Jeremiah Chapters 5-6; They have done abhorrent things...

    

Jeremiah begins Chapter 5 searching for the reasons why the people have turned from God. He knows what is coming and he is suffering from this foresight. Do they act foolishly because they are “just poor folk?” The rich should know better but they are far worse. He has tried to warn them but the people have made little progress since the reforms of Josiah. Wish as he might, Jeremiah will be unable to dissuade God’s anger.

 Julie: Referring to 5:1 “You will not find a man,/ There is none who acts justly,/ Who seeks integrity-/That I should pardon her.

That I should pardon her. Is her the nation?  Is this in keeping with the metaphor of Israel as the adulteress bride?

Rabbi: Yes!

Jane: Yeah, I noticed that too!

Ceil: referring to 5:18,  God is addressing Jeremiah and explaining to him why the people will be punished and how he should explain it to them/Israel.

Joel: referring to 5:19 “Because you forsook me and served alien gods on your own land, you will have to serve foreigners in a land not your own.”

Is this a reference to the New Egypt? I remember the quote from the Passover Haggadah. It mentions Abraham and refers to the Egyptian captivity.

Rabbi: Yes, this is from Genesis 15:13 “And He said to Abraham, “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be slaves and oppressed…”

Very good Joel!

Note: In 609 BCE Josiah dies in the battle near Megiddo. Josiah’s son Jehoahaz is made king but is quickly removed by Pharaoh Neco II and deported to Egypt. Neco places Johoiakim, Jehoahaz’s brother, on the throne where he will reign over Judah as an Egyptian vassal.

Joel: The tone in Jeremiah feels more punitive than what we read in Isaiah. For example, “you, devoid of intelligence”, behaving as “well-fed, lusty stallions/ Each neighing at another’s wife”… Also there are frequent references to “the foolish”.

Rabbi: There is a real rawness in Jeremiah.

Gary: Is Jeremiah from the same cultural group as Isaiah? Is he as well connected?

Julie: Jeremiah is a son of a priest but the prophets represent the nation from all strata of life.

Bill: Maybe this is meant to attract all the different groups within the nation.

Jane: They are communicating on many different levels, similar to how a teacher would teach to a diverse group of learners.

Rabbi: Compared to Isaiah, Jeremiah’s task is more difficult. The people will feel that he is betraying them; they do not want to hear about the coming exile and they will punish him for it.

Julie: Maybe this is why he is called “the Weeping Prophet”.

                                                          Chapter 6

Julie: Rabbi, do we have rules of engagement in war at this time in our history?

Rabbi: Yes, we can find the rules in Deuteronomy. They are ethics that might not meet our modern standards, but they are there. We may massacre all the pagan people, but the fruit trees must go unharmed as this is God’s creation.

Bill: In war we are to leave the fruit trees unharmed? This is very practical. If you win you will have fruit to eat. The land is then yours.

Rabbi: Referring to the situation, the die is cast. The prophet is not so naive to think that he can turn this situation around. He knows it is too late. They will be punished and sent into exile.

Bill: So why bother? What’s the purpose?

Joel: Jeremiah is like a trauma/grief coach. He is going to help them through it. It doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. Rather Jeremiah’s goal is assure the people that Israel as a whole nation will have a future.

Bill: This is similar to our 40 years of wandering in the dessert. The older generation will not be able to enter the Promised Land but the new generation will. God makes the decision that the older generation cannot handle freedom. Likewise, the remnant living at the time of the prophets must

 

 

adapt to a new future of freedom, but they all won’t survive those trying times.

                                                                 

Jeremiah Chapters 3-5;Thine Own Wickedness Shall Correct Thee!

       King Josiah destroying the idols of Baal.

 

Previously, Israel has been shielded from foreign invaders but now it will be punished by the empire from the north. Child sacrifice, neglect of the poor, idolatry and sexual cult ritual have turned God’s favor from his people as they have turned away from God. Attempts at reform have come too little and too late to meet God’s expectations. Exile draws near and restoration of the righteous is promised but they must wait patiently for this process to run its course.

