One of the popular myths about Judaism is that there is no place in Jewish thought for the idea that someone can die for the sins of another person, yet both the Bible and Jewish tradition have much to say about dying so that another might have forgiveness.

Jewish tradition has much to say about dying so that another might have forgiveness. This page focuses on Jewish traditions about the Akedah. The Hebrew word akedah” means “binding” and refers to the well-known story in Genesis 22, in which God commands Abraham to offer up his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham…

Note: Elaine the correspondent is fictional, but Karol Joseph is real and serves on the staff of Jews for Jesus. She can be reached

What makes the crucifixion one of the most prominent events in history?

The story of a friend of the friend of God.

Very few Jews have the courage to talk about the most important subject in the Jewish religion: that is, the question of the Temple, the high priest, the altar and the place of sacrifice. Gershon Salomon is a man of such courage. This 53-year-old scholar is the founder and head of a group called, The…

The young Jewish man asked, Do you really have an Orthodox Jewish background?” When I replied in the affirmative, he looked at me incredulously and was quiet for a moment. Then he queried, “If you have such a background, then why is it that you believe that the Messiah has already come?” I reflected, and…

I had been a believer in Jesus for just a few weeks when a church member asked me, Since the Temple has been destroyed and the priesthood has been dispersed, what do Jews do for a blood sacrifice?” I didn’t know how to answer that question. I thought it was motivated by a rather morbid…

Judaism, as practiced today, is sacrifice. The siddur emphasizes this fact and offers an explanation: Lord of the universe, Thou has commanded us to sacrifice the daily offering at its proper time and manner… Now, through our sins the Temple is destroyed, the daily offering is abolished, and we have neither priest officiating, nor Levite…

In the painting of The Sacrifice of Isaac, Marc Chagall draws a parallel between the story of Isaac and that of Yeshua. In doing so, he is going back to the biblical account which has occupied a substantial place in Jewish thought: the Akedah, or Binding of Isaac. In Genesis 22, we read that God…

Since the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 C.E.and a place for sacrifice was not possible, rabbis sought to explain away the need for the Biblical sacrificial system. Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) is thought to be one of the greatest Jewish philosophers of all time and his writings have had a profound influence on Jewish…