Kosher Jesus?

"[My] book is telling the Jews to reclaim Jesus, the authentic Jesus, the historical Jesus, the Jewish Jesus" and to be inspired by his "beautiful" teachings, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach said this week in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Shmuley Boteach, who bills himself as "America's rabbi" and who seems to be campaigning for the soon to be vacant post of Chief Rabbi of England, is not my favorite person. My opposition to Shmuley goes back to the late 1980s, when I met him days before he was to leave for Oxford to open a Chabad House there.

Shmuley was so obnoxious, so egomaniacal and so, well, crazy, that I tried to get the shaliach I was working with to call the Rebbe's secretariat and get Boteach's shlichut rescinded. My opinion of Shmuley was shared, it turned out, by others. But no call was made to the Rebbe because doing it would have meant questioning the Rebbe's judgement (nad his infallibility) in appointing Shmuley in the first place – something no Chabad employee (besides me, apparently) would do.

Shmuley is rank opportunist, a slurping egomaniac who lives to hear his own voice and see his own picture and who will offer opinions on subjects he knows next to nothing about as if he were the world's biggest scholar of them.

Enter Jesus, the latest subject of Boteach's 'scholarship.'

Boteach is about to publish a new book called "Kosher Jesus." To be sure, there is no shortage of hucksters and delusional messianic types writing books about the man-god, but most of those less than honest writers don't command the media audience our slurping egomaniac does. That means Botech has the potential to do more good or, more likely, more harm, than they do.

Ha'aretz interviewed Boteach about his latest 'scholarship' which, Ha'aretz says, is based primarily on another non-expert, the late British author Hyam Maccoby. Maccoby's works are based on outdated science and were rejected by scholars almost out of hand when they were originally published because Maccoby has a tendency to make the facts fit his theories rather than letting the facts shape his theories. And this bodes poorly for Boteach's book.

That said, Ha'aretz reports that Rabbi Jeremy Rosen likes Boteach's book, so perhaps Boteach has managed to avoid doing any serious damage.

On the other hand, Alan Dershowitz endorses the book (but not necessarily its content) and the unber-crazy, uber-irresponsible hard right radio show host Glenn Beck endorses it. Make of this what you will.

Here's some of what King Shmuley the Self-Anointed told Ha'aretz:

"This book is telling the Jews to reclaim Jesus, the authentic Jesus, the historical Jesus, the Jewish Jesus" and to be inspired by his "beautiful" teachings, the U.S.-born author and TV show host told Anglo File this week in Jerusalem. "It's asking Christians to make an effort to enrich their Christianity through an understanding of the Jewishness of Jesus."

"Suddenly we have evangelical Christians emerging as the foremost supporters of the state of Israel," he said. "We have this political alliance. What is a lacking is a theological bridge."

"Christians don't know the Jewish Jesus," Boteach continued. "They know the Christ-divinity but not the Jewish man Jesus. There's a need to discover the humanity of Jesus."

"Kosher Jesus" amalgamates research (mostly by Hyam Maccoby ) which suggests that the gospels give the wrong impression of Jesus. "There was a lot of embellishment and editing," Boteach said. "We have to remember Paul [the apostle] never met Jesus. He cannot offer us a first-hand account of Jesus' life."

Christian scripture "doesn't add up" when it portray Jesus as a self-hating Jew, or when it lists sins that allegedly led Jews to condemn him, Boteach said. Jesus never declared himself God or meant to abolish Jewish law, he asserts.

And the fact that Jesus thought of himself as the messiah shouldn't bother Jews, he insists: "I could declare myself the messiah right now. There's nothing blasphemous about this," Boteach said. "I even encourage people to have a certain messianic tendency in their lives, a desire to redeem the world."

Boteach said he regrets that Jews allowed Jesus "to be ripped away from them without even a fight."

"We just accepted a Christian interpretation of his life and narrative," he said. "One of the most influential people of all time is seen as a Christian who loved the Romans and said about the Jews that they are all the children of the devil."

