Friends
Tough times like these call for the brave wisdom of prophets.
Who will be our inspiration?
Mine, today, is Jonah. He nailed it with just five words that changed the world.
Jonah Potasznik explores this brief recipe for success:
“Ancient Israel did not have a “one-prophet-fits-all” approach to the dissemination of God’s word. Elijah’s prophecies stung with sarcasm. Literary Jeremiah knew the power of the pen to sway hearts. Ezekiel had a flair for the dramatic.
Perhaps Jonah is the prophet that lets the moment do the talking for him. What he loses in air time he makes up for in impact: merely point your finger at the problem to your listeners, and let them come to the necessary conclusion themselves.”
Jonah, son of Amitai, this ‘one wonder prophet’ got the biggest city in the world to repent and save itself from ruin.
His curious tale, big fish and all, will be recited this coming Monday in synagogues all over the world as part of the Yom Kippur Atonement liturgy.
Jonah’s surprising success in turning the hearts of the citizens of the Assyrian Capitol Nineveh towards social repair is our annual inspiration and motivation. We too can change.
How will we also turn from our many moral blindspots and transgressions towards the common good? What will wake us up?
We begin by paying attention to the prophetic wisdom we have in our system.
Jonah was most likely from the Northern Kingdom of Israel - one of the few Northern prophets included in the Bible.
Although his lineage and location is not mentioned in the brief book named for him, he is mentioned in passing in another verse from the Book of Kings:
“King Jeroboam II restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.”
(2 Kings 14:25)
Gath-Hepher is way up in the northern territory of the kingdom, likely is the tribal lands of Zebulon, located just a few miles northeast of Nazareth in lower Galilee.
Jonah prophesied during the reign of King Jeroboam II (c. 786–746 BCE), just decades before the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 BCE. He represents the last moments of a kingdom that knows its fate is tied to the wider world. He is a universal voice - part of the legacy of the Northern narrative of Israel. It’s a voice we need to hear more of today.
Even if Jonah did manage to convince the king and people of Assyria to change their ways and turn towards the good and just - he still did not manage to shift the ways of empire for good.
And still - that same empire would crush his kingdom a few decades later. The story survives to remind us that the prophetic call for justice lives on - regardless of its endurance - and is addressed to all of us, at all times, beyond borders and tribal ties.
We all must wake up from our moral slumber. We must shift.
So what’s Jonah’s secret of success? Can it help us do so?
Ahead of Yom Kippur I invite you to read a post from the Below the Bible Belt archives, exploring the story of Jonah and its meanings for today, esp. in the context of our year-long learning on the historical rifts between the kingdoms - and their relevance today.
Read it here:
https://amichailaulavie.substack.com/p/five-words-save-the-world
🚩 OUR NEXT ZOOM SESSION IS ON 10/11/26, 2pm ET
More info on the rest of the course:
Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page
Wishing us all Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova- Peaceful Sabbath and Hopeful New Year.
Let the words and actions of ancient and current prophets help us rise repair.
A Year of Peace שלום سلام
Amichai