Isaiah - Lecture 1 - Part 1 - Fr John Rate msc. Prophets & Prophecy. Who was Isaiah?
Pt 2: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGEIUalbtHQ John Rate's first lecture on the Book of Isaiah - Prophets and Prophecy - Who was Isaiah ?
The Mysterious Prophecy of Isaiah 53
Isaiah 53 tells the story of the Servant of the Lord, whose mission in life was to help men and women discover a deep and satisfying relationship with their ...
THE PROPHECY THE FULFILLMENT
The Messiah: Jesus of Nazareth:
Will be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) Was born of a virgin named Mary
(Luke 1:26-31)
Will have a Galilean ministry (Isaiah 9:1,2) Ministry began in Galilee of
the Gentiles (Matthew 4:13-16)
Will be an heir to the throne of David (Isaiah 9:7; 11:1, 10) Was given the
throne of His father David (Luke 1:32, 33)
Will have His way prepared (Isaiah 40:3-5) Was announced by John the
Baptist (John 1:19-28)
Will be spat on and struck (Isaiah 50:6) Was spat on and beaten (Matthew
26:67)
Will be exalted (Isaiah 52:13) Was highly exalted by God and the People
(Philippians 2:9, 10)
Will be disfigured by suffering (Isaiah 52:14; 53:2) Was scourged by Roman
soldiers who gave Him a crown of thorns (Mark 15L15-19)
Will make a blood atonement (Isaiah 53:5 Shed His blood to atone for our
sins (1Peter 1:2)
Will be widely rejected (Isaiah 53:1,3) Was not accepted by many (John 12:37,
38)
Will bear our sins and sorrows (Isaiah 53:4, 5) Died because of our sins
(Romans 4L25; 1Peter 2:24, 25)
Will be our substitute (Isaiah 53:6,8) Died in our place (Romans 5:6, 8; 2
Corinthians 5:21)
Will voluntarily accept our guilt and punishment for sin (Isaiah 53:7,8)
Jesus took on our sins (John 1:29; Romans 6:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
Gentiles will seek Him (Isaiah 11:10) Gentiles came to speak to Jesus (John
12:20,21)
Will be silent before His accusers (Isaiah 53:7) Was silent before Herod
and his court (Luke 23:9)
Will save us who believe in Him (Isaiah 53:12) Provided salvation for all
who believe (John 3:16; Acts 16:31)
Will die with transgressors (Isaiah 53:12) Was numbered with the
transgressors (Mark 15:27, 28; Luke 22:37)
Will heal the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1,2) Healed the brokenhearted (Luke
4:18, 19)
God's Spirit will rest on Him (Isaiah 11:2) The Spirit of God descended on
Jesus (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; 4:1)
Will be buried in a rich man's tomb (Isaiah 53:9 Was buried in the tomb of
Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60; John 19:38-42)
He will judge the earth with righteousness (Isaiah 11:4,5) Jesus was given
authority to judge (John 5:27; Luke 19:22; 2 Timothy 4:1,8)
Are you sure about all that? Because the prophecy in isaiah chapter 7 does not only say he will be born of a virgin but it was a sign for the king ahaz also the prophecy was completed in the book of second kings it had NOTHING to do with the new testament
the quran clarifies everything. dont put too much stock into what men
wearing suits and ties and goatees have to say what they say is scripted.
they have sold their souls to the devil which means they are not permitted
to speak independently.
+TheJohnny220 sure you can, people do it all the time. sit in a quiet room, light a candle, offer up some bloody tormented soul to the devil (an animal works but human beings work better) and commit your soul to eternal hell fire and promise to serve satan. you will gain some worldly riches but you will also be horrible degraded and abused.dont do this though, it's not worth it.
+Melinda McClellan mohammad never married any little girl, that is just an old slander. jesus christ is not God gimme a break. jesus was a prophet on the order of jeremiah or elijah. read the gospel of barnabas.
+Christiaan Baron couldn't be more wrong the koran is the most illogical piece of horse shit ever read well the hadith as well mohammed was a child loving pedophile damned to hell islam is a scourge in this world Isa is God Christ Jesus is God those apart will find out what hell is like laugh now….you won't upon closing your eyes in this world waking in hell
Scripture is clear that the eyes of Israel are blinded until the fullness
of the ethnoi, goyim, nations is completed? So we expect that Jews will
find every way they can to deny the truth of the Messiah being Jesus.
