Bible Verse of the Week: Isaiah 49:15: Interpretation From Two Catholic Commentaries

Bible Verse of the Week

“Can a woman forget her baby, Or disown the child of her womb? Though she might forget, I never could forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15 jps)

 

The following are two Catholic commentaries on Isaiah 49:15 from The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries by the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain and Old Testament Prophets – Isaiah by Fr William Most, available, for free, online at http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/ISAIAH2.TXT

The Navarre Bible Commentary

49:15-16. The image of the mother who can never forget her children (v. 15) is one of the most beautiful metaphors used in the Bible to describe the love that God has for his people; it has been echoed by spiritual writers down the ages. Pope John Paul II applies it with reference to the merciful love that God shows his own–the “rahamin” in Hebrew, a word that derives from maternal love (“rehem” means motherly embrace). Like a mother, God has borne mankind, and especially the chosen people, in his womb; he has given birth to it in pain, has nourished and consoled it (cf. 42:14; 46:3-4): “From the deep and original bond– indeed the unity–that links a mother to her child there springs a particular relationship to the child, a particular love. Of this love one can say that it is completely gratuitous, not merited, and that in this aspect it constitutes an interior necessity: an exigency of the heart. It is, as it were, a ‘feminine’ variation of the masculine fidelity: to self expressed by “hesed”. Against this psychological background, “rahamin” generates a whole range of feelings, including goodness and tenderness, patience and understanding, that is, readiness to forgive. […]

This love, faithful and invincible thanks to the mysterious power of motherhood, is expressed in the Old Testament texts in various ways: as salvation from dangers, especially from enemies; also as. forgiveness of sins–of individuals and also of the whole of Israel; and finally in readiness to fulfill the (eschatological) promise and hope in spite of human infidelity” (“Dives In Misericordia“, note 52; cf. “Mulieris Dignitatem“, 8).ⁱ

Old Testament Prophets – Isaiah 

Now, beginning at v. 14, Isaiah visualizes the people actually back in Jerusalem. First for contrast he paints the picture of Jerusalem during the time of exile. The people complain that the Lord has forsaken them. He replies: Sooner could a mother forget her own child. We think of the lament of Our Lord over Jerusalem in Mt 23:27 where He says He wanted to gather them as a hen gathers her chicks, but they refused. St. Augustine makes a fine remark that the hen is the most motherly of animals. Even when the chicks are not following her, one can still see that she is a mother.ⁱⁱ

i“The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

iiTract on John, 15

Bible Verse of the Week: Isaiah 49:15: Midrash Pesikta Rabbati

Bible Verse of the Week

“Can a woman forget her baby, Or disown the child of her womb? Though she might forget, I never could forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15 jps)

The following commentary on Isaiah 49:15 is from the Midrash Pesikta Rabbati. The translation used here is from The Jerusalem Anthology Translated by Rabbi Mike Feuer, freely available on http://www.sefaria.org/texts

…Teach us oh, teacher: once the Ninth of Av has ended, is everything permitted? R’ Chiyah the Great taught like this: once the Ninth of Av has ended, one is permitted to do anything. Why? Because it is like the case of a person whose dead is laid out before him, who is forbidden to eat meat or drink wine. Once the dead is buried, the mourner is permitted to do so. So to on the Ninth of Av one is a mourner – once the day has ended one is permitted to do anything. Even though we are permitted, we must always have a sigh in our hearts until the Holy One returns to her. The Holy One said to them: by your lives! I burnt her, as it says “From above He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) I will build her, as it says “Yet again will I rebuild you, then you shall be built, O virgin of Israel…” (Jeremiah 31:3) Zion said to Him: Behold, I have been sitting thus for many years! I have counted the days from old and I have not been redeemed, therefore I have despaired. She said that my master has abandoned me. And from where do we learn that Zion said this? From that which is written regarding it “And Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.’” (Isaiah 49:14)… Another explanation. “And Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me…” (Isaiah 49:14) What is written before this? “Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, and mountains burst out in song, for the Lord has consoled His people, and He shall have mercy on His poor.” (Isaiah 49:13) Once Zion saw that the prophet recalled His people and His poor, but did not mention Zion or Jerusalem she said ‘the Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.’ Immediately the Holy One replied and said to her: just as it is impossible for a woman to forget her sucking child, so to I am not able to forget you, “Shall a woman forget her sucking child, from having mercy on the child of her womb?” (Isaiah 49:15) She said to Him: Master of the world! How is that possible? There is no end to the evils I have done! I caused Your Holy Temple to be destroyed and I killed the prophets. R’ Berachia the Kohen said in the name of Rebbe: the Holy One said to her, I will forget your evil but I will not forget your good. “…These too shall forget, but I will not forget you.” (ibid.) I have forgotten “”These are your gods, O Israel…” (Exodus 32:4) but “I am the Lord, your God…” (Exodus 20:2) I will not forget.ⁱ