 Chapter 3 begins with a question: Can the people ever return to God after chasing false gods and straying so far from his laws?

Carl: Can the lord forgive? God is using the word “defiled “ in Ch. 3:2  “you defiled the land/With your whoring and your debauchery…”

God doesn’t appear to be closing the door – there is a ray of hope here.

Joel: There is a very specific morality here. Men can whore about but women can’t. Women are blamed for men straying.

Ceil: If a couple strayed they were both stoned.

Joel: There is the famous Torah story of a man and a woman copulating at the altar and Pinchas (Phineas) runs his sword through the two of them in one action.

Carl: Doesn’t this bother you?

Joel: Well, yes. In the text Pinchas is rewarded directly by God for his righteousness.

Carl: God isn’t saying he is jealous, but he does seem to be expressing this emotion.

Joel: The contract is with Israel and her actions are being described as a whoring adulteress.

Carl: If God mentions his jealousy then this would mean that he can be emotionally hurt.

Joel: In the text he does respond as an injured being.

Carl: But God is infinite and this makes him appear finite so that the humans – his spin-off creations, can understand.

Joel: Maimonides said that God appears human only so we can understand him.

Carl: So I am in good company.

Julie: We are made in God’s image; it doesn’t specify exactly how.

Carl: If God has an issue he will decide in a finite way how to resolve it.

Julie: In this case he is sending in the Babylonian Empire to punish the people.

Carl: Is Judah being saved by Josiah?

Joel: Josiah is seen as the first monotheistic reformer but his reforms are unable to off- set how far the people have strayed. He dies at the battle of Megiddo.

Jane: Josiah dies in 609BCE.

Julie: Maybe he is the lucky one. He doesn’t have to see his people conquered.

Jane:  Referring to Ch. 3:14 “Turn back, rebellious children…since I have espoused/you, I will take you…  

Jonathan: This sounds very familiar. It sounds like Isaiah. It sounds like the two prophets are texting each other.

Jane: This is the rationale for the coming punishment.

Carl: Referring to ch3:22 “Turn back, O rebellious children,/I will heal your afflictions!”

God seems to be relenting.

Julie: He will forgive them but they are still getting punished.

Jane: This is like a time-out.

Joel: Creativity happens under stress. The prophets are the expression of this stress. But it’s a process. They lead the way to modern Judaism.

Jane: Cataclysmic events drive change.

Joel: The prophets bring in a new level, a more sophisticated level of morality that is developing under tremendous political and social upheaval.

Chapter 4

Jane: Referring to Ch. 4: 15-17 “Hark, one proclaims from Dan/And announces calamity from Mount Ephraim!/Tell the nations: Here they are!/ Announce concerning Jerusalem:/ Watchers are coming from a distant land,/ They raise their voices against the towns of Judah,/ Like guards of fields, they surround her on every side.”

This is war.

Ceil: Yes, it sounds like an invasion.

Jane: Referring to Ch 4:23-26 “I look at the earth,/It is unformed and void;/ At the skies,/And their light is gone…I look: no man is left,/…

 God is giving the warning. If you keep this up, this is what is in store for you. He is telling them the future. 

Jonathan: If you don’t stop, I’ll call your mother… This is the story of Jewish Guilt!

Joel: This is more like “Wait till your father gets home!!.”

Joel: Illness, plague, crop failure… these things are always the repercussions of poor behavior. It kind of gets annoying.

Ceil: This is not limited to Judaism. Most people would ask, “What have I done to deserve this?”

Jonathan: Well, an atheist might say, I ate poorly or this illness is due to my genes. This is the reason I am ill, but a believing Jew would eat chicken fat and then say, why am I ill? God must be punishing me.”

Carl: referring to Ch. 4:4 “Remove the thickening about your hearts…”

This is about the dangers of cholesterol.

All: Laugh!

Carl: This is so descriptive.

Joel: Yeah, it’s all powerful poetry.

             Chapter 5

Carl: referring to Ch. 5: 5 “the poor…/They act foolishly;/ For they do not know the way of the LORD,/ …I will go to the wealthy/And speak with them.”

