{"id":37325,"date":"2018-08-08T13:39:58","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T10:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=37325"},"modified":"2022-03-05T22:51:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T20:51:00","slug":"is-divine-election-based-on-moral-considerations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/is-divine-election-based-on-moral-considerations\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Divine Election Based on Moral Considerations?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The reader of the stories of Hagar\u2019s expulsion (Genesis Chapter 16 and here in Chapter 21) is impressed by a repeating pattern: various family developments cause Sarah to expel Hagar in the desert. There, an angel of God finds her and rescues her from death and promises her greatness and protection. This Divine intervention is perceived by us as carrying a moral valence: the good God helps the needy Hagar and promises her a bright future, as compensation or as a consolation prize for her grief. In my opinion, however, this interpretation is incorrect.<\/span><\/p>\n

If we look at the stories of the Bible, it seems that indeed, \u00a0although the characters God chooses share certain features in common, it is not something related to a just reward or punishment. God simply chooses the lowly and weak: Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Saul, David – all lowly in one form or another. However, their election did not come as compensation for something bad that had happened to them. In fact, often they are chosen even though they themselves do rather bad things (David is a prime example of this). Divine election in the Bible has no direct relationship to morality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Election that is driven by moral considerations is something we encounter later. For example, in the words of Jesus what is called the Sermon on the Mount in the Christian Bible (“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land” which is found in Matthew 5:3) or in midrashim of the Sages (for example, the midrash on the diminution of the moon relative to the sun, in Tractate Chullin 60b). \u00a0In those instances, there is a close connection between the conclusions that are drawn and God\u2019s will to provide some type of compensation or reward. In the words of Ethics of the Fathers (5:23), \u201caccording to the effort\/pain is the reward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What becomes evident here is a cultural shift that is expressed in the perception of God’s actions: from the view that at least part of God’s greatness is his ability to choose “out of nothing” without any reason or logic, to the view that sees a moral basis for election not only as a necessity, but as a virtue, a virtue that the Supreme Judge can appropriately boast.<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet, at this time, these two concepts compete with one another, and even today it is happening around the relationship between Isaac and Ishmael, i.e. Jews and Arabs. On the one hand, there is the concept that claims that “God promised us” the entire country and the “Arabs” should move out of the way. \u00a0And on the other hand, there is a claim that, without meeting moral standards, the Divine election is invalid or irrelevant. Ask yourself how you perceive Divine election: Is it an order without a justification, or a call and even a moral demand?<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":102634,"id":102634,"title":"-6223cd1dddb4e--6223cd1dddb4fgen21-compass tree book path.jpg","filename":"6223cd1dddb4e-6223cd1dddb4fgen21-compass-tree-book-path.jpg.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/6223cd1dddb4e-6223cd1dddb4fgen21-compass-tree-book-path.jpg.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/is-divine-election-based-on-moral-considerations\/6223cd1dddb4e-6223cd1dddb4fgen21-compass-tree-book-path-jpg\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"6223cd1dddb4e-6223cd1dddb4fgen21-compass-tree-book-path-jpg","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":37325,"date":"2022-03-05 20:50:37","modified":"2022-03-05 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