iPesikta Rabbati 32

Bible Verse of the Week: Isaiah 49:15: A Coptic Orthodox Christian Commentary On Isaiah

Bible Verse of the Week

“Can a woman forget her baby, Or disown the child of her womb? Though she might forget, I never could forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15 jps)

The following is a Coptic Orthodox Christian Commentary on Isaiah 49:15 from The Book of Isaiah: A Patristic Commentary by Father Tadros Yacoub Malatyⁱ

There is no doubt that motherhood is considered, of the highest levels of human love; the mother who carries her child as a fetus in her womb for months would never forget him or her after birth. And yet, some mothers have done that, and offered their children as human sacrifices, casting them in fire, as a kind of worship to the god Baal. In certain famines we heard of mothers who ate up their children, and we still hear nowadays of crimes committed by mothers against their children, and of parents killing the souls and personalities of their kids, through the dark family atmosphere, or by the familial tragedies as separation and divorce!

Some fathers and mothers do not have any compassion on the new generations, nor taking them into account in their lives; but, in selfishness, they act at the expense of their kids’ lives and their spiritual, psychological, social, and even material peace.

A mother may forget the baby at her breast, but God will never forget us!

# God’s care and love, demonstrated through His goodness, He finds nothing better to compare to, than a mother’s heart full of love and compassion. As he wants to liken God’s love to human emotions, he found no other love among His creation better than this to compare with.ⁱⁱ

# He does not just care for us, but loves us with no limits, a flaring unquenchable holy love, and a truly unbreakable strong love.

# The prophet responds to those who got depressed and moaned: “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me,” by saying, “can a mother forget the baby at her breast, and have no compassion on the child she has borne?”

If it is not possible for a mother to forget her baby, it is much more so with God, who can never forget humanity. He does not mean to compare God’s love to mother’s love for her baby, as God’s love is definitely greater; that is why he says, “Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.”ⁱⁱⁱ

See how God’s love surpasses mothers’ love?

The Lord of prophets and the Master of all confirms that His love is stronger than that of a father toward his children… Listen to what He says, “What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him”^iv

Like the difference between good and evil, so God’s love is far stronger than feelings of parents toward their children.^v

There are other examples, as the love of the lover to his beloved, but God’s love is not equal to this kind of love.^vi

iPgs 360-361

iiAbbot Sheramon, Cassian: Conf. 13:17.

iiiIsaiah 49:15

ivMatthew 7:9-11

v, St. John Chrysostom, On Providence. 6.

viPsalms 103:11

Bible Verse of the Week: Isaiah 49:15: A Midrash on Isaiah 49:15

Bible Verse of the Week

“Can a woman forget her baby, Or disown the child of her womb? Though she might forget, I never could forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15 jps)

What Are Midrashim?