Joel: The wealthy should know better, but they are worse.

Ceil: The poor may not know better.

Joel: The prophets are always railing against the rich.

Jonathan: Same as today.

Ceil: The wealthy should be more moral because they have more information.

Jane: They are arrogant because they know and still do not do the right thing.

Carl: This sounds so crazy, rambling and redundant.

Joel: I don’t think this is rambling at all. I think he’s on target.

Julie: God is laying out the reasons for the upcoming punishment. I work for the Dept. of Education in New York. When I do staff development I always begin by telling the group what I am about to discuss, then reiterate the important points and sum them up again at the end.

Paul: referring to5:: 4-5 “The poor folk;/ they act foolishly…”

Why punish fools? Why not educate them?

Joel: The Rabbis are clear on who is foolish. It is not people of low I/Q s. as we would have it today. They mean people who do not accept the reality of God. They mean the non-believers.

Ceil: Dumb means you should know better.

Jane: or ungrateful.

Julie: The people are foolish for not following what I have shown them.

Ceil: It’s ultimately about transgression.

Jonathan: It can mean a person lacking in judgment.

Historians and cultural critics have noted that Jeremiah’s form is exactly like ancient near East court of law tracts between a King or Overlord and his vassal state. The Overlord will send a messenger to read a document to the offending vassal stating his case. There is an implied accusation, a description of what the Overlord has done for the vassal state, a declarations of the vassal’s guilt and then culpability. This format is also seen in the book of Deuteronomy, which was contemporaneous with Jeremiah. We see here the Prophets using existing material, but put to new use in the service of a new Judaism.

Jeremiah 2:23-37; Idols, Idols everywhere.

                                                 

Canaanite god Baal                                              Assyrian god ashur



Canaanite Goddess Ashera

King Manasseh ruled Judah for 55 years. During this time he paid heavy tribute to the Assyrian king and encouraged their cults in an effort to discourage Yahwism and quell revolt. After Manasseh’s death in 642 BCE, his son Amon reigned for two years faithfully continuing his father’s policies. Amon was assassinated and his eight year old son Josiah succeeded him on the throne. Eight years later as Assyrian power weakened, Josiah was able to galvanize forces and occupy what was once Israel continuing North into Damascus, thus re-establishing the Davidic dynasty. In 622 BCE Josiah renovated the Temple, reestablished the priesthood and Yahwist law. As we know from our previous reading of Isaiah, Josiah’s efforts will fall short and will not able to dissuade God from punishing the people with exile.

“Like a Lustful she-camel,/Restlessly running about,/Or like a wild ass used to the desert,/Snuffing the wind in her eagerness,/ Whose passion none can restrain…”

Carl: 2:23-24 Wow, like a lustful she-camel. What an image!

Julie: There is a lot of this kind of imagery of Israel being compared to a whore or an unfaithful wife.

Ellen: I have a question about the idols. Is it the idol itself that holds the power or is it a conduit for their god?

Jane: It serves as a physical manifestation of a god.

Joel: This is the monotheistic dichotomy. We claim that our god is a spirit, while the pagan gods are made of wood and stone. Our god is true, while the others are false.

Ellen: We have idol-like things too.

Ceil: We don’t pray to the Torah or to a mezuzah.

Bill: Well, there are some sects of Judaism that pray to the chair or the tomb of a beloved rabbi.

Joel: They are not praying to the chair or tomb – they are praying at the tomb. That’s different!

Carl: Referring to 2:25 “No, I love the strangers (other gods),/And after them I must go…”

God is more concerned with the strangers (meaning the pagan worshippers) than the idols.

Rabbi: This is a reference to idol worship.

Joel: Freud would say that this is the transcendental abstract idea of God. Jews represent the enlightenment. We represent the modern and scientific mind that doesn’t need physical objects or manifestations.

Bill: This is like late classical Greece.

Joel: Aristotle said idol worship was crap but the people wanted it.

Jane: I’m sure in ancient times that there was public worship and then there was private worship. People must have renounced idols in the public square but in the home they may have had an altar.

