Jews2: Rabbi's first objection: prove "image of his (God's) person"; Schem Hamphoras

      This continues from Part 1 (Table of Contents in Part 1) in a series presenting an exchange between Old Missouri Synod's missionary Daniel Landsmann and a learned Jewish Rabbi. — In this segment we see that Landsmann was himself learned on Jewish writings, including the Kabbalah. And we get a better picture of how the Jews of today hang on to the fable of the Schem Hamphoras. Martin Luther's polemic against this is shown to be justified… again. From Der Lutheraner, vol. 42 (May 1, 1886), pages 65-67 [EN]:

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From our mission to the Jews.

[by Daniel Landsmann] (cont'd from Part 1)

A silence fell, for I did not hurry to answer. Everyone looked at the Rabbi. I asked them to bring me a machzor, prayer book, [col. 2]. I had the Rabbi himself read what all the people pray every New Year, kneeling three times, while they blow Shofar, i.e., the trumpets, thirty times. It reads as follows: “O Jehovah, merciful and gracious, we have sinned before thee, and done evil in thy sight! Have mercy on us, and forgive us our sins bisechuth Yeshua sar hapanim,” that is, for Jesus sake, who is the Prince of thy countenance; for the word Yeshua means Savior, Helper, Redeemer, or Saviour. What is this, I asked them, and who is this Yeshua, or Jesus, who is the Prince of the face of God? Behold, I said, the Messiah of the Bible should and must be like this, and only for the sake of such a Messiah can God forgive sin. But for the sake of such a Messiah, as you unfortunately expect him now, who is supposed to be only a man, God cannot forgive your sins, because he himself is a sinner. — I read to them Isa. 63:9, where it is said, “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Malach panaw”, i.e. angel of his countenance, “saved them” 2c. — Who is this angel who is the prince of God's countenance, and what is his name? Your Kabbalah says clearly enough that his name is Yeshua, in German [now English]: Jesus! Yes, my friends, I continued, Jesus is the reflection of the glory of God and the image of His being. The Apostle has not exaggerated at all when he calls the Messiah thus. The Apostle agrees not only with the Bible, but also with your Kabbalah. — Can you deny me that? Well, I want to see how you're going to do this. —

A long pause occurred, and the machzor passed from hand to hand, and each one read: bisechuth Yeshua sar hapanim, i.e., as it was said, “For Jesus sake, who is the Prince of the countenance of God.” They were smitten by their own prayer book. 

One of them began to curse and said, “Jimach schemo wesichro,” i. e., “may my name and memory be blotted out.” 

I stood up and said, “If you are going to be rough, I am going. I have come here at your invitation, not that we should curse one another, but that we should talk honestly with one another. For our salvation depends on it. For if I am wrong, I am lost; but if you are wrong, you are lost. There is only one truth, not two, and that is the Bible; it, and it alone, should and must decide everything, because it alone is God's Word.” — 

The Rabbi: “Mr. L., you are right; I also go away when insults are uttered. We are not to attack each other personally, but to refute, and perhaps we may yet win you.” — 

Me: “All right, I am heartily ready to answer all questions. But everything should be done honestly and properly.” — 

The Rabbi took up another subject, and said: “Mr. L., we Jews know who Jesus was, and by what power he did the great miracles; he did the miracles with the Schem Hamphoras” *). — All were very pleased with this interjection and their faces were transfigured. —

*) Schem Hamphoras is said to have been a special name of God that stood in the Holy of Holies and was used to perform miracles. The high priest is said to have pronounced it clearly on the Day of Atonement, while Israel was kneeling three times and confessing its sins, thus forcing God to forgive it.

 

Me: “How can you prove to me that there was such a name?” 

The Rabbi: “It is written in our Talmud!”

Me: “That [col. 3] is a falsehood, a fairy tale! I believed that thirty years ago, but I was a fool to believe it. Look, if there had been such a wonderful name of God by which miracles could be done, why is it not written in the Bible? What the Bible does not say, I do not accept, but must declare to be a lie.” — The Talmud could not deny the great miracles of Jesus. But in order to blind our eyes and to arouse hatred against Jesus, it invented all this. Unfortunately it has succeeded in leading the whole people away from Jesus to this day. — But in order to convince you that what the Talmud says is a lie, I will put a few questions to you.

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We see now why Luther had to refute the Talmud’s writing on the Schem Hamphoras. And how Landsmann, a former Jew, vindicates Luther by his pronouncement of its lies! Landsmann reveals that he believed the lie of the Schem Hamphoras 30 years prior as a Jewish rabbi. — We learn what Landsmann's two questions for the Jewish Rabbi are, in the next Part 3.