Midrashim are the plural form of Midrash. A midrash is a “genre of rabbinic literature which contains anthologies and compilations of homilies, including both the exegesis of Torah texts and homiletic stories and sermons as well as aggadot (Jewish narrative writings that interpret the non-legal portions of the Torah) and occasionally even halakhot (A collection of Jewish interpretations and applications of the Mosaic Law), which usually form a running commentary on specific passages in the Tanakh.”ⁱ

A Midrash on Isaiah 49:15

And Zion said, the Lord has forsaken and forgotten me. (Is. 49, 14.) Is not forsaken and forgotten the same thing? Resh Lakish said: “The Congregation of Israel pleaded before the Holy One, praised be He! saying: ‘Sovereign of the universe! Even a man who marries a second wife still bears in his mind the merits of the first, but You Lord has forgotten me!’ ‘My daughter,’ replied The Holy One, blessed be He! I have created twelve stations in the heavens, and for each station I have created thirty legions [of stars], each legion contains thirty routes, each route thirty cohorts, each cohort has thirty camps and in each camp has been suspended three hundred and sixty-five thousand myriads of stars, equal to the number of days in the year; all these have I created for your sake, and yet you say you are forsaken and forgotten.’ Can a woman forget the suckling child so that she shall not have compassion on the son of her womb? (Ib. ib.) The Holy One, praised be He! said: ‘Can I then forget the burnt offering of the rams and of the first-born which you had offered me, while you were in the desert?’ Then again [the congregation of Israel] pleaded before the Holy One, praised be He! ‘Sovereign of the universe! Since there is no forgetfulness before the throne of Your Divine Majesty, then You may also not forget the incident of the golden calf?’ The Lord said: ‘This can also be forgotten.’ (Ib.) Again she pleaded saying: ‘Sovereign of the universe! Since there is forgetfulness before Your exalted throne, then You may forget the Sinai affair, also?’ ‘Yet would I not forget you,’ (Ib.) replied the Lord.” Thus we understand what R. Elazar, in the name of R. Oshia said: “This also can be forgotten (Ib.) refers to the golden calf; And yet would I not forget you, refers to the Sinai event.” ⁱⁱ

i ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 14, pg 182, Moshe David Herr

iiEin Yaakov (En Jacob), Berakhot 5:8 , Glick Edition

Bible Verse of the Week: Isaiah 49:15: the Literary Genre of Isaiah 49:15

Bible Verse of the Week

“Can a woman forget her baby, Or disown the child of her womb? Though she might forget, I never could forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15 jps)

Literary Genre of the Verse

When interpreting the Bible it is important to take the genre of the verse into consideration. Knowing the genre aids in how to approach the verse, and this demonstrated below. Of what genre is Isaiah 49:15? This verse is apart a larger block, verses 49:14-18, that form a lamentation. A lamentation is a fervent manifestation of grief, often in poetry, song, or musical form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Other notable Lamentations in the Hebrew Bible include Psalms 44, 60, 74, 79, 80, 85, 90 (Numbered by the Hebrew Numbering system) and the Book of Lamentations. “Laments in the Psalms and in Lamentations frequently call upon God to ‘remember’ (Ps 74:2; Lam 5:1); here [ in verse 14 it] is expressed the obvious corollary, that in the past he has forgotten (cf Ps 42:9; Lam 5:20).” (The Oxford Bible Commentary By John Barton & John Muddiman, pg 474) Verse 15 is a reply to verse 14, and as a Lamentation is poetry, the reply uses very poetical language, the imagery of a nursing mother, to illustrate God’s remembrance of His people. It is very rare for a nursing mother to forget her child, but God never forgets His people.

My Journey Through The Entire Bible Part One: The Hebrew Bible

Before I get into my thoughts on the Hebrew Bible, I think I should talk about why I am reading the Bible and my Methodology for doing so.

Two years ago the thought occurred to me to read the whole Bible, as I had never done so before. Through the course of my studies, both my time in college and my private studies, I had read most of the books of the Bible. Yet I never read them all, and with the exception of when I used to study the weekly Torah portion (parashah), I never read them in any particular order.

