1997Shabbat_ShalomApril

8/12/2019 1997Shabbat_ShalomApril

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April 1997 / Nissan 5757

Interviews:Rabbi Harvey H. Spivak

Rabbi Morley T. Feinstein

Dr. Raoul Dederen

The Messiah

April 1997 / Nisan 5757


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2 SHABBAT SHALOM / April 1997

The purpose of this journal is to promote a climate of respect,understanding and sharing between Jewish and Christian communities;not only for the exercise of love and appreciation of the other, but also forthe discovery of truths and values which surpass the genius of both

traditions.

This is the hope dreamed in the name of our journal, SHABBATSHALOM: hope of reconciliation, hope of SHALOM, inspired andnurtured through a common reflection anchored in the experience of theSHABBAT.

Contents

Editorial 3

InterviewsRabbi Harvey H. Spivak 4 Rabbi Morley T. Feinstein 9 Dr. Raoul Dederen 13

Hebrew Scriptures 17

Jessus, A Jewish Messiah?By Jacques B. Doukhan

Roots 22The Messiah in Late Judaism

By Robert M. Johnson

The Corner of Beauty 25A Dramatic Encounter

By A. Hadas

Viewpoint 27The Coming of the Messiah and theTemptation of Babel

By Benjamin Attal

The Event 30Moderrn Messiahs

By Clifford Goldstein

Recent Books 31

Shabbat ShalomA Journal of Jewish-Christian Reflection

Editor Jacques B. Doukhan

Layout & Design Cesar A. Soto

Vice President for Marketing Douglas Sayles

Subscriber Services Steve Hanson

Consulting Editors Manuel Vasquez

Clifford Goldstein

Amram Elofer

Editorial Secretary Dorothy Show

SHABBAT SHALOM is published three times per year bythe North American Division of the General Conference of Sev-enth-day Adventists. Yearly subscriptions are $6.00 in the U.S.A.,$8.00 overseas. Mail check or money order to: Subscriptions,SHABBAT SHALOM, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown,MD 21740. Address editorial correspondence to: Editor,SHABBAT SHALOM, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI49104-1535. 1996 SHABBAT SHALOM. All rights reserved.

If you have received SHABBAT SHALOM without subscrib-ing, you will not be billed later. Someone, thinking you wouldlike the magazine, has sent you a gift. Enjoy!

Vol. 44 , No. 1


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April 1997 / SHABBAT SHALOM3

Editorial

Who is the Messiah?

Jacques B. Doukhan, D.H.L., Th.D.

enough to whisper in hisear, For the love ofheaven, dont answer.*

The Messiah will come.

The song resonates throughoutIsrael and echoes Mamonidescreed: yavo hamashiah. Hewill come claims the New Tes-

tament, and Christians followits lead when they call for it bysaying Maranatha. All de-clare the same hope; yet theyare divided on the Messiahsidentity. For the Jews, it re-mains mystery. Is it KingDavid? Is he a suffering leperlike Joseph, or maybe aprophet like Elijah? Could hebe Israel the nation, or more

here is an anecdoteabout Martin Buberwho was addressing an

audience of Catholic priests:

He said something likethis: What is the differ-ence between Jews andChristians? We all await

the Messiah. You believeHe has already come andgone, while we do not. Itherefore propose thatwe await Him together.And when He appears,we can ask Him: wereYou here before? Thenhe paused and added:And I hope that at thatmoment I will be close

simply an era? For Christians,it is a settled matter: he is Jesusof Nazareth who died on across in 31 C.E. and was risenfrom the dead three days later.So the question remains at thecore of the unfolding Judeo-Christian drama: if the Messiahis one and only, then who is he?

Arguments rage on becausewe sti ll have not understoodthat what matters is notwhether we have recognizedhim but whether he will recog-nize us.

*Elie Wiesel,All Rivers Run to the Sea(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996), pp.354-355.

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Interview

Rabbi Harvey H. Spivak

Rabbi Harvey H. Spivak works as a full-time rabbi at theCongregation of Moses, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Graduated from TheJewish Theological Seminary of America, and from Cornell Univer-sity (with a science degree), Rabbi Spivak has also been the recipientof various awards and prizes such as the Dr. Michael Higger Prize inTalmud (1978) and the Lamport Homiletics Prize for best sermon bya senior in the Rabbinical School (1983).

The difference between the Jewish

and the Christian expectations of theMessiah.

habbat Shalom*: Inmany religions, a

very important topicis the expectation of the Messiahor Savior. How does Judaismdiffer in this aspect?

Spivak: It is important for Ju-daism, also. It has been importantfor many centuries and it contin-ues to be an important topic. The

longing for a Messiah and the long-ing for the period of time that this

figure represents goes back all theway to biblical times and has beenimportant in the generations afterthat also. It is still important; it ispart of our prayers. In every ser-vice there are prayers which con-tain an explicit wish for the Mes-siah to come, in which God is pe-titioned to bring the Messiah as Hesees fit to do so.

Shabbat Shalom: Why do weneed a Messiah? Couldnt God

have accomplished this by Him-self without the need of a Mes-siah?

Spivak: God could have ac-complished this without the needof a Messiah. In the Jewish pointof view, it is not the Messiah whobrings the era of peace at the endof time. It is God, the Creator,who does so. In the Jewish view,the Messiah is the messenger ofGod, something like a prophet,who has a message from Godabout this time and who will dothe necessary actions. But thetransformation of history to anera of peace will be Gods action.So it is not the Messiah whobrings the end of days, but it isGod who does so.

Shabbat Shalom: Is there a

S


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difference between the JewishMessiah, as described in OldTestament scriptures, theTanakh, and the Messiah de-scribed in the New Testamentscriptures?

Spivak: There is a differenceand it is an important difference.

It is one of the most importantdifferences between Judaismsand Christianitys concept ofMessiah. For Jews, the Messiahis a human being and not a God,not a divinity. That would becompletely contrary to tradi-tional Jewish beliefs. The bibli-cal prophets spoke about a Mes-siah and talked about the Mes-siah as a human being.

The word Messiah in He-brew means anointed. Ananointing with oil is an ancientceremony for coronation of aking, so, essentially, the titleMessiah is king, a nationalleader. Thats how the prophetsimagined the Messiah. They be-lieved the Messiah would be adescendant of King David. Theybelieved the Messiah would ac-

complish an independence forthe Jews in the land of Israel, andsovereignty in that land. Theybelieved that, at that time, Jewsfrom all over the world wouldcome to this liberated land andwould worship God together, andpeople of all nations would wor-ship God and live together peace-fully. Thats the image of thetime of the Messiah.

So, its not only a descriptionof the Messiah, its also a kind ofacid test. So, for a Jew, if yousay, Has the Messiah come? aJew would say, Well, has the de-scription of the messianic timebeen fulfilled? The answer, ob-viously, is no, therefore, theMessiah has not come.

Both before the time that Jesuslived and after the time that Jesus

lived, Jewsthis is of coursepostbiblical timestill held tothis idea, basically. The idea of aMessiah as someone who mightcome any year, any day, was verymuch alive during the time that

didnt mean that Rabbi Akivathought that Bar Kokhba was aholy man in the sense that wewould use that te rm, but BarKokhba was the one who wouldfree the Jews from the Roman au-thority, liberate the land of Israelfor Jewish sovereignty and ini-

tiate this time of peace, which isthe time of the Messiah. RabbiAkiva fol lowed Bar Kokhba inthe revolt against the Roman au-thority. The revolt was crushed.Bar Kokhba was killed and RabbiAkiva said, in essence, It lookslike I made a mistake. Quite anadmission for such a distin-guished figure, but through thelogic of his own beliefs, he had

to say that. He had to say thatBar Kokhba is not the Messiah,because he didnt do what theMessiah is supposed to do, andthis was obviously not that pe-riod of history. So we had to con-tinue to wait.

There have been other messi-ahs, false messiahs in Jewish his-tory, some of whom caused tre-mendous stir among Jews around

the world, or at the very least lo-cally and in some cases interna-tionally. But in every case, ofcourse, it became clear that thisperson was not the Messiah, andthe Jews had to adjust to that fact.That phenomenon has continuedas recently as this day. You maybe familiar with the LubavitcherRabbi, the late LubavitcherRabbi in Brooklyn, whose follow-ers believed he was the Messiah.He lived to be an old man andthey were continually waiting forhim to reveal himself in his fullidentity as the Messiah. He died,and they had to adjust. It wasquite a radical adjustment. It wasso difficult that some of them stillhave not made it and still believethat, even after death, theLubavitcher Rabbi will find some

Jesus lived. The Jews imaginedthe Messiah as someone whowould be a national hero, even amilitary figure. Its no insult tothe figure of Messiah to call hima military figure. Indeed, a cen-tury after Jesus lived, there wasan important revolt of the Jewsagainst the Roman authorities led

by a man named Bar Kokhba.Bar Kokhba was not a rabbi. Hewas not a particularly religious orspiritual figure, although he wasa friend to rabbis, notably Rabbi

In the Jewish pointof view, it is not theMessiah who brings

the era of peace atthe end of time. It is

God, the Creator,who does so.

The person youwould least expect tobe the Messiah will

turn out to be thisgreat prophet andmessenger from God.

Akiva, who was one of the great-est rabbis at that time, one of thegreatest rabbis in history.

Rabbi Akiva believed that BarKokhba was the Messiah. That


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of the Messiah as a time, an era,rather than an individual. Thereare differences of opinion aboutthe matter.

Shabbat Shalom: What, ifanything, would make the Mes-siah different from any otherperson? Could anybody be the

Messiah?

way to reveal his identity as theMessiah. Its a kind oftheywould never say thisbut it is akind of belief in the second com-ing, although most of the follow-ers of the Lubavitcher Rabbi, bynow, have probably reconciledthemselves to the fact that he was

not the Messiah.So, in any case, the Messiah is

a very important figure in Jewishhistory, from ancient times rightinto contemporary times. But itis significantly different from theChristian concept in that theMessiah is not a divine figure andis not, in essence, different fromother human beings.

