{"id":48546,"date":"2018-07-09T17:41:33","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-148\/"},"modified":"2022-08-30T08:08:06","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T05:08:06","slug":"wall-148","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-148\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Torah-Numbers-31"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"148","date":"20260324","book":"Numbers","chapter":"31","chapter_main_number":"148","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"48719","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Numbers 31 - Judy Hammond ","post_title":"Numbers 31 - Judy Hammond","slug":"numbers-31-judy-hammond","old_id":"48719","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":"148","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 31","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-31-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":"31","chapter_main_number":"148","date":"20260324","wall_id":"148"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"107594","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Back To Balaam ","post_title":"Back To Balaam","slug":"back-to-balaam","old_id":"107594","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. 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Chapter 31 returns to the previous story of the Midianite woman and Baal Peor. God has not forgotten the evil plot to seduce the population and cause them to sin. Were it not for the heroics of Pinchas, the plot would have succeeded. This is why God tells Pinchas to lead the army into battle against the Midianites.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this chapter we find out that the people killed Balaam in their attack on Midian. Later, when Moses chastises the people for keeping the women alive he admonishes the people: \u201cYet they are the very ones who, at the bidding of Balaam, induced the Israelites to trespass against God\u201d (verse 16). This is the source for reading into the Balaam story that Balaam was really an evil person.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In fact, Balaam is a complex character. The Balaam story showed that he was loyal to the word of God, but here the text reveals that he also schemed another way to harm the Israelites. More importantly this verse invites a larger question- when did the people find out about the Balaam story? Moses does not instruct them to kill Balaam at the beginning. So they may have only found out about it in the events described in verse 16.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The story of Balaam is the only time from the beginning of the Abraham narrative in which the story has no major Israelite character involved. (The story of Eliezer is directed by Abaraham, and involves Rebecca; while the story of the cupbearer and Pharaoh's dreams, is an interlude connecting Joseph in jail to Joseph in the court). This story of Balaam may\u00a0 appear now as yet another example of the effort of God to prepare the people for entry into the land and become self-reliant. No one was involved in the Balaam story except for God. God\u2019s message with the Balaam story is that the people should not fear being alone in the land. God will always be in the background trying to thwart efforts to harm the Israelites.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Matot\/Mas'ei - First We Take Manhattan<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/EHsNgmryDW0","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Shabbat With a Schmear","tile_main_caption":"Matot\/Mas'ei - First We Take Manhattan","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Adam Mintz with Meredith Berkman (ShabbatMom)","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/EHsNgmryDW0","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":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1055"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":5,"id":"48702","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"My Night-time Struggle With Chapter 31 ","post_title":"My Night-time Struggle With Chapter 31","slug":"my-night-time-struggle-with-chapter-31","old_id":"48702","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33859,"post_title":"Avidan Freedman","slug":"avidan-freedman","old_id":"33859","first_name":"Avidan","last_name":"Freedman","description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. He is an activist advocating for moral limits on Israeli arms exports, and on behalf of African refugees, and a proud husband and father of 5. He received his rabbinical ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York, and from the Israeli chief rabbinate.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. ","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33860,"alt":"Avidan Freedman","title":"Avidan Freedman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","width":856,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-251x300.jpg","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-768x919.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":919,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-856x1024.jpg","large-width":856,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","1536x1536-width":856,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","2048x2048-width":856,"2048x2048-height":1024,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-351x420.jpg","home_baner-width":351,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"148","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Are we up to the moral challenges?","post_main_content_content":"

I'm not afraid to struggle with the Torah. To be \"Yisrael\" means to have enough faith in yourself that you can be straight (<\/span>yashar<\/span><\/i>) with God, and enough faith in God that He can handle you wrestling with Him a bit.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like Jacob with the angel, I find myself locked in a struggle with chapter 31 that essentially ends in a deadlock. On the one hand, I won't let go of my moral intuitions. I won't accept that there's no moral issue with slaughtering man, woman, and child, leaving only young girls, and those as captives, while we get rich on the spoils of war. I can't see anyone in the moral world I inhabit seriously endorsing these practices as moral nowadays. That's a fact. <\/span>But, on the other hand, I know this is a Good Book from a Good God, and I'm not ready to reject it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Are you calling the Torah immoral, I begin to argue with myself?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Hem. Haw.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Ramban says that Moshe didn't tell them what to do, they decided on their own...<\/span><\/p>\r\n

