{"id":48545,"date":"2018-07-09T17:41:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-149\/"},"modified":"2022-08-31T07:44:58","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T04:44:58","slug":"wall-149","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-149\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Torah-Numbers-32"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"149","date":"20260325","book":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"48721","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Numbers 32 - Judy Hammond ","post_title":"Numbers 32 - Judy Hammond","slug":"numbers-32-judy-hammond","old_id":"48721","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"149","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","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":"The Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Numbers 32","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"read by Judy Hammond","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/numbers-chapter-32-read-by-judy-hammond","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":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","date":"20260325","wall_id":"149"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"107610","color":"#f6edf6","size":"2","name":"The First Gerrymander ","post_title":"The First Gerrymander","slug":"the-first-gerrymander","old_id":"107610","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":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Moses divides a tribe and its territory. To weaken a political alliance?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Earlier, God decreed that each tribe would receive a proportional part of the Land. As the nation makes its way around the Jordan river to enter the land, they have been conquering the local peripheral populations. The tribes of Reuben and Gad see these fertile borderlands and decide that they do not want to enter the land. They approach Moses and ask if they can live in the trans-Jordan area because of their large flocks and the fertile land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This conversation is reminiscent of Lot\u2019s conversations with Abraham in Genesis. Compare:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Reubenites and the Gadites owned cattle in very great numbers. Noting that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were a region suitable for cattle (here, verse 1).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

and\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support them staying together; for their possessions were so great that they could not remain together. Lot looked about him and saw how well watered was the whole plain of the Jordan, all of it\u2026\u201d (Gen. 13:8-10).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses is not happy with the request. Possibly, he had a sense of personal frustration considering he would not be able to enter the land and now these tribes are asking to stay outside the land. Moses makes the tribes promise that they will enter the land and help the rest of the tribes conquer it before then return across the Jordan river: \u201cThe Gadites and the Reubenites answered Moses, \u2018Your servants will do as my lord commands.\u2019\u201d (verse 25). The two tribes then promise two more times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Satisfied with their promises \u201cMoses assigned to them\u2014to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph\u2014the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan...\u201d (verse 33).\u00a0 Thirty-three verses into the chapter half the tribe of Manasseh appears out of nowhere. Only Gad and Reuben asked to relocate. Why does Moses split Manasseh? One answer is that Moses was concerned that having Gad and Reuben on the other side of the Jordan would separate them from their brethren. He therefore had the tribe of Manasseh split over the Jordan river in order to link the two tribes to those in the land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But why Manasseh? Were they the largest tribe? No, they only had around 53,000 men. Issachar, Zebulan and Judah were all larger. Judah had the most with 76,000. Why didn\u2019t Moses split Judah? Perhaps this was a political move. Judah by itself was the most, but Manasseh and Ephraim together were over 85,000. This would put the sons of Joseph as the largest block over Judah, the eventual ruling tribe. To mitigate this, Moses splits Manasseh. This allows Judah to be the largest tribe in Israel and connects Reuben and Gad to the tribes inside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54665,"alt":"","title":"jo22-tribes","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-tribes.jpg","width":650,"height":345,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-tribes-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-tribes-300x159.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":159,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-tribes.jpg","medium_large-width":650,"medium_large-height":345,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-tribes.jpg","large-width":650,"large-height":345,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-tribes.jpg","1536x1536-width":650,"1536x1536-height":345,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-tribes.jpg","2048x2048-width":650,"2048x2048-height":345,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-tribes.jpg","post_full_size-width":650,"post_full_size-height":345,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-tribes.jpg","home_baner-width":650,"home_baner-height":345}},"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 First Gerrymander","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Moses divides a tribe and its territory. 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Illustration for Chapter 32:<\/p>\r\n

The tribes of Reuben and Gad approached Moses, saying: \u201cThe land that the Lord has conquered for the community of Israel is cattle country and your servants have cattle. It would be a favor to us, they continued, if this land were given to your servants as a holding; do not move us across the Jordan\u201d (32:4\u20135). Though these tribes did own much cattle, Moses understood that, being primarily concerned with own possessions and wealth, they wanted to acquire lands without having to cross the Jordan and fight in the ensuing battles. Moses countered angrily: \u201cAre your brothers to go to war while you stay here?\u201d (32:6). Upon hearing his wrathful response, the two tribes realized their mistake and hastened to assure Moses that they would not forsake the other tribes but would cross over the Jordan to help conquer the land of Canaan.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Do we have here a hint that Moses did not understand the new generation that grew up in the wilderness or does the story serve to reveal Moses\u2019 still brilliant leadership, where, remembering the faults of the previous generation, he was able to prevent injustices among the tribes?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Avner Moriah\u2019s painting speaks to the answer. In the center of the picture we see three bearded figures, representing . \u201cthe Gadites, the Reuvenites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph\u201d (32:33). This central group is marked with two red triangular shapes that seem to point toward Moses on the left standing with Elazar, the High Priest; Joshua son of Nun; and the other Israelite chieftains, portrayed against a yellow mountain.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

