With all the talk in the media about Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s new book “Kosher Jesus,” I got to thinking… What about the other way round, ‘Did Jesus keep kosher?’
Well I think he did, because he was a rabbi and an observant Jew. The New Testament says that Paul (one of the disciples of Jesus) did away with the law. Prior to this all of Jesus’ disciples kept kosher.
For me the whole Jesus story is quiet simple. Jesus was a rabbi who wanted to have mixed seating in the temple. Well actually it’s hard to know one way or the other, but basically Jesus wanted to start the Jewish conservative movement. At the time only Orthodox Judaism existed and he wanted things to be a bit more laid back. Thus the rabbis chucked him out. But Jesus had some followers and the story of Christianity began.
From the Jewish point of view there really is not much to the whole thing. Debating whether or not there could be a kosher Jesus… As in, could Jesus be ‘kosher’ as in ‘acceptable’ to Jews is just nonsense. From a Jewish theological standpoint the whole thing is rubbish and the only reason why Jews were ever debating could Jesus be kosher, is because they were forced by the church throughout history. Today we need to be aware of ‘kosher Jesus issues’ because of the many groups like ‘Jews for Jesus,’ Messianic Jews, and the like that try and entice Jewish people.
As for Shmuley Boteach using the title “Kosher Jesus,” I’d be willing to bet he himself did not want to use the tile, though “Kosher Jesus” works well from a marketing point of view. Consider Shmuly’s other books like: “Kosher Adultery,” “Kosher Sutra,” and “Kosher Sex.” However, Boteach still has many other books with other titles and perhaps could have kept the word kosher away from Jesus.
Read more about Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s new book, “Kosher Jesus” in my post from yesterday!
7 Responses to “Did Jesus Keep Kosher and is there Such a Thing as Kosher Jesus?”
“Jesus was a rabbi who wanted to have mixed seating in the temple”? This seems a rather flippant view of the defilement of the Court of the Nations.
Hi Laurie, Could you please explain what you mean by defilement of the court of the Nations?
Hello, Rabbi Ben,
The final conflict between the Talmudic leadership and the Nazarene was at the time of preparation for Paschal, he quoted “It is written, “My House shall be a house of prayer for all nations” but you have turned it into a marketplace.”
The Outer courts were used as a convenient place for travelers to exchange currency, purchase sacrifices, and socialize. Where, then, could the Proselytes that were coming in from all over the world meet with the Holy One of Israel?
The trial was purporting to be about blasphemy but real offense was what the Law says about “aliens and strangers” participating. The conflict between the pro-proselytism party and the anti-proselytism party. Is He the Lord of all nations, or only Israel?
Actually, Paul doesn’t say in the New Testament that believers shouldn’t keep the Torah — this is a huge misunderstanding that some Christian theologians place upon Paul. For example, in his letter to the synagogue/church in Rome he says:
“Do we, then, nullify the Torah by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the Torah” (Romans 3:31), and he goes on to say in the same letter that the Torah is “holy” and “just” and “good” (Romans 7:12).
Here’s a list of some of the pro-Torah verses from the NT (Paul’s letters included):
http://profoundprophecy.com/2010/09/pro-torah-verses-netzari-2/
Daniel’s Boyarin Jesus Kept Kosher video is very interesting. You can find it here posted on my blog
http://christianstudies.eteacherbiblical.com/index.php/2012/08/jesus-kept-kosher-by-prof-daniel-boyarin-ucla-berkeley/
Really appreciate you sharing this post. Really thank you! Want more.