Behold your house is desolate said Yeshua! Matthew 23:37-40 He would have
gathered but they would not? He came to his own and his own received him
not? John 1:10-13. Except for the elect sake who are chosen in Messiah from
the foundation of the world, Revelation 13:8, no Jew like any goy would
ever be saved! This is a truth that all sinners despise! Salvation is of
the Lord not man! Israel as an elect nation is ended. Israel as mass of
individuals are beloved for the Fathers sake because they have been chosen
in the Beloved not because they belong to the fleshly Israel! Paul's
reference to the seven thousand who did not bow the knee to Baal is an
undeniable example of what it means to be chosen and saved by grace as
opposed to the rest who perished in sin and under judgment? If Yahweh did
not intervene and preserve them they too would have perished like the rest!
If that is not Paul's meaning in Romans then words are useless and of no
effect whatsoever? The problem always lies in the unregenerate heart of
Adams fallen race. It is the plan and purpose of the Almighty to send a
sword that cuts into the perverse and wicked heart of those who refuse Him
on His terms and not that of sinners!
+chop thehay You've given a convoluted and lengthy answer to a very simple
question. Self-serving "eisgesis" plus personal opinions do not make truth
or overrule the plain text.
If the identity of the Servant in Isa 53 is so obvious, then why didn't
Jesus himself simply tell people -"Read Isaiah 53 to see who I am". Jesus
never cites Isa 53. Paul never cites Isa 53. Isa 53 is not even mentioned
in the NT - the very TESTIMONY of Jesus Christ.
You're teaching an interpretation of Isa 53 never mentioned by Jesus or any
of his followers in the NT. Muslims and Christains routinely reject the
plain literal meaning of the text to promote their doctrinal
ideas. Perhaps those of us who read the original Hebrew and those who
refuse to add to Gods own words are not "blind" as Christians so love to
accuse, but rather it is modern Christains who are hallucinating and seeing
things even when the plain text tells us otherwise.
+torahislife: "The punishment for idolatry is exile from the Land of Israel - scattering Israel into all the nations."When the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, the Jews then were not practicing idolatry. Are we even on the same page, or are you unwittingly overlooking an important element in your argument? Prove me wrong. Remember how you accused me of ignorance? Show the rest of the readers here and countless future youtube visitors how much you know about the subject by offering the evidence that first century Jews were indeed idolaters. Tell us, what god were the priests, and the rest of the Jewish populace, worshiping and sacrificing to in the Jerusalem temple and in their homes, during the First Century of our common era?
+torahislife: "God also tells us that the gentiles who defended the Jews shall be saved"If one pursues the subject further, one instantly finds that you have committed a third heretical fallacy, by once again contradicting yourself and the very Bible you are supposedly defending. All this time up to this point, you affirmed that Gentile Kings are (allegedly) speaking in Isaiah 53, beginning in verse 1, and collectively agreeing with each other on how they have needlessly harmed Israel, for no good reason other than because of their sins, and now, here you are, adding another contradictive layer that totally usurps that interpretation. Any reasonable person would ask, "how are Gentiles defending Jews when, according to anti-messianic Jews, Isaiah 53 has them all causing injury?" Isaiah 53 makes no exception. The multiple first person plurals "we" "us" and "our," found throughout the seam of the chapter, is all-inclusive and understood to encompass the totality of the audience to which the speakers introduced in the first verse are serving as their representatives.
+torahislife: "God also tells us that the gentiles who defended the Jews shall be saved"God really said this, or are we putting words in God's mouth? Why didn't you provide the biblical citation and relevant quotes wherein it has God or a prophecy stating that gentiles who defended the Jews are the ones who are going to receive salvation? Remember, you said you are concerned about my profound ignorance of the Bible, and it is odd that, given that great anxiety, you failed to provide the actual scriptural reference displaying that theme of Gentiles saving Jews.
