{"id":49168,"date":"2018-07-09T17:41:40","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1031\/"},"modified":"2022-09-09T16:08:42","modified_gmt":"2022-09-09T13:08:42","slug":"wall-1031","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1031\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20220904-to-20220910"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1031","date_from":"20220904","date_to":"20220910","book":"Deuteronomy","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"107825","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"Ki Tetze: Mitzvot To Combat Bad Habits And Destructive Behaviors ","post_title":"Ki Tetze: Mitzvot To Combat Bad Habits And Destructive Behaviors","slug":"ki-tetze-mitzvot-to-combat-bad-habits-and-destructive-behaviors","old_id":"107825","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36277,"post_title":"Yedidya Sinclair","slug":"yedidya-sinclair","old_id":"36277","first_name":"Yedidya","last_name":"Sinclair","description":"Rabbi Yedidya Sinclair serves as Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon, the leading US Jewish environmental organization. From 2011-16 he was Vice President for Research and Senior Economist at Energiya Global, a Jerusalem-based solar energy company focused on the developing world and he continues to consult on renewable energy and climate change preparedness. In 2014 he published together with Hazon, a translation of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's great work on shmitta, the Sabbatical year, \"Introduction to Shabbat Ha'aretz.\" Yedidya holds a BA from Oxford University, an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and lives with his family in Jerusalem.","short_description":"Yedidya Sinclair is a Jerusalem-based rabbi and economist, and is Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36278,"alt":"","title":"yedidya sinclair","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","width":200,"height":200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":200,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":200,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":200}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1031","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Shmita too can loosen the sway of addictive patterns of consumption\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Parshat Ki Tetze begins with two mitzvot that the rabbis characterize as countering addiction. The first, of these, the laws of the female captive, challenges and attempts to moderate the abuse and dehumanization of women that is endemic to war. The second, the law of the \"stubborn and rebellious son\" deals with a child who is set on a bad course in life. The talmud (Sanhedrin, 69-71) defines the conditions to qualify as a stubborn and rebellious son. He must habitually steal a certain quantity of red meat and good wine from his parents (or steal the money to purchase these ) and then consume them outside his parent's home. The penalty - death -\u00a0 is extreme, and the majority of rabbis say that in fact there never was a stubborn and rebellious son who was put to death. Why then is it in the Torah? So that we might \"study it and receive reward.\" So let's study it!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The talmudic discussion drills down into the kind of meat (red meat, but not dried out, and not chicken) and wine (old wine that has matured, not the stuff that has just come out of the vat,) that the kid has to consume to be liable. It also explores the social situation in which the offense happens, and the kind of relationship he has with his parents. The issue behind these details is whether this pattern of stealing to feed consumption is so addictive that \"the son will end up using up all his parents' money and to feed his habit he will go out to the crossroads and violently rob people\" (Sanhedrin 72a).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Torah recognizes the overwhelming power of addiction to destructive habits. Shmita is one of its ways for breaking addiction. It requires that, one year in seven, we take a break from agricultural work, refrain from treating food as a commodity, and challenges social isolation by restoring frayed bonds of community. In these ways shmita can loosen the sway of addictive patterns of consumption.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Teshuva is another of the Torah's ways to help us break the hold of destructive habits. Teshuva celebrates our ability to change course. Midway through the month of Ellul, and with Rosh Hashanah in view, may God help us to free future behavior from slavery to bad patterns from the past, and choose life for ourselves and our world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is the last month of\u00a0 the shmita year: Shmita means a sabbatical year for the Earth but also for ourselves, our communities, and our world. Each week we continue to share thoughts on how the weekly parsha can help guide our thinking around shmita themes of work and rest, wealth and debt, responsible land use, fair labor practices, private and public property ownership, and physical and spiritual revitalization.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