To the right we see the other tribes with their spears behind them, figured as a firmly united assembly, also set against a yellow mountain, which marks \u201c\u2026the land that the Lord has conquered for the community of Israel\u201d (32:4). In contrast, the center group is shown against a gap between the two mountains, which points to the way from the east to the west of the Jordan. At the top of the picture we see a hieroglyphic inset, alluding to the promise the two tribes made to Moses: \u201cWe will build here sheepfolds for our flocks and towns for our children. And we will hasten as shock-troops in the van of the Israelites until we have established them in their home.\u2026We will not return to our homes until every one of the Israelites is in possession of his portion\u201d (32:17\u201318).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The rightmost symbol represents sheepfolds for their flocks and only the next symbol is the town for their children. Moses, aware of their blatant materialism, soon corrects them, saying: \u201cBuild towns for your children and sheepfolds for your flocks\u201d (32:24), which is indeed what they do in the end. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

This chapter reveal Moses\u2019 stature and ability as a leader who knew his people and knew well how to ensure that one group would not exploit the others so that justice would prevail.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Artwork by: Avner Moriah, by courtesy of the artist<\/p>\r\n

Text by: Dr. Shulamit Laderman, who holds a\u00a0<\/span>PhD in Art History and has published extensively on Jewish and Christian influences on biblical interpretive illustration.<\/p>\r\n

For the entire weekly portion series, please visit: <\/span>https:\/\/avnermoriahprints.com\/collections\/parasha<\/span><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48726,"alt":"","title":"Num32-Matot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot.jpg","width":2500,"height":1616,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-300x194.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":194,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-768x496.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":496,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-1024x662.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":662,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":993,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1324,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-1200x776.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":776,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-650x420.jpg","home_baner-width":650,"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":"The Chapter Illustrated: Parashat Matot","tile_main_caption":"Moses Still Has What It Takes As A Leader","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Presents stiff demands, and ensures fairness for all","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":48726,"alt":"","title":"Num32-Matot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot.jpg","width":2500,"height":1616,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-300x194.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":194,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-768x496.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":496,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-1024x662.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":662,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":993,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1324,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-1200x776.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":776,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-Matot-650x420.jpg","home_baner-width":650,"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","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","date":"20260325","wall_id":"149"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"},{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":4,"id":"48752","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"On the Far Side of the Jordan ","post_title":"On The Far Side Of The Jordan","slug":"on-the-far-side-of-the-jordan","old_id":"48752","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36423,"post_title":"Ari Hoffman","slug":"ari-hoffman","old_id":"36423","first_name":"Ari ","last_name":"Hoffman","description":"Ari Hoffman is a columnist for the Forward, where he writes about politics and culture. 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He holds a doctorate in English Literature from Harvard and a law degree from Stanford.\r\n","short_description":"Ari Hoffman is a columnist for the Forward, where he writes about politics and culture, and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at N.Y.U.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36424,"alt":"","title":"Ari Hoffman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","width":1044,"height":1438,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-218x300.jpg","medium-width":218,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-743x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":743,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-743x1024.jpg","large-width":743,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","1536x1536-width":1044,"1536x1536-height":1438,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","2048x2048-width":1044,"2048x2048-height":1438,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-871x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":871,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-305x420.jpg","home_baner-width":305,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A river runs through the camp of Israel","post_main_content_content":"

There is something about today\u2019s chapter that is thoroughly modern, and entirely resonant. The Jewish people had been promised the far side of the Jordan River, all the land between that river and the Mediterranean Sea. They had seen it before, only to be turned away in a welter of tears and recrimination. They\u2019d crossed one sea, and when they forded the river and their sandals squished into the dirt on the other side their journey would be over. Everything to the East of the River would become the past, streaked with miracles but also shrouded in suffering; the slave power Egypt, the desert itself, the cities of Chaldees from which Abraham emerged, metropoles so old that their founding was coterminous with the making of the world. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Something funny happened on the way to crossing the river, though. The tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of Manasseh found their cows mooing with satisfaction, and the soil to be rich and fertile between their fingers. For a nation that had moved in lockstep through the desert after building Pharaoh\u2019s public works in miserable solidarity, this is the first instance of true divergence, as the call of business and family and homesteading ensure that a River will run through the camp of Israel. It is an admission that in the course of things the edge of the Promised Land can be more attractive than its hilly and sacred center, and that we don\u2019t always choose where our feet ache to rest.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The deal Moses strikes is one that seeks to midwife the journey from confederation of tribes to nation bound by compact and protected by universal conscription. It balances the right of every man to choose his home with the responsibility to protect all the homes that aren\u2019t yours. Never can the seductions of vineyard and hearth distract from the fight to which we all must remain implacably committed, no matter where we pitch our tent.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Jordan River loops, photo\u00a0\u00a0by W. Robert Moore<\/span>\u00a0-\u00a0The National Geographic Magazine, Dec. 1938, wikimedia\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48753,"alt":"","title":"Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","width":433,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","medium_large-width":433,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","large-width":433,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","1536x1536-width":433,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","2048x2048-width":433,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","post_full_size-width":433,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops-303x420.jpg","home_baner-width":303,"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":"On The Far Side Of The Jordan","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A river runs through the camp of Israel","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":48753,"alt":"","title":"Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","width":433,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","medium_large-width":433,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","large-width":433,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","1536x1536-width":433,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","2048x2048-width":433,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops.jpg","post_full_size-width":433,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-The_Jordan_River_loops-303x420.jpg","home_baner-width":303,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","date":"20260325","wall_id":"149"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"422","name":"Diaspora","old_id":"822"},{"term_id":"423","name":"Politics","old_id":"823"},{"term_id":"430","name":"Land of Israel","old_id":"830"},{"term_id":"510","name":"Home","old_id":"910"},{"term_id":"792","name":"Tribes","old_id":"1192"}]},{"order":5,"id":"48762","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"East Side, West Side, All Around the Jordan ","post_title":"East Side, West Side, All Around The Jordan","slug":"east-side-west-side-all-around-the-jordan","old_id":"48762","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34255,"post_title":"Shira Hecht-Koller","slug":"shira-hecht-koller","old_id":"34255","first_name":"Shira","last_name":"Hecht-Koller ","description":"Shira Hecht-Koller is the Director of Education for 929 English. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34256,"alt":"","title":"Shira head shot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shira-head-shot.jpg","width":3456,"height":5184,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shira-head-shot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shira-head-shot-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shira-head-shot-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shira-head-shot-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shira-head-shot.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shira-head-shot.jpg","2048x2048-width":1365,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shira-head-shot-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shira-head-shot-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What was so wrong with the tribes\u2019 request?","post_main_content_content":"

