{"id":68341,"date":"2020-01-08T23:52:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T21:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=68341"},"modified":"2023-07-31T14:32:18","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T11:32:18","slug":"seeking-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/seeking-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeking Connection"},"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":[459,384,581,778],"acf":{"old_id":"68341","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":49926,"related_cahpter":"389","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Especially in times of rupture and disconnect\r\n\r\n","content":"<p>On fast days, we read part of Isaiah 55 (and Isaiah 56) as the <em>haftarah <\/em>at <em>minchah<\/em>. What do these chapters have to do with these fast days?<\/p>\n<p>The main message of the latter half of Isaiah 55 (v.5-13) is that God is eternal and merciful. The prophet tells us to \u201cSeek the LORD while He can be found, Call to Him while He is near\u201d (v.5). When we seek the Lord, the prophet goes on to tell us, we realize that God is so vastly different from us that we cannot possibly understand God. Nevertheless, he reassures us that God will take care of us: \u201cyou shall leave in joy and be led home secure\u201d (v.12).<\/p>\n<p>Most of our fast days commemorate part of the process of the destruction of the Temple. The pain of that loss, that has echoed through the generations, is the pain of disconnection. The loss of the Temple, of God\u2019s House, was ruptured our ability to connect with God. Our physical dispersion and physical oppression led to spiritual exile and spiritual withdrawal.<\/p>\n<p>So, on these fast days, we read the message of the prophet who tells us to nevertheless seek out God. The rupture isn\u2019t permanent, isn\u2019t eternal. It only <em>feels<\/em> like God is far away. Seek out God when God can be found, says the prophet. I can always be found, says God, if only you would seek me out! \u201ccome to me\u201d, says God (v.3). God may feel far away, may be far beyond our understanding, but in this chapter, God reminds us that that doesn\u2019t prevent us from connecting, doesn\u2019t prevent us from seeking God out.<\/p>\n<p>The final verse of the chapter reinforces the hopeful message: \u201cInstead of the brier, a cypress shall rise; Instead of the nettle, a myrtle shall rise.\u201d Our cruel, tangled spiritual exile will end, will be replaced by strong, rooted connection, if only we seek out God. When we do that, \u201cthese shall stand as a testimony to the Lord, as an everlasting sign that shall not perish.\u201d It is by seeking out the connection, by reaching out to that which we do not understand, that we can truly feel the presence of God.<\/p>\n<p>On fast days of all days, the days where we are actively thinking about the historical disconnection and rupture from God, we need to recall this message most of all. When God feels the farthest away, the prophet\u2019s message has the most meaning.<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":68342,"id":68342,"title":"is55-frayed","filename":"is55-frayed.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is55-frayed.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/seeking-connection\/is55-frayed\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is55-frayed","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":68341,"date":"2020-01-08 21:51:51","modified":"2020-06-12 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