{"id":50473,"date":"2018-07-09T17:41:54","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1034\/"},"modified":"2022-09-30T15:11:16","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T12:11:16","slug":"wall-1034","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1034\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20220925-to-20221001"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1034","date_from":"20220925","date_to":"20221001","book":"Deuteronomy","books_group":"Torah","hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"posts":[{"order":1,"id":"108270","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"Parashat Vayelech: Is This The End Of Shmita? ","post_title":"Parashat Vayelech: Is This The End Of Shmita?","slug":"parashat-vayelech-is-this-the-end-of-shmita","old_id":"108270","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":108222,"post_title":"Petahya Lichtenstein","slug":"petahya-lichtenstein","old_id":"108222","first_name":"Petahya ","last_name":"Lichtenstein ","description":"Petahya Lichtenstein is a teacher, naturalist, and artist. He graduated from the Pratt Institute of Design and the Rabbinical College of America. He is the Director of Education at Pearlstone Center in Baltimore MD.","short_description":"Petahya Lichtenstein is a teacher, naturalist, and artist. He graduated from the Pratt Institute of Design and the Rabbinical College of America. He is the Director of Education at Pearlstone Center in Baltimore MD.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":108223,"alt":"","title":"-6332f6bfbd130--6332f6bfbd131Petahya Lichtenstein.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6332f6bfbd130-6332f6bfbd131Petahya-Lichtenstein.jpg.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6332f6bfbd130-6332f6bfbd131Petahya-Lichtenstein.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6332f6bfbd130-6332f6bfbd131Petahya-Lichtenstein.jpg.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6332f6bfbd130-6332f6bfbd131Petahya-Lichtenstein.jpg.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6332f6bfbd130-6332f6bfbd131Petahya-Lichtenstein.jpg.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6332f6bfbd130-6332f6bfbd131Petahya-Lichtenstein.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6332f6bfbd130-6332f6bfbd131Petahya-Lichtenstein.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6332f6bfbd130-6332f6bfbd131Petahya-Lichtenstein.jpg.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/09\/6332f6bfbd130-6332f6bfbd131Petahya-Lichtenstein.jpg.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1034","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What is being born when something is ending and what is ending when something is being born?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

This week is the last week of the 7 year sabbatical cycle called Shmita. The portion of Torah read this week, as the year takes its leave, is called by the name \"Vayelech,\" which translates as \"and he went.\" Who is he? Moses. Where did he go? He went to tell the tale of his passing (in an epic overshare) saying \u201cI am one hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer go forth and come in.\" He is to leave this world on the day he came into it 120 years ago. It is on this day, the 7th day of the Hebrew month of Adar, that Moses writes the Torah scroll and instructs that it should be read at the end of every shmita year. It is this merging of coming and going which is at the core of the deeper Torah of shmita. As the Sefer Yetzirah, the Book of Creation, states about the mysteries of creation that \u201ctheir end is in their beginning and their beginning is in their end.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A closer look at the text will reveal its depth. Moses instructs that the reading of the Torah should be \u201c\u2026 at the end of seven years, at the time of the shmita (sabbatical) year, during the festival of Sukkot \u2026.\u201d What?!? The festival of Sukkot is in the beginning of 8th year (year one of a new cycle) so why is it being called the sabbatical year of shmita? The boundaries between one year and the next; between beginning and end; between holy and mundane; between rest and work are slipping away! This is precisely the point. According to Ibn Ezra the word \u201c<\/span>miketz<\/span><\/em>\u201d found in our opening verse \u201c\u2026 at the end of the seven years\u201d in this case is actually \u201cin the beginning of the seven years.\u201d For \u201c<\/span>miketz<\/span><\/em>\u201d means both \u201cin the end\u201d or \u201cin the beginning\u201d depending on the context. Therefore the reading of the Torah, known as <\/span>Hak\u2019hel<\/span><\/em>, would inaugurate the sabbatical year of Torah rather than concluding it. The deeper Torah sustains both these possibilities at once.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The sabbatical year of Shmita asks us; what is being born when something is ending and what is ending when something is being born? Who is being deprived when one gains and who is gaining when one is deprived; what is becoming mundane when something becomes sacred and what is becoming sacred when something is becoming mundane? And in the end (or beginning) are these actually even questions? And is this even the end of Shmita?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The shmita year is officially over! 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":"Parashat Vayelech: Is This The End Of Shmita? ","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":"1034"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"},{"term_id":"494","name":"Shmita","old_id":"894"}]},{"order":2,"id":"50796","color":"#eceffa","size":"1","name":"To Appreciate Freedom ","post_title":"To Appreciate Freedom","slug":"to-appreciate-freedom","old_id":"50796","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":47903,"post_title":"Aviva Golbert","slug":"aviva-golbert","old_id":"47903","first_name":"Aviva ","last_name":"Golbert ","description":"Aviva Golbert is the Director of the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators. Aviva is a Jewish educator with over twenty years of experience in curriculum development, classroom teaching, school administration and educational consulting. Upon making Aliyah in 1996, Aviva developed formal and informal educational materials for Melitz and at the Leo Baeck Education Center. She then served as the head of the department of Jewish Studies at Immanuel College, London.","short_description":"Aviva Golbert is the Director of the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":47904,"alt":"","title":"aviva golbert","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782.jpg","width":1639,"height":1811,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-272x300.jpg","medium-width":272,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-768x849.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":849,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-927x1024.jpg","large-width":927,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782.jpg","1536x1536-width":1390,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782.jpg","2048x2048-width":1639,"2048x2048-height":1811,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-1086x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1086,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-380x420.jpg","home_baner-width":380,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"169","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"When you\u2019ve been a slave, you know what it is to be a stranger, fatherless, and a widow all at the same time","post_main_content_content":"

