{"id":49881,"date":"2018-07-09T17:41:47","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-162\/"},"modified":"2022-09-19T08:29:27","modified_gmt":"2022-09-19T05:29:27","slug":"wall-162","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-162\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Torah-Deuteronomy-9"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"162","date":"20260413","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"162","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"50002","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Deuteronomy 9 - Judy Hammond ","post_title":"Deuteronomy 9 - Judy Hammond","slug":"deuteronomy-9-judy-hammond","old_id":"50002","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":"162","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":"Deuteronomy 9","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\/deuteronomy-chapter-9-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":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"162","date":"20260413","wall_id":"162"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"108000","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"We\u2019re Not Worthy! We\u2019re Not Worthy! ","post_title":"We\u2019re Not Worthy! We\u2019re Not Worthy!","slug":"were-not-worthy-were-not-worthy","old_id":"108000","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"162","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Or, more accurately - you\u2019re not worthy\u2026\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Imagine the excitement as the people are about to enter the land, finally, after 40 years of wandering. Moses seems to throw some cold water on this excitement:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And when your God has thrust them from your path, say not to yourselves, \u2018God has enabled us to possess this land because of our virtues\u2019; it is rather because of the wickedness of those nations that God is dispossessing them before you\u201d (verse 4).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If virtue plays a part, it is only due to the virtue of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that the people can enter the land. Ramban explains that God is not trying to shame the people. Instead, this is a positive message. The seven nations were kicked out of the land because they were not worthy, but they had no safety net. The Israelites will also the virtue of their forefathers as a reason for them to be in the land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This could also be seen as a warning. At this moment in time, the people are not worthy of entering the land. They get to enter because of the promise made by God to the forefathers. But moving forward, they have to be mindful of the fact that the current inhabitants got kicked out for bad behavior. If the people do not shape up, they too can be expelled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Or HaChaim explains that Moses is trying to send two messages to the people. The first is that the current situation is a result of two conditions: the evilness of the seven nations and the virtue of the forefathers. If either of those were missing, then the people would not be able to enter the land. The second is a more hopeful message. The people may not be worthy now, but they have something on their side, the virtue of the forefathers. Their familial history shows that they have the ability to rise to that level, and be worthy of staying in the land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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

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He is the author of The Iranian Talmud: Reading the Bavli in Sasanian Iran (Philadelphia, 2014), and The Talmud\u2019s Red Fence: Menstruation and Difference in Babylonian Judaism and its Sasanian Context (Oxford, 2020), and writes regularly for the Jewish Review of Books on Jewish scholarship and culture.","short_description":"Shai Secunda is a professor of Jewish studies at Bard College, and writes regularly for the Jewish Review of Books on Jewish scholarship and culture. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36150,"alt":"","title":"Shai Secunda","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shai-Secunda-e1532842797599.jpg","width":1202,"height":1287,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shai-Secunda-e1532842797599-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shai-Secunda-e1532842797599-280x300.jpg","medium-width":280,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shai-Secunda-e1532842797599-768x822.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":822,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shai-Secunda-e1532842797599-956x1024.jpg","large-width":956,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shai-Secunda-e1532842797599.jpg","1536x1536-width":1202,"1536x1536-height":1287,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shai-Secunda-e1532842797599.jpg","2048x2048-width":1202,"2048x2048-height":1287,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shai-Secunda-e1532842797599-1121x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1121,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Shai-Secunda-e1532842797599-392x420.jpg","home_baner-width":392,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"162","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Knowledge isn\u2019t of a piece, and even revelation is fragmented","post_main_content_content":"

