Jesus vs Elijah
 
Moshe Ben-Chaim
 

Reader: I have a question for you about judiasim. Does judiasim belive that eliahu will come back to save the jews? And is he the messiah? like christianity believes that Jesus will return to save them, is it the same way with Judaism? because if that's true then the basic foundation of Judaism and Christianity are similar. believing that Jesus was crucified and rose again is just as bizarre as believing that eliahu was taken up to heaven or whatever in a fiery chariot. Please answer my question, i will very much appreciate it.

Mesora: Your question is a good one.

Judaism believes in the ability of God to resurrect the dead. It is a belief in God's greatness. Whether Elijah or the messiah are at the forefront when this happens is irrelevant, as we do not say that humans have power to 'come back from the dead'. We say that "God alone does wonders", and this statement forms part of our morning prayers for each day.

We also hold the messiah to be a normal man who will live and die like all other men. He does not die for sins, or make the blind see, or the leprous healed. This is Christianity. The idolizing of a man. Judaism never places man on a pedestal. God is always the focal point.

There is nothing wrong with the concept that man is resurrected by God and assists others. Here, Christianity probably stole Judaism's idea and projected it onto Jesus. As they did with the selling of Jesus - a plagiarization of the selling of Joseph, only to attempt to make Jesus similar to another biblical personality. So your question about the similarity is not a question on us copying Jesus, but on Jesus copying God's promise to resurrect the dead. It was part of Judaism before Jesus was born.

The chariot story by the way is metaphorical, and not to be understood as having taken place in physical reality. It is an allegory, as are many accounts, but we need to be guided by the rabbis to determine what is real, and what is allegory.


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