Q&A: That Man
That Man
Question
Hello.
What is the law regarding Jesus the Christian figure, whom it is customary among the Jewish people to curse with “may his name be blotted out”? It seems we take it that he has the status of idolatry, so my question is whether that is correct. After all, he himself did not explicitly say that he was joined with the Divine, so to speak; rather, his disciples / followers (at least most of them) understood it that way [although there is such an implication in John 1:14 and Colossians 2:9, it has several interpretations].
Answer
Are you raising objections to common custom? My impression is that usually the intention is not the specific person, but the movement he initiated, which persecuted Jews throughout history.
Discussion on Answer
I didn’t understand this sentence: what does it mean that he does not have the status of idolatry? What status does any person have? Do you mean his teachings? His disciples’ teachings may perhaps have such a status. I do not know what he himself thought, and that is also really not important. If you haven’t read the newspapers, he died a long time ago.
For example, since it is forbidden to mention idols by name, then if he has the status of idolatry it would be forbidden to utter his impure name. (And the fact that the Sages explicitly wrote his name is no proof, because it is possible that his disciple began to regard him as a partnership with the Divine only after his death.)
Meaning, he does not have the status of idolatry?