See here for more information on the Hazon Shmita project, and its blogs.<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":81608,"alt":"","title":"shmita","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","width":711,"height":708,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","medium_large-width":711,"medium_large-height":708,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","large-width":711,"large-height":708,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","1536x1536-width":711,"1536x1536-height":708,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","2048x2048-width":711,"2048x2048-height":708,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":708,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-422x420.jpg","home_baner-width":422,"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":"A Weekly Series: The \"Shmitah Parasha\" Blog","tile_main_caption":"Ki Tetze: Mitzvot To Combat Bad Habits And Destructive Behaviors","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"in conjunction with Hazon.org","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":81608,"alt":"","title":"shmita","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","width":711,"height":708,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","medium_large-width":711,"medium_large-height":708,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","large-width":711,"large-height":708,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","1536x1536-width":711,"1536x1536-height":708,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","2048x2048-width":711,"2048x2048-height":708,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":708,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-422x420.jpg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1031"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"},{"term_id":"411","name":"mitzvah","old_id":"811"},{"term_id":"494","name":"Shmita","old_id":"894"}]},{"order":2,"id":"49208","color":"#faeed8","size":"2","name":"An Inspirational Victory ","post_title":"An Inspirational Victory","slug":"an-inspirational-victory","old_id":"49208","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37333,"post_title":"Esther Jilovsky","slug":"esther-jilovsky","old_id":"37333","first_name":"Esther ","last_name":"Jilovsky","description":"Dr Esther Jilovsky is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. A native of Melbourne, Australia, she comes to the rabbinate with a PhD from the University of London in 2011. A granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, she is the author of Remembering the Holocaust: Generations, Witnessing and Place and co-editor of In the Shadows of Memory: The Holocaust and the Third Generation. \r\n\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr Esther Jilovsky is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":52868,"alt":"","title":"esther jilovsky.jpeg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1.jpg","width":3581,"height":5371,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1365,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"153","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The struggle of women not for mates or progeny - but for standing","post_main_content_content":"

When we think of women in the Torah, Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah may not be the first names which spring to mind. We may think of Sarah, who faithfully followed her husband Abraham to another land. We may think of Rebecca, who met her husband Isaac by falling off a camel. And we may think of Leah and Rachel, sisters who ended up married to the same man, Jacob. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

We have already met the late Zelophehad\u2019s daughters in Numbers 27. And unlike Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, whose appearance in the Torah is tied to their husbands from the very start, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah are not (yet) married. They stand before Moses and the elders and demand their inheritance: \u2018Let not our father\u2019s name be lost to his clan just because he had no son\u2019 (Numbers 27:4). I can only imagine the sisters\u2019 joy at the moment Moses confirms that God agreed to their request. Even though they have no father, no brothers and no husbands, they have a place: they are entitled to inherit their father\u2019s land.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The story could have ended there. The five sisters triumphant, basking in their victory. Smiling happily under the warm desert sun. Safe in the knowledge that they will rightfully inherit what is theirs.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But, the Torah reminds us, while Zelophehad\u2019s daughters may have no close male relatives, they do have a tribe. Moses qualifies the law, explaining that \u2018Every daughter among the Israelite tribes who inherits a share must marry someone from a clan of her father\u2019s tribe\u2019 (Numbers 36:8). Even though \u00a0a daughter with no brothers may inherit her father\u2019s land, in order that the land remain with the tribe, she must marry from within it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At first reading, this law seems terribly restrictive. It removes the independence that Zelophehad\u2019s daughters so boldly claimed. It is not exactly fair. But let us remember that these women retain the right to inherit from their father. And that remains an inspirational victory \u2013 even more than two millennia later.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Michal Ben Hamu<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48446,"alt":"","title":"num27-daughters","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.jpg","width":900,"height":386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters-300x129.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":129,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters-768x329.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":329,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":386,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":386,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.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":"An Inspirational Victory","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The struggle of women not for mates or progeny - but for standing","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":48446,"alt":"","title":"num27-daughters","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.jpg","width":900,"height":386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters-300x129.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":129,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters-768x329.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":329,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":386,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":386,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num27-daughters.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":"36","chapter_main_number":"153","date":"20260331","wall_id":"153"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"522","name":"Marriage","old_id":"922"},{"term_id":"545","name":"Tribe","old_id":"945"},{"term_id":"600","name":"Women","old_id":"1000"}]},{"order":3,"id":"48972","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"New Names, New Places ","post_title":"New Names, New Places","slug":"new-names-new-places","old_id":"48972","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":"151","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Several homes, one Home","post_main_content_content":"

