Rabbi David E. Ostrich, Congregation Brit Shalom
Clergy Column for The Centre Daily Times
Published October 17, 2023
On a day when we Jews are supposed to be repenting for our own sins, we are also urged to think about the sins of others. In fact, one of the most important Yom Kippur readings is the Biblical Book of Jonah, the hope being that we can learn the lesson God tries in vain to teach the prophet. Though we are tempted to focus on the big fish that swallows Jonah and then vomits him out (my favorite verse when I was a child), the real story involves the repentance of sinful people.
The Lord instructs Jonah to go to Nineveh, “that great city,” and tell everyone to repent. If they do not, the city will be destroyed. After the unexpected trip to the fish’s belly and after traveling to Nineveh and speaking the Lord’s message, Jonah sits on a hill, eagerly awaiting the punishment he has just prophesied. Why? Perhaps he wants to maintain his prophetic reputation. When Jonah predicts something, it happens. Or perhaps his sense of right and wrong depends on evil being punished. If he is not supposed to sin, then it is unfair when others sin and “get away with it.” In any event, as Jonah gleefully anticipates Nineveh’s destruction, something unexpected happens. The Ninevites listen to the prophecy and repent for their sins. They all (even the animals!) put on sackcloth and ashes and pray for God’s forgiveness. God sees their contrition, accepts their prayers, and forgives them all. The destruction is cancelled.
Rather than being happy that his prophecy has been successful, Jonah is furious and throws a theological temper tantrum. Quoting Exodus 34, he rants about God being “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, and renouncing punishment,” as though it is a Divine flaw. God is disgusted with Jonah’s immaturity and callousness and sends the brutal east wind and the gourd to get him to open his moral eyes. Sadly, Jonah’s heart is closed, and finally the Lord must state aloud what Jonah and we all need to understand. God cares about sinners. As Ezekiel(18.23) explains, “Is it my desire that the wicked die?—says the Lord God. No! It is rather that they turn from their evil ways and live.”
This Divine desire for sinners to repent is one we should keep in mind as we approach the conflict and anger that often consume our political lives. Is the goal to destroy our opponents, or is the goal to convince them that our path is the better way? Is the goal to identify our opponents as enemies and vanquish them, or is the goal to recognize them as human beings who are either incorrect or have different opinions? In the ongoing Civil Rights Movement, the goal has not been to destroy the racists; it has been to show them that people of color are human beings who deserve respect and rights. In the ongoing fight against anti-Semitism, the goal has not been to destroy those with prejudice and hatred but to guide them to wiser and more respectful thinking. Perhaps we can think about this Divine compassion when a public figure is caught saying or doing something inappropriate—often in the distant past. Should we smear and vilify the individual and expel them from the body politic, or should the goal be to ascertain their current understanding and guide them to a more perfect appreciation of humanity in all its diversity? Paraphrasing Ezekiel, should our goal be the political or professional death of sinners, or should it be that they repent, turn from their ignorant or prejudiced path, and strive for godliness?
As the Talmudic Sage Beruriah counsels, we should not pray “for an end to sinners. We should pray for an end to their sins,”—for them to be “wicked no more.” This is what God wants. It should be what we want, too.