Prominent Jewish Rabbi Says Catholics Should Be Thankful For the Pope

What a wonderful article out of the Italian Press with New York Rabbi JACOB NEUSNER. Thanks to the Ratzinger Forum for the translation of Dec. 13 issue of the weekly magazine TEMPI


'BLESSED ARE YOU WHO HAVE THE POPE...':AN INTERVIEW WITH RABBI JACOB NEUSNER
There is no difference between the historical Jesus and the Christ of the faith, says the rabbi made world-famous by Benedict's citations in JESUS OF NAZARETH
By ROBERT PERSICO

'Celebrity' came with the Pope's book. But for a long time, Jacob Neusner has been an undisputed authority in his field. Born in Connecticut in 1932, a Harvard graduate ordained a rabbi and specialist in Hebrew literature with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, he also has a doctorate from Columbia University, and with more than 950 books written, he is the most published humanist scholar in the world.

To have an idea of his authority, he is also the editor of the Jewish Encyclopedia and in charge of Judaism for Encyclopedia Brittanica. he is a member of several prestigious academies from Princeton to Cambridge, recipient of numerous honorary doctorates, father of four and grandfather to nine.

A Rabbi Speaks to Jesus - the book that Pope Benedict cites amply in JESUS OF NAZARETH - has been re-published in Italy. It allows the reader to meet a man who has a concept of faith as uncommon as his views on inter-religious dialog and the historicity of Jesus.

"Why did I write the book?" he answers to a question. "Because I like Christians, I respect Christianity, and I want to take seriously the faith of people I respect. My professional life as a scholar of Judaism, within the academic world of the study of religions, developed because Catholics and Protestants wanted Judaism taught in universities. "My dream of studying Judaism in depth was realized in response to my teachers and then my colleagues, who saw that the things I respected and wrote about should be disseminated in public teachings. "

That is the spirit in which I conceived the book on Jesus: to give back something. Christianity - Catholic as well as Protestant - has distinguished many persons in my life whose religious convictions have impelled them not just to respect my religion but to want to know about it. The only way to reciprocate was to show a reasoned interest in Christianity and attempt to discuss that with them." The result is an extraordinary book, in which Neusner, sweeping away all the sophisms that would make Jesus a nebulous or mythical figure, leads the reader to a flesh-and-blood Jesus, infinitely more real than that evoked in numberless Catholic preachings, and makes the reader participate in a dialog that has all the concreteness and immediacy of what took place on a hilltop by the lake of Galilee two thousand years ago.

Professor, what do you think of the reading Benedict XVI made of your book?

He has a very sharp mind and he grasped perfectly the essence of what I intended to say, and answered in the clearest manner. His response grasps the heart of the question and shows perfect understanding of the ideas I put into play in my book.

Your book makes it clear that Jesus cannot be dismissed as merely another prophet among many - that he claims to be God, and that he is either that which he claims to be, or he is nothing at all.
The Gospel narratives are clearly an account of the teachings of Jesus, on the basis of which a religious dialog can develop.

I do not see a difference between the historical Jesus and the Christ of the faith. One of the key points in my interpretation is that statements such as "The Son of Man is the lord of the Sabbath" and similar statements present the historical Jesus as the Christ of the faith. Therefore, the Gospels propose an authentic presentation of the Christian faith. The question that I have concerns the Torah, and it is whether Jesus taught the Torah of Moses as he said he did. The religious dialog [between Christians and Jews] starts from the premise that both sides are subject to the commandments from Mt. Sinai. When Jesus says that he did not come to destroy the Torah but to fulfill it, then he makes us refer back his Sermon on the Mount to the Torah.

One of the most interesting statements you make is that "A well-argued discussion is considered in the Torah to be the best way to address God. In my religion, discussion represents an aspect of liturgy just as much as prayer. It is not only a gesture of esteem and respect for the other, but it is also an offering of the intellect on the altar of the Torah." That's an idea that is very far from the diluted idea of dialog that is current today.

Yes. The Holy Father and I agree on the point that the aim [of dialog] is the truth, and that the worship we render to God is an affirmation of truth. I think that if we each took our respective religions seriously, then we are obliged to compare their respective claims to truth. Religions do not negotiate the truth. They teach absolute truth. We should have the same concept of truth, otherwise there an be no true dialog. We do not need to negotiate what I believe and what you believe.

So Jews have the task of teaching the world the value of discussion?

Yes. We Jews have made criticism a way of life. We are few in number but we stay faithful to the truth that God revealed on Sinai.

Do you think that this type of dialog would be possible even with Islam?

It is difficult to say, because Islam is such a complex world [Persico's note: In the book, Neusner writes, "I cannot imagine that a Jew who grows up in a Muslim country could write a book like this about Mohammed (and survive much longer after he publishes it!)"] In fact, it is difficult to say what one means by Islam, and they halve no authority analogous to what Christians have in the Pope. It is easy to dialog with Christians through the Pope, because Christianity has clear statements about its faith, whereas there are too many Islams. It's the same thing with Judaism- it doesn't have a Pope, there is no authority analogous to the Pope.

Christianity is fortunate to have a Pope, because of the clarity that a Pope allows it to have. How is it possible that between two friends, one can say Yes to Christ [and his claim to being God] while the other says No, and still remain friends? What they share is the truth of religion, and that is a solid basis for human relationships. Faith is a perpetual challenge. Mother Teresa recently reminded us of the doubts that obscure the dark night of the soul. We are comforted by the faith of others, because what we share is the quest for God in the world, and every religion has something to teach about the life of the spirit.