1. The Unspoken Name of The Jewish Messiah In the hushed domesticity of many Jewish and Middle Eastern households, the name “Jesus” is not merely a theological disagreement; it is a linguistic third rail. For many, the concept of the Jewish Messiah serves as a cultural cuss word, a name scrubbed from conversation to protect the invisible but impenetrable partitions of Sephardic, Persian, or Ashkenazi identity. As Liat, a woman raised near Tel Aviv, recalls, “Jesus was a cuss word… I grew up not being able to say that name.” Yet, a quiet but profound shift is occurring. For a growing cadre of intellectuals and skeptics, investigating this figure has resulted in a startling realization: finding this figure was not a betrayal of their roots, but a return to them. 2. The “Best-Kept Secret” of the New Testament’s Jewishness For the uninitiated, the first encounter with the New Testament is… read more

