Tuesday 4 October 2011

Quick Lesson Drawn from Maftir Yonah

Many/Most commentators draw upon the theme of Teshuvah from Anshei Nin'veh
I'm positing instead to notice the "Pop Spirituality" theme of "what we resist - persists"

Yonah is assigned a task, he has a Divinely Ordained Destiny.
What is Yonah's reaction? Instead of saying "Hineini", Yonah RESISTS and takes off in the opposite direction!
Result? His life gets stormy. In the depths of the Belly of the Fish Yonah then PRAYS and does an about face [T'fillah uT'shuva]
Then, Yonah is released from his storm and proceeds to Nin'veh and succeeds! - How many rabbis are so lucky to have their mussar shmuessen so highly regarded by over 100,000 people! <Smile>
Yet in the end, Yonah resists again and is subjected to the Baking sun of Iraq.

Moral: When we resist our pre-ordained Destiny, life becomes stormy. When we stop resisting and proceed with our Divine Mission, things calm down and we succeed.

Shalom,
RRW

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