Shabbat Shalom: Reading in

the Encyclopaedia Judaica, itwould seem that in the thir-teenth century it was thoughtthe Messiah, when he wouldcome, would not bring an im-mediate difference, but wouldbegin a process. Is that a cur-rently held view, or if the Mes-siah were to come, would itbring an instantaneous change?

Spivak: There are actually dif-

ferences of opinion among Jews,depending on what their personaltheology is, and there has beenfor a long time. Nowadays, manyJews do not think of the Messiahas being an individual person,but think of the Messiah as be-ing a time, a time of peace, forexample. So thats apt to begradual. You cant declare peaceafter one day. Thats somethingthat is still a matter of opinionto this day. Many Jews, particu-larly orthodox Jews, conceive ofthe Messiah as being an indi-vidual figure.

Shabbat Shalom: Who orwhat is the Messiah? Is he aman, a people?

Spivak: Traditionally, the con-cept of the Messiah is that he is aman. Nothing more than a man.Some people would rather think

than an individual, but it is anancient legend.

Shabbat Shalom: Do the Jew-ish people still wait for the Mes-siah and specifically, what dothey expect from the Messiah?

Spivak: They expect the mes-siah will be a genuine messenger

from God, assuming that theybelieve in an individual Messiahrather than a messianic era, andthat it would be a time of truepeace, when Jews will be gatheredfrom the four corners of the earthto the land of Israel. Jews willhave sovereignty over the land,and everybody will harmoniouslyworship God together.

Shabbat Shalom: Martin

Buber had said, When the Mes-siah comes, Jews and Christians

will recognize him, and he willbe the same Messiah. What do

you think of this statement?Spivak: Where did you get this

statement, do you know? Its in-teresting. It would be interest-ing to see it in its context, becauseI dont understand it.

Shabbat Shalom: I think in its

context, it is saying is that, ulti-mately, the Messiah the Chris-tians expect and the Messiahthat the Jewish nation, the Jew-ish people, expect would turnout to be one and the same. Ifthat is what he is saying, what is

your reaction to this?Spivak: As I said, I dont un-

derstand it. Buber was a verylearned man, and if he made astatement that doesnt make senseto me, it means there is some-thing about the statement that Idont understand, so I really cantanswer that question.

Shabbat Shalom: When andhow will the Messiah come andcan the Jews individually or cor-porately do anything to hastenor delay the Messiahs coming?

Spivak: We dont know whenthe Messiah will come, but there

Spivak: Its an interestingquestion. People have asked thatfor time out of mind. How arewe going to recognize the Mes-siah when he comes? The mostbasic answer to that is that whenall of the prophetic descriptionsare fulfilled, then we know thatthe time has come, even if wecant identify the individual.

Many legends have grown upabout the Messiah. One of thepopular legends, an ancient onewhich has persisted, is that theMessiah will be somebody who

is an outcast of society. The per-son you would least expect to bethe Messiah will turn out to bethis great prophet and messengerfrom God.

Shabbat Shalom: Is that basedon Isaiah 53, the suffering ser-

vant?Spivak: No. Jews read Isaiah

53 in a different way. The suf-fering servant is Israel, rather

We dont know whenthe Messiah will

come, but there is avery ancient tradition

that people can dosomething to hastenthe coming of the

Messiah. It usuallygoes under the termof Tiqqun Olam.


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me. First of all, it says there maybe a hint of skepticism in hisvoice. If they say the Messiah hascome, you are not yet sure that itis true.

Secondly, even if it is true, thecoming of the Messiah does notmean the end of the world. You

are still going to need trees. Weare still going to have to do ourpart. We are still going to havework to do and responsibilities tofulfill, so dont think its the endof the world or the end of whatyou need to do. Go ahead and

finish yourwork andwash yourhands.

S h a b b a t Shalom : So,how do yousee his com-ing as affect-ing both the

Jews andCh r i s t i a n s ;people in gen-eral?

Spivak: In

general, Jewsdo not speculate about the detailsof that time. Its also a Jewish traitabout the afterlife. We have astrong belief in a life after death,but we dont do much in the wayof speculating about what that lifewould be like. We leave it in gen-eral form and leave the details forwhenever that time may come.

Shabbat Shalom : What would you like Christ ians tounderstand most about the

Jewish concept of the Messiah?Spivak: Probably very few

Christians understand the ba-s i c d i f f e rence between theChristian and Jewish ideas ofthe Messiah. I think it wouldbe educational for Christians tounderstand that, that its a ba-sic difference in Jewish belief.

It might also be helpful for

is a very ancient tradition thatpeople can do something to has-ten the coming of the Messiah.It usually goes under the term ofTiqqun Olam. Tiqqun Olammeans repairing the world. Inother words, when we make theworld fit for the Messiah to come,

then the Messiah will come.When we do our part, then Godwill respond by bringing the timeof the Messiah. Many peoplefeel, this is a bit theoretical andyou cant prove it, but manymodern commentators feel thatthe widespread Jewish participa-tion in the reform movementsaround the world in the lastcouple of centuries, participation

that proportionately is far in ex-cess of their percentage of thepopulation, is a kind of expres-sion of this ancient Jewish beliefthat we need to do something.

Traditionally this is balancedby a belief that we shouldnt, wedont have to, and neednt do ev-erything. That is, we dont haveto make the world into the Gar-den of Eden; we cant. So we

need to expect that God will doHis share.Among the secular reformists,

revolutionaries, and so on in thepast couple of centuries in vari-ous countries, that balance hasnot been there. The underlyingfeeling, although they may nothave expressed it this way, is thatwe have to do everything; we willmake the workers paradise, orwhatever, by ourselves.

More traditionally, within thereligious framework, is a balancebetween those two beliefs, thatGod will do His part, but we alsohave to do ours.

Shabbat Shalom: Personally,what do you most look forwardto when the Messiah comes and

why?Spivak: I have never asked

myself that question. Maybe be-

cause it is hard to imagine exactlywhat that period of time wouldbe like. So I dont know, al-though I wouldnt mind trying toget used to it.

Shabbat Shalom: So you aresaying that for most Jews, theconcept of the Messiah is more

one of time, at least thats theemphasis? The Messiah wouldbe a person, but what is moreimportant is the time of what

would happen after the Messiahcomes?

Spivak: Thats right, thatsright. Itstrue that ifthe Messiahis flesh and

blood, thenhe will die.But pre-s u m a b l y ,that erathat wasi n i t i a t e dwould con-tinue, so itsthe periodof time

more thanthe individual.There is an interesting di-

chotomy in Jewish belief, youcould call it balance, you couldcall it a tension, depending onhow you want to look at it. Oneis the eagerness for the Messiah tocome. The other is a feeling that,well, we have to be patient, be-cause it may be a very long time.

Even back in ancient times,there was an old legend from oneof the classical books, RabbiYohanan ben Zakkai; he lived inthe first century, was one of theprominent figures in Jewish his-tory. He said, if you are plantinga young tree and they come andtell you the Messiah has come,first, finish planting the tree andthen go to greet the Messiah.

That says a couple of things to

Its pretty clear both fromthe Christian Gospels and

from other historicalrecords that the Roman

authorities probablyreacted to Jesus in exactly

that way, assuming that hewas either a military or

political figure, or both.


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Christians to understand whatthe Jewish idea of the Messiahprobably was at the time Jesuslived. Its not clear whetherJesus, himself, thought he wasthe Messiah or not. He mayhave. Assuming, and this is apretty safe assumption, thatJe su s va lue s we re es sen tia ll y

standard rabbinic Jewish val-ues, he may well have calledhimself the Messiah, but hewo ul d have done so wi thoutcalling himself a divinity, orsaying that I am somebodyyou should worship, becauseif he did call himself the Mes-siah, or think of himself as theMessiah, he was thinking ofhimself as a national Savior, anational hero, which mightnot might, but very likelycould be interpreted in eitherpolitical or military terms.

Its pretty clear both fromthe Christian Gospels and fromother historical records that theRoman authorities probably re-acted to Jesus in exactly thatway, assuming that he was ei-ther a military or political fig-ure, or both. They would natu-

rally be antagonistic to him, be-

Better is one hour of bliss in the world to come [Olam ha-ba] than thewhole of life in this world [Olam ha-zeh] . . . Better is one hour ofrepentance and good works in this world than the whole life of the worldto come (M. Avot4:17).

cause the last thing they wantedwas any k ind of political unrestamong any of the provinces ofthe empire. I think it wouldbe good for Christians to un-derstand that.

Shabbat Shalom: So you aresaying the Messiah would be aman, an ordinary person, who,

by his example, by his teach-ing, perhaps through his mili-tary and pol i t i ca l l ead ing ,

would usher in a new period.But I dont see any divine in-tervention in that concept.Considering Gods constantintervention in the history ofancient Israel, why isnt therea presence of divine interven-tion in the Messiah?

Spivak: There is. The under-standing is that God will bringthis period when He sees fitand, consequently we, to thisday, pray for that period oftime. There are prayers in ev-ery Jewish servicethere areprayers for the Messiah, and theprayers are strictly prayers toGod. They are not prayersabout a person or to create theright kind of person, or prayers

tha t any person should do

There are prayers in every Jewish servicethereare prayers for the Messiah, and the prayers arestrictly prayers to God. . . . They are strictly

prayers to God that He may bring this period of

peace as soon as possible.

whatever magic things need tobe done to usher in that period.They are strictly prayers to Godthat He may bring this periodof peace as soon as possible.

Shabbat Shalom: With thisperiod of peace, will the workcontinue in the sense that its

not a new beginning of time,but rather a continuation oftime, with the hearts of peoplebeing changed?

