Truly Kosher

A rabbi has recently published a book about Jesus, reminding us that Jesus was a Jew. Perhaps Jesus has some unconventional ideas about what it means to be truly kosher.

If you've done much reading in the gospels, it's likely you don't appreciate being called "pharisaical." Most of the time in the gospels, the Pharisees come off as niggling legalists who oppose Jesus -- ostensibly because he refuses to honor or abide by their strict traditions, but actually because they see him as calling for a new order that threatens their standing as religious guides.

The present reading is a case in point. A group of Pharisees, along with some scribes, notices Jesus' disciples eating without having first performed certain ritual hand washing. So they ask him, in front of others, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" Their question seems designed to embarrass Jesus in public and demonstrate that he's not qualified to teach others about religion. Jesus responds by calling the Pharisees hypocrites, using a verse from Isaiah and one of the Ten Commandments to illustrate how far from righteousness they...