False Messiahs
Throughout our history Jews have looked desperately for deliverance from persecution, which led to the belief in false Messiahs. Join Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman as he explores writings of the Rambam and others on the cause of these beliefs and how to avoid these tragic errors.
False Messiahs: False Messiahs
Hello Everyone,
False messiahs have been hovering around the periphery of the Jewish people for thousands of years. Some of them were harmless ( such as Solomon Molcho) and some caused incalculable harm ( such as Jesus).
In this series won’t be able to discuss the entire history of false messiahs. Instead we will discuss the concept of the Messiah in general and some cases.
False Messiahs: False Messiahs
In this series of discussions about false messiahs today we will discuss Jesus. I will not discuss the issues surrounding “the historical Jesus” and to what extent his ideas are reflected in Christianity. Those issues are explored by historians and theologians; both Jews and Christians.
Today we will study how the messianic claims of Jesus affected the Jewish people and the text that we will work from is the transcript of a debate. In Medieval Europe, Jews were forced to listen to Christian preachers and the rabbis were forced to debate Christian clergy. One such debate was between the Ramban and a Jewish apostate named Pablo Christiani שם רשעים ירקב. The record of this debate has been preserved and we will study it today.
False Messiahs: False Messiahs
Hello Everyone, Today we will discuss the horrifying story of the false messiah, Shabtai Tzvi.
The references and source sheets on the webpage are from the remarkable memoirs of Rav Yakov Saportas zt”l who almost single-handedly exposed Shabtai Tzvi as being a nothing but dangerous charlatan.
Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman graduated from Yeshiva University in 1980 and the dental school of Columbia University in 1985. In 1989 he began studying and teaching at Yeshivat Hamivtar and now studies and teaches at Yeshivat Machanaim in Efrat. He has rabbinic ordination from Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.