Yonah Vs Avram

On Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year, coming soon) and Yom Kippur  (the day of atonement, shortly after) we read the stories of Yonah (Jonah) and the birth of Isaac. While swimming this morning I was thinking about Yonah and the other famous story about Avram (as he was then): "Lech L'cha", which is often translated as "Arise and go".

Through it, we learn about the necessity for every Jew to emulate the founding father in having the courage to "leave your land, your family and the house of your father" if that's what it takes to stand tall as a Jew, an ivri ("other").

As with all things Jewish, such iconoclasm is easier said than done and remains a lifelong challenge, even for those who have "made aliyah" and physically relocated to Israel. That's because lech l'cha can also be translated as "go into yourself", signalling that Judaism is a journey of spiritual growth as much or indeed more than it is a story of physical wanderings.

We read recently how Moses warned the Israelites that soon they would be entering the holy land, thus completing Avram's original mission. But without constant spiritual growth they would eventually find themselves exiled from the land.

In so many ways, Judaism, from then til now, is a constant interplay of exile and return; both on the personal level as we try to "return" (t'shuva) to G'd at least once a year (in the current month of Elul that leads up to Yom Kippur) and on a national level, with millenia of yearnings for Tzion followed by the miracle of a nation reborn 76 years ago.

Once again in a state of intense war and mourning, the people of Israel, in the land of Israel, appear to be in yet another spiritual exile from the Owner of the land.

So how does Yonah interact with all this? Well, he famously tried to run away from G'd, to go into exile and of course he ultimately failed. G'd sent a storm that would have sunk the ship on which he was travelling, if Yonah hadn't recognised that this was a physical manifestation of his spiritual shortcomings.

By jumping into the sea he was attempting to "return" (t'shuva) from his exile, even if his concept of return was to shuffle off his mortal coil. G'd had other plans that involved a dose of deep isolation "in the belly of a whale" followed by a miraculous rebirth and more suffering and learning.

How shall we connect the Avram and Yonah stories? Whether you are full of faith and fire to do G'd's will, or whether you desperately want to escape G'd's bidding, ultimately as a Jew who has any kind of sincere, meaningful relationship with G'd, you will find there is simply no cutting of the cord (the "brit olam", eternal covenant). As the saying goes, you can run but you can't hide... from the "storms" of your own Jewish conscience and values.

So Jews who wish to disappear/ return to Egypt/ dive into the waters of assimilation, either individually or collectively as "just another country" will find that their attempts to "break free" inevitably end with the return of lech l'cha: a journey of soul-searching that leads to spiritual growth and rebirth.