The Story of Jonah

Review of Previous Posts

The posts in this Jonah Series of the Prophets Section explore meanings for the story of Jonah. The previous post, Number 12 of 14, explored the dilemma that may have confronted Jonah in determining whether or not the “call” he received was a true call or a false call.

Preview of this Post

This is post, Number 13 of 14 discusses the implications of the story of Jonah on the prayer Un’tanah Tokef.

The Discussion Questions associated with this series pose several questions which might be instructive.

VIII. Un’taneh Tokef^[1]

Where does this leave the prayer Un’taneh Tokef which appears to be coupled to the story of Jonah? This prayer seems to promise that the severe decree can be tempered by acts of repentance, prayer, charity.  In discussing Jonah’s rebellion at Nineveh, Simon in the JPS Commentary on vv. 4:1-5, attributes the following question to Jonah: “What remains of the rule of law when iniquity that merits annihilation can be wiped away by a few days penance?” Jonah’s question can be posed with respect to this prayer as well. This enigmatic prayer will be examined in another series^[2].

Preview of the next post.

The next post, post number 14 of 14, is the last post in the series and raises some suggestions of how the story of Jonah could apply to a modern-day audience.

^[1] See the series on Un’taneh Tokef.

^[2] A quick answer might be that repentance does not wipe away iniquity permanently, it only cures it for the instant situation. It must be assumed that further iniquities will each be dealt with on their merits and may warrant punishment in and of themselves.