{"id":54270,"date":"2018-07-09T17:42:33","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1042\/"},"modified":"2022-11-25T07:30:47","modified_gmt":"2022-11-25T05:30:47","slug":"wall-1042","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1042\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20221120-to-20221126"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1042","date_from":"20221120","date_to":"20221126","book":"Joshua","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"102804","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Trading Food For Love? ","post_title":"Trading Food For Love?","slug":"trading-food-for-love","old_id":"102804","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":41916,"post_title":"Sandra E. Rapoport","slug":"sandra-e-rapoport","old_id":"41916","first_name":"Sandra E. ","last_name":"Rapoport ","description":"Sandra E. Rapoport is an attorney, Bible teacher, and award-winning author whose books give voice to the women of the Bible. Her third book, Biblical Seductions, was a National Jewish Book Awards Finalist and a Boston Globe Top-Ten Bestseller. Her fourth and most recent book, The Queen & The Spymaster, is a novel based on the story of Esther.","short_description":"Sandra E. Rapoport is an attorney, Bible teacher, and award-winning author of four books on Bible and Midrash.\r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":41917,"alt":"","title":"sandra rapoport","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sandra-rapoport.jpg","width":150,"height":175,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sandra-rapoport-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sandra-rapoport.jpg","medium-width":150,"medium-height":175,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sandra-rapoport.jpg","medium_large-width":150,"medium_large-height":175,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sandra-rapoport.jpg","large-width":150,"large-height":175,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sandra-rapoport.jpg","1536x1536-width":150,"1536x1536-height":175,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sandra-rapoport.jpg","2048x2048-width":150,"2048x2048-height":175,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sandra-rapoport.jpg","post_full_size-width":150,"post_full_size-height":175,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sandra-rapoport.jpg","home_baner-width":150,"home_baner-height":175}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"25","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"False identity, false food, false love\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our lives are a series of barters. We exchange sums of money (or bitcoin) for food, clothing, a home, our labor. The world is a giant bourse.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Genesis 25-27 we witness two barters that affect the course of biblical history.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The first is in Gen.25:27-34. There, Esau, fifteen-year-old firstborn son of Isaac and Rebecca, returning weary and famished after a day of hunting, trades his birthright to his younger twin brother Jacob for a bowl of red lentil stew. The birthright\u2014the right of a firstborn son to a special blessing and a double portion on his father\u2019s death\u2014isn\u2019t important to Esau. He says, \u201cWhy do I need the future birthright when I am dying of hunger right now?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So he trades the birthright for a hot meal.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This trade is especially poignant in light of the Torah saying, four verses earlier, that each parent prefers a different twin: \u201cIsaac loved Esau, on account of the tasty venison Esau put in his mouth, and Rebecca loves Jacob.\u201d Why is this important?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Decades later we have an answer. In Gen.27, we witness another barter. Isaac\u2014old, blind and fearing death\u2014seeks to bestow important blessings on his sons. Beforehand, Isaac asks Esau to hunt venison, and to cook it the way he loves to eat it. \u201cBring it to me, and I will eat it, and bless you before I die.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Blessing and food will commingle on Isaac\u2019s tongue.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We begin to see the connection. Jacob, a homebody, brings his father no tasty venison he has killed and prepared especially for him. While Jacob\u2019s mother Rebecca loves him unconditionally, it is his father\u2019s love he craves (see Shmuel Klitsner, Wrestling Jacob)<\/em>. For years Jacob watches anxiously while his father bestows love on the twin who feeds him delicacies. Twice we see the rare appearance of the Hebrew verb for \u201clove,\u201d\u00a0 'a-h-v,<\/em><\/span>\u00a0Gen.25:28, 27:4. Both times, Isaac does the loving; once for Esau, the son who puts tasty game in his mouth, and once for the food itself. Jacob is left out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The critical barter here is food for love. Because the only way to acquire the latter is by providing the former, Jacob impersonates his brother, tricks his father, and feeds him ersatz \u201cvenison\u201d his mother prepares. False identity, false food, false love. The deception is sufficient to acquire the firstborn\u2019s blessing, but it initiates years of enmity between brothers.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75124,"alt":"","title":"ez35-jacob esau tissot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","width":756,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot-300x238.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":238,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","medium_large-width":756,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","large-width":756,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","1536x1536-width":756,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","2048x2048-width":756,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","post_full_size-width":756,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot-529x420.jpg","home_baner-width":529,"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":"Trading Food For Love?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"False identity, false food, false love","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75124,"alt":"","title":"ez35-jacob esau tissot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","width":756,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot-300x238.