A long-lost statement by Maimonides on Jeans Christ has been discovered by Rabbi Abraham Hershman, of Detroit, in an examination of early manuscripts of the Code of Maimonides which he is translating from the Hebrew for the Yale Judaica Series, published by Yale University Press, it was disclosed during the week-end.
Maimonides’ statement on Christ was expunged by Middle Ages censors and has been missing in most available editions of the Code, Dr. Hershman explained. The statement by Maimonides, according to Rabbi Hershman, holds that Christ was not the Messiah because “He did not meet with full success and was slain.”
Maimonides’ wrote: “All the Prophets affirmed that the Messiah would redeem Israel, save them, gather them dispersed, and confirm the Commandments, but He (Christ censed Israel to be destroyed by the sword, their remnants to be dispersed and humiliated.” Maimonides also stated that if Christ and Mohammed could not be accepted by the Jews as the Messiah, both must be commended for awakening knowledge of monotheism among the peoples of the world, who otherwise might have remained pagan.
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