Yesterday's Prophets and Today's?
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ShareFor Congregation L'Dor V'Dor's discussion of prophets and prophecy at second day Rosh Hashanah morning services. Think about this question: what is the nature of telling uncomfortable truths to power.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
The prophet is an iconoclast, challenging the apparently holy, revered, and awesome. Beliefs cherished as certainties, institutions endowed with supreme sanctity, he exposes as scandalous pretensions.
The prophet is an iconoclast, challenging the apparently holy, revered, and awesome. Beliefs cherished as certainties, institutions endowed with supreme sanctity, he exposes as scandalous pretensions.
Amos 5
Hear this word that I intone
As a dirge over you, O House of Israel...
They hate the arbiter in the gate,
And detest the one whose plea is just.
Assuredly,
Because you impose a tax on the poor
And exact from them a levy of grain,
You have built houses of hewn stone,
But you shall not live in them;
You have planted delightful vineyards,
But shall not drink their wine.
For I have noted how many are your crimes,
And how countless your sins—
You enemies of the righteous,
You takers of bribes,
You who subvert in the gate
The cause of the needy!
Assuredly,
At such a time the prudent keep silent,
For it is an evil time.
Seek good and not evil,
That you may live,
And that the Eternal, the God of Hosts,
May truly be with you,
As you think.
Hate evil and love good,
And establish justice in the gate;
Perhaps the Eternal, the God of Hosts,
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Hear this word that I intone
As a dirge over you, O House of Israel...
They hate the arbiter in the gate,
And detest the one whose plea is just.
Assuredly,
Because you impose a tax on the poor
And exact from them a levy of grain,
You have built houses of hewn stone,
But you shall not live in them;
You have planted delightful vineyards,
But shall not drink their wine.
For I have noted how many are your crimes,
And how countless your sins—
You enemies of the righteous,
You takers of bribes,
You who subvert in the gate
The cause of the needy!
Assuredly,
At such a time the prudent keep silent,
For it is an evil time.
Seek good and not evil,
That you may live,
And that the Eternal, the God of Hosts,
May truly be with you,
As you think.
Hate evil and love good,
And establish justice in the gate;
Perhaps the Eternal, the God of Hosts,
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Rabbi Sharon Brous
Think of it: the liberation of the poor is a prerequisite for the liberation of all people! I don’t care what zip code you live in, how many graduate degrees you hold, how secure your pension. Your liberation is tied up in the liberation of every person who must choose between prescription drugs and groceries, who worries if the water she serves her thirsty children is tainted with lead. It is simply inconceivable that I could live freely while my neighbor lives in perpetual anxiety over whether she, or her loved ones, will be one of the thousands to die this year from poverty.
Think of it: the liberation of the poor is a prerequisite for the liberation of all people! I don’t care what zip code you live in, how many graduate degrees you hold, how secure your pension. Your liberation is tied up in the liberation of every person who must choose between prescription drugs and groceries, who worries if the water she serves her thirsty children is tainted with lead. It is simply inconceivable that I could live freely while my neighbor lives in perpetual anxiety over whether she, or her loved ones, will be one of the thousands to die this year from poverty.
Rabbi Arik Ascherman
As long as there is occupation, there will most likely continue to be no interest in doing for Palestinians what we do to protect the lives and property of Jews. This is human nature. Those employing violence to dispossess Palestinians will continue to feel free to do so. But both supporters and opponents of the occupation have a moral responsibility to change our defense and legal doctrines. We must act in accordance with international law, respect the Image of God in every human being, and honor the Torah’s exhortations to treat non-Jews decently.
As long as there is occupation, there will most likely continue to be no interest in doing for Palestinians what we do to protect the lives and property of Jews. This is human nature. Those employing violence to dispossess Palestinians will continue to feel free to do so. But both supporters and opponents of the occupation have a moral responsibility to change our defense and legal doctrines. We must act in accordance with international law, respect the Image of God in every human being, and honor the Torah’s exhortations to treat non-Jews decently.
Shimon Peres
It is better to be controversial for the right reasons than popular for the wrong reasons.
It is better to be controversial for the right reasons than popular for the wrong reasons.
