Jewish views on Jesus
Adherents of Judaism do not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah nor do they believe he was the Son of God. In the Jewish perspective, it is believed that the way Christians see Jesus goes against monotheism, a belief in the absolute unity and singularity of God, which is central to Judaism;[1] Judaism sees the worship of a person as a form of idolatry, which is forbidden.[2] 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 will be associated with events that have not yet occurred, such as the rebuilding of The Temple, a Messianic Age of peace, and the ingathering of Jews to their homeland.[3][4]
Judaism does not accept any of the claimed fulfilments of prophecy that Christianity attributes to Jesus. Israelis who endorse the belief that Jesus is the Messiah or Christ are not considered Jews by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel nor by the Israeli government.[5][6]
Positive historical re-evaluations[edit]
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,[59][60] Eliyahu Soloveitchik, and Elijah Benamozegh.[61]
Moses Mendelssohn, as well as some other religious thinkers of the Jewish Enlightenment, also held more positive views.[62] Austrian-born philosopher Martin Buber also held Jesus in great regard.[63] A positive view of Jesus is fairly represented among modern Jews[64] in the currents of Reform (Emil G. Hirsch and Kaufmann Kohler), Conservative (Milton Steinberg and Byron Sherwin,[65]), and Jewish Renewal (Zalman Schachter-Shalomi).
Some modern Orthodox rabbis, such as Irving Greenberg and Jonathan Sacks, also hold positive views (Greenberg theorizes Jesus as "a messiah but not The Messiah").[66]
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach takes this even further, following the research of Hyam Maccoby.[67] 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."[68] 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".[69] Boteach said that the book "traces the teachings of Jesus to their original sources: the Torah, the Talmud and rabbinic literature".[70]