{"id":67854,"date":"2019-12-29T15:05:21","date_gmt":"2019-12-29T13:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=67854"},"modified":"2023-07-23T14:16:49","modified_gmt":"2023-07-23T11:16:49","slug":"reaching-the-universal-through-the-particular","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/reaching-the-universal-through-the-particular\/","title":{"rendered":"Reaching The Universal Through The Particular"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In an age of false extremes, of either\/or choices that seek to push us into partisan corners of partial truths, rather than expand to embrace a more complex and nuanced whole, Isaiah once again comes to shine his clear light.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking to his generation of Jews, he describes for them what it means for an entire people to see themselves as God\u2019s servant: \u201cIt was insufficient that you be a servant for Me to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ruins of Israel; I will make you a light for the nations, so that My salvation may extend to the ends of the earth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than prompt a false selection between particular and universal, Isaiah\u2019s understanding of God is one that advances a universal agenda through particular agents. Israel will indeed be redeemed. Its ruins will be rebuilt and the Jewish people will once more be raised up. But the goal of that elevation and rebuilding transcends the self-interest of the Children of Israel alone. As a particular entity, we have a distinctive role, but it is a role in the service of a universal redemption.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the only concern were a universal redemption, then one might ask: why bother rebuilding Israel\u2019s ruins? Why restore the Jewish people?<\/span><\/p>\n

If the only concern were the triumph of the Jews, then one could equally inquire: who cares about what happens to the nations of the world?<\/span><\/p>\n

How typical of the God of Israel to remind us that no one is an abstract embodiment of a timeless (and lifeless) value. We are each of us particular people, with our own distinctive character, memories, history, and aspirations. And only if we affirm our distinctive identity do we then have something to contribute to the whole, something of value to offer to the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

If we are only about our own gain, then we are unworthy of this lofty Biblical vision. If we seek only the universal then we flatten humanity into a submissive sameness that becomes its own oppression.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only when we encourage the flowering of every distinctive way of being human \u2013 all cultures, identities, wisdoms, languages, and nationalities \u2013 only then do we each have a contribution to make to humanity as a stirring community of communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are only greater than the sum of our parts if each of our parts counts for something as it is.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Reaching The Universal Through The Particular","main_caption":"Only when we encourage the flowering of every distinctive way of being human do we each have a contribution to make to humanity as a stirring community of communities\u00a0\u00a0","main_caption_size":"2","sub_caption":"","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":false,"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67854"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67854"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67855,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67854\/revisions\/67855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}