Meet the Rabbis: Rabbinic Thought and the Teachings of Jesus

by Brad H. Young

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 Introduction to Rabbinic Thought, Introduction to Rabbinic Literature, and Meet the Rabbis, a biographical description of influential Rabbis from Talmudic sources.

Genres: Religion, Biblical Studies, Judaism, Nonfiction, Christian, Reference, New Testament

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2007

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic. Young does an amazing job of illustrating the parallels between Jesus’ teachings and the rabbinic Judaism of his day. He dives into rabbinic thought, examines some of the literature, and discusses some of the leading figures. Hillel was my favorite. This is the third Young book I’ve read and have not been disappointed yet.

[Curtis Hefner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exceptional introduction to the interplay between Second Temple Rabbinic Judaism (aka Jesus' context) and Christianity. Young is excellent at communicating with clarity and accuracy.

Make no mistake, this is a scholarly work. It is not written in conversational tone. But, the accuracy of its information, attested to by its repetition in similar works by other authors (who have no association with Brad H. Young), makes it a meritorious read for anyone with interest in the subject.

Jesus is the Messiah, and "salvation is of the Jews". If you want a deeper understanding of the particulars of his life, here is a great place to start.

[Allen Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author’s main argument of this book is aiming to engage the interfaith discussion between Jews and Christians by informing Christians of many Jewish roots a lot of Christians are simply unaware of. The claim of the book is that Jesus is not solely the Christian of our own denomination, but primarily a Jew in a Jewish culture, surrounded by Jewish teaching, writing, and thought by many Rabbis of the day. Young aims to inform the reader and Christian of the Jewish context of Jesus’ day to better understand the significance and realm of his teachings.
The audience of this book is mainly geared for Christians who desire to be more educated in Jewish influence and thought in Christianity today. Pastors, teachers, and every day Christians are sought after in order to gain a more proper understanding of Jesus’ Jewish roots, and therefore avoid improperly characterizing Jesus in our Western, Christian, sectarian lenses.
The bias of the author, pretty obviously, tended to credit the Jewish influence highly over any Christian significance of Jesus’ teaching. Giving Jewish credit is clearly the entire premise of the book, but at times can be reading into certain biblical passages and thoughts, to the detriment of Christian thought. For example, his conclusion to the book saying, “Jesus never converted to Christianity” is much farther than I think any Christian would be willing to assert, and by extension his audience (216). This bias towards crediting Jewish thought is aligning with the fact that Dr. Young spent many years studying and teaching in Jerusalem himself.
There are many strengths to this book. I personally learned so much about Jewish thought as a whole. I was just simply never informed about most Jewish thought, and therefore the direct beneficiary of Young’s intended audience with this book. Learning about the Jewish writings of the day and aligning it side by side with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was frankly shocking. To think that Jesus’ teachings was not completely original was for some reason very shocking to me, but made me realize still the weight of his teaching in light of the Jewish context. Jesus himself as the fulfiller of the Torah sought still to follow and reform its teaching by going to the heart. This definitely grew my appreciation for the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’ teaching overall.
Also learning more about the Pharisees and various Jewish sects was shocking. Young claimed that the Pharisees were not public enemy number one, which I don’t know if I completely agree with, but is an interesting thought. I never realized Jesus himself commanded to follow the Pharisees’ teaching, but I still think the author’s bias again played into this section. It is very clear from Jesus all throughout the Gospels that there is hostility, which is warranted and towards the sect of the Pharisees as a whole. Learning about the Jewish writings (Mishnah, Talmud, Gemara, etc.) I also found to be fascinating, because I simply never had learned about it before. Overall, in terms of informing the audience of Jewish roots and context of the day, the author accomplished this goal. This is where I benefitted most from this book.
The weakness of this book lies in, again, at times giving too much credit to Jewish roots, which lies in the author’s bias towards Judaism. Certain claims are read into the text in order to give credit to the Jewish thought of the day (Pharisees friends with Jesus, “Jesus never converted to Christianity,” etc.). While I understand that the aim of this book is to give credit where Christians often lack it, and I appreciate the heart of the author to give credit where its due, I think at times it goes farther than warranted within Scriptural evidence.
Overall, this book was very worthwhile reading, growing my knowledge and appreciation for the Jewish roots and influence on Christian thought and writings. Preparing to go to Israel, this book has grown my desire to learn more and experience the Jewish context in which Jesus lived and walked some two thousand years ago.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Meet the Rabbis" looks at Jesus' teachings within the context of 1st-century Judaism and introduces the reader to some of the early Jewish writings that contain similar teachings to Jesus. The author started by talking about how Jesus' teachings fit within the debates that the Pharisees were having at that time. He talked about the Great Sanhedrin and the Jewish view of the Torah and the Oral Law. He provided a general outline of what is in the Mishnah and the Babylonian Talmud. He specifically looked at the Ethics of the Fathers and provided a translation for the reader. He talked about the Amidah Prayer, Maimonides 13 Principles of Jewish Faith, and Hillel's Seven Principles of Bible Interpretation. He also talked about the various rabbis that are known from around Jesus' time (and after him) and quoted some of their sayings that are similar to Jesus' teachings.