Joel: The prophets are the cutting edge guys that see how Judaism will develop but the rank and file still needed something physical to hold onto in their hands.

Ellen: But don’t we venerate things like mezuzahs?

Rabbi: I don’t conform to the idea that a mezuzah protects a home. What is important is the text inside it. It is a beautiful part of our tradition.

Julie: So why don’t we have a Xerox of a hand- written text? Why do we need the animal parchment?

Bill: Wouldn’t you prefer to have a real master artwork rather than a reproduction of one?

Rabbi: Which would you prefer, a real Matisse or a poster of a Matisse?

Julie: I can’t afford a real Matisse! I see your point but I don’t want animal hide used to make Mezuzahs. I don’t believe in it regardless of its authenticity. I’ll take the mezuzah with the “authentic parchment” Xerox copy inside it.

Ellen: Many Jews believe that a mezuzah is not kosher without the parchment inside it.

Jane: The mezuzah venerates our love of education and the written word as well as honoring God’s message.

Ceil: Veneration and worship are mixed up.

Rabbi: If we said that the Torah is God then, that would be different.

Paul: The Protestant Reformation is a good example of this very idea. They ultimately tossed the statues/idols out.

Joel: In the Byzantine Empire, people killed each other over visual representations. It was called the Iconoclastic Wars. In the 6^th to the 9^th Centuries, Pro and anti- icon factions literally killed one another.

Rabbi: I think the point of this idol debate is that the people have strayed from God’s path. It’s the worship over the other god that is the problem, not the visual representation.

Carl: The mezuzah is the product of the scribe’s transference of spiritual power. I read that somewhere.

Julie: I have a question regarding Deuteronomy. Supposedly a Priest found the Deuteronamic text hidden away in the temple. Were the other four books of Torah codified before or after Deuteronomy?

Joel: There is divergent scholarship on this issue. If the books were not codified as separate texts (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers) scholars says they were the J, E, P, R, Texts. That is the Javist, Elohist, Priestly, and Redactor texts.

Ellen: I think there is a human evolution to trying to rid the superstition out of worship. It is deeply rooted in our psyche.

Joel: This represents the cultural evolution of the Western mind and the Jewish people. Take your pick. At a certain stage, people’s philosophic thought became more abstract and transcendent and less sacrificial, vengeful and concrete.

Rabbi: It is easy to make the case that this is one of the reasons why Judaism is a harder sell.

Assyrian fish god

Goddess Ashera and the goats

Jeremiah Chapters 1-2:22; I Planted You With Noble Vine!

                                       

Rembrandt van Rijn's painting of the Prophet Jeremiah


 

             

We begin reading The Book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is born around 645 BCE. He is called to prophecy in 627 BCE, one year after King Josiah of Judah attempts to reform the Judeans from idolatrous practices. He is the son of a wealthy land owning Priest in the town of Anathoth, which is three miles north east of Jerusalem. His educational training would appear to have included the writings/preaching of the Northern Israelite prophet Hosea as well as Deuteronomic verse as is evidenced by the 200 citations found in the Book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah will never marry, knowing what awaits women and children in the coming exile.

Fragment of Septuagint Torah portion 3rd Century BCE

        

 There are two known versions of the Book of Jeremiah: the Septuagint translation (This is the Greek language version of the Jewish Bible that was begun in the late 3^rd Century BCE for the Greek speaking Alexandrian Jews. It is 1/8 the length of the Masoretic text) and the Masoretic translation (The authoritative Hebrew language version of the Jewish Bible).

         

Baruch Ben Neriah is Jeremiah’s devoted disciple-scribe who is described by Flavius Josephus (the Jewish Historian) as a Jewish aristocrat whose brother was the chamberlain to King Zedekiah of Judah. The Rabbis describe Baruch as a blood-relative of Jeremiah, both men of the Kohanim.

Chapter 1 begins with Jeremiah’s description of his call to prophecy.

Rabbi:  Chapter 1:1-10 Jeremiah is describing how he was summoned to divine prophecy.

Ceil: Chapter 1:6-7 “ I don’t know how to speak,/ For I am still a boy,…”

 Like other prophets before him, he is hesitant to take on this job.

