Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus [Paperback]

Harvey Falk (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers (August 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592443133
• ISBN-13: 978-1592443130
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > History of Religion

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45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Was Jesus an observant Jew?, February 17, 2004

By 

Karen Vaughan "Herblady" (Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus (Paperback)

Harvey Falk, a rabbinic writer believes that Jesus can only be understood as an observant Jew who upheld most of the doctrine of the School of Hillel against the School of Shammai (although he broke with Hillel on the subject of divorce.) He sees Jesus as on a mission to encourage the gentiles to follow the Noahide laws (the seven commandments given to Noah which all righteous gentiles must follow according to Judiasm in order to achieve salvation.) He sees many condemnations of the Pharisees in the Christian Gospels as reflecting the often quite contentious disputes between the two schools.

Falk's style of writing is more likely to be familiar to Jews who have learned Talmudic defenses of halacha than to Christains. Falk goes both forward and back in rabbinic history to justify actions of Jesus. The book is extensively footnoted with reference to rabbinic texts.

Although I believe that Falk stretches things at times to indicate that Jesus and his followers always followed Jewish law (picking grain from the field on the Sabbath probably was not to forestall starvation,) he makes an excellent case that Jesus was primarily observant. (Although Christians often believe that healing the sick by prayer on the Sabbath was forbidden (Matthew 12:9-14), it was not explicitly forbidden by Jewish law and the text probably refers to a dispute between the schools of Hillel and Shammai on how high the "wall" should be around the laws of keeping the Sabbath.)

The book presents a vivid picture of the first century and its theological disputes. Falk looks at scriptures of Judiasm, Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls to convey the contemporary contraversies of that time.

I highly recommend this book both to Christians who want to understand the Jewish roots of Christianity and elucidate heretofore obscure sections of the Gospels, as well as to Jews who want to understand a first century rabbi whose teachings have largely been excluded from Jewish studies. Note that Falk is NOT a messainic Jew and believes in a dual covenant theory of salvation. His book was done primarily to foster understanding and dialogue between the two religions.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read with some caveats..., July 26, 2004

By 

F. Prado "curlytaz" (California, USA.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus (Paperback)

I gave this book a high rating because it is a remarkable attempt to bridge the gap between Judaism and Christianity, and since it comes from the perspective of an orthodox Rabbi, the attempt is that much more welcome and appreciated. However, there is a big misgiving in the overall premise of the book: that Jesus was a good observant Jew who always meant to establish a separate religion for the gentiles.

It is not true that the historical Jesus went out on a mission specially addressed to gentiles. The mayority of scholars today who study Christian as well as Jewish texts, agree that Jesus was indeed an observant Jew who loved the Torah and the traditions of his people, the Jews, and he was most concerned with the preservation and practice of Judaism under the difficult circumstances of Roman oppression. His most public and well known act, overturning the tables of the moneychangers, happened right in the Holy Temple courts, and he is referred to in the Gospels as constantly engaging in discussions with other Jews, such as the Pharisees and the Sadducees, about interpretation of the Jewish Law. He is never quoted as talking to Romans and Philistines or other gentiles about the importance of following the Noachide Commandments.

The Jesus Seminar, the discussion group made of scholars from various Christian denominations, has published extensively on the Jewishness of Jesus. Prof. Bartchy at UCLA is one non-denominational historian who discusses the Jewishness of Jesus and how what we know of the scope of Jesus' public life was always centered around Judaism and interpretation of the Law among his fellow Jews.

Perhaps understanding Jesus's life as something that was always (i.e: in God's plan) exclusively meant for gentiles was the only way Falk, being an orthodox Jew, could bring himself to study and write about Jesus. If that is the case, his thesis served a good purpose even if it is flawed.

Still, even with flaws in its main argument this book is a good read. Besides the author's good intentions to bring understanding of Christianity to Jews and understanding of Judaism to Christians, the other great reason to read this book is Falk's discussion about the disagreements between the rabbinic schools of Hillel and Shamai during the first century CE. These disagreements between Hillel and Shamai help explain some of the criticisms Jesus addresses to fellow Jews in the Gospels. After reading Falk's book, I agree with him that the criticisms of Judaism attributed to Jesus in the Gospels reflect Jesus' agreement with the ideology of the school of Hillel and his disagreement with the school of Shamai. Anyone who studies Judaism knows that disagreements about interpretation of the Law is commonplace among rabbis and lay Jews alike. Therefore, that Jesus would engage in such interpretation arguments with fellow Jews is not at all unexpected or out of line, but rather completely normal for a Torah Jew.

In that sense, Rabbi Falk successfully drives home two very important historical facts Christians would benefit from fully understanding: 1) Jesus was a practicing Jew who did not endorse any kind of radically new religion but rather endorsed the Jewish ideology of Rabbi Hillel's School (ideology which is unanimously agreed upon by Judaism today). 2) Jews do not need to be converted to Christianity to obtain salvation, rather Judaism and Christianity are like siblings that come from the same source even if they grew up over the past 2000 years to be quite different from each other.

As Falk beautifully put it in the last chapter of his book: "In the name of Heaven we are your brothers. One God created us all...It is my fervent hope that these writings will make a contribution toward bringing all men and women who seek God and the brotherhood of humanity into a closer bond of fellowship."

I strongly agree with Falk on this. It is time to stop the sibling rivalry between the two religions. There is plenty of room in the world for both, as long as we respect each other's space.


Finally, as recommendation for further reading, Bruce Chilton, a Christian scholar at Bard College, wrote a book titled Rabbi Jesus that paints a fairly plausible picture of Jesus' life in the first century CE, and he also presents Jesus as primarily involved with his fellow Jews and not the gentiles.
I recommend reading Chilton's book before you read Falk's, since it is more current, straightforward and it will painlessly place you in the historical and social context of the First Century CE. (However, I believe Chilton's narrative needs to be taken in with a grain of salt since it reads more like a novel than a historical account. Still, Chilton does a good job of letting the reader know when he is letting his imagination go.)

I also recommend the works of E. P. Sanders.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different take on Jesus, September 9, 2009

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Migzilla "TMM" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus (Paperback)

I've read quite a few books on the subject of Jesus. However, this is the only one I've read that was written by an actual Orthodox Jew (not a former one). Not only was it written by an Orthodox Jew, but by one who views Jesus in a favorable light. I personally think any serious Bible student (Christian or Jewish) should read this.

I don't think I've read any other book that gives such a fair (IMO) examination of this topic. No, the author doesn't believe Jesus is god or the son of god, as most Christian authors would seem to portray him. But he also doesn't view Jesus as one who led people astray, as many other Jewish authors would seem to portray him.

I grew up in the church and never really even considered the fact that Jesus was Jewish (though it's pretty obvious). Even less did I ever imagine he may have been a Pharisee!

I hope to read more books like this down the road.