When the grass is greener on the other side, requests to stay on that side seem reasonable. Such is the petition put forth by the tribes Reuben, Gad and \u00bd Menashe as the Israelites plan for settlement in the promised land. They approach Moses with what is a seemingly legitimate request: Israel has recently conquered the land of Sihon in the central Transjordan; it is excellent grazing land; they have a large number of livestock; therefore, it makes sense for them to settle here.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Though the request is sensible, Moses reacts surprisingly harshly. Their request had consisted of three verses; Moses\u2019s response takes up ten. He not only criticizes them explicitly and directly, but claims that their actions are comparable to those of the spies, who had condemned an entire generation to death in the desert. For an innocent request, this seems to be entirely unwarranted. What exactly was wrong with their request that brought such censure upon their heads?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A careful analysis of Moses\u2019s words demonstrates that the threat to which he reacts is not a perceived lack of love for Israel, but rather a sense that these tribes are undermining the entire program. If they remain in Transjordan, Moses is concerned that the rest of the people will opt to not go to war and simply join their movement. He is worried that they are acting in a way that will cause not only themselves, but the entire nation, to give up the quest for the land at this stage. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses\u2019s prime concern is that they are threatening to dissuade the rest of Israel from entering the promised land.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

His message seems to be clear: there are legitimate pragmatic considerations involved in a tribe\u2019s choice of territory, and these may trump the ideal of living in Israel. But this is only acceptable if the choice of other territory is accompanied by ardent support for those who do wish to live in Israel. \u00a0Reuben and Gad can live wherever they want \u2013 even in land that was not divinely intended to be Israelite land \u2013 if they do all they can to ensure that the other tribes are able to cross the Jordan and establish life there.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When Reuben and Gad explain that they never meant to bow out at this stage, but would in fact lead the fight to conquer the land of Israel and not return home until it was settled, Moses assents, assured now that the national presence in Israel was not threatened by the Jewish presence outside of Israel. Perhaps, he may have thought, they will one day be mutually beneficial.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

photo: courtesy of the author<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48763,"alt":"","title":"Duet32-SHKalaniyot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot.jpg","width":1280,"height":853,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":853,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":853,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-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":"East Side, West Side, All Around the Jordan","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"What was so wrong with the tribes\u2019 request?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":48763,"alt":"","title":"Duet32-SHKalaniyot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot.jpg","width":1280,"height":853,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":853,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":853,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Duet32-SHKalaniyot-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":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","date":"20260325","wall_id":"149"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"397","name":"Moses","old_id":"797"},{"term_id":"430","name":"Land of Israel","old_id":"830"},{"term_id":"792","name":"Tribes","old_id":"1192"}]},{"order":6,"id":"48765","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Solidarity and Destiny, But Live Where You Choose ","post_title":"Solidarity And Destiny, But Live Where You Choose","slug":"solidarity-and-destiny-but-live-where-you-choose","old_id":"48765","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":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A ancient story that raises issues that are frighteningly contemporary","post_main_content_content":"