The Bible, contrary to popular belief, is not a single book but a library or collection of them. There is not just one Bible as there is with the Quran, but many. Some contain more books than others. The largest, the Bible of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, contains eighty one, while the smallest, the Samaritan Pentateuch, contains only five. Not only are there Bibles with different books, but even Bibles that share the same books do not have them in the same order. For example the Hebrew Bible (also called the Tanak (Tanach) or the Jewish Bible) has the same books as the Protestant Christian Old Testament, but they consist of different orders and the divisions. In the Hebrew Bible, Samuel, Kings, and Ezra-Nehemiah are one book each, but in the Christian canon they are split into two. Daniel in the Hebrew Bible is grouped with the writings, while in Christians Bibles the book is found among the Prophets.¹

So when choosing to read the entire Bible, it is no simple matter, because the Bible you choose will greatly impact your experience. I wanted to get the most out of this, so I decided to read the entire Bible in the most complete form possible. To reach this goal I am reading every book included in every canon that is available in English. My plan was to read the entire Hebrew Bible first, in both content and form, which I just completed. After that I plan to read all of the books included by the various Christian Old Testament canons, but that which are not found in the Hebrew Bible. Lastly I will read the New Testament including the books accepted by some, but not others, such as those found in the Ethiopian Orthodox canon.

My thoughts on the Hebrew Bible:

Starting to read the Hebrew Bible can be a bit of a daunting task, as it is much bigger than both the New Testament and the Quran combined.² That being so there is quite a lot of ground to cover from the first verse of Genesis and the last verse of 2 Chronicles.

Over the course of this journey I experienced a lot of diversity, in many different ways. First there was the diversity of genres of the books. Genres found in the Jewish scriptures are history, narrative, law, wisdom, poetry, prophecy, apocalyptic, and romance. These disparate types of literature are not just found among the books but also within the books as well. Exodus for example contains both narratives (such as Exodus 2) and laws (Exodus 21), as well as poetry (Moses and Miriam’s song at the sea in Exodus 15:1-19). Another source of diversity are the views expressed in the Tanak. Just as the Hebrew Bible is not a monolithic book when it comes to the types of literature found in it, the texts offer different views on any given subject. A great example of this suffering. According to the Deuteronomistic history books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) following the laws of God will lead to prosperity and not following them will lead to suffering and loss. The book of Job disagrees with this quite vehemently. Job, who is a righteous and blameless man undergoes some of the worst suffering imaginable. Some may see this diversity as something negative, but I see it as a strength. There is a saying, “With two Jews, you will find three opinions.” and this is true for the Hebrew scriptures. Due to this fact we can gain insight into the diversity of Ancient Judaism.

The stories are a major aspect of the Hebrew scriptures that I love. Christian and Muslim readers will find many stories that are similar to ones in their scriptures.³ There are so many memorable stories that I cannot possibly mention them all, but some of the ones I really enjoyed are the stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, Solomon, Elijah, Esther, Daniel, Joshiah, Jonah, Ruth, and the very brief and mysterious story of Enoch. With in some of these stories you will find a great deal of humor. This humor ranges from very simple word plays that you will likely miss if you do not know Hebrew, such as the first man being called Adam and he is made from earth, which is called adamah in Hebrew, to the slapstick and very ironic humor of Esther. Many of the stories are very dramatic, often revolving around either family or political conflicts. The types of stories one finds ranges from those you would expect from a tribal origin story (Adam and Eve), to a novella (Joseph), to national epic (that is the epic of the founding of a nation, Moses), to historic drama (David), and even satire (The story of the Tower of Babel is believed by some to be a satire of the Sumerian idea of a Ziggurat, a pyramid like building believed to connect heaven and earth.)

