I finally had a chance to see the whole video clip of the debate between Rabbi Boteach and his sparring partner of 20 years, a leading Jew for Jesus. The debate that I didn’t want to happen.
I’m writing this review because of what I saw happening, a debate between a politician and a timid academic, it seemed. The academic (very smart guy but not up to the debate) never had a chance to really confront the clever politician because he didn’t understand the tricks employed. I follow politics from the age of 10. I saw what happened. (Rather than accusing his opponent of being dishonest, I prefer to see him as a dedicated salesperson with heart for selling his merchandise.)
Boteach’s opponent is clearly a very good speaker and a very intelligent and knowledgeable man. But like every top politician, he never answered a hard question. Instead, he filled his speaking time with very intelligent, warm and heartfelt words that he wanted to promote and so avoided admitting when he had no recourse. But there was more.
Boteach apparently felt that he had to prove his humbleness and friendliness, all the time. Flattery will get you there. Not only did he feel a need to constantly refer to their friendship and the friendship with most Christians. In all this, he forgot his own writings that it’s time we Jews start proselytizing. Why was he on the defense all the time, trying to explain Judaism and to seem cute? It’s the fear the Jew feels in a Christian surrounding. That’s why it’s so great that we’re safe, back in Israel.
He should have said, This whole idea that people would need G^d’s Grace, you got completely wrong. People are not born in sin. We are all inherently good, equipped with a choice between good and evil, and capable to save our own souls. None of you need anyone to die for you and you should all become Torah-abiding Jews if you want to be so special.
Or, at least, you should send all baptized Jews back to the religion that their ancestors so often have died for. This, often is done so well by Gurus in India — so it can be done. Not doing so is not only an insult to Judaism (as if it would be incomplete without Jesus, Heaven forbid) but also an insult to Christianity, as if you need to show to Jews that you’re better, which would be a sign that you lack enough healthy self-worth.
Further, he should have said, Your whole idea that I can only be a virtuous human being if I accept Jesus is not just offensive to me as a Jew but to all human beings. And to think that a perfect G^d gave Jews a whole Bible full of Commandments that would not make us virtuous because they cannot be done is also an insult to G^d.
It’s a nice attempt at humbleness to say “None of us are worthy” but it’s too demeaning and extreme and that’s why Christians became known for shedding innocent blood and not for turning the other cheek. We need to be humble but not too much because that backfires.
He should have said, It’s not a wonderful cooperation that together we join to rid the world of anti-Semitism. It’s your work, not mine. We didn’t cause it, you clean it up. And don’t come to me with the false equivalent that Christians have been or are persecuted too. It’s not the same thing.
Besides, the whole Replacement Theology was “proven” by persecuting Jews. G^d has left them, see how they suffer. Never mind that the ones who pointed out our suffering caused that suffering.
He should have said, It’s nothing new that you now reject Replacement Theology in words — it’s all been said, but you don’t mean it. “Proper” Christians still bless Jews and praise Jews as if they’re closer to G^d and have a special power to bless us. It’s rather that if you bless us, G^d will bless you. We don’t need your blessing — you need your blessing of us.
And it’s simply not true that Christians love Jews from reading their Bible. For 20 centuries, most (but not all) of them hated us from reading Christian Scripture. It’s only now, that this is being corrected, though not by all Christians yet. Not from the goodness of the Church but because you became shocked and forced, first by the evil of the Holocaust (not by the Crusades but now yes by the industrial slaughter of G^d’s Chosen), and second by the miraculous emergence of a Jewish State.
We Jews have a holy task to teach the whole world. The reason that we haven’t done so is that in a hostile world, we never had a chance. Only the last hundred years, some not so religious Jews in enlightened Europe could make a start. Like Marx, Einstein, Freud, Zamenhof, Herzl, etc. had a first shot. It was not Paul who discovered how to do it. He found a way to stop the Jews from doing so for the last 2000 years.
We Jews are still your teachers. If you come to “exchange views with the Jews” you disrespect us. It’s not that we want to be your teacher. We are commanded to teach you and you are commanded to listen.
Surely, as teachers, we will learn most from our students. Surely, we’d better be humble because arrogant teachers are no good. But that’s our worry. You Christians must flock to us and demand to be taught by us. That is the true relationship that the Hebrew Bible wants. The rest is just fooling around.
He should have ended by saying, I love you but I won’t let you take kosher Jews for granted anymore. Why do you think you live now and not 2000 years ago? Because G^d wanted you to learn from the Jews that are around now, not from Jesus. And I mean, the Jews that live as well as we can by the Commandments — not those that only studied Jewish history or replaced the Commandments by love for Jesus.
Because that’s what you do when you debate someone who will avoid a real debate. You don’t try to argue with him. You try to reach the public, the bystanders. That’s the basis for proper hasbara. Saying the above would have taken him 6 minutes and shown some Jewish pride and substance.
There is a chance, though, that he never could have said any of the above. Not after posing as a prominent rabbi. I can say it. I’m a nobody. If Christians take offense, I’m just one silly Jew. But I might have reached a few hearts and minds. But if “America’s rabbi” says it, who knows what backlash that could give? I’m giving the rabbi the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was right to plaster over all potential unpleasantness.
MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. *
As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. *
This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Of the 15 (!) books he has in mind, the next two are about homosexuality in Judaism and new rabbinics. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2600 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog that also may contain updates to Times of Israel posts, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
He's getting ready to publicize books on: "Free Will, "Judaism and Homosexuality, "His parents in the Holocaust, "Judaism, "A New Torah Translation and "A New Hebrew Grammar, "Co-Counseling, "Vegan Facts, "Immortality, and more. *
Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He agrees that in a post-truth world, that's irrelevant, but then this is for the record. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. *
Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. *
Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. *
He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. *
He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. *
He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. *
His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. His posts are spell, grammar, and style polished by AI, but all written by himself. *
To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. *
His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