+chop thehay Last response out of concern for your profound ignorance of the Bible due to your Christian or Islamic indoctrination (you assertions could be either). .When Messiah comes, God tells us in Isa 2, Jer 31, Micah 3 that there will be world peace and that 12 tribes of Israel shall dwell in the Land safely Forever (Ez 36-37). God also tells us that the gentiles who defended the Jews shall be saved and the surviving gentiles shall honor Israel with their riches. All humans will come to the city of Jerusalem to learn the law of Moses from the Messiah and there will never again be war. (Isa 2, Zech 14). In this future uptopia, all humans will know God and no longer will we be teaching each other about God (Jer 31).This is the original plan and promises off God given many times in the TNK (OT). God promises this will happen in the future and that these are the obvious signs that His Messiah is here and no one will argue over the identity of the Messiah. All will know who the Messiah is when the above comes to prove his identity. I trust history and science - these things have never occurred in our world. I trust Gods words in the Bible and He says they will occur in the future. Your rejection of Gods words is not my problem, but if you are truly a Christian then I advise you obey Jesus and accept every word from Gods mouth as Jesus commanded you to in Matt 4:4 (presuming you are Christians). Hope you figure it out someday rather than waste your life defending what you have been told by some religious cult. Don't believe everything you are told. Learn some basic Hebrew, study the OT and use your God given brain and all will become clear. Most of all Seek God alone instead of your religion.
+torahislife: "Continue reading past Deuteronomy 28 and see Deut 30 & Deut 31 which also speak of the future restoration of Israel."So, is the messiah going to restore Israel back to righteousness? If Isaiah 53 is about Punished Israel bringing salvation to the Gentiles, who shall bring salvation to Israel? If Israel is restored without the messiah's help, then what need is there for a messiah in the first place? However, if the messiah is needed, and he does bring restoration in the end of days, right at the time when Israel is surrounded by nations (Zech 12), then how could Israel possibly bring restoration to the Gentiles, when she is incapable of even helping herself, with the messiah doing all the heavy lifting all along?Israel has been punished for two thousand years now and counting. Clearly, the world is not yet restored and given unto salvation. What place does the Bible, especially Isaiah, give to the messiah in restoring Israel, and then the rest of the world?
+torahislife: ""Yes, the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 is punished for her sins of idolatry."Going back to your answer, not only are you contradicting your earlier statements, you are also committing a heretical fallacy and directly contradicting Isaiah itself! In Isaiah 53:9 we are told that the suffering servant did not commit any violence, yet here you are equating that servant with violent Israel, who through her disgusting sacrifices, did murder her babes while giving them to Molech and Adrammelech in the Valley of Hinnom (2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chron. 33:6), which of course would taint their hands with blood (Isa 1:15).
+torahislife: "See Ezekiel 40-45 Zech 14, Malachi 3."I thought we were only dealing with Isaiah. If you want to go to the other books of the Tenach, are we going to find other servants that would qualify for Isa 53 admission?
+torahislife: "Again, you missed the future restoration of Israel in Isaiah 1 & 2."But you mentioned that the messiah is mentioned in the first chapter. You have not provided the citational evidence.
+chop thehay I have already answered your question about the Servant at length assuming you knew more than you do. Sorry. I answer you with a very simple answer:Yes, the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 is punished for her sins of idolatry. The punishment for idolatry is exile from the Land of Israel - scattering Israel into all the nations. God uses this punishment, the curses of rejecting Torah to cause repentance for BOTH Israel and the nations = as the nations persecute the Jews in the exile, and then attack the Jews who have returned to the Land of Israel in the final 70 years (1948).. which then begins the birth pangs of Messiah coming
+chop thehay Again, you missed the future restoration of Israel in Isaiah 1 & 2. Continue reading past Deuteronomy 28 and see Deut 30 & Deut 31 which also speak of the future restoration of Israel. When Israel is restored in the future when Messiah comes, God will once again bring HIs gift of His Temple back for a 3rd and final time. See Ezekiel 40-45 Zech 14, Malachi 3. Temple will be rebuilt and there's nothing you and the entire Christian world and muslims world, with all of YOUR HATE TOWARDS JEWS can do to stop our GOD....Do you love the God of Israel and believe His promises to restore Israel in your Bible - or do you love your religion more than God? May God multiply everything you that say and every feeling you have about the Jews 100-fold and then bring it upon you. Amen
+torahislife: "That is what Isa 1 speaks of and it also speaks of Gods RESTORATION and forgiveness of Israel in the future when Messiah comes."Oh? Where or in what verse exactly does Isaiah speak of the messiah in the first chapter?
