Contact

To contact the author of this blog; Yisroel C. Blumenthal, please write to

yourphariseefriend@gmail.com

24 Responses to Contact

  1. Xavier says:
    May 27, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    Hello Rabbi

    Could you clear up something for me regarding the use of the Hebrew word echad by nominal Christians who say it means a “compund one”.

    So could you tell me what echad actually means?

    Reply
  2. yourphariseefriend says:
    May 27, 2011 at 7:21 pm

    Echad means “one” – it could refer to either a compund unity or an absolute unity – it depends on the context.

    Reply
    • Noah says:
      August 24, 2022 at 5:45 am

      I think the real question is what the difference is between Yachid (Yachad) and Echad, for often the claim is made that because the Shema speaks about Echad this means that G-d is not an absolute one. But there are many scriptures proving G-d is indeed one.

      Reply
  3. ITSCHAC says:
    October 27, 2011 at 3:02 am

    SHEMA ISRAEL ADONAI ELOHEINU ADONAI ECHAD PRINCIPIO FUNDAMENTAL DE NOSSA FÉ JUDAICA.SHALOM!

    Reply
  4. Anthony Buzzard says:
    January 10, 2012 at 8:01 am

    I am not qualified to debate you on the meaning of Paul’s words – but if he truly advocated an abrogation of the Law of Moses for the Jewish people – then he would have been a false prophet – God clearly indicated that the Law of Moses would be relevant for all generations – Numbers 15:37-41 – Deuteronomy 30:1-10

    Thanks so much. That is the issue. The New Covenant is not quite the same as the old.

    Paul has always been offensive to Jews, of course.

    Thanks for plain talk.
    Anthony

    Reply
  5. yourphariseefriend says:
    January 10, 2012 at 11:24 am

    Sir Anthony
    Would you be interested on debating the matter on a forum I could open on this blog?
    I appreciate your plain talk as well
    Yisroel

    Reply
  6. Anthony Buzzard says:
    January 11, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    I want to make only one or to major points. That the Shema is a unitarian creed. And That ONE in English and Hebrew never ever MEANS ‘more than one’.” That is a falsehood. ONE means one single, always.

    Of course ONE can modify any noun in the world and of course this included collective nouns.
    But ONE is still One.

    Could you bring in expert Hebraists to affirm this very easy fact?

    I will simply say that no Lexicon of Hebrew could possibly argue for a “compound one”
    There is a iittle hint in the regrettable TWOT! But not in any other Lexicon.

    My desire would be to have this meaning of ONE established beyond cavil, Jews were unbending unitarians. It is an assult on the Hebrew Bible, preserved by Jews, to say that there is Trinitarianism in the Hebrew Bible!

    I would also ask you to affirm the Massoretic pointing unless in rare cases there is some EVIDENCE of alteration as for example in Ps 110:3!

    I would ask you to bring expert opinion for the fact that ADONI AND ADONAI ARE DISTINCT WORDS WITH DISTINCT MEANINGS.
    Anthony

    Reply
  7. yourphariseefriend says:
    January 12, 2012 at 11:15 am

    Sir Anthony
    There can be no question that the Hebrew word “echad” means precisely what the word “one” means in the English language. Those who argue for other meanings – such as “alone” – are not attempting to present literal translation – rather they are explaining what they see as the message.
    As for your second point – the only way I have to verify the vowelization of the word “adoni” in Psalm 110 is through the Aramaic translations and through the Midrashim – all of them predate the Masorites and all of them confirm the Masoretic rendering of the word.

    Reply
  8. Anthony Buzzard says:
    January 13, 2012 at 9:26 am

    Rabbi, Yes, absolutely right. Some others are doing something much worse than arguing for “alone,” they are using the treacherous term “compound one” and even appealing to Lexicons for support. This is very deceptive, but people are determined to believe that ADONAI is Triune! I find this an awful insult to the Hebrew people who preserved the text, and for the NT scriptures. It is an insult to the intelligence to say that “one tripod” means that one can really mean three! Lexicons are quite clear about ONE!

