Rabbi Greenberg

vs Orthodox Judaism

Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Rabbi Greenberg’s hope for respect among Jews and Christians (“Challenge”, Jan. 28^th) is his only statement Orthodox Judaism agrees with. His other views, he asks Jews to blindly accept with no Torah support. His statement “Maimonides shared his positive historical evaluation of Christianity” is Rabbi Greenberg’s own fabrication. Maimonides states in his Mishneh Torah (Kings, 11:10) that Christianity is the “worst obstacle”, that Jesus caused the “death of Jews”; he “destroyed the Torah” and worshipped a “false god”.

Rabbi Greenberg further suggests, “Christianity spreads the message of God and morality to the world.” Nothing could be further from the truth. God commands us as part of the 613, not to add or subtract from the Torah, and Christianity clearly altered, abrogated, and abolished God’s laws on occasions too numerous to list here. But most of all, Christianity promotes idolatrous notions.

He writes, “Jews should appreciate – but not convert to – Christian spirituality”. Again a false idea. While we must live peaceably with other peoples, Judaism disagrees with Rabbi Greenberg: we must not appreciate a distorted system which is heretical and idolatrous.

Then, the Rabbi claims “Jesus is not a false messiah, merely a failed one.” Astonishing! Rabbi Greenberg directly opposes Maimonides’ description of the Messiah’s qualifications: Jesus didn’t possess even one.

Rabbi Greenberg consistently manufactures dangerous views, claiming their Orthodox Jewish origin, without a single Torah source. Rabbi Greenberg’s contradiction of Maimonides’, Moses’, and God’s words expose his views as contrary to Orthodox Judaism.