71.  DIDN'T YESHUA TELL HIS TALMIDIM TO GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL 'THE NATIONS'? DOESN'T THIS JUST REFER TO THE GOYIM, AND NOT TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL?

     The talmidim are told to go and make disciples of 'pante ta ethne' ('all nations'). In the Greek Septuagint these are the same words used in Gen. 22:18 when Abraham is informed that through his offspring 'pante ta ethne' ('all nations') will be blessed.   This may be a general theme of Matthew, for example, who begins his gospel by identifying Yeshua as both the son of David AND the son of Abraham (through whose offspring all nations would be blessed); and then ends it with a command to go and preach to those very same nations.  (The phrase 'all nations' would not yet have meant, in Abraham's day, 'the gentiles', because as yet there WERE no gentiles;  Jacob had not been born yet.)

     Jeremiah records, 'Thus says the L-rd, Write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.' (Jer. 22:30)

     This curse appears to state three things: first, that Jehoiachin will be childless; second, that he will not prosper; and third, that his offspring will not prosper (or even succeed to ) the throne of David.
     However, examination will show that  all these curses were lifted. First,  Jehoiachin was not childless.  He had many children ( I Chronicles 3:17-18.)  Second, he did later propser:

     'In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach (or Amel Marduk) became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin from prison on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month.  He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king's table. ' (II Kings 25:27-29)

    And it appears that the third curse, that no descendant would sit on the throne of Judah, was also lifted.  The Yalkut says, '. . . Rabbai Shabatai said that (Jehoiachin) did not leave prison until he repented fully and G-d forgave his sins and . . . his wife became with child, as it is written, 'Shealtiel his son, Asir his son'.'

     Shealtiel means, 'I asked of G-d', and 'Asir' means 'prisoner'. So it would seem that the Yalkut is saying that  Jehoiachin asked for and received forgiveness, which was indicated by both his release from prison and by the birth of his sons.
     When the exiles returned from Babylon, they chose Zerubabel  as their prince. Since Zerubabel was a descendant of Jehoiachin, evidently the exiles did not think that the curse against Jehoiachin was still in effect. Further, Zerubabel is also much praised in scripture (for example, see Zechariah, chp. 4) and he figures in  much later Jewish literature about the messiah, both as a forerunner and an ancestor. For example:

     '(In the messianic reign) Elijah and Zerubabel will come and explain and interpret all the secrets of Torah and everything that was twisted or distorted.' (Halakhot Gedalot)

     'And from whom will he (messiah) issue?  From Zerubabel. . . ' (Mid. Tanhuma)

(And see also Sefer Zerubabel, Beit HaMidrash; etc.)

     In Sanhedrin 107b (Bavli) it says, 'Our rabbis teach, always let the left hand repel and the right hand invite, not like . . . R. Yehoshua ben Perahyah, who repelled Yeshu the Nazarene with both hands. . . When Yannai the king killed our rabbis, R. Yehoshua fled to Alexandria of Egypt.'  Then, according to the account,  R. Yehoshua excommunicated Yeshua for making a lewd comment about a woman. 'Many times he (Yeshua) came before him (R. Yehoshua) and said to him, 'Receive me back.' But he he would not take notice of him.' Later, when R. Yehoshua was reciting the Shema, Yeshua came before him once again. This time R. Yehoshua intended to take him back, and motioned to him. But Yeshua thought that he was being dismissed, or repelled again. So--according to the story--Yeshua then departed and hung up a tile and worshipped it. R. Yehoshua then tried once again to get Yeshua to return, but Yeshua only answered him, 'This I have gotten from you, that those who sin and cause many others to sin, they do not give a chance to repent.'  (This story occurs in almost the same form in Sota 47a. Some details of the story are also found in Hag. 2.2 (Yerushalmi) and San. 6.9 (Yerushalmi), though in the Sanhedrin portion the name of the Rabbi involved is not Yehoshua ben Perahyah but Yehudah ben Tabbai.)
     Alexander Yannai, the Hasmonean king, ruled about 104-78 B.C.E. After crushing a rebellion, in which the Pharisee party had played a major role, he executed over 800 of them by crucifixion, sending thousands more fleeing into exile in Egypt.  However, it is clear that Yeshua was not one of them, since he was executed under the Roman government nearly a century after Alexander died. It is possible that the fact that Yeshua was taken to Egypt as a child in flight from Herod may have led to the confusion and the erroneous reference in the Talmud.