Brace yourself: here comes another Biblical list that people love to mock. An array of names, one for each of the new leaders of the tribes, to work with Joshua and Eleazar the Priest in the apportioning of the Land for the Israelite confederation. In a fairly subtle move, the Torah lists the two familiar leaders from the previous generation, but supplements them with all new leaders from the other tribes. The astute reader will note that, as promised, the first generation of wanderers has perished. They will not enter into the Land of Promise. Only those leaders from a new generation, one that never knew slavery, never lived in Egypt, only these are fit to lead the people Israel into their new land, their new future.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But there is another subtle message flowing just under the surface as well. The tribal leaders are listed in the approximate order of their tribes\u2019 placement in the geography of the Land of Israel. Even before entering the land, people are introduced in their proper setting, their proper location. Everybody has their time, the Mishnah teaches, and every thing has its place. In the Torah\u2019s list here, we learn that each person has a place too.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We are all children of the soil, springing from the rich loam of this beautiful planet. Each person is of a place. In our busy, mobile time, it may well be true that we each have more than one place. But for all of us there is somewhere we are rooted, somewhere that calls us home. For me, the city of my childhood is one of my homes. The town of my college and of my graduate school also feel like homes to me. And as a Jew, every time I fly to Israel, a piece of me is flying home. But at the end of the day, Home (with a capital H) is where my wife and children live. That is where I breathe easiest, where I am nested and settled. Several homes; one Home. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So the Torah reminds us that even before we\u2019ve unpacked, we each of us has a home. We are of somewhere. We belong. And someday a new generation will take up their homes in what was once ours, just as we dwell in the spot where others have dwelt before us. And life\u2019s blessing is to see that continuity as the blessing it is; to celebrate our rootedness. To know where we are home.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48973,"alt":"","title":"num34-home","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home.jpg","width":1920,"height":1312,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-300x205.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":205,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-768x525.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":525,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-1024x700.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":700,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1050,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1312,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-1200x820.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":820,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-615x420.jpg","home_baner-width":615,"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":"New Names, New Places","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Several homes, one Home","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":48973,"alt":"","title":"num34-home","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home.jpg","width":1920,"height":1312,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-300x205.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":205,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-768x525.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":525,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-1024x700.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":700,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1050,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1312,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-1200x820.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":820,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/num34-home-615x420.jpg","home_baner-width":615,"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":"34","chapter_main_number":"151","date":"20260329","wall_id":"151"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"430","name":"Land of Israel","old_id":"830"},{"term_id":"462","name":"Identity","old_id":"862"},{"term_id":"510","name":"Home","old_id":"910"}]},{"order":4,"id":"49112","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"A Sanctuary and a Refuge ","post_title":"A Sanctuary And A Refuge","slug":"a-sanctuary-and-a-refuge","old_id":"49112","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. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at N.Y.U., and his writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Tablet Magazine, The New York Observer, and a range of other publications. 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":"152","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Sanctuary Cities - responding to trauma in the world","post_main_content_content":"

There is something about the Cities of Refuge in today\u2019s chapter that feels both emphatically archaic and distinctly modern. The notions of blood guilt, vigilante justice, the rights of family to avenge and places to offer sanctuary- these seem cut from Viking and medieval cloth, rough justice that the courts and magistrates replaced with process and procedure. Permanently populated by Levites, these cities were geographically dispersed and meticulously planned; presumably, they all looked the same, with the same blueprint. As with the ecclesiastical notion of sanctuary, they were a part of the law and an exception to it. They enabled a legal system to accommodate both formal innocence and deeper guilt in a way that our modern arrangement does not. They are reminiscent of the trials by combat and ordeal that we have excised from our jurisprudence, methods of ascertaining the truth less dependent on testimony than augurs and outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the same time, cities of refuge strike a modern chord. We live at a moment when the movements of people from places of danger to those of safety is a subject of near unrivalled import and debate. The law strains to respond to this reality, which encompasses border-crossings and global migration patterns. Cities have set themselves up as contemporary \u201csanctuary cities\u201d and refused to enforce federal immigration laws, an echo of the ancient idea that these are places aside and apart, urban exceptions that both respond to trauma in the world and offer a respite from it. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like the Cities of Refuge in our chapter, sanctuary cities call into deep question the relation of law and morality, and the justification for making exceptions when contingency seems overwhelming. They ask us to meditate on the role of chance and accident in where we are born, where we leave, and where we go, the angle of an axe and the role of the bystander, who might end up with blood on her hands.
\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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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":"154","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Like a spring bursting forth in the wilderness, Moses discovers a primal genius for language","post_main_content_content":"