Spivak: Well, the hearts ofpeople wi l l apparent ly bechanged if its going to be anera of peace. Whether i t sthrough education or not, Idont know, but something wil lhappen. The world will be the

same, and we still, presumably,will have to work for a li ving.

*Michael Wise conducted this inter-view while a graduate theology studentat Andrews University.


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Rabbi Morley T. Feinstein

Rabbi Morley T. Feinstein is the spiritual leader of TempleBeth-El of South Bend, Indiana. He is married to Nancy Lichtenstein,and together they have two sons, Aaron and Ariel. Rabbi Feinstein is

the past National Treasurer of the Central Conference of AmericanRabbis.

Author of theJewish Law Review and coauthor of theJewishValues Game, Rabbi Feinstein has been published inMidstream, TheJewish Spectator, The American Rabbi, Keeping Posted, theJour-nal of Reform Judaism, Brotherhood, andJudaica. He is listed inWhos Who in American Jewry andWhos Who in Religion.

Rabbi Feinstein has lectured at many universities includingthe University of Notre Dame and Indiana University-South Bend,and served on the faculty of the Department of Theology at St. MarysUniversity in San Antonio

habbat Shalom*:One of the mostimportant beliefsof almost every re-

ligion, at least of Judaismand Christianity, is that ofa liberating leader, Messiah.Do you believe in the Mes-siah?

Feinstein: This is a criti-cal question here, and for us

as Reform Jews, we do notbelieve in a physical, humanbeing, personal Messiah.There is for us the notion ofa Messianic Age, which is alittle bit different. The bestexample for this is that in thefirst prayer, which is used inthe Tefilah, and refers to theGod of our ancestors, the

A reform Rabbi explains a modern meaning of theJewish faith in the Messiah.

Orthodox and Conservativeprayer books use the wordGoel for a redeemer. Onthe other hand, for the lastone hundred and fifty yearsor more, the Hebrew reformprayers changed that, from

Goel a personal redeemer,to Geulah, a time of re-demption.

Shabbat Shalom: What isthe Messiah? Could you de-fine the term?

Feinstein: The word Mes-S


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siah comes from the HebrewMashiach which meansanointed by God. We hadkings who were anointed byGod to be thekings, as in thecase of Saul orDav id , andthere were alsospecial men seta s ide by Godfor cer ta intasks. We havethe concept ofwhat the Mes-siah was in thebiblical agethe Mash iachwas the one who was desig-

nated by God to fulfill a cer-tain task. When the biblicalage ended, there was also thenotion that others may haveactually beenMashiach , ap-pointed by God. In the sec-ond century of the CommonEra, the Rabbi Akiva BenYo seph cons idered BarKokhba, who was a greatmilitary leader and was plan-

ning a rebellion against theRomans in 135 of the Com-mon Era, as a messiah.But we might call this mes-siah with a small m as op-posed to the Messiah as itwould be with a capital M,that is when one refers to theperson who would come in

Akiva was right when he pro-claimed Bar Kokhba as aMessianic figure. I thinkthat too often our people

through historyhave put theirfaith in a par-t i cu la r ind i -v idua l l eaderand sadly thathas not led to abet te r wor ld .S h a b b e t h a iTzevi was a falseMessiah. Peoplethought he was

going to change the world;and when he did not, it led

to a great sadness and trag-edy among our peop le .Akiva, I believe, made a mis-take in believing that thisone person was going to bethe leader of the people thatwould bring in the MessianicEra. He was purely a politi-cal leader, a military leader.It would be a stretch of theconcept to think that Bar

Kokhba, or even the zealotsat Masada, or a modern po-litical leader in Israel, wouldbe considered Messianic.

We have to understandthat the Mess iah wasthought to be the personwho would have a r r ivedwhen the Messianic Age hadarrived. So the proof of theMessiah was that the Messi-anic Age was here. How wasthat proven? By knowingthat there would be a timewhen, according to theprophet I sa iah , nat ionwould not l i f t up swordagainst nation, nor wouldthey train for war; swordswould be beaten into plow-shares and spears into prun-

ing hooks. Thats the prooftha t the Jewish Mess iahwould have arrived.

Now, I dont think it is fora Jew to say that the Chris-tian Messiah either was orwasnt, wil l or wont be, con-sidered a failure. I think itis inappropriate for a Jew tocomment on a Christian be-lief, because in an interreli-gious dialogue we have tounderstand from where theother person comes, and if Iam sitting with Christianswho believe that Jesus is in-deed the Christ, which is thetranslation of the word Mes-

siah, then that is their truthand for them it is important.It may not be my truth, butI unders tand that whatpeople believe is valid forthem. It is not for me tocomment on the validity ofanother persons beli efs.

Shabbat Shalom: Why dowe need a Messiah? Couldnot God do Himself what

the Messiah is going to do?Feinstein: In the modern

world, it would be seen asimpossible for one person tochange the course of humanevents. For example, thiscentury we have seen thatMartin Luther King, Jr., mayhave begun the t a sk o f changing c iv i l r ights forblacks, but it did not endwith him and everything isnot perfect today. Gandhimay have done a great job inliberating India, but it is nota country where you can findpeace and tranquility today.Mother Teresa may havedone her part, but there isstill poverty around. In sucha world, in a small way, each

the age of Messianism.

Shabbat Shalom : Withthis wide understanding ofthe concept of Messiah,could Jesus of Nazareth beconsidered as one of theMessiahs in Jewish history?Maybe a failed Messiah?Could you explain your an-swer?

Feinstein: I certainly will.I am not convinced that

Now, I dont think itis for a Jew to saythat the Christian

Messiah either was orwasnt, will or wont

be, considered afailure.


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be eliminated. And untilthat time, we have to workvery diligently to make cer-tain that we do what we cannow to make our heaven onearth.

Shabbat Shalom: Talkingabout this heaven onearth, is there any relation-ship between the MessianicAge and the actual Jerusa-lem?

Feinstein: I am one whobelieves much more in theworld of the here and nowthan in the wor ld tha tmight be some day. And I

want to work diligently now.So for me, the actual Jerusa-lem is reflected in the follow-ing story. There is a poemby Yehudah Amicha i , inwhich someone says, Doyou see over there, next tothe vegetable vendor selling

his fruits and vegetables?You see, the Messiah has justlanded. We will know thatthe Messianic Age is reallyhere, says Amichai, whensomeone says: Do you seeright there, next to the Mes-siah? There is a father talk-ing to his children whos sell-ing fruits and vegetables.We have to be concerned

of us has to act in a Messi-anic way. Each of us has towork to feed the hungry, toclothe the naked, to housethe homeless, and to shelterthe poor and the needy. We

have to be the ones to act ina way to bring about a Mes-sianic Age. So that is criti-cally important for me, as aReform Jew. We have a goalwhich i s c a l l ed TiqqunOlam. This is the notionthat we try to repair thewor ld, to make the wor ldthat is, into the world wewant to be, to build theKingdom of God that wepray about, into the King-dom of God that exists, andin that way we do work tobetter this world.

Shabbat Shalom: Whichaspects does this reform in-cludespiritual, political,social, all of them?

Feinstein: In some ways,

it begins at a spiritual levelwhen we ask for a prayer forhealing, for example. Weask Gods b less ing uponthose who are ill. Thats onelevel, the spiritual level. Itcan become a level that dealswith health in society bymaking certain that we acton those beliefs by investingin the work of an AIDS min-

We believe that Godcan inspire us to

perform actions, butwe do not pray only

that people get better,we have to act on

those beliefs.

To see that peopletoday, as we sit here,

are burning thechurches of African-Americans in thiscountry is not a signthat the Messianic

Age is at hand.

istry, or by ensuring that ahomeless person can receivehealth care, or by ensuringthat someone who is withoutfood has food available. OurTemple acts on our values bymaking certain that we have

tutors at the local elementaryschool, by working at theCenter for the Homeless,and providing meat and allkind of products to localfood pantries.

Shabbat Shalom : Doesthis Mess ianic Age , inwhich every one of usshould take part, presup-pose a supernatural inter-

vention of God?Feinstein: We believe that

God can inspire us to per-form actions, but we do notpray only that people getbetter, we have to act onthose beliefs. A Hasidicteacher said, We have toworry about our own souls,but at the same time we haveto be concerned about otherpeoples bodies. In otherwords, for us it is not onlyprayer, but actions that aremerged together in creatinga better world, a MessianicAge.

Shabbat Shalom: Is thisbetter world of the Messi-anic Age only for Jews?

Feinstein: Absolutely not.

We know that the problemsthat beset our society areproblems that affect all of us.AIDS is not purely an illnessfor non-Jewish people; it af-fects Jews as well. Cancera f fec t s Jews a s we l l a sthose who a re not Jews .Homelessness and illiteracyare plagues upon our societythat in a Messianic Age will


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about the real world that is,not just the world of the fu-ture.

Shabbat Shalom: Popularcomments say that the en-tering into the7th mi l len-nium couldhave somec o n n e c t i o nwith the Mes-s ianic Age .Do you thinkthat the Mes-sianic Age is going to hap-pen soon?

Feinstein: I think that thetime when all swords are

beaten into plowshares isnot at hand. Theres toomuch pain and suffering inthis world today for us to saythat a world of peace, ofwholeness , of Shalom , i shere. We recognize thatthere is famine in this world,there is intolerance in thisworld, there is mistrust andanti-Semitism; to see that

people today, as we sit here,are burning the churches ofAfrican-Americans in thiscountry is not a sign that theMessianic Age is at hand.

Shabbat Shalom: Are theJews, or people in general,expected to do some kind ofpreparation for the Messi-anic Era?