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":238,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","medium_large-width":756,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","large-width":756,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","1536x1536-width":756,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","2048x2048-width":756,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot.jpg","post_full_size-width":756,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez35-jacob-esau-tissot-529x420.jpg","home_baner-width":529,"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":"Genesis","chapter":"25","chapter_main_number":"25","date":"20251002","wall_id":"25"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"381","name":"love","old_id":"781"},{"term_id":"415","name":"food","old_id":"815"},{"term_id":"485","name":"Isaac","old_id":"885"},{"term_id":"486","name":"Esau","old_id":"886"}]},{"order":2,"id":"38093","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"In The Matter Of The STATE v. Isaac ","post_title":"In The Matter Of The STATE v. Isaac","slug":"in-the-matter-of-the-state-v-isaac","old_id":"38093","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37737,"post_title":"Nathan Lewin","slug":"nathan-lewin","old_id":"37737","first_name":"Nathan ","last_name":"Lewin ","description":"Nathan Lewin is a Washington, DC, lawyer, engaged in the full-time practice of law with his daughter Alyza at Lewin & Lewin, LLP, and teaches Supreme Court litigation at Columbia Law School. He has been voted by his peers for inclusion in four separate categories in \u201cThe Best Lawyers in America\u201d since its inception. Mr. Lewin was President of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington from 1982 to 1984.","short_description":"Nathan Lewin is a Washington, DC, lawyer, engaged in the full-time practice of law with his daughter Alyza at Lewin & Lewin, LLP, and teaches Supreme Court litigation at Columbia Law School. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37738,"alt":"","title":"Nathan Lewin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331.jpg","width":2188,"height":2280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-288x300.jpg","medium-width":288,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-768x800.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":800,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-983x1024.jpg","large-width":983,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331.jpg","1536x1536-width":1474,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331.jpg","2048x2048-width":1965,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-1152x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1152,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Nathan-Lewin-e1534183034331-403x420.jpg","home_baner-width":403,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"26","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Brief for Isaac, Appellant - Did he commit a criminal offense of submitting a false statement on a government form when he falsely represented that Rebekah was his sister?","post_main_content_content":"

QUESTION PRESENTED<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Whether Isaac committed the criminal offense of submitting a false statement on a government form when he falsely represented that Rebekah was his sister.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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

His Majesty, King Abimelech, found Appellant Isaac guilty of filing a false statement in violation of Section 1001 of Plishti Code (PC 1001) for having stated on his immigration form that his wife Rivka is his sister, and not disclosing truthfully that they are married. The King held that this false statement could have misled a Gerarite into seducing Rebekah in the mistaken belief that she is single. That, says His Highness, would have brought sin and disgrace on the entire community. Consequently, according to the judgment below, Isaac was guilty of a criminal offense.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The conviction must be reversed because Isaac introduced evidence that required his acquittal under the \u201cnecessity defense.\u201d Isaac testified, with no evidence contradicting him, that reports of the immorality in the City of Gerar led him to fear for his personal safety if it were known in Gerar that he was the husband of beautiful Rebekah . Locals gangs would have murdered Isaac so as to be free to dally with Rivka. Isaac\u2019s false statement that Rebekah was his sister was the only alternative available to him to prevent homicide, and murder was avoided as a \u201cdirect causal relationship\u201d of Isaac\u2019s misrepresentation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The defense proffered evidence that Isaac had solid ground for believing the worst of the Gerar community. When Isaac\u2019s parents had arrived in Gerar years ago, King Abimelech (in his youth or, according to some, the father of the current King) was smitten by the beauty of Isaac\u2019s mother and immediately had her brought to his harem. Only because he was warned in a dream-like vision not to approach Sarah because she was married to Avram did King Abimelech liberate Isaac\u2019s mother. In Gerar immediate gratification of one\u2019s desires precedes deliberation of the consequences of one\u2019s actions. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Although Rebekah would not have yielded to any attempted seduction, the Gerarites would not have realized her virtue until after they did away with her husband. Hence Isaac was justified in submitting the false statement as necessary self-defense.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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

