Pope Francis' visit to Israel is part of another correction in the relations between the Vatican and Judaism in the last two generations: Judaism is no longer an inferior, degraded religion, but legitimate and accepted. The previous pope, Benedict XVI, went even further when he declared at his coronation that the Jews were Christians' brothers. Indeed? From a historical perspective, do Judaism and Christianity have equal status-
The truth is far from this and very complex. Christianity is not Judaism's sister religion, but rather an illegitimate daughter that was cast off. Christianity was born from Judaism, not as an independent religion but as a movement within Judaism. However, it was rejected by the Jews in its infancy and eventually set out on its own, distanced itself from its roots and in the Middle Ages even took brutal vengeance on its religious homeland.
For two generations, a growing number of researchers into early Christianity and the New Testament have acknowledged that Jesus, Paul, and Jesus' disciples were Jews -- not only by birth, but in their worldview, their commitment to Jewish ideas, and their ties to other Jews who were not Christians. Jesus himself read a Torah portion from the Book of Isaiah in synagogue, instructed the leper to be purified by a Temple priest after healing him, and celebrated a Passover Seder in Jerusalem at the Last Supper.
Paul gave sermons in synagogues in the Diaspora, made a pilgrimage to the Temple, and shaved his head after taking monastic vows. Peter and the disciples went to the Temple Mount to pray Mincha, the Jewish afternoon prayer. There is a dispute among academics today about just how faithful the Christians of the first century were to the laws of the Torah, but there is no doubt that at least some of them were careful about keeping the commandments.
The books of the New Testament, the gospels that tell the story of Jesus' life and teachings, the Epistles of Paul, and other writings, contain many quotes from the Pentateuch, as well as sermons peppered with the spirit of Second Temple Judaism. For example, when Jesus objects to divorce, he cites the verse, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2:24), and adds, "What God has joined together let not man put asunder" (Mark 10:9).
The New Testament writings, as bizarre as they might appear to a Jew who does not believe in Jesus, are Jewish compositions. Anyone researching early Christianity today understands that it cannot be understood without the Judaism of the late Second Temple era, the Qumran scrolls, and even the literature of the Jewish sages.
Early Christianity was a very radical movement in Jewish eyes, but at first it did not seek to break away from the framework of Jewish life and found a new religion. I believe that the Jews at the time of the first Christians were unable to accept two innovations of early Christianity that demolished accepted Jewish identity and belief. One was the belief that Jesus was not only a human savior but also a holy prophet who saved everyone who believed in him, regardless of Torah commandments. The second was Christianity's acceptance of non-Jews, which broke the vital barrier between Jews and other peoples.
It is not at all easy for the modern Christian world -- priests, theologians, and researchers -- to acknowledge the solid Jewish foundations of the mythological fathers of their religion. Such an acknowledgment could lead them to conclude that the Christian religion as we know it veered off the original path of Jesus and his students, or that it does not have a claim to its most fundamental spiritual assets.
The proliferation of Christians' recognition of their debt to their Jewish roots, which Francis is leading, is a welcome step. It is time that the Christian world acknowledges that it cannot tear up or deny the roots of its religion and that Christians have a religious debt, not only a historical one, to Judaism and Jews. One of the reasons why Christians have started to appreciate Jews seems to be the blossoming of the state of Israel. Not only evangelicals, but also many ordinary Christians are accepting that the resurrection of the Jewish people in their own nation is not a matter of chance. We appear to be witnessing an official recognition that Judaism and Jews have not only deep roots, but also a present and a future.
Professor Eyal Regev is head of the Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology Department at Bar-Ilan University.
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