Pensamiento judío sobre I Reyes 8:56

Our approach will be different from that of all the classic commentators. Central to the problem is the statement by Jeremiah that G'd reserves the right to reverse even such promises as would have a positive impact on the recipient of that promise. The parable of the piece of pottery destroyed by the potter, teaches that if a product does not measure up to the expectations of its creator, the latter reserves the right to destroy it and fashion another in its place. Man, likewise, is like clay in the hands of the Almighty, and despite the fondest hopes expressed for him, he may be found unworthy before he has reached maturity. Should a group of Jews think that in order for G'd to fulfil His promises to our forefathers, their continued existence and well being is indispensable to G'd, they are in error, and are warned by the prophet that their own personal existence is by no means assured. The fact that these forefathers, although themselves recipients of G'ds promise, were constantly afraid, is evidence that their understanding of these promises had always been that they were conditional, not absolute. While it is true that generally G'ds promises are not subject to change unless there is a change in the moral stature of the recipient, there is on record an instance when the decree to spare the righteous at the time when the Temple was destroyed, was revoked. This was despite the fact that the tzaddikim referred to had not changed. The midat hadin, attribute of justice, had drawn to G'ds attention that the failure of the righteous to protest the wicked conduct of the masses was inexcusable since they could not have known that their protests would be to no avail. (Shabbat 55). It is also true that G'd frequently gives a clearly conditional promise, which is what our sages describe as "the attribute of goodness being in the ascendancy." Psalms 105,45, says of G'd, "He gave them the lands of the nations; that which others had toiled for, Israel would inherit in order to observe His statutes etc." What it all boils down to is that whenever possible, the promise of G'd is not left unfulfilled. Certainly the yardstick by which prophets are measured is the accuracy of the fulfilment of their prophecies. Astrologers of old who had a record of 80-90% accuracy in their weather prognosis, did not claim to be prophets either of G'd or the Baal. It is not to test their stature that the Torah tells us how to test such men. Similarly, anyone who teaches the omission of even a single commandment of the Torah or the addition of a single mitzvah or even the change of the traditional interpretation of that mitzvah, needs no test to tell us that he is an impostor. When Yehu reminded the people of the fall of Achav, the decisive factor was that all the details which had formed part of the prediction had come true. (Kings II 10,17) Joshua was able to tell the people that the whole promise by G'd to Moses had been fulfilled. (Joshua chapter 23) He warns however, that disobedience of G'ds commandments would result in the Jewish nation becoming the target for all the punishments listed in the chapters dealing with such eventualities. In Samuel I 3,19-20, we are told that everything Samuel predicted had come true. In this way the people knew that he was a true prophet. In our liturgy, in the benedictions following the readings from the book of prophets every week following the Torah reading, we recite the fact that G'ds word as issued through the prophets never went unfulfilled. In all cases of the prophet being an observant Jew, exhorting the people only to observe Torah law, no test of his truthfulness is needed. On the other hand, if someone even of the stature of Elijah were to ask us suddenly to disobey a law of the Torah, there is no need for a test either, since the man would have stamped himself as an impostor. Such people need to be executed.