"We Americans are the peculiar, chosen people - the Israel of our time; we bear the ark of the liberties of the world. God has pre-destined, mankind expects, great things from our race; and great things we feel in our souls. The rest of the nations must soon be in our rear. We are the pioneers of the world; the advance guard, sent on through the wilderness of untried things, to break a new path in the New World that is ours" (quoted on page 55).
Ah, such great aspirations! If Americans before the Civil War imagined themselves to be God's new chosen people, the new Israel of the time, then how did Americans of a later generation end up electing Donald ("Tweety") Trump to be president of the United States in 2016?
Now, in Rabbi Sacks' chapter "The Untranslatable Virtue" (pages 131-136), he says that "the root TZ-D-K is one of Dueteronomy's key words, appearing eighteen times" (pages 131). He also says, "The idea of tzedeka arises from the theology of Judaism, which insists on the difference between possession and ownership. Ultimately, all things are owned by God, Creator of the world. What we possess, we do not own we merely hold it in trust for God" (page 135).
In addition, he says, "If there were absolute ownership, there would be a difference between justice (what we are bound to give others) and charity (what we give others out of generosity). The former would be a legally enforceable duty, the latter, at best, the prompting of benevolence or sympathy. In Judaism, however, because we are not owners of our property but merely guardians on God's behalf, we are bound by the conditions of trusteeship, one of which is that we share part of what we have with others in need" (page 135).
For the non-theological concept of justice in ancient Greek culture, see the classicist Eric A. Havelock's book The Greek Concept of Justice: From Its Shadow in Homer to Its Substance in Plato (Harvard University Press, 1978).
Now, in my estimate, the two most important chapters in Rabbi Sacks' 2019 book about Deuteronomy are "The Meaning of Shema" (pages 65-69) and "Listening Is an Art" (pages 71-77).
In "The Meaning of Shema," Rabbi Sacks says that the Torah "is about how to construct a social order that will honor the dignity of the individual, the sanctity of life, and the twin imperatives of justice and compassion. It is about our life together, not about the inner life of the soul, for which we have the book of Psalms" (pages 65).
Rabbi Sacks also says that "[the] Torah is the source of the three great love commands in Western civilization: [1] you shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, might, and soul; [2] you shall love your neighbor as yourself; [3] you shall love the stranger for you were once strangers. But love alone cannot structure grace in society" (page 66).
In addition, Rabbi Sacks says, "The Torah itself uses a quite different word, namely, shema, meaning, 'to hear, to listen,' and several other things besides. The root SH-M-A is absolutely fundamental to the book of Deuteronomy, where it appears in one form or another some ninety-two times" (page 66; also see 8 and 227).
According to Rabbi Sacks, "Shema Yisrael does not mean 'Hear, O Israel.' It means something like [the following]: 'Listen. Concentrate. Give the word of God your most focused attention [note his visualist terminology here; alternative non-visualist terminology would include most concentrated or most concerted]. Strive to understand [in the spirit of what Ong refers to as the Art of Discourse]. Engage all your faculties, intellectual and emotional. Make His will your own. For what He commands you to do is not irrational or arbitrary but for your welfare, the welfare of your people, and ultimately for the benefit of all humanity'" (pages 68-69).
Finally, Rabbi Sacks says it means, "Stop looking; listen. Create a silence in the soul. Still the clamor of instinct, desire, fear, anger. Strive to listen to the still, small voice beneath the noise" (page 69).
Now, as part of Ong's lengthy Jesuit formation, he twice made a 30-day retreat in silence (except for the daily conferences with the retreat director) following the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), the found of the Jesuit order. Throughout Ong's life as a Jesuit, he also made numerous shorter retreats in silence.
In "Listening Is an Art," Rabbi Sacks says, "Judaism is the supreme example of a culture not of the eye but of the ear" (page 72).
"God is not something [or someone] we see, but a voice we hear [if we listen]" (page 72).
"A listening culture is not the same as a seeing culture" (page 73).
"Thought is not a form of sight but of speech" (page 73).
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