As the process of settling the Land proceeds, two of the tribes, Gad and Reuben, decide that they don\u2019t want to settle within the Land of Israel, but rather to remain on the Transjordan side (outside but adjacent to the Land of Israel). They approach Moses to let him know of their changed plans, and his immediate response is rage: how can you abandon the rest of our people for the sake of your own comfort and wellbeing?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the conversation doesn\u2019t stop there. After chastising them (\u201cAre your brothers to go to war while you stay here (Num 32:6)?\u201d, Moses calls them sinners for abandoning the people. Surprisingly, the response of the tribes of Reuben and Gad isn\u2019t simply to fold and fall back in line. Instead, they defend themselves by insisting that they will settle the land they desire, then they will join with the rest of Israel to secure the land west of the Jordan, and only when that is complete will they return to their homes and families. With that assurance, Moses is appeased.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is surprising in this heated exchange is that Moses doesn\u2019t demand that everyone has to dwell within the Land of Israel. He demands that everyone identify with the Land, support Israel\u2019s life there, and participate in that new communal adventure. Once the two tribes pledge to stand with their brothers and sisters in advancing life in the Land of Israel, then Moses is supportive of their own reasons to remain outside.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And, from the other direction, is is clear that the tribes of Reuben and Gad continue to identify and to express solidarity with their brothers and sisters of the other tribes of Israel, they just have their own reasons for not wanting to live there. They insist that they can fulfill their duties to the Jewish people without having to live within the land itself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Solidarity. Shared destiny. Love of the Land. And the freedom to live where they choose. All with the approval of Moses (and, presumably, God). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Are there implications for our own time?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: courtesy of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":107618,"alt":"","title":"-630db14c88a97--630db14c88a98num32-israel diaspora 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She is the author of 12 books. Her forthcoming book is The Book of Esther: Power, Fate and Fragility in Exile (Maggid\/OU).","short_description":"Dr. Erica Brown is Director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership at The George Washington University.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39526,"alt":"","title":"erica brown","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","width":154,"height":186,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","medium-width":154,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","medium_large-width":154,"medium_large-height":186,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","large-width":154,"large-height":186,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","1536x1536-width":154,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","2048x2048-width":154,"2048x2048-height":186,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","post_full_size-width":154,"post_full_size-height":186,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","home_baner-width":154,"home_baner-height":186}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Being part of a community of a shared vision can never be episodic if it is to be authentic","post_main_content_content":"

A modern midrash: It is the night before the Gadites and Reubenites were approaching the priests and judges to request they stay on the other side of the Jordan River. They planned for weeks, unsure and anxious how their new plan would be received. Their real struggle was facing Moses. Their leader for all these decades, Moses was banned from entering the Promised Land. How could they tell him so close to the land itself that they <\/span>could<\/span><\/em> enter the land but did not want to, and all for a lot of cows, what Moses might consider a bovine misdemeanor?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Having amassed cattle in a scrimmage in Jazer and Gilead, these tribes knew that a financial boon on four legs was hard to move; the grazing land on this side of the Jordan was excellent. They knew little about Canaan, but rumors flooded the camp. The land would never be as good. They were sure of it, even willing to give up on the community altogether for their recent good fortune. In the Gadite leadership tent, the Reubenites, ancestors of the firstborn spurned son of Jacob, and Gadites discussed their strategy. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The time came for the fateful meeting. Moses did not mention his personal or emotional stake in the matter. He did not chastise them for putting their immediate, material gains above their joint spiritual dream. As a leader, his concern was always for the impact every decision would have on the rest of the wilderness community: \u201cAre your brothers to go to war while you stay here?\u201d The repercussions for the others were obvious.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The tribes assured Moses that they would fight; indeed, they would settle their families and cattle and go out to the front line. Moses, perhaps tired of fighting or aware that they were going to act on this plan regardless of his warnings, hesitatingly and shockingly agreed. But fighting together and living together are not the same. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Being part of a community of a shared vision can never be episodic if it is to be authentic.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61778,"alt":"","title":"1kings5-unity","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity.png","width":1920,"height":1916,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-768x766.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":766,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-1024x1022.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1022,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1533,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1916,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-1200x1198.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1198,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-421x420.png","home_baner-width":421,"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":"Fighting Together And Living Together Are Not The Same","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Being part of a community of a shared vision can never be episodic if it is to be authentic","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61778,"alt":"","title":"1kings5-unity","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity.png","width":1920,"height":1916,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-768x766.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":766,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-1024x1022.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1022,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1533,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1916,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-1200x1198.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1198,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings5-unity-421x420.png","home_baner-width":421,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","date":"20260325","wall_id":"149"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"422","name":"Diaspora","old_id":"822"},{"term_id":"434","name":"War","old_id":"834"},{"term_id":"792","name":"Tribes","old_id":"1192"}]},{"order":8,"id":"48821","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Moses Has Painful Flashbacks Of Previous Sins ","post_title":"Moses Has Painful Flashbacks Of Previous Sins","slug":"moses-has-painful-flashbacks-of-previous-sins","old_id":"48821","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":47016,"post_title":"Ilana Blumberg","slug":"ilana-blumberg","old_id":"47016","first_name":"Ilana ","last_name":"Blumberg ","description":"Ilana Blumberg is a prize-winning author and teacher. Her most recent book is the memoir, \"Open Your Hand: Teaching as a Jew, Teaching as an American\" (Rutgers UP, 2018). She directs the Shaindy Rudoff Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Bar Ilan University and lives in Jerusalem with her family.","short_description":"Ilana Blumberg is a prize-winning author and teacher.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":47017,"alt":"","title":"ilana blumberg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ilana-blumberg-e1546807007295.jpg","width":188,"height":249,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ilana-blumberg-e1546807007295-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ilana-blumberg-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ilana-blumberg-e1546807007295.jpg","medium_large-width":188,"medium_large-height":249,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ilana-blumberg-e1546807007295.jpg","large-width":188,"large-height":249,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ilana-blumberg-e1546807007295.jpg","1536x1536-width":188,"1536x1536-height":249,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ilana-blumberg-e1546807007295.jpg","2048x2048-width":188,"2048x2048-height":249,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ilana-blumberg-e1546807007295.jpg","post_full_size-width":188,"post_full_size-height":249,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ilana-blumberg-e1546807007295.jpg","home_baner-width":188,"home_baner-height":249}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But he doesn\u2019t make Reuben and Gad pay the price","post_main_content_content":"