Feinstein: Its interestingthat for us as Jews, the Mes-siah traditionally is heraldedby the prophet Elijah, as theprophet Malachi teaches inchapter three [Malachi 3:19-24, Hebrew; Malachi 4:1-6,English], that the prophetElijah will come before theawesome day of God, in or-der to reconcile parents with

children, and children withparents. We see family rec-onciliation as part of the wayin which people prepare fora Messianic Age. Another

story is told thatthe Messiah hadarrived and howdid people knowthat? Becausethe Messiah wass i t t ing outs idethe gates of thecity, binding the

bandages of those who hurtand were in need of healing.We need to model our ownbehav ior based on those

teachings, to care for thosewho are in need.Shabbat Shalom: As

is very well known, the To-rah has a very importantrole for Judaism. What rolewill the Torah have in theMessianic Era?

Feinstein: We think thatin the world to come, in thatMessianic time, the Torah

wi ll st il l play a role for us ,in our relationship to God.For us, the Torahis the mar-riage contract, the docu-ment that connects Jewishpeople to God. It connectspeople who hold the Torahdear to them; people of otherfaiths may cherish the Jew-ish Scripture as well, so itstill has a role to play inteaching us values, ethics,and morals, and so surely itwi ll have a role in the Mes-sianic Era as well.

Shabbat Shalom: MartinBuber said: When the Mes-siah comes, the Jews and theChristians will recognizehim and he will be the sameMessiah. What do you

To visit the person in

need is acommandment that

expresses myrelationship to God.

think about that?Feinstein: Well, if some-

one is ill in a hospital room,I may visit the hospital roombecause fo r me i t i s a mitzvah. To visit the per-son in need is a command-ment that expresses my rela-tionship to God. If a Chris-tian visits the same person inthe hospital room, it may bebecause he is imitating Jesusand his miracles of healing.It doesnt matter to me whatthe reason is, what is impor-tant is visiting the person inthe hospital room. So bothJews and Christians may un-

derstand the Messianic Agein a different way, but theproof that the Messianic Agehas arrived is that it is a timefor health, well-being, andpeace for all. We know weshare this goal toward whichwe a re both working .Though the reasoning maybe different, both Christiansand Jews have the desire to

change this world into a bet-ter world; not to sit back andwatch the pain and sufferinggo by, but to act in the worldas Gods agents for change.For that we can be gratefulthat we are both working forthe same universal God.

*This interview was conducted byGerardo Oudri, a graduate theology stu-dent at Andrews University.


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Dr. Raoul Dederen

Dr. Raoul Dederen is professor of theology emeritus and formerdean of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at AndrewsUniversity, Berrien Springs, Michigan. A graduate of the Athne Royalin Belgium, he earned his master of arts and Dr. s Sciences Moralesdegrees from the University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Before coming to the United States in 1964, Dr. Dederen servedseven years in the pastoral ministry in Belgium and ten years on thetheological faculty of the French Adventist Seminary in France. Theauthor of numerous articles, he has also served some twenty years as amember of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council ofChurches.

A Christian theologian ponders what it meansfor Christians to believe in Jesus the Messiah.

Shabbat Shalom*: Dr.Dederen, we are very

thankful that you arewilling to give us your time forthis reflection on a very impor-tant topic. Certainly, one of themost important questions in reli-gion is the expectation of a Mes-siah. In what way is Christianitydifferent from other religions inthe expectation of the Messiah?

Dederen: There are similaritiesand dissimilarities. When you re-fer to other religions, I assume youhave in mind worldwide religions.

Shabbat Shalom: Yes.Dederen: One of the basic dif-

ferences, even between Christian-ity and Judaism, is the understand-ing of the role and the person ofthe Messiah. In my opinion, therole of the Messiah in the Scrip-tureswhether Jewish or Chris-tianseems to proceed from a dif-ferent understanding of the personof the Messiah. Indeed, oneshould remember that Jesus was

more interested in having peopleunderstand him in terms of who

he was as a person, rather than interms of what he taught. Rarely,if ever at all, did he ask his dis-ciples, What do people thinkabout what I teach? The ques-tion he raised, a question centralto the Gospel according to Mat-thew was, Who do people say thatI am? So the person of Jesus iscentral to ChristianityChrist as

Gods Messiah. Jesus of Nazarethdoes not sustain the same relation

to Christianity that other foundersof worldwide religions sustain tothe faith which they initiated.Though exceptional for his teach-ing, he is significant primarily forhis person.

Shabbat Shalom: Tell us moreon the relationship, more on theknowledge of the person.

Dederen: In most other reli-


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gions the emphasis is on what thefounder has taught. For instance,if I understand Islam correctly, thetrue Muslim is one who faithfullyfollows and practices the teachingsof Mohammed, among otherthings ritual prayers several timesa day, almsgiving, fasting duringthe month of Ramadan, and the

pilgrimage to Mecca. For theChristian Scriptures, however, thetrue Christian is one who, whilefaithfully following the teachingsof Jesus of Nazareth, does so be-cause he or she has developed aclose and personal relationshipwith him. The fundamental ques-tion for the Christian is, How doI relate to the pe rson of JesusChrist?

Shabbat Shalom: The who ismore important than the what.

Dederen: Very much so. Now,that makes an immense differencein ones understanding of the roleof the Messiah.He is not just oneteacher amongothers; for theS c r i p t u r e - c e n -tered Christian heis fully God.

Shabbat Sha-lom : So this

brings us to thenext question.Why do we needa Messiah? Why,from the Chris-tian perspective,do we need aM e s s i a h ?

Wouldnt God beable to fulfill His mission with-out the Messiah?

Dederen: Much depends, in myopinion, on what you understand

by Gods mission. The role of theMessiah is essential because of thesinful condition in which human-ity finds itself. Jesus is not just aprophet. What his contemporar-ies lacked was not so much anotherprophet, sent to tell us about thewill of God. There had been a longline of them from Abraham toJo hn the Baptizer. What weneeded was a personal self-disclo-sure of God, one who would re-veal to us the person and charac-

ter of God, who He really is, who

would reveal Gods answer to thetragedy of sin, His solution to thealienation between us and God, i.e.the sacrificial Messiah, the substi-tutionary conqueror of sin anddeath, who would call us back toGod. I cant sufficiently underlinethis. The secret of Christianity isnot so much a connection to a setof teachings as it is a relationshipto a person.

Shabbat Shalom: In that sense,this definition of the relationship

of a Messiah is very close to theJewish one. What is importanthere is not necessarily what you

think, but how yourelate to God. In Ju-daism, they go be-

yond; they are morespecific, and theysay what is impor-tant is what you areand what you do inrelation to that . . .

Dederen: Yes. Ingenuine Christian-ity, likewise, whatmatters most is tounderstand who weare, how we relate toGod and what wedo on that basis.

Shabbat Shalom:Yes. How would you see the Mes-siah from a Christian point of

view in the Hebrew Bible? Doyou think it is possible to see the

Messiah in the Hebrew Bible?:Dederen:Oh, yes, definitely so.It may be that our insistence asSeventh-day Adventists on theneed to encourage people to studythe Hebrew Scriptures as well asthe New Testament has contrib-uted to our awareness of the Mes-sianic dimension of the HebrewBible. I think it is not difficult tofind the Messiah in the HebrewScriptures. God was concernedabout the ability of His people to

meet and recognize Him when the

time would come. Hence He gaveus the Hebrew Scriptures.

Shabbat Shalom: Do you seeany difference in the way the Mes-siah is presented in the HebrewScriptures and the way he is pre-sented in the New Testament orin Christian tradition?

Dederen: In the Hebrew Scrip-tures, if I understand them cor-rectly, Messiah, i.e. the anointedone, was a term applied preemi-nently to the king. He was desig-

nated to office by an anointing cer-emony. Like the priest, who wasconsecrated to his office in a simi-lar manner, the king was regardedas Gods representative. Amongthe Hebrew anointed kings, Davidcame to have a special significance,which lasted long after his death.Amid the vicissitudes that followedhis reign, various prophets ex-horted their faithless countrymento return to their God and to seekDavid their king. In Isaiahswritings, for instance, a series ofMessianic passages portray him asa military hero, the king of justiceand peace who will reign in righ-teousness among his people. Lateron, in the days of Jeremiah andEzekiel, the idea of a kingly rulergave place to another concept; theMessianic king gave place to ashepherd, reminiscent of the shep-herd and the suffering servant thatIsaiah too had announced.

Though centuries later, in thedays prior to Jesus of Nazareth,David the king will clearly reap-pear, the disappointed expectationsof postexilic Judaism, and a newconception of the promised Mes-siah through whose humiliationand sorrow Gods sinning peoplewould find salvation, proved to bea leaven working powerfully theMessianic ideal of the Son ofMan in the consciousness of Jesusof Nazareth and that of his follow-

In my opinion, the role of the Messiah in theScriptureswhether Jewish or Christian

seems to proceed from a different understandingof the person of the Messiah.

One shouldremember that Jesuswas more interested

in having people

understand him interms of who he wasas a person, ratherthan in terms ofwhat he taught.


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ers.Shabbat Shalom: This particu-

lar aspect, then, will be the suf-fering aspect. There is not an-other one you think which . . .

Dederen: I think the Messiah-King is also very much present inthe New Testament.

Shabbat Shalom: The Messiah

has come according to Christians2,000 years ago. Are the Chris-tian people still waiting for theMessiah?

Dederen: You mean the Mes-siah-King?

Shabbat Shalom : Messiah-King. In your view, what is thesituation of Christianity with re-gards to this hope of the Messiah?

Dederen: Many Christians be-lieve in a second coming of theMessiah, this time as Messiah-

King. How many among themreally cherish it as a hope that de-termines their lifestyle, I dontknow. It reminds me of somethingthat occurred a few years ago. Mywife and I were spending threemonths in Israel, part of a com-munity of scholars of various de-nominations concerned with

Christian unity. I shared in vari-ous presentations, dialogues, medi-tations, vesper services, etc. At theend of our stay I was rather sur-prised to hear my colleagues tell usthat we seemed to really believe inthe second coming of Christ.When asked what they meant,they told us, Well, we too holdthat belief, but in your case, itseems to be a conviction, a moti-vation, that determines your way

of looking at things.Shabbat Shalom: So what you

are observing among Christians ingeneral is that they still believe,in theory, in the coming of theMessiah which, of course, forChristians would be the secondcoming of Christ, but for them itsnot relevant for their life?

