{"id":39093,"date":"2018-09-02T11:42:11","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T08:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=39093"},"modified":"2022-03-27T23:30:47","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T20:30:47","slug":"ordinary-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/ordinary-angels\/","title":{"rendered":"Ordinary Angels"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[509,366],"acf":{"old_id":"39093","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38362,"related_cahpter":"37","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Simple help can sometimes be life-changing","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this opening chapter of the Joseph narrative, there is one particular moment that has always struck me. In a short passage beginning with verse 15, our text tells us that \u201ca man\u201d found Joseph wandering in the field and asked what Joseph was looking for. Joseph tells him he is searching for his absent brothers, and the unnamed man tells him where to find them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the pivotal moment that sets in motion the rest of the Joseph narrative. The whole plot hinges on information that this anonymous man provides to Joseph. This stranger is so important that Midrash Genesis Rabbah cannot allow him to remain anonymous, and instead identifies him as the angel Gabriel. Several of the classical commentators accept this opinion, with only one, Ibn Ezra, saying that the man was a simple traveler.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I like to think that both explanations are correct. I can think of many times when I have gotten turned around and asked a stranger for directions. Usually people are very friendly, and happy to help. In a sense these ordinary people have been my \u201cangels\u201d in those moments. The consequences of following the directions have never been as life-changing for me as they were for Joseph, but it\u2019s nice to think that these \u201cangels\u201d were looking out for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is made more powerful if we read the stranger as an ordinary person acting as an angel. Not only might our own lives be influenced by these \u201cangels\u201d but we have the potential to be angels ourselves. Perhaps when we give simple help to strangers we are merely improving their day. On the other hand, perhaps the help we give them is life-changing! This text reminds us that even simple actions can have far-reaching consequences, especially when we are the angels who facilitate them.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":102502,"id":102502,"title":"-621ceb3194105--621ceb3194107gen18-angel wings.png","filename":"621ceb3194105-621ceb3194107gen18-angel-wings.png.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/621ceb3194105-621ceb3194107gen18-angel-wings.png.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/behold-there-were-three\/621ceb3194105-621ceb3194107gen18-angel-wings-png\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"621ceb3194105-621ceb3194107gen18-angel-wings-png","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":36987,"date":"2022-02-28 15:33:05","modified":"2022-11-29 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