{"id":61032,"date":"2019-08-13T11:18:43","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T08:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=61032"},"modified":"2023-03-06T11:27:13","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T09:27:13","slug":"beyond-the-practical-deeper-than-useful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/beyond-the-practical-deeper-than-useful\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond The Practical, Deeper Than Useful"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[391,402,629],"acf":{"old_id":"61032","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33992,"related_cahpter":"284","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The Light: David\u2019s soldiers remind him and us that the battle is about a higher vision","content":"

It isn\u2019t often that the Bible circles back to repeat itself, although such repetitions are scattered throughout the Torah (two versions of the Ten Commandments, for example), or some modified narratives between the books of Kings and Chronicles. But in this chapter of Samuel, we revisit an insight from a few chapters ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

King David was dissuaded from leading his soldiers in battle. In Chapter 18, the soldiers justify this insight by stating that if they have to flee, David will draw the enemy after them, endangering the fleeing army even further. The argument seems pragmatic and anticipatory. Let\u2019s avoid a bad outcome by letting you stay home.<\/span><\/p>\n

They repeat the same policy recommendation here in Chapter 21, but their motivation is more expansive and less practical. \u201cYou shall not go to war with us anymore, so that you do not extinguish the lamp of Israel.\u201d Notice, the outcome is exactly the same. But their motivation is no longer driven by strategy or fear. Something higher has intruded, lifting their vision to something more expansive.<\/span><\/p>\n

David, it seems, is linked to<\/span> ner Yisrael<\/span><\/i>, the light of Israel. Should something happen to him, that light would be diminished or extinguished.<\/span><\/p>\n

In many cultures, Jewish included, light is a metaphor for understanding: illumination, enlightenment. It is an image of spirit, of love, of warmth. \u201cStanding in the light of day\u201d is about truth, integrity, courage to be one\u2019s best. We are told that Torah is light. That democracy dies in darkness. The human soul is the light of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the soldiers invoke the light of Israel, they indicate a spiritual depth that is the real source of Jewish resilience and renewal. Pragmatic factors deserve their place. We must attend to them. But they do not dictate outcome or goals. For that, we have always been a people who know that our aspirations and destiny requiring looking up. \u201cI will lift my eyes to the mountains, from where my help comes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the midst of a desperate battle for their lives and their kingdom, David\u2019s soldiers remind him and us that the battle is not about competing pragmatisms. It is between pragmatics as an end, or a higher vision that beckons us to a better place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like moths to a flame, we are called to be motivated by glowing spirit, radiant love, shimmering justice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":61033,"id":61033,"title":"2sam21-candle","filename":"2sam21-candle.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam21-candle.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/beyond-the-practical-deeper-than-useful\/2sam21-candle\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2sam21-candle","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":61032,"date":"2019-08-13 08:18:17","modified":"2022-06-28 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