One of the world\u2019s greatest halls of learning is the main reading room of the New York Public Library. Since the 1940\u2019s a set of four sizable murals, painted by a Depression era artist named Edward Laning, have framed the reading room. The striking panels appropriately tell \u201cThe Story of the Recorded Word\u201d \u2013 the title of the work. One mural portrays a medieval scribe painstakingly copying a manuscript by hand, another shows a later moment in history and portrays the inventor of the printing press, Johann Gutenberg, holding one of the proofs to his monumental Gutenberg Bible. Moving ahead further in time is Ottmar Mergenthaler, whose linotype machine further revolutionized printing. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The first mural of the series, towards the left of the room, depicts Moses with the two Tablets. This would initially seem to be an appropriate, religious, way to begin the story of the recorded word. Yet on closer view, something is amiss. Rather than the triumphant, generative moment of God revealing his message for humankind, we have the very opposite \u2013 the breaking of the Tablets after the Israelites worshiped idols: In the panel, Moses holds only one Tablet \u2013 the other is smashed on the ground; there is a golden calf, with a pagan wreath, off to the side. And the Israelites cover their eyes in shame.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is hard to know why the artist, Edward Laning, would choose to begin a series of murals adorning a temple of knowledge on such a negative note. There is a Christian tradition which sees the breaking of the Tablets as prefiguring God\u2019s break with Jews \u2013 a central argument of Christian theology. On the other hand, maybe Laning was tapping into a curious Midrashic tradition, later developed in Kabbalistic and Hassidic writings, in which the breaking of the Tablets was part of the plan all along, and symbolized the necessarily fractured nature of understanding in our world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is a fascinating message to great library-goers: Go on, dive into the books! But know that your path to knowledge is always secondary and broken, and you will never reach the absolute truth. It is a sobering idea, but also comforting as well. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: New York Public Library Main Building: McGraw Rotunda - The Story of the Recorded Word - Moses with the Tablets of Law, by Edward Laning, c. 1940, WPA project. 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","post_title":"Are We Seeing The Big Picture?","slug":"are-we-seeing-the-big-picture","old_id":"50155","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":"162","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Stiff-neckedness: depends what you\u2019re being stubborn about\u2026.","post_main_content_content":"

Chapter 9 opens with Moses admonishing the Israelites to not think that their inheritance of the land of Israel has much, if anything, to do with their own righteousness, and in more than one instance in this chapter reminds them that God has acknowledged that they are a \u201cstiff-necked\u201d people. Moses then proceeds to remind them of all the occasions on which they demonstrated this trait, beginning with the episode of the golden calf. In these contexts \u201cstiff-necked\u201d is applied as a negative characteristic, worthy on many occasions of God\u2019s wrath. Sforno equates being stiff-necked with stubbornness, people who follow their hearts and personal opinions first and foremost, while rejecting perspectives that, despite their worthiness, stand in conflict to their own preconceived ideas of what\u2019s true for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi provides a physical description of a stiff-necked person - one who cannot turn their head to the right or left - as a metaphor for someone who is incapable of considering others\u2019 opinions and unable to see the big picture.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But, although God points to the stiff-necked characteristic specifically, He nevertheless does not hold it as an obstacle to our inheritance. Instead, in close literary proximity to the accusation of stiff-neckedness, Moses reminds the Israelites that they are receiving the land in the merit of their forefathers to whom God promised it. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were, in their own right, stiff-necked, but in a positive way, refusing to divert their gaze from the big picture of acceptance of and service to God in the face of innumerable obstacles and prevailing social norms.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps this juxtaposition of two kinds of stubbornness is best explained by the 14th century commentator, Ralbag, who summarized \u201cstiff-necked\u201d by positing that \u201ca stubborn people may be slow to acquire faith, but once they do they never relinquish it.\u201d Was Moses possibly reminding the Israelites that their predominant character trait could serve them well in the long run if they harness it for the right purposes? If so, it\u2019s a lesson that persists in all generations, and is particularly applicable to today\u2019s society of polarization and stiff-necked attitudes, when a failure to consider other opinions and see the big picture seems to have become the norm.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":108011,"alt":"","title":"-6321ca8eba13c--6321ca8eba13edeut8-life-jacket.png","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6321ca8eba13c-6321ca8eba13edeut8-life-jacket.png.png","width":1920,"height":960,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6321ca8eba13c-6321ca8eba13edeut8-life-jacket.png-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6321ca8eba13c-6321ca8eba13edeut8-life-jacket.png-300x150.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6321ca8eba13c-6321ca8eba13edeut8-life-jacket.png-768x384.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6321ca8eba13c-6321ca8eba13edeut8-life-jacket.png-1024x512.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":512,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6321ca8eba13c-6321ca8eba13edeut8-life-jacket.png.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6321ca8eba13c-6321ca8eba13edeut8-life-jacket.png.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":960,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6321ca8eba13c-6321ca8eba13edeut8-life-jacket.png-1200x600.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/02\/6321ca8eba13c-6321ca8eba13edeut8-life-jacket.png-840x420.png","home_baner-width":840,"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":"Are We Seeing The Big Picture?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Stiff-neckedness: depends what you\u2019re being stubborn 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O Israel! Especially If You Can\u2019t Do ","post_title":"Listen O Israel! Especially If You Can\u2019t Do","slug":"listen-o-israel-especially-if-you-cant-do","old_id":"50174","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49866,"post_title":"Tobias Divack Moss","slug":"tobias-divack-moss","old_id":"49866","first_name":"Tobias Divack ","last_name":"Moss ","description":"Tobias Divack Moss will be ordained as a rabbi by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in May 2019. He is currently a Marshall T. Meyer Fellow at B\u2019nai Jeshurun (NYC) and creates Jewish content on social media as Rabbi T. https:\/\/linktr.ee\/ThatJewishRabbiT","short_description":"Tobias Divack Moss will be ordained as a rabbi by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in May 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49869,"alt":"","title":"tobias moss","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tobias-moss-1.jpg","width":673,"height":714,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tobias-moss-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tobias-moss-1-283x300.jpg","medium-width":283,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tobias-moss-1.jpg","medium_large-width":673,"medium_large-height":714,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tobias-moss-1.jpg","large-width":673,"large-height":714,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tobias-moss-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":673,"1536x1536-height":714,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tobias-moss-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":673,"2048x2048-height":714,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tobias-moss-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":673,"post_full_size-height":714,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tobias-moss-1-396x420.jpg","home_baner-width":396,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"162","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Moses chastises Israel, giving a twist to a familiar phrase","post_main_content_content":"

