Читать книгу The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament - Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik - Страница 19

CHAPTER 2

1 In the days of King Hordos, when Yeshua was born in Beit-Leḥem of Yehudah, magi came from the land of the east to Yerushalayim.16

In the days of King Hordos—that is, Herod I (aka Herod the Great). Honored reader, this ancient baseless hatred has been glowing in the hearts of our Christian brothers against our Jewish brothers for over 1,800 years. They said that our fathers struck down their messiah for no wrong that he committed and that we must suffer for the wickedness of our fathers, and they seek his blood from our hands. Until now, their fury has not been appeased, as we saw with the events in Romania, and they deem it a mitzvah to seek vengeance for his blood from the hands of their Jewish brothers.

Even among our Jewish brothers who lack understanding and who suppose that Yeshua of Nazareth is the cause of the evil that happens to them, some accuse their Christian brothers and their messiah; and the fire of the controversy continues to grow.¹⁷ Therefore, I saw it as incumbent upon myself to show everyone that it was not the hand of the Jews that put him to death, and I will show that both our Jewish and Christian brothers are mistaken in their understanding of this.¹⁸ And even if one can find something in the Talmud against Yeshua, this is not the Yeshua that our Christian brothers hold on to as Messiah, for he was a different Yeshua, and they did not live in the same time period, which I will show using reliable historical writings.¹⁹

In the book Universal History, which was printed in London in 1754, in chapter 10, page 675, it is written that the Temple was destroyed seventy years after the birth of Yeshua of Nazareth; and in the same place, it says that Yeshua was killed when he was thirty-three years old. This means that he died thirty-seven years before the destruction of the Temple.²⁰

Now let us search through the Talmud in all the sources that mention Yeshua of Nazareth, and we shall see that nothing evil is spoken against Yeshua (the one called “Messiah”) at all, although we do not deny that there was a dispute between the two sects—between the Pharisees and Essenes. The sages of the Talmud were Pharisees, and Yeshua and all those who accompanied him were from the Essene sect, as we will clarify later.²¹ But every dispute about Yeshua that we find only concerns how man should conduct himself in accordance with the Torah, in order that he may be able to walk on the path of life, worshiping YHWH who is one, as will be explained.

In BT Sanhedrin 107b, it is said that there are three things that the left hand pushes away and the right hand brings near (see also BT Soṭah 47a). One of the three is a child his father, or a student his rabbi. The meaning is that he will not push away his son with both hands, nor will a rabbi push his student away with both hands:

And not like Yehoshua ben Perachyah, who pushed Yeshua of Nazareth away with both hands. And what did Yehoshua ben Perachyah do? When King Yannai killed all the sages, the sister of Shimon ben Shetach hid him. She was the wife of King Yannai. Then Yehoshua ben Perachyah fled to Alexandria, Egypt, with his disciple Yeshua. When there was peace and the persecutions stopped, he got up and left. He came across an inn, and there they gave him great honor. He said: “How lovely is our hostess!” He [Yeshua] said to him: “Rabbi, her eyes are dim.” Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: “Wicked one, this is what you concern yourself with?!” [meaning, you observe the eyes of the hostess who is the wife of another man?!] He brought out four hundred shofars and excommunicated him. Yeshua came before Rabbi Yehoshua many times and said: “Receive me in repentance!” But he did not receive him. One day, Yeshua came before Rabbi Yehoshua and he decided to receive him back. Rabbi Yehoshua was reciting the Shema, so he signaled him with his hand, but Yeshua thought that he was pushing him away. Yeshua went and bowed down to the moon. Rabbi Yehoshua said: “Repent!” Yeshua said to him: “This is what I have learned from you: anyone who sins or causes many to sin is not able to repent.” A sage said: “Yeshua practiced magic and caused Israel to sin.” Afterward, they judged him and stoned him.²²

Those who lack knowledge from among our brothers, the children of Israel, and our Christian brothers, think that this is the same Yeshua that they call “Messiah.” Honored reader, please see just how mistaken they are in their understanding! In Pirkei Avot, chapter 1, the order of the leaders of the Sanhedrin is listed. After Yehoshua ben Perachyah came Yehudah ben Tabbai; after that, Shemayah and Avtalyon; after them, Hillel the Prince. We find that from Yehoshua ben Perachyah to Hillel is four generations. And it is said in BT Shabbat 15a: “Hillel, Shimon, Gamliel, and Shimon led the Sanhedrin 100 years before the destruction of the Temple.” Therefore, from Yehoshua ben Perachyah to Hillel was four generations, and a hundred years from Hillel to the destruction of the Temple. Yeshua (the one they call “Messiah”), however, was born seventy years, and was killed thirty-seven years, before the destruction of the Temple. Thus, the mistake can be seen, and the hatred between Jews and Christians is baseless hatred (sin’at ḥinam).

