{"id":64574,"date":"2019-10-22T15:13:46","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T12:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64574"},"modified":"2023-05-16T12:42:03","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T09:42:03","slug":"bittersweet-endings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/bittersweet-endings\/","title":{"rendered":"Bittersweet Endings"},"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":[451,461,890],"acf":{"old_id":"64574","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":49926,"related_cahpter":"334","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"And intimations of redemption from small acts of kindness","content":"

The end of II Kings marks the end of the major narrative portions of the Tanach. One might wish that the story of the Israelites had ended in a happy, celebratory, victorious way, to parallel how that story began, with the Exodus. But if you\u2019ve been reading along with II Kings, you know that the story is going in a very different direction. In fact, on the face of it, this chapter is the most dire of all: Jerusalem is besieged, the city is breached, the Temple is then destroyed, and the people taken into exile. King Zedekiah witnesses his own sons\u2019 execution before having his eyes gouged out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, the last glimmer of hope is snuffed out with the assassination of Gedaliah by fellow Jews.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout this chapter, the events are described in excruciating detail: we\u2019re told the geography of the city as the Babylonians rampage through it, we\u2019re told exhaustively of the spoils they took from the Temple, and we\u2019re given a long list of Judean dignitaries and officials executed by the Babylonian King.<\/span><\/p>\n

The chapter, the book, the story: they all end with a twist. In the last few verses, all the despair and woe of the previous two chapters is set aside: Jehoiachin, formerly king of Judah, current Babylonian captive, is freed from captivity by the new Babylonian king. Not only is he freed, but we learn, in the exacting detail used in the rest of the chapter, that Jehoiachin is treated well and given a special place of honour in the Babylonian court.<\/span><\/p>\n

Decades after his exile, and indeed decades after the destruction of the Temple, there is a glimmer of hope. Jehoiachin\u2019s freedom and elevation are a sign to the reader-in-exile that despite all the evil that has befallen us, times will change, things will get better, kindness will return.<\/span><\/p>\n

One phrase is especially poignant: <\/span>vayedaber ito tovot <\/span><\/em>– <\/span><\/i>\u201cHe spoke kindly to him\u201d. The conquering king\u2019s kind words to Jehoiachin are the match that kindles the fire of hope. These last verses of the Israelite story forecast a renewal of hope, goodness, wholeness, all fueled by a simple kindness. So, it\u2019s true, the story doesn\u2019t end the same way it began. We left Egypt <\/span>beyad ramah<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>proudly and defiantly, our story is renewed with <\/span>tovot<\/span><\/em> with kindness, with simple good things.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The end of the story tells us that new beginnings don\u2019t have to come from miracles and signs and wonders; they can come from small acts of kindness, that together are \u201clike the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","image":{"ID":64575,"id":64575,"title":"2kings25-jehoiachin released","filename":"2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/bittersweet-endings\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2kings25-jehoiachin-released","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64574,"date":"2019-10-22 12:13:34","modified":"2019-10-22 12:13:41","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":551,"height":640,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released-258x300.jpg","medium-width":258,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","medium_large-width":551,"medium_large-height":640,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","large-width":551,"large-height":640,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","1536x1536-width":551,"1536x1536-height":640,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","2048x2048-width":551,"2048x2048-height":640,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","post_full_size-width":551,"post_full_size-height":640,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released-362x420.jpg","home_baner-width":362,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Bittersweet Endings","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"And intimations of redemption from small acts of kindness","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":64575,"id":64575,"title":"2kings25-jehoiachin released","filename":"2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/bittersweet-endings\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2kings25-jehoiachin-released","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64574,"date":"2019-10-22 12:13:34","modified":"2019-10-22 12:13:41","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":551,"height":640,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released-258x300.jpg","medium-width":258,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","medium_large-width":551,"medium_large-height":640,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","large-width":551,"large-height":640,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","1536x1536-width":551,"1536x1536-height":640,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","2048x2048-width":551,"2048x2048-height":640,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released.jpg","post_full_size-width":551,"post_full_size-height":640,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-jehoiachin-released-362x420.jpg","home_baner-width":362,"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\/64574"}],"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=64574"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114925,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64574\/revisions\/114925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}