{"id":77366,"date":"2020-07-13T18:44:38","date_gmt":"2020-07-13T15:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=77366"},"modified":"2020-07-13T18:44:38","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T15:44:38","slug":"dirshuni-seek-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/dirshuni-seek-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Dirshuni – Seek Me\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":"77366","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33877,"related_cahpter":"523","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"But how?\u00a0\r\n\r\n","content":"

At the beginning of our chapter, Amos calls to the people of Israel to hear his lamentation (q<\/em><\/span>inah<\/span><\/em>), in effect performing their funeral while they are still alive! (Amos 5:1-3). This is immediately followed by the Prophet\u2019s exhortation to Israel how nevertheless to remain among the living: \u201cThus said the Lord to the House of Israel: Seek Me, and you will live\u201d (verse 4).<\/span><\/p>\n

This verse is employed in an extensive Talmudic discussion of the number of commandments given by God to Israel (Talmud Bavli Makkot 23b-24a). This discussion begins with the famous statement of Rabbi Simlai: 613 commandments were spoken to Moses, 365 negative commandments (i.e. of the \u201cYou shall not do\u201d type), corresponding to the number of days in the year, and 248 positive commandments, corresponding to the number of parts of the human body\u2026<\/span>
\n<\/span>David came and reduced the 613 commandments to 11 (see Psalms Chapter 15). <\/span>
\n<\/span>Isaiah came and reduced them to six (see Isaiah 33:15-16). <\/span>
\n<\/span>Micah came and reduced them to three, as it is written: \u201cHe has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice, and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God\u201d (Micah 6:8). <\/span>
\n<\/span>But then Isaiah returned and reduced the commandments to two, as it is written: \u201cThus said the Lord: Observe what is right and do what is just\u201d. <\/span>
\n<\/span>Finally, Amos came and reduced all the 613 commandments to just one: \u201cThus said the Lord to the House of Israel: Seek Me, and you will live\u201d (Amos 5:4).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Rav Nahman bar Yitzchaq raised an objection: This verse from Amos does not really reduce all the 613 commandments in the Torah to just one, for it is not explained specifically what in God\u2019s\u00a0 word is to be sought. Rather, say that it was Habakkuk who came and based all 613 commandments on just one commandment: \u201cThe righteous man shall live by his faith\u201d (Habakkuk 2:4).<\/span><\/p>\n

Significantly, the one Biblical expression <\/span>Dirshuni<\/em> <\/span>\u2013 \u201cSeek Me\u201d (Amos 5:4) was recently selected as the title of a remarkable collection of modern midrash by Israeli women (<\/span>Dirshuni \u2013 Israeli Women Writing Midrash,<\/em> <\/span>edited by Nehama Weingarten-Mintz and Tamar Biala, Volume I 2009, Volume 2 2018). Here the divine command, <\/span>Dirshuni<\/span><\/em>, is understood midrashically as a call to create original midrash in our day.<\/span><\/p>\n

image:\u00a0Dirshuni, <\/em>cover image of Weingarten-Mintz and Biala’s book.<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":77367,"id":77367,"title":"amos5-dirshuni2","filename":"amos5-dirshuni2.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-dirshuni2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/dirshuni-seek-me\/amos5-dirshuni2\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"amos5-dirshuni2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":77366,"date":"2020-07-13 15:43:12","modified":"2020-07-13 15:43:21","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":506,"height":288,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-dirshuni2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-dirshuni2-300x171.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-dirshuni2.jpg","medium_large-width":506,"medium_large-height":288,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-dirshuni2.jpg","large-width":506,"large-height":288,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-dirshuni2.jpg","1536x1536-width":506,"1536x1536-height":288,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-dirshuni2.jpg","2048x2048-width":506,"2048x2048-height":288,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-dirshuni2.jpg","post_full_size-width":506,"post_full_size-height":288,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-dirshuni2.jpg","home_baner-width":506,"home_baner-height":288}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Dirshuni - 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