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From Rabbi Pete TobiasÌý

It’s more than thirty years since I was offered the opportunity to begin the course of study that would lead to my becoming a rabbi. It was a decision that was greeted with alarm and disbelief by most of my family and friends who knew that I had spent most of my teens rejecting most of Judaism’s ritual laws and regulations and questioning the existence of a divine power as described in the bible.

To those who were sufficiently intrigued to ask me what was the basis of my decision (rather than just assuming that I had taken leave of my senses) I was pleased to be able to introduce the biblical prophets. Look at Isaiah, I would say. He stood before the Temple as my ancient ancestors insincerely carried out their ritual obligations, screaming at them that worship was futile unless it encouraged those offering it to work towards establishing a just society.

There were others too: Amos attacked the wealthy who would ‘…buy the poor with silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals’. And Micah had a vision of an ideal future where ‘nation would not lift up sword against nation and never again learn to make war.’

Many are the times that I’ve imagined myself as a biblical prophet. I’ve even dressed up to try and get the point across, like the time at an American summer camp when I wrapped myself in a sheet and put on my specially adapted clip-on sunglasses with a pretend eye drawn on to make the old joke about his name (‘Why’s he called Isaiah? Cos one eye’s ‘igher than the other) which, incidentally, didn’t work, because the Americans call him Iseyah.

Needless to say, the Americans thought I was crazy. Not a million miles from what my family and friends thought fifteen years earlier, I guess. But I don’t think crying out for justice and peace is a crazy message and, like my ancient prophetic ancestors, I shall carry on declaring it in the hope that one day it’ll be heard. Now – where are those sunglasses…?

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