:R.Yochanan asked: What is implied in "The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those that published it" (Ps. 68:12)? That each and every word that issued from the mouth of the Almighty divided itself into seventy languages. Accordingly, citing the verse "As a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces" (Jer. 23: 29), the school of R. Ishmael taught: Just as a hammer that strikes a rock causes sparks to fly off in all directions, so each and every word that issued from the mouth of the Holy One divided itself into seventy languages.<ref>B. T. Shabbat 88b R.Yochanan asked: What is implied in ‘The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those that published it’ (Ps. 68:12)? That each and every word that issued from the mouth of the Almighty divided itself into seventy languages. Accordingly, citing the verse “As a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces” (Jer. 23: 29), the school of R. Ishmael taught: Just as a hammer that strikes a rock causes sparks to fly off in all directions, so each and every word that issued from the mouth of the Holy One divided itself into seventy languages.”</ref>

The Torah, according to the sages, was addressed to humanity as a whole. Those who wished to convert, could do so. However, the sages did not seek converts<ref>There were exceptions. During the reign of John Hyrcanus (133-104 B.C.E.), the [[Idumeans ]] or [[Edomites ]] were conquered and forced to convert. It seems, however, that experience taught Jews not to repeat this endeavour. Besides which, as I have argued, it runs contrary to the central strand of biblical and post-biblical Judaic principle.</ref>. Indeed, they sought to discourage them. According to a statement in the Talmud, the prospective convert was told: "Do you not know that Israel [= the Jewish people] at the present time are persecuted and oppressed, despised, harassed and overcome by afflictions?"<ref>B.T. Yevamot 47a.</ref>

Instead, they were encouraged to keep the Noahide laws. The historical evidence suggests that prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, throughout the Roman empire there were many individuals who adopted at least some Jewish practices: semi-converts or "G-d-fearers" as they were known. Josephus, writing in the first century C.E., says that "There is not one city, Greek or barbarian, nor a single nation where the custom of the seventh day, on which we rest from all work, and the fasts, and the lighting of candles, are not observed . . . and as G-d permeates the universe, so the Law has found its way into the hearts of all men."<ref>Against Apion, 2:282ff.</ref> It is likely that it was among these people, Christianity first took root when, under the influence of Paul, the new faith ceased to be a Jewish sect and instead turned its attention to the gentiles.

:Our nation, the children of Israel, is a nation only by virtue of its laws. Since, then, the Creator has stated that the Jewish nation was destined to exist as long as heaven and earth exist, its laws would, of necessity, have to endure as long as would heaven and earth.<ref>Saadia Gaon, Emunot veDe'ot, Book III:7</ref>

An eternal covenant links the eternal people to the eternal G-d. This idea is not merely fundamental to Judaism. It shapes the very meaning of the words truth (emet), faithfulness (emunah) and covenant (brit) when applied to G-d. It means that G-d, having made a covenant with the patriarchs (brit avot) and then with the children of Israel as a nation (brit Sinai), will be true to His word. He will not break it, terminate it, or replace it. In the language of the prophets, in the marriage between G-d and Israel there will be no divorce. A G-d who could abandon His people is unthinkable to the biblical mind. That is why, to a Jew, the [[replacement theology ]] of classical Christianity and Islam is untenable as an interpretation of the Hebrew Bible.

