Links for today’s readings:
Feb 16 Read: Proverbs 7 Listen: (2:21) Read: Psalm 37 Listen: (4:21)
Scripture Focus: Proverbs 7.7-13
7 I saw among the simple,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who had no sense.
8 He was going down the street near her corner,
walking along in the direction of her house
9 at twilight, as the day was fading,
as the dark of night set in.
10 Then out came a woman to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 (She is unruly and defiant,
her feet never stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the squares,
at every corner she lurks.)
13 She took hold of him and kissed him
and with a brazen face she said:
Reflection: Beyond Femme Fatales
By John Tillman
The film noir term femme fatale came from French, meaning “deadly woman.”
Proverbs 7 reads like a classic 1930s film noir scene. Like Humphrey Bogart peering through the blinds of his detective office down on a dirty and dangerous city, the father looks down on his street.
Imagine Bogart narrating…
The street grows dark. Wise folks hurry home before full dark falls. But a young fool walks towards a dangerous corner. Is he ignorant that the corner is frequented by Miss Temptation? Or does he know? The lady leaps out of the dark and grabs him, kissing him suddenly and seductively. Her smooth, sultry voice sings of food and pleasure. Like a lost puppy, he follows. Might as well be signing his own death certificate.
The father is demonstrating a particular temptation but the lesson is not intended to blame women for initiating sin or cast all women as temptresses. Both genders employ temptation and both fall victim to it. We must look beyond “femme fatales.”
We must also do more than attempt to avoid temptation. If the foolish young man had been home for Shabbat with his family, nothing bad would have happened. But that’s not enough today.
It’s not that we have no dangerous corners to avoid. It’s that dangerous temptations no longer stay on dangerous corners. Temptations leap right into our bedrooms and living rooms through our televisions, apps, and devices.
The recent NFL Championship broadcast set aside ten percent of advertising spots for gambling apps and sites such as FanDuel, DraftKings, and Sportsbook. These apps multiply gambling addiction by algorithmic addiction.
We don’t live in a film noir world where only the dark is dangerous and only the foolish are tempted. “Femme Fatales” of temptation such as apps, algorithms, Ai companies, and the paranoia factories we call political media are everywhere.
Temptation will grab you like a headline, an advertisement, or an algorithm. It will kiss you like a comfortable lie or false promise. What will you do? How will you resist?
The father says to make God’s commands part of your being. (Proverbs 7.1) The apple of your eye, the tips of your fingers, and the beats of your heart must be shaped by scripture. (Proverbs 7.2-3) You must also make Lady Wisdom your sibling. (Proverbs 7.4)
Only through scripture and the help of Jesus, our brother, can we resist temptation. Flee to him when you feel temptation’s clinging grasp.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
You strengthen me more and more; you enfold me and comfort me. — Psalm 71.21
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.
Listen to: Lady Folly
Wisdom is the guard against the places where seduction can bait a fool.
Read more: Justice Starts Within
Justice starts within. It doesn’t stop there.