In BT Shabbat 104b, it is said:

He who scratches a mark on his flesh (on Shabbat)—Rabbi Eliezer required a sin offering and the sages dismissed it…. Rabbi Eliezer said to the sages: “Did not Ben Stada bring sorcery from Egypt through scratching his flesh [meaning: we see that scratching is considered writing].” They said to him: “He was a fool, and fools cannot be as proof.” The Gemara argues: “Ben Stada [i.e., son of Stada]? He is the son of Pandira!” [meaning: how can you say that he is the son of Stada?] Rav Ḥisda said: “The husband was Stada; the lover was Pandira.” The Gemara argues again: “The husband was Pappos ben Yehudah! [meaning: how can you say that the husband was Stada?] Rather, his mother was Stada” [meaning: he is called son of Stada because his mother was called Stada]. The Gemara continues to argue: “His mother was Miriam the hairdresser! And as they say in Pumbedita, that woman turned away from her husband.”

We find that the mother of Ben Stada was Miriam, and her husband was Pappos ben Yehudah, and her lover was Pandira. Her son was a bastard, and therefore they called his mother Stada because she was a harlot. From this section in the Gemara, those who lack knowledge from among both our Jewish and Christian brothers conclude that this speaks about Yeshua, who is called “Messiah.” Therefore, the Christians think badly of their Jewish brothers and speak against the Gemara without limit.²³

See, honored reader, how misguided they are in their understanding. How can it be possible that the one called Ben Stada was the same man as Yeshua, their messiah? For his mother’s husband was Pappos ben Yehudah, and Pappos was imprisoned with Rabbi Akiva, just as we find in BT Berakhot 61b:

It was only a few days later that Rabbi Akiva was arrested and put in jail. Pappos ben Yehudah was also arrested and imprisoned with him. Rabbi Akiva said to him: “Pappos, who brought you here?” He answered: “Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, for having been arrested for studying Torah (for it was against the law to study the Torah, but Rabbi Akiva still studied it); woe to Pappos, who was arrested for idle matters.”²⁴

Rabbi Akiva was the disciple of Rabbi Eliezer the Great, as we find in BT Sanhedrin 68a; and Rabbi Eliezer was the disciple of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai; according to Pirkei Avot 2:8, “Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai had five disciples,” and Rabbi Eliezer is listed as one of them. And in the days of Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai, the Temple was destroyed, as we find in BT Giṭṭin 56a–b.

Now see, from the destruction of the Temple to Rabbi Akiva is three generations—Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Eliezer, and Rabbi Akiva. Thus, how can it be possible that Ben Stada, the son of Miriam, is the same as Yeshua, their messiah? Was not Pappos ben Yehudah her husband, the one who was imprisoned with Rabbi Akiva? Rabbi Akiva lived three generations after the destruction of the Temple, and Yeshua their messiah was born seventy years before the destruction. Plus, nowhere is it written that Ben Stada’s name was Yeshua.

It is also written in the Talmud (BT Sanhedrin 67a) that what occurred with Ben Stada happened in the city of Lod, and Yeshua, their messiah, was killed in Jerusalem. We also find in the Gemara, in BT Avodah Zarah 17a, that Rabbi Eliezer told this story:

Once, while I was walking in the upper market of Tzippori, I found one of the disciples of Yeshua of Nazareth, and his name was Yakov of Kefar Seḥanya. He said to me: “It is written in your Torah, You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the payment of a dog into the house of YHWH your God to fulfill an oath (Deuteronomy 23:19). What can you do with it? Can you use it to build the bathroom facilities for the high priest [in the room that he resides in within the Temple during the seven days preceding Yom Kippur]?” I did not say anything to him. He said to me: “This is what Yeshua of Nazareth taught me: ‘From the fee of a prostitute they were collected, and from the fee of a prostitute shall they return’ (Micah 1:7).” This word pleased me.

Now, honored reader, you can see that I have shown you a few passages in the Talmud where a Yeshua “of Nazareth” is mentioned, and each and every one of them lived in different time periods. The Yeshua who was the disciple of Yehoshua ben Perachyah lived about two hundred years before the destruction of the Temple; and Yeshua, their messiah, was born seventy years before the destruction. We have already discussed the passage of Ben Stada, who lived three generations after the destruction of the Temple.