Moses, speaking at God\u2019s command, relays to the Israelites a diss from on high: \u201cyou are a stiff-necked people!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n

This phrase exemplifies one quirk of biblical Hebrew: very physical language used to describe character traits. Even if you have never heard this phrase before, you can probably visualize a stiff-necked group and imagine their traits\u2014stubbornness, rigidity, and obstinacy. Even when it came to God\u2019s will, the ancient Israelites refused to <\/span>bend<\/span><\/i> (English language can get physical occasionally too).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Though debatable, the Israelites most stiff-necked moment was perhaps the Golden Calf debacle, occurring just moments after divine revelation. Though we first read that story way back in the Book of Exodus, the Israelites\u2019 idolatrous transgression is recounted here in Deuteronomy 9, as God instructs Moses to remind the Israelites of their imperfect track record up to this point.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses begins this chastising speech with the classic formulation, <\/span>shema Yisrael, <\/span><\/i>\u201cListen Israel<\/span>.<\/span><\/i>\u201d Elsewhere these two words begin a more loving and classic formulation of Jewish faith, but here Moses deploys them with a bit more bite: \u201cListen up, Israel!\u201d Later rabbis wondered why this phrase was employed and wrote their answer in a midrash.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In another famous verse, Exodus 24:7, the Israelites promise to be dutiful to God with another 2-word phrase: <\/span>na\u2019aseh v\u2019nishma, <\/span><\/i>\u201cwe will <\/span>do<\/span><\/i> and we will <\/span>listen<\/span><\/i>.\u201d That acquiescent pledge sounds anything but stiff-necked.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Now to the midrash:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why was it fitting to say here <\/span>shema Yisrael, \u201cListen up, Israel\u201d? \u00a0<\/span><\/i>Our sages answered with a parable.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Imagine a king who betroths his bride by giving her two pearls. After she loses one, the king says to her, \u201cyou lost the first, won\u2019t you please guard the second!\u201d So it was when the Holy One betrothed the Israelites by way of the phrase <\/span>na\u2019aseh v\u2019nishma<\/span><\/i>, \u201cwe will <\/span>do<\/span><\/i> and we will <\/span>listen<\/span><\/i>.\u201d When the Israelites worshipped the Golden Calf, they effectively lost the <\/span>na\u2019aseh<\/span><\/i>, their commitment to always do God\u2019s will. So Moses instructs them, \u201cyou\u2019ve lost the <\/span>na\u2019aseh<\/span><\/i>, won\u2019t you please guard the <\/span>nishma<\/span><\/i>, their commitment to listen to God.\u201d Therefore, this chastising speech begins with the reminder to listen, <\/span>shema Yisrael, <\/span><\/i>\u201cListen up, Israel!\u201d<\/span>.<\/span><\/i> (Devarim Rabbah on Deut. 9:1)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

