Hi Everyone! This is my essay for my English class. I just couldn't help but share it with the rest of you lovely people. I hope that this proves just as much a fun/insightful read as it was for me to write. I love all my readers and would appreciate comments, even if they are criticism.
Love you all!
May you be blessed,
Jen
Jennifer Hyde
Mrs. Bonk
English
5 February 2015
Legalism: strict adherence,
or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, to the letter
rather than the spirit.
Licentious: unrestrained by
law or general morality.
These two
principles are at the heart of the deepest hatred, for each counteracts the
other. The Jews were seen as legalistic, and many saw others as licentious. But
the topic of this essay is not this, but how legalism contributes to the
downfall of religious faith. Elie Wiesel was a Jewish mystic, very pious, but
when trouble came upon him and his people, he felt the affects of his legality
quite strongly, and forgot who God is.
Not that he knew.
Elie was very spiritual, but he only knew of God, not God himself, but this is
a topic that will be discussed in another paragraph. Elie’s religious life was
one many Jews led. He prayed prayers from the hearts of others, “pre-approved”
prayers if you will. No prayers were spoken from his own heart. “During the day
I studied the Talmud, and at night I ran to the synagogue to weep over the
destruction of the Temple” (14). That one sentence alone brings the depth of
his spirituality to light, as well as his lack of understanding. It was told to
the Jews of Jerusalem that the Temple would be destroyed for it had turned from
a house of worship to a house of profit unearned. Forty years later, the Temple
was destroyed by the Roman Empire in their conquest of Palestine. The practice
of weeping for the Temple was for the love of the Temple, not the love of God,
showing just what the Jewish religion was: a religion, not a
relationship with God.
We all have doubt. Doubt can be a good thing, depending
on how it is being used. Doubting old scientific theories brings to light new
ones; doubting new theories brings their flaws to the light. But too much doubt
brings in questions that we know the answer to, but no longer have the
capability to believe in our hearts. Earlier, it was mentioned that the Jewish
religion was one of many practices, but without an understanding of God. A
religion such as this can and most likely will misinterpret the Scriptures. Job
27:2 says, “ ‘As God surely lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who
has made me taste the bitterness of soul.’ ” This is the part that Elie
sympathizes with, but he shows no signs of, at the very least, complying to the
latter portion finished in Job 27:3 “ ‘As long as I have life within me, the
breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will utter no deceit’ ”. Elie says in the
fourth chapter of his book, “What does Your greatness mean, Lord of the
Universe, in the face of all this weakness, this decomposition, and this
decay”(73 and 74). Doubt is supposed to bring us to questions, but not to
denying His infinite love and mercy.
Mysticism: belief
characterized by self-delusion or dreamy conclusion of thought; belief that
union with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute or with the spiritual
apprehension of knowledge inaccessible to the intellect may be attained through
contemplation and self-surrender.
Religion: an organized
collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to
an order of existence.
These two words describe the life of young Elie very
well. He openly states that he is a mystic, which in turn could relate to
sorcery, and it is obvious that he is very religious. But the fact is that even
those who don’t believe in religion, have one, by definition. But in young
Elie’s case, being a mystic and religion cannot mix. “What?” you may be
thinking, “By definition, they can!” And that is true. But the Jewish religion
is contradicting itself. It states in Exodus 22:18 that “You shall not allow a
sorceress to live.” How is mysticism different? Sorcery is defined as “the use
of magic.” And while the definitions do differ, mysticism is a type of
magic. In fact, a synonym of mysticism is black magic. Obtaining knowledge
through dreams, or other spiritual means, is a magic called divination, which
is “the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by
supernatural means”. “And I, the mystic I had been…” (Plain and simple, this is
laid out for us. Religion, and more specifically legalism, has a cost, for it
does not allow one to obey the laws and commands out of love for God. Elie did
not know this, and it started his religious downfall.
You have probably heard of these words “Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabacthani.” (Psalm 22) which is Hebrew for “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?” The psalmist, King David, is going through a time of suffering
and pain. But David knew God and went on to say, “I will declare your name to
my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the Lord,
praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob honor him! Revere Him all you
descendants of Israel!” I do not believe that King David was at all happy. But
we are not called to be happy always, but to be joyful always. David understood
this and was joyful for he knew that the Lord had not forgotten him. This is
contradictory of Elie’s earlier beliefs. See, religion cost Elie the chance of
truly knowing God, because Jewish religion is legalism, they live under the
weight of the Law. When Elie finally stops believing in God’s goodness, he
yells at him in his heart. “Why, but why should I bless him?”(74) Elie doesn’t
know that fact that no amount of suffering matters, because he doesn’t believe
that fact that they were told it was going to happen, and to have peace
with it, and to take heart, for He overcame the world.
Many, many people would have given up on any hope of a God.
Many of us don’t have the faith necessary to get us through the tough times.
But the Jews of Buchenwald had not given up. “And the last breath of their
lives belonged to God, to Torah, and to the Jewish Religion” (157, The Yellow
Star by S.B. Unsdorfer). This sentence ties together all the points of this
essay. Even in this sentence, the legalism is self-evident. If their lives only
belonged to God, they would be filled with his love, but their hearts belong to
religion, not love.
There are many Jews who turned away from God, and many
who stayed true. Many people had never even thought of God, and were now
worshipers, while still others remained true to their beliefs. But one theme
remains constant in Elie’s life. His legalism and religion did nothing to bring
him closer to God.
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