Jesus in the Talmud

86 Chapter 8the Bavli Berakhot story about the wicked disciple replaces Balaam withJesus, insinuating by this bold move that Jesus, like Balaam, did not havea share in the world to come. 17 In our Bavli Gittin story, Jesus appears explicitlyin this context of the afterlife, together with Balaam (and with Titus).The Tosefta parallel to the Mishna addresses the question, which isnot dealt with in the Mishna and the Bavli (but probably presupposed inthe latter), of how long these sinners are punished in the Gehinnom: the“sinners of Israel” and the “sinners of the nations” are supposed to stay inthe Gehinnom for twelve months only: “after twelve months their soulsperish, their bodies are burnt, Gehinnom discharges them, and they areturned into ashes, and the wind blows them and scatters them under thefeet of the righteous.” In regard to the various kinds of heretics, however,and the destroyers of the first and second Temples (the Assyrians and theRomans): “the Gehinnom is locked behind them, and they are judgedtherein for all generations.” 18 So presumably the punishment in Gehinnomof Balaam (who belongs to the “sinners of the nations”) and of Jesus/the sinners of Israel is terminated—after twelve months they will cease toexist—whereas Titus (the destroyer of the second Temple) will be punishedin Gehinnom forever: even “She>ol will perish, but they [the destroyersof the Temple] will not perish.” 19All three sinners being punished in Gehinnom give the same answer toOnqelos’ question of who is held in highest regard in the Netherworld: it isundoubtedly Israel. Now that these arch-villains finally are where they belong,they realize to whom they should have showed due respect on earth.Yet they diverge with regard to the subsequent question of whether oneshould strive to join Israel’s fold as long as one enjoys living on earth. Titus,dismissing the model of his predecessor Nero, has decided for himself thatthere is no point in trying to emulate the Jews; instead, he opts for the otherpossibility, to persecute them, and hence to become the ruler of the world(if, sadly, only temporarily)—and this is the advice he gives to the son of hissister. Balaam, the prophet of the nations, gives quite a surprising answer:the verse that he quotes from the Bible (Deut. 23:7) does not refer to Israelat all but to the Ammonites and Moabites, the archenemies of Israel. TheAmmonites and Moabites must forever be excluded from the “congregationof the Lord,” the Bible demands (Deut. 23:4–7), because they hired Balaamto curse Israel. However, as we know from Numbers 22–23, Balaam did not