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Moreover, the account of destruction and ruin in Chronicles does not mention any of the other specific details threatened in Leviticus, for example \u201cthough you eat, you shall not be satisfied\u201d (26:26). Something about the sabbatical year is different.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The verses in Leviticus and Chronicles both specify that while the People of Israel are in exile, the Land of Israel will get the rest it deserves but missed when the sabbatical years were not observed properly. This highlights the restorative, ecological aspect of the commandment. Whether concentrated desolation has the same restorative value for the soil as cyclical fallowing, I do not know. The ecological message to humanity is clearer: there is no free lunch. 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Since his retirement, he has been involved in various writing and educational projects.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":70716,"alt":"","title":"judry subar","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","medium_large-width":400,"medium_large-height":400,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","large-width":400,"large-height":400,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","1536x1536-width":400,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","2048x2048-width":400,"2048x2048-height":400,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","post_full_size-width":400,"post_full_size-height":400,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","home_baner-width":400,"home_baner-height":400}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"929","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The 70 years of Sabbaths at the end, and the 7th Day at the Beginning\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<ul style=\"list-style-type: circle;\">\r\n\t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seventy descendants of Noah (Genesis 10; Midrash Tehillim 9:8).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seventy of Jacob\u2019s descendants were alive during his lifetime (Exodus 1:5).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seventy elders (Numbers 11:16).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seventy annual holy days mentioned in the Torah \u2013 fifty-two Sabbaths and eighteen holidays \u2013 and seventy divine names (Bamidbar Rabba 14:12).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seventy years as a typical biblical lifespan\u00a0 (Psalms 90:10).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And at (almost) the very end of the Bible (2 Chronicles 36:21) we read about the seventy years that the Land of Israel lay low, waiting for its inhabitants to return after the destruction of Judah.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The seventy years of exile are mentioned prophetically throughout the Tanach, but the reference to a frequently recurring number at the end of Chronicles accomplishes more than to point out a fulfillment of prophecies. In its repetition in the Bible\u2019s concluding passage, the number draws our attention back to earlier references to the number, and then across the arc of all of scripture as it meanders from narrative to law to moral musing.\u00a0 As we think about the entirety of the Bible, we might contemplate its opening lines and ask if we can find a link between the end and the beginning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We read at the end of Chronicles that the land rested during its seventy years of desolation, and that the land desired its Sabbaths. Verse 21 of the book\u2019s final chapter seems to mirror the Torah\u2019s first story, in which we read that God pulled the Earth from the desolate void, decreed the generation of light and life, and then established the first Sabbath.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the mention of God\u2019s Sabbath in Genesis, and of the Sabbaths of the land in Chronicles, isn\u2019t the only parallel between Genesis 1 and 2 Chronicles 36. After all, each bit of Torah has seventy facets (Bamidbar Rabba 13:16); multiple connections between the passages shouldn\u2019t be much of a surprise. Chapter 36 concludes with two verses repeated from the Book of Ezra describing Cyrus of Persia\u2019s decree that the Jews who had been exiled to Babylonia should return home and restore the Temple. Just as the Bible begins by describing how the universe was divinely instructed to change itself from nothingness into reality, the Bible ends with a human instruction, issued to other humans, directing them to look back at the world that they\u2019d been given and to look ahead at the world that they could build.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54844,"alt":"","title":"jo24-circle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/gif","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","width":580,"height":493,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle-150x150.gif","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle-300x255.gif","medium-width":300,"medium-height":255,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","medium_large-width":580,"medium_large-height":493,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","large-width":580,"large-height":493,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","1536x1536-width":580,"1536x1536-height":493,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","2048x2048-width":580,"2048x2048-height":493,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","post_full_size-width":580,"post_full_size-height":493,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle-494x420.gif","home_baner-width":494,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Closing The Circle","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The 70 years of Sabbaths at the end, and the 7th Day at the