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Le Talmud et les origines juives du christianisme; Jésus, Paul et les judéo-chrétiens dans la littérature talmudique. By Dan Jaffé. Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 2007. Pp. 227. € 23.00. ISBN 978-2-204-08264-8.

Le Talmud et les origines juives du christianisme; Jésus, Paul et les judéo-chrétiens dans la... Review of Books / Journal for the Study of Judaism 41 (2010) 94-151 121 Le Talmud et les origines juives du christianisme; Jésus, Paul et les judéo-chrétiens dans la littérature talmudique . By Dan Jaffé. Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 2007. Pp. 227. € 23.00. ISBN 978-2-204-08264-8. The merit of this book, as of Jaffé’s previous one (see JSJ 39, 136-137), is that it squarely faces elements in the rabbinic sources which may be unpleasant for modern readers. The fact is that the early Tannaic tradition is remarkable for its pronouncements and rules against minim and that in this category, Christians and/or Jewish Christians were at least included. J. offers analyses of passages well- known for this element: the story of R. Eliezer arrested for minut , “heresy”; rules about the “books of the minim ”; and the “benediction of the minim ”. The ques- tion is, of course, in what context this anti-Christian stance of the Jewish leader- ship of the late 1st-early 2d cent. is to be viewed. Here, J. takes his starting point from a stereotyped and even traditionalist point of view. The post-70 Yavne gen- eration is presented as one of consolidation, identity-building, and social demar- cation. The Sages provoked the disappearance of the manifold political-religious parties. To the extent that this was true, it was radically different from the pre-70 situation, but the question is never asked why. What would cause “a formative orthodox Judaism” paradoxically to consider Judaeo-Christians a dangerous heresy “in terms of heterodoxy ”? (19). These questions pop up repeatedly when reading the book. Question marks are also needed when it is stated that “il ne fait aucun doute” that Epiphanius’ testimony ( Pan . 29.9.2) refers to the birkat ha-minim (127). This is not how historical reconstruction operates. Unfortunately, further- more, the main title of the book is misleading. It is not the “Jewish origins” of Christianity that are investigated, but the way in which in the Talmud early Christianity is perceived as deviant. The early Christian sources are not analysed as to their “Jewish origins”; the heuristic framework is in the post-70 rabbinic tradition, and a rather traditional Jewish criticism of Christian tenets is the result. For one thing, this approach precludes insight in what did cause the change-over from the pre-70 situation. To that extent the book is also a missed opportunity for a better understanding both of the early Christian and of the Jewish sources. The Christian texts are indispensible as early external sources on Judaism and deserve to be carefully read in their own right, just as the Jewish sources are important external sources for nascent Christianity. That the early rabbinic sources are here read as standing in opposition to Paul is then no longer a sur- prise. The concluding overview of the rather positive assessment of Jesus by 19th and 20th century Jewish historians is insufficient to redress the balance. Peter J. Tomson Faculty of Protestant Theology, Brussels © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2010 DOI: 10.1163/004722110X12580098290595 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal for the Study of Judaism Brill

Le Talmud et les origines juives du christianisme; Jésus, Paul et les judéo-chrétiens dans la littérature talmudique. By Dan Jaffé. Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 2007. Pp. 227. € 23.00. ISBN 978-2-204-08264-8.

Journal for the Study of Judaism , Volume 41 (1): 121 – Jan 1, 2010

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2010 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0047-2212
eISSN
1570-0631
DOI
10.1163/004722110X12580098290595
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Review of Books / Journal for the Study of Judaism 41 (2010) 94-151 121 Le Talmud et les origines juives du christianisme; Jésus, Paul et les judéo-chrétiens dans la littérature talmudique . By Dan Jaffé. Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 2007. Pp. 227. € 23.00. ISBN 978-2-204-08264-8. The merit of this book, as of Jaffé’s previous one (see JSJ 39, 136-137), is that it squarely faces elements in the rabbinic sources which may be unpleasant for modern readers. The fact is that the early Tannaic tradition is remarkable for its pronouncements and rules against minim and that in this category, Christians and/or Jewish Christians were at least included. J. offers analyses of passages well- known for this element: the story of R. Eliezer arrested for minut , “heresy”; rules about the “books of the minim ”; and the “benediction of the minim ”. The ques- tion is, of course, in what context this anti-Christian stance of the Jewish leader- ship of the late 1st-early 2d cent. is to be viewed. Here, J. takes his starting point from a stereotyped and even traditionalist point of view. The post-70 Yavne gen- eration is presented as one of consolidation, identity-building, and social demar- cation. The Sages provoked the disappearance of the manifold political-religious parties. To the extent that this was true, it was radically different from the pre-70 situation, but the question is never asked why. What would cause “a formative orthodox Judaism” paradoxically to consider Judaeo-Christians a dangerous heresy “in terms of heterodoxy ”? (19). These questions pop up repeatedly when reading the book. Question marks are also needed when it is stated that “il ne fait aucun doute” that Epiphanius’ testimony ( Pan . 29.9.2) refers to the birkat ha-minim (127). This is not how historical reconstruction operates. Unfortunately, further- more, the main title of the book is misleading. It is not the “Jewish origins” of Christianity that are investigated, but the way in which in the Talmud early Christianity is perceived as deviant. The early Christian sources are not analysed as to their “Jewish origins”; the heuristic framework is in the post-70 rabbinic tradition, and a rather traditional Jewish criticism of Christian tenets is the result. For one thing, this approach precludes insight in what did cause the change-over from the pre-70 situation. To that extent the book is also a missed opportunity for a better understanding both of the early Christian and of the Jewish sources. The Christian texts are indispensible as early external sources on Judaism and deserve to be carefully read in their own right, just as the Jewish sources are important external sources for nascent Christianity. That the early rabbinic sources are here read as standing in opposition to Paul is then no longer a sur- prise. The concluding overview of the rather positive assessment of Jesus by 19th and 20th century Jewish historians is insufficient to redress the balance. Peter J. Tomson Faculty of Protestant Theology, Brussels © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2010 DOI: 10.1163/004722110X12580098290595

Journal

Journal for the Study of JudaismBrill

Published: Jan 1, 2010

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