Deuteronomy 16 contains one of the Torah\u2019s references to the <\/span>Shalosh Regalim<\/span><\/em>:<\/span><\/i> the three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot. In the Pesach section, we are enjoined to eat matzot for seven days and to eschew leavened bread, so that we may \u201cremember the day of [our] departure from the land of Egypt as long as [we] live.\u201d This makes sense. The national memory of running out the door, not having enough time to let our bread rise, having to eat \u2018poor man\u2019s bread,\u2019 will serve us well as a constant, life-long reminder that we are forever indebted to God for having saved us from the hellhole that was Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A reminder found in the Shavuot section is more curious. \u201cBear in mind that you were slaves in Egypt, and take care to obey these laws.\u201d What in the world does Egyptian slavery have to do with <\/span>Chag HaAsif<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> the festival that celebrates the first big yield in the annual Land of Israel harvest cycle? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

It has everything to do with it. God and Moses are fearful \u2013 and rightfully so \u2013 that once they\u2019ve entered the Promised Land, the Israelites will become farmers, raise their crops, reap their produce, and begin to believe that their own efforts have allowed for a bountiful harvest. I mean, why not believe that? Farmers work extremely hard every day of their lives.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When God and Moses tell the Israelites to observe Shavuot, offer free-will produce offerings commensurate with how much they\u2019ve been blessed in their fields, and share the joy with everyone in their household, including their servants, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in their midst alongside their own family, they must also remember that they used to be slaves. They used to be slaves in Egypt, where they weren\u2019t free to make choices about their planting. Where they couldn\u2019t own any land. They used to be slaves in Egypt, and God took them out and brought them to their own land, where He is the only Master. They used to be slaves in Egypt, and now they are free men, who owe their lives and their livelihood to God. They must remember, so they can acknowledge God in all that they have. And so they can share the bounty of the land, which is truly God\u2019s and not their own.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When you\u2019ve been a slave, you know what it is to be a stranger, fatherless, and a widow all at the same time. When you\u2019ve been a slave, you can never forget the kindness of another. When you\u2019ve been a slave, and can remember being a slave, you can appreciate everything you have and share it with everyone in your midst.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So God and Moses tell the Israelites: You MUST remember. Only then will you be truly free to obey these laws.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50797,"alt":"","title":"dt16-remember","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","width":1920,"height":577,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-300x90.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":90,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-768x231.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":231,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1024x308.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":308,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":462,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":577,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1200x361.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":361,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1398x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1398,"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":"To Appreciate Freedom","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"When you\u2019ve been a slave, you know what it is to be a stranger, fatherless, and a widow all at the same time","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50797,"alt":"","title":"dt16-remember","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","width":1920,"height":577,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-300x90.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":90,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-768x231.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":231,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1024x308.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":308,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":462,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":577,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1200x361.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":361,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1398x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1398,"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":"16","chapter_main_number":"169","date":"20260422","wall_id":"169"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"405","name":"Memory","old_id":"805"},{"term_id":"413","name":"Freedom","old_id":"813"},{"term_id":"438","name":"Slavery","old_id":"838"}]},{"order":3,"id":"50713","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"Children of Freed Slaves - Slave Owners!? ","post_title":"Children of Freed Slaves - Slave Owners!?","slug":"children-of-freed-slaves-slave-owners","old_id":"50713","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":"168","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Do not imagine that the suffering of your past inoculates you against perpetrating evil in your future","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cWhen your brother, an Israelite, shall be sold to you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The mitzvah is startling. Addressed to a nation, all children of freed slaves, it assumes a reality in which one of them can shift identities, moving from oppressed to oppressor, from one enslaved to one who enslaves.