With this midrash, the rabbis convey their acceptance of human imperfection and our tendency to be a stubborn stiff-necked bunch. Nevertheless, they hope that we never lose out on <\/span>nishma<\/span><\/i>, our ability to listen and learn, to reflect on our missteps so that we might get a further chance at <\/span>na\u2019aseh<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>doing<\/span><\/i> better in the future.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":52310,"alt":"","title":"dt32-ear","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-300x200.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-768x512.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-1024x683.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-ear-1200x800.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt32-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":"Listen O Israel! 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He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"162","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The blessings and miracles of a simple glass of water","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter begins with Moses addressing the assembled people just before their imminent entry into the Promised Land: \u201cHear, O Israel: You are to pass over the Jordan this day\u2026\u201d (Deuteronomy 9:1). Instead of dealing with the historical importance of that special day, the Midrash itself (Deuteronomy Rabbah 3:8) immediately \u201cpasses over\u201d to a Halakhic issue relevant to our day: A Jew who drinks water to quench his thirst recites the benediction, \u201cBlessed be He by whom all comes into existence\u201d (Barukh sheha-kol nihiyah bi-devaro). Rabbi Tarfon says: One who drinks water says, \"Blessed be He who creates many living beings with their needs.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Rabbis introduced a blessing for drinking water because all the miracles that God did for Israel were done only through water. While the Israelites were still in Egypt He did miracles for them through the river Nile. Rabbi Isaac said: When the Egyptians and the Israelites would go to drink water from the river, the Egyptians would drink blood, but the Israelites would drink water! <\/span><\/p>\r\n

And, again, when Israel left Egypt, God worked miracles for them through water. For it says, \u201cWhen Israel went forth from Egypt\u2026the sea saw them and fled. Jordan ran backward\u201d (Psalms 114:1-3). Rabbi Nehorai said: The Israelites saw the four-letter Name of God engraved upon Moses\u2019 staff and the waters parted! Rabbi Nehemiah said: The Israelites saw the hand of God and the waters parted, as it says, \u201cThe waters saw You\u201d (Psalms 77:17). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

And after the Israelites passed through the Sea, they arrived at Marah (see Exodus 15:23). There God again wrought for them a miracle, as it says, \u201cThey came to Marah, but they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; that is why it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, \u2018What shall we drink?\u2019 So, he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water and the water became sweet\u201d (Exodus 15:23-25). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

And yet again at Kadesh, God worked miracles for the Israelites through water. For it says, \u201cMoses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Out came copious water, and the community and their beasts drank\u201d (Numbers 20:11) \u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses said to Israel: Know that the miracles that God wrought for you, He wrought through water. Therefore, be assured that when you pass over the Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land, God will surely again work miracles for you through the waters of the Jordan (see Deuteronomy 9:1 and Joshua, Chapter 3). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

When we casually drink a simple glass of water, let us remember that readily available, drinkable water is again very much akin to a miracle for many in our world today.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50158,"alt":"","title":"dt9-water","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water.jpg","width":1597,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-250x300.jpg","medium-width":250,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-768x923.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":923,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-852x1024.jpg","large-width":852,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water.jpg","1536x1536-width":1278,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water.jpg","2048x2048-width":1597,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-998x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":998,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-349x420.jpg","home_baner-width":349,"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":"Water Water Everywhere? \u2013 Then and Now","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The blessings and miracles of a simple glass of water","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50158,"alt":"","title":"dt9-water","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water.jpg","width":1597,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-250x300.jpg","medium-width":250,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-768x923.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":923,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-852x1024.jpg","large-width":852,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water.jpg","1536x1536-width":1278,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water.jpg","2048x2048-width":1597,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-998x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":998,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-water-349x420.jpg","home_baner-width":349,"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":"9","chapter_main_number":"162","date":"20260413","wall_id":"162"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"435","name":"Water","old_id":"835"}]},{"order":7,"id":"50166","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"\u05e2\u05e7\u05d1 - Ekev ","post_title":"\u05e2\u05e7\u05d1 - Ekev","slug":"%d7%a2%d7%a7%d7%91-ekev","old_id":"50166","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42650,"post_title":"Hillel Smith","slug":"hillel-smith","old_id":"42650","first_name":"Hillel ","last_name":"Smith ","description":"Hillel Smith is a graphic designer, marketing consultant, illustrator, and artist based in Los Angeles and Washington DC. 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Moses prays. Never had there been a prayer as long, protracted, passionate, as this. \u201cI fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord\u2019s sight and so arousing His anger\u201d (Deut. 9:18). In the end God relented. He agreed to forgive the people, and promised Moses a new set of tablets to replace those he had broken in his anger and now lay in fragments beyond repair. The new tablets symbolized a new beginning. For another forty days Moses was with God. He then descended the mountain, holding the tablets. The people saw him and what he was carrying and knew that they had been forgiven. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

