According to many of the anonymous comments posted here, Northampton County Bulldog Ron Angle is a notorious anti-Semite with swastikas littered all over his house. How ironic that he would be the first County Council President to invite a rabbi to start off last night's Council meeting with a prayer.I believe the rabbi was Isaac Yagod, who worships at Bethlehem's Beth Avraham. I can't be certain because he left before I had a chance to talk with him. His message, and not his name, got everyone's attention.
Instead of praying, like most clerics do, he spoke of justice. He noted it is the foundation of the Ten Commandments and that without it, there an be no real religion or government. He then gave his blessings and hoped each council member could find a way to be just.
After the meeting, Executive John Stoffa noted that "justice" is one of the words in Northampton County's seal. The other word is "mercy."
15 comments:
Bernie,
Maybe you can email me anything you have on the Rabbi's remarks regarding justice and the Ten Commandments?
In a broader sense, we were reviewing this type of teaching recently. It is contractual justice that guides the O.T. through the law.
Yet, it is the N.T. that super-cedes this train of thought. We (Christians) are people of The Beatitudes. A different mentality with a completely different meaning of justice.
So to cut to the chase, I am interested in what context he used the term justice. I am interested in his perspective. Because from what you noted, through the Ten Commandments, he laid down the groundwork for a completely different approach.
And just in case, before anyone labels me an anti-Semite, I am a Semite.
Thanks and sorry for the bother.
Peace, ~~Alex+
The king of all anti-Semites invites a rabbi for political cover and that clears the books.
You really think the Jewish community is that naive. They know what Ron Angle is and his record.
I could be wrong, but i swear a rabbi opened a council meeting in the early years of the reibman/angle epoch.
Alex,
There is a deep theological conversation around justice, but at the root of the The Commandments come the two commandments laid out in Leviticus and later by Christ himself (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body and sole and love your enemy as you love yourself). If we do these Great Commandments and or follow the Ten Commandments, we are in fact doing justice. Whether we follow The Law or The Beatitudes, we are called to love. Justice, in the Judeo-Christian sense, is really us living out God's love for creation. I really do believe the teachings of the OT and NT uphold that notion. Sometimes, however, there is an intentional glossing over of the OT's statements of justice through love. I think that gloss over does an disservice to God's expectation that we love all of creation. Perhaps it is a statement of our human frailties?
Personally, I find my calling from Micah. "What does the Lord require of you but to seek justice, love kindly and walk humbly with the Lord."
I enjoy reading your thoughts on these matters Alex. Perhaps Bernie can pass my email address on to you so we can correspond. Call it our own letters to the church :~)
Grace and Peace,
Geoff
Geoff/Alex, It was something like Geoff is saying, but his understanding is much better than mine. Wil pass along Geoff's email addy.
Rabbis have spoken to council at various points over the years, but I honestly don't recall one doing the invocation. I will ask Mr. Flisser today, to see if I am mistaken.
Mr. Brace,
Forgive me for not communicating effectively.
There are several different Decalogue's. All of them are contractual commandments of love given from God, through Moses, to his choosen people. These several different Decalogues have the Commandments numbered differently and fashioned in a sense to place emphasis on which Commandment has importance. Sometimes the important Commandment is first and sometimes they are in the middle, to demonstrate its importance, by holding together the beginning and the end.
Justice in this sense, is two fold. Keep in mind, that Jews at this time, didn't have a firm meaning of the afterlife. Hell and Sheol were not to be understood as they are today. Just look at the verses in must Wisdom verses, i.e. Job or Qoheleth.
1-Justice was meant as the God's protection over his chosen people. And 2-if the person respects, honors, and fears the one God; God will honor him with justice by making him fruitful.
Those meanings are slightly different from our understanding of the word justice and how it applies to us and the instructions of Jesus Christ.
In this sense, the OT is a building block and a prepartion for something to come. It is Jesus and the more perfect ordering (of the law.) Thus the names O.T. and N.T. Which is actually a slap in the face for the Jews practicing the (old) law. If you have an Old Testament, why is there a need for the New Testament?
Thus, leading to my question. If we have a meaning for the term - justice in the sense of the O.T. why and what is the need for the new meaning of justice in the N.T.? Therefore, I asked for the Rabbi's remarks. I wanted to see in what context he used the term justice.
Sorry for the confusion. Hopefully, I nourished your faith and didn't scandalize anyone. Please keep up the good work. And please pray for me. You are all in my prayers.
Yo priest guy there is no word, "Irregardless".
Anonymous,
That's funny. You must know more than the professionals. The American Heritage Dictionary has a definition for: regardless and irregardless. Both are adverbs, although irregardless and irregardlessly may not be a standard usage.
Thanks for the education.
Peace, ~~Alex+
You tell him angry priest! Nobody does it better. Now go bless Angle and Ohare
Et cum spiritu tuo
Anon 3:45 AM?
"Et cum spiritu tuo"
Is that a joke? Are you referencing a movie? Something like The Exorcist? That was the line that the little girl (possessed by the demon) first spoke to the priest.
That is a funny one. You still need to brush up on your Latin.
When you are finished with that, you can help me with my Ancient Greek, Ancient Hebrew, Syriac, French, and Arabic homework?
Peace, ~~Alex+
I know more Latin than you do!
The Rabbi
Latin, Latin, Latin.
As dead as a language can be.
It killed the ancient Romans.
And now it's killing Wee Willy.
Miseratur tui onmipotens Deus, et dismissis peccatis yuis, perducat te ad vitam aeternam.
The Rabbi
Yo angry priest how are they hanging. Pray for Ohare and Angle!
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