At times, I felt the author was basically suggesting that Jesus was just another rabbi within the Pharisee tradition and that Christians misinterpret Jesus' teachings. He seems to feel that Christians should be more interested in the early Jewish teachings than modern Christian teachings as the Jewish commentary more accurately brings out what Jesus intended to teach. While I was interested in the similarities, differences, insights, and possible impact that Jesus teachings made on later Jewish ones, I do believe that Jesus was more than just another human Rabbi.

[Doug Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to rabbinic Judaism for Christians. Along with introductions to the rabbis and rabbinic literature, Young emphasizes (1) the riches to be found in Jewish teaching--e.g., in texts like Pirke Avot. (2) the common ground between Judaism and Christianity, as witnessed by the numerous parallels between the teachings of Jesus and those of the sages of Judaism. (3) the insights we can gain into the teachings of Jesus by learning about the Jewish context of the Gospels.

[Richard R., Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice introduction to Rabbinic thought and how Jesus's teachings are right in line with what many of the other rabbis are teaching at or around his time. It also pointed out that Jesus was not condemning all the Pharisees but only those who were hypocrites, much like many of Christians today also say one thing but do another.

[Phillip Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus was a Jew. A simple truth to understand but this book reveals how it is overlooked by many Christians as they read the New Testament. The big idea is good. The writing is good. I’m not sure about all the details, but it could be because of my non-Jewish lenses I often wear as I read the Bible and do theology. This book challenged me in ways I think I needed to be challenged.

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This book opened my eyes to the rabbinical context Jesus was working within as well as challenging with His teaching. I highly recommend this book and how it illuminates Jesus teaching with deeper meaning and use.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading through this book again, in tandem with a Christian friend of mine who wanted to know more about Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers), which is a short Talmudic tractate filled mainly with main teachings or quotes from the early sages (Hillel, Akiva, etc).

This is a very good short (emphasize short) introduction to late Second Temple Pharisaic thought (mostly) showing the background to Jesus' teachings, specifically through the Sermon on the Mount. Good for Christians to learn more about the time and related teachings within which Jesus was teaching. Fair for Jews interested in interfaith discussions - especially good for Jews who aren't already fairly familiar with the Christian NT.

[Johannes · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my biblically-minded friends, this is a fascinating comparative study that connects the Jewishness of the Gospels to the thought of the ancient rabbis from the 2nd Temple period through the Tannaitic Period to the completion of the Mishna. One thing I loved about this book was that each chapter opened with an inset of Jewish proverb...from the ancient Jewish mystics to the contemporary Rabbi Heschel. Also, there is a very reader-friendly translation of the Aboth, (Ethics of the Fathers). It's a slow read, but well worth it.

[Dmcconkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to the Rabbinic writings. The Sermon on the Mount is used to help illustrate the parallels between the NT and Rabbinic sources. Describes the religious and theological climate during the time of Jesus. Recommend to all who teach or preach, gives much for thought.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource! Tons of original source material from the rabbis, as well as explanation for novices such as myself in understanding the different eras of rabbinic thought, forms of rabbinic literature, nature and importance of oral tradition, and the ways in which rabbinic thought help us understand the culture at the time of Jesus and the early church. Highly recommended!

[Allison]

Very informative. The chapter on the Amidah was extremely moving. I have enjoyed developing a better understanding of some of the traditions of Israel, and learning more about the first and second centuries and Rabbinic Judaism. I am about to Meet the Rabbi's in this next chapter, and I am excited.

[Aaron Carlberg]

Brad Young seems to recycle many of his ideas throughout his books. If you have read the other books by Brad Young you probably don't need to read this one.

[Tyler Hartford]

Get into the greatest movement of the Spirit in the church - the rediscovering of Jesus' Jewish roots and the far reaching implications of this rediscovery. Brad Young is on the forefront.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

maybe a little over my head with the myriad of rabbis....but informative

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar in content to his other books but valuable information all the same.

[David English · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young’s exegesis: Jesus taught in Hebrew so we can go to the Hebrew word behind this Greek word and figure out what he really meant.

—> Peter Williams has entered the chat.

[Jt]

it was an okay read, had some very interesting parts

[Miranda]

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