That day, when Moses came down the mountain with the second tablets, became the enduring image of forgiveness. Moses descended on the tenth of Tishrei, and thereafter, the anniversary of that day would become established as a time of forgiveness for all generations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is a daring midrash on this, taking as its point of departure the line from Psalm , \u201cHear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.\u201d The psalm, like many others, begins with the word Lamenatze\u2019a\u0125<\/em>, literally, \u201cFor the conductor, the director of music.\u201d The word could be read, however, as \u201cFor the victor,\u201d and with a truly remarkable inversion, the midrash interprets this as: \u201cFor the victor who sought to be defeated\u201d: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cFor the victor who sought to be defeated, as it is said [Is. 57:16], <\/span>I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of Me \u2013 the very people I have created.<\/em> <\/span>Do not read it thus, but, <\/span>I will accuse in order to be defeated<\/span><\/em>. <\/span><\/i>How so? Thus said the Holy One, blessed be He, \u201cWhen I win, I lose; and when I lose, I win. I defeated the generation of the Flood, but I lost thereby, for I destroyed My own creation, as it says [Gen. 7:23], <\/span>Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out. <\/span><\/em>The same happened with the generation of the Tower of Babel and the people of Sodom. But in the days of Moses who defeated Me [by persuading Me to forgive the Israelites whom I had sworn to destroy], I gained, for I did not destroy Israel. (<\/span>Pesikta Rabbati<\/span><\/i>, 9)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses is the hero who defeated God \u2013 which turned out to be God\u2019s own deepest victory. That day, when Moses came down with the symbol of the power of penitential prayer, became the first Yom Kippur. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Excerpted from the <\/span>Koren Yom Kippur Machzor<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

image: Marc Chagall:\u00a0Dans la col\u00e8re que lui inspire l'id\u00f4latrie du peuple \u00e9lu de Dieu, Mo\u00efse brise les Tables de la Loi (Exode, XXXII, 15-19), 1956<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50161,"alt":"","title":"dt9-Chagall-tablets","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","width":480,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets-240x300.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","medium_large-width":480,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","large-width":480,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","1536x1536-width":480,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","2048x2048-width":480,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","post_full_size-width":480,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets-336x420.jpg","home_baner-width":336,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The First Yom Kippur","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"New tablets, new beginning - an enduring image of forgiveness","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50161,"alt":"","title":"dt9-Chagall-tablets","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","width":480,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets-240x300.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","medium_large-width":480,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","large-width":480,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","1536x1536-width":480,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","2048x2048-width":480,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets.jpg","post_full_size-width":480,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-Chagall-tablets-336x420.jpg","home_baner-width":336,"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":"9","chapter_main_number":"162","date":"20260413","wall_id":"162"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"354","name":"Rabbi Sacks","old_id":"754"},{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"397","name":"Moses","old_id":"797"},{"term_id":"760","name":"Yom Kippur","old_id":"1160"},{"term_id":"825","name":"Atonement","old_id":"1225"}]},{"order":9,"id":"50177","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Softening Our Necks, Circumcising Our Hearts ","post_title":"Softening Our Necks, Circumcising Our Hearts","slug":"softening-our-necks-circumcising-our-hearts","old_id":"50177","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":48078,"post_title":"Viktoria Bedo","slug":"viktoria-bedo","old_id":"48078","first_name":"Viktoria ","last_name":"Bedo","description":"Viktoria Bedo is in her third year as a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and is pursuing an MA in Rabbinics. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":48079,"alt":"","title":"viki bedo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/viki-bedo-e1548270154897.jpg","width":1871,"height":2145,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/viki-bedo-e1548270154897-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/viki-bedo-e1548270154897-262x300.jpg","medium-width":262,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/viki-bedo-e1548270154897-768x880.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":880,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/viki-bedo-e1548270154897-893x1024.jpg","large-width":893,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/viki-bedo-e1548270154897.jpg","1536x1536-width":1340,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/viki-bedo-e1548270154897.jpg","2048x2048-width":1786,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/viki-bedo-e1548270154897-1047x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1047,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/viki-bedo-e1548270154897-366x420.jpg","home_baner-width":366,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"162","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The paradox of the yoke of heaven","post_main_content_content":"

