Nazarene (title)}}
In addition to being a place-name, Nazarenes were Jews who committed to certain extreme observances of religious practice, such as shaving their heads and abstaining from various activities, foods or practices, spending time in contemplation in the desert and so on. They continue being recognized as Jews, and believe Jesus lived around 130 or 140 CE and was conflated with [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonic]] beliefs into what became the New Testament. To them, he was not God or God's son.{{cn|reason=What website?|date=May 2023}}

==Positive historical re-evaluations==
Considering the [[historical Jesus]], some modern Jewish thinkers have come to hold a more positive view of Jesus, arguing that he himself did not abandon Judaism and/or that he benefited non-Jews. Among historic Orthodox rabbis holding these views are [[Jacob Emden]],<ref>[http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/falk1a.html "Emden's letter about Jesus"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115102258/http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/falk1a.html |date=2013-01-15 }}, ''[[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."</ref><ref>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.</ref> [[Eliyahu Soloveitchik]], and [[Elijah Benamozegh]].<ref>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".</ref>

[[Moses Mendelssohn]], as well as some other religious thinkers of the [[Haskalah|Jewish Enlightenment]], also held more positive views.<ref>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"</ref> Austrian-born philosopher [[Martin Buber]] also held Jesus in great regard.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-214204640/rehearing-buber-s-jesus-deepens-jewish-christian-dialogue |title=Rehearing Buber's Jesus Deepens Jewish-Christian Dialogue / By Kramer, Kenneth P. |access-date=2015-12-23 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190750/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-214204640/rehearing-buber-s-jesus-deepens-jewish-christian-dialogue |url-status=dead }}</ref> A positive view of Jesus is fairly represented among modern Jews<ref>{{cite book|last1=Neusner|first1=Jacob|title=A rabbi talks with Jesus|date=2000|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|location=Montreal [Que.]|isbn=0773568395|edition=Rev.|page=4|quote="For a long time Jews have praised Jesus as a rabbi, a Jew like us really;"}}</ref> in the currents of [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] ([[Emil G. Hirsch]] and [[Kaufmann Kohler]]), [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] ([[Milton Steinberg]] and [[Byron Sherwin]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Magid |first1=Shaul |title=American Post-Judaism: Identity and Renewal in a Postethnic Society |date=2013 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0253008091}}</ref>), and [[Jewish Renewal]] ([[Zalman Schachter-Shalomi]]).

Some modern [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] rabbis, such as [[Irving Greenberg]] and [[Jonathan Sacks]], also hold positive views (Greenberg theorizes Jesus as "a messiah, but not The Messiah").<ref>{{cite news |last1=Feinstein |first1=EveLevavi |title=JESUS FOR JEWS |url=https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Jesus-for-Jews |access-date=13 June 2019 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=19 June 2011}}</ref>

Rabbi [[Shmuley Boteach]] takes this even further, following the research of [[Hyam Maccoby]].<ref>[[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."{{clarify|reason=How, exactly, did he use the model?|date=September 2020}}</ref> Boteach authored ''[[Kosher Jesus]]'' in 2012, in which he depicts Jesus as "a Jewish patriot murdered by Rome for his struggle on behalf of his people."<ref>[[Shmuley Boteach]], ''[[Kosher Jesus]]'' (Gefen Publishing House, 2012, {{ISBN|9652295787}}).</ref> Opinions of the merits of the book differ, with [[Israeli-American]] Rabbi [[Yechiel Eckstein]], President of the [[International Fellowship of Christians and Jews]], praising it as "courageous and thought-provoking".<ref name=scrap>Simon Rocker (January 26, 2012). "[http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/62607/seconds-out-rabbis-scrap-over-jesus-christ Seconds out: rabbis scrap over Jesus Christ]", ''The Jewish Chronicle''.</ref> Boteach said that the book "traces the teachings of Jesus to their original sources: the [[Torah]], the [[Talmud]] and [[rabbinic literature]]".<ref name=PWinterview>{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/religion/article/50337-shmuley-boteach-was-jesus-kosher-.html |title=Shmuley Boteach: Was Jesus Kosher? |last=Mayefsky |first=Chana |date=January 25, 2012 |accessdate=September 26, 2012 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Christian–Jewish reconciliation]]
* [[Christ myth theory]]
* [[Criticism of Christianity]]
* [[Rejection of Jesus]]
* [[Criticism of Jesus]]
* [[Judaism's views on Muhammad]]
* [[Jesus in Islam]]
* [[Jews for Jesus]]
* [[List of messiah claimants]]
* [[Messianic Judaism]]
* ''[[Milhamoth ha-Shem]]''
* [[Nittel Nacht]]
* [[Opposition to Christianity in Chazalic literature]]
* [[The Book of Nestor the Priest]] (''Sefer Nestor Ha-Komer'')
* ''[[Sefer Nizzahon Yashan]]''
* ''[[Sefer Joseph Hamekane]]''
* ''The Touchstone'' of [[Ibn Shaprut]]
* [[Tzoah Rotachat]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://www.nishma.org/articles/insight/spark5756-22.html The False Prophet]
* {{cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=254&letter=J|title=JESUS OF NAZARETH - JewishEncyclopedia.com}}
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12388-prophet-false Jewish Encyclopedia: False Prophet]

{{Jesus footer}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Jesus in Judaism]]
[[Category:Christ myth theory]]
[[Category:Criticism of Christianity]]
[[Category:Christianity and Judaism related controversies]]
[[Category:Talmud people]]