Dederen: I may not be preparedto say that, yet it doesnt seem tohave affected their lives very much.Let me add that Seventh-dayAdventists run the same risk.

Shabbat Shalom: So, more andmore Christians do not believe inthe historical coming of the Mes-siah which they allegorize or . . .

Dederen: I had a conversationa couple of months ago with oneof the most outstanding Christiantheologians in North America. He

told me that he had given up thehope in a literal coming of theMessiah-King. He argued thatthough Jesus often spoke of thekingdom of God, which indeedwas a leitmotiv of his preaching ac-cording to the synoptic Gospels,we could not be sure that he evercalled himself a king. Hence hesaid, Why should I today expectfrom him something that he hasnteven led me to believe was one ofhis concerns? Yet he assured methat he still put his faith in Christsreturn.

Shabbat Shalom: What is thesecond coming of Christ for him?

Dederen: His own conversion.In his view the first coming of Jesusoccurred some 1,900 years ago,when he was born in Bethlehem.His second coming, he added,took place when I accepted himas my Savior and Lord, and passedfrom death to life.

Shabbat Shalom: This is thenjust an existential experience . . .Dederen: He is a sincere Chris-

tian, who strikes me as having un-dergone a genuine conversion.

Shabbat Shalom: So it is pos-sible, then, to be a Christian andnot believe in the historical, ef-fective coming of the Messiah?

Dederen: Obviously it is. I haveencountered Christians who nolonger regard a literal, visible sec-ond coming of the Messiah as a

central point of their faith, buthave demythologized it.

Shabbat Shalom: Let me nowask you more in the wake of thatobservation. Do you think, from

your own perspective, it is pos-sible to be a Christian and notbelieve in the coming of the Mes-siah? I mean, the word Christ, af-

ter all, is in the root of the Chris-tian identity.Dederen: Allow me to say that

though it may sound arrogant, Ihave great difficulties in under-standing how one can be a Bible-centered believer and declare un-true the historical return of the

King-Messiah.Shabbat Shalom: Why?Dederen: Because it is one of

the core teachings of the Scrip-tures, not to mention of Jesus ofNazareth himself.

Shabbat Shalom: So, this is apart of his teaching, this is notnecessarily a part of his person?

Dederen: Im coming to that. AChristian, to me, is by definitiona disciple of Jesus Christ. His orher main concern should be whathe has taught, so that throughwhat he has taught he or she mayfind out who he is. When I saywhat he taught, I mean what hesaid and did. Assuming that oneaccepts the Christian Scriptures as

dependable sources of informa-tion, I can hardly avoid the con-clusion that the second coming ofJesus of Nazareth is of unusual im-portance.

Shabbat Shalom: Why is it soimportant?

Dederen: Because of both itscontent and its implications, thisscriptural teaching leads me to acloser and deeper understanding ofGod. Here I learn that God, whofrom the first created me after His

Jesus of Nazareth

does not sustain thesame relation toChristianity thatother founders of

worldwide religionssustain to the faith

which they initiated.

God, who from thefirst created me after

His image, longs for apersonal relationship

with me.


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image, longs for a personal rela-tionship with me. King-Messiahwill come back to put an end tosin and evil on this earth and toreestablish the original relation-ship. I was 19 years old, attend-ing an electric school, when WorldWar II came to an end. Duringthose years, the devastation and

death, the wickedness and vicious-ness of human beings, left medeeply disturbed. Why did Godallow such things to happen?What was the meaning of li fe?Grasping the great-controversytheme in the Scriptures tore theveil down and gave new meaningto life. At least inmy case.

Shabbat Sha-lom: What do youmean by great

controversy?D e d e r e n :

Wha t I me an isthat the strugglewe witness todaybetween good andevil is a strugglebetween two be-ings, two persons,God and Satan.The Messiah willreturn and, over-coming evil, willbring things backto what God hadin mind from the beginning. Thiswill be a joyful day.

Shabbat Shalom: So, its inter-esting that your awareness of thisimportance of the Messiah caught

you in the aftermath of the Holo-caust of the Second World War.

Dederen : The Holocaustamong other dreadful tragedies.Unquestionably.

Shabbat Shalom: So, in otherwords, your reemphasis on themission of the Messiah comes asthe result of a Holocaust reflec-tion, am I correct?

Dederen: Certainly parallel to it.Shabbat Shalom: So its very

important that the Messiah come,because one of his missions is tochange things?

Dederen: Yes. And it had suchan impact on me that I changedcareers and became a student of

Scriptures and a minister of thegospel.

Shabbat Shalom: Well, then,if I ask you what Christians ex-pect of the Messiah, you al readygave the answer: they expect achange in the world; it means anexternal, historical reality, not

just an existential conversion.

Dederen :Very much so. Atthe same time it is not just theend of what is evil. It is alsomeeting personally the Messiah.It is the return of a person withwhom Im invited to get into re-lationship by faith. It is notmerely mountains shaking and

islands rolling inthe sea, or rocksfal l ing down themo u nta in s i t salso the return of

Messiah-King, thereturn of JesusChrist.

Shabbat Sha-lom : Let me ask

you a question inre lation to the

Je wish-Christ ianpolemic discus-sion. Is it possibleto recognize theMessiahits a

very difficult ques-tionis it possibleto recognize the

Messiah as Jesus Christ withouthaving heard about this Messiahbeing Jesus Christ?

Dederen: Do you mean with-out having heard or read abouthim? I suppose it would be mostdifficult. Which brings us backto the importance and role of theScriptures.

Shabbat Shalom : Martin

Buber made a little humorousmidrash which I will not tellhere, but one of the principles,one of the ideas of this in thestory was that he said when theMessiah will come the Jew andthe Christian will recognize him,and this will be the same Mes-siah. We are talking about thegood Jew and the good Chris-tian, of course.

Dederen: Yes, I think so. Es-pecially if he is referring to Jews

and Christians familiar with theScriptures.

Shabbat Shalom: Thats right.Yes. I think we have understoodas we are listening to you that, in-deed, the Messiah is a very cen-tral and crucial topic in Christianthinking, Christian life.

Dederen: He certainly is.

Shabbat Shalom: And so we arecoming to the end of our inter-

view, and I would like to ask youif there is something important

you have not said that you wantto say about it.

Dederen: I dont know. MaybeI would go back to what I have re-ferred to several times in our con-versation. Christianity is not sim-ply a compilation of laws and or-dinances to be followed. It tran-scends that. Those laws and pre-

cepts have been given not as an endin themselves, but as a means toreach a relationship with Jesus.

Shabbat Shalom: So you meandoctrines and the beliefs.

Dederen: Yes. Because Chris-tianity is Christ, the Messiah.Christianity is the Messiah.

Shabbat Shalom: And as im-plied earlier, there is a close bondbetween God and the Messiah. SoChristianity is a theology, then,in that sense, a Messianic theol-ogy.

Dederen: I think so. Christian,and I assume Jewish, theologywithout a study of the person ofGod, and of the person of the Mes-siah, would be rather empty andwithout much meaning for humanlife. It would be merely an aca-demic, intellectual transaction, nottoo different from a philosophicalexercise.

Shabbat Shalom: It was very

enlightening. Certainly many ofour readers will think over this in-terview and beyond this interview.Thank you, Dr. Dederen, for your

willingness to spend some timewith us.

Dederen:Thank you.

*Dr. Jacques Doukhan conductedthis interview.

Christian, and Iassume Jewish,

theology without astudy of the person of

God, and of theperson of the Messiah,

would be ratherempty and withoutmuch meaning for

human life.


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Hebrew Scriptures

Jesus, A Jewish Messiah?

Jacques B. Doukhan, D.H.L., Th.D.

ince the schismwhich sp li t Juda -ism, producing the

church and the syna-gogue, Jesus has become theMessiah venerated by Chris-tians and abhorred by Jews.Christians accuse the Jews ofhaving rejected him while the

Jews accuse Christians of hav-ing forged him; the very nameof Jesus would become synony-mous with blasphemy and be-trayal. Jesus could not be theMessiah simply because he wasthe Messiah of the Christians.

But are these accusationsand assumptions really justi-fied? Are the Christians cor-rect when they accuse the Jewsto have rejected and even killed

The great majority ofJews (and in certainplaces their totality)

had recognized Jesusas their Messiah.

Can we be Jewish and believe in Jesus? Can we be Christians and reject theJewish roots of Jesus?

Jesus? Are the Jews right whenthey assume that Jesus is theMessiah only for the Chris-

tians? Today, we do not dareto address such divisive andconfrontational issues. To besure, these questions were toomuch abused and distorted inphony Jewish-Christian dia-logues. Yet this should not

prevent us from the consulta-tion of the evidences, for theymay lead to interesting andquite surprising conclusions.

A Recognized MessiahIf we believe the story told

by the Gospels and the NewTestament book of Acts, when

Jesus came into Galilee andJudea, he was listened to, ac-claimed and followed by Jew-ish crowds. Then Jesus re-turned in the power of theSpirit to Galilee, and news ofHim went out through all thesurrounding region. And Hetaught in their synagogues, be-ing glorified by all (Luke 4:14,15).1 Then He arose from

S


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there and came to the regionof Judea by the other side of the

Jordan. And the people gath-ered to Him again, and as He

was accustomed, He taughtthem again(Mark 10:1).For all the

people werevery attentiveto hear Him(Luke 19:48).

Jesus popular-ity lasted untilthe very end.