In this chapter, the tribes of Gad and Reuben appeal to Moses, asking if they may settle on the near side of the Jordan river, the land best for shepherding. Moses misunderstands their request and imagines that they are asking to remain settled while their brothers cross the river to meet the challenges of war. Further, he is sure they are courting deeper sin: <\/span>If you stay, you will prevent your brothers from crossing the river and inheriting the land God has given them<\/span><\/em>.<\/em> No, say Gad and Reuben, we will go and fight, leaving our children and women here, and only once the land is conquered, will we return.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this misunderstanding, memory flashes. When Moses hears their request, he says, we have been here before. Once, I sent out your fathers from Kadesh Barnea to see the land and those men turned the hearts of the children of Israel away from the land. Moses retells the entire story: how God is angered and vows that not one of the generation of the exodus will live to see the land, only Caleb and Joshua who followed God with full hearts. Moses\u2019 narrative impulse simply cannot be stopped: he projects forward, telling Reuben and Gad that they are standing now for their fathers, men of sin, and that they will cause God to hold the people in the desert beyond the forty years caused by their fathers\u2019 acts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Finally, Reuben and Gad get a word in. They explain that they will fight alongside their brothers. They will not <\/span>prevent<\/em> <\/span>(\u05d5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d9\u05d0\u05d5, vayaniu<\/em>) them from fulfilling their historical destiny, nor will they cause God to <\/span>set them into prolonged travels<\/span><\/em> (\u05d5\u05d9\u05e0\u05d9\u05e2\u05dd, vayeni\u2019em<\/em>), nor to <\/span>hold them in place<\/span><\/em> (\u05dc\u05d4\u05e0\u05d9\u05d7\u05d5, lehanicho<\/em>: see verses 9, 13, 15). Instead they will fight alongside their brothers until they bring them to their place (32:17).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses struggles to distinguish one generation from another. In speaking to the generation that will inherit the land, he can see before him only the generation of the exodus, those who will not cross over. Moses projects an exact replay of a scene of sin and consequence, the consequence that is his own fate as well: the fate of travel without reaching one\u2019s destination, which might as well be a staying in place. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

If you stay on this side of the Jordan, as he himself must, history cannot unfold. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

But Reuben and Gad say -- perhaps without any sense of the intense and painful irony of the young speaking to the old, of endless possibility speaking to foreclosed possibility <\/span>\u2013 <\/span><\/i>that was never what we intended. We will cross the Jordan, of course we will cross it, and then we will simply cross back.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

As if it were that easy.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54110,"alt":"","title":"jo14-caleb and joshua","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","width":435,"height":430,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua-300x297.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":297,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","medium_large-width":435,"medium_large-height":430,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","large-width":435,"large-height":430,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","1536x1536-width":435,"1536x1536-height":430,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","2048x2048-width":435,"2048x2048-height":430,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","post_full_size-width":435,"post_full_size-height":430,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua-425x420.jpg","home_baner-width":425,"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":"Moses Has Painful Flashbacks Of Previous Sins","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But he doesn\u2019t make Reuben and Gad pay the price","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54110,"alt":"","title":"jo14-caleb and joshua","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","width":435,"height":430,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua-300x297.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":297,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","medium_large-width":435,"medium_large-height":430,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","large-width":435,"large-height":430,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","1536x1536-width":435,"1536x1536-height":430,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","2048x2048-width":435,"2048x2048-height":430,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua.jpg","post_full_size-width":435,"post_full_size-height":430,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-caleb-and-joshua-425x420.jpg","home_baner-width":425,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","date":"20260325","wall_id":"149"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"397","name":"Moses","old_id":"797"},{"term_id":"400","name":"Sin","old_id":"800"},{"term_id":"430","name":"Land of Israel","old_id":"830"},{"term_id":"792","name":"Tribes","old_id":"1192"}]},{"order":9,"id":"48771","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Are We Too Reuben and Gad? ","post_title":"Are We Too Reuben and Gad?","slug":"are-we-too-reuben-and-gad","old_id":"48771","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37918,"post_title":"Shai Held","slug":"shai-held","old_id":"37918","first_name":" Shai ","last_name":"Held","description":"Rabbi Shai Held, theologian, scholar, and educator, is President, Dean, and Chair in Jewish Thought at Hadar, where he also directs the Center for Jewish Leadership and Ideas. A 2011 recipient of the prestigious Covenant Award for excellence in Jewish education, Rabbi Held has been named multiple times to Newsweek\u2019s list of the 50 most influential rabbis in America. He holds a doctorate in religion from Harvard; Rabbi Held's first book, Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence, was published by Indiana University Press in 2013; The Heart of Torah, a collection of essays on the Torah in two volumes, was published by JPS in 2017.","short_description":"Rabbi Shai Held is President, Dean, and Chair in Jewish Thought at Hadar,","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37919,"alt":"","title":"shai held","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","width":150,"height":186,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","medium-width":150,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","medium_large-width":150,"medium_large-height":186,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","large-width":150,"large-height":186,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","1536x1536-width":150,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","2048x2048-width":150,"2048x2048-height":186,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","post_full_size-width":150,"post_full_size-height":186,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","home_baner-width":150,"home_baner-height":186}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"When desire for goods keep us from the good","post_main_content_content":"