  Weeping Jeremiah by Marc Chagall

                                                               1956

 

Julie: There is no backing out of this position – he was chosen before he was in the womb.

Ellen: Chapter 1:17 “So you, gird up your loins/Arise and speak to them/All that I command of you./ Do not break down before them,/Lest I break you before them.”

So God is threatening to harm him?

Julie: I think God is giving him very serious direction. He wants his full attention. This is not about him.

Referring to 1:11 “The word of the Lord came to me: What do you see, Jeremiah? I replied: I see a branch of an almond tree.”

 What is the significance of the Almond tree?

Ceil: I believe that almond trees are the first to bloom in spring.

Julie: Oh, that’s beautiful!

Rabbi: Chapter 2:1-3 “I accounted to you favor/ The devotion of your youth,/ Your love as a bride…”

This sounds like a very idealized memory of their time in the wilderness.

Joel:  Chapter 2: 3 “Israel was holy to the Lord,/ The first fruits of His harvest.”

 Israel was first among the nations – the favored child.

Julie: God seems very personally hurt by the people’s rejection of him.

Joel: It appears like the people are being asked to make a choice but it isn’t much of a choice. Follow my ways or…

Rabbi: yes, this is a black and white choice but the choice is theirs.

Joel: Chapter 2:3 referring to all who ate of the first fruits of the harvest were held guilty and disaster befell them. So the best was taken off the top for sacrifice? Is that meant to burn or to be given to the priests?

Rabbi: The best of the harvest is given to God.

Julie: Chapter: 2:8 “And the prophets prophesized by Baal/And followed what can do no good.”

I believe child sacrifice was made to Baal.

Ceil: no, I think he was a fertility god.

Julie: Yes, they made human sacrifice to ensure the growth of new crops.

Rabbi: Do you remember the story of Elijah when he challenges the Prophets of Baal?

Ceil: yes!

Ellen:  Chapter 2: 10  “Just across the isles of the Kittim and look,/ Send to Kedar and observe carefully;…”

What is Kittum and Kedar?

Rabbi: Kittum is an island in the Aegean and I’m not sure of Kedar. These references show their awareness of the larger world and how these other people’s values are being juxtaposed to our own.

Note: Kittum was the name for the west coast of Cyprus. The Jewish Bible also applies the name to all of the Aegean islands. Kedar was an Arab confederacy that controlled the Persian Gulf to the Sinai Peninsula in the 6^th Century BCE.

Joel: Chapter 2: 18 “What, then is the good of your going to Egypt/ To drink the waters of the Nile?/ And what is the good of your goings to Assyria…”

This sounds like a Greek debate; the world vs. Monotheism. He is arguing the case.

Julie: I think he is referring to the Northerners trying to make pacts with the Assyrians. We were punished for not trusting in God.

Ceil: No, I think this is just metaphorical – poetic.

Julie: possibly!

Rabbi: Chapter 2:21 ‘I planted you with noble vines,/ All with choicest seed;/ Alas I find you changed/ In to a base, an alien vine!”

This is such powerful poetry!

Ellen: I really get this. It feels like a very modern dilemma. God is saying that the people have everything that they need to thrive but they continue to try and better and one up God. We can’t see what’s in front of us and so we try Buddhism or this or that. God is just trying to get us to accept that our roots are deep and we have all we need to move forward.

Rabbi: Chapter 2:22 “Though you wash with natron/And use much lye,/ Your guilt is ingrained before Me.”

The people may look physically good and have used beautiful salts to clean–up but God sees what they have become.

 

These are a people who have lost their direction. They may beautify themselves with Nile salts but they pray to pagan gods so, they no longer bind together in covenant/community. Despite Josiahs’ best efforts to reform their ways, it will be to no avail. Similar to Isaiah, Jeremiah prophesizes the coming threat from the North.   

Isaiah Chapters 65-66: Finally Home

Depiction of the pagan god Moleck being presented with a child sacrifice.

