{"id":78959,"date":"2020-08-18T16:29:49","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T13:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=78959"},"modified":"2020-08-18T16:29:49","modified_gmt":"2020-08-18T13:29:49","slug":"a-message-for-rosh-chodesh-elul-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-message-for-rosh-chodesh-elul-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"A Message For Rosh Chodesh Elul, This Week"},"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":[],"acf":{"old_id":"78959","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":36303,"related_cahpter":"549","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"From 2540 years ago...\r\n\r\n","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Haggai is the first of the three\u00a0 prophets recognized as the prophets of \u201c<em>Shivat Tziyon<\/em>\u201d \u2013 The Return of (the exiles) to Zion from Babylon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Haggai prophecies in the second year of King Darius the Great, 520 BCE, or 66 years and three weeks after the destruction of the First Temple.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number of the returnees is small, there have been years of drought, and the economic situation is harsh. The people are understandably dejected and despairing of their lives in Judah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Haggai 1:1 dates his first prophecy on the 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the 6<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> month; or, as we now tell the months, the first of Elul. Rosh Chodesh, a day when a lack of temple ritual (for it has not yet been rebuilt) would be felt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Haggai speaks to the priests, leaders, and apparently the people, too, about the prevalent attitude that holds that these difficult times are no time to build a temple. Their reality influences their choices and perception of proper order of action. Haggai provides them with an alternative explanation of reality. In verse 6 he demonstrates that no matter what they eat, drink, or wear, they are still hungry, thirsty and cold. From v.9 on he explains that it\u2019s not that their physical wants prevent them from building the temple, it\u2019s their decision to not build that is holding them back in want. \u201cYou\u2019ve been expecting much and getting little, and when you brought it home, I would blow on it! \u2026 Because of My house which lies in ruins, while you all hurry to your own houses!\u201d Thus he explains the droughts and unusually hot weather they\u2019ve experienced, and also stresses that this will be the case until they take positive action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Haggai, in God\u2019s name, sends them to the mountains to gather building materials, and next thing you know, the Jews and their leaders, Zerubbabel and High Priest Yehoshua are all doing his bidding. 23 days later, on the 24<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the 6<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> month \u2013\u00a0 Elul &#8211; (6 days before Rosh Hashanah), they have got all the materials gathered and are prepared to begin building. The text relates that their fear of God and adherence to Haggai\u2019s prophecy elicits God\u2019s assurance of the reversal of their fate when \u201cHaggai, the Lord\u2019s messenger, \u2026 spoke to the people: \u201cI am with you \u2013 declares the Lord\u201d (verse 13).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The message Haggai gave on the 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Elul resonated loud and fast, and the people decided to try his suggested way. Within 3 weeks they changed their way of thinking and their actions and in essence created a paradigm for the month of Elul as the month of soul searching, repentance, change of personal and national conduct, and forgiveness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":78960,"id":78960,"title":"hag1-elul","filename":"hag1-elul.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hag1-elul.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-message-for-rosh-chodesh-elul-this-week\/hag1-elul\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"hag1-elul","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":78959,"date":"2020-08-18 13:29:11","modified":"2020-08-18 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