Just before thefateful Passover which wouldsee Jesus being taken away,Luke reports as a final note, asif forever marking the memoryof his passage in Israel: Thenearly in the morning all thepeople came to Him in thetemple to hear Him (Luke21:38). Jesus popularity wassuch that his judgment wasdone expeditiously and at night(Matthew 26:31; 27:1).

After Jesus death the book ofActs talks about the presence ofnumerous disciples. On the day

of Pentecost 3,000 disciplescould be counted in Jerusalem(Acts 2:41), then later the num-ber would swell to 5,000 menplus women and children (Acts4:4). Shortly thereafter, thebook notes that: And believers

were increasingly added to theLord, multitudes of both menand women (Acts 5:14). Theterm multitudes is then usedto designate those that camefrom the surrounding cities to

Jerusalem (Acts 5:16). Later,the book of Acts notes again

that the number of the dis-ciples multiplied (Acts 6:7).

Based upon the figures givenin the book of Acts and otherhistorical information, scholars

estimate that atthe time of Stephens death

the number of Jewish converts tothe Christianfaith was around25,000.2Even af-ter Stephens ston-ing and the ensu-ing persecution,

the number never ceased to in-crease. The story of Acts isregularly punctuated by thesame recurrent observation,noting the always increasingsuccess of the gospel among

Jews (Acts 8:5-12; 9:31, 35, 43;11:20-21; 14:1; 16:5; 19:9, 20,etc.). At the end of Acts, thebrethren of Jerusalem are gladto count in Palestine manymyriads of Jews . . . who havebelieved (21:20). We knowthat the Greek word myriadused here actual ly means

10,000. Therefore, we can veryeasily estimate that the num-ber of Christian Jews had ex-ceeded at least three times10,000. This represents morethan half the number of inhab-itants of Jerusalem at that time.This signifies that the great ma-

jority of Jews (and in certainplaces their totality) had recog-nized Jesus as their Messiah.

Therefore, we can say boththat the Christians contendingthat the Jews failed to recognize

Jesus and that the Jews who

think they had all the reasonsto reject him are wrong. Thehistorian Jules Isaac would havea good reason to note his em-barrassment: With rare excep-tions, wherever Jesus went the

Jewish people took him to theirhearts, as the Gospels testify.

Did they, at a given moment,suddenly turn against him?This is a notion which has yetto be proved.3 Later in hisdemonstration, Jules Isaac con-cludes: The Gospels give usgood reason to doubt that this[the rejection of Jesus by the

Jews] ever happened.4

A Predicted MessiahActual ly, this Jewish wel-

come should not be surprising.Since the beginning, the Gos-pels present Jesus coming asthe ultimate fulfillment of thelasting hope of Israel.

First, the timewas ripe. InJesus time, there was a strongexpectation for a Messiah. Thisis known not only through thetestimony of the Gospels andthe historians of the time but

also through the Dead SeaScrolls, which show that the

Jews oppressed under the Ro-man yoke were expecting theMessiah to come soon.

By consulting the Scriptures,particularly the prophecy of the70 weeks found in Daniel 9,they could easily conclude thatthe time had come.5This pas-sage in Daniel is the only one

which speaks directly and ab-solutely about the Messiah andalso indicates chronologically

when he should come. Fromthe time when the word wasannounced that Jerusalem willbe built again to the Messiah,the Prince, there are seven

weeks and 62 weeks (Daniel9:25, literal translation). Twolandmarks are given here

which allow us to situate this

Jules Isaac concludes:

The Gospels give usgood reason to doubtthat this [the rejectionof Jesus by the Jews]

ever happened.

Christians were very much within a Jewishframework when they identified Jesus, the

Messiah of Israel, their Messiah as: The Lambof God who takes away the sin of the world!


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Even Jesus death carried aspecial meaning; it was under-stood in relation to the sacri-fices offered on the altar of theTemple. Indeed, this interpre-tation was already indicated inthe promise of the first pagesof Genesis. In the very heart

of the curse that follows the fallof Adam and Eve, God sows aword of hope. Someone bornfrom the seed of the woman

would crush the head of theSerpent, the archetype of evil,

while being at the same timehit at the heel (Genesis 3:15).

The principle of salvationthrough sacrifice is here sug-gested. It is not an accidentthat right after the curse, Godmakes this symbol concretethrough the clothes of skin(Genesis 3:21). In a dramaticgesture, God comes down andHimself cuts garments for

Adam and Eve. For that pur-pose, God does not chooselinen or cotton or another veg-etative material. He choosesthe animal. A specificationthat implies the death of the

animal, the first death, the firstsacrifice designed to relieveAdam and Eve from their feel-ings of shame, to help themsurvive before God, beforethemselves. The function ofthe sacrifice was then to pointto the future event of messianicsalvation.

It would be an error to tryto interpret Israels sacrificesfrom a magical perspective.They were not a simple ritualgesture meant to appease anangry God. We are also in the

wrong if we attempt to inter-pret them from a psychoana-lytical perspective, as a trans-ference device allowing re-pressed violence to be ex-pressed. In biblical thinking,the salvation process does notmove upwards from the human

event in history:1. The word that announces

the reconstruction of Jerusa-lem. This refers to Artaxerxesdecree in 457 B.C.E. This wasthe third and last of such de-crees (following those of Cyrusand Darius, see Ezra 6:14).

This decree was the decisiveone and the only one to be fol-lowed by a blessing (Ezra 7:27-28).

2. The subsequent time pe-riod of 69 weeks (7 plus 62)

which, in the prophetic context

of Daniel and according to themost authoritative and ancient

Jewish interpretations likethose of Saadia Gaon, Rashi,and even Ibn Ezra,6 must beunderstood as weeks of years.This period of time comes outto be 69 times 7 equals 483years long.

This means that the comingof the Messiah was predicted tooccur 483 years after 457B.C.E. which brings us to the27th year of our era. It is su-perfluous to remind ourselvesthat this date coincides withthe appearance on historysstage of Jesus of Nazareth as hebegan his messianic ministry tothe people of Israel (Luke 3:21-23). This is also the year when

Jesus introduces himself as theanointed Messiah, the one thatfulfills the prophecy:

As His custom was, Hewent into the synagogueon the Sabbath day, andstood up to read. AndHe was handed the book

of the prophet Isaiah.And when He hadopened the book, Hefound the place where it

was written: The Spiritof the Lord is upon Me,because He has anointedMe to preach the gospelto the poor. He has sentMe to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliv-erance to the captives andrecovery of sight to theblind, to set at libertythose who are oppressed,to preach the acceptableyear of the Lord. ThenHe closed the book, andgave it back to the atten-dant and sat down. . . .

And He began to say tothem, Today this Scrip-ture is fulfilled (Luke

4:16-21).Jesus here identifies himself

as the Messiah awaited by all.His numerous miracles, his ex-emplary and extraordinary life,his exaltation of the Torah, andhis teaching being so deeplyrooted in the Hebrew Scrip-tures, confirm it. This is theresponse that he gave to Johnsdisciples when they came tohim in order to inquire

whethe r he was indeed theMessiah announced by theprophets: Jesus answered andsaid to them, Go and tell Johnthe things which you hear andsee: the blind receive their sightand the lame walk; the lepersare cleansed and the deaf hear;the dead are raised up and thepoor have the gospel preachedto them (Matthew 11:4, 5).

The fact that Jesus isthe only Jewish

Messiah that we stilltalk about, the onlyone to have exceededthe frontiers of spaceand time, constitutesan interesting fact

which merits

consideration.


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sphere to the divine, but on thecontrary downwards from Godto mankind. In that perspec-tive, the institution of the sac-rifices should be understoodalong the lines of YehezkelKauffmans demonstration, asa symbol of the divine move-

ment towardshumans, as hu-mans of thehesed (grace) ofGod.7 Hebrewthought isevents-centered.In the Bible, thesacrifices arepart of the cov-enant ceremonythrough whichGod bindsHimself for thefuture and promises hope(Genesis 8:20-22; Genesis 15;Exodus 12:22, 23). The sacri-fice therefore is not magicalnor psychological in naturebut is a sign announcing anevent to come. Hope in He-brew is essentially of a histori-cal nature.

It is therefore not surprisingthat Isaiah 53 uses a referenceto the Levite sacrifice in orderto describe the coming of theMessiah, savior of Israel andhumanity: Surely He hasborne our griefs . . . But He

was wounded for our trans-gressions, . . . as a lamb to theslaughter, . . . His soul an of-fering for sin, . . . for He shallbear their iniquities (Isaiah53:4-7, 10, 11).

A passage in the Midrash al-ludes to a tradition accordingto which, because of Isaiah53:4, the Messiah was to callhimself a leper: The masters[Rabbana] have said that theleper of the school of the Rabbi. . . is his name, for it has beensaid: He has borne our dis-eases and he has borne our suf-

ferings, and we have consideredhim as a leper, smitten by Godand humbled.8 A character-istic invocation in the Midrashrefers to this same text: Mes-siah of our justice [MashiachTsidkenu], though we are Thyforebears, Thou art greater

than we becauseThou didst bearthe burden ofour childrenssins, and ourgreat oppressionshave fallen uponThee. . . . Amongthe peoples of the world Thoudidst bring onlyderision andmockery to Is-rael. . . . Thy skindid shrink, and

Thy body did become dry aswood; Thine eyes were hol-lowed by fasting, and Thystrength became like frag-mented potteryall that cameto pass because of the sins ofour children.9

We can also recognize a simi-

lar correlation in the wordingof the prophecy of the 70 weekswhich links the coming of theMessiah and the atonement ofsin (Daniel 9:24). This process

was directly tied into the ritualof the sacrifices (Leviticus 4-7;17:11). This affinity has alsocaught the eye of the rabbis ofthe Talmud: R. Eleazar in thename of R. Josei: it is a halakha[a principle] regarding theMessiah; Abbai answered him:we then do not need to teachall the sacrifices because it is ahalakha which concerns themessianic era.10

Therefore Christians werevery much within a Jewishframework when they identi-fied Jesus, the Messiah of Israel,their Messiah as: The Lamb ofGod who takes away the sin of

the world! (John 1:29; cf. 1Corinthians 5:7; Apocalypse5:6, 9; Hebrews 9:28; etc.).