As the Israelites inch closer to the Promised Land, the tribes of Reuben and Gad approach Moses with a request. \u201c\u2018If we have found favor in your eyes,\u2019 they say, \u2018let this land be given to your servants as a holding; do not make us cross the Jordan\u201d (Numbers 32:5). Appalled by the request, Moses unleashes a torrent of anger, finally condemning the Reubenites and Gadites as \u201ca brood of sinners\u201d (32:14). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why is Moses so angry?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A midrash asks: Given that the Transjordan had just been conquered by the whole people, how did Reuben and Gad end up with so much more cattle than the others? \u201cThis teaches,\u201d the midrash answers, \u201cthat the two tribes were quick to despoil what had been conquered (Midrash HaGadol to Numbers 32:1). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In light of all this, the two tribes\u2019 lack of desire to enter the Promised Land takes on powerful symbolic weight. If the Torah makes one core assumption about land, it is surely that the earth belongs to God alone (Leviticus 25:23). For the Torah, \u201cdivine ownership means that all property is ultimately received as a gift.\u201d The Land of Israel is not a commodity but a covenantal gift (cf. Deut. 6:10-11 and 8:7-10). Reuben and Gad, so committed to acquiring (<\/span>liknot<\/span><\/em>) cattle (<\/span>mikneh<\/span><\/em>)<\/span>\u2014<\/span>two versions of the same word<\/span>\u2014<\/span>cannot allow themselves to live in a land that is so manifestly about receiving rather than grabbing.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Reading of the two tribes and their struggle with Moses, we are challenged to ask: Are we, too, Reuben and Gad? How often does our preoccupation with possessions (<\/span>mikneh<\/span><\/em>) lead us to forget God and other people? In our consumerist society, can we still reclaim the Torah\u2019s message that what we have is ultimately a gift from God? If we receive rather than grab, we open the door to genuine kindness and generosity of spirit. We open the door, in other words, to genuine service of God. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In telling the story of Reuben and Gad in such detail, the Torah reminds us of the grave damage materialism can do to our relationship with God. In our consumerist society, it is a message we can ill afford to ignore.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48772,"alt":"","title":"Num32-consumerism","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","width":300,"height":216,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism-300x216.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":216,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":216,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":216,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":216,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":216,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":216,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":216}},"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":"Are We Too Reuben and Gad?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"When desire for goods keep us from the good","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":48772,"alt":"","title":"Num32-consumerism","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","width":300,"height":216,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism-300x216.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":216,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":216,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":216,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":216,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":216,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":216,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num32-consumerism.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":216}},"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":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","date":"20260325","wall_id":"149"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"395","name":"Covenant","old_id":"795"},{"term_id":"430","name":"Land of Israel","old_id":"830"},{"term_id":"440","name":"Wealth\/money","old_id":"840"},{"term_id":"676","name":"Material","old_id":"1076"},{"term_id":"685","name":"Values","old_id":"1085"}]},{"order":10,"id":"48775","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"2","name":"Riches \u2013 Then and Now ","post_title":"Riches \u2013 Then And Now","slug":"riches-then-and-now","old_id":"48775","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). 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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":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"When inordinate love of wealth leads to exile","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter begins with a brief mention of the riches of two of the Israelite tribes, Reuven and Gad, in what was in biblical times a significant measure of wealth: \u201cNow the descendants of Reuven and the descendants of Gad had great flocks of sheep (miqneh rav<\/em>)\u2026\u201d (32:1). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Midrash (Numbers Rabbah 22:7 and parallels) begins its elaboration of this verse with a message that remains highly relevant to our day. \u201cThree gifts were created in the world -- wisdom, strength and wealth. If a man merits to acquire any one of these, he possesses what is most precious in this world. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

But this is only so when these gifts come from the Holy One, blessed be He, through the power of Torah. For human strength and wealth are naught. Our Rabbis taught\u2026two rich men arose in the world, one in Israel and one among the nations of the world -- Korah in Israel and Haman among the nations of the world -- and both of them were eradicated from the world, because their gifts were not from the Holy One, blessed be He. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