The wisdom is another characteristic that I love about the Jewish Bible. Many of the narratives I mentioned above contain wisdom a discerning reader can easily extract from. For example from the Joseph story we can see the values of patience and chastity in play, as well as the fact that when God wills something it happens. Here however I want to focus more on the practical and straightforward wisdom, namely that of the wisdom books. While I cannot list every piece of wisdom that I loved, here are three gems:

Divide your means seven ways, or even eight,
for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth
-Ecclesiastes 11:2

A capable wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
-Proverbs 31:10

Go to the ant,
you lazybones;
consider its ways,
and be wise.
Without having any chief
or officer or ruler,
it prepares its food in summer,
and gathers its sustenance in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O lazybones?
When will you rise from your sleep?
A little sleep,
a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want, like an armed warrior.
-Proverbs 6:6-11

Lastly there are somethings that can make the Hebrew Bible a challenge to read. The common three tough parts for many people to get through are the lists of genealogies, the inventories of items and such, and the laws. Of these three, only the first two were an issue to me, I personally found the laws interesting. Truth be told, I felt tempted many times to skip the inventories and genealogies. I mean what is the deal with all of them any way? Actually something profound. Many Rabbis, scholars, and mystics hold that every word of the Hebrew Bible (especially the Torah), has a significance. Even if we do not agree with them (I personally have no issues accepting it, as it does not conflict with Islam to the best of my knowledge), there is still another way we can appreciate this. We can enjoy it as a family document that tells of the history of its members from the earliest times.⁴ It has been said, “the Torah of Moshe is a heritage of the children of Jacob”, and in this context one finds a greater appreciation for the text including the genealogies and inventories.

1 For a fuller description of the differences see my posts Brief Introductions To Religious Texts: The Hebrew Bible and Brief Introductions To Religious Texts: The Old Testament

2 The Quran is 6,236 verses and the New Testament is 7,959 verses, while the Hebrew Bible is 23,214 verses.

3 The Gospel of Matthew for example contains many allusions to Exodus, and many of the same stories appear in the Quran, the story of Joseph being a great example.

4 Job would appear to be an exception to this, but later Jewish traditions maintain that he married Jacob’s daughter Dinah.

Soul Food For The Week Of 10/29/2014

Soul food is a weekly collection of verses, stories, and quotes from various traditions to meditate on. All verses from the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical books, and New Testament, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). All verses from the Quran, unless otherwise noted, are from the MAS Abdel Haleem Translation.

Jewish

Torah

“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”                                                                                                                                   -Exodus 20:12

Talmud

“All my life I have been raised among the wise, and I have found nothing better for the body than silence. The essential thing is not study, but deed. And one who speaks excessively brings on sin.”                                                                                                  -Ethics Of The Fathers 1:16

Deuteroncanon and Pseudepigrapha

Listen every day to the words of your father and mother,                                                                  and seek not to offend and dishonor them;                                                                                             for the son who dishonors and offends his father and mother,                                                             God ponders his death and his misfortune.                                                                                     Honor your father in the proper way.                                                                                                         -Sentences Of The Syriac Menander 20-24

Other

A man appreciates the love of his grandchildren more than the love of his own children.                      -Zohar

Christian

New Testament

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”–this is the first commandment with a promise: “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.                                                                                                                             -Ephesians 6:1-4

Church Fathers

Children, obey your parents, and have an affection for them, as workers together with God for your birth [into the world].                                                                                                                                -Ignatius, The Epistle Of Ignatius To The Philadelphians

New Testament Apocrypha

If you take on the guardianship of orphans, you will be the father of many children (and) you will be beloved of God.                                                                                                                                       -The Sentences of sextus 340

Other

Honor your parents and the lord will honor you.                                                                                      -Woodrow Kroll

Islamic

Quran

Your Lord has commanded that you should worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, say no word that shows impatience with them, and do not be harsh with them, but speak to them respectfully and lower your wing in humility towards them in kindness and say, ‘Lord, have mercy on them, just as they cared for me when I was little.’ Your Lord knows best what is in your heart.                                                                                  -Quran 17:23-25

