the multi-verse of interpretation confounds many. while well thought out people can believe they are doing the right thing while other well thought out people view the situation in a much different way. a series of recent events enlightens this proposition.
jordan peterson’s interview with comedian bill maher concerning the bible is making its rounds. mr. peterson discusses the book of jonah and interprets the message of the book to be that jonah had a message and that it was important that he come forward and speak out. this same story, within judaism, brings with it a different message. jonah is a tale told on the day of atonement- yom kippur. jews thus search inside the story the concept of making amends. in doing so, jonah is not the protagonist of the story and neither is the whale. rather, it is the sailors on the boat and the people of nineveh who are the heroes. these individuals, unlike jonah, feared the master of the universe, sought repentance and found favor. in nineveh, the repentance fervor was so intense that even animals were required to wear sackcloth and ashes as well as fast! the story’s message that ALL of god’s children- no matter how bad- have the opportunity to seek atonement. likewise, the almighty accepts repentance from those who were sincere. this concept is a bedrock of one’s ability to move on after missteps. as what was said in genesis 4 to cain [before he murdered his brother] , “is it not so that if you improve, it will be forgiven you? if you do not improve, however, at the entrance, sin is lying, and to you is its longing, but you can rule over it.””
billionaire-or possibly former billionaire- entertainer, artist and designer mr. kanye west was recently let back on social media from internet purgatory. ye, formerly known as kanye west, was reinstated to x, formerly known as twitter. mr. west’s suspension was due to his foray into attention grabbing anti-semitism. mr. musk’s reinstatement of mr. west, according to news reports, apparently came with an agreement not to post any further anti-semitic content. this decision, however, was unsatisfactory by some jewish organizations. mr. west’s lack of repentance was largely their reason.
it would be not be surprising that mr. musk- the king of x-is scratching his head wondering “why are they upset? he agreed to not post any more anti-semitic content? doesn’t that fix the problem?”
within judaism, repentance is a central aspect of the religion. annually, a day-yom kippur- is devoted towards addressing it. further, the torah shows that man’s first atrocity was caused by a failure to seek atonement. likewise, one of the book of jonah’s messages is that atonement is something available for everyone. every person is afforded the opportunity the reflect upon their errors, make amends, and move on. famously, at the end of the tail(sic), the master of the universe scold’s jonah saying “now should i not take pity on nineveh, the great city, in which there are many more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and many beasts as well?” jonah 4:11. the ultimate message being that we all have the capacity to seek atonement to improve oneself. likewise, the master of the universe’s door is open to all those who seek it.
in the end, mr. musk, in an effort to boost traffic, brought back to x-activity wise- a big whale. the big lesson, however, may have been lost at sea.
be well!!
if you enjoyed this post, please “like”
if you would like to read more posts, click here
if you find this post meaningful, please share
The Ten Commandments Project 