{"id":54510,"date":"2019-04-29T17:21:17","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T14:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=54510"},"modified":"2022-11-21T15:49:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T13:49:40","slug":"levites-humble-servants-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/levites-humble-servants-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Levites, Humble Servants Of God"},"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":[384,796,401,868],"acf":{"old_id":"54510","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":53309,"related_cahpter":"208","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The Levite\u2019s life should be the life of every thoughtful person","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While we tend to focus upon the pomp and privilege of the tribe of Levy, one cannot but be struck by the contrasting formulation of Maimonides. For him, man&#8217;s highest calling is not the service of the earth or the pursuit of its bounty; these are only the means to an end. Fortunate is the man who is able to transcend them, casting off the petty concerns that consume the majority of our lives and distract us from our true calling: to serve God and to comprehend His ways. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Maimonides&#8217;s reading, the Levites represent an ideal that ought to inspire every man in every place at every time, in spite of the fact that the practice of the Levitical cities has been dormant for thousands of years. But the life of a biblical Levite is often a life of subsistence, for though God never fails to provide, He rarely enriches. The Levite&#8217;s goal, however, and by extension the goal of every thoughtful person, ought not to be material excess that breeds spiritual torpor, but rather sufficiency, contentment, and the ultimate meaning that only awareness of God can bestow. The designation of the Levitical cities was the first attempt in human history to foster not the rejection of the world or its debasement, but rather a more profound understanding of what ought to be our ideal relationship towards it. The prophet Malachi expressed the matter best:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My covenant was with him, the life and the peace, and I gave them to him to revere Me, for before My name he shows deference. True teaching was in his mouth and there was no iniquity upon his lips; he walked with Me in peace and honesty and turned many away from transgression. For the lips of the priest preserve knowledge, and guidance shall be sought from him, for he is like an angel of the Lord of hosts. (Mal. 2:5-7) <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Joshua: The Challenge of the Promised Land<\/em> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Jerusalem: Koren, 2015); <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chapter: \u201cCities of Refuge and Levite Cities\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: Yehudah Halevi, by Benno Elkan, The Knesset Menorah &#8211; photo by: Tamar HaYardeni \/ wikimedia.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":54511,"id":54511,"title":"jo21-levi with lyre","filename":"jo21-levi-with-lyre.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levi-with-lyre.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/levites-humble-servants-of-god\/jo21-levi-with-lyre\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jo21-levi-with-lyre","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":54510,"date":"2019-04-29 14:21:04","modified":"2021-04-11 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