{"id":69257,"date":"2020-01-28T00:17:11","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T22:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=69257"},"modified":"2023-08-21T16:18:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T13:18:59","slug":"religious-social-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/religious-social-criticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Religious Social Criticism"},"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":[402,631],"acf":{"old_id":"69257","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38552,"related_cahpter":"402","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Castigating those responsible in society: teachers, judges, leaders, prophets\r\n\r\n","content":"

Jeremiah’s prophecy describes a pagan society whose chain of command has completely lost its way:\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The priests have not asked \u2018Where is the Lord?\u2019 The handlers of the Torah know Me not, the shepherds have sinned against Me, and the prophets prophesy by Baal and follow what is worthless (2:8).<\/span><\/p>\n

This verse explains why each group of potential leaders deserves Jeremiah’s criticism. First, we should note that the king is not explicitly mentioned here. On the contrary, Jeremiah greatly esteems Josiah and his efforts to cure Judean society’s spiritual ills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The priests are the first in Jeremiah’s line of fire. He does not address the Temple, but seeks out those responsible for the spiritual deterioration of the people. Teaching the people Torah requires the priests to wander among the cities of Israel. Yet it emerges that Jeremiah’s priestly contemporaries have been cloistered in the Temple and singularly focused on its service, living off public funds and neglecting their primary role \u2014 teaching Torah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, Jeremiah attacks the “handlers of the Torah,” who “know Me not.” Rashi explains that this censure is aimed at the judges. They are the Torah’s handlers, running the Torah-based judicial system, but without really knowing God. Knowing God does not mean simply grasping the Torah intellectually–it emerges through action. As God says of Abraham: “For I know him, that he will instruct his children and household after him to keep the way of the Lord, to do what is right and just” (Gen. 18:19). Here too, it appears that the “way of the Lord” is doing what is right and just. This radical idea removes the religious act from the realms of meditation and seclusion and places it squarely within the sphere of social action and concern for others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By “shepherds,” Jeremiah generally means the leaders who direct the people and their behavior. Relating to such leaders as shepherds is a favorite metaphor of his; after all, he grew up on the edge of the desert. Throughout his childhood, he watched the shepherds and determined that the behavior of the flock depends on the shepherd.<\/span><\/p>\n

The prophet wanders among his people, shouting at all sectors of society about their rejection of God. He is met with total indifference: “I am not defiled.” For the first time, the young prophet adds social criticism to his religious reproach. “In addition, your garments are stained with the lifeblood of the innocent destitute” \u2014 this refers to overt, shameless social violence. After this great prophetic reprimand regarding the spiritual prostitution spreading across Israel, its painful conclusion is presented at the opening of chapter 3.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lau, Binyamin. <\/span>Jeremiah: The Fate of a Prophet<\/span><\/em>.<\/em> Maggid Books, 2013. \u201cJudah Has Abandoned God.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":69252,"id":69252,"title":"jer-lau2","filename":"jer-lau2.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/running-a-gauntlet-of-pain\/jer-lau2\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jer-lau2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":69251,"date":"2020-01-27 21:59:05","modified":"2020-01-27 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