...but then Moshe himself chastises them for not killing the women.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

...but God didn't tell them what to do, only to oppress the Midianites, to take revenge on them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

...but since when does God endorse revenge?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

...but Moshe refuses to accept it as Israel's revenge, and reframes it as God's revenge, according to the Midrash, sending only those who were not directly involved in the sin with the Midianite women. He distances this war from himself, a Midianite expatriate, as well as from Joshua, the future leader of Israel. There is something in him that is conflicted about this war as well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

...and anyways, that's what the standards of war were back then.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

...but does that mean I need to think it's moral now? And couldn't the Torah demand more of us than the ethics of the time, as it often does?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

...perhaps it does, by declaring the people who killed impure, by exiling them from the camp, by demanding they undergo a purification process...<\/span><\/p>\r\n

...and so it goes, until morning, when one side says, leave me go, it's time for the morning prayers, and the other side says- not until you bless me. The blessing? \"Jacob will no longer be your name, but rather Israel, for you have struggled with God and man, and you can do it.\" <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Don't be afraid, my servant Jacob. Struggle is the name of the game. And we're up to the challenge.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48708,"alt":"","title":"Num31-jacob-wrestling-the-angel-of-god","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num31-jacob-wrestling-the-angel-of-god.jpg","width":900,"height":717,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num31-jacob-wrestling-the-angel-of-god-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num31-jacob-wrestling-the-angel-of-god-300x239.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":239,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num31-jacob-wrestling-the-angel-of-god-768x612.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":612,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num31-jacob-wrestling-the-angel-of-god.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":717,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num31-jacob-wrestling-the-angel-of-god.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":717,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num31-jacob-wrestling-the-angel-of-god.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":717,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num31-jacob-wrestling-the-angel-of-god.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":717,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num31-jacob-wrestling-the-angel-of-god-527x420.jpg","home_baner-width":527,"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":"My 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Shared Fate Places Us In Sync ","post_title":"Mattot\/Mas'ei:\u00a0 Shared Fate Places Us In Sync","slug":"mattot-maasei-shared-fate-places-us-in-sync","old_id":"60420","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36663,"post_title":"Beth Kissileff","slug":"beth-kissileff","old_id":"36663","first_name":"Beth ","last_name":"Kissileff ","description":"Beth Kissileff is the editor of the anthology Reading Genesis (2016 - https:\/\/www.bloomsbury.com\/us\/reading-genesis-9780567381521), and the forthcoming Reading Exodus, and the author of the novel Questioning Return - https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Questioning-Return-Novel-Beth-Kissileff\/dp\/1942134231. \r\nHer journalism appears in many publications; she has taught most recently at the University of Pittsburgh. Visit her online at www.bethkissileff.com. ","short_description":"Beth Kissileff is the editor of the anthology Reading Genesis (Bloomsbury\/ T and T Clark, 2016) , a journalist and teacher.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36664,"alt":"","title":"BethKissileff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","width":3478,"height":3200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-300x276.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":276,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-768x707.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":707,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-1024x942.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":942,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1413,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1884,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-1200x1104.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1104,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-456x420.jpg","home_baner-width":456,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1055","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And the 5 women who end the book, yearning for the Land, connect us back to the 5 women who started the whole redemption process in the first place\u2026","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cJews at least share the same calendar.\u00a0 Think about it \u2013 Christians are so fractured that the different groups don\u2019t even agree on the dates of their major holy days,\u201d our tour guide Shuli Mishkin told us walking towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the intermediate days of Passover.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Same calendar, yes; same readings at same time, not always.\u00a0Schedules for the weekly reading of the Torah have diverged between Israel and the Diaspora since the end of Passover, when Israelis recited Leviticus with the portion of Acharei Mot<\/em> on the Sabbath of April 27, while Jews outside Israel read the portion designated for Passover\u2019s eighth day, not celebrated in Israel, where just one day of the holiday suffices. Schedules for reading are being synced once again this week.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Why then is the double portion of Matot-Masei the one to mend the rift between the portions Israelis and Diaspora Jews read?\u00a0Two aspects of the portion remind us of those who act so we retain a united destiny and posit a moving belief in a shared fate.\u00a0In Numbers 32, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh elect to remain on one side of the Jordan.\u00a0And yet they vow their fate will be the same as those crossing over in that they will share in responsibilities of war and in fact be the \u201cpioneers\u201d (the verb h-l-tz<\/em> appears seven times in this chapter in 32: 17, 20, 21, 27, 29, 30, 32), and in the vanguard of the warriors. This is the condition for their retention of their land.<\/p>\r\n

