Oh Jonah, He Lived in a Whale

I like the Jonah story.  I can relate to the guy.  Not because I have been in the belly of the leviathan, but because I don't want to be the responsible adult. I don't really feel qualified to be the responsible adult, but I can't find anyone else to do the job.  And that's nothing compared to what G-d was telling him do.  Think about how poor Jonah felt.  And he just couldn't wiggle out of it.

It always seems to me that being a prophet is a really lousy job.  Everyone tries to squirm out of it one way or another.  And we learn from the story of Jonah, that there is no escape.  I appreciate, on a not mom level, Jonah being crabby about it right up to the end.

So let's break it down.  Jonah has the honor of being a prophet of G-d.  That's good.  Now everyone he talks to is going to think he's crazy.  Not good.  Then... G-d says that he will save the people whom He just had Jonah condemn to death.   Great.  He didn't want the job anyway, and now G-d totally leaves him hanging as far as the people go.  So he's a prophet who called it totally wrong.  Great.  Thanks.  This never would hold up on reality TV.  He comes off looking like the guy who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart.

Which brings us to an excellent point... what if some of the crazy guys are really just lesser prophets?  How can you tell?  I like the selection process for the Dali Lama.  When he dies, everyone scrambles around looking for him in his next incarnation.  They can usually spot him when he's still a small child.  This is good because he's too little to act all Jonah about it.

Which brings us to another point (it isn't called "Random Musings" for nothing).  I have heard that the Dali Lama isn't coming back.  Actually, I just started poking around the web so I could give you the definative resignation of the big DL and all I could find were articles stating that he might not come back.  I like to think that he might have something a little Indiana Jones up his sleeve, but what do I know?

I would also like you to notice that I didn't steal any squirrel pictures for this entry.

In the end was G-d satisfied with Jonah?  I've been asking Momo for days to take down the sukkah.  At this point, even when he does take it down, I'm still going to be annoyed that it took so long.  So maybe even though he finally gave in and did what G-d told him, he may be on the list of people who are annoying to the holy one.  In the Zohar we learn that in the world to come the righteous will feast on the pickled flesh of the leviathan.  In the end does the whale end up in the belly of  Jonah?