Daily Prophets
Day 215
“This displeased Jonah greatly and he was grieved. He prayed to God, saying, “God, isn’t this the outcome I spoke when I was still in my country? This is why I fled to Tarshish, because I know You are God of compassion, and grace, slow to anger and great in kindness and renouncing punishment upon the evil. Please, God, take my life for it is better for me to die than live. God said: are you that deeply grieved?”(Jonah 4:1-4).
This is the final chapter in the Jonah story that we find in our Bible. It begins with an example of what happens when we can’t “get even” and/or “people don’t get what they deserve” according to our opinions. Jonah is pissed off that people repent, people are saved from death and they have an opportunity to change their ways and live as decent human beings. Jonah is reminding us of the attitude that has been around forever, evidently, that not only doesn’t a leopard change its spots, humans don’t change either. Yet, Yom Kippur, T’Shuvah, growing our connection to God and another(s) human being says differently! The Jewish Tradition is all about change, growing in wisdom, learning new things and new depths from our sacred texts. And, there are many Jonah’s around today as there has always been.
We read Jonah on Yom Kippur afternoon, I believe, to re-enforce God’s ways of kindness, compassion, forgiveness, grace, renouncing punishment, etc. We read it also, I believe, to make a decision as to the type of person we are going to be in the new year. Are we going to be like Jonah, who flees when he knows that the people of Nineveh might listen and they won’t “get theirs” from God? Are we going to be Jonah-like and displeased when people turn back to God, to decency, make their amends, forgive another(s), realize their errors and change? Are we going to be Jonah-like and be angry with God for being unreliable when it comes to destroying Nineveh-like cities and Nineveh-like people because they are made aware of their evil ways and repent? Are we going to be Jonah-like and believe that we, alone, are righteous and the unrighteous in our minds need to be punished, exterminated and wiped off the face of the earth? Are we going to be Jonah-like and be displeased and angry at God for being merciful? Are we going to be Jonah-like by being unmerciful, unkind, unforgiving, not compassionate and the grand enforcer of the justice we believe should happen?
We read Jonah on Yom Kippur afternoon, I believe, to remind ourselves that we have to be moved and changed to act more humanly in this coming year. We get to choose to be the Anti-Jonah by, as Rabbi Harold Shulweis, z”l, taught, being Godly. We get to choose to be the Anti-Jonah by forgiving easily and completely, by letting old resentments leave us and appreciate and emulate God’s forgiveness of us towards another(s) in our lives. We can choose to be the Anti-Jonah by hearing God’s call to wade into the worst places and call for redemption, for changing the old ways and following a path of being human. We can choose to be the Anti-Jonah by being kind and truthful with all we meet, remembering to let go of our own self-deception and self-aggrandizement. We can choose to be the Anti-Jonah by taking the blinders off of our eyes, see the areas we need to change and see the ways another(s) has changed. We can be the Anti-Jonah by realizing we are never going to be perfect, we say the same confessionals each year and, improving one grain of sand every day in all areas of living is enough. We can be the Anti-Jonah by rejoicing at God’s Mercy, Kindness, Compassion, Forgiveness. We can be the Anti-Jonah by living a life of justice tempered with righteousness as we are taught. We can be the Anti-Jonah by remembering that one person’s T’Shuvah allows the entire world to endure, as Rabbi Meir says in the Talmud, Yoma86b.
We get to choose between being like Jonah who wants to die because he did not get his way, because, as Rabbi Heschel says, he found “what transpired only proved the word of God was neither firm not reliable.” Because God can change God’s mind and decrees based on our actions, Jonah was displeased, grieved and bereft. Because God did not wipe our an entire city once they repented, unlike the Jews of Israel and Judah, Jonah wanted to die. We can choose to be angry and bereft because we did not get our way and someone wasn’t ‘punished enough’ and be like Jonah. We can also choose to be the Anti-Jonah be realizing that God forgives us and doesn’t carry out the decrees we deserve from our actions. We can be the Anti-Jonah by releasing our need to get even, our need to see the destruction of those we consider our enemies. We can be the Anti-Jonah by becoming one with God, with the prayer at the beginning of the bedtime Sh’ma, and forgiving another and wishing no harm on them!
I learned of T’Shuvah in prison in 1987 with Rabbi Mel Silverman, z”l, and I have continued to do T’Shuvah-knowing I will not be perfect and I will make similar errors that I have in the past. In these 34 years of recovery, I have forgiven everyone who has asked and, in this year of Schmita, those who haven’t. Jonah teaches me who I don’t want to be and who I do want to be. I can’t have the same anger/resentment that I have held on to in the past, I have to forgive those who have harmed me and betrayed me (in my opinion) and I have to forgive myself. I pray you do the same. God Bless and Stay Safe, Rabbi Mark