Is this Hashem?

Today, we continued our discussions on Perek Vav, trying to decide whether or not it was Yeshayahu's hakdasha, or indeed a change in his mission. Something we learned caught my attention, but I probably won't be able to put my feelings into words and give them [my feelings] justice.

In Pasuk Tet, Hashem tells Yeshayahu to "make the people's hearts fat, their ears heavy, and to shut their eyes, lest they do teshuva." The lest clearly poses a problem to us. What does it mean, lest? Don't we want them to do teshuva? There are two different ways to understand this pasuk: As the change in mission, or as the hakdasha.

In terms of the change in mission, it would be understood as follows: The people themselves have sinned, actively refusing to listen because they are so fearful of seeing the true meaning and being forced to change their ways, and so they block out what the navi says lest they become compelled to do teshuva. Simple enough.

Now, I personally believe the evidence is much stronger for the case of Perek Vav being Yeshayahu's hakdasha. But when we understand pasuk tet in a way that it is part of his hakdasha, we see something shocking. If it is indeed the hakdasha, then in the future Hashem is going harden their hearts so they don't do teshuva. Hashem is saying they are past the point of no return and need to go through punishment (in order to...)

I understand that sometimes we need to go through punishment, and I understand that at that time the people probably wouldn't have repented. But it is so hard to believe that Hashem would take away that option for the Jews by hardening their hearts. If their sins were so bad that Hashem did that, what does that say for us? It is so much easier to sin now, because we have so much more we can do to break halachot. Such as non-kosher resteraunts, using electricity on shabbos, etc. Is Hashem going to harden our hearts? Additionally, when I think of G-d, I like to think that G-d isn't a petty human with petty feelings. G-d doesn't get so mad that it's just all out punishment, anger, and abandonment. Why harden our hearts? G-d isn't supposed to be like that- abandoning us and so on and so forth. Maybe one of you can shed some light on the subject? I know the simple answer is Hashem doesn't actually harden their hearts, and it is a change in mission. But I really believe that it's the hakdasha. So how do we justify the statement? It's a conundrum [yes, I used a word Mrs. Perl used today (: Yay!]

Social Justice

.. and what a perfect example of.. social (in)justice...

Today in class I had somewhat of an epiphany. Let's see.. I don't know how it started, but somehow, well.. To be truthful, I do not know exactly what was happening in the classroom. But there was a lot of screaming going on; there was also a lot of accusing. I think that it was all fun and games, but it made me think of situations that really aren't as playful as the one that took place in class. In reality, there are some pretty terrible things that happen to innocent people and some pretty innocent people who end up doing some terrible things. How perfect it was that I was thinking this during Navi class! After all, we have been learning about the importance of social justice and the negative effects of social injustice for a while now, while studying Sefer Yishayahu. Yishayahu rebukes the people for a number of things of which the basis is always hubris, and as a result of their hubris the nation commits horrible crimes against their fellow man. They become partial in their judgment and give into bribes. They do not give proper attention to the orphan and the widow, the downtrodden, and instead make them suffer unattended. They put themselves on a higher level than everyone else.
I can't say that I'm perfect(, though must admit that it is not as if I haven't declared that before). The truth is: we all make mistakes, especially as girls in highschool in an all girls school. It seems as if the most important thing to do is to do things that make no sense. What I can take out of Yishayahu and the lessons of Yishayahu is the realization that social injustice is really, really, terrible. I have decided to try as hard as I can to make social justice a top priority. It doesn't matter how good your other deeds are, if you are not treating your fellow neighbor with respect, there is something wrong.
In conclusion, it is impossible to decide all of a sudden that tomorrow you will not do any social injustices, but if we take the messages of Yishayahu with us, hopefully over time we can get to a point where we feel like we are not putting ourselves on a higher level than everyone and are exhibiting social justice.

We're blogging!

Welcome to the Navi Perspective Blog.  In order to share ideas, review material, and add depth to our learning, we will be starting a class blog! Your assignment is to post a comment, question, insight, or resource about the material we are learning in class at least two times per week. Each post can receive a maximum of  6 points based on how it meets the standards described on the following rubric:

	2 Points	1 Point	0 Points
Content and Creativity	Postings provide comprehensive insight, understanding, and reflective thought about the topic that is substantiated by effective supporting examples. Postings are creatively and fluently written to stimulate dialogue and commentary.	Postings provide moderate insight, understanding and reflective thought about the topic that is substantiated by supporting examples. Postings are generally well written with some attempts made to stimulate dialogue and commentary.	Postings provide minimal insight, understanding and reflective thought about the topic and lack supporting examples. Postings are brief and unimaginative, and reflect minimal effort to connect with the audience.
Voice	Postings are written in a style that is appealing and appropriate for the intended audience and a consistent voice is evident throughout	Postings are written in a style that is generally appropriate for the intended audience and an attempt is made to use a consistent voice.	Postings are written in a style that does not fully consider the audience, and the author’s voice is difficult to identify.
Mechanics	Writes with no errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.	Writes with minor editing errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.	Writes with major errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling.

Let the blogging begin...


Reflect on whether you think Perek Vav is Yishayahu's first call to prophecy and the start of his mission or whether it represents a shift in the underlying mission of his prophecy.