Do Judaism and Christianity Believe in the Same God? Exclusivist and Inclusivist Schools of Thought

(3) And these, according to Rabbi Meir, are the festivals of the non-Jews: Kalendae, Saturnalia, Kratesim, kings' days of accession, the day of birth, and the day of death. And the Sages say: every funeral in which a conflagration is present [thereby] involves idol worship. One that has no conflagration does not involve idol worship. [A celebration of] the day on which a [non-Jewish] man cuts his beard or his hair, the day that he came ashore from the sea, and the day he was released from prison, and a pagan who made a feast for his son, [for all these] the prohibition extends only to that day and that man alone.

These aforementioned dates were widely publicized at that time with the idolators and those appended to them.

The Canaanites are idol worshipers, and Sunday is their festival. Accordingly, in Eretz Yisrael, it is forbidden to conduct transactions with them on Thursday and Friday each and every week, and, needless to say, on Sunday itself, when transactions with them are forbidden everywhere.

(7) A Ger Toshav -- He who has accepted the Seven Mitzvot of the sons of Noah, as we have explained -- it is prohibited to drink his wine, but it is permitted to derive benefit from it. And one may leave wine with him briefly, but not for a long time. And so too any Gentile who does not worship the stars and the constellations, such as the Ishmaelites, their wine may not be drunk, but one may derive benefit from it. And such instructed all the Geonim. But those who worship the stars and the constellations, one may not derive benefit from their wine.

(4) And if a King arises from the House of David who is fitting in (observance) of the Torah and fulfilling its commandments, and he compels all of Israel to follow it, and he strengthens it diligently, and he fights the was of God. Then, he is assumed to be the Messiah. If he fights and is victorious and defeats all of the surrounding nations, and builds The Temple in its place, and gathers all the scattered remnants of Israel, then he is definitely the Messiah. And he will repair the entire world to worship God together, as it is said, "For then I will change all of the peoples to [having] a clear language so they can all call God by name and worship Him as one." (Zephaniah 3:9)

(5) And if he's not successful with this, or if he is killed, it's known that he is not the one that was promised by the Torah. And thus, he is like all of the kosher kings from the House of David who died. And The Holy One blessed be, only established him to test the masses, as it is said,

(6) Even Jesus the Christian who it seemed that he would be the Messiah and was killed in court, Daniel had already prophesied about him, as it is said, "And the violent men of your people will be lifted up to fulfill the vision, and they will be failed (Daniel 11:14)." And is there a greater failure than this? All of the prophets spoke of the Messiah, the redeemer of Israel and their savior, and the gatherer of the captives, and the strengthener of their mitzvot--but this one cause Jews to be lost by the sword, and for their remnants to be scattered and humbled, and to change the Torah, and for the majority of the world to do wrong by worshiping a god other than God.

(7) But, the plans of the creator of the world--no person can understand them for our ways are not the same as His ways and our plans are not His plans. And all of these things about Jesus of Nazareth, and about that Ishmaelite who rose after him--they are only to make the path for the King Messiah straight, and to fix the whole world for worshipping God together, as it is said, "For I will give the peoples clear speech, for them all to call out the name of God, and to worship Him with one purpose (Zephaniah 3:9)

(8) How? The whole world is already filled with the words of the Messiah, and the words of the Torah, and the words of the Mitzvot, and these words have been spread on distant islands, and to many peoples of uncircumcised hearts, and they deal with these words, and with the mitzvot of the Torah--they say 'These mitzvot were true but they are already nullified in this time, they aren't applicable forever.' And they say, 'There are things hidden in them, and they're not just a simple meaning, and the Messiah already came and revealed their secrets.'

(9) And when the King Messiah rises for real, and he succeeds, and he is lifted up and exalted, they will immediately return and will know that their ancestors passed down lies to them and that their prophets and their ancestors made them do wrong.

But the heretics; and the informers; and the apostates [apikorsim]; and those who denied the Torah; and those who denied the resurrection of the dead; and those who separated from the ways of the Jewish community and refused to share the suffering; and those who cast their fear over the land of the living; and those who sinned and caused the masses to sin, for example, Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and his company; all of these people descend to Gehenna and are judged there for generations and generations, as it is stated: “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have rebelled against Me; for their worm shall not die; neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh” (Isaiah 66:24).

(1) After this he should go to his work because any Torah that does not have work with it will end up becoming null and it causes sin because the poverty will remove from him knowledge of his Creator. Nevertheless, he should not make his work primary, rather temporary, and his Torah permanent. And (through this) both will be sustained. He should do business honestly and be careful not to mention the name of Heaven in vain, because in every place where the mention of God's name (in vain) is found, death is found. And he should be careful not to swear, even in truth, because 1,000 cities belonged to King Jannaeus and all of them were destroyed because they swore, even though they kept them. And he should be careful from partnering with the Kusim; perhaps (the Kusi) will be obligated to swear (agains him) and (the Jew) will violate, "(The names of other gods) should not be heard through your mouth." Rama: And some are lenient with partnering with Kusim these days because the Kusim of these times do not swear by idol worship. And even though they mention the foreign idol, nevertheless their intention is to the Creator of heaven and earth, except that they join the name of Heaven and (foreign gods). And we do not find that there is in this (a violation by the Jew of) "Before a blind person you shall not place a stumbling block," because the kusim are not enjoined regarding partnership (of God with idols). (Ra"n in the last chapter of Avodah Zarah, Rabbeinu Yeruchem path 17 part 5, Tosfos in the beinning of the first chapter of Bechoros). And to do business with them without partnering all agree is permitted except on the day of their festivals. (Hagahos Maimoni first chapter of the Laws of Idol Worship) (And see Yoreh Deah in the Laws of Idol Worship chapter 147.)