In Jewish tradition, Moses is known as Moses our Teacher\u2014Moshe rabbenu. The irony is that, from the beginning of the narrative, Moses questions his own ability to transmit God\u2019s messages. When he describes himself as \u201cheavy of mouth, and heavy of tongue,\u201d as \u201cof uncircumcised lips,\u201d he reveals a profoundly personal dimension of his life. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the book of Deuteronomy, he speaks in a new way, reaching out to his listeners \u2014and to his future readers\u2014in the mode of <\/span>teaching<\/span><\/em>. Skeptical of his power to affect them, Moses stages for his students new teaching possibilities that are generated, I suggest, precisely by his inhibition.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The opening to language originates in the wilderness: \"These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan, in the wilderness....\" In fact, says the midrash, it is the wilderness that generates the explosion of language that he experiences in the last months of his life:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"These are the words...\u201d: [...] Forty years after leaving Egypt, Moses began to interpret the Torah in seventy languages\u2014\"He explained this Torah\" (Deut. 1:5). The mouth that had said, \"I am not a man of words,\" now spoke \"these [are] the words.\" And the prophet cried out: \"Then shall the lame leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute shall sing aloud!\" (Isa. 35:6) Why? \u201cFor waters should burst forth in the desert, streams <\/span>in the wilderness<\/span><\/em>...\" \u00a0(Tanchuma <\/span>Devarim<\/span><\/i> 2) <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Suddenly, it seems, Moses gains that access to language that was so long withheld from him. He can talk to everyone in his own language; he translates God's word into the terms of each human encounter. He discovers a primal genius for language; unprompted, like a spring in the desert, his voice resounds in the many words of Deuteronomy. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The mysterious force of the analogy\u2014language bursting forth like water in the wilderness\u2014becomes more poignant when we consider the context and purpose of many of Moses' final speeches in Deuteronomy. Many of the passages repeat earlier stories or laws; other passages contain new material. But these speeches, which occupy a large portion of the book, are understood, even by some of the traditional commentaries, as bearing an unprecedentedly personal stamp. They are not simply mechanical transmissions of God's words, but the creation, to some extent, of the man Moses in the final months of his life. This assumption lies behind the midrash we have just quoted: the people are quizzically amazed at Moses' sudden eloquence, at the fertility of symbolic resonance that he now generates. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Excerpted from: Bewilderments,<\/em> Schocken Books, 2017, p. <\/span>284-286 <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Ein Bokek, by \u05d9. \u05e9., 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Doing the Book of Numbers in Numbers","post_main_content_content":"

Over the past 36 chapters, we have had:<\/p>\r\n

20 works of art according to the 10 weekly readings (parasha) of the Book
\r\n44 works of poetry
\r\n2 spoken word posts<\/p>\r\n

And fully 262 literary items: \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

32 single entry authors
\r\n28 by 9 authors who each contributed between 2 and 4 posts
\r\n42 by 5 authors who each contributed between 7 and 10 posts
\r\n160 by 5 authors who each contributed between 15 and 33 posts<\/p>\r\n

We hugely appreciate all the contributions we've received in every media, and we want to give a special shout out to:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Marc Bregman<\/a>, Avidan Freedman<\/a>, Avivah Zornberg<\/a>,\u00a0Brad Artson<\/a>, Ari Hoffman<\/a>, Erica Brown<\/a>, Michal Kohane<\/a>, and Ilana Blumberg<\/a> for their stellar writing, in quantity and quality!
\r\n
\r\n<\/p>\r\n

