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Question Title Posted By Question Date
The Talmud Anthony Thursday, December 13, 2012

Question:

Dear Brother,

I had never heard of the Talmud before and was quite shocked to learn how it supposedly refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the adultress, Miriam the hairdresser. It also supposedly says that Our Lord Jesus was a sorcerer and is in hell. I looked up the Talmud on the internet and it seems that there's a lot of disagreement among Jewish scholars as to if the Miriam mentioned in it refers to Mary, the mother of Jesus and if the sorcerer 'Yeshu' mentioned in it refers to the Jesus we Christians worship. What do you know about these writings? Thanks and God bless.



Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r), LTh, DD

Dear Anthony:

The Talmud (meaning "instruction, learning) is a collection of books considered sacred, second only to the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), although some say the Talmud outranks the Torah.

I know next to nothing about the Talmud as I need to spend my time studying our Holy and Sacred book, the Bible, as compiled by the Catholic Church. Unless I am in a comparative religion class, I have no interest in studying any Jewish writings except that which has been the approved canon (by the Catholic Church) of the Old Testament.

From what I understand there may be the kinds of blasphemies that you mention. But, beware of any site that is dedicated and exists merely to attack others. Just like anti-Catholics lie and distort Catholic Church history and doctrine and quote out of context, so are there anti-Semites who will distort Jewish texts.

I do know that the name "Jesus" and "Mary/Miriam" were popular names. Thus, some commentators point out that such references may be to ordinary people of the time.

In addition, the Talmud has no credibility because Jesus closed the Mosaic Magisterium and replaced it with the New Covenant. Thus, the chair of authority was transferred from the Chair of Moses to the Chair of Peter.

This means that once the Church was born on the Day of Pentecost around the year A.D. 33, the rabbis and the priests and High priest of the Jews no longer had the competence or authority to interpret the Bible and the faith.

In God's economy, the true Jewish legacy transferred to the Catholic Church. We are the chosen people. God made it crystal clear that the Mosaic Magisterium has ended since at the moment of the Jesus' death the veil in the Temple ripped in two against the grain. God again made the point when the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70.

Because there is no Temple for the Jews it is not possible for them to actually fulfill the Jewish faith. Without the Temple there is no forgiveness of sins. 

But this was not to be a problem. God's intention was that the Jews would accept His Son as the Messiah. Thus, continuance of the religion of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, after God closed down the Mosaic Magisterium, is found by a new  Judaism called the Catholic Church. Since post-Mosaic Covenant Judaism "protests " against the New Covenant Judaism (which also accepts the Gentiles), they are the first "Protestants." Just like the Reformation Protestants, they hold only a portion of the faith and are technically in what is called material heresy. Neither modern day Israel nor Protestants are "heretics" because that requires holding the fullness of the Truth and then rejecting it. Rather, they are in a technical state of heresy, because these groups deny some aspects of the teaching of God.

Anyway, the reason I am explaining all this, is that the Jewish leaders have no authority after Pentecost, so it doesn't matter what they say and had no value other than a historical reference.

Just consider the Talmud just another group of writings that is nothing other than opinions of men and that has no baring upon our faith or Church.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary 


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