Though the expression appears a few times in Tanakh, it is in this chapter that \u201cstiff-necked people\u201d becomes Moshe\u2019s central chiding term to describe the people of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A metaphor for stubbornness, <\/span>stiff-neckedness<\/span><\/i> is an allusion to an ox used for plowing or harrowing, one which does not allow itself to be led. Like the analogy of the \u201cyoke of heaven,\u201d <\/span>stiff-necked<\/span><\/i> is derived from the biblical ideal of a master-servant relationship between God and the Israelites, where the Israelites\u2019 stubbornness is referring to their unwillingness to follow God\u2019s commandments.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Yet, the yoke of heaven is not just any yoke\u2014and thus, the ox, though a familiar agricultural trope for the biblical Jew, is not a true depiction of our relationship with God. In fact, God broke the yoke that Israelites carried like animals under Pharaoh: <\/span>\u201cI am the Lord your God who brought you out from the Land of Egypt to be their slaves no more, who broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright\u201d (Lev 26:13). The yoke of heaven is one under which a Jew can stand straight, and perhaps ironically, independent.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Being upright and stiff-necked, however, does not allow us to be in relationship with God. <\/span>Sforno comments (Deut. 9:6) that stiff-neckedness results in one\u2019s inability to see other opinions, or one's own wrong: one cannot, will not, move her head. Unlike an ox, which is required to faithfully plow away, unable to turn its head under the yoke, rarely seeing its master, we need to be able to turn our heads, and thus ourselves, toward God. This turning\u2014teshuvah\u2014requires vulnerability and admission of weakness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In tomorrow\u2019s chapter, parallel to relaxing our stiff necks, we are required to circumcise our hearts. The rawness of the heart, together with the softness of the neck, guides us in carrying the yoke while standing upright.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Image: By Cgoodwin - https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=3894456<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50180,"alt":"","title":"Dt9-Bullock_yokes","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes.jpg","width":770,"height":541,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes-300x211.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":211,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes-768x540.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":540,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes.jpg","large-width":770,"large-height":541,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes.jpg","1536x1536-width":770,"1536x1536-height":541,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes.jpg","2048x2048-width":770,"2048x2048-height":541,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes.jpg","post_full_size-width":770,"post_full_size-height":541,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes-598x420.jpg","home_baner-width":598,"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":"Softening Our Necks, Circumcising Our Hearts","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The paradox of the yoke of heaven","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50180,"alt":"","title":"Dt9-Bullock_yokes","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes.jpg","width":770,"height":541,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes-300x211.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":211,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes-768x540.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":540,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes.jpg","large-width":770,"large-height":541,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes.jpg","1536x1536-width":770,"1536x1536-height":541,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes.jpg","2048x2048-width":770,"2048x2048-height":541,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes.jpg","post_full_size-width":770,"post_full_size-height":541,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt9-Bullock_yokes-598x420.jpg","home_baner-width":598,"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":"9","chapter_main_number":"162","date":"20260413","wall_id":"162"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"395","name":"Covenant","old_id":"795"},{"term_id":"652","name":"Commandments","old_id":"1052"}]},{"order":10,"id":"50172","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"When The Burden Of Memory Becomes a Life-Jacket ","post_title":"When The Burden Of Memory Becomes a Life-Jacket","slug":"when-the-burden-of-memory-becomes-a-life-jacket","old_id":"50172","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49857,"post_title":"Tali Adler","slug":"tali-adler","old_id":"49857","first_name":"Tali ","last_name":"Adler","description":"Rabbi Tali Adler is a faculty member at Yeshivat Hadar, an egalitarian yeshiva on the Upper West Side. Tali is a musmekhet of Yeshivat Maharat and a Wexner Graduate Fellow. During her time at Yeshivat Maharat, Tali served as the clergy intern at Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim and Harvard Hillel. \r\n","short_description":"Rabbi Tali Adler is a faculty member at Yeshivat Hadar, an egalitarian yeshiva on the Upper West Side","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49865,"alt":"","title":"tali adler","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","width":165,"height":159,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","medium-width":165,"medium-height":159,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","medium_large-width":165,"medium_large-height":159,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","large-width":165,"large-height":159,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":165,"1536x1536-height":159,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":165,"2048x2048-height":159,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":165,"post_full_size-height":159,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","home_baner-width":165,"home_baner-height":159}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"162","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Love is inviolable when you have done the worst and been forgiven","post_main_content_content":"