That's a lot of words \u2013 which is a good lead connection from \"Numbers\" to \"Words,\" Devarim,\u00a0 Deuteronomy, which we begin here tomorrow, without even taking a breath!<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49224,"alt":"","title":"Num-bookend-1735","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","width":364,"height":606,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735-180x300.jpg","medium-width":180,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","medium_large-width":364,"medium_large-height":606,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","large-width":364,"large-height":606,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","1536x1536-width":364,"1536x1536-height":606,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","2048x2048-width":364,"2048x2048-height":606,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","post_full_size-width":364,"post_full_size-height":606,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735-252x420.jpg","home_baner-width":252,"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":"Numbers: A 929 Summary","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"929 Doing the Book of Numbers in Numbers","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49224,"alt":"","title":"Num-bookend-1735","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","width":364,"height":606,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735-180x300.jpg","medium-width":180,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","medium_large-width":364,"medium_large-height":606,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","large-width":364,"large-height":606,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","1536x1536-width":364,"1536x1536-height":606,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","2048x2048-width":364,"2048x2048-height":606,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735.jpg","post_full_size-width":364,"post_full_size-height":606,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num-bookend-1735-252x420.jpg","home_baner-width":252,"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":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":"20190212","wall_id":"2004"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"49327","color":"#eceffa","size":"2","name":"Time To Move On ","post_title":"Time To Move On","slug":"time-to-move-on","old_id":"49327","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39363,"post_title":"Sara Cohen","slug":"sara-cohen","old_id":"39363","first_name":"Sara ","last_name":"Cohen ","description":"Sara Cohen is a member of Kibbutz Ketura and serves as a regional rabbi in the Eilot region in the southern Arava valley of Israel. ","short_description":"Sara Cohen is a member of Kibbutz Ketura and serves as a regional rabbi in the Eilot region in the southern Arava valley of Israel. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39364,"alt":"","title":"sara cohen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/sara-cohen-e1536047435864.jpg","width":2338,"height":2253,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/sara-cohen-e1536047435864-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/sara-cohen-e1536047435864-300x289.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/sara-cohen-e1536047435864-768x740.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":740,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/sara-cohen-e1536047435864-1024x987.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":987,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/sara-cohen-e1536047435864.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/sara-cohen-e1536047435864.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1974,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/sara-cohen-e1536047435864-1200x1156.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1156,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/sara-cohen-e1536047435864-436x420.jpg","home_baner-width":436,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"154","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But the discomfort of the unknown causes the People of Israel to allow fear to guide their actions","post_main_content_content":"

And God says: \u201cGet out of here! Move on! Scat!\u201d \u00a0The Children of Israel have made themselves comfortable and safe in their temporary mountain home at Horeb, but it is time for them to move on. They need to leave their comfort zone. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Leaving our comfort zones, stepping out of safe spaces we have created for ourselves physically and emotionally, creates anxiety and stress. Yet entering the non-routine can spark creativity. Because he is forced out of the routine of Horeb, Moses develops a new kind of leadership that is more effective in the new circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But not everyone is Moses, and many people cannot harness the exhilaration of leaving the known in order to create something new. \u00a0Thus, the discomfort of the unknown causes the People of Israel to allow fear to guide their actions. Moses says to the people, \u201cyou have empirical evidence that God is on your side. You have firsthand knowledge of God\u2019s ability to care of you\u2014of all of us\u2014on this journey from slavery to freedom. You see the fire by night and the cloud by day that physically guides us, allowing us to be secure that we are on the right path. How can you let fear contradict your own first- hand experience!?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Human beings do need fear in order to survive. If we didn\u2019t have fear we would walk into traffic, burn ourselves by touching a hot flame, or walk off of a high building. \u00a0But for many of us, like for the children of Israel when they leave Horeb, there is no direct correlation between clear and obvious danger and a fearful response.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Children of Israel have been here before, standing at the edge of the Promised Land, deciding what to do. Have they learned anything in the 40 years since that first chance? When we leave our comfort zones to take on new challenges, the transition should be easier if we take what we have learned from past similar situations into the new ones. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

