tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post7600648766890790506..comments2024-03-24T19:55:32.537-05:00Comments on The View from This Seat: Shabbat in IsraelLKSeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08860725174433173015noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-75720418946286743702018-08-07T05:42:44.511-05:002018-08-07T05:42:44.511-05:00For some good background on modern Israel, check o...For some good background on modern Israel, check out Ron Unz's latest: http://www.unz.com/runz/american-pravda-jews-and-nazis/ChefGaryDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201668872695826528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-77099069157528362092015-06-22T13:12:38.296-05:002015-06-22T13:12:38.296-05:00Somehow, wondering about your post, I wandered int...Somehow, wondering about your post, I wandered into this commentary concerning Jewish customs of Shavuot. <br /><br />“A lovely midrash on the book [of Ruth] notes that while its minor figures all treat their fellows justly, doing all that the law requires of them, the major characters (Ruth, Naomi, Boaz) are distinguished by their acts of ‘hesed’ – lovingkindness – which go beyond what is demanded. The rabbis, in having us read Ruth each Shavuot, thereby teach us something: that on the day when we celebrate reception of the laws of Torah, we need to remember that law is never enough. Certainly it will not ‘bring the Messiah’, [my emphasis] whose lineage goes back to Ruth. For that, the world needs ‘hesed’.” – Arnold Eisen<br /><br />And that (God love him) Steinbeck considered a choice which God desires and not a “you must!” which God requires.<br />DickWilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05662441899431054087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-78690470740665406932015-06-21T15:04:19.097-05:002015-06-21T15:04:19.097-05:00Bro. Leroy,
Like Anton I too wonder where this con...Bro. Leroy,<br />Like Anton I too wonder where this concept of hastening the arrival of the Messiah through good works originated. I don't remember any studies in late Old Testament or intertestamental writings that point to this unless it comes out of some rare reference in the Dead Sea Scrolls materials. For me (though a near but not quite fundamentalist) the good works I should be doing have nothing to do with the return of the Messiah. It has everything to do with a simple expression of gratitude for that thing called grace and an identification with the One who made it possible. I love the quote, “We are committed to full and complete reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinian people within the context of social justice for the Palestinians and security for Israel.” This is one of those several points that separate me from my more conservative Southern Baptist Convention brothers. Canaan belonged to someone else before the Twelve Tribes showed up. It has belonged to a couple more empires since 70 AD. The Jewish people never did follow through on the command to be priests to the world. Modern Israel has little to do with any form of theocracy in which God is in control. Neither good works by Jews, violent militancy by Christians, nor Jew-bashing and rockets by radical Muslims will ever bring about the kind of peace God has always desired for his creation. For individuals we find it through a personal relationship. For creation we will discover it when the Messiah does return in his own good time, in his own way, and using his own incomprehensible, divine means.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08468602047786863722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355086750486200439.post-63679145518091610442015-06-21T07:00:33.475-05:002015-06-21T07:00:33.475-05:00This is a remarkable reflection, Leroy, and most a...This is a remarkable reflection, Leroy, and most apropos for your travels. It has me wondering at the contrast between this Jewish notion of doing good to hasten the coming of the Messiah and the fundamentalistic Christian notion of hastening the return of their Messiah through world calamitous and destructive events. Also, it's not uncommon for some people to comment on the warrior God of the Old Testament (Hebrew scriptures) and the pacific God of the New, while typically ignoring the apocalyptic warriorness of the book of Revelation. It's all very complicated for people who want to take the Bible literally or nearly literally, or so I would think, although Christian literalists seem incapable of seeing ambiguities and contradictions. I'm also wondering how the Jews got to their notion of hastening the coming of the Messianic age, and the fundamentalist Christians got their version of messianic return with all its bloodletting. Hm...Antonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03945285810893867079noreply@blogger.com