{"id":50174,"date":"2019-02-24T23:50:48","date_gmt":"2019-02-24T21:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=50174"},"modified":"2022-09-15T07:59:02","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T04:59:02","slug":"listen-o-israel-especially-if-you-cant-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/listen-o-israel-especially-if-you-cant-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Listen O Israel! Especially If You Can\u2019t Do"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/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":[578,363],"acf":{"old_id":"50174","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":49866,"related_cahpter":"162","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Moses chastises Israel, giving a twist to a familiar phrase","content":"

Moses, speaking at God\u2019s command, relays to the Israelites a diss from on high: \u201cyou are a stiff-necked people!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

This phrase exemplifies one quirk of biblical Hebrew: very physical language used to describe character traits. Even if you have never heard this phrase before, you can probably visualize a stiff-necked group and imagine their traits\u2014stubbornness, rigidity, and obstinacy. Even when it came to God\u2019s will, the ancient Israelites refused to <\/span>bend<\/span><\/i> (English language can get physical occasionally too).<\/span><\/p>\n

Though debatable, the Israelites most stiff-necked moment was perhaps the Golden Calf debacle, occurring just moments after divine revelation. Though we first read that story way back in the Book of Exodus, the Israelites\u2019 idolatrous transgression is recounted here in Deuteronomy 9, as God instructs Moses to remind the Israelites of their imperfect track record up to this point.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moses begins this chastising speech with the classic formulation, <\/span>shema Yisrael, <\/span><\/i>\u201cListen Israel<\/span>.<\/span><\/i>\u201d Elsewhere these two words begin a more loving and classic formulation of Jewish faith, but here Moses deploys them with a bit more bite: \u201cListen up, Israel!\u201d Later rabbis wondered why this phrase was employed and wrote their answer in a midrash.<\/span><\/p>\n

In another famous verse, Exodus 24:7, the Israelites promise to be dutiful to God with another 2-word phrase: <\/span>na\u2019aseh v\u2019nishma, <\/span><\/i>\u201cwe will <\/span>do<\/span><\/i> and we will <\/span>listen<\/span><\/i>.\u201d That acquiescent pledge sounds anything but stiff-necked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now to the midrash:<\/span><\/p>\n

Why was it fitting to say here <\/span>shema Yisrael, \u201cListen up, Israel\u201d? \u00a0<\/span><\/i>Our sages answered with a parable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine a king who betroths his bride by giving her two pearls. After she loses one, the king says to her, \u201cyou lost the first, won\u2019t you please guard the second!\u201d So it was when the Holy One betrothed the Israelites by way of the phrase <\/span>na\u2019aseh v\u2019nishma<\/span><\/i>, \u201cwe will <\/span>do<\/span><\/i> and we will <\/span>listen<\/span><\/i>.\u201d When the Israelites worshipped the Golden Calf, they effectively lost the <\/span>na\u2019aseh<\/span><\/i>, their commitment to always do God\u2019s will. So Moses instructs them, \u201cyou\u2019ve lost the <\/span>na\u2019aseh<\/span><\/i>, won\u2019t you please guard the <\/span>nishma<\/span><\/i>, their commitment to listen to God.\u201d Therefore, this chastising speech begins with the reminder to listen, <\/span>shema Yisrael, <\/span><\/i>\u201cListen up, Israel!\u201d<\/span>.<\/span><\/i> (Devarim Rabbah on Deut. 9:1)<\/span><\/p>\n

With this midrash, the rabbis convey their acceptance of human imperfection and our tendency to be a stubborn stiff-necked bunch. Nevertheless, they hope that we never lose out on <\/span>nishma<\/span><\/i>, our ability to listen and learn, to reflect on our missteps so that we might get a further chance at <\/span>na\u2019aseh<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>doing<\/span><\/i> better in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":52310,"id":52310,"title":"dt32-ear","filename":"dt32-ear.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/give-ear\/dt32-ear\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"dt32-ear","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":52309,"date":"2019-03-27 17:13:28","modified":"2022-09-15 04:58:59","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-300x200.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-768x512.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-1024x683.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-1200x800.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-630x420.png","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Listen O Israel! Especially If You Can\u2019t Do","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Moses chastises Israel, giving a twist to a familiar phrase","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":52310,"id":52310,"title":"dt32-ear","filename":"dt32-ear.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/give-ear\/dt32-ear\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"dt32-ear","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":52309,"date":"2019-03-27 17:13:28","modified":"2022-09-15 04:58:59","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-300x200.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-768x512.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-1024x683.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-1200x800.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-630x420.png","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50174"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108047,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50174\/revisions\/108047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}