But in the case of the Children of Israel, the lesson they choose to take with them is the fear of the unknown, rather than the possibility of trusting in themselves, in Moses, and in God to help them succeed in the new situation. Perhaps Moses\u2019 anger, and God\u2019s anger and subsequent punishment of the Children of Israel is born out of fear too. Perhaps God is afraid that human beings do not have the power to distinguish between situations in which fear is justified and situations in which we take false comfort in fear, because it is easier to fear than to trust.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Image: By Benjamin West\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49328,"alt":"","title":"Dt1- 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","post_title":"Putting Public Policy In Proper Proportion.","slug":"putting-public-policy-in-proper-proportion","old_id":"49201","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":"153","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What about precedents, implications - consequences?","post_main_content_content":"

\"It's all well and good that you're sympathetic to feminist complaints of inequality, Moses. After all, who doesn't believe in fundamental equality and justice? But what about the policy implications? What will this do to the community?\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The complaints of the children of Gilad neatly, if anachronistically, match up with a common objection to feminist innovations. Opponents will grant the fundamental equality of the sexes (and this itself is a tremendous accomplishment of the feminist movement), and may even admit that the halacha can change in response to changing circumstances. But, they will argue, perhaps paraphrasing Jewish feminist Blu Greenberg, just because there is a halachic way, doesn't mean there ought to be a rabbinic will, and this because of the social consequences. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Should these be ignored?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses\u2019 response to this claim is highly instructive. While respecting and providing a response to the men's concerns, he also defines (and limits) the impact and weight they need to be given.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

First, he establishes that the demands of justice must come first, and only afterward is social policy considered. Although it seems that the law limiting marriage in these cases within the tribe was already given along with the original innovation of the inheritance of daughters, Moses didn't adulterate the original ruling with its technical limitations. For that, he waited for the issue to actually be raised, and only then did he offer the (already prepared) response.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Second, we learn that responding to policy concerns can't be allowed to undermine the fundamental response to a problem of inequality. A simpler solution to the problem suggests itself. Why weren't the daughters of Zelophehad told that, should they choose to marry outside the tribe, they must forfeit their father's portion, and accept their husband's portion as their own? Isn't that what other women did?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In fact, the sisters may have been happy to accept this alternative. If their original request had been motivated by their intense love of the land of Israel, as the Midrash suggests, it must have been quite disappointing that the men of their tribe decided to waive their portion inside the land, and conquer the land of Gilad, east of the Jordan.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps their willingness to accept the limitation imposed on them comes from the feeling that, even when policy concerns demand consideration (and they do), their fundamental call for justice and change is assigned greatest value.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49202,"alt":"","title":"Num36-blindfolded-justice","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice.png","width":1202,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-282x300.png","medium-width":282,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-768x818.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":818,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-962x1024.png","large-width":962,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice.png","1536x1536-width":1202,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice.png","2048x2048-width":1202,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-1127x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1127,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-394x420.png","home_baner-width":394,"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":"Putting Public Policy In Proper Proportion","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"What about precedents, implications - consequences?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49202,"alt":"","title":"Num36-blindfolded-justice","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice.png","width":1202,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-282x300.png","medium-width":282,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-768x818.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":818,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-962x1024.png","large-width":962,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice.png","1536x1536-width":1202,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice.png","2048x2048-width":1202,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-1127x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1127,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Num36-blindfolded-justice-394x420.png","home_baner-width":394,"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":"36","chapter_main_number":"153","date":"20260331","wall_id":"153"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"},{"term_id":"483","name":"Feminism","old_id":"883"}]},{"order":9,"id":"49330","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Hearing, Considering, Agreeing, Acting ","post_title":"Hearing, Considering, Agreeing, Acting","slug":"hearing-considering-agreeing-acting","old_id":"49330","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"154","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Moses emphasizes the need for judicious self-determination as a condition of new-found freedom","post_main_content_content":"

