"He must be ostracized" - Must He?

That's from an attack on Shmuely Boteach for his new book, Kosher Jesus, based on what Haaretz (!) published to which I was alerted by listening to the latest program of Judean Eve (and here's Sybil Kaufman's interview).

Here's the news:

Chicago Shliach and educator Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf [Dean of SJ Abrams Cheder Lubavitch Hebrew Day School in Chicago] blasts Rabbi Shmuely Boteach's new book, saying the subject and recent interviews "are apikorsus."

With utter contempt I have read the title of Shmuel Boteach's new book "Kosher [Yoshke]."...Boteach's latest book is apikorsus and must be treated as such.

This book poses great danger to the thousands of unsuspecting Jews who are approached daily by Jews for J...[the book urges] embracing Yoshke as an authentic Jew, urging us to be inspired by him, G-d forbid.

...It's not the derech of Chabad to eject their fellow Jew, yet there are those rare times when it appears as an obligation to do just that...

See a follow-up there and his response here - and Klein's counter-response including "I urge you dear readers to decide if Shmueli’s embrace of his true newly found J… is part of Jewish tradition or is it the good old fashioned Christian attempt to proselytize Jews with new wrapings? [sic]".

When I was in high school, I read Joseph Klausner's books on Jesus and on Paul (and see this MA thesis).  And as I am usually adverse to long posts so let me make this point:

the theological danger, i.e., Jews converting, is one that must be combated by learning about Christianity not ignoring it.  We do have all the answers and it behooves the Rabbis and educators to instruct and teach rather than drawing a curtain.

It's as simple as that.

^