Isaac\u2019s conviction must be reversed with instructions to enter a judgment of acquittal based on the \u201cnecessity defense.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":37232,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_1027639132","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132.jpg","width":5616,"height":3744,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"In The Matter Of The STATE v. Isaac","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Brief for Isaac, Appellant - Did he commit a criminal offense of submitting a false statement on a government form when he falsely represented that Rebekah was his sister?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":37232,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_1027639132","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132.jpg","width":5616,"height":3744,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_1027639132-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"26","chapter_main_number":"26","date":"20251005","wall_id":"26"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"},{"term_id":"485","name":"Isaac","old_id":"885"},{"term_id":"499","name":"Trial","old_id":"899"}]},{"order":3,"id":"38118","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"What Was Going Through Isaac\u2019s Head? ","post_title":"What Was Going Through Isaac\u2019s Head?","slug":"what-was-going-through-isaacs-head","old_id":"38118","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37130,"post_title":"Lauren Tuchman","slug":"lauren-tuchman","old_id":"37130","first_name":"Lauren ","last_name":"Tuchman ","description":"Rabbi Lauren Tuchman received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2018 and is, as far as she is aware, the first blind woman in the world to enter the rabbinate. A sought after speaker, spiritual leader and educator, Rabbi Tuchman has taught at numerous synagogues and other Jewish venues throughout North America and was named to the Jewish Week's 36 under 36 for her innovative leadership concerning inclusion of Jews with disabilities in all aspects of Jewish life.","short_description":"Rabbi Lauren Tuchman is a Jewish educator based in the Washington, DC area.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37131,"alt":"","title":"Lauren Tuchman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150.jpg","width":1728,"height":2494,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-208x300.jpg","medium-width":208,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-709x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":709,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-709x1024.jpg","large-width":709,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150.jpg","1536x1536-width":1064,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150.jpg","2048x2048-width":1419,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-831x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":831,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-291x420.jpg","home_baner-width":291,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"27","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Why do people think seeing-impaired people are incompetent?","post_main_content_content":"

A modern Midrash:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Life has not been kind to me. I am old in years and nearly blind. I have two very different sons, Jacob and Esau, who are constantly at odds. Discord between brothers is prevalent in my family, and I fear that I am going to play that out again. I love Esau dearly and there\u2019s but one blessing to give.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I am blind. I know my two children in ways sighted parents cannot imagine. They have not walked a moment in my shoes. Is it the fear of overwhelming narrowness and constriction that blocks them?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I am sensing that Rebecca is plotting. She believes I love Esau and not Jacob. And truthfully, I do love Esau more. I yearn for that which Esau has - strength, and his sense of self. But, I\u2019ve been around long enough to know that Esau cannot move his family in the necessary direction.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I will use my blindness as a cover. Make it appear that I have no idea what is going on when Jacob disguises himself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I call Esau into my tent and ask him to prepare game. Rebecca, overhearing, devises the elaborate disguise, despite Jacob\u2019s protestations, to mask his smooth-skin.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I will make it appear as if I am confused. I ask which son is here? The voice is the voice of Jacob but the hands are the hands of Esau. He doesn\u2019t try to disguise his voice. The blind are often teased, taunted by people disguising their voices, knowing that they are embarrassing and humiliating the visually impaired. Our tradition would later teach that to embarrass someone in public is akin to bloodshed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I ask him to approach so I can feel him, there\u2019s always that lingering feeling\u2014am I being given all of the information? I believe it\u2019s Jacob and not Esau. I am using all of the tools at my disposal, I know Jacob must ultimately be blessed. It is Jacob who is in front of me, he will receive the blessing, just as I secretly planned. And yet, I come off looking foolish, and incompetent.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Will everyone think that blind people are foolish? Blind does mean foolish, after all. How much pain have people endured because that word, blind, is thrown around so casually to mean stupid, ignorant? What a horrible spiritual and emotional burden to carry. Did my actions and the way I am portrayed contribute to that? What consequences have my choices created?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Isaac Blessing Jacob, Nicolas-Guy Brenet (France, 1768) \/ 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Was Going Through Isaac\u2019s Head?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Why do people think seeing-impaired people are 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Political Meaning of Esau ","post_title":"The Political Meaning of Esau","slug":"the-political-meaning-of-esau","old_id":"38112","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38025,"post_title":"Alicia Suskin Ostriker","slug":"alicia-suskin-ostriker","old_id":"38025","first_name":"Alicia Suskin ","last_name":"Ostriker","description":"Alicia Suskin Ostriker is New York State's Poet Laureate, and a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. She is the author of numerous books of poetry and criticism, including: Feminist Revision and the Bible: the Bucknell Lectures on Literary Theory (1993); The Nakedness of the Fathers: Biblical Visions and Revisions (1997), and For the Love of God: the Bible as an Open Book (2007).\r\n","short_description":"Alicia Suskin Ostriker is poet and a critic and is currently New York State's Poet Laureate.