{"id":69285,"date":"2020-01-28T11:54:26","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T09:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=69285"},"modified":"2023-08-24T12:45:03","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T09:45:03","slug":"confronting-the-other","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/confronting-the-other\/","title":{"rendered":"Confronting The Other\u00a0"},"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":[840,998,436,433,832],"acf":{"old_id":"69285","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64462,"related_cahpter":"405","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Jeremiah meets Levinas\u00a0\r\n","content":"

When the Peruvian theologian and Dominican priest, Gustavo Gutierrez, coined the term Liberation Theology, emphasizing the duty to help the poor and the oppressed <\/span>through involvement in civic and political affairs, did he, Father Gutierrez, have Jeremiah 5 in mind?<\/span><\/p>\n

Failing to acknowledge God as the source of good harvest, the people of Judah soon lost any sense of accountability to the Divine for how they worked. This led them to oppress and deceive the weak and defenseless:<\/span><\/p>\n

They have become fat and sleek; They pass beyond the bounds of wickedness, And they prosper. They will not judge the case of the orphan, Nor give a hearing to the plea of the needy (Jer. 5:28).<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremiah recalls the Book of Deuteronomy, a social contract, commanding the people of Israel to extend their hands to the poor, the orphan, the stranger, and the widow. Where are these people now?\u00a0 They have become so greedy. Infatuated by their own growth they have ignored the needy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremiah is desperate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The prophet revisits his library, looks through his kindle, researches online and googles \u2018Emmanuel Levinas\u2019. Oh yes, he reflects, the French philosopher, the one who speaks about \u201cthe Other.\u201d Let\u2019s see if or how he can help me. Although the 5<\/span>th<\/span> BCE prophet can barely understand the 20<\/span>th<\/span> CE philosopher, Levinas inspires the prophet. Jeremiah learns that generic sermons might not captivate the attention of his audience but rather face-to-face relationships, as a phenomenological approach to the encounter with the Other, can weave a path to Ethics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Levinas offers a pro bono lesson to the prophet. They sit down with flavored tea and French croissants, and then the philosopher says, \u201c<\/span>The encounter with the Other, in his or her uniqueness, beyond themes and categorizations, creates the infinite ethical responsibility.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Jeremiah has already learned that ethics precedes ontology, and he wonders how to convince his people to repent, to scrutinize their hearts and to act in accordance with God\u2019s will, assisting the oppressed and attending the ones in need. It is hard to find the answers. The people of Israel have fallen, trapped in their own comfort zone, the Land is vast, the crops are fruitful, they have become too comfortable and have lost the perspective of a bigger picture. They are demanding from the Land instead of cultivating it, they are subjugating their neighbors instead of helping them, they are patronizing the disadvantaged instead of relieving them.<\/span><\/p>\n

God, rightfully, is enraged – and disappointed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremiah has learned some lessons, among them, he has learned that it is hard to be a prophet. He will also end up in exile. Don\u2019t cry for me, Jeremiah\u2026your children will return to the Land (and will destroy it again).<\/span><\/p>\n

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