Now, for the wise person, it is easy to perceive that Yeshua, their messiah, is the one mentioned in BT Avodah Zarah. Notice what was written there, that Rabbi Eliezer—who was the disciple of Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai, in whose lifetime the Temple was destroyed—spoke with Yakov of Kefar Seḥanya; this is Yakov the shaliaḥ, the one mentioned in the New Testament, who was the disciple of Yeshua of Nazareth. I will not deny that it appears that, according to the Talmud, there was a dispute between the two sects, for Rabbi Eliezer was from the sect of the Pharisees and Yeshua of Nazareth was from the sect of the Essenes. Nevertheless, they did not reveal their dispute in this passage, and Rabbi Eliezer was fond of the teachings of Yeshua and even said, “This word pleases me.”

Nowhere in the Talmud is anything evil spoken about this Yeshua, Yeshua of Nazareth. Along with this, I will show you from Roman history and from the Talmud that the hand of the Jews was not against Yeshua and that they did not cause the death of Yeshua, their messiah; rather, it was Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. I will show this in another location.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon anyone who loves truth and peace, especially those who teach and lead the many, to inform their Christian brothers that they are mistaken in this matter. It is incumbent upon them to eradicate and uproot their baseless hatred that is concealed in their hearts toward our Jewish brothers.²⁵

2 They said, “Where is the king of the Yehudim who was born? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to bow down to him.”

Where is the king of the Yehudim?—the wise men were stargazers, as it is written: “We have seen his star in the east.” The stargazers were very wise and were not mistaken about all things entirely, as it is said: Let them stand up and save you now, the scanners of heaven, the stargazers, who announce month by month what will come upon you (Isaiah 47:13). And it is said in the midrash (Vayeshev, chap. 5): “‘That which will’ and not ‘all that which will.’” This means that they do not see everything completely. Thus, the stargazers saw that he was born but not where he was born; hence, they ask, “Where is the king of the Jews?”²⁶

3 When King Hordos heard their words, he was disturbed, and all of Yerushalayim along with him.

Was disturbed—for Herod was a servant of a Hasmonean king, as we find in BT Bava Batra 3b. And the king promoted him above all the commanders, for he was successful in battle. Afterward, he killed his benefactor and appointed himself as king. Therefore, when he heard that the king of the Jews was born, he feared that he would be overthrown. For this is what King Solomon said: A servant who is pampered in his youth will come to a bad end (Proverbs 29:21).²⁷

4 So he assembled all the leading priests and scholars of the people and inquired of them, saying, “Where will the mashiaḥ be born?”

5 They told him, “In Beit-Leḥem of Yehudah, for this is how it was written by the prophet:

In Beit-Leḥem of Yehudah—we find in the Jerusalem Talmud, in Berakhot 2:4:

Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Ibbo said: “A Jew was working his field, and his ox began to bellow. An Arab passerby heard the voice of the animal and said: ‘Jew! Jew! Unharness your ox; he is announcing that the Sanctuary will be destroyed!’ [meaning: since the Temple was about to be destroyed, he needed to stop his work and pray for it to be spared. The Arab understood that the animal was alerting the Jew about this.] The ox bellowed a second time, and the Arab said: ‘Jew! Jew! Harness your ox to the plow again, for he is announcing that King Messiah is about to be born.’—‘What is his name?’—‘Menachem.’—‘And his father’s name?’—‘Hezekiah.’—‘Where will he be born?’—‘In the city of the king, in Bethlehem of Judaea.’”

6 ‘You, O Beit-Leḥem of the land of Yehudah, are not least among the chiefs of Yehudah, for from you will go forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Yisra’el.’”

And you Beit-Leḥem of the land of Yehudah—this verse comes from Micah 5:1, where it says: And you, Bethlehem, Ephrat, smallest of all the thousands of Judah, from you will go forth a ruler for me in Israel. I do not know who made this translation error—whether it was the Frenchman who translated it from the Greek, or whether it was the person who originally translated it into Greek from the Hebrew. We stipulate in chapter 16 that Mattai was written in Hebrew.²⁸

7 Then Hordos summoned the magi secretly and questioned them to find out the time when the star was seen.

The time—for he knew he would need to search for the children that were born during that time and after. His intention was to kill the boy, which we know from his actions and from the plot he devised in verse 16 of this chapter.²⁹

8 He sent them to Beit-Leḥem, saying, “Go. Thoroughly search out the matter of the boy. When you have found him, tell me, so that I may go and bow down to him, too.”

Thoroughly search out—he intended to deceive them.

9 When they heard the words of the king, they departed. And the star they had seen in the east moved in front of them until it came and stood still over the place where the child was!

