Whoever hits you on the right cheek…

In the Sermon on the Mount, why did Jesus refer to the right cheek (Mt. 5:39)? He could have said left cheek or not have specified any cheek at all. Was this an arbitrary choice or was it deliberate? Imagine someone standing before you preparing to hit you. Whether with an open-handed slap or a […]

The Midrash* on the Mount, Part 2

In our last edition, we discussed the Sermon on the Mount. There, Jesus explicitly taught faithful observance of the Torah or Law and emphasized its lasting status by referring to a rabbinic homily about the “jot” and “tittle.” We will now deal broadly with the six contrasting statements Jesus made in the same Sermon. Each […]

The Midrash* on the Mount

– Was Jesus at odds with the rabbis? Gabriel A. Goldberg, M.A. Too often, the Sermon on the Mount has been interpreted by Christian commentators as a lesson on the superiority of Jesus’ teachings over those of the rabbis, of the Law of Christ over the Law of Moses. Or, more bluntly, of Christianity over […]