A Rabbi Talks with Jesus - Softcover

"A tour de force and very, very moving." Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain "By far the most important book for the Jewish-Christian dialogue in the last decade. The absolute honesty, the precision of analysis, the union of respect for the other party with carefully grounded loyalty to one's own position characterize the book and make it a challenge especially to Christians, who will have to ponder the analysis of the contrast between Moses and Jesus." Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger "Neusner here makes a contribution to Jewish-Christian understanding that is as lively as it is unusual ... To listen in as he talks with Matthew's Jesus is to get a surer sense of the real issues on this important front of interreligious dialogue." Schubert M. Ogden, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

Placing himself within the context of the Gospel of Matthew, Neusner imagines himself in a dialogue with Jesus of Nazareth and pays him the supreme Judaic gesture of respect: making a connection with him through an honest debate about the nature of God's One Truth. Neusner explains why the Sermon on the Mount would not have convinced him to follow Jesus and why, by the criterion of the Torah of Moses, he would have continued to follow the teachings of Moses. He explores the reasons Christians believe in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven, while Jews continue to believe in the Torah of Moses and a kingdom of priests and holy people on earth. This revised and expanded edition, with a foreword by Donald Akenson, creates a thoughtful and accessible context for discussion of the most fundamental question of why Christians and Jews believe what they believe.