Preface

TL;DRAbstract

A Judaism comprises a world view and a way of life that together come to expression in the social world of a group of Jews. The “Judaisms” of the title therefore constitute several such ways of life and world views addressed to groups of Jews. A Messiah in a Judaism is a man who at the end of history, at the eschaton, will bring salvation to the Israel conceived by the social group addressed by the way of life and world view of that Judaism. Judaisms and their Messiahs at the age of the beginning of Christianity therefore encompass a group of religious systems that form a distinct family, all characterized by two traits: (1) address to “Israel” and (2) reference to diverse passages of the single common holy writing (“Old Testament,” “written Torah”).

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