But "Christian ideas of Jesus as divine messiah emerged as a savvy adaptation following the destruction of the Second Temple," Boteach explained. Once Jews understand that, he writes that they "can take inspiration from Jesus' often beautiful ethical teachings and appreciate Jesus as a devoted Jewish son who became martyred while trying to lift the Roman yoke of oppression from his beloved people."

 

Comments

[Yosef ben Matitya]

ruthie
when u spoke to rebbe mamesh he answered you?
on $ sunday?
wow! that's great.
which hat were you wearing then? and which hat are you wearing today?
and last friday?

[Yoel Mechanic]

It is easy to find out what Rabbi Boteach is all about: there are many youtube videos of his debates, shalom in the home tv show, google of his articles in Jerusalem post, and of course his books. He is very much in the media, and tries very hard to get as much public exposure as possible. I won't dwell on his history or personality, but rather his methodology. His goal has always been to bring Moshiach (he is a Chabad Lubavitcher, if that wasn't obvious), but he uses a different tactic: his audience often are goyim (nations), and his goal is to make Judaism so "cool" to the entire world that the goyim will get interested in Judaism (not necessarily to convert) and then they will shlep their Jewish friends along to the "cool" Chabad events. In brief; if the goyim get interested in Moshiach, then they will get the Jews interested. I think this is the starting point to understanding Rabbi Boteach. It seems to me, that despite all the things he has gotten into over the past decades, he has never deviated from this overall strategy. I find that very interesting.

[adams]

It's typical smuley garbage, he is simply a brand name, he will sell certain number of copies of his book no matter what the title.

I am sad that some people actually follow him, go to his dopey lectures, he is nothing, a total waste of time.

[Rebitzman]

blasphing the Rebbe

To even suggest this is possible is a violation of about a dozen commandments. Let's start with idolatry.

[Radical Feminist]

I am not a scholar--but I seriously doubt that the idea of a "messiah" is a new invention in Judaism and probably does not exist long before the first century AD.

[Just Thinking]

Rebitzman, so Rabbi Skobac, a leader of Jews4Judaism is a Christian? Oh, and the execution of Paul as an Apostate is anti-Jewish? Ok, and historical evidence showing that Jesus was not divine, a false messiah, should be covered?

Sounds like you are a closet Christian, or perhaps support the mass persuasion techniques used by Boteach.

[Radical Feminist]

I mean to say that the idea of a messiah, in Judaim, probably does not predate the first century and evolved later after the Roman occupation. I have not found any evidence of the idea being solidified in Jewish thought before then.

[Observer]

Korbendallas, Korbenchattos is more appropriate. Anything you post or say is totally insignificant, as you are.
Spray yourself with some strong insect repellent.

[Truth Teller]

I am a quiet follower of FM and appreciate Shmarya's coverage and the mostly interesting discussions that follow. I have never posted myself but feel compelled to do so now. I realize that there are many out there whose theology arrives at this contemptible way of thinking. Just as there are those whose theology arrives at spitting on children, and being sanctimonious while being welfare cheats.
But these words are almost identical to the kind of sewer talk that one would find on a skinhead screed if you just change the words around.
If you feel compelled to think this way please keep it to yourselves. Otherwise, don't be surprised when the next Hitler comes around accusing us of sick conspiracies.

So that's why Hitler came around - because some Jews had bad attitudes towards gentiles. Nothing to do with the turmoil in Germany following Weimar and the opportunity to grab power; nothing to do with centuries of church promulgated hatred for Jews that made us a handy scapegoat. Thanks for the enlightenment.

[Eva]

@Eva

We do have a clue, but apparently you do not.

More has been written, and more historical documentation exists about the Pharissees than does about Yoshke, and one does not need to be a historian to know this.

A suggestion. By and large, Jews have very little regard or respect for the "Jesus" idea. If you have an issue with this, you just might wish to avoid Jewish websites.

Posted by: Rebitzman | January 07, 2012 at 10:54 PM

Is that documentation authored by the same individual(s) who authored Toledot Yeshu?

And I'm sorry, I'll stick my little Yoshke voodoo doll with more needles while I type so that I'll be more acceptable in your eyes to post in your presence!!

Repulsive.

[Eva]

Then maybe I'll engage in the "pouring of lead" too to clean us of the ayin hara!

