{"id":74439,"date":"2020-05-07T20:29:06","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T17:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=74439"},"modified":"2020-05-07T20:29:06","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T17:29:06","slug":"where-there-are-no-comforters-there-is-no-mourning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/where-there-are-no-comforters-there-is-no-mourning\/","title":{"rendered":"Where There Are No Comforters, There Is No Mourning\u00a0"},"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":[],"acf":{"old_id":"74439","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38322,"related_cahpter":"476","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"But there is an endemic self-centeredness at the core of Israelite society\r\n","content":"

God commissions Ezekiel to perform a shocking form of \u201cstreet theatre\u201d, transforming his own life into an embodied portent (<\/span>mofet<\/span><\/i> v. 24) of Israel\u2019s future. He must suppress any customary mourning rites at the loss of his own wife! In contemporary terms Ezekiel was compelled to abstain from sitting <\/span>shiva<\/span><\/i> or any of its overt expressions of grief. Jewish mourning customs are in fact derived from those from which Ezekiel is commanded to desist (<\/span>Moed Katan <\/span><\/i>15a).<\/span><\/p>\n

Rashi understands Ezekiel\u2019s restraint as a symbolic allusion to the punishing extent of the destruction. It portends death so all-encompassing that \u201cthere will not be even one person who is not a mourner and there can be no mourning where there are no comforters.\u201d However, there is another allusive layer to Ezekiel\u2019s strange behaviour. The prospect of no comforters for those in need of comfort mirrors an endemic self-centeredness at the core of Israelite society. Those who enjoy privileged positions capable of providing comfort do not provide it for the disadvantaged who need it like orphans, widows, immigrants, defenseless family members, and the elderly, as described in 22:6-12.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ezekiel\u2019s repeated phrase \u201ceye\u2019s desire\u201d (<\/span>machmad ayin<\/span><\/i>) exposes this moral breakdown when read in light of its only other appearance in a prior biblical narrative. In I Kings 20, Ahab, king of Israel, hastily surrenders to the foreign king Ben-Hadad\u2019s sabre rattling demands to submit everything to his control, including economic (<\/span>gold, silver<\/span><\/i>) and human resources, (<\/span>the choicest wives and children<\/span><\/i>). However, once Ben Hadad clarifies that his demand intends invading the king\u2019s own house and wives for the \u201cdesires of your eyes\u201d- <\/span>My underlings will come tomorrow and search through your palace<\/span><\/i> (I Kings 20:6)- Ahab reconsiders his submission and consults with his elders deciding on a policy of resistance rather than capitulation. Ben Hadad\u2019s subtle addition of the phrase resonates with Ahab\u2019s personal possessions and relationships which prompts him to an about-face. Only the stark realization of losing his own \u201cdesires\u201d changed his initial willingness to sell his nation out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps this is the meaning of Ezekiel\u2019s use of the same phrase to identify those three most cherished objects the people stand to lose- spouse ( v.16), Temple (v.21), and children (v 25). It emphasizes their tunnel vision fixated solely on their personal relationships whether in social or religious contexts. Their eyes are directed inward, toward their own families. Their Temple dedication is self-serving, manipulated to attract divine benefits for themselves. Ezekiel cites God\u2019s possessive form \u201cMy Temple\u201d almost exclusively in prophetic literature, appearing in his book fifteen out of the sixteen times in the entire biblical corpus outside of Leviticus. This possessive provides a particular corrective to the popular distorted view of the spiritual centre as the \u201cpeople\u2019s\u201d, a magical place to exploit for glory and gain, rather than God\u2019s (Mine) and dedication to His commandments.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are indeed no authentic comforters anywhere to be found and so there can be no mourners for the loss of their \u201ceyes desires.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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