And so, you find that the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuven were very rich, having great flocks of sheep. It was their flocks that they loved, and so they settled in territory best suited to raising sheep that was outside the Land of Israel. As a result, they were the first of all the tribes to go into exile (see I Chronicles 5:26). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why did this befall them? Because they separated themselves from their brethren for the sake of their flocks. From where do we learn about their inordinate love of wealth? From what we read in our Chapter: \u201cNow the descendants of Reuven and the descendants of Gad had great flocks of sheep. And when they saw the land of Yazer, and the land of Gilad, that, behold, the place was a place for sheep, the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuven came and spoke unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying: <\/span>\u2026<\/b> the land which the Lord smote before the congregation of Israel is a land for sheep, and your servants have flocks.' And they said: 'If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given unto your servants for a possession. Bring us not over the Jordan\u2019\u201d (32:1-5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Michal Ben Hamu<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48599,"alt":"","title":"Num29-Michal Ben Hamu","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","width":900,"height":386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu-300x129.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":129,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu-768x329.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":329,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":386,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":386,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","home_baner-width":900,"home_baner-height":386}},"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":"Riches \u2013 Then And Now","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"When inordinate love of wealth leads to exile","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":48599,"alt":"","title":"Num29-Michal Ben Hamu","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","width":900,"height":386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu-300x129.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":129,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu-768x329.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":329,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":386,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":386,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num29-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","home_baner-width":900,"home_baner-height":386}},"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","date":"20260325","wall_id":"149"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"440","name":"Wealth\/money","old_id":"840"},{"term_id":"676","name":"Material","old_id":"1076"}]},{"order":11,"id":"48769","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Model Negotiation ","post_title":"A Model Negotiation","slug":"a-model-negotiation","old_id":"48769","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. 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One of the hardest tasks of a leader \u2013 from prime ministers to parents \u2013 is conflict resolution. Yet it is also the most vital... That is why an episode in this week\u2019s parsha is of the highest consequence... It arose like this. The Israelites were on the last stage of their journey to the promised land. They were now situated on the east bank of the Jordan, within sight of their destination. Two of the tribes, Reuben and Gad, who had large herds and flocks of cattle, felt that the land they were currently on was ideal for their purposes. It was good grazing country. So they approached Moses and asked for permission to stay there rather than take up their share in the land of Israel.They said: \u201cIf we have found favour in your eyes, let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan\u201d (32: 5).<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Moses was instantly alert to the danger. The two tribes were putting their own interests above those of the nation as a whole. They would be seen as abandoning the nation at the very time they were needed most. There was a war \u2013 in fact a series of wars \u2013 to be fought if the Israelites were to inherit the promised land. As Moses put it to the tribes: \u201cShould your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the Lord has given them?\u201d (32: 6-7)...<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>What then followed is a role model in negotiation and conflict resolution. The Reubenites and Gadites recognised the claims of the people as a whole and the justice of Moses\u2019 concerns. They propose a compromise. Let us make provisions for our cattle and our families, they say, and the men will then accompany the other tribes across the Jordan. They will fight alongside them. They will even go ahead of them. They will not return to their cattle and families until all the battles have been fought, the land has been conquered, and the other tribes have received their inheritance. Essentially they invoke what would later become a principle of Jewish law: <\/span>zeh neheneh ve-zeh lo chaser<\/span><\/em>, meaning, an act is permissible if \u201cone side gains and the other side does not lose.\u201d We will gain, say the two tribes, by having land good for our cattle, but the nation as a whole will not lose because we will be in the army, we will be in the front line, and we will stay there until the war has been won.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Moses recognises the fact that they have met his objections. He restates their position to make sure he and they have understood the proposal and they are ready to stand by it. He extracts from them agreement to a double condition, both positive and negative: If we do this, these will be the consequences, but if we fail to do this, those will be the consequences. He leaves them no escape from their commitment. The two tribes agree. Conflict has been averted. The Reubenites and Gadites achieve what they want but the interests of the other tribes and of the nation as a whole have been secured. It was a model negotiation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From:\u00a0<\/span>Conflict Resolution (Covenant & Conversation, Matot 5774)<\/span><\/em><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":107626,"alt":"","title":"-630db57f88296--630db57f88297num32-negotiate 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i<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The tribes of Gad and Reuven <\/span>had cattle in extremely great numbers.<\/span><\/em>
\r\n<\/span><\/i>And the East side of the Jordan River, before you enter the Land, is a good <\/em><\/span>place for cattle<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The tribes of Gad and Reuven tell Moses: <\/span>Do not pass us through the Jordan<\/em> <\/span>into the Land.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Let us settle here, on the East of the Jordan.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Let us be cattlemen here.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses says: if you <\/span>pass yourselves<\/span>\u2026<\/span>through the Jordan<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

and help your brother-tribes settle the Land<\/span><\/p>\r\n

then you may come back here, to the East;<\/span><\/p>\r\n

and settle here.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

ii<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Also:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Utensils become impure whey they touch a dead body.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>To purify them,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>any thing which<\/span> can withstand fire<\/span>, <\/span>you must pass through fire<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>and <\/span>a<\/span>ny thing which cannot withstand fire<\/span>, <\/span>you must<\/span> pass through water.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

iii<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not everything is meant to <\/span>pass through fire<\/span><\/em>.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Some things are meant to <\/span>pass through water<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

Not everyone is meant to <\/span>pass through the Jordan<\/span><\/em> and stay.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Some are meant to <\/span>pass through the Jordan<\/span><\/em>,<\/span> and then to go back.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There are many ways in the world.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>There are many ways to fulfill life. 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","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":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Before the Jews even enter the land, the existence of a diaspora is legitimized","post_main_content_content":"

