The Hebrew word for future teaches us how to face it

That word for “future” is fueled by preparation, intent, and what MLK called “an audacious faith.” Plus something to do with goats. We've got enough of all that to survive the next four years.

Jan 19, 2025

What will you be doing at noon on Monday? I’ll be listening to a speech, one that honors the legacy and message of the great leader who will be celebrated on that day.

Yes, I’ll be watching the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech of Martin Luther King Jr., and you can watch it too, right here:

As you watch it, you can compare the works and words of this man of peace to the vile bile being spewed by the one who will be sworn into office at the same time - the one who will never win a Nobel Prize. Just make sure not to watch Trump’s address live, or on a full stomach.

The confluence of MLK Day with Trump’s inaugural enables us to compare and contrast, and that will help prepare us for the challenges of the day after, and the 1,460 days after that.

Here is a link to a countdown clock already set for January 20, 2029, the date this presidential term will end. You can download the clock and keep it right on your phone or desk.

You’re welcome.

King talked about the future in his speech.

He said:

I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the “isness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.

Whatever version of “American Carnage II” Trump conjures up on Monday will undoubtedly be as icy and vicious as the Washington winds that are driving his inauguration indoors, right into the heart of the building laid waste (they literally laid their waste there) by his followers four years ago. And whatever version of “Carnage” he chooses to present, it will provide for most Americans a vision of a very dark world.

Scared S**tless

So, let’s just be open and honest as we set the scene. We’re among friends. Let’s just admit that, on the whole, we are terrified right now. And those who aren’t, should be.

It’s here. The dreaded moment has arrived. I’ve done my corporate media cleanse. I’ve watched precious little TV news since November 5, though I’ve kept myself abreast with carefully curated YouTube clips and a slew of serious, relevant and often challenging Substacks. A special shoutout to heroes of the new media, people like Ben Meiselas and Heather Cox Richardson and so many others who populate the friendly confines of Substack, for tirelessly providing needed content and perspective.

Meanwhile, not completely by coincidence, the moment some of the hostage families in Israel have been praying for is about to happen, a moment that will be filled with euphoria and relief; but it will also be clouded with fear for what comes next - a future of painful physical rehab and unknown psychological wounds, so many nightmares, rebuilding shattered lives. A better future than the alternative, but terrifying nonetheless.

The Friday front page of Israel’s largest daily newspaper told the story of these conflicting emotions: 1

Filled with photos and names of the hostages, the headline proclaims, “Waiting for EVERYONE Back Home.” The front page byline, with the headline, “The waiting is the hard part,” was written by one of Israel’s most iconic musicians, Shlomo Artzi, who back in 2013 wrote a song about this kind of moment (Israel has had so many), “Coming Back Home” (Here’s a Spotify link of him singing it with another icon, Arik Einstein)2. The song speaks of the mystery and uncertainty of that moment when a long-lost loved one returns.

We stand on life’s path, in the dark
Pay attention, the good comes in silence

Here the Hebrew expression used for “silence” evokes the “still, small voice” heard by Elijah in 1 Kings:12 3, which was the voice of God. When we reach a moment of profound transition, we need to pay special attention, to listen for that divine whisper that can give us courage and hope. And it bears mention that just as some Israeli hostages are returning home, many Gazans are also returning to their homes, including many that will need to be rebuilt.

Now all that healing can begin - if it is allowed to by those whose only goal is to upend peace.

I know what it means to face an uncertain future, as over the past year I’ve navigated my move, career transition, an incredibly resilient, cancer-afflicted dog and my own health challenges - and now I am here, like you are, like we all are. We’ve arrived at the future - or to be more accurate, the future has arrived at us, encroaching upon our present, whether we want it to or not.

This weekend is a time of great fear and trembling on so many levels.

But on Tuesday the sun will rise.

Sunrise at Uluru, Australia - by Joshua Hammerman.

So how does the Hebrew word for future teach us how to face it?

Let’s take a look at the word, with the help of Strong’s Biblical Dictionary, the Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Lexicon and assorted other sources.

The word is “Atid,” and it is so prevalent in modern Israeli Hebrew that the chief opposition party, led by Yair Lapid, is called “Yesh Atid,” “There is a future.” 4

Here are more takes on the word’s meaning in modern Hebrew, from RFSFL Hebrew:

The Hebrew word עָתִיד - ‘Atid can be both a noun or an adjective.
As a noun, עָתִיד means future.
For example בעתיד היא רוצה להיות רופאה. “In the future she wants to be a doctor.”
As an adjective, עָתִיד can mean soon to, will, shall, future, and planned.
For example הכנס השנתי של עורכי הדין עתיד להתקיים בחודש אפריל באילת.
“The annual lawyers’ conference is planned to take place in the month of April in Eilat.”

