לתשובת המינים

Introduction

It is with more than a little apprehension that I seek to publish the material which is contained in this work. While to the best of my ability I have tried to assure that this work is entirely consistent with Jewish law and belief, it nevertheless remains a book which discusses Jewish objections to Christianity. As such I must present the reader with Christian beliefs in order to refute them and contrast them with our Torah. Furthermore I do not wish to write a work which is superficial treatment the subject matter. Most readers have some familiarity with the issues involved and there is no shortage of introductory material. Rather I hope to present detailed objections to an array of missionary persuasion tactics, including some that are peculiar to Messianic and some that are seldom discussed in counter missionary literature.

Due to the nature of the work as I described above, it seems very prudent to question the propriety of exposing Jewish readers to Christian dogma, even to refute it. I share this concern. I believe that if one already has the truth it is counterproductive to unnecessarily fill one's mind with falsehood, albeit in order to expose its falsehood. If I thought it was possible for the intended audience to remain ignorant of Christianity where it not for this book I likely would not have produced it.

Nevertheless, even in the days of the Ramban, Christian arguments and doctrines were widely known. When challenged with Psalm 110 during "The Disputation at Barcelona" he dismissed his opponent, noting that non-Jewish priests and children constantly asked Jews about this verse. How much more so in our days where the majority of us are constantly in contact with non-Jews? I don't think that there exists an English speaking Jewish community whose members are not familiar with Christian doctrine or have been "witnessed to" by friends or coworkers. And we have seen in the last decades that there are Jews who are susceptible to their persuasion.

And even our own Meforshim, the commentators on the T'nakh, specifically address and refute Christian interpretations of many key "Messianic Prophecies". Apparently they understood it to be worthwhile to raise these points in order to clarify Judaism's position. The Gemara likewise states and objects to heretical beliefs, including some which may be identified as Christian. Therefore even a Ben Torah who dedicates himself to learning Torah in the Beith Midrash encounters Christian proof texts and their answers.

With all this considered, and upon the advice of a trusted friend and mentor, I believe that this work will be of much more use than harm. Today we do not stand in seclusion from Christianity. Some Jews are actually succumbing to Christianity. As such I think it justified to continue in the tradition of exposing their falsehood in the light of Torah. While this book may not be suitable for everyone I believe it is widely useful and hope and pray that it will help Jews who might be completely lost from Torah to draw nearer to the service of Hashem.