This first chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy begins with Moses\u2019 retelling of all that has transpired for the Israelites. Until know we most often read of Moses\u2019 speaking to the people prefaced with \u201cGod spoke to Moses saying\u2026\u201d, followed by Moses relaying the message. But in this instance the chapter begins simply with \u201cThese are the words that Moses spoke to all of Israel.\u201d We are led to understand that now we are going to hear from Moses directly - his take on what is most relevant for the Israelites to hear again as they embark on their new life, and challenges, in the land of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And where does Moses begin? With the reminder that God gave them this land to possess (v. 6-8), and a reminder of their journey to reach the land. But this recollection is interrupted with Moses recalling the instructions to the people about setting up a judicial system comprised of a hierarchy of leaders and judges (v. 9-18). Moses goes into some detail about how the judging is to be carried out. The first step of the judicial process is to \u201chear your brothers\u201d (v. 16) and judge righteously between them. This admonition to hear is further broken down in the next verse with \u201csmall and great alike shall you hear.\u201d The Ohr ha-Hayim suggests the importance of that first step in litigation - that of \u201chearing\u201d is to remind us of the patience required by judges to hear out the litigants in order to ensure they get at the truth.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Daniel Elazar, from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, writes about the book of Deuteronomy, describing it as essentially the first constitution of the Jewish people, and refers directly to this word \u201chear\u201d, defining it as an \u201cact of hearing, considering, agreeing and then acting...a sign of human freedom.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Could this have been Moses\u2019 intention: to remind the Israelites of their obligation of judicious self-determination as a condition of their new-found freedom?<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49331,"alt":"","title":"Dt1-ear","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-300x200.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-768x512.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-1024x683.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-1200x800.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-630x420.png","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":"Hearing, Considering, Agreeing, Acting","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Moses emphasizes the need for judicious self-determination as a condition of new-found freedom","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49331,"alt":"","title":"Dt1-ear","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-300x200.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-768x512.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-1024x683.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-1200x800.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-ear-630x420.png","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,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"154","date":"20260401","wall_id":"154"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"413","name":"Freedom","old_id":"813"},{"term_id":"578","name":"Listening","old_id":"978"}]},{"order":10,"id":"49323","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"Lessons For The End Time On The Fragility Of Existence ","post_title":"Lessons For The End Time On The Fragility Of Existence","slug":"lessons-for-the-end-time-on-the-fragility-of-existence","old_id":"49323","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":48376,"post_title":"Tzvi Novick","slug":"tzvi-novick","old_id":"48376","first_name":"Tzvi ","last_name":"Novick ","description":"Tzvi Novick holds the Abrams College Chair of Jewish Thought and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, where he teaches in the Department of Theology. His research focuses on rabbinic literature and early liturgical poetry.\r\n ","short_description":"Tzvi Novick holds the Abrams College Chair of Jewish Thought and Culture at the University of Notre Dame","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":48377,"alt":"","title":"May 10, 2013; Tzvi Novick..Photo by Matt Cashore\/University of Notre Dame","caption":"May 10, 2013; Tzvi Novick..Photo by Matt Cashore\/University of Notre Dame","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386.jpg","width":1416,"height":1812,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-234x300.jpg","medium-width":234,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-768x983.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":983,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-800x1024.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386.jpg","2048x2048-width":1416,"2048x2048-height":1812,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-938x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":938,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-328x420.jpg","home_baner-width":328,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"154","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"#1 - No delegating responsibility","post_main_content_content":"

The book of Deuteronomy\u2014Moses\u2019 dying valediction\u2014is framed in space and time by the number eleven: The Israelites are encamped an eleven days\u2019 journey from Horeb (Sinai) (1:2), and Moses begins to speak on the first day of the eleventh (<\/span>ashte asar<\/span><\/i>) month (1:3). \u00a0(Note how ashte asar<\/em> is reinforced by another temporal marker: The speech begins after the conquest at ashterot<\/em>. [1:4]). In a world dominated by the number twelve\u2014the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve spies, the twelve stones of the breastplate, etc.\u2014the number eleven strikes a discordant note. I take it to signify an impending end: If twelve marks completion, summation, then eleven indicates its approach. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Deuteronomy is a book that foresees an imminent end.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the end of what? \u00a0Deuteronomy marks the end of the wilderness wandering, of course, and as such, that end is a happy one, the fulfillment of God\u2019s promise to Abraham to settle his children in the land of Canaan. Yet Deuteronomy is replete with rebuke; indeed, rebuke is arguably the book\u2019s <\/span>raison d\u2019\u00eatre<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the opening chapters of the book, Moses will recall Israel\u2019s sins in the wilderness, and warn throughout of new prospects for sinning in the land. Especially in the latter third of the book, these sins will serve as grounds for imagining a more distant future of foreign invasion and exile. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is the paradox of the book of Deuteronomy: It offers a vision of Jewish life on the land even as it envisions the end of such life. From the perspective of the book of Deuteronomy, national existence in the land of Israel is intrinsically fragile. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

