01-10-2021, 01:31 AM
I am reading Rabbi Sacks Covenant & Conversation series book titled "Exodus: The Book of Redemption" for the weekly parsha.
I thought I would share what I see as a contrast between contrast between Judaism and Christianity.
It's a bit long but well worth the read.
In the introduction to Exodus Rabbi Sacks says and I quote (page 14) -
"This leads us to the great subtext of the Exodus narrative. On the surface, it is about how the Israelites were slaves and G-d brought them to freedom by a series of signs and wonders. The Israelites played no part in this process. They were pawns in the hands of Pharaoh on the one hand, G-d on the other. History is a script written by G-d, and it is for us to leave our destiny entirely in His hands. This is the plain meaning of the text.
But there is a subtext which is nuanced differently. A careful examination reveals that Exodus contains a number of double narratives, whose significance becomes clear when we put them together. So, for example:
1 - There are 2 sets of battles one immediately before, the other immediately after, the crossing of the Reed Sea, the first against Pharaoh and his chariots, the second against the Amalekites.
2 - There are 2 sets of stone tablets recording the revelation at Mt. Sinai, one before the episode of the Golden Calf (broken by Moses on his descent from the mountain), the second after the people have been forgiven for the Calf.
3 - There are 2 times that G-d is revealed in a cloud of glory, once at Mt. Sinai, the other, at the end of Exodus, in the Tabernacle (40:34-35).
4 - The Sinai covenant was declared twice, once by G-d, the second time by Moses, reading from "the book of the covenant" he has written to record G-d's words)
5 - There are 2 accounts of the construction of the Tabernacl, one before (25-30), the other (35-40) after the Golden Calf.
If we examine each pair carefully we will see that they share a common feature. In each case, the first is the work of G-d alone, while the second involves human contribution.
I am skipping a few paragraphs that go into more detail to get to the main point I want to bring out where Rabbi Sacks says - "It is not what G-d does for us, but what we do for G-d, that changes us"
So here is the contrast I see -
I am around many Christians who always want me to "hear their testimonies", about how "G-d changed me and my life".
I believe the exact opposite as Rabbi Sacks writes - "but what we do for G-d, that changes us"
So G-d doesn't change us, we change our selves under G-d's direction if we choose to use our free will to do so!
I thought I would share what I see as a contrast between contrast between Judaism and Christianity.
It's a bit long but well worth the read.
In the introduction to Exodus Rabbi Sacks says and I quote (page 14) -
"This leads us to the great subtext of the Exodus narrative. On the surface, it is about how the Israelites were slaves and G-d brought them to freedom by a series of signs and wonders. The Israelites played no part in this process. They were pawns in the hands of Pharaoh on the one hand, G-d on the other. History is a script written by G-d, and it is for us to leave our destiny entirely in His hands. This is the plain meaning of the text.
But there is a subtext which is nuanced differently. A careful examination reveals that Exodus contains a number of double narratives, whose significance becomes clear when we put them together. So, for example:
1 - There are 2 sets of battles one immediately before, the other immediately after, the crossing of the Reed Sea, the first against Pharaoh and his chariots, the second against the Amalekites.
2 - There are 2 sets of stone tablets recording the revelation at Mt. Sinai, one before the episode of the Golden Calf (broken by Moses on his descent from the mountain), the second after the people have been forgiven for the Calf.
3 - There are 2 times that G-d is revealed in a cloud of glory, once at Mt. Sinai, the other, at the end of Exodus, in the Tabernacle (40:34-35).
4 - The Sinai covenant was declared twice, once by G-d, the second time by Moses, reading from "the book of the covenant" he has written to record G-d's words)
5 - There are 2 accounts of the construction of the Tabernacl, one before (25-30), the other (35-40) after the Golden Calf.
If we examine each pair carefully we will see that they share a common feature. In each case, the first is the work of G-d alone, while the second involves human contribution.
I am skipping a few paragraphs that go into more detail to get to the main point I want to bring out where Rabbi Sacks says - "It is not what G-d does for us, but what we do for G-d, that changes us"
So here is the contrast I see -
I am around many Christians who always want me to "hear their testimonies", about how "G-d changed me and my life".
I believe the exact opposite as Rabbi Sacks writes - "but what we do for G-d, that changes us"
So G-d doesn't change us, we change our selves under G-d's direction if we choose to use our free will to do so!