    There is one rogue “hint” in one inferior Lexicon, TWOT. The writer says that “One stresses unity while recognizing diversity”.

    That is very clever and monstrously misleading. We ALL know that ONE can modify any collective noun! That does not mean that ONE means more than ONE.

    A collective noun of course implies plurality, but the word one means one! (Forgive my stating the obvious).

    Thanks for you good idea about verification of adoni. I can show that the Greek LXX and also NT Kurios mou confirms it too. But do you have easily to hand a confirmation from Aramaic, which would read MARI, I suppose, or from the Targum? There ought to be no need to have to oppose the stupid idea that YHVH speaks to ADONAI in Ps 110:1.

    In addition Jesus in the NT speaks of the Human Being (Son of Man) at the right hand and Peter uses Ps 110:1 to say that Jesus has “been made lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:34ff.) and no one imagined that ADONAI could be made anything.

    I hope that as many rabbis as possible will add their weight against this appalling assault on Hebrew Scripture and English and Hebrew language.

    English ONE and Hebrew ONE obviously function just alike. Monotheism, undefiled, is important for us all!
    Anthony

    Reply
  9. yourphariseefriend says:
    January 13, 2012 at 10:07 am

    Sir Anthony
    The Targums that I am refering to are more midrashic than literal word-for-word translations – but they make clear that the subject is a human being.
    As for the Rabbis weighing in – I am sure you are aware that collective Israel has weighed in on this with their lives – tens if not hundreds of thousands went to their deaths because they believed that their covenant with God demands that they reject any claims for God’s plurality or for the deification of any human. If the testimony of the witness nation didn’t speak to the Church – I am afraid logic will not do the trick.
    But, Sir Anthony – the truth is indestructible – when you have the truth – you can take on the world – because the God of truth is with you.
    I remain your Pharisee friend

    Reply
    • Anthony Buzzard says:
      January 13, 2012 at 12:18 pm

      Rabbi, Thanks so much. These are powerful words and you are right. Not only noble Jewish martyrs but also Christian martyrs for the same cause of monotheism in the wonderful heritage of the Tanach. We are protesting the death of Servetus by Calvin. As you know the murder of Servetus came about because he refused to cave into the Triune idea.

      You are of course right that the Targums never imagined anything but a human being for Ps. 110:1. Adoni is of course in the Tanach always a non-Deity reference. That is why we protest the current idea of some that the Jews actually fiddled the vowel points and that the text should be ADONAI speaking to adonai!
      Ghastly.

      Thanks for you inspirational words below..

      In Dr. Brown’s discussion of the difference between ADONAI and ADONI, an unfortunate slip occurred on p. 227 of Vol 3 of Answering Jewish Objections. He speaks of “ADONI with the long vowel qametz.” He then says that this refers to YHVH. This typo confuses the issue because as we know he really means “ADONAI with the qametz.”

      English translations. most of them, in the critically important Ps 110:1, fail to register the huge difference between ADONAI and ADONI, by putting a capital letter on the second lord.

      This is inaccurate and breaks their own rules! Thus the translations tell us their intended policy in their introductions, and say that ADONAI is represented by Lord (with capital L) and YHVH by LORD. They then put a capital letter on Lord for the second lord in Ps 110:1! This makes the reader believe that the Hebrew has ADONAI!

      Reply
  10. rocketkirchner says:
    February 13, 2013 at 6:19 pm

    Hi Rabbi , i heard Messianic Jew Art Katz speak of going toe to toe every wed with a Rabbi Blumenthal , and how much he loved that exchange. is that you ? and if so , did you ever mention Art in any of your books .? and if so what book , and where can i find it ? thanks , Rocket

    Reply
  11. rocketkirchner says:
    February 13, 2013 at 6:25 pm

    One more thing Rabbi , i would be interested in your take on Soren Kierkegaard’s 3rd chapter of ”Fear and Trembling” called ”is there a teleological supsension of the ethical” in its relation to Abraham transcending the Socratic sphere of Ethics in his willingness to obey God in giving up Isaac . As a Gentile Christian of many years , i had a chance to teach this to the Atheist group here on campus , and they were very interested and had lots of questions .
    ‘

    Reply
  12. David says:
    June 5, 2013 at 1:21 pm

    Just a suggestion for the 1000 verses blog. Please consider expanding the capacity of “recent comments” from the current 5 to 10.

