{"id":54655,"date":"2019-05-01T09:41:59","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T06:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=54655"},"modified":"2022-11-22T17:59:38","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T15:59:38","slug":"infighting-suspicion-and-mistrust-then-and-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/infighting-suspicion-and-mistrust-then-and-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Infighting, Suspicion And Mistrust \u2013 Then And Now"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our chapter offers a familiar glimpse into the unfortunate inner workings of a community in formation. We are introduced to an early biblical example of the chaos that can erupt from communal infighting, suspicion and mistrust.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Israelites just divided the land; each tribe receiving a reasonably-sized territory. This division was divinely commanded, and the process goes so smoothly that the chapter ends with a ringing endorsement of the leadership, and the comfort that the Israelites will experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lord gave them rest on all sides… the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands. Not one of the good things which the Lord has promised to the House of Israel was lacking. Everything was fulfilled.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I point to this ending specifically because underscores the absurdity of what comes next.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joshua calls the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Menashe, blesses them, and sends them home to the other side of the Jordan. All of this, with God\u2019s gentle approval and blessing. The tribes travel back to their homes, and build a large, conspicuous altar on the banks of the Jordan River, to thank God for their good fortune.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Israelites dwelling in Canaan hear about this large altar, they gather and conspire to attack their fellow Israelites:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus said the whole community of the LORD: What is this treachery that you have committed this day against the God of Israel, turning away from the LORD, building yourselves an altar and rebelling this day against the LORD!<\/span><\/p>\n

We are given a brutal picture of the community\u2019s anguish; the thought of those Jews on the other side of the Jordan, serving God on their own, in their own way, is devastating.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pain of the Israelites is real and large. It is clear that their reaction, and readiness to wage war, speaks to a deep and pervasive problem, that is also devastating in the contemporary Jewish world.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Israelites who remain in Israel feel threatened. They are angry, jealous, and afraid of what this gesture might mean for the future of their community. My sense is that there is a genuine and deep concern for their tradition, and for the new fidelity to God that they have collectively committed to express.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the comfort and security achieved through the division of the land, the fear of fracture overwhelms and pervades everything.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, tension is thick throughout the Jewish community. There is fear, judgment, and suspicion across denominations, and it frequently feels that we are growing even further part. Though these fears are often rooted in a deep existential desire to keep the Jewish people together, their manifestations often have the opposite effect.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we are critical of another\u2019s practice, or judge the legitimate decisions that a family or an institution makes with their specific needs in mind, when we publicly shame and demean other Jews for choosing differently, we forget what we are here to do, and that we are united by one fundamental project: to serve God and build a better world. <\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":54656,"id":54656,"title":"jo22-suspicion","filename":"jo22-suspicion.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-suspicion.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/infighting-suspicion-and-mistrust-then-and-now\/jo22-suspicion\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jo22-suspicion","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":54655,"date":"2019-05-01 06:41:45","modified":"2021-09-08 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