Hebrew words are usually derived from three-letter root combinations. Atid comes from a three-letter root: the letters ayin-tav-daled, which yields some fascinating shadings from the Bible5. The word for future means so much more - it teaches us how to get there and what to do when we’ve arrived.

An essential element in facing the future is preparation and skill.

That could involve preparing by storing supplies, which in our current situation might mean stashing our money away before the Trump tariffs wreck the economy. But it can also mean storing our sanity, and setting aside our anger and grief. We need to be honing our skills to be ready for the challenges that are coming.

Here’s a grammatical twist to the word Atid. This noun / adjective can also be a verb.

Hebrew has lots of verb forms. (You can check out p. 29 of this Hebrew grammar primer if you are interested in learning more). What you see below is a declension of the reflexive form of the verb derived from those three root letters, which brings us the word “Mit-ated,” “to intend.”

And what is the future but the product of our intentions? At least that’s the plan. We’ve got to account for some serendipity, and some of our best intentions that invariably go bad. But Judaism does account for unintended consequences. As the Yiddish saying goes, “Man plans, and God laughs,” taken from Proverbs 16:9:

Mortals may plot out their course,
But it is GOD who directs their steps.

But, in the audacious spirit of a people that never takes “because God says so” for an answer, the reflexive verb for Atid remains, for all time, “to intend.” We’re not allowing God to take away our agency.

You mess up our plans, God? We’ll just keep on intending, daring you to mess things up again!

Our pasts are littered with good intentions gone bad, but we can’t possibly face an uncertain, scary future, as we do now, without a degree of intentionality6.

The future is a verb, and the action prescribed involves planning, preparation, readiness and focus.

Now let’s look at Brown Driver Briggs for some really good stuff. 7

Using sources from all over the ancient Near East, BDB gives us the biblical shadings of readiness and preparation and goes a bit further. It quotes Job 15:24 and Esther 3:14, where the word Atid appears.

Let’s look at the passage in Job.

Who the heck is Job’s “friend” Elifaz talking about here? Is he anyone we know? Well, the context is not important8. What matters for our purpose is that the word Atid, in the top line, speaks of a problematic, grotesque, fat-faced, blubber-loined (Elifaz’s words, not mine) figure who fears that the future will bring him a long-deserved comeuppance and his wealth will not endure.

Hmm. The future may be brighter than we thought! This is a cool passage.

In any case, the message to us is that the story is not over yet. This chapter doesn’t end on January 20. It begins. Many interesting twists and turns await us, and potential consequences will instill fear into those who in their hearts know what they have done.

But in terms of the definition of Atid, again it has to do with readiness, whether for good or for bad. The idea is that we need to be prepared for anything. The same holds true in the passage from Esther.

So summing things up for the moment, if “future” is a verb, then “to future” is to be prepared… with intentionality.

BDB adds one final twist, on the right side of the entry above. Another derivative of the three letter root ayin-tav-daled is Atud. A he-goat, fit for sacrifice. You can also see references to other grown animals, like a well-developed horse, fit for battle.

What does that have to do with the future? Let’s give Strong’s a crack at this one, shall we?

That middle paragraph has an amazing message, so I’ll repeat it here:

The Hebrew word "athid" or "athud" primarily refers to a male goat, often used in the context of sacrificial offerings. It can also imply readiness or preparedness, reflecting a state of being set apart for a specific purpose. In the sacrificial system of ancient Israel, the he-goat was a significant animal, symbolizing atonement and purification.

Here’s where I think the word Atid leads us. We are not merely meeting up with an unknown and scary future over the next few days. We are approaching a crossroads for each of us. Each of us has been set apart - we’ve been prepared by the solid, moral values that our parents and teachers taught us. We are ready, we are facing the task with pure intentions. The he-goat in us is ready for whatever sacrifices we might be called upon to make. And the horse in us is at full gallop, ready for battle.

We’ve been set apart for a specific purpose. Not to be sacrificed, like the goat, but to make sacrifices, and not to allow ourselves, our country and our planet to be consumed by hate and greed.

MLK’s audacious courage will inspire us, and a single biblical word will guide us - into the future. We are and will remain, come what may, forward facing creatures.

In the words of Winston Churchill, “Have no fear of the future. Let us go forward into its mysteries, tear away the veils which hide it from our eyes, and move onwards with confidence and courage.”

The sun is about to rise on a new day.

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