The others concerned about the retention of land are a group of five women, daughters of a man who had no sons.\u00a0It makes sense to have the end of Numbers be the moment to highlight five women who act bravely to ensure continuity, just as Exodus begins with the similar actions of five women<\/a> \u2013 two midwives, mother and sister of Moses and daughter of Pharaoh. Here it is Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noa the daughters of Zelophechad whose case ends the book in chapter 36: 1-13. The love of the land that these sisters had, choosing to bring their case to Moses for judgement (Numbers 27:1 \u2013 11) is the matter that ends the book of Numbers and cements the fact of the Israelites' right to enter it.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The fact that five women serve as bookends to leaving Egypt and entering Israel seems proof that for fate to be shared, all members of society, men and women, must have the capacity to both take action as in Exodus and be heard and judged fairly as in Numbers.\u00a0In that way we will create a society in which the stories read will be ones all wish to share.<\/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":"Matot\/Mas'ei 5779","tile_main_caption":"And the 5 women who end the book, yearning for the Land, connect us back to the 5 women who started the whole redemption process in the first place\u2026","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1055"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"},{"term_id":"403","name":"Redemption","old_id":"803"},{"term_id":"600","name":"Women","old_id":"1000"}]},{"order":7,"id":"48710","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Presence and Absence ","post_title":"Presence And Absence","slug":"presence-and-absence","old_id":"48710","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34004,"post_title":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg","slug":"avivah-gottlieb-zornberg","old_id":"34004","first_name":"Avivah Gottlieb","last_name":"Zornberg","description":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg lives in Jerusalem where she has been lecturing on Torah since 1980. She reads biblical narratives through the prism of midrash, literature, philosophy and particularly psychoanalysis.\r\nShe was born in London and grew up in Glasgow, where her father was a Rabbi and the head of the Rabbinical Court. She studied Torah with him from childhood. Her PhD in English Literature is from Cambridge University, England. She taught English literature at the Hebrew University before turning to teaching Torah. She now teaches throughout the Jewish world, at synagogues, universities, and psychoanalytic institutes.\r\nShe is the author of five critically acclaimed books. Her latest book, Moses: A Human Life, was published by Yale University Press.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg lives and lectures on Torah in Jerusalem. She is the author of five critically acclaimed books. ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34006,"alt":"","title":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","width":454,"height":359,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg-300x237.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":237,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","medium_large-width":454,"medium_large-height":359,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","large-width":454,"large-height":359,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","1536x1536-width":454,"1536x1536-height":359,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","2048x2048-width":454,"2048x2048-height":359,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","post_full_size-width":454,"post_full_size-height":359,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","home_baner-width":454,"home_baner-height":359}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"148","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"This expression for counting lends itself to a double meaning","post_main_content_content":"

