Jonah was a prophet who lived in the first Temple period. His first mission was given to him by the most famous of first Temple prophets, Elisha – he was to anoint Jehu as king in the year 705 BCE. His were stormy times; the Jewish people were trapped in a pattern of spiritual decline that ended with first the conquest and expulsion of the Ten Tribes by the Assyrians in 607 BCE, and finally with the destruction of Jerusalem, which was followed by 70 years of exile.
As a prophet, Jonah knew far better than we can imagine what the inevitable end would be if no transformation would take place.
After the failure of his second mission, to rebuke Jehu's successor, Jeroboam the second, he was given his final mission.
The mission that God gave him was one that he could not open his heart to accept. He was sent to the capital of Assyria, Nineveh, to urge its population to repent. How bizarre the assignment sounded to him! His own people were falling uncontrollably into a chasm that seemed to have no bottom, yet he was sent to save others – the archenemies of Israel!
Jonah actually dreaded success of this mission far more than he dreaded failure. How could he bear to witness the contrast of the Assyrians returning to God in the face of his prophecy, with the Jews stubbornly resisting any chance for spiritual self-preservation. Therefore, he attempted to escape from his destiny.
Jonah fled from Israel by ship to silence the voice of prophecy that can only be heard in the Holy Land. But a storm at sea forced him into the recognition that no one can escape from God. In the midst of calm waters, his boat was tossed in a tempest until it was on the verge of breaking. The sailors prayed to their gods.
Jonah went to sleep.
He knew the truth. It was he who had already cut himself off from God; there was nothing to say and nothing to pray for.
His apathetic behavior aroused the curiosity of the sailors. He told them his story. He believed in God, yet he was running away from Him.
Knowing he was the cause of the storm, he implored the sailors to toss him overboard so they could save themselves. As decent people they resisted this suggestion until the critical moment when it became clear that within seconds they would all die. At that point, they listened and threw him into the turbulent depths. The storm abated immediately. Jonah thought his story had ended.
Confronting Self
But it had just begun. He was swallowed by a whale, and miraculously survived. In the dark fetid innards of the whale, he recognized what he had never truly been willing to see, in his most exalted moments of prophecy, God's intimate knowledge and care over each life and each moment. He was a prophet and awareness of God was not a novelty to him. But recognition of the depths of God's mercy was.
It was then that Jonah did teshuva – he repented, returning to God and the best in himself.
Now he recognized that no matter how painful the contrast between the Assyrians and the Jews would be to him, that God's motivation could only be one of mercy. Once he recognized this truth, he was willing to open the gates that he had closed so resolutely – the gates of prayer. He was now ready for the most significant undertaking of his life.
The whale spit him out at the shores of Nineveh.
He told the residents of Nineveh what awaited them: In forty days they could either make radical changes in their lives, or the city would be destroyed by God's wrath.
The changes in Nineveh happened with speed and drama. The king himself led the people into a total reformation. Nineveh's destruction was postponed for 40 years.
Everything that Jonah had feared had come to pass. The contrast that he dreaded was more vivid in reality than it was as a prophecy. He had only one further request that he be spared of seeing the destruction of his own people, which he knew would come eventually and at the hands of the Assyrians at that. The fact that the Jews would not take example from Nineveh would be the final act of callousness that would seal their fate. God did not answer Jonah's request with words. He answered by deed.
After Jonah left Nineveh, he went to the outskirts and made himself a shelter in the shade of a kikayon tree. It was a source of consolation to him in his anguish, and made him aware of God's compassion. But God sent a worm to eat through the branches and kill the tree.
In response, all the pent up feelings of agony poured forth from Jonah's lips. God replied "You took pity on a kikayon for which you did not labor ... Shall I not take pity on Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than 120 thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and many beasts as well?"
In short, what God was telling Jonah is the flaws of the residents of Nineveh did not make them unworthy of life. Each person is part of the world's spiritual ecology, and brings benefit to the world at least as much as the kikayon plant brought benefit to Jonah.
God's Mercy
Yalkut Shimoni, the most encyclopedic of all Midrashim (written by Rav Shimon Hadarshan in the thirteenth century) gives us deep insight into the most profound recognition of Jonah's life:
At that moment he fell on his face and said, "Rule your world according to the attribute of mercy" as it is written "to You, God, is mercy and forgiveness."
The message of Jonah's prophecy is one for each one of us. The Vilna Gaon tells us that Jonah's journey is one that we all make. We are born with a subconscious realization of the fact that we have a mission. We seek escape, because our mission is often one that we are afraid to attempt.
In the text of the Jonah story we are told that the places that he sought were Yaffo and Tarshish. While these places actually exist and are known as Jaffa and Tarsis, the literal meaning of the names of these cities are "beauty" and "wealth."
We comfort ourselves externally, by escaping from our inner knowledge of our mission through the pursuit of wealth, and by surrounding ourselves with beauty. Our bodies are compared to Jonah's ship. We face moments in life in which the fragility of our bodies is inescapable, as in when we face illness, or confront moments of danger that seem to last an eternity until they are resolved.
