***This thread is for Jews and Noahides only. Please do not reply if neither of those terms describe you***
I was listening to a class today about the well-known story of Yehoshua ben Perachia and That Other Guy (aka Oto Ha'ish, aka Yeshu, aka Jesus, etc) from Sanhedrin 107b.
For those who don't know, here's the English translation:
The main thing that caught my eye today was the last bit in which Jesus explains why he refuses to repent after leading Israel astray - "Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then said to Jesus: Repent. Jesus said to him: This is the tradition that I received from you: Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent."
It got me thinking that perhaps the Talmud is presenting a hidden rebuke not just at Jesus and Christianity, but also at Yehoshua ben Perachia, the rabbi, in that first - his seemingly exaggerated response to what Jesus said at the inn - and secondly, his harsh unwillingness to accept Jesus's repentance - together, these two acts by Yehoshua ben Perachia indirectly brought upon the rise of Christianity. After all, there are so many places in which the Torah and the Talmud talk about the importance of Teshuva, and how a person can (generally) always do Teshuva, in particular when the case isn't one of "the big three" (idolatry, immorality and murder), but even in the case of the bigger sins, Teshuva is possible.
Yet what we see in the Talmud is Yehoshua ben Perachia unwilling to accept his student's attempt at repentance, no matter what - which seems to me a hint from the Talmud that Yehoshua ben Perachia himself sinned by this unwillingness. And because of that - caused Jesus to go and sin - thus completing the quote "Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent." - Rabbi Yehoshua sinned in a way, causing Jesus to sin, causing many others to sin (through Christianity), and because of that - was not given the opportunity to undo his mistake - i.e. Jesus continued to go astray. And Yehoshua ben Perachia was the person who taught Jesus this exact teaching! It seems ironic.
I hope my line of thought makes sense.
Thoughts? Thoughts about the story in general?
I was listening to a class today about the well-known story of Yehoshua ben Perachia and That Other Guy (aka Oto Ha'ish, aka Yeshu, aka Jesus, etc) from Sanhedrin 107b.
For those who don't know, here's the English translation:
What is the incident involving Yehoshua ben Peraḥya? The Gemara relates: When King Yannai was killing the Sages, Yehoshua ben Peraḥya and Jesus, his student, went to Alexandria of Egypt. When there was peace between King Yannai and the Sages, Shimon ben Shataḥ sent a message to Yehoshua ben Peraḥya: From me, Jerusalem, the holy city, to you, Alexandria of Egypt: My sister, my husband is located among you and I sit desolate. The head of the Sages of Israel is out of the country and Jerusalem requires his return.
Yehoshua ben Peraḥya understood the message, arose, came, and happened to arrive at a certain inn on the way to Jerusalem. They treated him with great honor. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said: How beautiful is this inn. Jesus, his student, said to him: But my teacher, the eyes of the innkeeper’s wife are narrow [terutot]. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said to him: Wicked one! Do you involve yourself with regard to that matter, the appearance of a married woman? He produced four hundred shofarot and ostracized him.
Jesus came before Yehoshua ben Peraḥya several times and said to him: Accept our, i.e., my, repentance. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya took no notice of him. One day Yehoshua ben Peraḥya was reciting Shema and Jesus came before him with the same request. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya intended to accept his request, and signaled him with his hand to wait until he completed his prayer. Jesus did not understand the signal and thought: He is driving me away. He went and stood a brick upright to serve as an idol and he bowed to it. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then said to Jesus: Repent. Jesus said to him: This is the tradition that I received from you: Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. And the Master says: Jesus performed sorcery, incited Jews to engage in idolatry, and led Israel astray.
Yehoshua ben Peraḥya understood the message, arose, came, and happened to arrive at a certain inn on the way to Jerusalem. They treated him with great honor. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said: How beautiful is this inn. Jesus, his student, said to him: But my teacher, the eyes of the innkeeper’s wife are narrow [terutot]. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said to him: Wicked one! Do you involve yourself with regard to that matter, the appearance of a married woman? He produced four hundred shofarot and ostracized him.
Jesus came before Yehoshua ben Peraḥya several times and said to him: Accept our, i.e., my, repentance. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya took no notice of him. One day Yehoshua ben Peraḥya was reciting Shema and Jesus came before him with the same request. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya intended to accept his request, and signaled him with his hand to wait until he completed his prayer. Jesus did not understand the signal and thought: He is driving me away. He went and stood a brick upright to serve as an idol and he bowed to it. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then said to Jesus: Repent. Jesus said to him: This is the tradition that I received from you: Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. And the Master says: Jesus performed sorcery, incited Jews to engage in idolatry, and led Israel astray.
The main thing that caught my eye today was the last bit in which Jesus explains why he refuses to repent after leading Israel astray - "Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then said to Jesus: Repent. Jesus said to him: This is the tradition that I received from you: Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent."
It got me thinking that perhaps the Talmud is presenting a hidden rebuke not just at Jesus and Christianity, but also at Yehoshua ben Perachia, the rabbi, in that first - his seemingly exaggerated response to what Jesus said at the inn - and secondly, his harsh unwillingness to accept Jesus's repentance - together, these two acts by Yehoshua ben Perachia indirectly brought upon the rise of Christianity. After all, there are so many places in which the Torah and the Talmud talk about the importance of Teshuva, and how a person can (generally) always do Teshuva, in particular when the case isn't one of "the big three" (idolatry, immorality and murder), but even in the case of the bigger sins, Teshuva is possible.
Yet what we see in the Talmud is Yehoshua ben Perachia unwilling to accept his student's attempt at repentance, no matter what - which seems to me a hint from the Talmud that Yehoshua ben Perachia himself sinned by this unwillingness. And because of that - caused Jesus to go and sin - thus completing the quote "Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent." - Rabbi Yehoshua sinned in a way, causing Jesus to sin, causing many others to sin (through Christianity), and because of that - was not given the opportunity to undo his mistake - i.e. Jesus continued to go astray. And Yehoshua ben Perachia was the person who taught Jesus this exact teaching! It seems ironic.
I hope my line of thought makes sense.
Thoughts? Thoughts about the story in general?
