Meet the Rabbis: Rabbinic Thought and the Teachings of Jesus [Paperback]

Brad H. Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2007

Meet the Rabbis explains to the reader how rabbinic thought was relevant to Jesus and the New Testament world, and hence should be relevant to those people today who read the New Testament.

In this sense, Rabbinic thought is relevant to every aspect of modern life. Rabbinic literature explores the meaning of living life to its fullest, in right relationship with God and humanity. However, many Christians are not aware of Rabbinic thought and literature. Indeed, most individuals in the Western world today, regardless of whether they are Christians, atheists, agnostics, secular community leaders, or some other religious and political persuasions, are more knowledgeable of Jesus’ ethical teachings in the Sermon the Mount than the Ethics of the Fathers in a Jewish prayer book. The author seeks to introduce the reader to the world of Torah learning. It is within this world that the authentic cultural background of Jesus’ teachings in ancient Judaism is revealed. Young uses parts of the New Testament, especially the Sermon on the Mount, as a springboard for probing rabbinic method. The book is an introduction to rabbinic thought and literature and has three main sections in its layout: Introduction to Rabbinic Thought, Introduction to Rabbinic Literature, and Meet the Rabbis, a biographical description of influential Rabbis from Talmudic sources.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brad H. Young is a faculty member of the Graduate School of Theology and Missions at Oral Roberts University, serving as Associate Professor of Biblical Literature, as well as the founder and President of the Gospel Research Foundation, Inc. Dr. Young earned two degrees, an MA and PhD from the Hebrew University and is one of the founding scholars of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Studies. He has contributed to scholarly journals and spoken at many academic, church, interfaith and civic gatherings. He regularly teaches classes on the parables of Jesus, the Jewish background to the Gospels, Rabbinic literature, and Paul the Jewish apostle to the Gentiles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers (June 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565634055
• ISBN-13: 978-1565634053
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #723,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What DO they teach in seminary?, July 3, 2007

By 

Jay A. Haron "jamuljay" (Jamul, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Meet the Rabbis: Rabbinic Thought and the Teachings of Jesus (Paperback)

Early in my exploration of Christianity (at age 40) it became apparent that most clergy are clueless about the relationship Jesus had with the Pharisees. Despite what Josephus wrote, Pharisees were always portrayed as one - dimensional Neanderthals. Gamliel's thoughtful words in Acts of the Apostles were seldom even mentioned. This was true for all of the hundreds of sermons I have heard live, on the radio, and over the Internet.

Prof. Young has been one of the voices calling out in the wilderness. I discovered his books in my mid-40s and then began to read other scholarly writers that he cited. I was trying to understand why G-d chose that particular time in history to send the Messiah. To understand the era, I revisited the worship of the First Century Church and Synagogues.

I learned that the Amidah was recited during the time of Jesus in the Synagogues and Temple. These prayers are virtually unchanged from when they were written. If Jesus attended group worship once a week from age 13 to 33, He recited the Amida over 1,000 times. Obviously that is a huge underestimate. More important, he did this shoulder - to - shoulder with the Pharisees! My point is, how can people who profess faith in Christ be so ignorant of what Jesus (and Paul) prayed... and with whom?

Now you do not have to! Brad Young has encapsulated my twelve years of part-time research...and a great deal more, into this wonderful book. Being a Hebrew scholar, he translates many great Jewish writings (including the Amida) into English that is precise and very readable. He explains the difference between the Oral Torah (you have heard that...) and the Written Torah (it is written that...) and explains why writings 400 years after the death of Christ still echo with the teachings of the Intertestament Period. Dr. Young also accurately portrays the Rabbis from 100 BCE to 400 AD as some of the religious and intellectual heavyweights of their time.

I would give this book six stars if I could. If you do not know the differences between the beliefs of Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes, I would recommend reading his Jewish Theologian books first. Then be prepared to have all of your preconceived notions about the Pharisees ground into dust.