    

 

Welcome back! I apologize for such a long hiatus but hurricane Sandy had the last word. We were without power for 9 days. I am sending out my condolences for those who have suffered any loss or damage. Wishing everyone affected by the storm much faith and love.

During this time our Torah group did meet and continued through Chapters 60 to 66. Unfortunately I will not be able cover Chapters 60 through 64 but continue to Chapter 65 - 66, the last two chapters in the Book of Isaiah. I’m going to miss him!

Biblical scholars agree that the people are exiles no more. They are back in Jerusalem, the center of the world stage. The “new earth” will be populated by the “true worshippers”; they will be the beneficiaries of all blessings and rewards. Conversely, those who continue to oppress the poor, who taunt the “servants of God” and who worship idols, will be afflicted by the divine anger. It will be a nasty end for this group as described in Chapter 66:24.

Clearly idol worship continues to be a problem, something that really enrages God. It threatens the purity of his rituals and undermines his laws. Human, dog and pig sacrifice are referenced because of their association with the cults of Molech and the goddess Hecate who must have presented a seductive threat to a community in crisis.

As we end the book, we come full circle as God metes out justice and redemption. I felt that the last chapter ended very abruptly, harps on divine punishment and merely trails off. How unlike the well- paced epic poetry of earlier chapters! It all ends on a very sour note. So sour in fact, that the rabbis felt the need to end the book

themselves, by inserting 66:23 again as means to offer hope and encouragement.

 

Rabbi: We are back to the  seperating of the faithful from the un-faithful.

Joel: Refering to 65:4, " Who sit in tombs/ And pass the night in secret places;/ Who eat the flesh of swine,/ With broth of unclean things in their bowls..." I'm struck by the horror movie-like imagery in this chapter. For example, “‘people’…sitting in tombs…to offer worship” like Night of the Living Dead. The group that returns with Isaiah is seen as the faithful and those who remain are De facto the wicked.

 

Paul: If two generations were in exile due to misdeeds and faithlessness, then why do we venerate the Babylonian Talmud which was written in that very exile?

Joel: The greatest scholars were in Babylon and they set up schools and a lifestyle that could support this effort. Also, the Babylonian Jews had to wrestle with the law because they chose to not return to Zion. Exile became the prototypical Jewish experience.

Rabbi: These issues remain with us today.

Ceil: This reminds me of a joke. A pious man is on a boat that is taking him from Poland to America. He speaks to God, “Goodbye God. Goodbye forever, I’m going to America”.

Rabbi: The Jewish exile in Babylon was short enough for many to have lived through the experience from beginning to end. They would have remembered their practices and would have conceivably been able to pass them on to their children.

 

Julie: refering to 65:11, "But as for you who forsake the LORD,/ Who ignore My holy mountain,/ Who set a table for Luck, And fill a mixing bowl for Destiny:/ I will destine you to the sword,..."   Is Isaiah/God speaking to those who chose to remain? The non -jews who go to Zion with the jews, is this group to become one with the "chosen people?"

Bill: refering to 65:13-25 This is reminiscent of the flood in Genesis. We were promised that we would not be wiped out again. It’s another episode of God starting over with a clean slate.

Joel: This is the Golden Age speech. We heard this all in First Isaiah. If this is a different guy named Isaiah two hundred years later, then this Isaiah read the earlier book to end things in a way that comes full circle. This is the Peace speech of the Messianic Age “The Lion shall lay down with the lamb”.

Jerry: If this was less than inspirational it would not have lasted.

Cynthia: Is anybody else bothered by the fact that God doesn’t seem to keep his promise to the Jews about the life of Israel or the kings who ruled there, or the way the Jews suffered in Exile? It doesn’t seem that God kept his promise. We are not in an idylic era

Joel: It doesn’t make it less inspirational just because we can’t’ reach the ideal of the messianic Age. It’s a symbol to aim for.

 

Rabbi: We need this. It helps us reach for our better nature.

 

Rabbi suggests that we each read one verse in round- table style as we begin Chapter 66, the last chapter of the Book of Isaiah.

Julie: referring to 66:1-6,  We are back to the retribution!  I think the Rabbis should have let the book end as it was intended. Refering to 66: 23 being tacked on again after 66:24, What a bummer ending. It was made uplifting in a false way. If the book ends with curses, then it should end with curses.

