The Jewish Jesus with Amy-Jill Levine

QUICK SUMMARY

What does it mean to take the Incarnation seriously? According to AJ Levine, one of the most respected scholars of New Testament and Jewish Studies in the world, it means taking seriously the time, the place, and the people who first told those stories, and that starts with understanding the Jewish Jesus.

In this episode, hosts Dave Plisky and Fr. John Gribowich sit down with AJ Levine for a conversation that is by turns surprising, funny, and deeply illuminating. Whether you’re a lifelong Christian, a curious skeptic, or someone navigating the space between traditions, this episode will change the way you read the Gospels.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE EXPLORE

• How a seven-year-old Jewish girl decided to attend catechism and why it launched a career
• Why understanding Jesus’s Jewish identity is actually a matter of Christian doctrine
• The woman at the well: why she’s not a sinner, and why that matters
• The Parable of the Prodigal Son, and why making Judaism the villain misses the entire point
• What “Abba” actually means (and what it doesn’t)
• How the same parable reads completely differently in Russia, Australia, Kenya, and the U.S.
• Why true interfaith dialogue requires disagreement — not a “kumbaya moment”
• What AJ does while listening to podcasts (it involves knitting)

ABOUT AMY JILL LEVINE

AJ Levine is Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, and University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Worthen Professor of Jewish Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt University.

She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, recipient of the Seelisberg Prize for Jewish-Christian Relations and the H. Walter Award for Interfaith Cooperation, and the incoming president of the Catholic Biblical Association for 2026–2027.

Her books include:

• The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus
• Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi
• The Jewish Annotated New Testament (co-edited with Marc Brettler)
• The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently (with Marc Brettler)
• Jesus for Everyone: Not Just for Christians
• And many more, including the Beginner’s Guide series and six children’s books with Sandy Sasso

AJ describes herself as “an unorthodox member of an Orthodox synagogue”, someone who works to counter biblical interpretations that oppress and exclude.

MEMORABLE QUOTE

“The best outcome of this type of conversation is you become a better you because you’re more aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your own tradition. You can interrogate your own tradition with questions that you might not have posed — because they’re questions that somebody from the outside would see that you would not see.” — AJ Levine

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• The Jewish Annotated New Testament — 3rd edition coming August 2025
• The Bible With and Without Jesus — AJ Levine & Marc Brettler
• Short Stories by Jesus — The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi
• Nostra Aetate — The Vatican II document on Jewish-Christian relations (60th anniversary, October 2025)
• Previous episode: Gabriel Reynolds on Islam and “disagreeing well” in interfaith dialogue

Samaritans still offering Passover sacrifices on Mount Gerizim — a living tradition