The Lord be with you
The Jewish Trinity: When Rabbis Believed in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is a book by Yoel Natan and published by Aventine Press. Based on the title, I expected the book to be an exploration of Jewish Rabbinic tradition. It is not. It is an examination of Old Testament texts. The sub-title would better be something like “The Trinity in the Old Testament.”
That being said, Natan does a good job reviewing the traditional Christian treatment of Old Testament passages. Though he doesn’t say it, these are the issues which made Christianity so appealing to Jewish people during the first three centuries of the Christian era. If you have friends who are Jewish, this book might give you some good discussion points. One should remember, though, that many Jewish people are like many Christian people in reference to the Scriptures. That is to say, they know the Old Testament no better than many Christians.
I can also add that this book could be part of a foundation for the study of the Trinity in the Bible. However, it would need to be supplemented with the New Testament. The New Testament is, after all, much clearer concerning this doctrine.
If you would like to “overhear” the discussion that the Rabbis actually were having, I recommend the book Two Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports about Christianity and Gnosticism by Alan F. Segal. Segal is a Jewish rabbinic scholar who looks at the rabbinic sources and how they responded too many of the issues in Natan’s book. If you think just a bit beyond Segal’s text, you will understand why Christianity found acceptance in many Jewish communities. In fact, Luke records, “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor