Many people don't realize that...
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Many people don't realize that one of the great genius insights of the Old Testament and Jews is the tradition of the righteous gentile. God can use people who are not a part of the religious tradition or community. Jesus of Nazareth draws on this tradition when he acknowledges the faith of a non-Jew, a Gentile Roman centurion. The tradition occurs in the story of Ebed-Melech as he assists Jeremiah, of the encounter between Elisha and Naaman, and in the New Testament when Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.
The tradition survives to this day. In Jerusalem there is a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is called Yad Vashem. Among the many memorials are trees that have been planted in honor and memory of non-Jews who helped Jews during those awful nightmare years. Thousands of trees give mute testimony to the unheralded heroic actions of non-Jews who tried to help. The tree-lined avenue marking the entrance to the memorial is called The Avenue of the Righteous.
--Sargent
The tradition survives to this day. In Jerusalem there is a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is called Yad Vashem. Among the many memorials are trees that have been planted in honor and memory of non-Jews who helped Jews during those awful nightmare years. Thousands of trees give mute testimony to the unheralded heroic actions of non-Jews who tried to help. The tree-lined avenue marking the entrance to the memorial is called The Avenue of the Righteous.
--Sargent
