{"id":61514,"date":"2019-08-20T13:15:42","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T10:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=61514"},"modified":"2023-03-14T12:22:55","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T10:22:55","slug":"be-a-man-but-what-does-that-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/be-a-man-but-what-does-that-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBe A Man\u201d – But What Does That Mean"},"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":[614,503,918],"acf":{"old_id":"61514","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":56290,"related_cahpter":"289","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"What kind of men do we want our sons to become?\u00a0","content":"

\u201cAs King David\u2019s death was drawing near, he tells his son explicitly what men have been telling their sons implicitly for as long as we know: \u201cBe strong and be a man.\u201d Are the two equivalent?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tanakh is full of blessings from father to son. Isaac blesses Jacob. Jacob blesses his grandsons. David continues in the tradition, blessing his child and charging him to follow in the ways of God, and adhering to the Torah\u2019s commandments.<\/span><\/p>\n

But his first words are more basic. \u201cChazak! – Be Strong!! Man up!!\u201d\u00a0 What does this charge mean? What is King David telling us it means to be a man?<\/span><\/p>\n

Western culture has long understood \u201cbeing a man\u201d to mean being a strong, silent type. Work hard, provide, be tough, no feelings, John Wayne-rugged. The Jewish ideal man is almost the opposite: learned, pale, weak, an intellectual.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What kind of men do we want our sons to become? Feminists are rightly pointing out that we often teach our daughters how to avoid being raped, rather than teach our sons not to rape, not to view women as objects. As Jews, we want our sons to value our heritage; like King David, we urge them to guard our traditions and relationship with God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Solomon has a heavy task in front of him: leading the nation in the wake of his powerful and popular father\u2019s death. The succession has not been an easy one, nor will the next steps be clear. David goes further than just urging Solomon to follow God\u2019s path. He tells Solomon that if he, and Solomon\u2019s descendants, are scrupulous in doing God\u2019s will, David\u2019s line will endure forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is both a remarkable promise, and a heavy burden. \u201cDo it right son,\u201d David implores, \u201cand you ensure my legacy forever.\u201d But, he implies, if Solomon messes up, it will not just be his failure; it will destroy the family\u2019s place in history.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the burden we place on our sons. \u201cBe strong. Be a man.\u201d There is no room for failure.\u00a0 There is no room to be hesitant, unsure. Do not appear weak; that is the way of women. Vulnerability will destroy you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In many ways Solomon follows this advice. He builds the Temple and a huge palace for himself. He has 600 wives, horses galore, riches beyond imagination. He is strong, he is mighty, he is a man.<\/span><\/p>\n

But one of the stories we most remember Solomon for shows his other side. Two women come before him, arguing over whose baby is alive. King Solomon understands, intuitively, that the real mother would do anything \u2014 even give up her baby \u2014 so as not to hurt the small infant. He shows he knows what love is, how a parent feels for her child.<\/span><\/p>\n

This, too, is being a man. Teaching our daughters and SONS to love, to be vulnerable, to respect one another, and as well as being capable, smart, and learned in God\u2019s laws.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":61515,"id":61515,"title":"1kings2-father son","filename":"1kings2-father-son.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/be-a-man-but-what-does-that-mean\/1kings2-father-son\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"1kings2-father-son","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":61514,"date":"2019-08-20 10:15:26","modified":"2019-08-20 10:15:40","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":640,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-150x300.png","medium-width":150,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-512x1024.png","medium_large-width":512,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-512x1024.png","large-width":512,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son.png","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son.png","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-600x1200.png","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-father-son-210x420.png","home_baner-width":210,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"\u201cBe A Man\u201d - 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