10 They saw the star, and they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

11 They came into the house and found the child with Miriam, his mother. They fell upon their faces and bowed down to him. Then they opened their treasuries and presented to him a gift of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 They were commanded in a dream not to return to Hordos, so they departed to their land by a different route.

13 After they had departed from there, an angel of YHWH appeared to Yosef in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, and flee to Mitzrayim, and remain there until I tell you, because Hordos is seeking to take the boy’s life.”

14 So he got up, took the boy and his mother by night, and fled to Mitzrayim.

15 They remained there until the death of Hordos, fulfilling the word of YHWH through the prophet, saying, “Out of Mitzrayim I called my son.”

Out of Mitzrayim I called my son—this verse comes from Hosea 11:1: I loved Israel when he was a child, and out of Egypt I called my son. The plain meaning of the verse refers to Israel as a whole. This is the meaning: when the people of Israel were still children in Egypt—in other words, when they were still immature regarding the commandments—I called my son, as it is written, Israel is my firstborn son (Exodus 4:22). Thus, many contest and ask why Mattai took this verse out of its plain interpretation. See what I wrote in verse 23, and you will be able to understand.³⁰

16 When Hordos saw that the magi had tricked him, he was extremely angry, so he sent orders and killed all the children in Beit-Leḥem and all the surrounding area, from two years old and under, based on the time he had determined from the magi.

And all the surrounding area—the villages belonging to Bethlehem, for he did not know if he was born in Bethlehem or in its surrounding areas.

17 Then were fulfilled the words spoken by Yirmeyah the Prophet that say,

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, wailing and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be consoled for her children, for he is gone.”

A voice is heard in Ramah—this verse comes from Jeremiah 31:15. This verse speaks of the people of Israel, and this is clear throughout the whole chapter. Why, then, did Mattai take this verse out of its original context? I will explain in verse 23.

19 After the death of Hordos, an angel of YHWH appeared to Yosef in a dream in the land of Mitzrayim.

20 He said to him, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go back to the land of Yisra’el, because those who sought the child’s life are dead.”

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother, and came to the land of Yisra’el.

22 But when he heard that Archelos reigned in Yehudah in place of his father Hordos, he was afraid to go there, so he was instructed in a dream and set off to the lands of the Galil.

23 He came and settled in the town called Netzeret, fulfilling the word spoken by the prophets, that he will be called a Noṣri.

He will be called a Noṣri—this seems to be an allusion to Jeremiah 31:6: “For there is a day when the watchmen [Noṣrim] will proclaim on the mountain of Efrayim: ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to YHWH our God!’” A prominent Christian sage asked me: “Does not Noṣrim mean ‘watchmen’ and ‘guardians’? Then why does the author take it out of its simple meaning when he writes, ‘fulfilling the word spoken by the prophets, that he will be called a Noṣri,’ as if it were plainly written in the prophets that he would live in the town of Nazareth in order that he would be called a Noṣri?”

I answered him: “Were not most, or all, of the New Testament writers Jews? And most of them were from the sect of the Pharisees, thus being students of the Talmud.³¹ Even Paul the shaliaḥ said: ‘I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee’ (Acts 23:6), and ‘I grew up at the feet of Gamliel’ (ibid., 23:3).³² Even those from the Essene sect held to the same Torah, the Torah of Moses, and only differed with the Pharisees on certain matters.” I will explain this in greater detail later. This partial controversy between the two sects did not prevent the Essenes from using the Pharisaic interpretation method.³³ They did so out of necessity, for the Torah and its interpretation both came from one source. We have already seen this from the question posed by Yakov of Kefar Seḥanya, the disciple of Yeshua of Nazareth, and also his response to Rabbi Eliezer, which can be found above in verse 1.

Honored reader, I will now explain the interpretation methods of the Talmud, and you will see that the writers of the New Testament were Talmudists.

When Moses our teacher received the Torah from the mouth of the Almighty, he received every single commandment and its interpretation. The commandment is called “written Torah,” and its interpretation is called “oral Torah,” for Moses was not permitted to write down the oral laws, nor was he permitted to merely speak the written Torah, as we find in BT Giṭṭin 60b: “You are not permitted to transmit the written commands orally, nor are you permitted to transmit the oral commands through writing.” And the oral Torah is the Talmud.

The Talmud is called the “oral Torah” because it contains interpretations of commandments that were passed on from generation to generation, beginning with Moses our teacher, peace be upon him. There are also things in the Talmud whose origin have been forgotten. Every sage of the Talmud interpreted a command according to his own opinion, but every one of them strengthened his opinion with words from the written Torah.