{"id":70437,"date":"2020-02-19T17:40:06","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T15:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=70437"},"modified":"2022-05-16T16:22:06","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T13:22:06","slug":"mishpatim-the-guardian-angel-the-terror-and-the-plague","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/mishpatim-the-guardian-angel-the-terror-and-the-plague\/","title":{"rendered":"Mishpatim: The Guardian Angel, The Terror And The Plague"},"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":[368,369],"acf":{"old_id":"70437","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":46171,"related_cahpter":"1084","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"At least they're on our side\u2026","content":"<p>In his painting for <em>Parashat Mishpatim<\/em>, Avner Moriah visualizes the epilogue to Moses recounting God\u2019s laws. The picture is divided into three registers, each showing a range of hills in the background, a procession of people and animals painted blue on the right, and warriors in brown on the left. In the top register the Israelites are being led by a winged angel, figured with a raised staff. In the two lower registers we see a monstrous hybrid with wings and a dragon-like tail and feet, one breathing fire and the other blowing smoke to ward off the enemy.<\/p>\n<p>What do these scenes imply and how are they related to the ordinances that Moses announced earlier to the Israelites? What do the different figures represent?<\/p>\n<p>Upon concluding his instructions, Moses delivers the most important message of all: the importance of obedience to God and following His laws. He tells the people that they will encounter many dangers on their journey to the Promised Land and that they will surely need God\u2019s help. He reminds them in the strongest terms that they are not to worship other deities or copy the practices of the other peoples they will meet. Moses assures the Israelites that if they obey God, He will send an angel to guard them: \u201cI am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have made ready\u201d (Exod. 23:20).<\/p>\n<p>The angel in the top register is a visualization of this promise. The Israelites are serene, as they know that the angel is protecting them from their enemies. The monstrous hybrids seen in the two lower registers illustrate the continuation of the promise: \u201cI will send forth My terror before you\u2026 I will make all your enemies turn their tail before you. And I will send the plague <em>tsir&#8217;ah<\/em>\u00a0ahead of you, and it shall drive out before you the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite\u201d (Exod.23:27\u2013 28).<\/p>\n<p>The plague is thought to be a type of frightening pest that caused people to flee in panic. The artist uses a dragon-like figure to visualize the words \u201cterror\u201d in the middle register and \u201cplague\u201d in the bottom one. The two parallel creatures suggest a mysterious and terrifying weapon against the enemy.<\/p>\n<p>The monstrous hybrids of ox and dragon that he creates to visualize such a weapon seem to feature a few points of reference. They may refer back to \u201cthe goring ox\u201d in the <em>parasha<\/em>: \u201cWhen an ox gores a man or a woman to death\u201d (Exod. 22:28) and to the several ordinances concerning oxen found there. It might also hint at the calamitous episode of the Golden Calf, wherein the Israelites defied God\u2019s commands. Finally, that one of the animals is figured breathing fire and the other blowing smoke alludes to the pillar of fire and cloud that protected the escaping Israelites from the Egyptians.<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":70443,"id":70443,"title":"18 Mishpatim","filename":"18-Mishpatim.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/18-Mishpatim.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/mishpatim-the-guardian-angel-the-terror-and-the-plague\/18-mishpatim\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"18-mishpatim","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":70437,"date":"2020-02-19 15:39:41","modified":"2020-02-19 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