It’s very common for Jewish educators like me to be asked why Jews don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah.  The short answer is that Jewish views of the Messiah are not the same as Christian ones.  Nothing about what is written in the Christian   bible about Jesus comports with Jewish theology.  This class is for those – Jews, Christian, or others – who want to understand the Jewish views of the Messiah.

Jews throughout the ages have longed for Mashiach – the Messiah.  As with most concepts in Judaism, there are and have been many different takes on the Messiah and the Messianic Age to come.  From biblical times until the present, a variety of ideas around the Messianic concept have flourished in Judaism.

This course offers differing views of and commentary on the Messiah and the Messianic Age, both historical and contemporary.  We’ll look at the lives of some of the better-known false messiahs and consider why and how they developed followers and what happened to both the false messiahs themselves and to their followers.  We’ll focus on Shabbatai Tzvi and consider what lessons his story has for contemporary society.  

We’ll discuss what the concept of the Messiah does for Jewry as a whole and for individual Jews.  We’ll explore how the concept of a Messianic Age affects Jewish ritual and thought over the ages.  We’ll investigate why so-called “Messianic Judaism” – a project of the Southern Baptist convention intended to convert Jews to Christianity – has never been accepted as a branch of Judaism.  We’ll discuss what a Jewish view of the Messiah is, was, and can be,    using Jewish text and practice as our guide.

No previous knowledge of Jewish text, theology, or practice is required for this class.  I do ask that those wishing to proselytize find other venues to do so.