{"id":66784,"date":"2019-12-10T13:22:02","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T11:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=66784"},"modified":"2023-07-03T17:21:11","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T14:21:11","slug":"the-desert-shall-bloom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-desert-shall-bloom\/","title":{"rendered":"The Desert Shall Bloom"},"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":[539,363,360,403],"acf":{"old_id":"66784","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33877,"related_cahpter":"369","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Inspiring eschatology, but is it good ecology?","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our chapter begins with the prophetic promise: \u201cThe desert and the parched land will be joyful; the wilderness will rejoice and bloom\u201d (Isaiah 35:1). But this is only the beginning, as Isaiah goes on to describe in great detail.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rabbinic sages saw Isaiah\u2019s prophecy as a vision of the future redemption. According to Midrash Tanhuma Devarim 1: <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhen the Holy One, blessed be He, reveals His Shekhinah to Israel, He does not appear to them all at once, because they would not be able to bear such bounty at one time and would perish from such an overwhelming experience. See what is written: \u2018Never had they heard or perceived; no eye had seen, O God, but You, who shows Himself for those who wait for Him\u2019 (Isaiah 64:3). So, the Holy One reveals Himself to Israel gradually. First, He causes the desert to be joyful, as it says: \u2018The desert and the parched land will be joyful.\u2019 And then \u2018the wilderness will rejoice and bloom like the lily\u2019 (Isaiah 35:1). After that \u2018Verily, it [the desert] will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.\u2019 After this \u2018The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon\u2019 (verse 2). And only then \u2018they [Israel] shall see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God\u2019\u201d (continuation of verse 2).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Talmud Bavli Yoma 39b, <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8230;when King Solomon built the Temple, he planted in it all sorts of golden trees that brought forth fruit in their season. When the wind would blow through their branches, these fruits would drop, as it is said: \u2018Its fruits would rustle like Lebanon\u2019 (Psalms 72:16). This golden fruit would then provide a living for the priests. Alas, when the enemy entered the Sanctuary, these golden fruits dried up, as it is said: \u2018The blossoms of Lebanon wither\u2019 (Nahum 1:4). But, the Holy One, blessed be He, will restore them to us, as it is said: \u2018The desert and the parched land will be joyful; the wilderness will rejoice and bloom. The wilderness will rejoice and bloom like the lily. Verily, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it\u2019\u201d (Isaiah 35:1-2).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was the hope of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of the newly established State of Israel, to \u201cmake the desert bloom\u201d. In 1953, he left office and moved to Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev with his wife Paula, to become members of this new collective settlement. He believed that such pioneering efforts fulfilled his Zionist vision to turn the desert into productive farm land. There are those, however, who in retrospect believe that the desert, which is its own natural ecosystem, is best left to bloom on its own.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":66785,"id":66785,"title":"is35-desert flowers","filename":"is35-desert-flowers.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is35-desert-flowers.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-desert-shall-bloom\/is35-desert-flowers\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is35-desert-flowers","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":66784,"date":"2019-12-10 11:21:47","modified":"2019-12-10 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