JEWS IN THE TIME OF JESUS - An Introduction

By Stephen M. Wylen

Paulist Press, Mahwah, New Jersey / 215 pages

Stephen M. Wylen is rabbi at the Temple Beth Tikvah in Wayne, New Jersey. He is author of Settings of Silver and other books on Judaism, as indicated by offerings on Amazon.

From a first survey of the plentiful chapters and topics listed in the table of contents and the compact size of the book, the reader will understand that a lot of ground is to be covered fast. Wylen presents his information in a very readable volume apparently aimed at the Messiah-believing lay reader, for whom I would recommend this book. I include myself in this category.

The author reviews subjects including religions and sects of the first century (primarily Second Temple Judaism and messianic Judaism of the time, which he calls early-Christianity), culture (Jewish and Hellenistic), and Judean political history. Drawing from the resources of an ample bibliography and other works quoted and identified in the body of the text, each topic's handling is reminiscent of an encyclopedia article (short and sweet). The title says it's an introductory book and it delivers just that. For further detailed study, go to the bibliography where each book has its own mini-review. I love how he rates each book with his own "readability index".

From the onset it is obvious that Wylen does not believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the messiah and that He and His divine nature are to be kept at arms-length throughout the book. He states early on that it is unproductive to dispute the existence of the characters of the New Covenant - that is not an issue. His manner is very gentle in refuting or shunning theological concepts that appear to embrace a Yeshua-believing perspective, referring to them as articles of faith. Yeshua, by Wylen's account, was no more of a man than, say, Rabbi Akiva or Rabbi Hillel.

He does manage "favorable" comments on occasion, such as: "Jesus's parables have a power and freshness which, in this devoted Jew's opinion, formalized rabbinic parable cannot match."

Some more quotes:

• The resurrection of Jesus is an article of Christian faith which is not subject to historical analysis. It stands outside the bounds of this book.
• Daniel is the one truly apocalyptic book in the Bible.
• Jews do not recite the Lord's Prayer because of its Christian associations, but the content alone is very Jewish.
• Instead of trying to guess "who came first, Hillel or Jesus", it makes more sense to speak of the parallel Christian and Jewish traditions concerning, respectively, Jesus and Hillel. Priority is not then a concern. We shift our attention from unhelpful comparisons to the underlying commonality of the two traditions. When we compare the teachings attributed to Jesus and those attributed to Hillel, we find two great traditions similarly concerned with love of our fellow man and woman, devoted service to God, and the establishment of social justice. The Jesus and Hillel traditions both reflect a noble religious agenda.
• If you can imagine yourself back in time as one of Jesus' impassioned followers and supporters, listening to him speak the Sermon on the Mount, then you must temporarily set aside your belief in the Christ and imagine yourself as a Jew.

 This is a good book that I would recommend to brethren solid in their conviction that Yeshua is Messiah. It is a book I would like in my library. And I would be cautious about recommending it to a seeker (someone who is not yet secure in their faith) since the rabbinic handling of messianic faith issues regarding Yeshua may cause problematic doubt.

 Submitted by David Tichenor