{"id":77033,"date":"2020-07-07T17:46:31","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T14:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=77033"},"modified":"2020-07-08T16:16:19","modified_gmt":"2020-07-08T13:16:19","slug":"man-of-the-people-man-of-the-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/man-of-the-people-man-of-the-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Of The People, Man Of The Earth"},"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":[],"acf":{"old_id":"77033","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":39778,"related_cahpter":"519","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Preaching against injustice in a time of great inequality (sound familiar?)\r\n\r\n","content":"

(This post is the first in a series on social justice in Amos)<\/span><\/p>\n

On February 7, 2020, in an era my family refers to as \u201cthe before times\u201d, the Pew Research Groups released an<\/span> updated fact sheet about income inequality<\/span><\/a> in the United States, noting that the share of wealth belonging to the top 20% of earners has continued to grow. The gap is widening between the middle class and the upper echelons of society, with the US having higher income inequality than any other G7 country.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we start the book of Amos today, it\u2019s worth noting that we live in a time that parallels his in certain crucial ways. Academics situate Amos\u2019 prophecies in a time of economic prosperity: In the first half of the 8<\/span>th<\/span> century BCE, during the time of kings Joash and Jeroboam, the northern kingdom is no longer oppressed of Aram and not yet threatened by Assyria. Political calm brings prosperity, and with it the subjugation of the poor that is a central theme of the book.<\/span><\/p>\n

The text describes Amos as \u201cwho was of the <\/span>Nokdim<\/span><\/em> (sheep breeders) from Tekoa.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As Amos spends most of the book railing against the rich of Samaria, this phrase is critical \u2013 what is a <\/span>Noked<\/span><\/em> and where is Tekoa? Amos\u2019 profession before he turns up to prophesy against the excesses will help us understand who he is and how his audience sees him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Radak, Rabbi David Kimchi, is one of a number of commentaries who sees \u201cNoked<\/em>\u201d as being a synonym for shepherd \u2013 implying poverty or a man-of-the-people status. He says Tekoa is in the tribe of Asher, which makes Amos a native son of the North. Perhaps he understands the people\u2019s despair because he has experienced it himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some commentaries say that a <\/span>Noked<\/span><\/em> is something more (after all, the text could have called him a shepherd (<\/span>ro\u2019eh<\/span><\/em>) if it wanted.) Metzudat Tzion says that a Noked <\/em>would be appointed when sheep were many. This idea, that he might be a wealthy owner of many sheep or an overseer of many shepherds, is supported by a source that Metzudat Tzion brings telling us that the king of Moav was a Noked<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Later in our book, Amos will respond to the criticisms he faces from the priest of Bethel by saying, \u201c<\/span>\u201cI am not a prophet, and I am not a prophet\u2019s disciple. I am a cattle breeder and a tender of sycamore figs.<\/span>\u201d (7:14). Whereas prophets and priests work in an intellectual sphere, he positions himself in opposition to these leaders as a man of the earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to see how Amos, with the credentials of real, practical life experience, would appeal to ordinary people as a prophet. Malbim situates him as a property owner, who oversees other <\/span>Nokdim<\/span><\/em>. He is in a position of responsibility, but not one of great honor or wealth. He sees the hardships of the people who serve under him and knows that the upper class does not recognize him as being wise, learned or influential. Nonetheless, says Malbim, Amos is willing to prophesy against this upper class.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

image:\u00a0Favela de Parais\u00f3polis v. luxury apartments. This favela (shanti town) on the left is ironically called Parais\u00f3polis (Paradise city). 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