To: alan w who wrote (37457 ) 6/2/2004 11:31:27 AM From: Emile Vidrine Respond to of 39621 JESUS CHRIST IN THE TALMUD Many passages in the Talmudic books treat of the birth, life, death, and teachings of Jesus Christ. He is not always referred to by the same name, however, but is diversely called "That Man," "A Certain One," "The Carpenter's Son," "The One Who Was Hanged," etc. Article I. - Concerning the Names of Jesus Christ 1. The real name of Christ in Hebrew is Jeschua Hanotsri - Jesus the Nazarene. He is called Notsri from the city of Nazareth in which he was brought up. Thus in the Talmud Christians also are called Notsrim - Nazarenes. Since the word Jeschua means "Savior," the name Jesus rarely occurs in the Jewish books. It is almost always abbreviated to Jeschu, which is maliciously taken as if it were composed of the initial letters of the three words Immach Schemo Vezikro - "May his name and memory be blotted out." 2. In the Talmud Christ is called Otho Isch - "That man," i.e. the one who is known to all. In the tract Abhodah Zarah, 6a, we read: "He is called a Christian who follows the false teachings of that man, who taught them to celebrate the feast on the first day of the Sabbath, that is, to worship on the first day after the Sabbath" 3. Elsewhere he is simply called Peloni - "A Certain One." In Chagigah, 4b, we read: "Mary...the mother of a certain one, of whom it is related in Schabbath..." (104b) That this Mary is none other than the mother of Jesus will be shown later. 4. Out of contempt, Jesus is also called Naggar bar naggar - "the carpenter son of a carpenter", also Ben charsch etaim - "the son of a wood worker." 5. He is also called Talui - "The one who was hanged." Rabbi Samuel, the son of Mair, in the Hilch. Akum of Maimonides, refers to the fact that it was forbidden to take part in the Christian feats of Christmas and Easter because they were celebrated on account of him who was hanged. And Rabbi Aben Ezra, in a commentary on Genes. also calls him Talui, whose image the Emperor Constantine reproduced on his banner. "...in the days of Constantine, who made a change of religion and placed the figure of the one who was hanged on his banner."