Mary in Jewish Tradition

Authors

  • Daniel J. Lasker Ben-Gurion University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2018.1.29652

Keywords:

Christianity, Jesus, Judaism, Mary, miracles, virgin birth

Abstract

Since Jews rejected the miraculous account of Jesus' birth, they assumed that Mary conceived through illicit sexual activity, sometimes expressed in vulgar terms. Some Jews refuted the possibility of virgin birth by use of philosophical arguments, and others offered scriptural arguments against Mary's perpetual virginity. Despite generally negative views of Mary, there is evidence of an attraction to the idea of a semi-divine female role model and it is possible that certain Kabbalistic interpretations of the divine presence have Marian overtones.

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References

Standard translations were used for Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. Herford, R. Travers. Christianity in Talmud and Midrash. New York: Forgotten Books, 2012.

Lasker, Daniel J. Jewish Philosophical Polemics Against Christianity in the Middle Ages, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2007, pp. 153-159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/liverpool/9781904113515.003.0007

Shoham-Steiner, Ephraim. “The Virgin Mary, Miriam, and Jewish Reactions to Marian Devotion in the High Middle Ages,” AJS Review 37:1 (April 2013): 75-91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0364009413000044

The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition. New York: Random House, 1989.

The William Davidson Talmud online at Sefaria. Available at: <https://www.sefaria.org/texts/Talmud>

Toledot Yeshu, In: Michael Meerson and Peter Schäfer, Toledot Yeshu. The Life Story of Jesus, 2 vols., Tübingen, 2014.

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Published

2018-04-23

How to Cite

Lasker, D. J. (2018). Mary in Jewish Tradition. Veritas (Porto Alegre), 63(1), 26–32. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2018.1.29652

Issue

Vol. 63 No. 1 (2018): Dossier - Jewish Philosophy

Section

Dossier -Jewish Philosophy

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