Chutzpah

Thanks to my friend Wade for suggesting The Burning Word by Judith Kunst. I’ve been doing extra reading the last year or so in Jewish studies. I find Jewish approaches to faith, community, interpretation and creation to be refreshing and invigorating. If you are looking for a place to start that’s not too intimidating, I suggest you read Girl Meets God by Lauren F. Winner. I have had the privilege of working with Lauren at two ZOE Conferences recently—she’s simply one of the best Christian writers I know of. She was raised Jewish, and in many ways, still considers herself as such. She is also a follower of Yeshua (Jesus), which means she’s had to think carefully about the relationship of Judaism and Christianity.

Back to The Burning Word…here’s a story from the Talmud about Abraham. I used this story recently to describe the word chutzpah—rare bravery in the face of opposition (think valor or courage).

“…Abraham was pious too, though not quite so well behaved. In fact, one legend holds, he was prone to rather violent confrontations with heresy, even when the heretic was his own father,” (Judith Kunst in The Burning Word, 99):

Abraham’s father was an idol maker. He would make stone images and sell them in a shop in the market. One day, Abraham’s father asked him to watch over the idols in his shop while he was away. While he was gone, Abraham seized a stick, smashed all the statues, and placed the stick in the hand of the biggest of them. When his father came back, he asked: “Who did this to the gods?” Abraham answered: “The biggest of them rose up and smashed all the others.” His father replied: “Are you making fun of me? They cannot do anything! They are merely pieces of stone!” Abraham answered: “Let your ears hear what your mouth is saying!” (From Genesis Rabbah).