Daily Prophets
Day 7
In 1Kings chapter 21, we see the power of Elijah’s prophecy and the forgiveness of God. After Jezebel has Naboth killed under false charges, Ahab takes over the vineyard he had coveted. This story is similar to David and Bathsheba and Uriah and it is a lot worse because Ahab was depressed that no matter how much he had, he had to have what he wanted.
This is a constant problem that we all face, appreciating and wanting what we have rather than having to have what we want. Pirke Avot teaches:”Who is Rich? One who is happy with his portion”. In Deuteronomy we learn to eat, be satisfied and bless. Yet, so many people, especially those in power and with money follow the John D. Rockefeller school of thought. When asked how much was enough money, he answered: “a little more than I have”. Ahab’s greed is alive and well today. I think about the times I have felt like I didn’t have enough… recognition, money, respect, you name it and how terrible I acted. I was not appreciative or grateful for what I did have and that is like giving God the finger! My recovery, for the most part, has been one of gratitude and at times, ungrateful. As I am reading this and writing this, I am guilty and my living amends is to be happy with what I have at all times while still fighting for what is right according to God.
The leaders of our country, our Temples, our Mosques, our Churches have to be living and preaching this message of wanting what we have and making sure to care for everyone. Not everyone will have the same amounts of money, prestige, etc and everyone can have their proper measure. We have to stop our collective greed as a country. We have to stop seeing another human being as a means to our ends. We have to stop putting ourselves on pedestals of righteousness and looking down at another(s) human being. Ahab and Jezebel thought they had everything coming and killed Naboth for no other reason than they could and face no consequences. Until Elijah found Ahab, that is.
Elijah finds Ahab and Ahab immediately refers to him as his enemy. This says it all. When someone tells you the truth, gives you a path to change your selfish, self-serving ways, they are your enemy?! Ahab is so spiritually and morally stunted that he cannot see Elijah as a resource for him to live in accordance with God’s Will. Ahab is so spiritually bankrupt that he thinks worshiping idols is a better path for him. Ahab is so morally deficient that he thinks nothing of taking someone else’s land, money, etc, just because he can.
We suffer from this attitude today greatly. Trump and his mobsters think they can do anything. Kushner supports his friend MBS’s killing of Jamal Koshoggi. Guiliani tries to bend a foreign power, Ukraine, to lie about a decent man. Wood and Powell spread conspiracy theories and lies in the press to rile up Trump’s base and all of this leads to Trump inciting people to sedition and insurrection. When you believe as Ahab and Jezebel believe that anything goes because I am in power, this is what happens.
If we take it more personal, most of us can acknowledge when we have done things just because we could or thought we could. I have gone off on people, because I thought I could/should, I know people who have cheated on their taxes because they believed they could/should. I know of people who have harmed others because they were the “boss”. I know children of privilege who think they have the world at their feet when they have never accomplished anything on their own. As a society, we suffer from this same delusion as Ahab and Jezebel. There are prophets today, Rev. Barber, Father Greg, John Pavlovitz, Paster Njuma, Pastor Mark Whitlock, etc who recall the prophets like Rev. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.
Elijah delivers God’s message to Ahab that he will die in the place where Naboth’s blood was shed and Ahab repents, God sees his repentance as sincere and tells Elijah that he will spare Ahab his disaster and the disaster will come in the reign of his son. God knows who the son is already and he accepts Ahab’s TShuvah.
Are you willing to see how you need to repent for your greed? Are you willing to repent for the “because I can” attitude? God gave us the Mitzvot so we don’t have to give in to the desire and pull of these attitudes. Yet, most of us, even those who practice the mitzvoth, still do. I have watched people be Mitzvah counters. They have a checklist and count off all the mitzvoth they do and act superior. I have watched lay leaders of organizations want more and more control and honor for their work. I have watched professionals try and squeeze every dime from the organization they work for without regard to the people underneath them getting less. I have listened to people argue over paying someone $0.50/hr because the percentage of increase was too great! The $1040 total was less than they pay for their country club membership a month, yet it was too much to give to someone who was saving lives.
It is time for us to see how we are like Elijah and delivering God’s word to others and it is time for us to see how we are like Ahab and Jezebel in our greed and entitlement. It is time for us to see how we are like Ahab and repent for our errors and it is time for us to see how we are like God in being able to forgive. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark