In Babel the people try to build a tower up to Heaven,
\r\nbut God does not let them.
\r\n
\r\nIsaac and his men do not build upward. They dig wells in the earth.
\r\nAnd God blesses Isaac.
\r\nAnd Isaac and his men reach water.
\r\n
\r\nPerhaps God does not want us to reach toward Heaven.
\r\nPerhaps God wants us to entrench ourselves in the earth,<\/p>\r\n
in the place where we stand.
\r\nIn the place where we live.<\/p>\r\n
\r\nOur blessing is there.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71381,"alt":"","title":"jer32-land","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","width":407,"height":422,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land-289x300.jpg","medium-width":289,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","medium_large-width":407,"medium_large-height":422,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","large-width":407,"large-height":422,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","1536x1536-width":407,"1536x1536-height":422,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","2048x2048-width":407,"2048x2048-height":422,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","post_full_size-width":407,"post_full_size-height":422,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land-405x420.jpg","home_baner-width":405,"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":"Seekers","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Perhaps God wants us to entrench ourselves in the earth \/ in the place where we stand","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71381,"alt":"","title":"jer32-land","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","width":407,"height":422,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land-289x300.jpg","medium-width":289,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","medium_large-width":407,"medium_large-height":422,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","large-width":407,"large-height":422,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","1536x1536-width":407,"1536x1536-height":422,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","2048x2048-width":407,"2048x2048-height":422,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land.jpg","post_full_size-width":407,"post_full_size-height":422,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer32-land-405x420.jpg","home_baner-width":405,"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":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"26","chapter_main_number":"26","date":"20251005","wall_id":"26"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"362","name":"Poetry","old_id":"762"},{"term_id":"497","name":"Land","old_id":"897"}]},{"order":3,"id":"102887","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"All\u2019s Well That Ends Well ","post_title":"All\u2019s Well That Ends Well","slug":"alls-well-that-ends-well-2","old_id":"102887","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":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Especially in Beer Sheba\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"
In chapter 26, Isaac does the same things as his father. There is a famine in the land and while\u00a0 Isaac must have considered traveling to Egypt like his father, God intervenes and tells him to stay in the land of Canaan. So, Isaac goes to Abimelech, just like his father. He tells everyone that Rebecca is his sister, just like his father. Apparently, no one takes Rebecca captive. Instead, Abimelech sees Rebecca and Isaac cavorting one morning and is furious that he almost fell for the Abraham-sister trick again. Instead, he asks Isaac to enter into a peace treaty, just like Abraham, that neither will harm the other.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n A disagreement breaks out between the shepherds of Abimelech and Isaac, much like Lot and Abraham, and the two disengage. During this dispute we see a lot of well digging. Isaac uncovers wells dug by his father, and the Philistines fill them in. Isaac even names the wells the same as his father. This process happens three more times before he returns to Beer Sheva, the site of the former treaty between Abimelech and Abraham. God appears to Isaac there and promises him the blessing of Abraham (verse 24).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n During another digging episode, Abimelech and his general come to meet Isaac to request another treaty. Both of them also attended a similar meeting in Beer Sheba with Abraham. The two sides agree to a treaty and the following morning Isaac\u2019s servants find water. \u201cHe named it Shivah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day\u201d (verse 34).\u00a0 But the city was already named Beer Sheva by Abraham! When Abraham names the city, there is a play on the word \u201csheva\u201d meaning both seven and swearing. \u201cHe replied, \u2018You are to accept these seven ewes from me as proof that I dug this well\u2019. Hence that place was called Beer-sheba, for there the two of them swore an oath. (Genesis 21:31-2).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Notice the difference between Abraham\u2019s naming and Isaac. In chapter 21, there is a direct link between the naming and the reason. In chapter 26, the name is not linked to Abimelech. It is possible then that the oath that Isaac is referring to is not the one with Abimelech at all, but the oath that God made to him in verse 34.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n By the time Isaac names the well, Abimelech is already gone. The precipitating event is actually the discovery of water. This whole chapter began because there was a famine in the land and God stopped Isaac from going out of the land. Finding the water in the well is a sign for Isaac that God will protect him if he stays in the land. That is God fulfilling his promise, and that is why Isaac\u2019s name for Beer-sheba is different from Abraham\u2019s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75718,"alt":"","title":"ez47-water","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-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":"All\u2019s Well That Ends Well","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Especially in Beer Sheba","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75718,"alt":"","title":"ez47-water","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez47-water-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":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"26","chapter_main_number":"26","date":"20251005","wall_id":"26"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"435","name":"Water","old_id":"835"},{"term_id":"485","name":"Isaac","old_id":"885"}]},{"order":4,"id":"102889","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Isaac In Canaan ","post_title":"Isaac In Canaan","slug":"isaac-in-canaan","old_id":"102889","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. His poems have won twenty-two prizes in international poetry competitions, and he has twice been awarded fellowships from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.","short_description":"Yakov Azriel is an English language poet who lives in Israel","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36670,"alt":"","title":"Yakov.Azriel.Photo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","width":1099,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":741,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","large-width":741,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","1536x1536-width":1099,"1536x1536-height":1519,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","2048x2048-width":1099,"2048x2048-height":1519,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-868x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":868,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-304x420.jpg","home_baner-width":304,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"How hard it is here\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" \u201cAnd there was a famine in the Land [of Canaan], aside from the earlier famine in the days of Abraham; and Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar. And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, \u2018Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the Land which I will speak of. Reside in this Land, and I will be with you, and bless you\u2026.\u201d<\/em> (Genesis 26:1-3) Yet here in Canaan, how close I am to God, \u201cAll the wells which his father\u2019s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father the Philistines had stopped them up and filled them with earth\u201d (Gen 26:15). \u00a0So what did Isaac do? He dug them again, unstopping them (26:18 -34). <\/span><\/p>\r\n Genesis Rabbah 64:8 says that the five wells that Isaac dug were for <\/span>kineged, <\/span><\/i>the sake of [or equivalent to] the five books of the Torah and names them. \u00a0Esek (Genesis 26: 20) for Genesis, Sitna for Exodus (26:21), well of the living water (26:19) for Leviticus, Shiva (26:33) for Numbers and Rehovot (26: 22) for Deuteronomy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n It\u2018s a clich\u00e9 that the Torah is a wellspring, something that replenishes itself. If we unpack this metaphor, \u00a0I believe it rises above the world of clich\u00e9 to become something more. If the word <\/span>kineged, <\/span><\/i>used to mean \u201cequivalent to\u201d or \u201cin place of,\u201d is creating the equivalency, and the five wells Isaac dug are <\/span>in place of<\/span><\/i> the five books of the Torah, a different level of meaning is at play here.<\/span><\/p>\r\n If we each need to<\/span> write our own sefer Torah<\/span><\/a> for ourselves as Deuteronomy 31:19 instructs, then the wells are Isaac\u2019s writing. The wells are actually Isaac\u2019s art, his expression of himself in this world. \u00a0Isaac then is a person who draws things out and unstops that which has been stopped up so it flows once again and provides nourishment. So the question then is: what gives him this unique ability to make art, to continue to have something that he creates, flow in the world?<\/span><\/p>\r\n One explanation of his puzzling calm at the time of finding out that Jacob had usurped his brother Esau\u2019s blessing is that Isaac is a practitioner of the arts of the possible. Isaac responds to Esau\u2019s anger that Jacob will get the blessing, \u201che too will be blessed\" (Genesis 27:33).<\/span><\/p>\r\n Isaac lives and creates within the contours of what he has been given. \u00a0Those words - \u201che too will be blessed\u201d - and that acceptance are hard earned by someone whose own father must have been such a disappointment to him by almost sacrificing him. To have his son deceive him as well must have been a cause of great pain. Isaac\u2019s wisdom is to accept reality as it is, not as he wishes it might be, in the wells and in his life.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":38106,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_434778253","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253.jpg","width":5000,"height":5000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-420x420.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":"Isaac\u2019s Wells","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Isaac is a practitioner of the arts of the possible","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":38106,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_434778253","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253.jpg","width":5000,"height":5000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_434778253-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"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":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"26","chapter_main_number":"26","date":"20251005","wall_id":"26"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"410","name":"Torah","old_id":"810"},{"term_id":"485","name":"Isaac","old_id":"885"}]},{"order":6,"id":"38081","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Mutual Love ","post_title":"Mutual Love","slug":"mutual-love","old_id":"38081","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33992,"post_title":"Bradley Shavit Artson","slug":"rabbi-dr-bradley-shavit-artson","old_id":"33992","first_name":"Bradley Shavit ","last_name":"Artson","description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and is professor of philosophy there. Artson is married to Elana Shavit Artson, and they are the parents of twins, Shira and Jacob.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson is the Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33993,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","width":204,"height":199,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-256x300.png","medium-width":256,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","medium_large-width":204,"medium_large-height":199,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","large-width":204,"large-height":199,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","1536x1536-width":204,"1536x1536-height":199,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","2048x2048-width":204,"2048x2048-height":199,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","post_full_size-width":204,"post_full_size-height":199,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","home_baner-width":204,"home_baner-height":199}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Finding a life partner who can see us truly and love us deeply is part of our covenantal path","post_main_content_content":" Want to guess who is the only biblical figure whose love for his spouse is explicitly reciprocated? Turns out that our most significant public figures don\u2019t have that honor: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Jeremiah \u2013 they may have loved their wives. And it\u2019s possible that their wives loved them too. <\/span><\/p>\r\n But the only one we are told explicitly shared a mutual love are Isaac and Rebecca. Not only do we know explicitly that she loves her husband, but they are the only couple we get to see at play: \u201clooking out of the window, he say Isaac fondling his wife Rebecca (26:8). <\/span><\/p>\r\n Why does this matter? Because we might assume that reciprocal love is a modern invention, along with romantic love. We might reduce marriage in antiquity to a formal relationship, almost a business agreement to pool assets, share tasks, and augment the profits. But Isaac and Rebecca stand out in so many ways, this being just one of them. <\/span><\/p>\r\n Isaac is the only patriarch never to leave the land of Israel. He is the least famous of the Patriarchs, but his is the crucial task of continuing his famous father\u2019s innovations and successfully passing them along to his children. And, uniquely, he is the only one whose wife explicitly returns his love. He shows us that mutual love is possible. Not perfect, certainly. They have their share of marital disputes and issues with their children. But they love each other, and that lights a path for us. <\/span><\/p>\r\n Finding a life partner who can see us truly and love us deeply is part of our covenantal path. In the love of our spouse, we dare to glimpse the love of the Holy One. In the cultivation and curating of that lifelong love, we hone our capacity to feel God\u2019s love, and to share it. <\/span><\/p>\r\n \u201cIn your light, we see light.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":93326,"alt":"","title":"pro30-man woman couple love","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love.jpg","width":1280,"height":853,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":853,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":853,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-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":"Mutual Love","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Finding a life partner who can see us truly and love us deeply is part of our covenantal path","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":93326,"alt":"","title":"pro30-man woman couple love","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love.jpg","width":1280,"height":853,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":853,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":853,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pro30-man-woman-couple-love-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"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":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"26","chapter_main_number":"26","date":"20251005","wall_id":"26"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"381","name":"love","old_id":"781"},{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"485","name":"Isaac","old_id":"885"},{"term_id":"489","name":"Rebekah","old_id":"889"}]},{"order":7,"id":"38083","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Scarcity or Abundance- What's your Paradigm? ","post_title":"Scarcity or Abundance- What's your Paradigm?","slug":"scarcity-or-abundance-whats-your-paradigm","old_id":"38083","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33859,"post_title":"Avidan Freedman","slug":"avidan-freedman","old_id":"33859","first_name":"Avidan","last_name":"Freedman","description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. He is an activist advocating for moral limits on Israeli arms exports, and on behalf of African refugees, and a proud husband and father of 5. He received his rabbinical ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York, and from the Israeli chief rabbinate.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. ","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33860,"alt":"Avidan Freedman","title":"Avidan Freedman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","width":856,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-251x300.jpg","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-768x919.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":919,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-856x1024.jpg","large-width":856,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","1536x1536-width":856,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","2048x2048-width":856,"2048x2048-height":1024,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-351x420.jpg","home_baner-width":351,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Only when Isaac transcends the hatred he experienced, is he able to begin to bring blessing to the world.","post_main_content_content":" Plus c'est la meme chose, plus ca change. Chapter 26 reads like a rerun, but upon closer inspection, each similarity to the earlier story with Abraham actually emphasizes that there are two radically different world views animating the two stories, resulting in significantly different outcomes. <\/span><\/p>\r\n Isaac sees the world from a paradigm of scarcity. There isn't enough to go around, so fight for what's yours and protect your own. It's a rational position, especially during a famine, and it's also self-reinforcing. Once you start to look at the world in that way, the world naturally reacts in kind. Isaac's suspicions feed the suspicions of the people of Gerar, a cycle of mistrust is built, incessant bickering ensues, and respite can only be found in distance and disengagement. <\/span><\/p>\r\n This wasn't the plan. <\/span><\/p>\r\n The Divine mission God sets out in the beginning of the chapter is for Isaac to bring blessing to the nations. But that mission depends on a radical, and even absurd belief in abundance, and the subsequent decision to give, rather than to take. If you listen carefully, that's exactly what God tells Isaac at the outset, and then repeats again in the middle of the chapter. <\/span><\/p>\r\n And if you listen very carefully to chapters <\/span>20<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>21<\/span><\/a>, you'll hear that this is Abraham's attitude, even as he faced identical circumstances. Abraham's paradigm of <\/span>chesed<\/span><\/i>, his insistence on giving to the other, is revolutionary, and transformative for the people around him. It demands great bravery in the face of reality, and great faith in God's promise. <\/span><\/p>\r\n Only when Isaac is prepared to transcend the hatred he experienced, and prepare a feast for Abimelech, is he able to begin a paradigm shift, and with that shift, to begin to realize the Divine mission of bringing blessing to the world.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45889,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_478487740","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-630x420.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":"Scarcity Or Abundance- What's Your Paradigm?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Only when Isaac transcends the hatred he experienced, is he able to begin to bring blessing to the world.","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":45889,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_478487740","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_478487740-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"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":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"26","chapter_main_number":"26","date":"20251005","wall_id":"26"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"485","name":"Isaac","old_id":"885"},{"term_id":"498","name":"Abundance","old_id":"898"}]},{"order":8,"id":"38093","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"In the Matter of The STATE v. Isaac ","post_title":"In The Matter Of The STATE v. Isaac","slug":"in-the-matter-of-the-state-v-isaac","old_id":"38093","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37737,"post_title":"Nathan Lewin","slug":"nathan-lewin","old_id":"37737","first_name":"Nathan ","last_name":"Lewin ","description":"Nathan Lewin is a Washington, DC, lawyer, engaged in the full-time practice of law with his daughter Alyza at Lewin & Lewin, LLP, and teaches Supreme Court litigation at Columbia Law School. He has been voted by his peers for inclusion in four separate categories in \u201cThe Best Lawyers in America\u201d since its inception. Mr. Lewin was President of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington from 1982 to 1984.","short_description":"Nathan Lewin is a Washington, DC, lawyer, engaged in the full-time practice of law with his daughter Alyza at Lewin & Lewin, LLP, and teaches Supreme Court litigation at Columbia Law School. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37738,"alt":"","title":"Nathan Lewin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331.jpg","width":2188,"height":2280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-288x300.jpg","medium-width":288,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-768x800.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":800,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-983x1024.jpg","large-width":983,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331.jpg","1536x1536-width":1474,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331.jpg","2048x2048-width":1965,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-1152x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1152,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-403x420.jpg","home_baner-width":403,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Brief for Isaac, Appellant - Did he commit a criminal offense of submitting a false statement on a government form when he falsely represented that Rebekah was his sister?","post_main_content_content":" QUESTION PRESENTED<\/span><\/p>\r\n Whether Isaac committed the criminal offense of submitting a false statement on a government form when he falsely represented that Rebekah was his sister.<\/span><\/p>\r\n ARGUMENT<\/span><\/p>\r\n His Majesty, King Abimelech, found Appellant Isaac guilty of filing a false statement in violation of Section 1001 of Plishti Code (PC 1001) for having stated on his immigration form that his wife Rivka is his sister, and not disclosing truthfully that they are married. The King held that this false statement could have misled a Gerarite into seducing Rebekah in the mistaken belief that she is single. That, says His Highness, would have brought sin and disgrace on the entire community. Consequently, according to the judgment below, Isaac was guilty of a criminal offense.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The conviction must be reversed because Isaac introduced evidence that required his acquittal under the \u201cnecessity defense.\u201d Isaac testified, with no evidence contradicting him, that reports of the immorality in the City of Gerar led him to fear for his personal safety if it were known in Gerar that he was the husband of beautiful Rebekah . Locals gangs would have murdered Isaac so as to be free to dally with Rivka. Isaac\u2019s false statement that Rebekah was his sister was the only alternative available to him to prevent homicide, and murder was avoided as a \u201cdirect causal relationship\u201d of Isaac\u2019s misrepresentation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The defense proffered evidence that Isaac had solid ground for believing the worst of the Gerar community. When Isaac\u2019s parents had arrived in Gerar years ago, King Abimelech (in his youth or, according to some, the father of the current King) was smitten by the beauty of Isaac\u2019s mother and immediately had her brought to his harem. Only because he was warned in a dream-like vision not to approach Sarah because she was married to Avram did King Abimelech liberate Isaac\u2019s mother. In Gerar immediate gratification of one\u2019s desires precedes deliberation of the consequences of one\u2019s actions. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Although Rebekah would not have yielded to any attempted seduction, the Gerarites would not have realized her virtue until after they did away with her husband. Hence Isaac was justified in submitting the false statement as necessary self-defense.<\/span><\/p>\r\n CONCLUSION<\/span><\/p>\r\n Isaac\u2019s conviction must be reversed with instructions to enter a judgment of acquittal based on the \u201cnecessity defense.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":37232,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_1027639132","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132.jpg","width":5616,"height":3744,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-630x420.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":"In The Matter Of The STATE v. 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He ran for the 20th Knesset in the eighth place on the Meretz list and has devoted much of his efforts to campaigning for better economic and social conditions for those residents who live in the Negev.","short_description":"Avi Dabush is an Israeli environmental, social and political Israeli activist, and member of the Meretz party.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38012,"alt":"","title":"avi dabush","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/avi-dabush-e1534409844829.jpg","width":179,"height":167,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/avi-dabush-e1534409844829-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/avi-dabush-300x166.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":166,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/avi-dabush-e1534409844829.jpg","medium_large-width":179,"medium_large-height":167,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/avi-dabush-e1534409844829.jpg","large-width":179,"large-height":167,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/avi-dabush-e1534409844829.jpg","1536x1536-width":179,"1536x1536-height":167,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/avi-dabush-e1534409844829.jpg","2048x2048-width":179,"2048x2048-height":167,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/avi-dabush-e1534409844829.jpg","post_full_size-width":179,"post_full_size-height":167,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/avi-dabush-e1534409844829.jpg","home_baner-width":179,"home_baner-height":167}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Quietly, but with the success of a Texas oil magnate, he plumbs the depths","post_main_content_content":" Isaac is the forgotten forefather, the one that is pushed to the side. Between Abraham our Hebrew forefather, the founder of a new culture and religion, and between Jacob, who founded the Hebrew nation, Isaac is the absent present one in the Bible.<\/span><\/p>\r\n It could be that this is the trauma of the founding event of the Akedah, or it could be that we are talking about what defines Isaac\u2019s strength. \u00a0The overriding strength of Isaac our forefather was his depth. In building an infrastructure. In the steadfastness of his position. Thus, he was the only one of our forefathers who never left Canaan. Likewise, he was the one who discovered and dug wells of water with the success of a Texas oil magnate. \u00a0He walks throughout the Negev and digs well after well, wells that turned him into a wealthy man and that drove the Philistines crazy. In the course of his travels, Isaac discovers the well around which the city of Beer Sheva will be built. It would appear that he also realized that prosperity and the test of the family and the nation would \u00a0emerge, strangely enough, from the Negev.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102899,"alt":"","title":"-622b3f91a06c1--622b3f91a06c2gen26-oil 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","post_title":"Why Jacob And Not Esau?","slug":"why-jacob-and-not-esau","old_id":"38097","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33923,"post_title":"Jonathan Sacks","slug":"rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks","old_id":"33923","first_name":"Jonathan ","last_name":"Sacks","description":"An international religious leader, philosopher, and award-winning author of over 35 books, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the International President of 929.\r\nRabbi Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth years between 1991 and 2013, and was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer. Rabbi Sacks passed away on 7th November 2020, aged 72. He was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, who bridged the religious and secular world through his ground-breaking canon of work.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"k (1948-2020) was the former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the International 929 president.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36222,"alt":"","title":"JSacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","width":437,"height":548,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-768x448.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":448,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-1024x597.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","1536x1536-width":437,"1536x1536-height":548,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","2048x2048-width":437,"2048x2048-height":548,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","post_full_size-width":437,"post_full_size-height":548,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-335x420.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"One who could not survive by his own strength and skill","post_main_content_content":" Why Isaac, not Ishmael? Why Jacob, not Esau? These are among the most searing questions in the whole of Judaism. Isaac and Jacob were not men of nature: the field, the hunt, the gladiatorial game of predator-and-prey. They were not Ishmael and Esau, people who could survive by their own strength and skill. They were men who needed God\u2019s spirit to survive. <\/span>Israel is the people who in themselves testify to something beyond themselves<\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n Jews have consistently shown that you can make a contribution to humanity out of all proportion to your numbers, and that a small nation can outlive every empire that sought its destruction. They have shown that a nation is strong when it cares for the weak, and rich when it cares for the poor. Jews are the people through whom God has shown that the human spirit can rise above nature, testifying that there is something real that transcends nature.<\/span><\/p>\r\n That is a life-changing idea. We are as great as our ideals. If we truly believe in something beyond ourselves, we will achieve beyond ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\r\n <\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","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":"Why Jacob And Not Esau?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"One who could not survive by his own strength and skill","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","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":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"26","chapter_main_number":"26","date":"20251005","wall_id":"26"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"354","name":"Rabbi Sacks","old_id":"754"},{"term_id":"490","name":"Jacob","old_id":"890"}]},{"order":11,"id":"38095","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Same Old Song and Dance? ","post_title":"Same Old Song and Dance?","slug":"same-old-song-and-dance","old_id":"38095","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38057,"post_title":"Ross Levy","slug":"ross-levy","old_id":"38057","first_name":"Ross ","last_name":"Levy ","description":"Ross Levy is entering his third year of the Rabbinical Program at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. A native of Nashville, TN, since beginning his journey at HUC-JIR, Ross has learned a great deal from his experiences at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica, MS, and most recently, Rockdale Temple in Cincinnati, OH. He looks forward to pursuing interests in contemporary Jewish theology, liturgical development, and the history of the Reform Movement.\r\n\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Ross Levy is entering his third year of the Rabbinical Program at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38058,"alt":"","title":"ross levy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ross-levy-e1534566776830.jpg","width":631,"height":568,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ross-levy-e1534566776830-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ross-levy-e1534566776830-300x270.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":270,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ross-levy-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ross-levy-e1534566776830.jpg","large-width":631,"large-height":568,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ross-levy-e1534566776830.jpg","1536x1536-width":631,"1536x1536-height":568,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ross-levy-e1534566776830.jpg","2048x2048-width":631,"2048x2048-height":568,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ross-levy-e1534566776830.jpg","post_full_size-width":631,"post_full_size-height":568,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ross-levy-e1534566776830-467x420.jpg","home_baner-width":467,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Isaac returning to his father\u2019s wells is akin to the countless commentators that have poured over our sacred text in search of new meanings and understandings","post_main_content_content":" The twenty sixth chapter of Genesis brings with it a hefty dose of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. From the outset, we encounter Isaac both literally and figuratively following in the footsteps his father, Abraham. The text begins with sense of self-awareness by stating, \u201cNow there was a famine in the land <\/span>besides<\/b> the previous famine in the days of Abraham\u201d (Gen 26:1). Instantly, we realize that the subsequent narrative will draw a clear parallel to the previous sister-wife episodes found in chapters 12 and 20, but with significant differences. Each iteration of the narrative presents the same central conflict (i.e. taboo of sexual relations outside of marriage) as well as the same outcome (i.e. the acquisition of wealth by both Isaac and Abraham). If this is the case, then why do we come across this narrative not once, not twice, but THREE times in Genesis? What can we learn from the totality of the three versions that may have escaped us if just one had been included?<\/span><\/p>\r\n We may ask a similar question of the scene that follows. In verse 18 we read, \u201cThen Isaac again dug the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham\u201d. Here, the connection between Isaac and Abraham transitions from the thematic to the physical. Rather than figuratively walk in the steps of his father, Isaac goes a step further in physically reconnecting with the land and language of his father\u2019s time. The question might be asked, in different phrasing: why Isaac would go through such trouble to follow the path of his father so closely?<\/span><\/p>\r\n Understood at the broadest level, Isaac\u2019s physical and figurative repetition of his father\u2019s actions could be likened to the generations upon generations of Jews who have continually re-discovered and re-interpreted the merits, and perhaps the mistakes, of our ancestors. Isaac returning to his father\u2019s wells is akin to the countless commentators and interpreters that have poured over our sacred text in search of new meanings and understandings.<\/span><\/p>\r\n We continue this act of digging in our engagement with our sacred texts. The work is often tedious and repetitive, but we can find solace in the fact that after centuries of digging, we can still find streams of <\/span>mayyim hayyim<\/span><\/em>, \u201cliving waters,\u201d the life and soul of our 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is it possible to learn the Torah and say that it is ok for every Jew to spend his life only studying Torah?","post_main_content_content":" What is the ideal that educators should place before their students--just to be students who continually study Torah or individuals who engage in a variety of professions? \u00a0What can one learn from our three forefathers on this topic?<\/span><\/p>\r\n A teacher in a school for Torah studies asked me whether he should encourage all his students to sit in the yeshiva day after day and engage in Torah study, for this is the highest value, or one should compromise with reality and say to the students that all professions are appropriate?<\/span><\/p>\r\n I answered him: \u00a0How is it possible to learn verses in the Torah and say to students that it is ok for every Jew to spend his life studying Torah? How would you explain to students what is written about our forefather Isaac who sowed, plowed, and planted? \u00a0How would you explain the verses: \u201cAnd the man (Isaac) grew richer and richer until he was very wealthy; he acquired flocks and herds, and a large household...And Isaac dug anew the wells\u2026.\u201d (Genesis 26:13-18),<\/span><\/p>\r\n Or, how would you explain what is said about Abraham our forefather \u201cNow Abram was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold\u201d (Genesis 13:2) and \u201cAbraham planted a tamarisk at Beer-Sheba\u2026\u201d (Genesis 21:33)?<\/span><\/p>\r\n How would you explain the actions of our patriarch Jacob who conscientiously watched over Laban\u2019s sheep for 20 years, \u201cOften scorching heat ravaged me by day and frost by night; and sleep fled from my eyes\u201d (Genesis 31:40) so that not a single sheep miscarried nor any lamb was attacked and each animal had enough food and water? \u00a0If there is no value to work, why does the Torah speak in this way?<\/span><\/p>\r\n Rather, one must educate students to adhere to the Torah and its commandments, and once one has mastered the basics and developed a habit of setting regular times to study Torah, each person must engage in some act that improves the world in an area that fits him. \u00a0If we do not educate in this way, we will have to distort and contort verses in the Torah and our Sages\u2019 guidance.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102904,"alt":"","title":"-622b559bd171e--622b559bd171fgen26-work_study torah profession 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It Possible to Combine Learning and Working?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"How is it possible to learn the Torah and say that it is ok for every Jew to spend his life only studying Torah?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":102904,"alt":"","title":"-622b559bd171e--622b559bd171fgen26-work_study torah profession 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- The Hebrew Corner - Gen 26 ","post_title":"MiliMiliM - The Hebrew Corner - Gen 26","slug":"milimilim-the-hebrew-corner-gen-26","old_id":"38070","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34011,"post_title":"Jeremy Benstein","slug":"dr-jeremy-benstein","old_id":"34011","first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Benstein","description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English. He is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He writes the MiliMiliM - Hebrew Corner on the site, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34232,"alt":"","title":"Jeremy Benstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"\u05e9\u05e2\u05e8 - Sha'ar - Rate\/Gate\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" 26:12 - \u201cIsaac sowed in that land and reaped <\/span>meah she\u2019arim<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> a hundredfold the same year. The LORD blessed him...\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n When I first came to Israel, I was eager to explore Jerusalem. The Old City is bounded by a wall, and while there aren\u2019t 12 Gates like in the song (\u201cOh what a beautiful city\u2026 12 Gates to Jerusalem\u2026\u201d), the only way you can get from the New City to the Old \u00a0is through one of these storied openings with the picturesque names: <\/span>sha\u2019ar ashpot,<\/span><\/em> Dung Gate, <\/span>sha\u2019ar arayot<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>the Gate of the Lions, <\/span>sha\u2019ar haperachim<\/span><\/em>,<\/em> the Gate of the Flowers, etc.<\/span><\/p>\r\n So when I came to the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Meah She\u2019arim, and knowing some Hebrew, I began to look for the hundred gates (<\/span>meah<\/em> <\/span>= \u201c100;\u201d <\/span>she\u2019arim<\/span><\/em> = \u201cgates\u201d) through which to enter. <\/span><\/p>\r\n Alas, a little learning is a dangerous thing. <\/span><\/p>\r\n The name of that neighborhood does not mean 100 gates, it comes from the verse above and means \u201ca hundred-fold.\u201d That neighborhood was founded the week that this chapter was read, and they too hoped for a good return on their labors. In contemporary Hebrew, <\/span>sha\u2019ar<\/em> <\/span>indeed also means \u201crate\u201d as in <\/span>sha\u2019ar hadolar<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>the exchange rate of the dollar.<\/span><\/p>\r\n There is another Israeli city mentioned in this chapter. It too has a meaning that one who has only a partial knowledge of Hebrew might misunderstand. The name is Rechovot <\/em>(Rehoboth is how it\u2019s spelled in Massachusetts, Delaware, New Mexico and Ohio), which sounds like it comes from <\/span>rechov<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>which means \u201cstreet,\u201d (<\/span>rechovot <\/span><\/em>= <\/span><\/i>\u201cstreets\u201d) but is actually from the word <\/span>rachav<\/span><\/em>, which means \u201cwide\u201d or \u201cspacious,\u201d as in: \u201cHe moved from there and dug yet another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying, \u201cNow at last the LORD has granted us ample space to increase in the land\u201d (26:22).<\/span><\/p>\r\n It\u2019s an interesting detail that this parashah gives us the names of towns that run the gamut from Meah She\u2019arim, the bastion of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, to Rechovot, the seat of the renowned Weizmann Institute of Science.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102891,"alt":"","title":"-622b3b716d3f9--622b3b716d3fbgen26-milim shaar 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on the Daily Chapter - Gen 26","tile_main_caption":"Short talks by Adam Mintz and by David Silber","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Rabbi Silber's teachings are dedicated in memory of Joan Silverstein Meyers and Ellen Goodstein Koplow. ","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/sets\/genesis-chapter-26","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"2","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":"","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"26","chapter_main_number":"26","date":"20251005","wall_id":"26"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":15,"id":"38099","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Chapter Summary - Genesis 26 ","post_title":"Chapter Summary - Genesis 26","slug":"chapter-summary-genesis-26","old_id":"38099","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Chapter 26 Summary: \u00a0The Story of Isaac in the Land of Israel","post_main_content_content":" In this chapter, there are three stories connected to Isaac\u2019s relations with his neighbors in the land in which he lives and two revelations of God to Isaac, one establishes the promise of the Land (verses 2-5) and the second, the promise of progeny (verse 24).<\/span><\/p>\r\n Three stories:<\/span><\/p>\r\n Verses 8-11: \u00a0Isaac and Rebecca at Gerar<\/span><\/p>\r\n Make way for the third (and final time) the wife-sister motif appears (the first time is with Abram and Sarai in Egypt, Chapter 12; the second time is Abraham and Sarah in Gerar, Chapter 20). \u00a0This time, the players are Abimelech the King of Gerar and Isaac and Rebecca. This time matters are slightly softened and slightly more fair than the previous ones. Isaac says that Rebecca is his sister, but she is not taken captive. \u00a0Only after a few days, when the local people discover that they are a married couple, the drama begins, which lacks any disaster, only anxiety about the guilt that might have occurred due to Isaac\u2019s lie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Verses 12-22: \u00a0Isaac and the Wells<\/span><\/p>\r\n Isaac gets himself established. \u00a0He sows fields and opens wells. Why does he open them? Evidently, his father Abraham dug wells, but they were blocked by the Philistines who did not like the idea that someone else was sharing the pasture and the groundwater in the area. The new wells, too, that Isaac\u2019s servants dig are not accepted by the Philistines. \u00a0It is sufficient to hear the names of the wells to imagine what was taking place \u201cHe named that well Esek, because they contended with him. And when they dug another well, they disputed over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.\u201d (verses 20-21).<\/span><\/p>\r\n Verses 26-31: The Pact with Abimelech<\/span><\/p>\r\n After the wars and conflicts comes reconciliation--not from any overflowing mutual love but more from the ancient political understanding, \u201cif you can\u2019t beat \u2018em, join \u2018em.\u201d Or, in the words of the Bible \u201cWe now see plainly that the Lord has been with you, and we thought: Let there be a sworn treaty between our two parties, between you and us. Let us make a pact with you\u201c (verse 28).<\/span><\/p>\r\n Points to Ponder:<\/span><\/p>\r\n
\r\n
\r\nHow hard it is to graze my sheep in Canaan,
\r\nWhen drought returns and sucks away her streams,
\r\nWhen pastureland reverts to sun-scorched sand,
\r\nWhich stares with blinded eyes at sun-scorched skies.
