{"id":64787,"date":"2019-10-26T11:04:53","date_gmt":"2019-10-26T08:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64787"},"modified":"2023-05-21T15:17:10","modified_gmt":"2023-05-21T12:17:10","slug":"the-absurdity-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-absurdity-of-war\/","title":{"rendered":"The Absurdity Of War"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/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":[646,391,940,409,434],"acf":{"old_id":"64787","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":36147,"related_cahpter":"336","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"In the absence of a recognized judicial authority, we resort to mutual destruction\u00a0","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is one of the most famous prophetic lines of the entire Hebrew Bible: \u201cFor instruction (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">torah<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) shall come forth from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. \u2026 [The many nations] shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks \/ A nation will not take up sword against nation, and they will never again know war.\u201d The first part is recited in congregations every time the Torah scroll is taken out. The second part is inscribed on the \u201cIsaiah Wall\u201d across from the United Nations. But putting aside the question of attribution \u2013 virtually the same prophecy appears in Micah 4 \u2013 and the fact that no one anymore knows what a plowshare is, what exactly does Isaiah have in mind?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key is to realize that the \u201cinstruction\u201d is not religious. It is wise, diplomatic, international guidance: \u201cThus He will judge among the nations and arbitrate for the many peoples.\u201d The reason there will be no more war is because there will be a Wise Judge, whose rulings issued from Jerusalem will undercut any reasons for war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a profound question about international relations raised here. If my neighbor and I have a border dispute, we do not (usually) arrange our weapons and our friends and shoot it out until one of us gives in. There are, in any civil society, peaceful ways of resolving such disputes, involving courts and judgments. So why, if two countries have a dispute, is this \u201cnaturally\u201d resolved through the slaughter of thousands or millions of innocent young people sent out to massacre each other until one side\u2019s leader decides it\u2019s too much? The only real answer to this question is that there is no agreed-upon court, so in the absence of a judicial authority, we resort to mutual destruction as a method of solving problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here is where the prophetic vision comes in. What if we can convince the \u201cmany nations\u201d that there is such an authority, an unbiased and wise Judge whose rulings will obviate the need for war? Instruction will come forth from Zion! If this can be accomplished, the nations will beat their swords into plowshares for the simple reason that they will no longer be needed. Despite the presence of this quote outside the UN, we are still awaiting a world in which this is the case. But Isaiah\u2019s vision may guide us in realizing the need for such an authority, and the absurdity of war as a method of arbitration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: <em>Let Us Beat Swords Into Plowshares<\/em>, bronze sculpture created by Soviet artist Evgeny Vuchetich and presented to the United Nations in December 1959 by the Government of the USSR \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":64788,"id":64788,"title":"is2-russian statue","filename":"is2-russian-statue.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-russian-statue.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-absurdity-of-war\/is2-russian-statue\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is2-russian-statue","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64787,"date":"2019-10-26 08:04:40","modified":"2019-10-26 08:04:50","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":450,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-russian-statue-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-russian-statue-225x300.jpg","medium-width":225,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-russian-statue.jpg","medium_large-width":450,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-russian-statue.jpg","large-width":450,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-russian-statue.jpg","1536x1536-width":450,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-russian-statue.jpg","2048x2048-width":450,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-russian-statue.jpg","post_full_size-width":450,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-russian-statue-315x420.jpg","home_baner-width":315,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"The Absurdity Of War","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"In the absence of a recognized judicial authority, we resort to mutual destruction\u00a0","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":64788,"id":64788,"title":"is2-russian statue","filename":"is2-russian-statue.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-russian-statue.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-absurdity-of-war\/is2-russian-statue\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is2-russian-statue","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64787,"date":"2019-10-26 08:04:40","modified":"2019-10-26 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