Beginning\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54844,"alt":"","title":"jo24-circle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/gif","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","width":580,"height":493,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle-150x150.gif","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle-300x255.gif","medium-width":300,"medium-height":255,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","medium_large-width":580,"medium_large-height":493,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","large-width":580,"large-height":493,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","1536x1536-width":580,"1536x1536-height":493,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","2048x2048-width":580,"2048x2048-height":493,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","post_full_size-width":580,"post_full_size-height":493,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle-494x420.gif","home_baner-width":494,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"929","date":"20290321","wall_id":"929"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"101263","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"An Ending That Isn\u2019t An End     ","post_title":"An Ending That Isn\u2019t An End","slug":"an-ending-that-isnt-an-end","old_id":"101263","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"929","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The story of the Jewish people is ongoing: we can\u2019t rest on our laurels or on the shoulders of our ancestors\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are used to coming to the end of a book that\u2019s tied up neatly with a bow and then sitting back with a satisfied smile. Not so, of course, with Tanach, that concludes on a pretty depressing note. The First Temple is gone, we\u2019ve endured the Babylonian exile, and the commandment to build a new temple is not given to the Jewish people directly, but rather through intermediaries \u2013 the Babylonian kings Cyrus, and then Darius. It\u2019s gut-wrenching to realize that we didn\u2019t merit God speaking to us directly, and that even when we do get our Second Temple, it\u2019s absent the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shechina<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 the divine presence of God. We will not reach our pinnacles of national greatness again until the time of Messiah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The danger in finishing a book with a sigh of relief is that we believe the story to be complete. And, of course, the story of the Jewish people is ongoing. We are still working toward bringing the Messianic era, and our triumphs and tragedies have continued to elevate and\u00a0 lower us as they did through all of Tanach. There is neither time nor reason to think we can rest on our laurels or on the shoulders of our ancestors.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The message of personal responsibility has been consistent throughout Tanach. The first Jew, Abraham, set out on a course of discovery and change diametrically different from that of his father and his upbringing. So too, the entire era of kings, takes us on a roller-coaster ride of good kings and evil kings. Out of the 17 kings of Judah, there were only two good Kings (Asa and Uziah) who were succeeded by good sons who were good kings (Jehoshaphat and Jotham respectively.) In several cases, we had evil Kings pass the baton to sons who were good kings (or, in the cases of Joash and Amaziah, kings who started off on the right path and then became wicked.) The longest stretch of evil kings was the final four, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jechoiachin and Zedekiah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And then it\u2019s over.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What should we learn from this litany of good fathers raising bad sons and vice-versa? First, we must remember that the good and evil in Tanach reach depths far beyond the ordinary. So, it\u2019s not merely a case of a good parent with children who don\u2019t follow in their footsteps, or good children who come from unfavorable parentage. Both ends of the spectrum in Tanach reach unfathomable extremes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nevertheless, the lesson is the same: our individual responsibility to continue the story is ours alone. We may learn good or bad from the examples of our predecessors, but that neither entitles nor dooms us to success or failure. Those lucky enough to have good examples in their lives must still choose to leverage it to continue the good. And those with challenging backgrounds must likewise choose to change the narrative of their own lives.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May we experience the arrival of the messianic era soon, and meanwhile merit to continue learning and working for a united Jewish nation and a better world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":60597,"alt":"","title":"2sam14-the-beginning-note","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","width":354,"height":373,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note-285x300.jpg","medium-width":285,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","medium_large-width":354,"medium_large-height":373,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","large-width":354,"large-height":373,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","1536x1536-width":354,"1536x1536-height":373,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","2048x2048-width":354,"2048x2048-height":373,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","post_full_size-width":354,"post_full_size-height":373,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","home_baner-width":354,"home_baner-height":373}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"An Ending That Isn\u2019t An End","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The story of the Jewish people is ongoing: we can\u2019t rest on our laurels or on the shoulders of our ancestors","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":60597,"alt":"","title":"2sam14-the-beginning-note","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","width":354,"height":373,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note-285x300.jpg","medium-width":285,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","medium_large-width":354,"medium_large-height":373,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","large-width":354,"large-height":373,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","1536x1536-width":354,"1536x1536-height":373,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","2048x2048-width":354,"2048x2048-height":373,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","post_full_size-width":354,"post_full_size-height":373,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam14-the-beginning-note.jpg","home_baner-width":354,"home_baner-height":373}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"929","date":"20290321","wall_id":"929"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"101250","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"A Final Ray Of Hope     ","post_title":"A Final Ray Of Hope","slug":"a-final-ray-of-hope","old_id":"101250","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah.  Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"929","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Any one of you of all His people, the LORD God be with you, and let you go up\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After 928 chapters, we have reached the final chapter of Tanach. Chapter 36 sprints through the last handful of kings of Judah and the destruction of the Temple. It is a little odd considering the centrality of the destruction for the later prophets, especially Jeremiah. It also receives much shorter attention than in Kings. The book then jumps 70 years in time to end with the letter Cyrus wrote (which also appears in Ezra) allowing the Jews to rebuild the Temple.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why does the Tanach end with Cyrus\u2019 letter? If the Tanach were a chronological succession of books, then Ezra\/Nechemiah should have been the culmination. Those books start with Cyrus and go beyond, to the building of the Second Temple. If the idea is to end Tanach with a book that spans the entirety of the Israelite history, then why does the book end with Cyrus\u2019 letter? We already have the repetition of II Samuel, I and II Kings, and even some of Genesis! The book could have repeated some of what we saw in Ezra and Nechemia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To answer this question, we need to expand the question: what is the theme of the Tanach? After 929 chapters we have seen many different stories and characters, ups and downs, building and destruction. What makes Tanach so amazing is that it is very real. Yes there are miraculous events, but the people are real. They have hopes and dreams. They do good, but they also do bad. They cry out to God and they shun God. They listen to God and they ignore God. There is no perfection in Tanach because there is no perfection in the real world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the theme of Tanach: life is complicated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And yet, God still gives us a chance. God still loves the Jewish people even when they are so evil that the Temple is destroyed. God knows we are flawed and still God wants us to succeed. This is why Tanach ends the way it does. The destruction of the Temple is deemphasized because it is not the main part of the story. Immediately after the destruction, the Chronicler includes the next stage of redemption. Cyrus\u2019 letter is a call that goes beyond the generations:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus said King Cyrus of Persia: The L<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ORD<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and has charged me with building Him a House in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any one of you of all His people, the L<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ORD<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> God be with you, and let you go up.\u201d (verse 23).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is not meant just for the Jews in exile seventy years after the destruction. It is meant for all Jews throughout the generations. Any of you of all His people, let God be with you, and let you go up! Wherever we are in the world, God is always there with us, and with that knowledge, we should have the strength to rise up and go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71850,"alt":"","title":"jer38-hope","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"A Final Ray Of Hope","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Any one of you of all His people, the LORD God be with you, and let you go up","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71850,"alt":"","title":"jer38-hope","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"929","date":"20290321","wall_id":"929"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"101260","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Hadran     ","post_title":"Hadran","slug":"hadran","old_id":"101260","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"929","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Things have come to an end - but we shall return!\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/II_Chronicles.36?lang=bi\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chapter<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which concludes the Hebrew Bible, continues nearly to its end on a very somber note, the reigns of the last Kings of Judah, most of whom are said to have done \u201cevil in the sight of the Lord.\u201d This leads to the Fall of Jerusalem (597 BCE), the Destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE) and the exile to Babylon of those Judeans who remained alive. But then, we have a surprise \u201cHappy Ending\u201d! Seventy years later, the epic Biblical narrative<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/II_Chronicles.36.21-23?lang=bi\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">concludes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/search?q=Cyrus%20Proclamation&amp;tab=sheet&amp;tvar=1&amp;tsort=relevance&amp;svar=1&amp;ssort=relevance\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proclamation by King Cyrus of Persia<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> : \u201cThe Lord God of Heaven\u2026has charged me with building Him a House in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any one of you of all His people, the Lord his God be with him and let him go up.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This may be the Scriptural origin of the later Jewish practice of \u201cending on a positive note\u201d (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/search?q=%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9D%20%D7%91%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8%20%D7%98%D7%95%D7%91&amp;tab=text&amp;tvar=1&amp;tsort=relevance&amp;svar=1&amp;ssort=relevance\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">siyyum be-dvar tov<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). This is perhaps best known from the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Mishnah_Pesachim.10.4?lang=bi\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mishnaic instruction<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to structure the<\/span><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Pesach_Haggadah%2C_Magid%2C_In_the_Beginning_Our_Fathers_Were_Idol_Worshipers.4?lang=bi\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Magid<\/span><\/a> <\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the Passover Seder \u201cbeginning with disgrace but ending in glory.\u201d Some tractates of the Mishnah end on such a positive note, such as<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Mishnah_Yoma.8.9?lang=bi\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mishnah Yoma<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Rabbi Akiva said: How fortunate are you, Israel; before Whom are you purified, and Who purifies you? It is your Father in Heaven, as it is stated: \u201cAnd I will sprinkle purifying water upon you, and you shall be purified\u201d (Ezekiel 36:25). And it says: \u201cThe ritual bath of Israel is God\u201d (Jeremiah 17:13). Just as a ritual bath purifies the impure, so too, the Holy One, Blessed be He, purifies Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, midrashic homilies often conclude on a messianic note. For example,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Bamidbar_Rabbah.15.25?lang=bi&amp;with=all&amp;lang2=en\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the conclusion of Numbers Rabbah, Chapter 15<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cThe Holy One, blessed be He, said: \u2018In this world [only] individuals have prophesied, but in the world to come all Israel shall become prophets. It is so stated: \u201cAnd it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh so that your sons and your daughters and your elders shall prophesy, etc.\u201d\u2019 (Joel 3:1). So did Rabbi Tanhuma be-Rabbi Abba expound.\u201d Significantly, the 19<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> century commentator on Midrash Aggadah,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Etz_Yosef_on_Bamidbar_Rabbah.15.25.4?vhe=Midrash_Rabbah_with_Etz_Yosef,_Warsaw,_1867&amp;lang=he\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enoch Zundel ben Joseph<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, comments that the mention of the \u201cWorld to Come\u201d here concludes this midrashic text \u201cwith a good word\u201d (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">be-dvar tov<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) that in the future everything will be repaired to ultimate perfection.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another Jewish tradition is to conclude the study of a tractate of Talmud, with a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org.il\/Hadran.1?lang=bi\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hadran<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in which the particular Tractate is addressed directly: \u201cWe will return to you (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hadran \u2018alakh<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)\u2026and you will return to us. Our mind is on you\u2026and your mind is on us\u2026We will not forget you\u2026and you will not forget us \u2013 not in this world and not in the next world\u2026\u201d This is the origin of the modern sense of <em>hadran, <\/em>which means \"encore.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we conclude our study of the entire Tanakh and look forward to beginning again, it seems appropriate for us to intone: \u201cWe will return to you, and you will return to us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":101261,"alt":"","title":"-61f96a396cdc1--61f96a396cdc22chron36-end curtains.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg.jpg","width":1920,"height":855,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-300x134.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":134,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-768x342.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":342,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-1024x456.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":456,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":684,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":855,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-1200x534.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":534,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-943x420.jpg","home_baner-width":943,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Hadran","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Things have come to an end - but we shall return!","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":101261,"alt":"","title":"-61f96a396cdc1--61f96a396cdc22chron36-end curtains.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg.jpg","width":1920,"height":855,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-300x134.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":134,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-768x342.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":342,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-1024x456.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":456,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":684,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":855,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-1200x534.