Telling and counting are, of course, related; indeed, both involve relating, recounting, tallying, attending to loss and gain. Whenever God commands a count of His people, says Rashi, this becomes an expression of His love. After historical crises, like the Exodus and sin of the Golden Calf, He counts in order to find out how many have survived; and when He comes to dwell among them, He likewise numbers them. God's love, it seems, is at its keenest in two opposite situations\u2014in celebration and after catastrophe. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Counting punctuates both presence and absence. It is a way of paying attention\u2014for Rashi, loving attention\u2014to the individual within society. It is striking that the word pakad<\/em>, which is used some twenty times to refer to the act of registering in the census, generates a larger field of meaning that includes paying attention, appointing, visiting, seeking, desiring, being interested, as well as depositing, committing, entrusting. At the same time, pakad<\/em> refers to absence; it attends to a loss. For example, after the battle against the Midianites at the end of the book, the pekudim<\/em>\u2014those appointed to make the count of the survivors\u2014report to Moses: \"Your servants have made a check of the warriors in our charge, and not one of us is missing [nifkad<\/em>]\" (Num. 31:49). The paradoxical meanings of pakad<\/em> play off one another. This is Rashi's reading: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lo nifkad<\/em>: no one is missing, as in Aramaic translation\u2014lo shaga<\/em>, which also means \"not missing.\" So we find (I Sam. 20:18): \"if your seat is empty [yipaked<\/em>]\" \u2014which means, if its usual occupant is missing. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

A space has been left empty and the one who pays attention notices a gap. Rashi cites the story of Saul and David, where David's absence is remarked by Saul. To count, then, is to tally, to tell, to recount those who are present and\/or those who are absent, so that taking a head count may have its sinister as well as its gratifying significance. In celebrating what is present, one may encounter or even generate absence. Those who are counted in the first census are precisely those who are doomed to die in the wilderness. On the words \"Take a census of the whole Israelite community\" (lit., \"lift up the heads ...\"), the midrash comments: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why does it say this at the beginning of the book? Why precisely this expression, se'u et rosh<\/em>\u2014\"Lift up the heads\" (Num. 1:2) Like a man who tells the executioner, \"Take off his head\"\u2014that is, kill him, God speaks in ambiguous language: If they are worthy, let them rise higher\u2014as we see [as Joseph told the butler], \"Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position.\" But if they are unworthy, they will all die, as we see in the same story, \"Pharaoh will lift your head from off you and hang you upon the gallows\" (Gen. 40:13,19). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

This expression for counting lends itself to a double meaning: promotion or death. The proof texts point to the most striking example of this ambiguity, in the story of the butler and the baker, Joseph's prison companions, whose opposite fates are both indicated by this expression.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61285,"alt":"","title":"2sam24-census","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam24-census.jpg","width":800,"height":549,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam24-census-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam24-census-300x206.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":206,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam24-census-768x527.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":527,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam24-census.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":549,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam24-census.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":549,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam24-census.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":549,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam24-census.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":549,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam24-census-612x420.jpg","home_baner-width":612,"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":"Presence 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","post_title":"Matot\/Mas'ei: A Biblical Case Study On Urban Planning?!","slug":"matot-masei-a-biblical-case-study-on-urban-planning","old_id":"60421","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37754,"post_title":"BimBam","slug":"bimbam","old_id":"37754","first_name":"","last_name":"BimBam","description":"BimBam sparks connections to Judaism through digital storytelling for learners of all ages.","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37755,"alt":"","title":"bimbam","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","width":218,"height":217,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","medium-width":218,"medium-height":217,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","medium_large-width":218,"medium_large-height":217,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","large-width":218,"large-height":217,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","1536x1536-width":218,"1536x1536-height":217,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","2048x2048-width":218,"2048x2048-height":217,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","post_full_size-width":218,"post_full_size-height":217,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","home_baner-width":218,"home_baner-height":217}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1055","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

