Question
Hi!
I have a question concerning whether Jesus who we revere as Christians has any place in Jewish history. Because from what I can understand when I listen to people like Tovia Singer, he and people like him seem to doubt the historical existence of Jesus and also the historical existence of Jesus in Jewish history. What is the mainstream opinion of Orthodox Jews on this matter.
Shalom and love from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Answer
Mainstream orthodoxy relates to Yeshu as a rabbinical student who left the path. Because of widespread Christian censorship of our Talmud regarding anything having to do with the topic (one of the least of the atrocities done by the Christians to the Jews over the centuries), it is very difficult to ascertain which of the passages there is referring to the Yeshu in question, and that may be what you have heard. All I can clearly say is that according to the story Christians recount about his birth, when a betrothed woman is impregnated but admittedly, not by her husband, the child has the very problematic and tainted halachic status of “mamzer” and would not be allowed, for example, to marry a regular Jewess.
