RMPS - Int2/Higher - World Religions - Judaism - Education Scotland

THE GOALS
rest is commentary. Go and learn’. This shows the importance he gave
to this law.
Even the criminal condemned to die, say the rabbis, deserves our
brotherly love, and we must spare him unnecessary suffering. We must
remember that we are all brothers in that all mankind traces its ancestry
to Adam.
The prophets
The prophets were the conscience of the Jewish people. They conveyed
a moral and ethical message from God to an often unheeding and
uncaring populace. They pointed out the failings of what was often a
materialistic society and called for justice and charity towards the poor
and the disadvantaged. They foresaw and foretold the consequences for
the people of Israel. Their message was important but was often
unwelcome.
The story of their lives and prophecies in the Hebrew Bible produced
some of the most beautiful, poetic literature in the world, which has
survived for thousands of years.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel were three of the major prophets who
preached morality. For example, Isaiah criticised the people for their
indulgence in excessive luxury (Isaiah 3: 16–26); for their practice of
idolatry (Isaiah 2: 6–10); and for social injustice (Isaiah 5: 23); and
Jeremiah criticised the prevalent idol-worship, the desertion of God and
His Torah by the priests and prophets of Israel, the terrible social
injustice, corruption and widely practised sexual immorality.
The twelve minor prophets were Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah,
Micah, Nachum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi;
they also harshly criticised the people for their lack of social justice,
whereby they trampled upon the rights of the underprivileged.
Reference
Birnbaum, Philip. (1991) Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts
Published by the Hebrew Publishing Company.
RMPS: WORLD RELIGIONS – JUDAISM (INT 2, H) 43
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