Yonah to Praise or to Wail

Yonah to Praise or to Wail (Whale)

Throughout our history the Jewish people have always had leaders whose job was to bring the nation closer to Hashem. Many have been successful in this onerous task, while others have failed trying. Leadership requires an even balance between toveah kvod haben as well as toveah kvod haav. A leader must be dedicated to fulfilling his task while still maintaining a strong connection with the people. Yonah ben Amittai is one of the most unique Jewish leaders, no one had problems like he did, and no one has/had a true solution to the issues he was faced with.

Internal Conflict strikes early in the Sefer Yonah, Hashem commands Yonah ben Amittai, to hurry to Nineveh and warn its inhabitants to repent, otherwise their city will be destroyed in forty days. As God’s emissary, Yonah must obey the command of Hashem and warn the sinning people of Nineveh. Yonah refuses to go to Nineveh; he does precisely what he has been commanded to tell Nineveh not to do: he opposes God’s will. One might ask why Yonah would resist the word of Hashem. Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer quotes the chachamim who provide two answers to this baffling question. The first answer is that if the Ninevites were to repent and be saved, Hashem would have taken out his anger on Bnei Yisroel for not repenting after receiving multiple divine calls. The second explanation for Yonah disregarding Hashem’s command is if the people of Ninveh were to repent and be saved, the survivors would accuse Yonah of prophesying falsely. The wicked would not say we were saved because we repented, rather they would say Yonah’s prophecy was unproven and Hashem didn’t have the power to destroy all of Nineveh.

Yonah decides to flee from Hashem as well as his commandments. Yonah boards a ship en route to Tarshish, the opposite direction of Nineveh. Hashem than casts a mighty wind, and creates a forceful storm. Caught in the great storm, the boat begins to sink. The members of the ship start to resort to prayer, only to find no answers. After Yonah is found sleeping in his cabin, the crew draws lots to determine which of the passengers is responsible for the impending disaster. The lots fall upon Yonah and he willingly confesses that he is the cause of the storm. Yonah suggests that he be thrown overboard to calm down the sea. Yonah is than is swallowed by a large fish where he remains for three days and three nights. While entrapped in the belly of the fish, Yonah prays, repents, and beseeches mercy from Hashem.

Hashem hears the prayers of Yonah and has the large fish spit Yonah out. Once again Hashem addresses Yonah and provides him with his mission. Yonah is to tell the people of Nineveh that they must repent, lest Nineveh will be destroyed. For Yonah this is the ultimate opportunity to demonstrate his repentance. In the Sefer Hilchos Teshuva, the Rambam declares that true Teshuva