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38026,"alt":"","title":"Alicia Ostriker","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alicia-Ostriker.jpg","width":165,"height":110,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alicia-Ostriker-150x110.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":110,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alicia-Ostriker.jpg","medium-width":165,"medium-height":110,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alicia-Ostriker.jpg","medium_large-width":165,"medium_large-height":110,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alicia-Ostriker.jpg","large-width":165,"large-height":110,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alicia-Ostriker.jpg","1536x1536-width":165,"1536x1536-height":110,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alicia-Ostriker.jpg","2048x2048-width":165,"2048x2048-height":110,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alicia-Ostriker.jpg","post_full_size-width":165,"post_full_size-height":110,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alicia-Ostriker.jpg","home_baner-width":165,"home_baner-height":110}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"27","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Feeling for the persecuted Other - even a rival - is the ethical basis of being Jewish","post_main_content_content":"

As literature, the Sarah-Hagar story is extraordinary\u2026 It encourages us to feel relief when [Hagar] and her child are saved from dying of thirst in the wilderness. It tells us, most emphatically, that God is \"with\" Ishmael.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is the effect of this passage in political terms? The long shadow of the enmity between the women reaches to this moment\u2026 We may both recoil from Sarah's cruelty, and feel for her. Yet the narrative, far from encouraging us to gloat over the expulsion of Hagar, also forces us to feel for her and with <\/span>her<\/span><\/i>. This is what is truly uncanny.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why does the Torah engage in this digression? Aren't we supposed to be the chosen ones? Why are we made to pity the enemy, the rival, to care about the survival of the other, the stranger, the non-chosen? Why is there a similar pattern [to the one of Sarah and Hagar] in the narrative of Jacob and Esau, when we see Esau weeping and begging his father for a blessing equal to Jacob's stolen one? The name Esau in Jewish tradition is virtually synonymous with \"enemy,\" yet his repeated \"great and exceeding cry\u2026 Bless me, me also, O my father\u2026 Have you only one blessing? Bless me, me also my father\" (Gen 27:34-38) is the quintessence of pathos. And why is this pattern later made into a commandment, repeated a dozen times in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, where we are told never to oppress the stranger, but always to care for the stranger as ourselves, because we know the heart of the stranger, because we were strangers in Egypt?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For me, this commandment marks the core of what it means, ethically, to be a Jew. Not that it is easy to follow such a commandment. On the contrary, it seems insuperably difficult. But one thing is clear. In any situation of relative power and powerlessness, it behooves the one with more power to <\/span>care for<\/span><\/i> the one with less. Whoever is the more powerful should do the more listening, the more caring, the more giving\u2026 The simplest way of putting this is what Deuteronomy 16:20 requires in God's name: \"Justice, justice shalt thou pursue.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

(Excerpted and reprinted with permission from the essay \"The Face of the Other: Sarah-Hagar Then and Now\" in:<\/span> Reading Genesis Beginnings<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Beth Kissileff, editor, Bloomsbury, 2016, p. 119-20).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102959,"alt":"","title":"-622e038209334--622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png.png","width":1228,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-288x300.png","medium-width":288,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-768x801.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":801,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-982x1024.png","large-width":982,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png.png","1536x1536-width":1228,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png.png","2048x2048-width":1228,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-1151x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1151,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-403x420.png","home_baner-width":403,"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 Political Meaning of Esau","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Feeling for the persecuted Other - even a rival - is the ethical basis of being Jewish","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":102959,"alt":"","title":"-622e038209334--622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png.png","width":1228,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-288x300.png","medium-width":288,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-768x801.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":801,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-982x1024.png","large-width":982,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png.png","1536x1536-width":1228,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png.png","2048x2048-width":1228,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-1151x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1151,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e038209334-622e038209335gen27-powerlessness-desperate.png-403x420.png","home_baner-width":403,"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":"Genesis","chapter":"27","chapter_main_number":"27","date":"20251006","wall_id":"27"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"},{"term_id":"433","name":"Other","old_id":"833"},{"term_id":"436","name":"Morality","old_id":"836"},{"term_id":"486","name":"Esau","old_id":"886"},{"term_id":"503","name":"Power","old_id":"903"}]},{"order":5,"id":"54331","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"A River Runs Through It ","post_title":"A River Runs Through It","slug":"a-river-runs-through-it","old_id":"54331","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37333,"post_title":"Esther