When I read the Torah, I always try to have current events in mind. Behaalotchah brought the economy into discussion. God says that an Israelite should work from age twenty to age fifty. I do not know of ANY average American citizen who can retire at age fifty.
Although, there are some things that have changed since these times. Life expectancy was shorter back then. That shouldn't matter as much as it does. The economy may be bad, but I know people who have to work until their seventy just to have a stable retirement. Another change is that ancient Israelites did not have bills. Moses never had an electric bill or an insurance bill. Still, that is not worth twenty years of work. Israelites never paid for college! Aaron never had to think how expensive the ivy league schools were. Inflation also did not exist. There is ONE thing that I find unacceptable about our society.
When the Israelites were in the desert, God did not have celebrities in mind. Actors,athletes, and executives should not be the only ones who could retire by age fifty. God had the teachers in mind. The doctors, the pharmacist, and the single mom!
The reason that this economy is unstable like it is because we worship celebrities. You do not see six-year old talking about our founding fathers. Teenagers do not go home and turn on PBS. It is not a crime to watch television or play sports, but this is what I mean.
If a twelve year old met Derek Jeter, he would cherish that moment forever and RESPECT the athlete. The same child would be bored with a teacher on his first day of classes. It may not be that extreme, but are the baseball player and educator not both adults? All adults should get the same respect. Right?
You put a nice perspective on the idea of idol worship! It was also nice to see some candid humor in this post. Moses certainly didn't have air conditioning during the 40 years in the desert.
ReplyDelete