{"id":66478,"date":"2019-12-03T19:23:56","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T17:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=66478"},"modified":"2023-06-28T15:23:15","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T12:23:15","slug":"the-synergy-of-pragmatism-and-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-synergy-of-pragmatism-and-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"The Synergy Of Pragmatism And Faith"},"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":[375,423],"acf":{"old_id":"66478","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":46656,"related_cahpter":"364","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Trust, pray - and prepare","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Isaiah\u2019s prophecy the nation is rebuked for turning to Egypt for military assistance in their battle against Ashur. So considerable was this sin that God instructed Isaiah to record it for eternal posterity: \u201cwrite it on a tablet and engrave it in a book forever to eternity (30:8).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What exactly were they meant to do? God\u2019s expectation of His people seems counterintuitive for the situation. They are on the brink of battle, the edge of destruction, and God seems to be telling them to do nothing: \u201cYou shall triumph by stillness and quiet; your victory will come through calm and trust (30:15).\u201d We have learned time and again of the importance of pragmatic action. Jacob prepared for war with Esau; Nachson Ben Aminadav stepped into the Red Sea. Does anyone (in their right mind) believe that the modern State of Israel should not work with its neighbours to protect its welfare?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We understand from our Sages that the sin was not in seeking out military assistance or playing politic, but that those initiatives were to the exclusion of asking God for His assistance. Jacob prepared for war and then concluded his preparations with prayer for divine support, and that is the model that God is demanding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Malbim interprets this passage to teach us that we can either save ourselves or we can conquer our enemies, with the distinction being between survival and victory. It is through our trust in God that we will ultimately be victorious; otherwise we\u2019re engaging in mere survival techniques. The nation, then and now, that looks for purely political and military solutions, not only illustrates their lack of faith in God, but sells themselves short.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The people\u2019s response to Isaiah\u2019s prophecies of destruction is to say, \u201cStop prophesying truth to us (at least they recognized it as truth), smooth-talk us (30:10).\u201d In other words, \u201ctell us only what we want to hear.\u201c The chapter concludes on a higher note of salvation, with the promise that one day \u201cyour ears shall be bent to hear from Me (a prophet will come and instruct you &#8211; Rashi) whether to go left or right\u201d (10:21).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While we wait for that day, we have this recording of events to remind us of what that way will include: prepare for war, pray, and trust in God &#8211; not politics &#8211; to pull it all together.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":66481,"id":66481,"title":"is30-umbrella","filename":"is30-umbrella.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is30-umbrella.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-synergy-of-pragmatism-and-faith\/is30-umbrella\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is30-umbrella","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":66478,"date":"2019-12-03 17:22:35","modified":"2019-12-03 17:22:49","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1910,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is30-umbrella-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is30-umbrella-300x298.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is30-umbrella-768x764.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":764,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is30-umbrella-1024x1019.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1019,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is30-umbrella.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1528,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is30-umbrella.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1910,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is30-umbrella-1200x1194.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1194,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is30-umbrella-422x420.png","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"The Synergy Of Pragmatism And Faith","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Trust, pray - 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