Hadith Al-Qudsi

A man sinned greatly against himself, and when death came to him he charged his sons, saying: When I have died, burn me, then crush me and scatter [my ashes] into the sea, for, by Allah, if my Lord takes possession of me, He will punish me in a manner in which He has punished no one [else]. So they did that to him. Then Allah said to the earth: Produce what you have taken and there he was! And Allah said to him: What induced you to do what you did? He said: Being afraid of You, O my Lord (or he said: Being frightened of You) and because of that Allah forgave him.                                                                                                                                                                   -Hadith Al-Qudsi 32, related by Muslim, Al-Bukhari, An-Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah

Hadith

“A sin that accelerates death and annihilation of man is breaking off paying visits to one’s own relatives.”                                                                                                                                                 -Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.74, p.94

Sufism

“Pride thyself on what virtue thou hast, and not on thy parentage”                                                          -Muslih-uddin Sadi

Other

“There is no love like a mother’s nor a place like your homeland.”                                                          -Turkish Proverb

Other Wisdom

Which is the greatest service? The service of parents is the greatest. Which is the greatest of charges? The charge of oneself is the greatest. I have heard of keeping oneself, and thus being able to serve one’s parents. But I have not heard of failing to keep oneself, and yet being able to serve one’s parents.                                                                                                                                         -Mencius, IV, 19

This is the reason why mothers are more devoted to their children than fathers: it is that they suffer more in giving them birth and are more certain that they are their own.                                            -Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 9, 7

Soul Food For The Week Of 10/15/14

Soul food is a weekly collection of verses, stories, and quotes from various traditions to meditate on. All verses from the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical books, and New Testament, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). All verses from the Quran, unless otherwise noted, are from the MAS Abdel Haleem Translation.

Jewish

Torah

And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family.                                                                                                                        -Leviticus 25:10

Talmud

“Assume for yourself a master; stay away from doubt; and do not accustom yourself to tithe by estimation.”                                                                                                             -Ethics of The Fathers 1:16

Deuterocanon and Pseudepigrapha

Do not say, “Who can have power over me?” for the Lord will surely punish you.                                  -Sirach 5:3

Other

“Every virtuous man is free.”                                                                                                                    -Philo Of Alexandria, Every Good Man is Free 1

Christian

New Testament

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”                                  -James 4:7

Church Fathers

This was done that all might know that those who are of a double mind, and who distrust the power of God, bring down judgment on themselves26 and become a sign to all succeeding generations.       -1 Clement 11:25-26

New Testament Apocrypha

He who will know our great Power will become invisible, and fire will not be able to consume him. But it will purge and destroy all of your possessions. For everyone in whom my form will appear will be saved, from (the age of) seven days up to one hundred and twenty years. (Those) whom I constrained to gather all that is fallen – and the writings of our great Power, in order that he may inscribe your name in our great light – and their thoughts and their works may be ended, that they may be purged, and be scattered and be destroyed, and be gathered in the place which no one in it sees. But you will see me, and you will prepare your dwelling places in our great Power.                     -The Concept Of Our Great Power

Other

“The man who hastens to the Lord, and desires to be directed by Him, that is, who makes his own will depend upon God’s, who moreover cleaves so closely to the Lord as to become (as the apostle says) ‘one spirit’ with Him, does all this by nothing else than by his freedom of will.”                             -Pelagius, Defense of The Freedom Of The Will

Islamic

Quran

“Control of the heavens and earth belongs to God: and to God is the final return.”                               -Quran 24:42

Hadith Al-Qudsi

“My love is obliged to those who love each other for My sake, who sit with each other for My sake, who visit each other for My sake, and who give to each other generously for My sake.”                       -Al-Muwattah, Volume 51, Hadith 15

Hadith

“Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His slave than anyone of you is pleased with finding his camel which he had lost in the desert.”                                                                                             -Al-Bukhari, Book 75, Volume 8, Hadith 321

Sufism

Why ponder thus the future to foresee,                                                                                             and jade your brain to vain perplexity?                                                                                                  Cast off your care,                                                                                                                                      leave Allah’s plans to him                                                                                                                            – He formed them all without consulting thee.                                                                                       -Omar Khayyam, Three Cops of Tea, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Other