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":534,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/61f96a396cdc1-61f96a396cdc22chron36-end-curtains.jpg-943x420.jpg","home_baner-width":943,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"929","date":"20290321","wall_id":"929"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"101269","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Two Lessons To Be Learned     ","post_title":"Two Lessons To Be Learned","slug":"two-lessons-to-be-learned","old_id":"101269","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":99130,"post_title":"Sandra Lilienthal","slug":"sandra-lilienthal","old_id":"99130","first_name":"Sandra ","last_name":"Lilienthal ","description":"Dr. Sandra Lilienthal is an independent adult educator in South Florida. Besides her many weekly classes, she is a frequent speaker at Jewish education conferences, synagogues and other Jewish organizations. Sandra is a 2015 winner of the Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education.","short_description":"Dr. Sandra Lilienthal is an independent adult educator in South Florida, and is a 2015 winner of the Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":99132,"alt":"","title":"sandra lilienthal","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/sandra-lilienthal-1.jpg","width":2319,"height":2209,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/sandra-lilienthal-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/sandra-lilienthal-1-300x286.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":286,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/sandra-lilienthal-1-768x732.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":732,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/sandra-lilienthal-1-1024x975.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":975,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/sandra-lilienthal-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1463,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/sandra-lilienthal-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1951,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/sandra-lilienthal-1-1200x1143.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1143,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/sandra-lilienthal-1-441x420.jpg","home_baner-width":441,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"929","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"About the centrality of hope, and choosing God\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The book of Chronicles, and with it, the entire Bible, concludes with the words: \u201cAny of you, of all His nation\u2014may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!\u201d This statement has a particular narrative meaning in the context it appears\u2014a generation after the exile, Cyrus, king of the Persian empire, declares that God has instructed him to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem and enable the Jews to return.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But every line of the Bible, especially one coming in such a prominent location, is doing more than recounting history, it is coming to speak to us and teach us, in every era. I would like to offer two lessons to learn from these words and their appearance at this point in Tanakh:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. Hope is fundamental to our faith. Throughout Jewish history, both Biblical and post-Biblical, the Jewish people suffered tremendous blows: exiles, persecutions, pogroms, genocide. And yet, we have never lost hope that the world can and will become a better place. We believe we have a role to play in getting the world to this place, a responsibility that comes with having lived through such horrors. We have both the hope, the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tikvah <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that carried us for almost two thousand years, and the understanding that if this is to happen, each person needs to put the effort into making it come true.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The last chapter of Chronicles overall reflects the difficulty of life and our culpability as a people. The heartbreaking description of the final conquest of Jerusalem and the last stages of exile is accompanied by verses recalling the transgressions and intransigence of a people and their leaders who stubbornly brought punishment on themselves. But the narrative refuses to end at that momentous conclusion; the last two verses bring us forward seventy years to homecoming and rebuilding, assuring us that hope triumphs.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>2. The Jews will forever be God\u2019s people \u2013 because God decided so. That is inherent in the words \u201cHis nation.\u201d But if individually we are to remain close to this God, if this God \u201cwill be with\u201d us, we must each make that choice\u2014 \u201clet him\/her\/them go up.\u201d The closeness between a human being and God is only felt to the extent that each of us works on this relationship. Like any other fundamental relationship\u2014with children, parents, friends, or spouses\u2014the fact that we are loved does nothing if we are not open to receiving that love, if we do not carve space for the other in our lives. God will always be God\u2014allowing God to come into our lives or keeping God at a distance is a personal choice. The Bible concludes its narrative by reminding us that when we create that relationship with God, we \u201cgo up,\u201d we reach new heights in our spiritual development.<\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62924,"alt":"","title":"1kings20-lesson","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson.png","width":1096,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-257x300.png","medium-width":257,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-768x897.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":897,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-877x1024.png","large-width":877,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson.png","1536x1536-width":1096,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson.png","2048x2048-width":1096,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-1028x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1028,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-360x420.png","home_baner-width":360,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Two Lessons To Be Learned","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"About the centrality of hope, and choosing God","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":62924,"alt":"","title":"1kings20-lesson","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson.png","width":1096,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-257x300.png","medium-width":257,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-768x897.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":897,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-877x1024.png","large-width":877,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson.png","1536x1536-width":1096,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson.png","2048x2048-width":1096,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-1028x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1028,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings20-lesson-360x420.png","home_baner-width":360,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"929","date":"20290321","wall_id":"929"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"101265","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Sad Conclusion, But Optimistic Postscript     ","post_title":"Sad Conclusion, But Optimistic Postscript","slug":"sad-conclusion-but-optimistic-postscript","old_id":"101265","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"929","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"We don\u2019t end on a tragic note\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The end of Judean independence now appears on the horizon due to Josiah\u2019s ill-advised interference in the plans of Pharaoh Necho to wage war against the up and coming Babylonians (35:20 ff.). This led to Josiah\u2019s defeat\u2014and death\u2014at Megiddo, an event that was subsequently deemed so significant that the site lent its name to the (mostly Christian) depiction of an apocalyptic battle that has come to be called Armageddon (from <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Har Megiddo<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Necho retained control over Judah, deposing Josiah\u2019s successor, his son Jehoahaz, after only three months on the throne (2), imposing a tribute on the Judeans (3), elevating his brother Eliakim to the throne, changing his name to Jehoiakim, and exiling Jehoahaz to Egypt (4). Admittedly, the change of name calls for an explanation, and Pseudo-Rashi surmised:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is the custom of kings and princes to bestow a by-name upon their servants as they wish. An example is (Gen. 41:45): \"And Pharaoh named Joseph, etc.,\" and so (Num. 13:16): \"and Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua,\" and so, (Dan. 1:7): \"Now the chief officer gave them names, etc.\" All this is to make known that to name him as he desires [indicates that] he has power over him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That said, the alteration of El-Yakim to Yeho-Yakim, substituting the particular <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yeho<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Jehovah) for the generic <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (god), is puzzling since it seems to emphasize the nationalistic aspect of the name rather than minimize it, as we might expect under the circumstances. Somewhat ironically, Yehoiakim did not live up to his new name; rather, he \u201cdid what was displeasing to the LORD his God\u201d (5) and \u201cKing Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched against him; he bound him in fetters to convey him to Babylon\u201d (6) along with \u201csome vessels of the House of the Lord\u201d (7).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jehoiakim was succeeded, briefly, by his son Jehoiachin, who Nebuchadnezzar exiled to Babylonia and was replaced by him with his uncle Zedekiah, whose name the Babylonian king had changed from Mataniah (2 Kings 24:17), another puzzling alteration. Zedekiah\u2019s reign is described by both 2 Kings (24:19) and Jeremiah (52:2) as \u201cdispleasing to the Lord his God,\u201d with the Chronicler adding the wry observation, here, that \u201che did not humble himself before the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke for the LORD\u201d (13).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, did Jerusalem and the Temple suffer their destruction and the Judeans their exile, and on this tragic note we might have expected the biblical accounts to end. But they do not. 2 Kings and Jeremiah add an optimistic postscript through their references to Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s rehabilitation of former King Jehoiachin, his release from prison, and his appointment to the Babylonian kings\u2019 retinue. The Chronicler went a step further, and that will be our reflection that follows, on Chronicles, in specific, and Tanakh, in general (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/page\/2039\/post\/101279\">see here<\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":101266,"alt":"","title":"-61f96ef796074--61f96ef7960752chron36-hope 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1 of 2","tile_main_caption":"Sad Conclusion, But Optimistic Postscript","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"We don\u2019t end on a tragic note","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":101266,"alt":"","title":"-61f96ef796074--61f96ef7960752chron36-hope 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Chronicles","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"929","date":"20290321","wall_id":"929"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"101276","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"In the Direction of Up      ","post_title":"In the Direction of Up","slug":"in-the-direction-of-up","old_id":"101276","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":89733,"post_title":"Felice Miryam Kahn Zisken","slug":"felice-miryam-kahn-zisken","old_id":"89733","first_name":"Felice Miryam ","last_name":"Kahn Zisken","description":"Felice Miryam Kahn Zisken is a poet and translator, independent writing and editing professional","short_description":"Felice Miryam Kahn Zisken is a poet and translator, independent writing and editing professional","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":90272,"alt":"","title":"felice kahn zisken","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/felice-kahn-zisken.jpg","width":1620,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/felice-kahn-zisken-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/felice-kahn-zisken-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/felice-kahn-zisken-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/felice-kahn-zisken-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/felice-kahn-zisken.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/felice-kahn-zisken.jpg","2048x2048-width":1620,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/felice-kahn-zisken-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/felice-kahn-zisken-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"929","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"My dream took me to Your Temple\u2019s mount to sing\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><em>Thus says Koresh, King of Persia: \u201cLord of the heavens. . . has charged me to build Him a House in Jerusalem in Yehuda. Whoever is among you from all His people, may the Lord His God be with him, and let him go up!\u201d<\/em> II Chronicles 36<\/p>\r\n<p><br \/>\r\nS<em>urely I will heal and rebuild your stones\/the taste of your tilled land<\/em><br \/>\r\n<em>sweeter than honey in my mouth<\/em>. Yehuda Halevi<br \/>\r\n<br \/>\r\nIn the spring of 2020, in the shadow of Covid-19 <br \/>\r\nwe won the lottery, 2 out of 2000 tickets<br \/>\r\nfor the Shavuot sunrise service<br \/>\r\nat the kotel. <em>Ve-ya-al<\/em>.<br \/>\r\n<br \/>\r\n<em>Tikkun leil Shavuot<\/em><br \/>\r\nWe stay up all night, with the Torah<br \/>\r\nwalk up Mount Zion in the direction of ve-ya-al<br \/>\r\n<em>Your dwellings, Lord, are places of love<\/em><br \/>\r\n<br \/>\r\n<em>And Your Name is clear as things seen, not guessed at,<\/em><br \/>\r\n<em>My dream took me to Your Temple\u2019s mount to sing*<\/em><br \/>\r\nin the plaza, to read Ruth, to celebrate the revelation<br \/>\r\nnear the scrubbed, healing, much-kissed<\/p>\r\n<p>shimmering-in-my-mind\u2019s eye stones. <em>Ve-ya-al.<\/em><br \/>\r\n<br \/>\r\n*From <em>The Selected Poems of Yehuda Halevi<\/em> translated by Hillel Halkin<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":85240,"alt":"","title":"ps73-western wall kotel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps73-western-wall-kotel.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps73-western-wall-kotel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps73-western-wall-kotel-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps73-western-wall-kotel-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps73-western-wall-kotel-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps73-western-wall-kotel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps73-western-wall-kotel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps73-western-wall-kotel-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps73-western-wall-kotel-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"In the Direction of Up","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"My dream took me to Your Temple\u2019s mount to sing","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":85240,"alt":"","title":"ps73-western wall 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Who is there among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up<\/em>. (36:23)<br \/>\r\n<br \/>\r\n<em>Mazal-tov<\/em> and <em>siman-tov<\/em> \u2014<br \/>\r\nOn the eighth day of the week,<br \/>\r\nThe thirty-second day of the thirteenth month,<br \/>\r\nIn the first year of redemption,<br \/>\r\nHere in the wilderness of the exiled,<br \/>\r\nWe, the witnesses, testify<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">How the bridegroom, Yeshurun Ben-Yakov,<br \/>\r\nSaid to the bride, Eretz-Yisrael,<br \/>\r\n\"Be my wife<br \/>\r\nAccording to the law of Moses and Israel,<br \/>\r\nAnd I will, willingly, and God willing,<br \/>\r\nRespect, honor, feed and support you<br \/>\r\nAs the sons of Israel<br \/>\r\nRespect, honor, feed and support their wives, in truth.<br \/>\r\nAnd I will bedeck you with finery,<br \/>\r\nWith Eve's wedding dress<br \/>\r\nAnd Queen Esther's crown<br \/>\r\nAnd dancing shoes from the Song of Songs;<br \/>\r\nAnd I will adorn you<br \/>\r\nWith a Jerusalem of Gold.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>We testify<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">How the bridegroom said to the bride,<br \/>\r\n\"I will never marry another,<br \/>\r\nNor will I ever divorce you;<br \/>\r\nAnd I will betroth you forever<br \/>\r\nAnd if I forget you,<br \/>\r\nMay my right hand lose its cunning.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>We testify<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">How the bridegroom said to the bride,<br \/>\r\n\"I will heal you if you are ill<br \/>\r\nAnd ransom you if you are taken captive;<br \/>\r\nI will dance with you if you are sad<br \/>\r\nAnd sing to you if you are tired;<br \/>\r\nI will shower you with gifts<br \/>\r\nAnd live with you<br \/>\r\nAs a man lives with a woman;<br \/>\r\nI will give you my soul and my body,<br \/>\r\nI will love you in faith.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>We testify<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">How the bridegroom said to the bride,<br \/>\r\n\"The obligations of this ketubbah,<br \/>\r\nI accept upon myself and my heirs after me,<br \/>\r\nAnd I will pawn all I possess for you \u2014<br \/>\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Even my grandfather's Kiddush cup,<br \/>\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 My grandmother's Shabbat candlesticks \u2014<br \/>\r\nTo provide you with all your needs<br \/>\r\nFrom this day<br \/>\r\nTo the end of days.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>We testify<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">How the bride, Eretz-Yisrael, agreed<br \/>\r\nTo become the wife<br \/>\r\nOf the bridegroom, Yeshurun Ben-Yakov.<\/p>\r\n<p>And everything is valid, binding and confirmed.<br \/>\r\n<br \/>\r\nSo we testify:<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The host of heaven \u2014 witness.<br \/>\r\nThe earth and the fullness thereof \u2014 witness.<\/p>\r\n<p>image:\u00a0Ketubah from The Ketubbot Collection of the National Library of Israel, 2004 \/ 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Chronicles","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"929","date":"20290321","wall_id":"929"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"101223","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"The Very Last Word On The Subject          ","post_title":"The Very Last Word On The Subject","slug":"the-very-last-word-on-the-subject","old_id":"101223","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 -  from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"929","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"An intimation of the nation restored\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">36:23 \u201c\u2018Thus said Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth has the LORD God of the heavens given me, and He has charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever be among you of all His people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a single word in the Hebrew, <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">weya\u2019al<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and according to the Hebrew canonical order, which this translation follows, it is the very last word of the Hebrew Bible. Jewish tradition has accordingly made much of the appearance of this word at the very end: it is the verb used for \u201cgoing up\u201d from the Diaspora to the Land of Israel (and retained as such in modern Zionist usage), and it concludes this story of exile and Scripture as a whole on a literally upbeat note, Cyrus\u2019s urging the exiled people to go back up to its native land. The long narrative of the Book of Kings ends with a description of Jehoiachin\u2019s comfortable circumstances in Babylonian exile, granted a place of honor among exiled kings. The text in Chronicles, produced perhaps a century and a half later, after the Return to Zion, choses to jump forward to Cyrus\u2019s decree and thus to an intimation of the nation restored to its homeland.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From: Robert Alter, <em>The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 3: Writings, W. W. Norton &amp; Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Very Last Word On The Subject","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"An intimation of the nation restored","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"929","date":"20290321","wall_id":"929"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"101229","color":"#e8ecf6","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - II Chronicles 36          ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - II Chronicles 36","slug":"points-to-ponder-ii-chronicles-36","old_id":"101229","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"929","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is it - The End!<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Comp lit<\/em>. The parallel to the telling of the last days of the kingdom of Judah can be found in 2 Kings 23-25, which devotes 57 verses to the story, as opposed to (just) 21 verses here in Chronicles. The Proclamation of Cyrus, in an expanded version can be found in Ezra 1.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Who\u2019s to blame?<\/em> So who is responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple? This chapter has a clear answer: Zedekiah, the ministers, the priests and the entire people. In other words - that generation and its leaders. And that is such a shame, for if they had listened to the words of the prophets, it could have been averted (verses 15-16).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Which 70<\/em>? And did they count? Jeremiah prophesied \u201cWhen the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation and the land of the Chaldeans for their sins\u201d (Jer. 25:12). The attempt to decipher how exactly to count these seventy years - from when until when - occupied not only commentators, but also those of the generation of the Return to Zion in the books of Zechariah and Ezra, and also the author of the Book of Daniel.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Echoes of Leviticus<\/em>. The idea that exile was a response and <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tikkun<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the cancellation of the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shmitot<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the years of fallow and release (verse 21) appears already in Leviticus 26:33-35.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>A happy ending<\/em>. When the book of Kings tries to end on a positive note, and provide some sort of respite from the sadness of the destruction with something more upbeat, it tells of the improvement in the situation of the exiled King Jehoiachin (2 Kings 25:27-30). Chronicles is in a position to give a much more encouraging bit of news: The Proclamation of Cyrus, auguring the return to the Land of Israel.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Endings are sometimes\u2026<\/em> In this context of conclusion, it\u2019 interesting to devote some thought to endings in general. How is the Tanach ending, and what\u2019s the message? How did the Torah (Pentateuch) end? And what is \u201cthe last word\u201d (both literally and figuratively that each book of the Bible ended on?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chazak chazak venitchazek<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>!<\/em> Be strong and be strengthened! <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Back to square - or chapter - 1. See you Sunday for the Big Beginning.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder - II Chronicles 36","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"929","date":"20290321","wall_id":"929"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":14,"id":"100715","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Sefaria Source Sheets - II Chronicles 36          ","post_title":"Sefaria Source Sheets - II Chronicles 36","slug":"sefaria-source-sheets-ii-chronicles-36","old_id":"100715","type":"song","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42228,"post_title":"Sefaria","slug":"sefaria","old_id":"42228","first_name":"","last_name":"Sefaria","description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. 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