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52

FRIDAY, OCT. 16, 1987

Following Orders

Continued from preceding page

is not angry at Moses' de-
fiance. God feels Himself in-
structed by Moses and
declares, "By your life, I shall
cancel My own words and con-
firm yours Moses —as it says
`when thou drawest near un-
to a city to fight against it,
then proclaim peace unto it.' "
(Bamidbar Rabbah 19,20)
Consider the meaning of
this rabbinic reading. God in-
terprets Moses' defiance of
divine orders not as an injury
to God, but as an act adding
glory to His majesty. Moses is
not only not reprimanded for
his refusal to follow orders,
but he is elevated into the
role of a wise counsellor of
God. Moses is not God's door-
mat nor is he wanted to serve
in such a servile role. Because
Moses is loyal to God's truth,
he is responsible for saying
"yes" and for saying "no."
That responsibilty and moral
competence is what God
desires of His heroes.

The rabbis depict God
Himself as a different kind of
commander than that popu-
larly projected on the fantasy
of the screen: inflexible, ar-
rogant, implacable, obdurate,
a pastiche of Patton, Mac-
Arthur and Sharon. God
listens to Moses and changes
His mind. Limaditani — you
have instructed Me, God
proudly affirms.
Nor is this an idiosyncratic
instance recorded by the rab-
bis. The Holy One revealed
Himself to Moses, declaring
that He visits the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children.
Moses did not run to a corner
and sit on his head. He ap-
peals from God to God. "Rib-
bono shel olam — master of
the universe. Many are the
wicked who have begotten
righteous children. Shall the
righteous bear the sins of the
fathers? Terach worshipped
images, yet Abraham, his
son, was a righteous man.
Hezekiah was a righteous
man, though Ashaz, his
father, was wicked." Is it
proper that the righteous
should be punished for the in-
iquity of the fathers?
The Holy One replies,
Limaditani! You have taught
Me. By your life I shall cancel
My words and confirm
yours — as it says in the law
of Moses — "The fathers shall
not be put to death for the
fathers." (Deut. 24:16)
Rabbinic illustrations of the
intimate and consultative
relationship between God and
hero and the spirit of pro-
phetic criticism are rooted in
the earliest traditions of the
paradigmatic patriarchal
hero.
God, according to the Torah
text, feels compelled to inform
Abraham of His knowledge

Lt. Col. Oliver North: From a

Jewish perspective, he erred.

about the rumors of Sodom
and Gomorrah. Rather than
precipitously punish its
citizens, God resolves to
Himself to descend to in-
vestigate the cries. "I will go
down now and see whether
they have done altogther ac
cording to the cry of it, which
is come unto Me; and if not,
I will know" (Genesis 18:20).
In such major affairs, God
does not rely upon vague
rumors and covert reports. He
does not hide from the world
He governs. Moreover, God
feels it essential to inform
Abraham of His designs.
"Shall I hide from Abraham
that I am doing?"
The Bible reveals God's
motivation for telling
Abraham what He is about to
do. God feels He must explain
Himself to His servant so that
Abraham as the leader of his
people "may keep the way of
the Lord, to do righteousness
and justice." (Genesis 18:12).
The biblical hero must know
the righteousness of God so
that he may apply it in his
own life and transmit it to his
children.
There is no heroism in ig-
norant conformity to the com-
mander and no divinity in the
naked power that barks
orders. God consciously leaves
Himself open to Abraham's
heroic critique: "Shall the
judge of all the - earth not do
justly?" God seeks no plausi-
ble deniability.
The Biblical and rabbinic il-
lustrations of good men and
women questioning God are
not meant to diminish God's
greatness — but, on the con-
trary, to define greatness dif-
ferently. God's greatness is
not in His power to order but
in His wisdom to listen. The
illustrations of patriarch and
prophet who challenge God
are not meant to diminish
their heroism but to define
heroism differently. The God-
given conscience of the hero is
not dumb, blind and mute.