Rabbi: Refering to the last verse,  There is a tradition that we end on an encouraging note!

 

                                         
 

Two summers ago when I was in Israel, I was confronted by the ongoing conversation about Galut (Golus), or diaspora/exile which continues among Jews today. We can most likely trace this conversation back 2,500 years to the time of the Babylonian exile and return. For example, I had an equal number of Israelis ask me, “Why don’t you make Aliyah?” as did those who expressed a request for support, “Keep us in your heart - We are your family.”

How do we as North American Jews, see ourselves? Are we a diaspora community yearning to someday return to our ancestral home in Israel, or are we the inheritors of an important and necessary community that is perfectly positioned to support Israel from afar? From this vantage point we can extend our Jewish culture and its values beyond the parameters of Zion. We could offer support from this position, just as Israel would offer us a safe haven in the event of a world catastrophe against the Jews and a psychological buffer against cultural diminution in a largely Christian and Muslim world. These fears continue in the hearts and minds of our community.

Throughout the years I remember the great sadness I felt when World Heritage sites and treasures were destroyed by war. I was saddened because I saw these great cultural artifacts as belonging to the human community, as they represented the best that humankind had to offer.  I would like to feel that Israel’s history and present day accomplishments would be valued by the world community. I would like to feel that Israel is not just ours but belongs to or at least is valued by everyone. Unfortunately, I do not feel that secure. It is a complicated truth of my experience as a Jew that all these conflicting experiences and feelings have to coexist. 

 

Isaiah Chapters 58-59:The If/then Contract with the Nation Of Israel

Cyrus Cylinder

Base relief of Cyrus

One of the reoccurring themes for the last few chapters has been what a lawyer might describe as an “If/then” contract between God and the nation of Israel.  Some aspects of this contract can be negotiated, but essentially the rules are determined by God and agreed to be followed by Israel.  They (or we) must measure up, or else face the consequences. Rewards are provided for those who fulfill the laws and curses are meted out to the whole community.  Offsetting communal punishment is the reinstatement of the Jewish people in the land of Israel.  Some of us have expressed the belief that humanity is incapable of meeting God’s expectations and that the bar is set too high. These people feel that the law functions more like an ideal that humans strive to achieve, but never realize due to the evil impulse within us all and free will. Observance of mandated mitzvot done with Kavannah ( righteous intention- for example, charity to the poor, Shabbat, etc.) provide redemptive possibilities for the individual and cohesion for the community. However, Isaiah does not commit to a hard date on the Messianic future or the arrival of the Messiah, which seems to be post- dated to an unspecified time.  Humanity, don’t hold your breath!  We continue on Chapter 58

Bob: Referring to 58:8-14 In this passage, Isaiah sounds a little one dimensional. Why all the focus on Shabbat?

Rabbi: I don’t think this is only referring to Shabbat. There are other issues as well.  For example , 58:9 “banish the yoke from your midst”, 58:10 …"offer compassion to the hungry…”

Bill: I find it very soothing.

Rabbi: I think it’s meant to motivate. This is an example of offering the carrot rather than the stick.

Jane: I draft contracts and I feel strongly that the contract God and Isaiah is drafting, contains a  “ default in the requirements”  preamble. In other words these stipulations are required for contract. These things happen if you don’t fulfill the contract.

Joel: For me this language is too legalistic. It feels like a medieval king addressing his vassals. I need a little more religious succor here.  It doesn’t feel good.

 

Jane: This is the law! By nature it’s legalistic.

Joel: Yes, I understand the rules of the law but it feels like a boot on my throat.

Bill: But, God will be there for us upon his conditions.

Bob: God always determines if we have measured up; if we have fulfilled our part of the pact but we never can. It never works out for us.

Joel: We always fail but we can bargain with God. This has worked in the past. We keep striving.

Bob: Really? Who can we sue?

Bill: Moses negotiated for the people.

 Ellen: Isaiah keeps referring to himself as interchangeable with God . Lots of “ I” I talk. This feels very egotistical.

