wagner@karazm.math.uh.edu (David Wagner) (12/11/90)
In article <Dec.6.03.38.42.1990.23495@athos.rutgers.edu> YZKCU@cunyvm.bitnet (Yaakov Kayman) writes: >With all due respect to your right as members of a faith completely dif- >ferent and separate from my own to believe otherwise, the 53rd chapter of >Isaiah refers not to any individual, but rather to my people, the Jews, The following response to this argument was posted last year by Paul Duggan: Christian interpretation is that of Jesus silence before his accusers, whcih is attested to. But to your first issue: again, this seems a rationalization, developed solely to resist attempts to use this messianically. It also goes agaist much jewish interpretation: like the two messiah theory of the Babylonian talmud, which says Messiah ben Joseph will be slain. The targum Jonathan, and talmud also support this view of its messianic menaing. Rashi was the first to identify Is. 53 with Israel, and this was rejected by Maimonides [!], Alscech, and Crispin, who says that Rashi "distorts the passage from its natural meaning" and that in truth "it was given of God as a description of the messiah, whereby when any should claim to be the messiah, to judge by the resmblance or non-resemblance to it whetehr he were the messiah or no" Crispin also says that those who apply it ot israel have "forsaken the knowledge of our teachers, and inclined after...their own opinions" ------- I'm sure Yaakov has seen this, but today's src readers might be edified by it. (Yaakov must really be watching us, to have found my article!) David H. Wagner a confessional Lutheran. "Oh, come, Oh, come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel." --"Veni, Veni, Emmanuel", v. 1 from "The Lutheran Hymnal" #62 My opinions and beliefs on this matter are disclaimed by The University of Houston. [yeesh. we have enough repetious discussion here without recycled responses. But I guess if I allow a recycled posting, I have to allow the recycled response? --clh]