{"id":55090,"date":"2019-05-07T13:16:33","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T10:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=55090"},"modified":"2022-11-29T16:11:03","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T14:11:03","slug":"a-right-left-confusion-going-back-to-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-right-left-confusion-going-back-to-lot\/","title":{"rendered":"A Right-Left Confusion Going Back To Lot"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After burying his hatchet in King Eglon, Ehud scrambles to escape not only the palace, but the Biblical page, as well. The verse after his exit contains the confusing locution \u201c<\/span>when he was gone out, his servants came.\u201d The first pronoun refers to Ehud and the second to the late king. Neither is mentioned by name. Eglon is an un-person. Ehud is an escape artist. The only other mention of Ehud\u2019s name is \u201cEhud had escaped\u201d (v. 26). Sounding the shofar, gathering an army, winning the war — these are recorded as if they performed themselves. Even the succession – <\/span>After him was Shamgar \u00a0<\/span><\/em>(v. 31) – is anonymous. Ehud was reluctant to ascend the stage of history and eager to disappear into its wings. <\/span><\/p>\n

His very name reflects his self-effacement: The acronym of Ehud ben Gera is <\/span>Alef, Bet, Gimmel<\/span><\/em>.<\/em> The remaining letters of \u00a0his name are <\/span>Dalet, Heh, Vav<\/span><\/em>. His essence is malleable letters in the hand of the Almighty, master wordsmith. He is willing to shift shape when a mission calls, but just as ready to revert to primordial, inchoate, letters once again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ehud\u2019s most salient feature is his left-handedness. Granted it is a helpful plot device, enabling him to get past the metal detectors of the age. Perhaps it is more. The progenitor of Moab is Lot the nephew of Abraham. When strife divides the shepherds of Abraham and those of Lot, Abraham offers Lot a choice: \u201cIf you go to the left (=north), I will go to the right (=south); if you go to the right, I will go to the left.\u201d (Gen. 13:9) Lot\u2019s choice leads him to Sodom, and ultimately to the birth of Moab. The original cause of the strife, according to the Rabbis, is the sense of entitlement to the land harbored by Lot and his men. Now Lot\u2019s descendants come to reverse the gift of the land, retaking Jericho, the first city Joshua conquered. Ehud comes not merely to reverse their military gains, but to cure the right-left confusion of their ancestor, Lot. And because he does his work almost anonymously, not even entitled to an extra mention of his name, he earns his people the longest period of peace in the entire Book of Judges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peace is the portion of the self-effacing.<\/span><\/p>\n

And the land was tranquil for eighty years.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":55091,"id":55091,"title":"jud3-right-left","filename":"jud3-right-left.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud3-right-left.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-right-left-confusion-going-back-to-lot\/jud3-right-left\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jud3-right-left","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":55090,"date":"2019-05-07 10:16:20","modified":"2019-05-07 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