Julie: The role of the prophet is not unique to the Jews .The Prophet speaks  for the God and provides advice to the king or in our case, the people.  On numerous cuneiform tablets from various kings, there is mention of the Seers, the Screamers, the Channelers… They had a specific place in the culture of the Near Middle East and held influence over the kings when their advice served to the king’s advantage. They could get away with saying things to power that others could not.

Ellen: It bothers me that Isaiah is always saying “I”, “I”, “I”.

Rabbi: This is just a manner of speaking in the Books of the Prophets in general.

Bobby: Isaiah is a leader and he is just conveying God’s message to the people.

Ellen: I get it, but it still bothers me.

Bob: Which laws are the most critical? Which are we to follow?

Joel: The Rabbis decide.

Julie: Who is being addressed in chapter 59? Are all the people being lumped together or is Isaiah/God addressing those who have transgressed – those who will be remaining in Babylon?

Rabbi: This is focusing on the people when they were at their most unobservant. We are being saved regardless of our sins. God is keeping his promise.

Jane: We are being held accountable for our personal behavior. We are responsible!

Ellen: It seems that everything bad happens because of personal responsibility. It’s always on the individual and God is always putting the blame upon us , with no one else to appeal to.

Joel: Good and evil, social and personal – this is complicated. This is still relevant and sophisticated  with or without God, because Isaiah is delineating the moral responsibility for the individual in a very modern way. .

Bill: I think the message is to keep trying. Keep moving forward and try to do better.

Joel: I think it is silly and problematic to interpret the messianic time in a literal way. It functions best when it is metaphorical. We must take personal responsibility and try to make the world a better place.

Jane: Progress is not linear. It is usually one step forward and two back.

Ellen: Referring to 59:13-15 “Rebellion, faithlessness to the lord,/ And turning away from our God,/ Planning fraud and treachery,/Conceiving lies and uttering them with the throat.”

 

This is very Freudian in that God doesn’t remove the evil impulse from the human drive, which he could have. Rather, we are expected to take personal responsibility for keeping it in check.

Jane: referring to 59:14 “And so redress is turned back/And vindication stays afar because honesty stumbles in the public square.

Where are the honest people?

Rabbi: Isaiah may be addressing the false prophets. He is possibly speaking in the public square.

Joel: It sounds like he’s targeting the rise of the new Capitalism. Jews derived from agrarian people criticizing city people’s trade. There may be anger towards those who are prospering in Babylon through doing business.

Rabbi: We don’t have any account of what the people thought of Isaiah.

Julie: True! This is not a call and response dialogue.

Ellen: For all we know Isaiah could be keeping a journal while sitting in a prison cell. Referring to 59:21  “My spirit which is upon you,…”   Is this something we always have or is it only for a chosen few? Is it short lived or within? It sounds like God withholds his blessing from some, even though he says it’s for all.

Joel: This is nothing new in the Tanakh. God uses this language as a way to impart a special blessing. He confers special powers to the chosen few, like Moses, David and Samson. This is above and beyond the regular blessing of Israel or humanity. ..

Rabbi: If you are loyal.

Bill: I interpret this as God saying, “I come in and then I leave. But while I am gone you must continue my work – make it a part of yourself.”

Rabbi: Those who are loyal to God get the extra special spirit.

Ellen: 59:14 implies that this blessing is handed down to the children automatically without effort.

Joel: This is a two- fold contract. We all get the basic blessing, but the special blessing of vigor, power, vision etc.  are given to the chosen few.

Rabbi: Joel, are you speaking of “grace?” That sounds dangerously close to the concept of grace, where mitzvot are not required.

Joel: No! It’s not grace, but it’s not simple logic either.  Judaism is not logic. It is a tribal confederation, conferred over several stages. Things that are said in previous books are not necessarily applicable or even revoked several books later. Moses, David and Solomon were all deeply flawed and committed evil, but they were conferred with the special blessing and these blessings were not revoked, even though punishments may have been given.  

 

Bobby: It all seems so arbitrary. We can’t always understand God’s ways.