Ibn K*spi K*lled J*sus

I wanted to write this up as a "What I'm Thinking About This Morning" post or an article on the parashah, but I decided not to for reasons that will be obvious to those who read Ibn Kaspi's words.

This week's Torah content has been sponsored l'zecher nishmas Yosef Yoshayahu ben Yechezkel Eliezer, whose yahrzeit is on the 3rd of Teves. Yehi zichro baruch.

The audio and printer-friendly versions of this article are only available to paid subscribers (scroll to the end of the article for the PDF).

Artwork: image created using OpenAI’s DALL·E, which I asked to “create an anime version of Ibn Kaspi debating with a Christian priest; make Ibn Kaspi look bold and courageous in standing up for the truth”

Ibn K*spi K*lled J*sus

Ramban’s Mic Drop

One of the most famous public debates between a Jew and a Christian is Ha’Vikuach, or “The Disputation of Barcelona,” held between Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) and Pablo Christiani. According to Wikipedia:

The Disputation of Barcelona (July 20–24, 1263) was a formal ordered medieval disputation between representatives of Christianity and Judaism regarding whether Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. It was held at the royal palace of King James I of Aragon in the presence of the King, his court, and many prominent ecclesiastical dignitaries and knights between Dominican Friar Pablo Christiani, a convert from Judaism to Christianity, and Nachmanides, a leading medieval Jewish scholar, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator.

[The Hebrew text of the Disputation can be found here, and the dramatized movie version starring Sir Christopher Lee as King James I of Aragon can be found here.]

My favorite part of the Disputation is the Ramban’s recounting of how the debate concluded. Friar Paul repeatedly attempted to reconcile the doctrine of the Trinity with belief in God’s Oneness, but Ramban refuted him at every turn. Finally, the debate reached a climax:

Friar Paul then arose and declared that he believes in the complete Oneness [of God] and nevertheless [believes] they are three, and that it is a very profound matter which even the angels and the ministers on high do not understand.

I arose and said: “It is clear that man cannot believe that which he does not know (אין אדם מאמין מה שאינו יודע). If so, the angels, too, cannot believe in the Trinity.”

And [Friar Paul’s] friends silenced him [preventing him from responding further].

I used to think this was the most epic line ever uttered in a Jewish-Christian debate—until I came across a quotation from Ibn Kaspi (1280–1345) that literally made me exclaim, “I can’t believe he just said that!” It might be the boldest statement I’ve ever seen a Rishon make about Christianity, and I’m keeping it behind a paywall because I don’t want to be cruc*fied.