\r\n
\r\nHow hard it is to find a well in Canaan,
\r\nFor Philistines have filled my father\u2019s wells
\r\nWith pebbles, refuse, dung; how can I wash
\r\nMy hands before I sit to bless my bread?
\r\n
\r\nHow hard it is walk in peace in Canaan;
\r\nMarauders roam her mountain-paths and roads,
\r\nLike packs of wolves that stalk a flock of goats,
\r\nTo bite into their flesh and drink their blood.
\r\n
\r\nHow hard it is to sleep at night in Canaan;
\r\nFrom nearby hills I hear the Hittites scream
\r\nIn joy when hunting deer, when throwing spears
\r\nAnd javelins at fleeing, falling fawns.
\r\n
\r\nHow hard it is to raise two sons in Canaan,
\r\nWhere milk and honey are in short supply,
\r\nWhere sacred scrolls of Law my father wrote
\r\nAre ridiculed, discarded, ripped and burned.
\r\n
\r\nHow hard it is to pray at dusk in Canaan,
\r\nWhen desert winds throw sand into my eyes,
\r\nPreventing me from watching angels climb
\r\nA ladder standing where a Temple hides.<\/p>\r\n
\r\nWho whispers, \u201cI am with you,\u201d in my dreams,
\r\nWho gives my children water from His well,
\r\nWho sows, in Canaan\u2019s fields, my children\u2019s stars.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68782,"alt":"","title":"is64-desert","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert.jpg","width":1920,"height":1492,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-300x233.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":233,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-768x597.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":597,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-1024x796.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":796,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1194,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1492,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-1200x933.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":933,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-540x420.jpg","home_baner-width":540,"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":"Isaac In Canaan","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"How hard it is here","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68782,"alt":"","title":"is64-desert","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert.jpg","width":1920,"height":1492,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-300x233.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":233,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-768x597.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":597,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-1024x796.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":796,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1194,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1492,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-1200x933.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":933,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is64-desert-540x420.jpg","home_baner-width":540,"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":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"26","chapter_main_number":"26","date":"20251005","wall_id":"26"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"362","name":"Poetry","old_id":"762"},{"term_id":"430","name":"Land of Israel","old_id":"830"}]},{"order":5,"id":"38088","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Isaac\u2019s Wells ","post_title":"Isaac\u2019s Wells","slug":"isaacs-wells","old_id":"38088","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36663,"post_title":"Beth Kissileff","slug":"beth-kissileff","old_id":"36663","first_name":"Beth ","last_name":"Kissileff ","description":"Beth Kissileff is the editor of the anthology Reading Genesis (2016 - https:\/\/www.bloomsbury.com\/us\/reading-genesis-9780567381521), and the forthcoming Reading Exodus, and the author of the novel Questioning Return - https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Questioning-Return-Novel-Beth-Kissileff\/dp\/1942134231. \r\nHer journalism appears in many publications; she has taught most recently at the University of Pittsburgh. Visit her online at www.bethkissileff.com. ","short_description":"Beth Kissileff is the editor of the anthology Reading Genesis (Bloomsbury\/ T and T Clark, 2016) , a journalist and teacher.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36664,"alt":"","title":"BethKissileff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","width":3478,"height":3200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-300x276.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":276,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-768x707.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":707,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-1024x942.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":942,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1413,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1884,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-1200x1104.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1104,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-456x420.jpg","home_baner-width":456,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Isaac is a practitioner of the arts of the possible.","post_main_content_content":"\r\n\t