1000 Verses – a project of Judaism Resources

Blood Songs – a Conversation with a Missionary

Missionary – until you see the importance of the blood as well, you’ll miss the point of my preaching (and the Torah’s teaching as well).

Yisroel B.– I don’t deny the importance of the blood – I let God tell me exactly where it fits in.

Missionary– He’s telling you, but you’re saying you can do without it if necessary. You can’t!

Yisroel B.– At the pain of repeating myself – by assuming the blood offerings of scripture were simply done away with and replaced – and never really atoned anyways – that is “honoring” the word of God. But believing that the eternal nature of God’s word requires that they will come back, and yearning and hoping for that day – that is “mocking” the word of God?!

Missionary– I totally and completely differ with this…

Transcript and Notes to: The Real Jewish Messiah Part 2

This presentation is a response to Dr. Brown’s video on the subject of the Real Jewish Messiah.

Dr. Brown begins his presentation by telling us that he accepts the roles assigned to the Messiah by traditional Judaism, namely; ingathering of Israel’s exile, building the Temple in Jerusalem, ushering in an era of universal peace and knowledge of God. But Dr. Brown argues that this is only half of the picture. According to Dr. Brown traditional Judaism has missed a crucial aspect of the Messiah’s mission. According to Dr. Brown the Messiah is first supposed to provide atonement for mankind with his vicarious death. Judaism does not accept this function as one of the roles of the Messiah.

But the difference between Judaism and Christianity does not stop there. This is not merely an argument about how many functions are assigned…

The Servant of Chapter 49

“Listen to me, O islands, and hearken O distant regimes: the Lord summoned me from the belly; He mentioned my name from my mother’s womb. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He hid me; He made me like a smooth arrow, in His quiver He concealed me. He said to me: “You are My servant, Israel, in whom I take glory.” But I said, “I have toiled in vain and used up my strength for nothingness and naught; however, judgment is with the Lord and (the reward for) my accomplishments is with my God.” And now the Lord, who formed me from the belly to be a servant to Him, to restore Jacob unto Him, and Israel will be gathered unto Him and I was honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God was my…

1000 VERSES
Many Christians cannot seem to fathom why it is that Jews do not accept Jesus. These Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah predicted by the Jewish prophets, and cannot begin to understand why anyone would think differently. After all, these Christians ask, didn’t Jesus fulfill hundreds of messianic prophecies? These Christians tell themselves, that the Jewish people must be supernaturally blinded to the obvious truth. These Christians charitably pray for the scales to be removed from the eyes of the Jews. Other Christians (of less charitable nature), believe that the Jews see Jesus in the Jewish Bible, but refuse to accept him anyway. Needless to say, these Christian assessments of the Jewish rejection of Jesus were not positive factors in the history of civilization.

The fact of the matter is that there are many moral and ethical reasons which stand in the way of the Jew’s acceptance…

Finally! A Response (almost)

“Contra Brown” was made public (on www.jewsforjudaism.org ) more than five years ago. In that article I critique the core arguments that Dr. Brown makes against Judaism. At the time Dr. Brown assured me that he would respond in writing but his response has not materialized (as of now – Nov. 2013). This lack of response has been disappointing. I believe in the process of human discussion and I feel that as we bring our arguments to light all of us can come closer to the truth. I have engaged in lengthy written discussions with various Christians and I have found that these dialogues lead to greater clarity and articulation (https://yourphariseefriend.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/response-to-line-of-fire-13-dispelling-a-myth/ ).

But it takes two to dialogue. And until anyone from the Christian world addresses the arguments that I have raised in Contra Brown then the conversation cannot progress any further.

It has been…

Spiritual Responsibility

Our civilization is structured in such a way that people sometimes need to trust each other. I have never studied medicine. When I need advice in that field I speak to people who have dedicated their lives to the study of medicine and I trust their expertise.

But how can I figure out who is truly an expert? If I have never studied medicine how then can I evaluate the knowledge (or lack thereof) of anyone who claims to be an expert?

It is here that the concept of trust factors in. I may not trust any one particular individual but I can surely trust the general circle of medical society. The fact that a doctor holds certification from a respected institution tells me that the leaders of that school have applied their own medical expertise in evaluating this person’s knowledge and have determined that he is indeed…