+torahislife: "Did you miss this plain message in Isaiah 1 and Isaiah 2?"That is what I'm asking? Is Isaiah 53 the punishment for Israel's idolatry? You are having trouble answering that simple question.
+torahislife: "God destroyed the gift of His Temple twice because each time Israel turned to other religions away from God's Torah.'Just like God promised He would do in Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26. And two thousand years later, God is still displeased with the apostate Jews, since He allowed horrible things like the holocaust to rain upon them. From those two Torah passages, we see that Israel is full of sin and distress and not the perfect instrument to bring atonement to the world, when she herself needs help as well.
+chop thehay Agree. God destroyed the gift of His Temple twice because each time Israel turned to other religions away from God's Torah. That is what Isa 1 speaks of and it also speaks of Gods RESTORATION and forgiveness of Israel in the future when Messiah comes. Did you miss this plain message in Isaiah 1 and Isaiah 2? You don't even need to know Hebrew to see this one!
+torahislife: "God does not want anyone to believe lies"That's why He destroyed your temple two thousand years ago. He despises liars and apostates who change the tenor and tone of His word.
+chop thehay whose debating.? You have demonstrated you do no know basic Hebrew from which the Bible is written, which has you trusting what others are telling you Isaiah says instead of seeing this for yourself. For example, it is easy for me to see where your Bible has mistranslated the Hebrew in Isaiah 53 to forward a pro-Yeshua/ Jesus interpretation. Rather than letting others tell you what the Jewish scriptures (Bible) ACTAULLY say, you can see for yourself so you are not believing everything you are told. If 2 billion muslims can be deceived, then why cant 2 billion Christians be deceived?God does not want anyone to believe lies and sadly you have been given your translation of the Bible by a religion that is not being fully truthful with the Jewish scriptures. If you learn Hebrew you will see this.
+torahislife; 'I have only addressed YOU and not the others you are trying to deflect your lack of education to."You assume too much, and you should know what they say about people that assume. You assume also that the direction of a debate turns on whether one knows the underlying language or not. I presented you one man who was an eminent expert on the language. There are plenty more. Yet, here you are, throwing that by the wayside. So what does that make of your argument and initial assumptions?
+chop thehay I have only addressed YOU and not the others you are trying to deflect your lack of education to. Not to be unkind, but at this point you impress me as another Christian apologist who cannot even read the most basic Hebrew - like any Jewish schoolchild can. This present a big problem for me and a BIGGER problem for you. While I can readily see where your English translation of the Hebrew has been changed - MIStranslated by Christian translators to promote Christian doctrines, you cannot so easy. This includes verses in Isaiah. So I repeat once again, until you learn to read basic Hebrew you are merely repeating what other Christians have taught you rather than thinking for yourself. I don't care about winning an argument, I'm trying to help you learn to think for yourself so you can know God more fully cuz there is much your religion and Islam do not teach properly about God. God does not want you to defend Christian religion - He wants you to defend His WORDS accurately!
+torahislife: "And yes it is very possible for brilliant educated men to completely miss a perspective"The dictum goes both ways. However, when there are more than one pair of eyes, and when dealing with something so concrete and verifiable as languages, it is hard to believe that brilliant men, together and at once, would be so remiss and so blind as to miss what is so obvious. Clearly, if they are experts in a given field, and miss what is obvious about that field, then of what value is there in having the ability you say I lack, when they have such ability?
+torahislife: "I am not impressed by Christians and muslims with credentials."I thought the point was whether one was or not qualified to discuss matters dealing with specialized languages. Any reasonable person would agree that that those possessing the credential, would be so qualified, and that the emphasis is not so much on the credential, per se, but on the ability, which is what you are making an issue of. Why then change the subject and focus on the medium rather than the end?
+chop thehay And yes it is very possible for brilliant educated men to completely miss a perspective if they are not taught a particular paradigm ,A Hebrew paradigm is very different from the Greco-Roman paradigm taught to Western Christians. If you spent one year studying under a rabbi you would begin to appreciate what I am telling you
+chop thehay I am not impressed by Christians and muslims with credentials. There are numerous Muslims scholars with just as many titles and letters behind their names. Does that impress you?Does that impress God? Does God care? Why do you point to someone else when I've asked you to learn Hebrew for yourself?Just learn basic Hebrew for YOURSELF and learn to think for YOURSELF and then come talk to me.