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our visceral response is that this is not meant for me, that this is meant for someone darker, someone callous, someone who has not lived through what I have, was not raised the way I was. And sometimes this is true.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But there is value in believing the possibility of \u201cwhen your brother shall be sold to you.\u201d We cannot eradicate evil by assuming that it is the purview of the depraved. Acting against oppression means understanding why otherwise decent, good human beings might act in evil ways. Acting against oppression means understanding not just the suffering of the afflicted but the motivations of the afflicter. It means understanding that we ourselves have the capacity to oppress, that in other circumstances we might be capable of acting like those perpetrating evil. If oppression is systematic then we do ourselves no favors by assuming that we are immune to its temptations. By pretending that oppression is something only the monstrous engage in we turn it into something supernatural that we have no power to solve--and worse, we blind ourselves to the ways in which we might fall prey to it ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Google \"imagine yourself as a slave,\" and you will be faced with thousands of results. Google \"imagine yourself as a slave owner\" and you will find less than ten. Part of the mandate of Deuteronomy is to remember that you were a slave, to remember that experience, and to use that memory to help others in turn. But that mandate is matched by the mandate of \u201cwhen your brother shall be sold you\u201d\u2014remember that you too are capable of evil. Do not imagine that the suffering of your past inoculates you against perpetrating evil in your future.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image:\u00a0Michal Ben Hamu<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50728,"alt":"","title":"dt15-Michal Ben Hamu","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","width":900,"height":386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-300x129.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":129,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-768x329.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":329,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":386,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":386,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","home_baner-width":900,"home_baner-height":386}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Children of Freed Slaves - Slave Owners!?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Do not imagine that the suffering of your past inoculates you against perpetrating evil in your future","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50728,"alt":"","title":"dt15-Michal Ben Hamu","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","width":900,"height":386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-300x129.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":129,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-768x329.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":329,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":386,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":386,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","home_baner-width":900,"home_baner-height":386}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"168","date":"20260421","wall_id":"168"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"436","name":"Morality","old_id":"836"},{"term_id":"438","name":"Slavery","old_id":"838"},{"term_id":"460","name":"Evil","old_id":"860"}]},{"order":4,"id":"50684","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Opening Our Hands ","post_title":"Opening Our Hands","slug":"opening-our-hands","old_id":"50684","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":50685,"post_title":"Cheryl Peretz","slug":"cheryl-peretz","old_id":"50685","first_name":"Cheryl ","last_name":"Peretz ","description":"Based in Los Angeles, Rabbi Cheryl Peretz serves as the Associate Dean of both the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and of the Zacharias Frankel College. Rabbi Peretz known as a frequent speak and scholar-in-residence in communities throughout North America.","short_description":"Rabbi Cheryl Peretz serves as the Associate Dean of both the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and of the Zacharias Frankel College.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":50686,"alt":"","title":"Faculty Portraits","caption":"Cheryl Peretz","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz.jpg","width":2960,"height":4149,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-214x300.jpg","medium-width":214,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-731x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":731,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-731x1024.jpg","large-width":731,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz.jpg","1536x1536-width":1096,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz.jpg","2048x2048-width":1461,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-856x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":856,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-300x420.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"168","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"We have to live in the real poverty-stricken world, even as we imagine a perfected one, sufficient for all","post_main_content_content":"