Remember, never forget, how you angered God in the wilderness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When we read this, in moments of goodness, it feels like a burden. Can we never be forgiven? Will our ancestors sin always keep us stained, even on our most shining days? Is it still in our veins, in our blood, the gold flecked, idolatry saturated water that Moses made us drink in the aftermath of our darkest day?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But on the other days, our sin-filled days, the days when we know that if we were there we might have done the same--and there are more of those days than we would like to admit--the burden of memory becomes a lifejacket. On those days, when our stiff necks are like iron, on the days when we come face to face with our inadequacies, on the days when we find ourselves questioning whether God might have made a better choice, and whether God still might--it is this memory that tells us that our relationship is inviolable.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is the safety that comes from having seen the brink, from having peered over the edge of the mountain. It is the love that comes from knowing that you have seen the worst, that you have done the worst, and been forgiven.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If Sinai was the first covenant of the Jewish people, then the aftermath of golden calf was the second: the promise that covenant endures even after its terms have been broken; the promise of love at our most unlovable; the promise that we haven\u2019t come into this relationship because God is deluded about who we are, but even though, maybe even because, God knows the worst.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Remember, never forget, that you angered God in the wilderness. And remember, never forget, that God is here nonetheless.<\/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":"","tile_main_caption":"It is the love that comes from knowing that you have seen the worst, that you have done the worst, and been forgiven","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"When The Burden Of Memory Becomes A Life-Jacket","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,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"162","date":"20260413","wall_id":"162"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"405","name":"Memory","old_id":"805"}]},{"order":11,"id":"50183","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"That The Land Is Ours Doesn't Justify Conquering It ","post_title":"That The Land Is Ours Doesn't Justify Conquering It","slug":"that-the-land-is-ours-doesnt-justify-conquering-it","old_id":"50183","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":"162","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Only righteousness and justice count to be worthy of possession","post_main_content_content":"

There's an astounding element of biblical political philosophy that doesn't enjoy much popularity in Religious Zionist writings. That's not surprising, because it's a notion that complicates our understanding of the unique relationship we enjoy with the land. Moses repeats it in chapter 9, but it's an idea that was introduced in the very first moments of God's first covenant with Abraham, in Genesis, chapter 15, in order to answer a simple, but troubling question.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If God is so committed to giving Abraham the land, why doesn't he fulfill that promise immediately? The Torah gives an explicit, though somewhat cryptic, answer. \"And you will join your fathers in peace, you will be buried at a ripe old age. And the fourth generation will return here, <\/span>for the sins of the Emorites will not be filled until then.<\/b>\" Apparently, the fact that, after God's covenant, the land is \"ours\" is not enough to justify settling it. There are other peoples living in the land, and our rights can't displace theirs until they have brought exile upon themselves for their own misdeeds.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is the same message that Moses relays to the people as they prepare to enter the land. \"Not by your own righteousness or the purity of your heart do you come to inherit their land, but rather because of the wickedness of these nations that God drives them out from before you.\" Conquest is not a natural, national right that we enjoy. It is only acceptable when it fills the objectives of divine justice, and that divine justice can be directed against the Jewish people as much as any other nation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Although this land is our land, Moses emphasizes again and again that we will remain on it only so long as we deserve it. When we have filled our \"quota\" of unworthy behavior, we too are expelled from the land.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So now that we're here again (not by virtue of conquering, and not just by virtue of historic right, but by the approval of the land's previously sovereign powers) the most important question to answer is- how do we make sure we're worthy of staying? Some of the answer we learned in yesterday's chapter, and will see in tomorrow's chapter, have more to teach us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n