He had come at the fullnessof time and in the appropriatemanner as was announced bythe prophecy and symbolizedby the sacrifices at the Temple.

It is noteworthy that this is theonly Messiah of history who soconsistently has been related tothe prophetic statements of theHebrew Bible concerning theMessiah. Jewish scholarSchonfield boldly recognizes:It is needful to emphasize thatneither before nor since Jesushas there been anyone whoseexperiences from first to lasthave been so pin-pointed as tal-

lying with what were held tobe prophetic intimations con-cerning the Messiah.11 In-deed, Jesus of Nazareth was rec-ognized by many Jews, maybeeven the majority of his con-temporary Jews, as the Messiahthat they had been awaiting.Certainly this historical factdoes not prove in an absolutemanner his messianic identity,

but it does show that the eventswhich had just occurred hadwon the Jewish people over.

A Messiah Who Has SurvivedThere were a great number

of Messiahs in Israelshistory. From Bar-Kokhba toShabbathai Tzevi, and nowa-days to Rabbi Schneerson, amultitude of Messiahs drewcrowds to themselves. Yet his-tory does not retain them asMessiahs anymore. Eachmovement was a short-livedflame which did not extend itslight beyond the space andtime of those Messiahs. Thefact that Jesus is the only Jew-ish Messiah that we still talkabout, the only one to have ex-ceeded the frontiers of spaceand time, constitutes an inter-

By rejecting the lawand oppressing the

Jewish nation in thename of Jesus, we can

say that probablyChristianity has

sacrificed a great deal

of its own identity.


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esting fact which merits con-sideration. We can recall herethe point made by the Phari-see Raban Gamaliel, disciple ofthe great Hillel, who made ref-erence to the Messiahs of histime in order to set a qualitystandard: If this plan or this

work is of men, it will come tonothing; but if it is of God, youcannot overthrow it (Acts5:38, 39). Gamaliel calledupon an old rabbinical prin-ciple, traces of which can alsobe found in a proverb pro-nounced by Johanan, a sandalmaker of the twelfth century:Any community that is in-spired from heaven will estab-lish itself but what is not in-spired from heaven will not.12

To the question we asked atthe beginning, whether a Jewcould believe in Jesus as theMessiah, we can therefore

without any doubt answer witha yes. This can be done at leastfor three reasons:

1. Jesus was recognized asthe Messiah by the majority of

Jews of his time.

2. Jesus identity as the Mes-siah is based upon holy Scrip-tures and fits Jewish traditionperfectly.

3. Jesus is the only JewishMessiah to have survived andoutgrown his respective spaceand time.

The belief in Jesus as theMessiah is therefore not incom-patible with the Jewish iden-tity. The reason for its rejec-tion during the better part ofthe past 2,000 years is there-fore to be sought outside Juda-ism and more precisely in re-gards to Christianity. Accord-ing to Jules Isaac, it is the re-

jection of the law by Christianswhich prompted the rejectionof Jesus by the Jews. The Jew-ish rejection of Christ was trig-gered by the Christian rejection

of the Law. . . . The rejectionof the Law was enough: to askof the Jewish people that theyaccept this rejection . . . waslike asking them to tear outtheir heart. History records noexample of such a collectivesuicide.13

On the other hand, AlbertMemmi suggests that the Jew-ish resistance to the Christianmessage is a natural reaction tothe Christian anti-Semitism:

I was telling to my schoolcomrades the story of a

Jesus that betrayed hispeople and his religion .. . But also I had just re-ceived, because of him, aserious beating in a smallchurch s i tuated in amountain town. For2,000 years Jesus has rep-resented for Jews the con-tinual pretext of a con-tinual beating they re-ceived, a drubbing in

which they often founddeath.14 . . . When youare oppressed you cannotcompletely accept the

customs and values ofyour oppressor, unlessyou abandon all prideand trample upon yourown heart. And this re-

jection may occur despitethe fact that those cus-toms and values may bebeautiful in themselvesand even superior toones own.15

In other words, Christianity,whose goal was to witness forthe Messiah to the world andprimarily to the Jews, has be-come, through Christiansabandoning of the law andtheir rejection of Jews, themain obstacle to their accep-tance. Furthermore, by reject-ing the law and oppressing the

Jewish nation in the name ofJesus, we can say that probably

Christianity has sacrificed agreat deal of its own identity.

If we can be Jewish and ac-cept Jesus, how could we beChristians and reject the roots

which have nourished Jesus?Paradoxically, with regards to

Jesus, it is not so much the Jew-

ish identity which should bequestioned as the Christianone.

1All biblical quotations are from theNew King James version unless other-

wise noted.2Richard L. H. Lenski, The Interpre-

tation of the Acts of the Apostles(Minne-apolis: Augsburg Publishing House,1961), p. 311.

3Jules Isaac, Jesus and Isra el (NewYork: Holt , Rinehart and Winston,

1971), p. 101.4Ibid., p. 132.5This Jewish consciousness of the

plenitude of time is most powerfullyexhibited by the Essenes. See WilliamH. Shea, Selected Studies on Prophetic In-terpretation , Daniel and RevelationCommittee Series, vol. 1 (Washington,DC: Review and Herald Publishing As-sociation, 1982), pp. 89-93.

6SeeMiqraoth Gdoloth, ad loc.7Toledot haemunah hayisraelit, vol. 3,

book 1, p. 80 (cf. pp. 443, 444).8Sanhedrin98b.9Pesiqta Rabbati, Pisqa37.10Zebahim 44b, Sanhedrin51b.11H. J. Schonfield, The Passover Plot.

A New Int erpre tation of the Li fe andDeath of Jesus(New York: Bernard Geis,1966), p. 36; quoted in Donald A.Hagner, The Jewish Reclamation of Jesus(Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1984),p. 248, n. 93.

12Pirqe AbothIV:14.13Jules Isaac, Gense de lAntismitisme

(Paris: Calmann-Lvy, 1956), p. 147; astranslated in Jacques Doukhan, Drink-ing at the Sources: An appeal to the Jewand the Christian to Note Their Common

Beginnings(Mountain View, CA: PacificPress Publishing Association, 1981), p.25.

14Albert Memmi, La libration du juif(Paris: Petite Bibliothque Payot, 1972),p. 215.

15Ibid., p. 71.


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The Messiah in LateJudaism

Roots

How it came to pass that in the first centuryC.E. everyone was expecting the Messiah.

Robert M. Johnston, Ph.D.Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins

n Matthew 22:42,Yeshua poses a questionto the Pharisaic schol-ars: What do you

think of the Messiah? Whoseson is he?1 The scholars an-swer right off, The son ofDavid, but the question hadbeen presented in such a wayas to suggest that there yetcould be some debate about it.

When this discussion tookplace, a Jewish tradition thathad been long in forming was

just coming to maturity.Messiah is the Anglicized

form of Hebrew mashiach,which is rendered in the Greek

I Testament as either Messias (atransliteration) or Christos(a translation). It meansanointed, but especially a cer-tain person who is anointed. Inancient Israel a person wasmade king not by coronation,but by anointingpouring oilon his head.2 Priests were alsoanointed, but the expression isused far more frequently ofkings.3 This expression was re-ally only one of several that

were used to refer to the greathope of Israel.

The time of David was re-garded as the Golden Age ofIsrael, a time long past but

longed for. The Jewish peoplebelieved that the Lord is in con-trol of history and that He willrestore the fortunes of Israel ina glorious new Golden Age, theKingdom of God. What madethis hope vivid and poignant

was that it contrasted so dra-matically with their actual situ-ation. They had been givenover into the hands of sinnersor alternately of their enemies.They were humiliated; they

we re suffering . Al ready inPsalm 72 there is a prayer thatthere may be a kings son who

will judge your people withrighteousness, and your poor


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viewed by the seers in ever moreglorious light. Embodying inhis own person the nation ofIsrael, he was the Son of Manin Daniel 7:13-14. The Targum

of Isaiah even identifies himwith the Suffering Servant pic-tured in the last part of Isaiah.

Called by various titles, thisMessianic figure and the fulfill-ment of the Messianic hope

were subject to diverse expec-tations that were often disap-pointed. After the return fromBabylonian exile, some lookedto Zerubbabel to fulfill the role.

expectations converged in thefirst century of the CommonEra to produce fervent antici-pation and heightened hopesthat were too often dashed topieces. There arose many falseMessiahs and impatient men

who thought to bring in the

reign of God by violence. Suchwas Judas the Galilean and hisfather Hezekiah, and his de-scendant Menahem. Such wasa man named Theudas, and anunnamed Jew who haled fromEgypt, and no doubt many oth-ers whose names are now for-gotten. The Romans crushedthem all. Early in the secondcentury, the great Rabbi Akivahailed Bar Kokhba as the long-awaited Messiah, but both werekilled by the Romans. Untoldthousands of the people per-ished in the rebellions sparkedby all these men.

The hopes were only inten-sified by the difficulty of thesituation and the seeming im-probability of their fulfillment,for had not Daniel the prophetpredicted: There shall be a

time of anguish, such as hasnever occurred since nationsfirst came into existence. Butat that time your people shallbe delivered, everyone who isfound written in the book(Daniel 12:1)? The presenttroubles were but thebirthpangs of the Messiah!The Messianic expectations

were white-hot in the first cen-

tury of the Common Era alsopartly because of calculationsbased on the time prophecies ofthe book of Daniel. Evidence

Messiah is theAnglicized form ofHebrew mashiach,which is rendered inthe Greek Testament

as either Messias(atransliteration) or

Christos (atranslation).

