The Prophetic Culture of Critique

Even when the land is conquered and settled, it is unsettled from within by prophetic threats of exile aimed at a people that prefers to steep itself in nativity.
- Zali Gurevitch, "The Double Site of Israel"

Kevin MacDonald is right, to a point. Israel invented "the culture of critique" by canonizing the words of the prophets. Yet the prophets critiqued Israel itself. And their critique is the ferment that ensures its survival.

Comments

  1. liliyaNovember 28, 2010 at 7:13 PM

    Can you explain this a little better? Why did this person say Jews/Hebrews prefer to steep themselves in nativity? What does it mean to steep oneself in nativity? What is the culture of critique, and how does it help ensure the survival of Israel?

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  2. ¡Benjaminista!November 29, 2010 at 12:00 PM

    Very good questions, liliya. I will try to answer as best I can.

    Jewish history begins before a Jewish homeland (or even the Jewish people as a corporate identity) exists. Abraham refuses to "steep himself in nativity" by bowing to idols like his countrymen. Even when his ancestors attain a homeland, the prophets critize those Jews who worship the local gods of the Canaanites.

    By "local gods," I mean gods attached to particular sacred sites. The Greek gods live on Mount Olympus, but the Jewish god is unique because he is not bound to a particular location. Thus when Jews are driven across the globe, they continue to worship their transcendent god instead of serving the gods of new lands.

    The Jews survived as a recognizable people, unlike say, the Babylonians, because they tied their identity to a spiritual ideal instead of geopolitical status. Empires rise and fall, but ideals are eternal. The prophetic critique is a call to live up to the spiritual ideal, and is thus essential to the people's survival (and in turn the possibility of political rebirth).

    See also the following article: http://www.azure.org.il/download/magazine/1642az5_sagiv.pdf

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