{"id":80525,"date":"2020-09-29T16:57:08","date_gmt":"2020-09-29T13:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=80525"},"modified":"2020-09-29T16:57:08","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T13:57:08","slug":"every-end-a-beginning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/every-end-a-beginning\/","title":{"rendered":"Every End, A Beginning"},"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":"80525","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64450,"related_cahpter":"579","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Gemar tov: may it be a good completion\r\n\r\n","content":"

In Psalm 12, the Psalmist prays for salvation from the situation where he cannot find reliable people:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHelp, O LORD! For the faithful are no more; the loyal have vanished from among men.\u201d (Psalm 12:2)<\/span><\/p>\n

The translation that the \u201cfaithful are no more\u201d is not very literal. Another translation, \u201cthe devoted one has ceased\u201d captures better the Hebrew sentence structure \u2013 <\/span>ki gamar chassid<\/span><\/em>. The word <\/span>gamar<\/span><\/em>\u00a0in this verse means \u201cceased,\u201d and by extension can mean \u201cwas destroyed\u201d or \u201cis no more.\u201d This negative connotation is found in other Biblical uses of <\/span>gamar<\/span><\/em>, including Psalms 7:10 and 77:9.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, after the biblical period, <\/span>gamar<\/span><\/em>\u00a0has a more positive meaning. Instead of referring to the cessation of something, it could indicate bringing something to its desirable completion.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is how it used in the rabbinic collection of ethics, Pirkei Avot: \u201cIt is not your duty to finish <\/span>ligmor<\/span><\/em>\u00a0the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it\u201d (Avot 2:16)<\/span><\/p>\n

The sense of \u201ccompletion\u201d gives us the phrases <\/span>legamrei<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>– \u201ccompletely\u201d and <\/span>v\u2019gomer<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u2013 \u201cthe conclusion (of a verse).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

From conclusion in general, <\/span>gamar<\/span><\/em>\u00a0came to mean complete understanding \u2013 that is, \u201cto learn.\u201d This is the source of the word <\/span>gemara<\/span><\/em>. It literally means \u201cstudy,\u201d and it composes the results of the discussions of the rabbis who were studying the earlier rabbinic text, the mishna. Talmud, which contains both the mishna and gemara, also means \u201clearning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We recently celebrated Yom Kippur, and the customary blessing for that holy day is <\/span>gmar chatima tova<\/span><\/em>. <\/span>Chatima<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>means \u201csealing,\u201d so the phrase can be understood as \u201cmay the completion of your sealing be for good.\u201d This image derives from a metaphor of God inscribing our fate in the Book of Life on Rosh HaShanah, and then sealing the book on Yom Kippur.<\/span><\/p>\n

One way or another, every year comes to an end. Sometimes a bad year will be over, and we are relieved that it finally ceased. Other years bring the satisfaction of bringing projects to completion. And often we don\u2019t succeed in finishing everything we started. But every ending is also a new beginning. So <\/span>gmar chatima tova<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0– and may God help us in the year to come!<\/span><\/p>\n

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