The sailors on the ship are the talents and capacities that work for us. They too cannot save us from our futile desire to escape ourselves. The whale is the symbol of ultimate confrontation of the recognition that our ultimate fate is the grave. For some, that recognition almost feels like a welcome refuge. For others, facing death forces them at last into pursuing life!
As with Jonah, our recognition of our own vulnerability can bring us to finally transcend our ego, surrendering our desire to control events, and beginning at last to accept our mission in life, no matter what it is.
We can suffer the vicissitudes of life, and recognize that we ourselves have caused the storms to toss us back and forth. We can move forward to fulfill our purpose, but we are still not free of conflict and anxiety until we finally recognize that every step along the way, we are embraced by Divine compassion.
It is then that we are ready to return to God. While for each of us the path is our own, and never yet explored by any other person, Jonah knew the beginning and the end of the journey that we all make.
Yom Kippur is the day in which each one of us can relive Jonah's journey. Let us finally move towards whatever the next step is for us in fulfilling the mission for which we were created. Let us use the time to return to God with joy and love.
(18) Margaret, February 7, 2019 10:53 PM
Jonah
Absolutely beautiful. I understand Jonah and G-d a whole lot more from reading this! As I read it I was thinking, G-d’s jusdgement of humans is just! Yet it can only stand when presented evidence..
BECAUSE G-d is just, He will provide evidence. Also. G-d warns us first, then we can’t throw it back at Him.. We are faced with our own sins, and know we were warned..
G-d did what He had to do. Ninevah can’t argue. Jonah becomes G-d’s witness.. Jonah is G-d’s witness to this day.. For Ninevah still tries to destroy Israel..
I love Jonah.. A very human prophet with fears and worries just like we all do.. Johnah’s faith in G-d was so strong, he knew G-d could work great miracles in Ninevah.. Bless Jonah..
Israel has always had G-d and will always have G-d. But the gentile needs to be introduced to and learn about G-d.. Then we choose to follow Him or continue to live our sinful lives...
I’m so grateful to my beautiful Rabbi from Aish ask a Rabbi for introducing this article to me... ?❤️?
Bless everyone at Aish..
(17) Anonymous, September 23, 2016 3:40 AM
Observation regarding Whale
I would like to point out that according to Rashi and others (Genesis 1:21), the word דג is exclusive to fish. However, whales are marine mammals and referred to as תנין in the Torah.
While there are differing opinions on the exact interpretation of the word תנין in Exodus 7:10, Jonah was swallowed by a fish and not a whale (both times). Also see the Malbim's (ibid.) explanation how Jonah could stay alive without oxygen.
(16) Anonymous, February 21, 2013 3:43 PM
Jonah after Nineveh
What happened to Jonah afterwards? How, when and where did he die?
(15) Jono, December 9, 2012 12:10 PM
Interesting. Listen to Holocaust & The Whale
Happy Chanukah. I was listening to Dean Omori's album on the whale (see www.holocaustandthewhale.com) and realised there was much more to this issue than I thought. Thank you for the perspective..
(14) dean, April 4, 2012 5:08 PM
Very good,I'm a sunday school teacher,and to see things from others prospctive is always good.This was great I appreciate your work.God bless your efforts.
(13) Anonymous, October 7, 2011 11:10 PM
I found this very moving and inspiring. Thank you.
Very inspiring to read on erev yom kippuyr Thank you.
(12) Anonymous, June 19, 2011 4:23 PM
I really enjoyed this article and it has helped my understanding of Yom Kippur greatly. Thank you
(11) Trinity, April 4, 2011 9:03 PM
I love this story so much but it is so long but i still love the story
(10) Anonymous, July 28, 2010 5:33 PM
What a beautiful expression of how our soul is destined to complete its mission despite out best efforts to ignore it at different times in our life.
(9) hasnat, July 3, 2009 10:30 AM
good
thank you very much
(8) J B, December 20, 2008 5:09 PM
Thank you for this insight.
I really enjoyed this. It provided a depth I had not comprehended. Thank you!
(7) Anonymous, August 16, 2007 2:06 AM
The story of Jonah was very interesting and relavent to what is happening in my life at present..I will read Jonah this Yom Kipper...
(6) gabriellomarchetti, October 1, 2006 12:10 PM
kikaion
yes! very spiritual this comment about Sefer Jona: kikaion is a life of a day , something who give us mercy and attention in the name of G-d.
(5) DevorahG., September 30, 2006 10:46 PM
Beautiful Interpretation, Thank you
I learned this piece in chavrusa with a friend, I'm sure it will have a powerful impact on people on Yom Kippur. It was both inspiring and empowering. Thank you and a gmar chasima tovah.
(4) Hadassah, October 11, 2005 12:00 AM
Wow
Wow, what a well-written, articulate and inspiring article. I've never seen Sefer Yonah this way before, it makes so much sense now. Thanks again, Rebbetzin Heller.
(3) Katherine Harris, September 15, 2002 12:00 AM
Thanks very much for your great Yom Kippur articles!
I'm glad I found your site.
(2) Kim Matott, September 13, 2002 12:00 AM
Thinking about the people in Israel
Thank you for your site.It has been very helpful.And it does alot of good for many seekers. Thanks again, Kim
(1) grankiewicz, September 12, 2002 12:00 AM
I think your site is wonderful