It's all too easy to recruit the story of Gad and Reuben's request in chapter 32 to rant about the way wealth and comfort can trump the Zionist dream. I know, because I've delivered the rant myself. And when I've refrained from sharing this thought out loud, I've felt it deep in the pit of my stomach, while praying in Diaspora synagogues, hearing people ask over and over again to be returned to Zion.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the story doesn't really accommodate such a simplistic polemic. For starters, Moses doesn't say anything about giving up on the holiness of the land, or about not being part of the destiny of the Jewish people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It's hard to imagine that Moses, whose deepest desire was to cross the Jordan and enter the land with his people, was indifferent to these concerns. To hear tribes voluntarily giving up on what he so desperately prayed for must have been deeply disappointing. Nevertheless, the negotiations end with Moses agreeing to the founding of the first official diaspora community. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Before the Jews even enter the land, the existence of a diaspora is legitimized, so long as it meets the conditions that Moses sets.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Condition 1: Recognize that you're in the diaspora. The children of Gad and Reuben try to introduce a narrative in which God's inheritance, <\/span>nachala<\/span><\/em>, is not limited by the boundaries of the land of Israel. Some tribes inherit in the land, and some out of it. Moses consistently refuses to use this language, preferring the term <\/span>achuza<\/span><\/em>. You can hold onto this land, you can live there, you can even be in God's presence there, but the land you live in is <\/span>not<\/b> the promised land, and your choice can't be allowed or used to discourage others from choosing the land of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Condition 2: Live up to your responsibilities as part of the nation. Living in a different place doesn't absolve you from taking part in the national project of the Jewish people- building a society in Israel by the light of the Torah. Apparently, that doesn't necessarily require that every tribe live in the land. But they must be ready to make an equal contribution, and even to occupy a position of leadership through their contribution. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Condition 3: Worry about your children before your property. While the tribes speak of building for their herds, and then for their children, Moses switches the order. Even if the choice of diaspora begins from financial considerations, Jewish continuity will often demand sacrificing financially for the sake of your children. It's a demand whose difficulty is felt acutely these days in the American Jewish community.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Meeting these conditions is the necessary prerequisite for choosing not to enter the land. There will be much more to say about the challenges to Jewish unity the choice entails, but that will have to wait for the book of Joshua.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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The humble and the proud. The foolish and the wise.","post_main_content_content":"

\"\u2026 do not force us to pass over the Jordan.\" (Numbers 32:5)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The light shines orange here. The light shines green.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The light shines purple here. The light shines gray.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The light shines yellow as we stand to pray<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>in silence. Only silence. In between<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>the silences, we look for walls to lean<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>against \u2014 and <\/span>tzaddikim<\/span><\/i> as well, since they<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>could say the words of prayer we cannot say.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>We look for colors that we haven't seen. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

We close our eyes. The darkness brings us back<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>to where we were before we sought the light<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>we seek today. Who do we find? \u00a0The dead<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>and the living. \u00a0Light! Light! The light shines black.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The humble and the proud. The light shines white.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The foolish and the wise. The light shines red.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":106708,"alt":"","title":"-62de99dce929c--62de99dce929enum6-edge center colors.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62de99dce929c-62de99dce929enum6-edge-center-colors.jpg.jpg","width":1920,"height":855,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62de99dce929c-62de99dce929enum6-edge-center-colors.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62de99dce929c-62de99dce929enum6-edge-center-colors.jpg-300x134.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":134,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62de99dce929c-62de99dce929enum6-edge-center-colors.jpg-768x342.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":342,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62de99dce929c-62de99dce929enum6-edge-center-colors.jpg-1024x456.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":456,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62de99dce929c-62de99dce929enum6-edge-center-colors.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":684,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62de99dce929c-62de99dce929enum6-edge-center-colors.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":855,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62de99dce929c-62de99dce929enum6-edge-center-colors.jpg-1200x534.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":534,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62de99dce929c-62de99dce929enum6-edge-center-colors.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":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"For Those Left Behind","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The dead and the living. 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\u201cBoundaries of Jewish Identity: Who is in and who is out?\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Dean Kertesz: How do we determine membership in the Jewish community?<\/span><\/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":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Numbers 32","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Click to get links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","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":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","date":"20260325","wall_id":"149"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":18,"id":"107602","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 32 ","post_title":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 32","slug":"points-to-ponder-numbers-32","old_id":"107602","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"149","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Public leadership roles<\/em>. \u201cMoses, Eleazar the priest, and the chieftains of the community\u201d (verse 2); \u201cEleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes\u201d (28). But who does all the work in the chapter? Moses.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Culture corner?<\/em> \u201cA breed, <\/span>tarbut<\/span><\/em>, of sinful men\u201d (verse 14). The word <\/span>tarbut<\/span><\/em>, which in modern Hebrew means \u201cculture\u201d here means something that has grown and multiplied (similar to a cell culture).Moses is accusing the Reubenites and Gadites that they have grown up wild, and sinful.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Settlement initiatives<\/em>. Two are mentioned in this chapter. Jair son of Manasseh, who captures villages and renames them Havvoth-jair (verse 41); and Nobach, who captures Kenath and renames it after himself (42).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Where did half of the tribe of Manasseh\/Menashe go?<\/em> The half-tribe of Manasseh is mentioned only in verse 33. Until then the negotiations had been between Moses and Reuben and Gad. Where had they been? Take a look at the commentators. <\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","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":"The Daily Summary","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder: Numbers 32","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_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":"Numbers","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"149","date":"20260325","wall_id":"149"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/48545"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}