     There are many references which seem to make Yeshua into a contemporary of R. Akiva. In the tractate Kallah (18) there is the story of a boy who does not cover his head. Akiva asserts that this child must be a bastard. He proves this by finding the boy's mother; he then lies to her and promises--a promise he intends all the while to break--that he will lead her to the life to come if she will answer his question. Thus assured, the woman confesses that her child is indeed a bastard and the child of her uncleanliness.  The name of the child is not mentioned, but from Toledoth Yeshu and other works it is clear that Yeshua is the one in mind. The names of Yeshua and Miryam have possibly been removed through fear of censorship. (For a more lengthy analysis of this story, see Gustaf Dalman, 'Jesus Christ in Talmud, Midrash, Zohar, and the Liturgy of the Synagogue', pp.33-37)
     Shabbat 104b says '. . . Did not Ben Stada bring spells from Egypt in a cut which was upon his flesh? They said to him, 'He was a fool, and they do not bring proof from a fool.' Ben Stada is Ben Pandera. Rab Hisda said, 'The husband was Stada, the lover was Pandera'. The husband was Paphos ben Yehudah, the mother was Stada. . . as we say  . . . she was unfaithful to her husband.'
     Ben Stada and Ben Pandera are both names commonly used to refer to Yeshua. Paphos ben Yehudah was a contemporary and friend of R. Akiva. He was noted as being so jealous of his wife that he would lock her up in the house before he went out. (Gitt. 90a). So again, there is here an association between stories about Yeshua and the period of R. Akiva.
     The Talmud also asserts that Yeshua was executed in Lud (Lydda). Lud was a center for R. Akiva and his contemporaries (ie,  R. Tarphon and R. Eleazar, for instance). 'And thus they did to Ben Stada in Lud, and they hung him on the eve of Pesach.' (San. 67a) (See also San. 43a, 'And it is tradition: on the eve of Pesach they hung Yeshu the Nazarene.')
     R. Akiva was a supporter of Bar Kochba, and Bar Kochba was noted for his persecution of the followers of Yeshua. ('In the recently ended Jewish war, Bar Kochba, the instigator of the revolt, caused only Christians to be dragged to terrible tortures whenever they would not deny and revile Yeshua the Messiah.' Justin, Apologia, I. Chap. 31)  So, in later centuries it would not be surprising to find that Akiva, a supporter of the ardent persecutor of Nazarenes, and possibly with the reputation as such a persecutor himself,  and Yeshua would be paired together in stories.
     But Yeshua was not crucified in Lydda; and he died  a century before the time of Bar Kochba.

     Shabbat 104b  refers to her as Miryam the women's hairdresser. Hag. 4b also refers to Miryam the hairdresser; and the Tosefta expands on this passage, 'The Angel of Death was with him: he told what had already happened, for this about Miryam the hairdresser took place in the time of the Second Temple, for she was the mother of a 'certain person' (a usual way of refering to Yeshua without having to mention his name), as it is said in Shabbat 104b.'
     This confusion about Miryam being a hairdresser probably is the result of the fact that there are two Miryams prominently mentioned in the New Testament. One is the mother of Yeshua. The other is called Miryam of Magdala, or Miryam Magdalene. The  Talmud speaks of  'Miryam m'gaddela nashaia'  (the 'women's hairdresser'); since the writers are unfamiliar with the text of the New Testament, they derive from 'Magdala' the idea of the hairdresser and confuse the two Miryams.

     The Talmud, when it does not often refer to Yeshua as being 'the Nazarene', sometimes calls him either Ben Stada or Ben Pandera. Shabbat 104b contains a discussion of which of these names is to be used. Roughly paraphrased, the portion reads, 'He was not the son of Stada, but he was the son of Pandera. Rab Chisda said, 'The husband of (Yeshua's) mother was Stada, but her lover was Pandera.' Another said, 'Her husband was surely Paphos ben Yehuda; on the contrary Stada was his mother or, according to others, his mother was Miryam, the women's hairdresser. The rejoinder is, 'Quite so, but Stada is her nickname, as it is said in (the Babylonian Academy) at Pumbeditha, 'Stath da' (she proved faithless) to her husband.'
     R. Chisda died about 309 C.E. and was the head of the Sura Academy for about ten years.  When the question of which name is proper (ie, Ben Stada or Pandera) comes up, he answers that both are possible. Since he was illegitimate, Chisda points out that he might have the names of both his legal father, and his actual father, and he gives his opinion that Stada was the legal husband, but Pandera was the name of the lover. Then a different tradition is quoted, namely, that the husband was Paphos ben Yehudah. By this tradition Stada is not a man's name at all, but refers instead to the mother. This still grants the possibility that Pandera is the lover. Then an assertion is made that Miryam the hairdresser is the mother. To which the reply is, yes, but she has the nickname Stada, because she was unfaithful.
     Ben Stada, of course, is mentioned in Sanhedrin 67a: 'And thus they did to Ben Stada in Lud, and they hanged him on the eve of Pesach.' The same tractate, Sanehdrin 43a, says, 'And it is tradition: on the eve of Pesach they hung Yeshu the Nazarene.'
     On the other hand, in the Tosefta Hullin II, 22,23, there is a discussion of the case of R. Eleazar ben Dama, who was bit by a serpent, and who wanted to be healed in the name of Yeshu ben Pandera. (See also Avodah Zarah 40d, 41a)  Likewise, in the Tosefta Hullin II,24, there is the story of R. Eleazar, who once heard some words from a disciple of Yeshu ben Pandera which pleased him.
    Thus, Yeshua was called variously  both Ben Stada and Ben Pandera ('Ben Stada is Ben Pandera'; Shabbat 104b); but the times and events of his life are only remembered in a confused fashion, since the information of the sages was not accurate on these points. (And it is interesting to note that the greatest stumbling block for those who would assert that the Talmud is itself an inerrant document turns out to be nothing  other than its own attempts to denigrate Yeshua of Nazareth.)  (For fuller discussions of these points, see Dalman, as above, and R. Travers Herford, 'Christianity in Talmud and Midrash'.)

