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Isaiah's Influence On The Jewish Community

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Living in a time of corruption, social oppression and Assyrian devastation, the Jewish prophet Isiah wrote about concepts and ideologies that have heavily influenced the lives of individual adherents and Jewish communities throughout time. Isaiah’s influence on the adherents of Judaism is momentous as the book of Isaiah, which contains his writings, is found in the Nevi’im – the book of Prophets which Jewish adherents and communities read, study and look to for guidance. Isaiah’s vision for morality and denunciation of hypocrisy allowed for a more holistic approach to life, rejecting immorality and moving towards earthly peace under divine justice. (insert on screen 2:4).
Isiah’s contributions to Judaism have moulded the development and expression …show more content…

In calling Jewish adherents to “learn to do good; seek justice; rescue the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow” (1:17), Isaiah privileges social justice as a means to fight for ethical righteousness, upholding Tikkun Olam. The prophet influenced Jewish individual and communities through his model of ethics and halachah (Jewish laws), with particular stress on the 613 Mitzvot (including 10 commandments). Isaiah’s framework for ethical righteousness is demonstrated in Isaiah 58:3-4, said every year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. In this, he is proclaiming that in order to become a ‘righteous remnant’, one must live by Jewish ethics and laws whilst working towards social justice. It is also partly because of Isaiah’s example, that Jewish individuals and communities were and still are motivated to engage in bestowal of loving kindness (gemilut chasidim), and also almsgiving (tzedakah). In turn, we see how Isaiah’s role in modelling ethical righteousness has influenced the Jewish community, evident through the launch of the ‘Vision of Isaiah’ project by the Reformed Jewish ‘Meir Panim charity organisation’. The organisation in Jerusalem is built around the teachings of the prophet Isaiah and his prophecies that through gemilut chasidim and …show more content…

In response to Assyrian’s threats, King Hezekiah in accordance with Isaiah 37:1-4, “went into the temple of the Lord… to the prophet Isaiah”. Here, Isaiah explains that they should not be afraid, as the enemy will return to his country and he will be “cut down with the sword”, stated in 2 Kings 19:7, underlying the significance of Isaiah’s prophecies that there is “no peace for the wicked” (57:21). In a more contemporary context, we see how Isaiah’s role in constructing a vision for peace manifests in the lives of individual adherents. In particular, religious author Scott M. Thomas refers to “his global vision of human security”, a concept similar to the United Nation’s ideal of ‘peace under international law’, which states that nations should “live harmoniously under a divine system of justice”. Also, in Ralph Bunche Park outside of the UN headquarters, there is a wall which has Isaiah 2:4 engraved into it and also a bronze sculpture by Soviet Evgenii Vuchetich, of a man hitting a hammer into his sword, entitled ‘We Shall Beat Our Swords into Plowshares’, a reference to Isaiah 2:4. These both illustrate the huge impact Isaiah had in the approach to and development of earthly peace. Former Prime Minister of Israel and Orthodox Jewish adherent Yitzhak Rabin continued Isaiah’s belief of a universal peace stating, “here to speak in the name of the poets and of those who dreamed of an end

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