The Messianic expectations were white-hot inthe first century of the Common Era also partly

because of calculations based on the timeprophecies of the book of Daniel.

He was a descendant of David,and the Persian king appointedhim governor of Juda. But it

was folly to suppose that hecould challenge the might ofthe Persian Empire.

The Persians were followedby Greeks, and the Greeks by

Romans. A work dated fromthe last decades before theCommon Era (Psalms ofSolomon, chapter 17) hymnsthe expected Son of David, who

would rule in righteousness, re-store Israel, defeat enemies, andbe empowered by the HolySpirit. He is pictured as a mor-tal man, but larger than life andsinless. Significantly, the hymnconcludes with the declaration,The Lord Himself is our Kingfor ever and ever.

The people of the Qumrancommunity, who produced theDead Sea Scrolls, also had alively hope in this future righ-teous king. He would be theMessiah, but lower in rank thanthe priests. One passage in theScrolls (Rule of the Community9.11) seems to speak of two

Messiahs, the Messiahs ofAaron and Israela priestlyMessiah and a royal Messiah.

Other literature produced inthe first century C.E. describesa Messianic figure, eitherpriestly or royal, but at the sametime affirms that the comingkingdom will by ruled by GodHimself. 6 A work called 2Esdras (chapters 11-12, 13)

identified the Messiah with theSon of Man (see Daniel 7), whowill die but then be resurrected.

All these lines of thought and

with justice and crush the op-pressor, a king who will havedominion over the heathen.For to tell the truth, even mostof Israels own kings came farshort of the ideal. But even

worse, they were often underthe heel of heathen conquerors.

The prophets foretold thatthere would be a dramatic re-versal of Israels fortunes, a greattime when Israel would be gath-ered and restored in a kingdomof peace, justice, brotherhood,and righteousness.4 This newGolden Age would be associ-ated with a righteous king who

was variously referred to as theson of David, the Branch (orShoot), and the Messiah.5 Astime went on, this figure was


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can do nothing to hasten or de-lay it.

Perhaps the most astute re-mark is credited to Rabbi

Johanan: The son of Davidwill come only in a generationthat is either altogether righ-teous or altogether wicked!

The Messianic hope in lateJudaism, then, was an object ofkeen interest and the subject ofconsiderable debate. As to

Yeshuas question, What doyou think of the Messiah?,early Christians had their ownanswer.

1Al l bibl ical quotations are tak enfrom the New Revised Standard Version(NRSV).

2See, for example, 1 Samuel 10:1;16:1, 12-13.

3The noun mashiachoccurs 39 timesin the Tanach. Of these occurrencesabout 27 refer to a king, 6 to a priest, 2to patriarchs, and the rest to variousothers (people, Cyrus, Sauls shield).

4See passages such as Amos 9, Isaiah11, and Hosea 3.

5Some of the passages that speak ofthis ideal king and his reign are Isaiah

11:1-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Ezekiel 34:20-31 and chapter 37; Micah 5; andZechariah 9:9-10.

6See, for example, the Testament ofDaniel 5:10-13.

7Quotations are taken from transla-tion in the Soncino edition of theBabylonian Talmud, except that some ofthe supplied words (those placed by thetranslator in square brackets) are some-times omitted here.

based on the Cosmic Weeksix millennia of history fol-lowed by a sabbatical millen-

nium. Another counts thenumber of Jubilees. Yet anotherrelies on the prophecies ofDaniel (specifically that inDaniel 7:27), or of Haggai, orthe Psalms. But all this is in-terrupted by the dictum ofRabbi Samuel ben Nahmani inthe name of Rabbi Jonathan:Blasted be the bones of those

who calculate the end. For they

would say, since the predeter-mined time has arrived, and yethe has not come, he will nevercome.

The importance of such cal-culations in the first century ishinted at by some of the lan-guage of the New Testament.The Gospel of Mark thus sum-marizes the message of Yeshua

when he began his preachingministry in Galilee: The timeis fulfilled, and the kingdom ofGod has come near; repent, andbelieve in the good news(Mark 1:15). Paul said, Butwhen the fullness of time hadcome, God sent his Son, bornof a woman (Galatians 4:4).

Our Talmudic passage transitsfrom the question of when theMessiah will come to that of thenecessary preconditions. Rab

said: All the predestined dateshave passed, and the matter de-pends only on repentance andgood deeds. There follows adebate by Tannaim. Eliezer benHyrcanus argues that the com-ing of the Messiah can be has-tened by repentance, while

Joshua ben Hananiah insists thatall depends on the sovereign pur-pose of God, and human beings

for this conclusion comes froman unexpected source: theBabylonian Talmud.

In a celebrated passage begin-ning near the end of BavliSanhedrin 96b7we find remark-able speculations abouteschatology (the end of time).They are remarkable becausethe Rabbis who produced theTalmud were not keen on

Apocalyptic ideas, which hadonly produced disaster in thepast, as far as they could see.

They did not want to give aidand comfort to another BarKokhba. And then, there wasthe matter of Yeshua and theclaims of his followers. Thepresence of this passage in theTalmud, then, is exceptional,and it probably represents thetip of an iceberg. It is the mea-ger remnant of a widespread

way of thinking that was com-mon in the age of the Tannaim.

And since the Rabbis had longsince put eschatology on theback burner, it must come downfrom an earlier age.

It begins with an allusion toDaniel 7:13, for it identifies theMessiah with Bar NafleaGreco-Aramaic expressionmeaning Son of the Clouds.Then follows a long discussionof the Messianic woes, the

troubles that will precede thecoming of the Messiah, which

will occur when it is not ex-pected. The unexpectedness ofthe coming of the Messiah isinsisted upon by Rabbi Zera inopposition to scholars who werecalculating the time of theMessiahs coming (97a). Ex-amples of such calculations arethen presented. One method is

Rabbi Johanan: The son of David will comeonly in a generation that is either altogether

righteous or altogether wicked!


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A Dramatic EncounterA. Hadas

The Corner of Beauty

Moses and Jesus

srael Zangwill (1864-1926), born in Londonof a poor Russian family,

was a child of two worlds. Em-bracing both the broadness ofsecularism and the depth of Ju-daism, he became the product, al-though not the synthesis, of twoirreconcilabl e dualities. Thisunresolved tension is the essenceof Zangwills work from whence

comes his art of unblemishedtwofold description void of pre-conceived ideas.

This poem, taken fromDreamers of the Ghetto1a seriesof sketches of Diaspora charac-ters torn between their heritageand acquired notions of modern-ismis imbued with dualities,some antagonistic, some parallel,some interwoven, though neverunited and never resolved.

The Old Man and the BoyThe meeting is by chance, it

was not to be, it is not to be; theeyes do not meet, weighed downby some mysterious burden.They seem related only in es-sencein the aura of goodness

they emanate, and in their com-mon Jewish originthough notin expression. One well-en-crusted in earthly concerns, bear-ing the weight of ages, featurescarved by the fingers of suffering,his eyes reflecting a concern with

Justice. The other, of an almostotherworldly aura, the idealismof a youth still unmarred, bear-ing the fragile flower of Hope;everything in him respires Grace.

The Carnival of DeathSurrounding the two men is a

bizarre round, simultaneouslymocking and desperate, a premo-nition of our epochs cynicism asopposed to nineteenth-century

utopianism. Where dancing andmusic are commonly associatedwith a celebration of life, we wit-ness here a haunting processionof halloweenish overtones.Dancing to forget, a-piping tomock, to scoff, even in the faceof Death. Even the old greetingof life Shalom Aleichem, Peace onyou, is said mournfully. A ma-cabre setting of interplay betweenlife and death, in which the two

I

In dream I saw two Jews that met by chance,One old, stern-eyed, deep-browed, yet garlandedWith living light of love around his head,The other young, with sweet seraphic glance.Around went on the Towns satanic dance,Hunger a-piping while at heart he bled.Shalom Aleichem mournfully each said,Nor eyed the other straight but looked askance.

Sudden from Church out rolled an organ hymn,From Synagogue a loudly chanted air,Each with its Prophets high acclaim instinct.Then for the first time met their eyes, swift-linkedIn one strange, silent, piteous gaze, and dimWith bitter tears of agonized despair.

A macabre setting ofinterplay between life

and death, in whichthe two men seemstrangely out of place.


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men seem strangely out of place.

The Church and the SynagogueWhere is then the ir place?

Which is their abode, theChurch, the Synagogue? Butwait! Are these not also, shock-ingly, entering this chorus ofvoices, the organ a-piping, thechanted songs a-swaying? Theincoming tide is, however, muchstronger and holds mores vital-ity. In contrast to the primitiveaspect of the first scene, we havehere the pompous and self-as-

sured belches of the organ. Andthe breathless tunes of the pipesare smothered by the loudlychanted songs, and in theirmidst, two men, of muted soli-tude, all the more accentuated bythe surrounding cacophony.

The Voices of SilenceFor the first time, the two men

see each other. Their glance isstrange as each mirrors the other,realizing that their despair ismutual. Alone and silent, theyhad carried their shame as theywandered through the voices ofthe city, through the voices frombehind the edifices of the churchand the synagogue, oblivious to

each other and to the world.Where confusion remained onthe sonorous level, an encounteroccurred in the silence of twoglances sharing the same pro-found sadness.

The golden thread of this

poem is clearly the muted en-counter between the persons ofMoses and Jesus. A bizarre en-counter indeed: It occurs bychance, is overcast with shame,and takes place through the me-dium of silence.

The chance element shouldcome as no surprise to any lucidobserver of Judeo-Christian rela-tions of the last 2000 years. In-deed, has not everything beendone to keep the ways apart?Have they not been avoiding each

other? As one looks back on thehistory of hatred where wordscrusaded against words, and not

1997Shabbat_ShalomApril

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