Jesus in the Talmud

Note: the original link address to the following American Jewish Congress article
was on the web, but the AJC apparently got cold feet and thought better of keeping
this article online for "anti-Semites" to find as an authoritative source !his first
version is thereby this article"s "cached" version
# Jesus in the !almud
September 24, 2003
Steven Bayme, National Director, Contemporary Jewish Life Department
he recent controversy over the forthcomin! release of "el #ibson$s he %assion has
rei!nite& the lon!stan&in! &ebate over responsibility for the cr'cifi(ion of Jes's) his
2,000*year*ol& &ebate clearly has been a costly one for Jews) Statements attrib'te& by the
#ospels to Jewish lea&ers of the first cent'ry 'r!in! that Jes's be cr'cifie& an& that
responsibility for the act be lai& at the han&s of the Jewish people for all time form the
basis for the char!e of &eici&e a!ainst the Jews) "ore tellin!ly, historians have ar!'e&
correctly that this +teachin! of contempt,+ castin! the Jews as a permanently acc'rse&
people, often serve& to le!itimate violence a!ainst Jews as the livin! embo&iment of
those who ,ille& Jes's)
-n the mi&*./00s, the 1atican -- Co'ncil was meant to rele!ate this teachin! of contempt
to the history boo,s) he Ch'rch release& a statement claimin! that +what happene& in
2is passion can not be blame& 'pon all the Jews then livin!, witho't &istinction, nor
'pon the Jews of to&ay+) %recisely with the lea&ership of !ro'ps s'ch as the 3merican
Jewish Committee, remar,able pro!ress in Catholic4Jewish relations has since been
attaine&, especially concernin! the portrayal of Jews an& J'&aism within Catholic
te(tboo,s) #ibson$s movie, inten&e& to tell the story of the #ospels, has alienate& many
Jewish lea&ers, who correctly worry whether the movie$s !raphic &escription of the
cr'cifi(ion an& its alle!e& overtones of a Jewish conspiracy to ,ill Jes's may i!nite lon!*
&ormant Christian hostilities to Jews)
5or this reason, the acco'nt of the #ospels, an& its associations with anti*Semitism, nee&s
to be honestly confronte&, incl'&in! the 6'estion of the relationship of ch'rch teachin!s
to acts of violence a!ainst Jews) 7et it is also important that Jews confront their own
tra&ition an& as, how Jewish so'rces treate& the Jes's narrative) %ointe&ly, Jews &i& not
ar!'e that cr'cifi(ion was a 8oman p'nishment an& therefore no Jewish co'rt co'l& have
a&vocate& it) Consi&er, by contrast, the followin! te(t from the alm'&9
:n the eve of %assover Jes's was han!e&) 5or forty &ays before the e(ec'tion too, place,
a heral& went forth an& crie&, +2e is !oin! forth to be stone& beca'se he has practice&
sorcery an& entice& -srael to apostasy) 3nyone who can say anythin! in his favor let him
come forwar& an& plea& on his behalf)+ B't since nothin! was bro'!ht forwar& in his
favor, he was han!e& on the eve of %assover) ;lla retorte&9 Do yo' s'ppose he was one
for whom a &efense co'l& be ma&e< =as he not a mesith >enticer?, concernin! whom
Script're says, +Neither shall tho' spare nor shall tho' conceal him<+ =ith Jes's,
however, it was &ifferent, for he was connecte& with the !overnment) >Sanhe&rin 43a?