+torahislife: "Sorry my friend, but some of your assertions reveal your lack of basic Hebrew which will not be missed by those of us who know otherwise."Are they missed by bonafide scholars in the language, who happen to be Christian?Did the late linguistic genius Robert D. Wilson, an eminenr expert in more than thirty languages, miss out in the interpretations and translations?
+chop thehay Sorry my friend, but some of your assertions reveal your lack of basic Hebrew which will not be missed by those of us who know otherwise. You might be able to snow other Christians, but anyone with the slightest knowledge of the TNK and Hebrew language will spot you immediately. You can call it a copout, but learned student of the Jewish scriptures call it a basic prerequisite for anyone who thinks they can come to us and teach us about OUR (Jewish) scriptures.
+torahislife; "The Servant in Isa 53 is already identified multiple times in Isa 1-52, just not to YOUR own liking."Yeah, I already made that concession. Whenever the title "servant" is given without a name, there are plenty of identified suitors who potentially would fit the bill. As I wrote earlier, these are Isaiah, Eliakim, David, and the most fitting of all, CYRUS, who did indeed accomplish the salvific aspects of the nameless personage described in Isaiah 42, the head of the Servant Songs.
+torahislife: " You need to study basic Hebrew before we have any meaningful discussion."Does one really need to study Hebrew to obtain answers to the non-linguistic questions I posed? How so? These were only two. I have hundreds of them. Appealing to linguistics or other specialized fields, where none is merited, will not help our cause. It will all seem like a copout.
+chop thehay On more thing. The Servant in Isa 53 is already identified multiple times in Isa 1-52, just not to YOUR own liking. Furthermore Isaiah is a SINGLE writing which was not originally divided into separate chapters and verses. Christian translators divided the Jewish scriptures into chapters and verses centuries after Isaiah was written. Isaiah is a SINGLE CONTIUOUS MESSAGE about His Servant Israel and God does not start redefining His Servant in the middle of His message. YOU are redefining the Servant in the middle of this single continuous message from God - God already tells us multiple times who His Servant is. (Israel). What gives you the right to suddenly change the identity of Gods servant?Your objection reflects a lack of understanding of the original Hebrew texts - a general unfamiliarity with ancient Hebrew manuscripts. I know you mean well, but it would help you to learn basic Hebrew. Right now you are merely repeating what you've been told to believe about Isa 53 by christian teachers with an agenda. Learning Hebrew will quickly enlighten your understanding of Isa and have you thinking for yourself - using your God-given brain to find the truth instead of toss out really bad and inaccurate arguments which untrained Christian apologists have given you. God wants us to QUESTION what others teach us and to THINK and seek Him. Remember, Isaiah is a SINGLE CONTIUOUS MESSAGE about His Servant Israel. It is not broken into separate chapters and God does not redefine His Servant in the middle of this single message about His Servant Israel.
+chop thehay You need to study basic Hebrew before we have any meaningful discussion. I'm not inclined to spend anymore time with someone who merely defends what they were told by someone else. For your own sake, I suggest you learn the original language Hebrew and then read Isaiah in its full context. I guarantee you will never see Isaiah the same again and you'll be far closer to true messiah than your pagan Christian teachers have lead you to believe
"You've given a convoluted and lengthy answer to a very simple question."I did no such thing. How could this be when all I did was, in turn, ask two leading questions:1. If the prophet set a pattern of identifying people, including the servant, in Isaiah 1-52, why, then, is the servant left unidentified in one of the most crucial chapters of the whole book?And...2. If Isaiah 54-66 repeatedly identifies the Israel as a SINGULAR servant, then why, in those same chapters, is the same Israel identified as "servants" (PLURAL)?You have not provided answers to these very simple questions, one of hundreds that shall be forthcoming, which build one upon another finally to give us a grander picture than the one provided by apostate Jews.
The Book of Isaiah (The Message Audio Bible MSG)
As is the case with nearly all the books of “the prophets,” the book of Isaiah takes its name from its writer. Isaiah was married to a prophetess who bore him at ...
End-Time “Egypt”—A Superpower in Decline
by Avraham Gileadi Ph.D.