“Things don’t just happen by accidents.”                                                                                                -Swahili Proverb

Other Wisdom

“Everything has its own destiny, and it is for us to accept our destiny in its true form.”                          -Mencius, VII, 2

“Thus said the maiden Lachesis, the daughter of Necessity: ‘You short-lived souls, a new generation of men shall here begin the cycle of its mortal existence. Your destiny shall not be allotted to you, but you shall choose it for yourselves… The responsibility lies with the chooser. Heaven is guiltless.’          -Plato, Republic, X, 617

Soul Food For The Week Of 10/8/14

Soul food is a weekly collection of verses, stories, and quotes from various traditions to meditate on. All verses from the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical books, and New Testament, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). All verses from the Quran, unless otherwise noted, are from the MAS Abdel Haleem Translation.

Jewish

Torah

“Do not let anything devoted to destruction stick to your hand, so that the LORD may turn from his fierce anger and show you compassion, and in his compassion multiply you, as he swore to your ancestors”                                                                                                                                               -Deuteronomy 13:17

Talmud

“Scholars, be careful with your words. For you may be exiled to a place inhabited by evil elements [who will distort your words to suit their negative purposes]. The disciples who come after you will then drink of these evil waters and be destroyed, and the Name of Heaven will be desecrated.”                                                                                                -Ethics Of The Fathers 1:11

Pseudepigrapha

 Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth and let every evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear: and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and truth’ shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore.                                                                             -1 Enoch 10:16

Other

“The more difficult your challenges, the higher you can elevate spiritually and the more the Creator must add to your spiritual weights, knowing full well that you will be able to lift them.”                          – Karen Berg

Christian

New Testament

“Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other.”

-1 Corinthians 10:24

Church Fathers

“Knowing that God is faithful and mighty, have faith in him and you will share what is his. If you are depressed, you do not believe. We all believe that he is mighty and we believe all is possible to him. As for your own affairs, behave with faith in him about them, too, for he is able to work miracles in you also.”                                                                                                                                      -Abba Euprepius

New Testament Apocrypha

His disciples said, “Show us the place where you are, for we must seek it.”                                           He said to them, “Anyone here with two ears had better listen! There is light within a person of light, and it shines on the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark.”                                                            -The Gospel Of Thomas 24

Other

“Everything good, and everything evil, on account of which we are either laudable or blameworthy, is not born with us but done by us: for we are born not fully developed, but with a capacity for either conduct; and we are procreated as without virtue, so also without vice; and previous to the action of our own proper will, that alone is in man which God has formed.”                                                         -Pelagius, Defense of The Will, Book 1

Islamic

Quran

“Say [Prophet], ‘Bad cannot be likened to good, though you may be dazzled by how abundant the bad is. Be mindful of God, people of understanding, so that you may prosper.’”                                    -Quran 5:100

Hadith Al-Qudsi

“There are three whose adversary I shall be on the Day of Resurrection: a man who has given his word by Me and has broken it; a man who has sold a free man and has consumed the price; and a man who has hired a workman, has exacted his due in full from him and has not given him his wage.”                                                                                                                                                     -Hadith Al-Qudsi 21, Related by Al-Bukhari, Ibn Majah, and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

Hadith

Abu Muntafiq said, “O Messenger of Allah, teach me what will save me from Allah’s punishment and enter me into Paradise.”                                                                                                                     The Messenger of Allah said, “Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, establish the prescribed prayers, give the obligatory charity, (and I think he said) fast the month of Ramadan, and however you love for the people to treat you, then treat them that way, and however you hate for the people to treat you, then do not treat them that way.”                                                                             -Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabeer At-Tabarani, Hadith 15833

Sufism

“As far as you can avoid it, do not give grief to anyone. Never inflict your rage on another. If you hope for eternal rest, feel the pain yourself; but don’t hurt others.” 
-Omar Khayyam, Quatrains

Other

“Three traits you cannot live in happiness if you have them: hatred, envy and ill manners.”                  -Ali ibn Abu Talib