When the Israelites get to the Promised Land, everyone is going to get home turf...except the Levites! Tune in to learn from city planner Jill Slater about how the Levites get taken care of.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/PWtt5N7QjuI","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"By: Jill Slater","tile_main_caption":"Matot\/Mas'ei: A Biblical Case Study On Urban Planning?!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A Bimbam Video","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/PWtt5N7QjuI","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":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1055"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":10,"id":"60423","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Matot\/Mas'ei: How to Get What You Want! Plan Your Next Big Ask! ","post_title":"Matot\/Mas'ei: How to Get What You Want! Plan Your Next Big Ask!","slug":"matot-masei-how-to-get-what-you-want-plan-your-next-big-ask","old_id":"60423","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":45252,"post_title":"Pardes","slug":"pardes","old_id":"45252","first_name":"","last_name":"Pardes","description":"Pardes Institue of Jewish Studies is an open, co-ed and non-denominational Jewish learning community, based in Jerusalem and with programs worldwide. \r\nThrough relationships with faculty, the community and Jewish texts, students leave Pardes with refined critical thinking, improved communication and interpersonal skills and more nuanced and sensitive perspectives. The Pardes model has inspired four decades of Jewish leadership marked by openness, passion, Jewish literacy, knowledge and inclusivity, and continues to inspire new possibilities for Jewish communities worldwide.","short_description":"Pardes Institue of Jewish Studies is an open, co-ed and non-denominational Jewish learning community, based in Jerusalem and with programs worldwide. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":45253,"alt":"","title":"Pardes rimon color logo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","width":392,"height":394,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo-298x300.jpg","medium-width":298,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","medium_large-width":392,"medium_large-height":394,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","large-width":392,"large-height":394,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","1536x1536-width":392,"1536x1536-height":394,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","2048x2048-width":392,"2048x2048-height":394,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","post_full_size-width":392,"post_full_size-height":394,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","home_baner-width":392,"home_baner-height":394}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1055","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"An Interactive Parsha Experience, a new family-friendly parsha resource, complete with a parsha summary, questions, games, and activities that can be used around the shabbat table. This interactive resource, produced by The Pardes Center for Jewish Educators, is engaging for all ages.","post_main_content_content":"

In this week\u2019s Interactive Parsha Experience<\/a>, explore the art of getting what you want with\u00a0Laura Marder<\/strong>, Pardes Day School Educators Program, \u201912-\u201914. How did the tribes of Reuven and Gad convince Moshe to stay on the other side of the Jordan river with their numerous sheep?<\/p>\r\n

And if you have older kids or teens, be sure to check out our\u00a0Parsha Discussion<\/a>\u00a0for a more mature conversation.<\/p>\r\n

To receive an Interactive Parsha Experience weekly email please subscribe with Pardes\u00a0today<\/a>!<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45256,"alt":"","title":"pardes cover image","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"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":"Interactive Family Study Materials","tile_main_caption":"Matot\/Mas'ei: How to Get What You Want! Plan Your Next Big Ask!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Download the study guide","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":45256,"alt":"","title":"pardes cover image","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"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":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1055"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"}]},{"order":11,"id":"60424","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Matot\/Mas'ei: Priorities ","post_title":"Matot\/Mas'ei: Priorities","slug":"matot-masei-priorities","old_id":"60424","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42813,"post_title":"Covenant & Conversation","slug":"covenant-conversation","old_id":"42813","first_name":"","last_name":"Covenant & Conversation","description":"Covenant & Conversation: Family Edition is a new and exciting initiative from The Office of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. 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Parshat Matot begins with Moses instructing the leaders of the tribes about how to keep vows and oaths, as well as how to annul them. The Israelites are then commanded to wage war against the Midianites because of their hostility towards them. There is an account of what is to be done with the spoils of war.<\/p>\r\n

Two tribes, Reuben and Gad, together with half the tribe of Menashe, ask permission to stay east of the Jordan where the land is ideal pasture for their cattle. Moses is initially angered, but eventually agrees on condition that they first join and lead in the battles for the land west of the Jordan.<\/p>\r\n

