KIM LAWTON, correspondent: At the 92nd Street Y in New York, Vanderbilt Divinity School professor Amy-Jill Levine is making the case that Jews and Christians alike need to pay more attention to the Jewishness of Jesus, and the best way to do that, she believes, is by reading the New Testament from a Jewish perspective.
PROFESSOR LEVINE: If I want to understand Jewish history, the New Testament is one of the best sources that I’ve got.
LAWTON: Levine, who is an observant Jew, is co-editor of The Jewish Annotated New Testament, a version of the Christian scripture with footnotes and commentaries written entirely by Jewish scholars.
I can think of some very, very good reasons why Christians ought to study and know some of Judaistic thought and tradition, in order to enhance our understanding of our own scriptures, for example:
1. much of Christendom struggles with understanding the Jewish High day and Sabbath day restrictions and rituals. As a result, we struggle mightily with the very day of the week on which Christ was likely crucified.
2.