Isaiah's use of types of ancient world powers that foreshadow
End-Time ones extends to the great superpower Egypt. As with all nations
and persons who appear in the book of Isaiah, their true identity emerges
when we observe how Isaiah characterizes them, not when we apply historical
or archaeological data, though at times that may help. In searching the
world today for a nation that matches Isaiah's description of “Egypt,” the
sole candidate is America. That connection is further strengthened by the
fact that God’s people anciently dwelt in Egypt, that Joseph ruled Egypt,
and that the birthright tribe of Ephraim sprang from Joseph and Asenath, an
Egyptian woman.
Isaiah's “Egypt,” however, is a superpower in decline: “The ministers
of Zoan have been foolish, the officials of Noph deluded; the heads of
state have led Egypt astray. Jehovah has permeated them with a spirit of
confusion; they have misled Egypt in all that it does, causing it to
stagger like a drunkard into his vomit. . . . Manufacturers of combed linen
and weavers of fine fabrics will be dismayed. The textile workers will know
despair, and all who work for wages suffer distress. . . . I will stir up
the Egyptians against the Egyptians; they will fight brother against
brother and neighbor against neighbor, city against city and state against
state” (Isaiah 19:2, 9–10, 13–14).
11. 16. 2011
//www.isaiahexplained.com/120-Shorts/065.%20End-time%20Egypt-A%20Superpower%20in%20Decline.html
The book of Isaiah—Blueprint of Our Time
by Avraham Gileadi Ph.D.
What sets the book of Isaiah apart from all other prophetic writings
is its all-inclusiveness in depicting an End-Time scenario. More complete
in its portrayal of that time than even apocalyptic writings such as Daniel
and Revelation, it spells out a great confluence of events to which
humanity may look forward. Using Israel’s ancient history as an allegory of
the end of the world, it predicts the future by drawing on events of the
past. Only a prophet–poet with extraordinary literary skills could have
predicted “the end” based on the world’s beginnings (Isaiah 46:10). Only a
visionary who saw both time periods could have crafted such a prophetic
masterpiece.
While the book of Isaiah's apocalyptic message accords with Jewish
tradition, and while literary structures provide proof of its twofold
applicability—Isaiah's day and the end of the world—it still requires a
leap of faith to believe that this is indeed a handbook for our time. For
one thing, it may mean discarding much or all of what we have been taught.
Isaiah foresees this confusion when he speaks of the deaf “hearing” and the
blind “seeing” the words of his book. Only then will “they who erred in
spirit gain understanding and they who murmured accept instruction” (Isaiah
29:18, 24). Fortunately, not all of God’s people fall in that category
(Isaiah 66:2, 5).
10. 12. 2011
//www.isaiahexplained.com/120-Shorts/060.%20The%20Book%20of%20Isaiah-Blueprint%20of%20Our%20Time.html
The Struggle within America—Isaiah Saw It All!
by Avraham Gileadi Ph.D.
Many regard Isaiah's prophecy as a sealed book. Who does it address,
only people in the past? A key to this mystery exists in the linear and
synchronous structures that govern the book of Isaiah. These enable us to
read it as a prophecy about the past but also as a prediction of the
future. The book of Isaiah, in other words, serves a twofold purpose.
Without taking anything away from what happened in the past, it uses the
past as an allegory of the future. In that case, persons and nations of
Isaiah's day typify ones who perform similar roles at the end of the world.
The names of past persons and nations function as codenames for their
endtime counterparts.
The importance of understanding Isaiah's message increases daily as world
events line up like planets for the fulfillment of his prophecy. Under the
codename “Egypt”—the great superpower of Isaiah's day—America is predicted
to suffer spiritual decline, political ineptitude, economic collapse,
internal anarchy, and invasion by a foreign military world power from the
North—a latter-day “Assyria.” On the other hand, a community of covenanters
in “Egypt” will turn back to Jehovah,
who will send them a savior and deliver them. In the end, at the
commencement of the millennial age, America will again become “my people”—a
covenant people of God (Isaiah 19).
5. 20. 2010
//www.isaiahexplained.com/120-Shorts/001.%20The%20Struggle%20within%20Americal.html
Isaiah, Part 1: Rabbi Tovia Singer Explores One of the Most Exciting Prophets Who Ever Lived
The Book of Isaiah is one of the most important and least understood books of the Jewish Scriptures. While students of the Bible frequently overlook the personal ...
Greetings Rabbi Singer,
Let me begin by saying that I love your videos, and keep 'em coming!
