{"id":63407,"date":"2019-09-24T17:54:26","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T14:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=63407"},"modified":"2019-09-24T17:55:32","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T14:55:32","slug":"spirit-vs-brute-force-who-is-stronger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/spirit-vs-brute-force-who-is-stronger\/","title":{"rendered":"Spirit vs. Brute Force: Who is Stronger?"},"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":[],"acf":{"old_id":"63407","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33992,"related_cahpter":"315","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Open our eyes so that we may see: history arcs towards justice","content":"

The situation looks pretty grim. The King of Aram is waging war against the King and people of Israel. As conditions worsen, the King of Aram realizes that his secret plans are consistently revealed (and foiled) by the prophet of God, Elisha. So he sends chariots and horses and a large army to stop him. As soon as Elisha\u2019s attendant hears of this approaching power, he responds with terror. Despite his life of service to the prophet of God, and despite what must have been a lifetime of faith, his fear overwhelms his normal perceptions and his terror robs him of any hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elisha offers a simple reminder to his attendant: \u201cFear not, for we have more with us than they have with them!\u201d And then he prays to God, \u201cHoly One, please open up his eyes that he may see!\u201d Of course, in the miraculous language of the Books of Kings, opening of eyes is a literal matter: he suddenly sees that they are surrounded in all directions by countless horses and chariots of fire! They were never alone to begin with.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even for those of us who aren\u2019t literalists in our reading of Scripture, this exchange reveals an astonishing claim. In a conflict between brute force and simple goodness, the brutes may have the short term advantage, but the arc of history belongs to righteousness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though it happens again and again, we remain shocked each time. Pharaoh\u2019s brutal regime falls and the slaves escape. Assyria collapses and Israel\u2019s covenant survives. Babylonia falls and the children of Israel return home and flourish in exile. Imperial Rome swaggers, stumbles, and falls, and we survive. We make it through the Crusades, outlast the Tsars, the f\u00fchrers. When we fall, it isn\u2019t because of the brutes and barbarians, it is because we don\u2019t ourselves live up to our own spiritual\/ethical standards.<\/span><\/p>\n

We become too frightened to rely on our ancient code: one law for yourself and the alien, let the land rest, feed the hungry \u2013 Jewish and Gentile, pursue peace. Righteousness, human dignity, compassion and love: these have always been the source of Jewish resilience and strength.<\/span><\/p>\n

But they are so elusive that we often fall back on the world\u2019s measure of power: coercion, imposition, domination, force. And each time we do, we fail, as do our enemies in the long run.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elisha seeks to remind his attendant of a simple but pervasive fact: righteousness triumphs in the long run. History arcs toward justice. God brings down Pharaohs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps now would be a good time to remember that.<\/span><\/p>\n

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