Expert: Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner - 9/4/2004

Question
I am 51 years old. I was raised in a Southern Baptist home. My husband was raised in a Seventh Day Adventest home.I am very into studying and reading my Bible. I also listen to Bible on tapes and read books to help my study. My question is did the Jews Baptise back in the days when Jesus and John the Baptist were alive? Did John the Baptist first start Baptisim? Or was he just the first one mentioned that I read about? John Baptised many people with water including Jesus. He said Jesus was coming to Baptise them with fire.Jesus's disiples and apostles Baptised. Jesus did not. Did the Jewish people back in John and Jesus time Baptise in any form? Do the Jewish people today Baptise?
Thank you. I am not a real educated person or a scolar,but I am very interested in God's Word,and I learn so much. I would appreciate any help. Thank you. P.Burke


Answer
Dear P.Y.

Thanks for writing.

Baptism as such is not a historical part of Judaism.

Immersian in a spring-fed pool or a natural source of running water, such as a river, was a precursor to entering the Temple and offering a sacrifice.

Ritual impurity from death - not a historical ritual for Christian faith - was the cause for immersion, and only later was immersion made part of the rituals for conversion to Judaism. Other roles also call for immersion, such as a scribe writing the Torah scroll.

Baptism is a Christian concept as you describe it, and I wish you well. Consider this selection from the Encyclopedia Judaica:

"From the little information about John's teachings it can be seen that his outlook was close to that of the Judean Desert sect, although there were certain differences between them. John maintained a dualistic division between the righteous and the wicked whom he calls the "Children of a Viper." He believed, however, that even the wicked could repent. Like the sect, John interpreted the verse, "Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord" (Isa. 40:3) as literally referring to going into the wilderness, but he did not require his adherents to seclude themselves. In contrast to the sect, in which property was communal, John required his adherents only to share their belongings with the needy but allowed the tax collectors and soldiers to maintain their positions, although he himself lived as a recluse. It is possible that at one time John was a member of the Judean Desert sect. It is reasonable that he left them because he disagreed with their separatist extremism; he offered repentance to all Jews and did not desire a separate sect. His method of baptism repurifies the soul after it has been previously purified through repentance and charity. John's baptism was therefore, like the sect's baptism, "a baptism of repentance for atonement of sins." For this reason those about to undergo baptism first made confession. According to the sect the holy spirit purifies the baptized person from all his sins: the New Testament states that the holy spirit rested on Jesus while he was being baptized by John. John proclaimed the coming of the end of days and the advent of the Messiah, and was therefore thought by some to be the prophet Elijah, who was destined to come before the Messiah. There were also some who believed that John was resurrected after he had been killed. According to the Gospels John prophesied that he would be followed by someone greater than he who would save the righteous and mete out eternal punishment to the evildoers. The image of the Messiah described by John is similar to the "Son of Man," as described especially in the Book of Enoch and about whom Jesus later spoke. Jesus began his activity after John's arrest.


Rabbi Dov