A Thought on ‘Prophetic Judaism’ In Times of War

 

I’ve had several conversations with Reform and Liberal colleagues in which they have referred to pursuing prophetic values in this awful time of war as if that adjective mandates a political attitude towards Israel – Gaza that (to be clear!) I support. But my support is NOT because I think it’s ‘prophetic Judaism,’ in fact, rather the reverse.

 

Of course, prophetic Judaism is a collection of hundreds of literary records left by a vast collection of men, and occasionally women, over several hundred years, and we should be careful about claiming it can be distilled into any specific political viewpoint.

 

But, my read of the total collective of materials that fall into the collection marked, ‘prophetic’ is that they DON’T make the case for the response to Israel/Gaza that I think is called for by the tradition, more broadly, and specifically, rabbinically understood.

 

Except for one line in Jonah, the twin concerns of the prophetic collective are Israel and God. There is, of course, the Ger who lives among the people of Israel as a non-Israelite. But I can’t think of cases where the prophets call on Israel to empathise with a suffering non-Israelite nation, or even cases where prophets want anything other than the destruction of people who have attacked Israel. Yes, there is a vision about a peaceful time, after God has come in and crushed those who wish Israel ill, but that end-point seems only to be reachable via military brutality.

 

Actively opposing any kind of compassion for suffering non-Israelites, of course, is Samuel. I know the Rabbis paskened that there are no more Amalakites, but my point is that this particular piece of prophetic Judaism supports a brutal, ethical-squashing, genocidal attack launched against those who have attacked Israel. It’s Rabbinic Judaism that ‘fixes’ that predilection towards genocidal violence that the prophetic summons seems to summon.

 

Similarly, Amos clearly believes in the most gorgeous vision of escatological peace but the book opens with this promise, “for the sins of Gaza, I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza and destroy her palaces,” which arguably makes the current Israeli policy sound … entirely prophetic.

 

Nahum's prophetic values includes enemies of Israel, “though they be like tangled thorns, be devoured as stubble fully dry.” (1:10) Ovadiah prophecises against Edom that, “Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be destroyed forever.” (also 1:10) Ezekiel seems entirely at ease with vengeance as a war-aim, “Because the Philistines [who lived in the area now known as Gaza] acted in vengeance… I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath” (25:15-17). Zechariah 12:9 – “On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.” That’s certainly enough for the Smotrich-crew to claim that they are embodying prophetic values.

 

For what it’s worth, I’m not sure turning to the female prophets as articulating compassion for the non-Jew helps. Sarah (if we consider Sarah a prophet) seemed to have no problem with Ishmael and Hagar being deprived of water. Miriam the prophetess – whose dislike of the Kushite almost causes her own death – doesn’t help. And Deborah was no military softie.

 

It’s more, I think, than the notion that you can find verses somewhere to make any point you want, I think the major direction of travel is directly opposed to the way claimed. I get that prophetic Judaism is comfortable with chastising Israeli political leadership, but I get the sense that my colleagues who use the term take it to mean a form of Judaism where compassion for even our enemies is held centrally, and I just don’t see that.

 

For me, it’s the way the Rabbis calm down prophetic energies that are too epiphany-dependent and too "off with the prophets" (1 Sam 10:10) that model the way we should all for calmer, less militaristic responses, even as we are attacked. I think the rise of Rabbinic Judaism serves as a counter-narrative to ‘prophetic Judaism’, calling us to consider longer-term, less theosophic-dependent ways of doing good and achieving peace.

It’s the imprecation – from Chumash not Neviim - to consider every human as created in the image of God (especially as considered in Mishnah Sanhedrin) that is at the heart of my opposition to the way this awful war is being prosecuted. Proverbs’ call to feed our enemies is also on my mind.

 

There are lines like this in Vayikra Rabba, ‘Rabbi Jesse the Galilean states: "How meritorious is peace? Even in time of war, Jewish law requires that one initiate discussions of peace."’ (VR Tzav 9)

And there is Halacha, applied in the siege of Beirut, on keeping, in times of a military siege, one path out of a besieged city (MT H Melachim 6:7)

 

Philo, a Jewish writer writing in the first century, notes “The Jewish nation, when it takes up arms, distinguishes between those whose life is one of hostility and the reverse. For to breathe slaughter against all, even those who have done little or nothing amiss, shows what I would call a savage and brutal soul. (The Special Laws 4:224-225)

We should be so fortunate.

But I’m not sure any of this would have been on the minds of the great prophets of our tradition when they were off prophesying.

 

What am I missing?