14 | NOVEMBER 19 • 2020

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Such words of comfort
together with their seem-
ing promise of eternal life
explain why Psalm 23 is
recited whenever we mourn
or memorialize a loved
one we have lost. They also
explain why the image of
God as “the good shepherd”
went on to become one of
the most popular symbols of
early Christian art. Indeed,
the psalm itself continues to
occupy a prominent place
in Christian liturgy to this
very day.
However, as I sat there
in temple and reflected
on what I had just read, I
recognized that the psalm
presented me with a moral
contradiction. While its
poetry conveys a message
of comfort, all the more
reassuring because we have
heard its soothing vers-
es intoned time and time
again, the compliant sheep
of the psalm would eventu-
ally be butchered.
That nurturing shepherd,
that “
good” shepherd, who
leads his naïve and trusting
flock to pasture, would in
the end deliberately convey
some or all of them to their
deaths.
Thus, if we are to take the
words of the Bible literally,
we are forced to acknowl-
edge that the benevolence of
an all-powerful God is not
merely temporary; it is ulti-
mately a sham.
Literary critics, no doubt,
would be quick to point out
that no metaphor, including
this one, is perfect. Calling
God a shepherd who cares
for his flock does not mean
that God must be the
type of shepherd who also
personally leads them to

slaughter.
Our ancestors, however,
did not let God off the hook
so easily. Instead, they clear-
ly confronted this contra-
diction in God’
s nature: that
He can inflict suffering on
the very flock He purports
to protect. The telling proof
lies in the Book of Psalms
itself where, in Psalm 44:12,
God is pointedly accused of
having abandoned his peo-
ple to the savagery of their
enemies.

Thou hast given us like sheep
to be eaten;
And have scattered us among
the nations.

Throughout history the
faithful would continue to
be baffled by the realiza-
tion that an all-powerful
God could ever let such a
thing happen. Never doubt-
ing God’
s intrinsic mercy,
in their frustration and
confusion they could only
appeal to Him to remember
who He was and, in effect,
come to His senses, thereby
defending both Himself and
His people.
Hebrew prophets like
Isaiah (1:12-17 and 10:1-
3), Jeremiah (6:16-22) and
Amos (2:4-8) for their part
would deal with the contra-
diction not by reminding
God of His inherent nature
but instead by attributing
human suffering to people’
s
neglect or perversion of His
commandments.

ANOTHER
INTERPRETATION
As a modern Jew, rather
than accept the traditional
notion of God as all-pow-
erful and all-knowing, I

continued from page 12

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