Between you and Rabbi Skobac, the two of you have fueled a spiritual
re-ignition in me, and for that, I thank you. I would like to share that
this video touched me deeply, but it left me with some serious questions.
My first question is, what do you mean by the term Social Justice?
Specifically, while you mentioned Social Justice, I am not sure in which
context you meant that to be taken. Social Justice has, since the phrase
was invented by Josef Stalin some 70 odd years ago, taken on some different
meanings. The death toll inflicted by Stalin after all, numbers somewhere
north of 40 Million souls. Chairman Mao's usage of the phrase saw the
systematic execution of a number so large that it can only be estimated.
Stalin, that great progenitor of Social Justice, once remarked that a
single death is a tragedy while a Million of them is a statistic. Clearly,
a dichotomy exists. Please allow me to expand upon this point.
One of my great regrets in life is that I am so far removed politically
from my family, (especially my mother,) that gatherings are usually filled
with a certain amount of tension. In fact, as a Jewish Conservative, I am
probably in what we might call a pretty elite club. I understand the need
for compassion and charity, but where we disagree, (we as in me and what
seems to be every other Jewish person on the planet,) is in how such
compassion and charity are best delivered. My view is that it must come
from each individual personally, and not via government fiat. I believe the
best way to help people in the lower economic strata, is to give them a leg
up so that they may leave that economic echelon, rather than merely giving
them minimal sustenance only to insure survival and continued dependence.
I'd like to quote Penn Jillette here, who has put it more eloquently than I:
"It's amazing to me how many people think that voting to have the
government give poor people money is compassion. Helping poor and suffering
people yourself is compassion. Voting for our government to use guns to
give money to help poor and suffering people is immoral self-righteous
bullying laziness. People need to be fed, medicated, educated, clothed, and
sheltered. If we're compassionate, we'll help them, but you get no moral
credit for forcing other people to do what you think is right. There is
great joy in helping people, but no joy in doing it at gunpoint."
I have to believe that Hashem understands basic economics, and further
understands that wealth as it exists on Earth is not a zero sum game. Man
Kind was born on Earth in poverty, and every bit of wealth that exists here
was built from the resources so generously provided by the Lord of Hosts.
The lens of history has been crystal clear on this point. The state of the
ordinary person has flourished in those environs that have provided for
free and unfettered markets, where the creative and productive forces of
Capitalism have been unleashed to allow for people to provide for
themselves. There has yet to be devised by any society of men, any economic
system that comes close to providing its citizenry the living standard that
the free market price system has provided. Nor has any other economic
system provided the ability of the ordinary person to move from one
economic strata to another. On the other hand, centralized planning,
coupled by wealth redistribution schemes have led to mass misery, and in
many cases, mass genocide. An economy based upon Covetous behavior is
doomed to failure. Compassion is good, using the force of government to
have other people be compassionate on your behalf is not.
My second question relates to the beginning of the Book of Samuel. I seem
to recall the people asking Hashem to anoint a King, and Hashem trying to
talk them out of it, telling them that they'd be better off with Judges.
One of the ramifications was that once a King was anointed, we were stuck
with them, and would be accountable for our actions once the inevitable
happened and the Kings corrupted themselves. Is there a way back from this?
Is there a way by which we can free our fate from the corruptibility of our
political leaders? Is it possible that Hashem would allow us to return to
Judges?
If my questions seem a bit sophomoric or even foolish, I apologize. My
spiritual awakening is still in its infancy.
Best regards, John.
+Tapasya Tyaga Not quite, the slaves in the Torah were owned in a temporary basis only. Basically, its most closely related kin to modern times was indentured servant, meaning someone selling their services as a bonded agent for a 6 year period of time. After that period of time, they were to be set free, literally from any debt or continued demand for service. This is found in the very first Parashat after Yitro, and is in fact the first subject discussed after Israel receives the revelation of the 10 commandments.
the term of social justice pretty much like term of human rights are removed from the reality. to understand the true meaning of it, one shouldn't look at tyrants, but rather read The Torah. John, mixing economics and politics and blaming others is taking you away from it. unsure how conservative your place of warship, my suggestion would be go to Chabad and ask them. let us know your journey.
John...You make a fine point about social justice. Being born in a Jewish body, I've seen first hand this penchant for social justice go awry. We are beset today by so much "social justice" such that we've coined the term "social justice warrior."I don't know about you but I've had enough of it.