Why did the Jewish people rejected the Christian Messiah?

There's the old joke about the Jewish atheist who refused to send his son to a Jewish school but wanting a private school education for his child, he sent him to Trinity School, despite its denominational roots, it was a great school and completely secular. After a month, the boy came home and said casually, "By the way, Dad, I learned what Trinity means! It means 'The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.'"

The father could barely control his anger. He grabbed his son by the shoulders and said, "Listen here Boychick, there is only one God... and we don't believe in him!"

Like many Jewish jokes, there is often a message with some wisdom and a kernel embedded in the humor-even the so-called atheist Jew rejects Christianity, but why? Why have the Jewish people rejected the Christian Messiah for 2000 years? We have been killed, expelled and treated as second class citizens over the centuries by the Inquisition, the Crusaders and many others while we stubbornly held on to our Torah, why didn't we convert and live happily with our neighbors? 

Today, in the free world, where thank G-d, Jews are well integrated in to every facet of society, we no longer face the choice our ancestors were forced to face-the sword or the cross. However, almost every American Jew has encountered a friend, co-worker or neighbor who at some point has approached them with a statement or question like "I wish you would be saved and be with me in heaven"; "Weren't the first Christians Jews?"; Wasn't their leader a rabbi?"; "Don't you know the virgin birth and the suffering servant were foretold in the Torah by Jewish prophets?" 

Despite the fact that Judaism existed for hundreds of years before the rise of Christianity, and the verses quoted had a completely different understanding and meaning for our ancestors, many Jews simply don't know the answer as to why our grandparents held on to our Torah on the pain of death. 

To help answer some of these questions, Chabad in Orlando presents "Why The Jewish People Rejected The Christian Messiah? An analysis of the biblical sources and an exploration into the Jewish view of this fascinating topic" with Rabbi Zalman Kravitz MBA of Jews for Judaism.  Kravitz is the director of Jews for Judaism, an international organization with its mission to preserve Jewish identity through education, counseling and outreach programs that enable Jews of all ages to rediscover and strengthen the connection to their heritage. Founded in 1985 as a response to deceptive proselytizing targeting Jews for conversion, their unique programs have provided hundreds-of-thousands of people with tools to respond to religious harassment and discover the spiritual richness of Judaism. They are a respected resource for all ages and all denominations within the Jewish community. 

Under his stewardship, Jewish for Judaism has become an innovate movement with multifaceted programming for a new generation. 

The lecture will be hosted in two convenient locations: On Sunday evening, April 22, at Nate's Shul in Longwood-for more information please visit www.JewishNorthOrlando.com or call 407-636-5994.

Monday evening, April 23, at the Chabad of South Orlando-for more information please visit www.JewishOrlando.com or call 800-765-7905. This event, as all Chabad events is open to the entire community regardless of affiliation.