Download the Family Edition for Matot\/Mas'ei<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":42816,"alt":"","title":"covenant and conversation - Sacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","width":723,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-300x177.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","medium_large-width":723,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","large-width":723,"large-height":426,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","1536x1536-width":723,"1536x1536-height":426,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","2048x2048-width":723,"2048x2048-height":426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","post_full_size-width":723,"post_full_size-height":426,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-713x420.jpg","home_baner-width":713,"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":"Family Study Materials","tile_main_caption":"Priorities","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"for Matot\/Mas'ei","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42816,"alt":"","title":"covenant and conversation - Sacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","width":723,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-300x177.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","medium_large-width":723,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","large-width":723,"large-height":426,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","1536x1536-width":723,"1536x1536-height":426,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","2048x2048-width":723,"2048x2048-height":426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","post_full_size-width":723,"post_full_size-height":426,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-713x420.jpg","home_baner-width":713,"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":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1055"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"48700","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Anti-Semites\u2019 Scorn ","post_title":"The Anti-Semites\u2019 Scorn","slug":"the-anti-semites-scorn","old_id":"48700","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. 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\"Avenge the Children of Israel on the Midianites \u2026.\" (Numbers 31:2)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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

I hear the anti-Semites swear all wars<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Are started by the Jews; I hear their scorn<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And mockery, how every shirt is torn<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>By Jewish usury, how Jewish jaws<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Have slowly chewed their flesh, how Jewish claws\\<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Will slash the unsuspecting eye. \u00a0They mourn<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The gems they claim we stole and now adorn<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The snouts of Jewish piglets, sows and boars. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

I hear the lewd obscenities they use<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Against us, Lord, as if we drank their sweat<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Or poisoned all their wells. \u00a0O help me fight<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Their hatred, God, their hatred of the Jews,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Not with revenge's fire, but with light; let<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>A Jewish dawn extinguish hatred's night. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68608,"alt":"","title":"is21-dawn","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"The Anti-Semites\u2019 Scorn","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Let Jewish light extinguish hatred's night","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68608,"alt":"","title":"is21-dawn","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is21-dawn-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":"31","chapter_main_number":"148","date":"20260324","wall_id":"148"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"362","name":"Poetry","old_id":"762"}]},{"order":13,"id":"48694","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Numbers 31 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Numbers 31","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-numbers-31","old_id":"48694","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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\u201cSpiritual Life Lessons from the Desert\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Shaanan Scherer: What can we learn from the story of the Jews in the desert?<\/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 31","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":"31","chapter_main_number":"148","date":"20260324","wall_id":"148"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":15,"id":"107592","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 31 ","post_title":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 31","slug":"points-to-ponder-numbers-31","old_id":"107592","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"148","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Revenge<\/em>. The war with Midian was not a war of conquest for territory. It is setting accounts straight with those responsible (collectively of course) for the sin of Ba\u2019al Peor (ch 25), that caused a great deal of damage for the Israelites. The connection to that event is made explicit in verse 16.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Royal names.<\/em> \u201cThe kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian\u201d (verse 8). Zur, by the way, is the father of Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the Midianite woman who sinned with the chief of the tribe of Simeon.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. The Balaam that you never knew<\/em>. The Balaam we know from chapters 32-34 was the foreign prophet that was asked to curse, but ended up blessing. According to verse 16, he was the mastermind behind the Midianite initiative to get Israel to sin at Ba\u2019al Peor.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. The castle?<\/em> <\/span>Tira<\/span><\/em>, literally \u201ccastle\u201d - is not what you might imagine from a later European context. The Midianites were nomads, and so in verse 10 it most likely means \u201cencampment.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. Financial concepts<\/em>. Levy, <\/span>meches<\/span><\/em> (duty- verse 28), <\/span>achuz<\/span><\/em> (verse 30 - here meaning one \u201ctaken\u201d in 50, in mod. Hebrew - per cent). You get the idea.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  6. Midianite bling<\/em>. \u201cArmlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and pendants\u201d (verse 50).<\/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 31","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":"31","chapter_main_number":"148","date":"20260324","wall_id":"148"},"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\/48546"}],"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=48546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}