[Yaakov]

Leaving aside all of the "son of God" twaddle which I completely reject, I never really appreciated the core message of the Gospels until well after I was a religious Jew.

Not being religious, I read many texts of other traditions, the Gospels included. I didn't find too much in it for me, though there were some ethical points I found worthwhile.

My experience in dealing with the Rabbis, however, gave me a new perspective on the comments of Jesus. I don't know if there was or was not an historical Jesus, and frankly I don't care. I do know that—actual or composite—many of the complaints of Jesus are precisely what many of us hear complain, daily.

Does the fact that I believe there are genuine insights among the mythological codswallop compel me to become a Christian? No, of course not. It is only if I make the same mistake ba'alei teshuvah often make, in mistaking the existence of compelling description for knowledge of a practical solution that I would consider it. It is obvious, to me, that Christian theology is a hodgepodge of Torah and social bits from the era of its founding.

I would no more become a Christian because Jesus had the Rabbis' number than I would a Communist because Marx has lucid insights into the nature of socioeconomics. Both make excellent points against the orthodoxies they are concerned with, each (or theirr adherents) makes a proposal for a solution, a separate issue, and in my opinion, fails to provide one.

So, the complaints of Jesus make the most sense to a religious Jew suffering from the Rabbis, and the context of pre-Paulist Christian thought is purely Jewish. It's one of many cults of the time, it was just a lot more successful.

[B Klein]

I indeed have gone on Amazon.com and clicked on the book, which is a drawing of Jesus with his pierced hand from his crucifixion. I clicked on the book and in the introduction saw it say Christians and Jews can unite in their common hero of Jesus, depicted as a Jewish “patriot” against Rome. Rabbi Boteach apprently believes he is doing a great service by taking the Deity figure of a Religoun with trillions of followers and publishing him as a non-deity (not a god or son of god – I am assuming) Orthodox Jew. Of course “Rabbi” Boteach has a strong need to make the godly figure of Christianity into a frum yid because maybe then the Chrsitians will become like him? Maybe this is an outgrowth of the declarations for years by many in LUbavitch that the Lubavithcer Reebe that died over 10 years ago is Moshiach. It wouldnt be a big jump then to say – then why cant this dead man be Messiah. I wonder what the Rambam or Rashi or Shulchan Orach or Rama or even Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and Rabbi Aaron Kotler havew thought about Jesus? Never mind the thousandsof Jews that gave their lives not to accept him in the Crusades or Inquisition o pogroms. No Compromise on Jesus has been the Judaic stand. Just as no Compromise on Idolatry. Of course we must respect other religouns – and not white wash Our Own at the same time! As a former spiritual; advisor to Michael Jackson and Al Sharpton, perhaps his head got to him. I’d rather read Jewish Response to Missionaries by Rabbi Kaplan or V’da Mah SheTashiv by Ben Solomon available on Amazon.com for the True Judaic perspective.

[Eva]

Of course we must respect other religouns – and not white wash Our Own at the same time!

What are you talking about, when there are even Christians who don't accept Jesus' divinity, like these guys:

http://www.christianmonotheism.com/

Or Sir Anthony Buzzard?

[Al]

Boteach can be nothing more than a prostitue ! Nothing he has ever written is becoming of a rabbi based on traditional rabbinical opinion, not mine ! Shmuely chases theholey dollar - that's it.

He spends his life chumming up with young (mostly non-jewish)women talking about "kosher sex", he hangs with the star like Michael Jacksion giving support and comfort (what a tzaDIK)& now this book. What a joke of a rabbi.

Perhaps he should read some real history and see Israel at the time of Christ for what it was - The time of formative Judaism (vs. Israelitism) too.

All of that said, have you ever seen his home ? This spiritual, pious man lives like a king - literally.

Finally, I dont know why he's so focused on Jesus when he has the Rebbe. Perhaps for the reprint the cover should picture the Rebbe on the cross ! After all he is the true melech hamashiach and according to many is strill alive

[Michael]

lashon hora... is it any more blatant in this article?

Let's spread some peace signs, gents and ladies. Need we divide ourselves even further?

[barry]

you can tell he's bad news....