What is significant about Christianity and Islam is that these faiths, from a Jewish perspective<ref>Rabbinic tradition makes the equation Esau=[[Edom]]=Rome=Christianity, and Ishmael=Islam (this is how the Koran also traces its ancestry). Thus, both are descendants of Abraham. This may be the meaning of the verse (otherwise unexplained in the Bible), "No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you the father of many nations" (Gen. 17:5). To be sure, the Hebrew Bible itself does not make this connection, since both Christianity and Islam were born in the post-biblical era. Nor do any of the traditional Jewish commentators known to me offer this interpretation (undoubtedly because the Torah itself says - Gen. 21: 12 - "Through Isaac [alone] you will be said to have offspring"). Yet there is an apparent contradiction between Genesis and Deuteronomy. In Genesis, God makes the promise to Abraham that his descendants will be as many as "the dust of the earth" and "the stars of the sky"; yet in Deuteronomy, Moses says, "The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you are the fewest of all peoples" (Deut. 7:7). One way of resolving this is to make a distinction between the children of the specific covenant of Abraham through Israel ("the fewest of all peoples") and the other Abrahamic faiths, which trace their ancestry to Abraham and today account for more than half of the population of the earth. In this broader sense Abraham is indeed "the father of many nations".</ref> and from their own, trace their provenance to the biblical covenants with Noah and Abraham. That is why they are known as "Abrahamic faiths". Insofar as [a] they are religions of revelation, [b] they "recognize the authority of the Hebrew Bible as the word of G-d to humankind"<ref>John Haldane, An Intelligent Person's Guide to Religion, London, Duckworth, 2003 (writing of all three Abrahamic faiths).</ref> and [c] they uphold the Noahide laws, their adherents satisfy Maimonides' definition of the pious of the nations, namely that they keep the seven Noahide laws "because the Holy One blessed be He commanded them in the Torah and made known through Moses our teacher that their observance had been enjoined on the descendants of Noah even before the Torah was given." At Sinai, as well as making a covenant with the children of Israel, G-d reaffirmed His earlier covenant with mankind.

The following are some of the rabbinic sources on Christianity and Islam:

:The writers of the Gospels never meant to say that the Nazarene came to abolish Judaism, but only that he came to establish a new religion for the Gentiles from that time onward. Nor was it new, but actually ancient; they being the Seven commandments of the sons of Noah, which were forgotten. The Apostles of the Nazarene established them anew . . . It is therefore a habitual saying of mine . . . that the Nazarene brought about a double kindness in the world. On the one hand, he strengthened the Torah of Moses majestically, as mentioned earlier, and not one of our sages spoke out more emphatically concerning the immutability of the Torah. And on the other hand he did much good for the gentiles . . . by doing away with idolatry and removing the images from their midst. He obligated them with the seven commandments . . . and also bestowed on them ethical ways, and in this respect he was much more stringent with them than the Torah of Moses, as is well known.<ref>Rabbi Yaakov Emden, [[Yaakov_Emden_on_Noahides#Rabbi_Jacob_Emden.27s_Letter_.28Seder_Olam_Rabbah_Vezuta.29|Seder Olam Rabbah ve-Zuta]], Appendix. Translation, H. Falk, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 19:1 [Winter 1982], 105-111).</ref>

Citing Acts 15, Emden argues that the founders of Christianity were not engaged in creating a new religion but rather bringing the Noahide covenant and its seven laws to the gentiles. That is why they did not require their followers to observe the Sabbath or the command of circumcision (which do not apply to non-Jews). Only later did Christians (mistakenly, Emden argues) see their faith as a rival to and [[Replacement theology|replacement ]] of Judaism. Emden urges Christians to go back to their own first principles. If they did so they would "bring their people to love the ancient Children of Israel who remain loyal to their G-d, as indeed commanded to Christians by their original teachers."

Summing up the mainstream Jewish position, R. Samson Raphael Hirsch writes:

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/extensions/MobileFrontend/includes/diff/InlineDiffFormatter.php:103) in /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/includes/WebResponse.php on line 42

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/extensions/MobileFrontend/includes/diff/InlineDiffFormatter.php:103) in /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/includes/WebResponse.php on line 42

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/extensions/MobileFrontend/includes/diff/InlineDiffFormatter.php:103) in /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/includes/WebResponse.php on line 42

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/extensions/MobileFrontend/includes/diff/InlineDiffFormatter.php:103) in /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/includes/WebResponse.php on line 42
Changes - Wikinoah English