Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, in his WorldNetDaily column today, makes an excellent point that the biblical character Jacob is the better standard-bearer for the nation of Israel than Abraham. Israel even bears the name God gave to Jacob.
But the greatness of Jacob, which by far transcended that of Abraham and Isaac, was that he was the first personality in the Bible prepared to resist evil, even if it tarnished him. And by fighting evil, Jacob set a precedent that the righteous, rather than the cold and the heartless, would inherit the earth. Jacob knows that Esau is a bad man, and he will do everything in his power to remove from him the blessings of dominion. Likewise, Jacob will not allow his father-in-law Laban, a psychopathic liar, to take advantage of him, because someone has to stand up to a bully.
Stated in other words, Jacob is the first biblical personality forced to translate a passion for goodness into a world where goodness is seen as weakness. Abraham is the righteous loner who separates himself from the corrupt vices of his neighbors. He will pray for Sodom and Gomorrah, but he will not live among them. Abraham did not seek to salvage a world that was beyond redemption. But Jacob was not prepared to forfeit the earth to criminals. He would stand up for himself, even though doing so made him enter the gray areas that his grandfather avoided like the plague. While Abraham is more angel than man, Jacob is forever and vicariously perched between heaven and earth, struggling to do the right thing in a world of wickedness and evil.
Those who, in the name of their own moral standing, retreat from the fight with evil are guilty of false piety and moral cowardice. Saving your soul while everyone else perishes is the rectitude of scoundrels.
This is the precise principle upon which the US, the UK, and Israel (and a few select others) stand in the Global War on Islamofascism.
The Europeasment crowd is nothing but scoundrels. The UN and the pro-Israel-destruction crowd are worse than scoundrels. We need to continue the Jacobic struggle and ignore the voices that call for Abrahamic inaction. If we don't, we perish.
7 comments:
I've got to disagree on Abraham. He raised the army and fought to retrieve Lot and the king of Sodom from the hands of Chedorlaomer. Of course he did lie about Sarah twice to save his hide.
Jacob certainly had some courage by stealing the birthright from one who would not appreciate it, wrestling with God, insisting on telling pharoah he was a shepherd in spite of the scorn they felt, and not least - marrying 4 women. :)
Hmmm.... why does it need to be about religion? With the islamic tools being, well tools, why stoop to their level by implicitly claiming some 'divine right' to bulldoze Islamic nations?
Again, jus' saying.
AICS,
Yes, that last point took the most courage of all!
You're right that Abraham raised the army to rescue Lot, but it was Abraham's character overall to wait, to be patient and long-suffering. He waited in Haran for God to tell him where to go next. He waited for a son. He stayed in Canaan, and the Canaanites were content to let him live peacefully among them.
But Jacob seemed to have nothing but strife (some of it self-imposed). He had Esau, the favoritism displayed by their parents, Laban's frauds, and those four women sharing his household.
I think maybe Abraham is part of the Jewish character. But Jacob is the nation's character.
FKAB,
This isn't about religion or divine right. It's about historical figures and the debate over which one is the right character for the conditions Israel faces as a nation today. It's an analogy, and I'm an analogous person, so to speak, so it speaks to me.
BTW, I don't know what you mean by "tool." I can't quite figure it out from the context. It must be an Aussie thing.
Skyepuppy,
I like the anaolgy (and love Europeasement BTW) but when I look at the young Israelites on TV praying before battle, I think of Hezekiah, Asa, or some of the other embattled kings of Judah. But who am I to argue with a rabbi, or the Skyepuppy for that matter.
The analogy is perfect. I heard the Rabbi interviewed by Dennis Prager eariler this week and he touched on it. The stuggle for what is right and true, a struggle for their very lives.
Chris/Janice,
I was just thinking about the end of Jacob's life, when he went back to make peace with Esau.
Even in this, the analogy fits. Israel (the nation) longs for peace, and she will give it if her enemy is willing. So far Esau has not been willing...
Ok, I think I see your point. It is not just courage, it is the ability to move quickly and firmly on that courage.
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