{"id":69444,"date":"2020-02-02T21:43:27","date_gmt":"2020-02-02T19:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=69444"},"modified":"2023-08-27T15:32:38","modified_gmt":"2023-08-27T12:32:38","slug":"the-exile-of-israel-enlightens-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-exile-of-israel-enlightens-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The Exile Of Israel Enlightens The World"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After recounting Judah\u2019s sins God warns Jeremiah \u201cPray not for this nation.\u201d (Jer.7:16)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t. When he prays, it is to call for revenge on Judah\u2019s tormentors (9:25), or pitiably complaining of his humiliation that his doom-prophecy is unfulfilled (20:7).<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremiah treads in Moses\u2019s paths in many ways – reluctant prophets, in conflict with the people they direct, each proposing a new covenant with the nation. Moses leads the nation for the 40 years preceding their entry into the land, Jeremiah leads them for the 40 years preceding their exit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet while Moses pleads for mercy for the people, even to his own detriment, Jeremiah pleads for himself to the detriment of the nation. This is not a simple reflection on their contrasting characters, but a window into the Tanach\u2019s plan for history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Judah\u2019s punishment for their failure to meet their obligations, within the context of the theology of the Tanach, is bittersweet. The cause and effect, crime and punishment, emphasizes the message of ethical monotheism. The suffering of the exiles allowed them to inculcate Moses\u2019s song (Deut.32:5) \u201cDo not ascribe corruption to Him, the defect is His sons\u2019.\u201d This message stood in clear contrast with the corresponding pagan view – that capricious gods were to blame.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was at this moment – exile – that the new idea of monotheism was released to the world. For the first time in history, a nation was expunged from their territory but their belief system endured. Their very particular theology that allowed their culture not just to endure the systematic suppression efforts of their captors, but to ultimately wield huge influence over all future human thought.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Good and evil exist independently of God, yet they do have have consequences: life or death, reward or punishment, peace or exile. Death, punishment and exile are not to be taken to impugn God\u2019s omnipotence – on the contrary, they vindicate not just His existence but reaffirm His moral nature. For the first time in history, there was a God removed from the idea of place, available to all people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Israel sinned with the calf, Moses argued that God needed to defend His own name in the eyes of the Egyptians – this argument was persuasive, the people were saved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The goal of Israel\u2019s journey isn\u2019t nationhood, land or righting wrongs – it\u2019s enlightenment of mankind. Egypt is used as a placeholder for all as-yet-unenlightened non-Israelites. Though Israel had committed the most brazen of all possible sins, at the most auspicious moment their punishment must be limited since Israel is an indispensable tool for a greater purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremiah couldn\u2019t use Moses\u2019 defense – God\u2019s abilities were revealed by Israel’s initial establishment. But God\u2019s morality was not revealed. Much more than Joshua\u2019s conquest, exile for their sins would reveal the true nature of God to the world. Behold the God of morality, something heretofore unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tanach\u2019s theology prevents Jeremiah from praying for the people if this would retard the inexorable progress of humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"The Exile Of Israel Enlightens The World","main_caption":"Behold the God of universal morality! For the first time in history, there was a God removed from the idea of place, available to all people","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\/69444"}],"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=69444"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69445,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69444\/revisions\/69445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}