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great work for understanding history, July 11, 2007

By 

David Holcomb Jr. "dvd holc" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Meet the Rabbis: Rabbinic Thought and the Teachings of Jesus (Paperback)

First, it is important to understand a bit of scholarship that has been published. There has been a lot of scholarship inventing Jesus as being a gentile philosopher. Notably within that movement, the Jesus that is most authentic is the Jesus of the Gnostic (so called) "gospels". However, Brady Young's scholarship has been firmly rooted in a Jewish scholarship which subverts those lies and reinforces Jesus the Jew addressing His contemporary Jewish community.

This book is meant to be an introduction to Jewish religious traditions which are Jesus settings. It is not a comprehensive approach to all the various rabbis, but brief introduction to their views and practices. The book is broken up into three main parts with a fourth that serves as an appendix:

Part I: Introduction to Rabbinic Thought

1. Introduction to Rabbinic Thought

2. Master Teachers and Their Disciples

3. Torah is More Than Law

4. The Great Sanhedrin

5. Parallel Rabbinic and New Testament Texts

Part II: Introduction to Rabbinic Literature

6. Introduction to Early Jewish Writings

7. Ethics of the Fathers

8. The Amidah Prayer

9. Maimonides' Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith

10. Hillel's Seven Principles of Bible Interpretation

Part III: Introduction to the Rabbis

11. Meet the Rabbis

12. Both Torah's Were Revealed on Mount Sinai

13. Utopia or Plan of Action?

Part IV: Study Helps

Of Books, Commandments, Laws, Holy Days, and Lineage

Glossary of Terms

Bibliographic Helps

Index of Modern Authors

Index of Subjects

Index of Ancient Sources

In Part I, Brad Young discusses key Hebrew ideals and Jesus within His contemporary settings. One of the most valuable aspects to Part I is found in Chapter 5 where Jesus teachings are shown nearly identical to other rabbis who came before and after His ministry. Nearly all of Part I is discussing topics discussed in the Sermon of the Mount.

In Part II, he introduces the reader to the Mishnah and Talmud; the Oral Tradition. Likewise, the author gives an introduction to the approximate dates for the rabbinic texts. Chapters 8 and 9 are valuable for understanding foundational rabbinical theology and prayer. Next Chapter 10 though only being 7 pages long is a great resource to understanding how the rabbis interpreted the Bible. But the greatest resource in Part II is Chapter 7, Ethics of the Fathers. This chapter is Brad Young's translation (interpretation) of one of the divisions within the Mishnah. "The Ethics of the Fathers is a moral code of conduct, filled with vivid, larger-than-lie personalities. For Christians, it is a valuable source of Jewish teachings that links the spiritual world of the Old Testament with the New Testament era."

In Part III, Chapter 11 is self explanatory. The author is giving a quick introduction to a great many rabbis and a known characteristic for each of them, many of which he has already mentioned. In Chapter 12, there is a bit more of an explanation of the Oral Tradition. And the most valuable Part III is the last chapter where the author is making it known that the Sermon of the Mount is more ethical and moral faithful redemptive obedience in action than wishful thinking of utopia.

Brad Young's book is great work for anyone looking to understand Jesus within His historical settings.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding Jesus., July 14, 2007

By 

Mac Book Buff "Mac" (California Mountains) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meet the Rabbis: Rabbinic Thought and the Teachings of Jesus (Paperback)

The truth of it is, you will never really understand Jesus or the New Testament until you at least become acquainted with Rabbinic thought. You will be amazed to find a lot of what Jesus said had already been said by one of the earlier Rabbis before him. For example the Golden Rule was first quoted by Rabbi Hillel only in the negative form "don't do to others what you would not want them to do to you". Christians have been debating over the method of Baptism and how it was to be performed for over a century. If only Christians where familiar with the Mishnah they would have known all along how it was it be performed, why it was performed and when it was to be performed. I highly recomend this book.