his te(t, lon! censore& in e&itions of the alm'&, is concerne& primarily with &'e
process in capital crimes) Stan&ar& process re6'ires that p'nishment be &elaye& for forty
&ays in or&er to allow e(ten'atin! evi&ence to be presente&) 2owever, in e(treme cases,
s'ch as se&'cin! -srael into apostasy, this re6'irement is waive&) he case of Jes's,
accor&in! to the alm'&, constit'te& an e(ception to this r'le) 3ltho'!h one who entice&
-srael into apostasy is consi&ere& an e(treme case, the Jews at the time waite& forty &ays
beca'se of the close ties of Jes's to the 8oman a'thorities) 2owever, once the forty &ays
elapse& witho't the presentation of favorable or e(ten'atin! comment abo't him, they
procee&e& to ,ill him on the eve of %assover)
hree themes emanate from this passa!e) 5irst, the char!es a!ainst Jes's relate to
se&'ction of -srael into apostasy an& the practice of sorcery) 3ccor&in! to the #ospels,
the char!es a!ainst Jes's concerne& his self*proclamation as a messiah) he alm'&
seems to prefer the more specific char!es of practicin! sorcery an& lea&in! -srael into
false beliefs) :ne twentieth*cent'ry historian, "orton Smith of Col'mbia ;niversity,
ar!'e& on the basis of recently &iscovere& +hi&&en #ospels+ that the historical Jes's
in&ee& was a first*cent'ry sorcerer >Jes's the "a!ician, 2arperCollins, ./@A?) -n the eyes
of the alm'&ic rabbis, the practice of sorcery an& false prophecy constit'te& capital
crimes specifically proscribe& in De'teronomy .A9 .0*.2 an& .39 2*0)
Secon&, the alm'& is here offerin! a s'btle commentary 'pon Jes's$ political
connections) he #ospels portray the 8oman !overnor %onti's %ilate as !oin! to !reat
len!ths to spare Jes's >"ar, .B9 0*.B?) 3ltho'!h this passa!e may well have been written
to appease the 8oman a'thorities an& blame the Jews, the alm'&ic passa!e points in the
same &irection9 he Jews waite& forty &ays, in a &epart're from the 's'al practice, only
beca'se Jes's was close to the r'lin! a'thorities)
Lastly, the passa!e s'!!ests rabbinic willin!ness to ta,e responsibility for the e(ec'tion
of Jes's) No effort is ma&e to pin his &eath 'pon the 8omans) -n all li,elihoo&, the
passa!e in 6'estion emanates from fo'rth*cent'ry Babylon, then the center of alm'&ic
scholarship, an& beyon& the reach of both 8ome an& Christianity) 3ltho'!h several
h'n&re& years ha& elapse& since the lifetime of Jes's, an& therefore this is not at all a
contemporary so'rce, the alm'&ic passa!e in&icates rabbinic willin!ness to
ac,nowle&!e, at least in principle, that in a Jewish co'rt an& in a Jewish lan&, a real*life
Jes's wo'l& in&ee& have been e(ec'te&)
o be s're, historians can not accept s'ch a te(t 'ncritically) 5or one thin!, the alm'&ic
te(t, as note&, was written some 300 years after the event it reports) Secon&ly, it ma,es no
ac,nowle&!ement of intra*Jewish tensions in first cent'ry %alestine in which Jewish sects
proliferate&, an& %harisees, Sa&&'cees, Cssenes, an& Dealots compete& for Jewish
alle!iances) Jes's$s antipathy towar&s the %harisees, of co'rse, is well ,nown from the
#ospels, an& the alm'&ic rabbis, who pres'mably rea& these acco'nts, &efine&
themselves as the intellect'al heirs of the %harisaic teachers) By contrast, the 2i!h %riest
was, in all li,elihoo&, a member of the Sa&&'cee faction, which !enerally consiste& of
more aristocratic elements) =hat the alm'&ic narrative &oes &emonstrate is fo'rth
cent'ry rabbinic willin!ness to ta,e responsibility for the e(ec'tion of Jes's)
=hat, then, are the implications of this rea&in! of Jes's thro'!h the eyes of rabbinic
so'rces< 5irst, we &o re6'ire honesty on both si&es in confrontin! history) Jewish
apolo!etics that +we co'l& not have &one it+ beca'se of 8oman soverei!nty rin! hollow
when one e(amines the alm'&ic acco'nt) 2owever, the si!nificance of 1atican --,
conversely, sho'l& by no means be minimiEe&) he Ch'rch went on recor& as aban&onin!
the teachin! of contempt in favor of historiciEin! the acco'nts of the #ospels an&
removin! their applicability to Jews of later !enerations) 3 mat're Jewish*Christian
relationship pres'pposes the ability of both si&es to face 'p to history, ac,nowle&!e
errors that have been committe&, an& b'il& a social contract in which each si&e can both
criti6'e as well as assi!n val'e to its reli!io's co'nterpart)
Biblio!raphy for f'rther rea&in!9
Steven Bayme, ;n&erstan&in! Jewish 2istory >F31?, .//@
Joseph Fla'sner, Jes's of NaEareth >Beacon Boo,s?, ./04
8) ravers*2erfor&, Christianity in alm'& an& "i&rash >F31?, ./@B
G'estions for f'rther &isc'ssion9
.) #iven the climate in first*cent'ry %alestine, what threat &i& Jes's pose to Jews an& to
8ome<
2) 2ow sho'l& Jews 'n&erstan& Jes's to&ay<
3) =hat sho'l& be the terms of a social contract between believin! Jews an& Christians<
2ow sho'l& a&herents of each faith view the other<