{"id":63198,"date":"2019-09-19T13:57:23","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T10:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=63198"},"modified":"2023-04-14T14:35:49","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T11:35:49","slug":"elijah-then-and-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/elijah-then-and-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Elijah Then And Now"},"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":[858,511,500,363],"acf":{"old_id":"63198","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33877,"related_cahpter":"311","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"And eventual appearance at the end of days\u2026\r\n\r\n","content":"

In our<\/span> chapter<\/span><\/a>, the Prophet Elijah ascends to heaven in a whirlwind. This is described through the eyes of Elisha: \u201ca fiery chariot with fiery horses suddenly appeared and separated one from the other; and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw it, and he cried out, \u2018Oh, father, father! Israel\u2019s chariots and horsemen!\u2019\u201d (<\/span>II Kings 2:11-12<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

In the<\/span> Talmud Bavli<\/span><\/a>, the 2<\/span>nd<\/span> century CE Tanna, Rabbi Yose, casts doubt as to whether Moses and Elijah ever really ascended to heaven: \u201cMoses and Elijah never actually ascended to heaven on high, as it is stated: \u2018The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, and the earth He gave to the children of man\u2019 (<\/span>Psalms 115:16<\/span><\/a>). But there the Gemara counters from Scripture: \u201cBut isn\u2019t it written: \u2018Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind\u2019?! (<\/span>II Kings 2:11<\/span><\/a>). Consequently, according to<\/span> Derekh Eretz Zuta<\/span><\/a>, Elijah is listed among those few \u201cwho entered the Garden of Eden alive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to<\/span> Seder Olam Rabbah<\/span><\/a>, Elijah is hidden away, and will not be seen again until the coming of the Messiah. But at present, in heaven, Elijah records the deeds of all the generations of mankind in the heavenly Books.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Biblical and Rabbinic tradition, Elijah is renowned for his zealousness as we learn in his answer to God: \u201cI am moved by zeal for the Lord, the God of Hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant\u201d (<\/span>I Kings 19:10<\/span><\/a>). This verse is the basis for the custom of<\/span> Kisse’ Eliyahu<\/span><\/a><\/em>, first mentioned in<\/span> Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer<\/span><\/a>, as instituted by the Sages, that people should have a <\/span>seat of honor<\/em> <\/span>for the \u201cAngel of the Covenant\u201d (<\/span>Mal\u2019akh ha-Brit<\/span><\/em>)<\/span><\/i> at every <\/span>Brit Milah<\/em> <\/span>(circumcision ceremony). For it is Elijah, may he be remembered for good, who is called the \u201cAngel of the Covenant”, as it is said, “And the Angel of the Covenant\u2026Behold, he cometh” (<\/span>Malachi 3:1<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

In the prophecy of Malachi, we read: \u201cLo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the Lord. He shall reconcile parents with children and children with their parents\u201d (<\/span>Malachi 2:23-24<\/span><\/a>). Elijah will appear to announce the imminent coming of the Messiah. Indeed, at the End of Days, Elijah at the Messiah’s command, will blow the Great Shofar, revealing the Primal Light of Creation, reviving the dead, and rebuilding the Temple. His arrival will banish all evil from the earth: God will seize Samael (Satan) by the hair of his head and Elijah will slaughter him (see Yalqut Hadash, Yetzer 20).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And so, at the Passover seder, a full cup of wine (<\/span>Kos Eliyahu<\/span><\/i>) is set out on the table, but not drunk, in expectation of the prophet’s arrival to announce the dawn of the Messianic Age. And similarly, at the Havdalah ceremony, we sing that Elijah will come to usher in the final eternal Shabbat of the Messianic Age.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image:\u00a0 Elijah\u2019s Chair<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":63199,"id":63199,"title":"2kings2-elijah's chair","filename":"2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/elijah-then-and-now\/2kings2-elijahs-chair\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2kings2-elijahs-chair","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":63198,"date":"2019-09-19 10:56:59","modified":"2023-04-05 13:53:39","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":698,"height":868,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair-241x300.jpg","medium-width":241,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","medium_large-width":698,"medium_large-height":868,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","large-width":698,"large-height":868,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","1536x1536-width":698,"1536x1536-height":868,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","2048x2048-width":698,"2048x2048-height":868,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","post_full_size-width":698,"post_full_size-height":868,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair-338x420.jpg","home_baner-width":338,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Elijah\u2019s Ascension to Heaven","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"And eventual appearance at the end of days\u2026","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":63199,"id":63199,"title":"2kings2-elijah's chair","filename":"2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/elijah-then-and-now\/2kings2-elijahs-chair\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2kings2-elijahs-chair","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":63198,"date":"2019-09-19 10:56:59","modified":"2023-04-05 13:53:39","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":698,"height":868,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair-241x300.jpg","medium-width":241,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","medium_large-width":698,"medium_large-height":868,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","large-width":698,"large-height":868,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","1536x1536-width":698,"1536x1536-height":868,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","2048x2048-width":698,"2048x2048-height":868,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair.jpg","post_full_size-width":698,"post_full_size-height":868,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-elijahs-chair-338x420.jpg","home_baner-width":338,"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\/63198"}],"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=63198"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114123,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63198\/revisions\/114123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}