     The Essenes, who believed they found the true meaning of scripture by applying its fulfillment to events of their current day, frequently paraphrased the Psalms, especially Psalms 22 and 69, in their Thanksgiving Hymns. The Hymns are currently thought by most scholars to refer to the sufferings of the founder of their sect.
     Somewhat later, other Jewish literature, such as Pesikta Rabbati, refers to Psalm 22 in its descriptions of the sufferings of the messiah:

     'Even though we are your fathers, you are greater than we are, because you suffered on account of the sins of our children, and cruel punishments have come upon you. . . and you sat in darkness and your eyes beheld no light, and your skin cleaved to your bones, and your body dried out like wood, and your eyes grew weak from fasting, and your strength became like a potsheard. All this because of the sins of our children.'

     Portions of many other Psalms are also referenced to the messiah in Jewish writings. For example, Psalms 2, 16, 118, 19, 21, 22, 31, 45, 50. 60, 61, 68, 72,  80, 90, 92, 95, 102, 116, 119, 120, 121, 126, and 133  contain verses which are cited in discussions of the messiah. (For a fuller discussion, see Edersheim, 'Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah', appendix IX).

     Referring to Psalm 2:1 ('The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the L-rd, and against His messiah')
Edersheim also notes:

     'In the Yalkut (vol. II par. 620, p. 90a line 12 from the bottom) we have the following remarkable simile on the words, 'against the L-rd and His messiah', likening them to a robber who stands defiantly behind the palace of the king, and says, If I shall find the son of the king, I shall lay hold on him, and crucify him, and kill him with a cruel death--But the Holy Spirit mocks at him, 'He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh'. (Ps. 2:4)

    He also notes a Midrash on Psalm 2, in which each of the enemies of G-d and His plans  tries to be smarter than the ones who preceeded him. Thus, Cain killed his brother but neglected to kill his father,  permitting the birth of more children. Esau planned to wait until after his father's death; Pharaoh outdid Esau by planning to kill all the male children, but he neglected the daughters; while Haman intended to outdo Pharaoh by killing all of the people; and finally, Gog and Magog would intend first to kill the Patron of Israel, leaving them free to kill the rest later--in other  words, to proceed  'against the L-rd and His messiah'.

     The rabbis have taught: 'The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to Messiah ben David--may he be revealed speedily and in our day--'Ask of Me anything, and I will give it to you, as it is written, 'The L-rd said to me, You are My son, this day I have begotten you, ask of Me anything and I will give you the nations for your inheritance.' (Ps. 2:7,8)  (Suk. 52a)
 

And so on. Thus, seeing in the Psalms references to the future messiah is a tradional Jewish method of interpretation.

     Rav said, 'If he (messiah) is among those who are living now, then he is like our holy master (Yehuda the Prince); and if he is among those who have died, then he is like Daniel the well-loved.  (San. 98b)

     The rabbis said,'King Messiah, if he is among the living, David is his name; and if he is among those who have died, David is his name. . . ' (Ber. 5a, Yerushalmi)

     'Why will permission be given to Armilus (ie, the devil) to kill Messiah ben Yusef?  So that those of Isreal who have no faith may have their hearts broken, and so that they will say, 'This is the man for whom we were hoping; now he has come and been killed, and there is no redemption left for us  . . .'
     'When Messiah ben Yusef is killed, for forty days his corpse will be left (in the streets), but nothing unclean will touch him, until Messiah ben David will come and restore him to life, as the L-rd commands.'
                                                     (Responsum of the Hai Gaon)

      In Zechariah 12:10 the people look on one whom they have pierced, and mourn for him. Evidently they must have seen him before, in order for them to recognize him.

       Thus the idea that a messiah may be resurrected from the dead is not excluded in Judaism.

       No, merely that certain interpretations were so obvious that they couldn't be missed; or else that they were the traditional interpretations, and as such, were used by both the rabbinic Jews and the followers of Yeshua. Only later were these interpretations pushed out of sight  by the rabbis, because they were 'embarrassed' that they existed. But by doing this, they, themselves, moved  farther away from (and in a sense were rejecting part of) traditional Judaism

     The Talmud has never denied that Yeshua performed miracles. Therefore, it has to decide whether these miracles are performed by the power of the Almighty, or by the power of the devil. In answer to this, though, Yeshua answered simply that if the devil is doing miracles which bring praise to the G-d of Israel, then he is fighting against himself.  It is said frequently that  the works which Yeshua did caused all the people to 'glorfiy the G-d of Israel':  (Mat. 9:8; 15:31, Mark 2:12; Luke 5:26; 17:15; 23:47)  Thus, Yeshua's miracles have to come through the power of the Almighty.