David Shasha, director of the Sephardic Heritage Center, discusses our perceptions of the prophets of Israel, and the way we relate to their message today:
Prophetic self-criticism is the engine which has allowed Judaism to survive and flourish over the course of time.
As we begin the period of the High Holy Days, it would behoove us to open our Bibles and re-read the stories of the great Hebrew Prophets -- rebels all -- who spoke truth to power in the name of God and would not relent even in the face of death and personal destruction.
Their powerful faith in God has served us with a shining example of personal responsibility and integrity. Over the many generations of Jewish life, this faith demands social justice through fidelity to the Sinai Covenant, which teaches us who we are as Jews. It is a faith that demands the dignity of every single human being to live unmolested and free of oppression.
Those who have chosen the ways of Ahab have found worldly success and power. They have crushed their enemies and silenced the voices of those who dare to oppose their wicked guardianship of the earth. They belittle and humiliate those who look to the "still, small voice" of God that Elijah heard so many centuries ago. But we must not forget that security in the Jewish mind is to be found in the good works of humanity and not in the cruel depredations of the rich and powerful.
Read the whole article at the Huffington Post.
No comments:
Post a Comment