\r\n<\/span>Image: The Conquest of the Amorites<\/a> (watercolor circa 1896\u20131902 by James Tissot)<\/span>
\r\n<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49530,"alt":"","title":"Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites.jpg","width":800,"height":607,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites-300x228.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":228,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites-768x583.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":583,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":607,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":607,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":607,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":607,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites-554x420.jpg","home_baner-width":554,"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":"That The Land Is Ours Doesn't Justify Conquering It","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Only righteousness and justice count to be worthy of possession","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49530,"alt":"","title":"Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites.jpg","width":800,"height":607,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites-300x228.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":228,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites-768x583.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":583,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":607,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":607,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":607,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":607,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-Tissot_The_Conquest_of_the_Amorites-554x420.jpg","home_baner-width":554,"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":"9","chapter_main_number":"162","date":"20260413","wall_id":"162"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"430","name":"Land 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His poems have won twenty-two prizes in international poetry competitions, and he has twice been awarded fellowships from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.","short_description":"Yakov Azriel is an English language poet who lives in Israel","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36670,"alt":"","title":"Yakov.Azriel.Photo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","width":1099,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":741,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","large-width":741,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","1536x1536-width":1099,"1536x1536-height":1519,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","2048x2048-width":1099,"2048x2048-height":1519,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-868x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":868,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-304x420.jpg","home_baner-width":304,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"162","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"\u201cSon of man, can this broken pitcher pour water again?\u201d","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cAnd I gripped the two Tablets and flung them away with both my hands, and shattered them before your eyes.\u201d (Deuteronomy 9:17)
\r\n
\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like tiny shards of a shattered ancient pitcher, priceless and rare,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Scattered over a huge, abandoned <\/span>tel<\/span><\/i> under a scorching desert sun,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The words of Torah, undeciphered, broken,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Half-buried, neglected, almost forgotten,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Wait.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Walk slowly over the top of the <\/span>tel<\/span><\/i> in quest of the shards;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Search inch-by-inch; stoop down, pick up the dispersed words of Torah<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Smashed, scorched, bone-dry, fractured<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Into thousands of mutilated fragments.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Locate each piece; with a small spade, carefully dig up the hidden splinters;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Find, gather all the shards,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Wash them with <\/span>mikvah<\/span><\/i> waters;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Hold them in your palms; treasure them;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Kiss them with your fingers<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The way a little boy tip-toes and touches a <\/span>mezuzah<\/span><\/i>,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Then kisses his fingers, sanctified.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Spread the shards out to dry under the desert sun<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Can they be re-assembled?<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Can they re-unite?<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>\u201cSon of man, can this broken pitcher pour water again?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Examine each shard thoroughly;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Then piece-to-piece, piece-to-piece, piece the fragments together<\/span><\/p>\r\n

(For the soul can envision the whole<\/span><\/i>
\r\n<\/span><\/i> And glue the splintered chips with its sweat)<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Meticulously consolidate, re-create the shattered pitcher;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Piece-to-piece, piece-to-piece, revive and resurrect<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The words of Torah<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>So that the pitcher, reconstructed and whole, gifts life again<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>To slake and quench our thirst<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>As out of the flint of the soul\u2019s scorched desert rock<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The waters of the Torah-spring<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Gush.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50170,"alt":"","title":"dt9-shards","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-shards.jpg","width":1280,"height":933,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-shards-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-shards-300x219.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":219,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-shards-768x560.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":560,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-shards-1024x746.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":746,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-shards.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":933,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-shards.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":933,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-shards-1200x875.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":875,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt9-shards-576x420.jpg","home_baner-width":576,"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 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\u201cTowards Jerusalem\u201d<\/span><\/a> by David Wietchner: Where do Biblical travelers aim towards?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cGolden Calf: Good Intentions or Just a Big Mistake?\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Sarah Jaffe Kasdan: What were the Jewish people\u2019s goals? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

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    \r\n\t
  1. Who can beat \u2018em?<\/em> Note the descriptions of the sheer size of the land and its people: \u201c...Nations greater and more populous than you: great cities with walls sky-high; a people great and tall, the Anakites, of whom you have knowledge; for you have heard it said, \u201cWho can stand up to the children of Anak?\u201d (verses 1-2). The not very surprising answer to that question can be found in verse. 3<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. A stiff-necked people<\/em>. That well-known phrase appears in the Tanach a total of six times - all of which are in the context of the sin of the golden calf. Four times in Ex. 32-34, and twice in this chapter.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. The burning mountain<\/em>. In verse 15, the image of the mountain aflame as Moses descends connects the sin of the calf directly with the revelation at Sinai.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Lehitpalel, lehitnapel (\u201cto pray, to fall on one\u2019s face\u201d).<\/em> These two similar verbs are used almost interchangeably to describe the intensity of Moses\u2019 petition to God to save the people from destruction (verses 8, 25-26).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. Spot the differences.<\/em> That is, between the story of the golden calf in Exodus (chs. 32-33), and Moses\u2019 version. When does Moses pray for the people? Up on the mountain, or only after he descends? What did Moses do with the ground-up remains of the burnt calf?<\/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: Deuteronomy 9","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":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"162","date":"20260413","wall_id":"162"},"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\/49881"}],"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=49881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}