Daily Prophets
Day 213
“The word of God came to Jonah a second time: “Go to Nineveh, that great city and call out what I tell you to.” Jonah went at once to Nineveh as God had spoken. Nineveh was a large city, a three day walk across. Jonah came to the city and walked for a day and proclaimed: “After 40 days, Nineveh will fall!”. The people of the city believed God.” They called for a fast and put on sackcloth. (Jonah 3:1-5).
These verses above show the power of God’s love, God’s desire for connection and God’s strength of forgiveness. The first verse above, after Jonah had a spiritual awakening in the belly of the fish, is proof of God’s desire to connect and reconnect as well as God’s ability to forgive and move forward. I am writing this on Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Repentance, Return and new Response. In this first verse, God is having a new response to Jonah’s awakening. God doesn’t need to punish Jonah, at this point, he needed to get Jonah’s attention and assistance. God doesn’t take Jonah’s initial rejection of God’s call personally, God exhibits Divine Pathos towards Jonah. The same is true today, God grants us God’s mercy and kindness, compassion and caring every day and especially during these 10 days of T’Shuvah and on Shabbat Shuvah. Engaging in T’Shuvah allowed Jonah to be able to hear and respond to God’s call this time with energy and passion to serve God. There is a midrash that says God keeps calling ‘Shema’ and “Ayecha” throughout the world 24/7 and only through T’shuvah can we clean our ears, our hearts and our souls to hear this call and respond.
God’s word is to “go to Nineveh” the city he did not want to go to before, and Jonah goes quickly. In a complete turn from his earlier encounter with God where he ran away quickly, Jonah goes quickly on his mission. He is fresh from his stay in the belly of the fish, the spiritual awakening he had weighs heavy in his being and he seems excited to go to Nineveh. One reason may be that Nineveh was the worst place on earth for decency, kindness, compassion, truth, justice, love, etc. Nineveh was a city of ‘dog eat dog’, ‘kindness is weakness’, ‘tell a lie long enough and loud enough and people will believe it’, ‘suspect thy neighbor’, objectifying each and every person. Jonah might have been excited to go because he thought “they will finally get their comeuppance! Rather than complain about the journey he seems energized by it.
Here is where we get to look at ourselves and those around us on Shabbat Shuvah and during the 10 days of T’Shuvah. How quick are we to rejoice over the demise of people we don’t like, we blame for our failures, who have harmed us, even whom we have harmed? How often do we “throw salt in the wounds” of another human being rather than attempt to heal their wounds. How often are we unwilling to hear and/or accept the T’Shuvah of another person? How often do we realize that we have a part in every interaction and no matter how small or large our part is, we have to do T’Shuvah, be responsible for and have a new response to the ways we acted badly, unGodly, hurtfully? Jonah may be excited that he gets to be the one to tell Nineveh of their fate.
Yet, the unthinkable happens: the people of Nineveh believe God and believe Jonah is sent by God. Imagine this, as my friend and teacher Rabbi Edward Feinstein and I were discussing, 6 words and the people of Nineveh, the “worst” city ever believed! There are 233 chapters of Prophets and the Jews of Israel and Judah didn’t return, didn’t repent, didn’t have new responses. Yet, Nineveh heard 6 words and repented immediately, they believed immediately. How is this possible, you might ask? I am not sure and I understand what happened viscerally. When one is so far from God, so ‘out there’ it seems as if they can never return, we are also the closest to God we can be. The people of Nineveh were so bereft because their actions had cut them off from their spirit and from God and they were unable on their own to stop. Jonah’s call was their spiritual awakening and, instead of blowing this call off like they had before, they were touched to their core, to the depths of their souls and they could release themselves from the negativity, the isolation, the desperation they had been trapped in. Unfortunately, the Jews of Israel and Judah didn’t know how trapped they were until they were exiled.
In recovery, we continue to maintain our spiritual connection through prayer, meditation and service. We know the ways of Nineveh well as we were part of that ‘great city’ of negativity and injustice. We also heard the call of our Higher Power/Universe/family/God and could change when all else had failed before. In recovery, we are quick to return, search for our part and continue to seek new responses to each and every situation.
I am well aware of both the Jonah and the people of Nineveh that live in me. Jonah, who may want to “get even” is alive and dangerous in me. It takes a lot of effort to tame him when I have been betrayed, hurt, damaged and I must. Almost 36 years ago I heard the call from God that I was destroying my life and I had to make a choice. I did and I keep honoring that choice of doing T’Shuvah, as soon as I realize my part and I can tame my inner Jonah. Reading these verses give me hope, reassurance and the power to change my response, be responsible for my part only, not take on the shame of another and move forward spiritually, wholly and lovingly. God Bless and Stay safe, Rabbi Mark