Studies of American philanthropy often point to two traits strongly related to an individual\u2019s participation in giving \u2013 education and wealth. According to some, this alone would be the justification for the stronger than average giving by American Jews. Nevertheless, Chapter 15 of Deuteronomy offers a different basis, a basis that may well be not only the underpinning of the Jewish commitment, but also the universal recognition that poverty exists and the human condition makes it impossible to turn our back on those in need.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As my teacher Rabbi Elliot Dorff understands, the 15<\/span>th<\/span> century Spanish commentator, Abarbanel, identifies three reason for giving tzedakah: to express mercy towards the poor, to recognize the poor person as one of your fellow human beings (and perhaps even your relative), and to be a part of sustaining the community.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the same time, there is an inherent contradiction raised as well. In verse 4, the Torah says <\/span>\u201cThere shall be no needy among you,\u201d and, in verse eleven, \u201cFor the poor will never cease from the land.\u201d \u00a0How is it possible to both understand the Divine promise to cease poverty and in the same passage to admit that it will never go away?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Great debates take place between commentators over the generations in attempts to reconcile these two disparate comments. Ramban says <\/span>\u201cFor the poor will never cease \u00a0[means] it is impossible that the poor will permanently disappear. [Moses] mentions this because, having assured them that there would be no needy if they observed all of the commandments, he goes on to say, \u201cI know that not every generation, forever, will observe all of the commandments to the point that there is no longer any need for commandments concerning the poor. For perhaps, at certain times, there will be needy, and therefore, I am commanding you for the case in which they are present.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In other words, we anticipate a perfected world when poverty would be eliminated, but we plan for the imperfect one in which there are indeed needy amongst us. The same passage reminds us that the worst possible case of all would be to make ourselves callous to the reality of need. So, surely we open our hands to the needy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ken yehi ratzon<\/em> - may it ever be so.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50687,"alt":"","title":"workplace-donation","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","width":1280,"height":954,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-300x224.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":224,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-768x572.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":572,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-1024x763.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":763,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":954,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":954,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-1200x894.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":894,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-564x420.png","home_baner-width":564,"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":"Opening Our Hands","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"We have to live in the real poverty-stricken world, even as we imagine a perfected one, sufficient for all","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50687,"alt":"","title":"workplace-donation","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","width":1280,"height":954,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-300x224.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":224,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-768x572.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":572,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-1024x763.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":763,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":954,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":954,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-1200x894.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":894,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-564x420.png","home_baner-width":564,"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":"15","chapter_main_number":"168","date":"20260421","wall_id":"168"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"681","name":"Giving","old_id":"1081"},{"term_id":"777","name":"Tzedaka","old_id":"1177"},{"term_id":"836","name":"poverty","old_id":"1236"}]},{"order":5,"id":"50550","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Answering the Missionary ","post_title":"Answering The Missionary","slug":"answering-the-missionary","old_id":"50550","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":"166","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Put this passage in your wallet, just for such occasions","post_main_content_content":"

Living today means, for the vast preponderance of Jews, not living in a ghetto. The benefits of that exposure aren\u2019t hard to see\u2014an enlightened understanding of the human condition, an appreciation of the values of democracy, equality, and freedom, and a determination to fight bigotry whenever it rears its ugly head.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The difficulty of living in such open proximity to different peoples and cultures is that it often becomes harder to maintain one\u2019s own way of life. How do we remain distinct in a culture that celebrates blending?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In much of the world, one of the greatest challenges to our continued faith and faithfulness is the challenge of those Christians who feel that their own faith commitment requires them to persuade us to abandon ours. There was a time when Jews knew the Torah and the Talmud well enough that the slick quotations of zealous missionaries, always out of context and often mistranslated, were easily corrected and rebuffed. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Today, however, we are hardly the people of the book.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Deuteronomy 13 contains a lengthy passage that every Jew should stick in a wallet or purse and carry around for just such confrontations. To the claim that a Jew should abandon exclusive loyalty to God and to the Torah, this passage gives a direct response:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cIf there appears among you a prophet or a dream-diviner who gives you a sign or a portent, saying, \u201cLet us follow and worship another god\u201d \u2014 whom you have not experienced \u2014 even if the sign or portent named to you comes true, do not heed the words of that prophet.... For the Lord your God is testing you to see whether you really love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Follow none but the Lord your God, and revere none but God; observe God\u2019s commandments alone, and heed only God\u2019s orders; worship none but God, and hold fast to God. That prophet or dream-diviner shall be put to death; for urging disloyalty to the Lord your God \u2014 who freed you from the land of Egypt and who redeemed you from the house of bondage \u2014 to make you stray from the path that the Lord your God commanded you to follow\u201d (13:2-7).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This crucial passage makes several points well-worth our attention:<\/span><\/p>\r\n