As I read through this week’s Haftara (Yishayahu 1:1-27) I feel like I am reading a prophecy that was directed towards the religious leadership in Israel today.
God is telling the Jewish people that He is not interested
in their sacrifices, prayers or holiday celebrations as they behave in a
corrupt manner. They are told in sentences 16-17: “Wash yourselves, purify
yourselves, remove the evil of your doings from before My eyes; desist from
doing evil. Learn to do good, seek justice, strengthen the victim, do justice
for the orphan, take up the cause of the widow.”
God tells them that if they do Tshuva (repent) then they
shall “eat the goodness of the Land”, but if they refuse and rebel they will be
“devoured by the sword”.
In sentence 23 we read: “Your princes are wayward and
associates of thieves; the whole of them loves bribery and pursue illegal
payments; for the orphan they do not do justice, the cause of the widow does
not come unto them.”
In the past month we have seen a Chief Rabbi accused of
money laundering, fraud, bribery, embezzlement, stealing money from a number of
charities and breech of public trust.
We have also seen a former Chief Rabbi curse a potential
candidate for the chief rabbinate by calling him an “evil man who is dangerous
to Judaism and the Torah”. A day after the former Chief Rabbi’s comments, the
potential chief rabbi was attacked at a wedding by people who don’t agree with
his policies.
All Rabbis, especially those in the public eye have to
realize that these types of behavior are unacceptable. They cause a desecration
of God’s name and distance people from our religion. They must follow the words
of the Prophet Yishayahu and repent.
Luckily we have many wonderful Rabbis and leaders but they
are not the ones who usually make the headlines!
We hope and pray that the end of the Yishayahu’s prophecy
will be fulfilled (sentences 26-27): “And I will return your judges as in
earliest times and your counselors as at first, after that you shall be called
‘Ir HaTzedek’, City of
Faithful city.
