{"id":52536,"date":"2019-03-31T10:34:44","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T07:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=52536"},"modified":"2022-10-23T18:00:33","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T15:00:33","slug":"vezot-habrakhah-looking-back-looking-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/vezot-habrakhah-looking-back-looking-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Ve\u2019zot ha\u2019Brakhah – Looking Back, Looking Forward"},"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":[368,369],"acf":{"old_id":"52536","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":46171,"related_cahpter":"187","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua","content":"

The Book of Deuteronomy concludes with the death of Moses. We are told that \u201cMoses went up from the steppes of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land \u2013 Gilead as far as Dan\u201d (Deut. 34:1).What is so remarkable about the Torah\u2019s account of Moses\u2019 last day?<\/span><\/p>\n

In his two-tiered painting, Avner Moriah offers us an interesting perspective on this episode. At the top right Moses, in a green-striped gown, holding his staff, is standing on a red Mount Nebo, gazing at a view he alone was given to see. Told by God, \u201cYou may view the land from a distance but you shall not enter it\u201d (Deut. 32:52), Moses had finally accepted the decree, calmly climbed the mountain, and had his very own view of what was and what was to come. The artist accented \u00a0the private nature of the sight by filling the entire space to the left of the mountain with abstract green dots.<\/span><\/p>\n

The three pictograms aligned with Moses\u2019 line of sight visualize the forefathers receiving God\u2019s promise for the future of their descendants. Abraham is shown in the Covenant between the Pieces (Gen 15:10); Isaac is in Beersheba next to the altar he built after God revealed Himself and blessed his descendants (Gen. 26:23\u201325); and Jacob is sleeping and dreaming about the ladder and the angels going up and down (Gen 28:12). <\/span><\/p>\n

The scene in the lower register takes us back to the reality in the Israelite camp after Moses\u2019 death and the inauguration of the new leadership. Joshua, upon whom Moses laid his hands, who \u201cwas filled with the spirit of wisdom\u201d (Deut. 34:9), is shown here with the Israelites united behind him, the tribes pictured as a single unit standing together at his back.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Israelites are still in the land of Moab, where Moses was buried \u201cin the valley\u2026near Beth Peor\u201d (Deut. 34:6). The exact place of his interment is unknown, but we see a formation of stones that might be an allusion to his gravesite. A Canaanite idol on the opposite side intimates that further struggle against the Canaanite gods is yet to come and the green dots suggest that the Israelites do not know what they will find at the end of their journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, they will continue on to the Promised Land, ready to face the challenges inherent in following the Lord as their God. <\/span><\/p>\n

Artwork by: Avner Moriah, by courtesy of the artist<\/span><\/p>\n

Text by: Dr. Shulamit Laderman, PhD in Art History, publications on Jewish and Christian influences on biblical interpretive illustration.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the entire weekly portion series, please visit:<\/span> https:\/\/avnermoriahprints.com\/collections\/parasha<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":52539,"id":52539,"title":"54 Vezot haberacha","filename":"54-Vezot-haberacha.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/54-Vezot-haberacha.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/vezot-habrakhah-looking-back-looking-forward\/54-vezot-haberacha\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"54-vezot-haberacha","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":52536,"date":"2019-03-31 07:34:22","modified":"2019-03-31 07:34:36","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2001,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/54-Vezot-haberacha-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/54-Vezot-haberacha-240x300.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/54-Vezot-haberacha-768x960.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":960,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/54-Vezot-haberacha-820x1024.jpg","large-width":820,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/54-Vezot-haberacha.jpg","1536x1536-width":1229,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/54-Vezot-haberacha.jpg","2048x2048-width":1639,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/54-Vezot-haberacha-960x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/54-Vezot-haberacha-336x420.jpg","home_baner-width":336,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Ve\u2019zot ha\u2019Brakhah - 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