This complex vision has obvious resonance for a Jewish present that counts the State of Israel as its most prominent center. But the book of Deuteronomy, so conceived, should speak likewise to people as such, inhabitants of the Anthropocene. To live in this era is to appreciate that, in the most profound way, \u201cHe has given the earth to human beings\u201d (Ps 115:16).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We are the makers of this world, and its biggest threat. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Let us, then, at the eleventh hour, begin to explicate the Torah of the Anthropocene that is implicit in Deuteronomy. Chapter 1 is a meditation on the relationship between leaders and led. Leadership decisions that in Exodus and Numbers were the result of private conversations among elites\u2014between Jethro and Moses about the appointment of judges (Exodus 19), between God and Moses about the appointment of the spies (Numbers 13)\u2014emerge in Deuteronomy 1 from negotiations between Moses and the people. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Likewise, Moses is barred from entering the land of Canaan not because of his private transgression against God, as in Numbers 20, but because he heads a generation that will itself not inherit the land. \u00a0The very juxtaposition of the judges and the spies\u2014a vital and enduring leadership institution, on the one hand, and a short-lived and disastrous one, on the other\u2014underscores the sense that leadership is an epiphenomenon, and that reality and power lie ultimately in the people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses opens with a first and fundamental lesson for the end time: There is no delegating responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

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He was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, who bridged the religious and secular world through his ground-breaking canon of work.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"k (1948-2020) was the former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the International 929 president.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36222,"alt":"","title":"JSacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","width":437,"height":548,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-768x448.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":448,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-1024x597.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","1536x1536-width":437,"1536x1536-height":548,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","2048x2048-width":437,"2048x2048-height":548,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","post_full_size-width":437,"post_full_size-height":548,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-335x420.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"155","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Love is not quantifiable: it is not a matter of more or less","post_main_content_content":"

Note the Bible\u2019s attitude to Esau and his descendants. Moses commands;\u00a0<\/span>\u2018Do not hate an Edomite [a descendant of Esau], for he is your brother\u2019 (Deut. 23:7). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

God instructs the Israelites: \u201cYou are passing by the borders of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Although they fear you, be very careful not to provoke them. I will not give you even one foot of their land, since I have given Mount Seir as Esau\u2019s inheritance. (Deut. 2:4\u20135)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Something of deep consequence is being intimated here. <\/span>The choice of Jacob does not mean the rejection of Esau.<\/span><\/i> Esau is not chosen, but neither is he rejected. He too will have his blessing, his heritage, his land. He too will have children who become kings, who will rule and not be ruled. Not accidentally are our sympathies drawn to him, as if to say: not all are chosen for the rigours, spiritual and existential, of the Abrahamic covenant, but each has his or her place in the scheme of things, each has his or her virtues, talents, gifts. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Each is precious in the eyes of God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

To be secure in my relationship with God does not depend on negating the possibility that others too may have a relationship with him. Jacob was loved by his mother, Esau by his father; but what of God, who is neither father nor mother but both and more than both? We can only know our own relationships; we can never know another\u2019s. Am I loved more than my brothers or sisters? Less? Once asked, the question must lead to sibling rivalry, <\/span>but it is the wrong question and should not be asked<\/span><\/em>. Love is not quantifiable: not a matter of more or less. Jacob is Jacob, heir to the covenant. Esau is Esau, with his own heritage and blessing. The people of the covenant must wrestle, as did Jacob, in the depths of the soul<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>to discover the face, the name and the blessing that is theirs.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Before Jacob could be at peace with Esau and with himself, he had to overcome mimetic desire, abandon sibling rivalry and learn that he was not Esau but Israel \u2013 one who wrestles with God and never lets go.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not in God\u2019s Name, p. 153<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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