    I’m thinking I might not be the only one that has a crazy schedule. And for me it’s hit and sometimes miss on when I can attend to blog discussions. The “recent comments” feature really helps in saving time to quickly get to the latest, when time is in short supply.

    Thanks for considering

    David

    Reply
  13. Yohanan Hayyim says:
    August 12, 2013 at 7:37 pm

    I would think that 1 Corinthians 15:28 also supports our position as Jews that “adoni” is the correct reading in Psalm 110:1. There they paraphrase from said Psalm, and clearly depict a Yeshu that is not divine or G-d, but rather submitted and subservient to our Heavenly Father, the only true G-d, and that our Heavenly Father will be the focus of worship of all in all. If Psalm 110:1 being paraphrased here, really meant that the messiah was G-d himself, etc., they would have written 1 Cor 15:28 to reflect that very idea. However, there just the opposite is presented, exactly as us Jews have teaching for millenia.

    Reply
  14. Anthony Buzzard says:
    January 21, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    It is good to have Jewish support for the very easy fact that Echad (one) means one and not more!
    Children know this quite well! The latest attempt by some (desperate to justify Triinitarianism) is to say that Paul calls Christ LORD GOD in I Cor 8:4-6. This is quite wrong. Paul calls Jesus the lord Christ over and over again and Paul never imagined more than one Person as YHVH. I speak as a Christian, believing that the original creed of Christians is the shema as affirmed by Jesus. Paul and Jesus have an uncomplicated view of how many are GOD! John 17:3; Mk 12:29 and of course I Tim, 2:5. None of this is hard.

    Reply
    • Dina says:
      January 21, 2014 at 9:16 pm

      Mr. Buzzard, it’s also a very easy fact that Jesus did not qualify to be the Messiah, did not fulfill any of the messianic prophecies, and started a religion in whose name much blood was shed throughout the centuries.

      Peace and blessings,
      Dina Bucholz

      Reply
  15. Richard Ari Dutka says:
    March 12, 2015 at 11:16 pm

    Negative site. Are you worried about Michael Brown? He probably thinks he is doing good leading Christians to the Jewish Jesus. Somehow the fact that he cannot reconcile xianity to the plain teaching of Torah does not bother him, or it is a tension that he can live with seeing that he has a successful and thriving ministry.

    Reply
  16. ROBERT HEATH says:
    October 12, 2017 at 2:39 am

    Please send a bible 2335 crooks st Ashland ky 41101

    Reply
  18. yishairasowsky says:
    May 2, 2021 at 11:12 am

    Shalom Rabbi!
    I heard from Dr Michael Brown that Targum Yonasan says that in Isaiah 53 the servant is Meshicha. And I here see that it says
    הָא יַצְלַח עַבְדִי **מְשִׁיחָא** יְרוּם וְיִסְגֵי וְיִתְקוֹף לַחֲדָא:
    Is that a problem? Because normally rabbis reply to evangelists by saying that “the servant” isn’t the messiah, but rather the people of Israel.
    I would love to know
    Many thanks!
    Yishai

    Reply
    • yourphariseefriend says:
      May 2, 2021 at 8:50 pm

      Shalom Yishai
      I addressed this in Contra Brown – note xlv – The person of Messiah will emerge from the community of Israel. All of the suffering that Israel experienced will be part of the national consciousness of the Messiah.

      I wrote about this in other paces as well – the point is that the messianic and national interpretations are not exclusive from the Jewish perspective

      Reply

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