Ekev
Bli Ayin Harah, Often times, living in Jerusalem, I feel that I am living a prophecy:
Zecharia 8 - 4
Thus says the G-d of Hosts, it will happen that old
men and Women will sit in the squares of Jerusalem, and each
man is with his cane because of age. And the squares of the city
will be filled with boys and girls who are playing in the squares.
Near were I live I often see elderly people sitting
around socializing while tens of children play games, ride their
bicycles and slide into the sand box.
Our Perasha has similar guaranties from G-d:
Devarim 7 - 13
He (G-d) will love you, and bless you, and make you
great and he will bless your offspring, and the fruit of you land,
your wheat, and your wine, and your olive oil, your many oxen
and your flocks on the land which the Lord your G-d promised your
forefathers to give them.
Are we living such prophecies? The Jewish people
are now living on their land. Although things are far from completely
perfect it has not been this good for the Jewish people for some
two thousand years.
The Prophecy foretold by Zecharia was stated under
very similar circumstances. The Jews had returned from a seventy
year exile and were in the middle of rebuilding the whole land
and the Temple in Jerusalem. They came to the Prophet and asked
him if it would be all right for them to stop fasting and mourning
over the destruction of the Temple which was now almost built.
Zecharia did not give them a straight answer. For
almost two chapters he lectured them about the reasons for the
previous destruction and exile. The reason for which were a disdain
for justice and oppression of the lower classes and taking advantage
of defenseless single mothers and their children. (This is the
first time I have interpreted the popular Tanach's defenseless
"Widows and Orphans" term as single mothers and their
children. It is based rabbinic explanations that a person is considered
an Orphan if his father is no longer but his mother is around)
He then told the elders:
Zecharia 8 - 16
These are the things which you should do, a man should
speak truth to his peer, truth and justice should be judged within
your gates. And a man should not think in his heart evil against
his peer, and do not love to swear falsely because those are the
things which I really hate says G-d.
This is followed by a declaration that the fasts
and mourning for the Temple will become happy holidays.
I ask again are we living this prophecy?
Clearly the answer is no! Modern Israeli society
is based on lies and half truths of politicians and advertising.
(America is of course much worse) Justice is not to be even discussed
when it comes to people who do not have the money to hire a lawyer.
(Only when many years in jail are in question is a lawyer hired
for a defendant) Hatred is also a very popular pastime.
Our Perasha also starts out saying:
Devarim 7 - 12
And if you will listen to these Judgments and watch
them and do them, and G-d will watch…
The only noticeable difference between the conditions
and blessing in the Perasha and those found in Zecharia is that
Zecharia was living during a time when G-d had guarantied that
Israel would be built and that continued blessing would be contingent
upon being righteous while the Perasha makes any blessing contingent
on following the Torah.
Another of Zecharia's prophecy is discussed at length
at http://www.milknhoney.co.il/torah/hannuke.html.
mailto:steve@gindi.co.il