Other Wisdom

“The real tragedy of life is not in what is or what is not, but in what could have been if only they had been slightly different. Without imagination, there would be no tragedy, and those with the deepest imagination feel the tragedy most deeply of all.”                                                                                                                    -Plato, Letters to my Son

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”                                                                                       -Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

Soul Food For The Week Of 10/01/14

Soul food is a weekly collection of verses, stories, and quotes from various traditions to meditate on. All verses from the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical books, and New Testament, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). All verses from the Quran, unless otherwise noted, are from the MAS Abdel Haleem Translation.

Jewish

Torah

“And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.”                                                -Genesis 15:6

Talmud

“Love work, loath mastery over others, and avoid intimacy with the government.”                         -Ethics Of The Fathers 1:10

Deuterocanonical Literature and Pseudepigrapha

“Revere the Lord all your days, my son, and refuse to sin or to transgress his commandments. Live uprightly all the days of your life, and do not walk in the ways of wrongdoing; for those who act in accordance with truth will prosper in all their activities. To all those who practice righteousness give alms from your possessions, and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you make it. Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor, and the face of God will not be turned away from you. If you have many possessions, make your gift from them in proportion; if few, do not be afraid to give according to the little you have.”                                                -Tobit 4:5-8

Other

“Every human being has been given free-will. If he wishes to incline himself towards the good way and to be righteous, he is free to do so; and if he wishes to incline himself towards the evil way and to be wicked he is free to do that… Every individual is capable of being righteous like Moses or wicked like Jeroboam, wise or foolish, merciful or cruel, mean or generous.”                   -Moses Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, 5.1–3

Christian

New Testament

“It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”                                                                                                                                                         -The Gospel Of Mark 7:20-23

Church Fathers

“My child, flee from every evil and everything that resembles it.”                                                                         -Didache 3:1

New Testament Apocrypha

“Faith receives, love gives. [No one can receive] without faith, no one can give without love. Therefore we believe in order that indeed we shall receive, yet we love in order that we may truly give. Otherwise, if someone gives without love, he derives no benefit from giving.”                 -Gospel Of Philip 49

Other

“By perfection, I mean the humble, patient, gentle love of God and our neighbour, ruling our tempers, words and actions.”                                                                                                                       -John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection

Islamic

Quran

“[How] prosperous are the believers! Those who pray humbly, who shun idle talk, who pay the prescribed alms, 5 who guard their chastity except with their spouses”                                              -Quran 23:1-5

Hadith Al-Qudsi

Allah says: The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion.                              -Hadith Al Qudsi 9, related by Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah and Ahmad.

Hadith

“Consideration is from God, and haste is from the devil.”                                                                                        -Al-Bayhaqi

Sufism

“Brother, stand the pain.
Escape the poison of your impulses.
The sky will bow to your beauty, if you do.
Learn to light the candle. Rise with the sun.
Turn away from the cave of your sleeping.
That way a thorn expands to a rose.”
-Rumi, The Essential Rumi

Other

Abu Hanifa said to Al-Sadiq: Abu Abd Allah, how patient you are during the prayers!                                     He said: Woe unto you! Nu’man, do not you know that the prayer is the sacrifice of the God- fearing, the hajj (pilgrim) is the jihad of the weak, every thing has Zakat and the Zakat of the body is fasting, the best act is to wait the ease from Allah, the propagandist without act is like the archer without string? So, memorize these words, Nu’man.

Other Wisdom

Master K’ung said, He who could put the Five into practice everywhere under Heaven would be Good.        Tzu-Chang begged to hear what these were.                                                                                                      The Master said, Courtesy, breadth, good faith, diligence, and clemency.                                                              -Confucius, Analects, XVII, 6

“A man should be of good cheer about his soul…if he has earnestly pursued the pleasure of learning, and adorned his soul with the adornment of temperance, and justice, and courage, and freedom, and truth.”              -Plato, Phaedo, 114