A lesson in mercy

Hi,

"And Gd said to Yonah:

"You had mercy on a kikayon [a wild shade plant] for which you did not work and which you did not raise, which came in a night and was lost in a night. Should I not have mercy upon Nineveh, the great city, which contains more than 120,000 people who do not know their right from left, as well as many animals?"

(Yonah 4:10-11)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

It's not about the fast

Hi,

"When the Jews held fasts to pray regarding drought or other crises, the elder among them would speak words of rebuke:

"My brothers, It does not say regarding the people of Nineveh, 'Gd saw their sackcloth and fasts, but rather, 'And Gd saw their deeds, for they had returned from their bad path.' [Jonah 3:10] And so it says in the prophets [Joel 2], 'Tear your hearts, rather than your clothes.'"

הזקן שבהן אומר לפניהן דברי כבושין: אחינו! לא נאמר באנשי נינוה וירא אלקים את שקם ואת תעניתם, אלא וירא האלקים את מעשיהם כי שבו מדרכם הרעה, ובקבלה הוא אומר וקרעו לבבכם ואל בגדיכם.

 (Talmud, Taanit 15a)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Lack of gratitude is animalistic

Hi,

[The last sentence in the book of Yonah mentions the people of Ninveh, upon whom Gd has mercy, and it also mentions "בהמה רבה," great numbers of animals who live in the city of Nineveh.]

"These are adult human beings whose minds are yet animalistic; they do not realize who created them."

(Rashi to Yonah 4:11)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Mercy

Hi,

"And Gd said [to Jonah]: You had mercy on the Kikayon tree, for which you did not struggle and which you did not raise, which sprang up in a night and which was destroyed in a night. Shouldn't I have mercy on Nineveh, the great city, which holds more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who don't know their right from their left, as well as great numbers of animals?"

(Jonah 4:10-11)

Have a great day,
Mordechai