Jilovsky","slug":"esther-jilovsky","old_id":"37333","first_name":"Esther ","last_name":"Jilovsky","description":"Dr Esther Jilovsky is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. A native of Melbourne, Australia, she comes to the rabbinate with a PhD from the University of London in 2011. A granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, she is the author of Remembering the Holocaust: Generations, Witnessing and Place and co-editor of In the Shadows of Memory: The Holocaust and the Third Generation. \r\n\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr Esther Jilovsky is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":52868,"alt":"","title":"esther jilovsky.jpeg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1.jpg","width":3581,"height":5371,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1365,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"206","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Like a river, an inheritance is a source of nourishment flowing from one generation to another","post_main_content_content":"

A river is a sign of life. Whether a glossy trail snaking through a rusty desert landscape, a deep blue stream cutting through a rainforest, or a crisp mountain spring of melting snow gathering pace on descent, a river is a source of nourishment. A river provides water, transport, food and life for the people, animals and plants along its course. A river carves the landscape, forming wadis and trails and valleys and caves. Yet, while a river\u2019s impact on the landscape may seem fixed, a river is on a perpetual journey. A river flows from icy mountain tops, tumbles down spectacular waterfalls, gurgles through towns and cities, farmland and forest, until it reaches the sea and is swallowed up by the wild and unforgiving ocean.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Hebrew word <\/span>nachal<\/span><\/em> describes a torrent of rushing water, a strongly flowing stream, a river. As we read the Book of Joshua, Joshua leads the people of Israel across the river Jordan, into the land of Canaan, the land that God had promised them. Joshua divides up the land, granting each tribe their portion, their inheritance, their <\/span>nachalah<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i> And after this process is complete, Joshua receives a reward: \u2018When they had finished dividing the land for inheritance by their borders, the people of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them\u2019 (Joshua 19:49). Joshua is granted his own portion of the land, his<\/span> nachalah<\/span><\/em>, his inheritance.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Hebrew word for inheritance stems from the same root letters as river: <\/span>nun<\/span>, <\/span>chet<\/span>, <\/span>lamed<\/span><\/em>. This may seem puzzling at first. But an inheritance is not unlike a river. Both are things that can easily slip through our fingers. Both can be temporarily ours, but we are custodian, looking after it for future generations, rather than owner. We are the inheritors of our tradition. Jewish tradition exists, if we look after it, protect it, practice it, and pass it on to younger generations, just as earlier generations passed it to us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Sometimes we have to ask, what is flowing to us? What have we let get swept away in the currents? Is there something holding us back from moving forward to where we need to be? Our tradition is like a river. It ebbs and flows. But if we protect it, care for it, and treat it respectfully, it will continue to flow to future generations and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Yardenit, Kinneret \/ tripadvisor<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54332,"alt":"","title":"jo19-yardenit-der-jordan","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","width":550,"height":367,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","medium_large-width":550,"medium_large-height":367,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","large-width":550,"large-height":367,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","1536x1536-width":550,"1536x1536-height":367,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","2048x2048-width":550,"2048x2048-height":367,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","post_full_size-width":550,"post_full_size-height":367,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","home_baner-width":550,"home_baner-height":367}},"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":"A River Runs Through It","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Like a river, an inheritance is a source of nourishment flowing from one generation to another","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54332,"alt":"","title":"jo19-yardenit-der-jordan","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","width":550,"height":367,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","medium_large-width":550,"medium_large-height":367,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","large-width":550,"large-height":367,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","1536x1536-width":550,"1536x1536-height":367,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","2048x2048-width":550,"2048x2048-height":367,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","post_full_size-width":550,"post_full_size-height":367,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-yardenit-der-jordan.jpg","home_baner-width":550,"home_baner-height":367}},"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":"Prophets","book":"Joshua","chapter":"19","chapter_main_number":"206","date":"20260614","wall_id":"206"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"430","name":"Land of Israel","old_id":"830"},{"term_id":"435","name":"Water","old_id":"835"}]},{"order":6,"id":"54324","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"\u201cWhere in the World is\u2026. Dan?\u201d ","post_title":"\u201cWhere In The World Is\u2026. Dan?\u201d","slug":"where-in-the-world-is-dan","old_id":"54324","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"206","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Why are they all over the map?","post_main_content_content":"

According to our chapter (beginning in verse 40), the allotment of the tribe of Dan was situated near the center of the Land of Israel. Indeed some of the places named therein continue to resonate today, including Tzar`ah and Eshta`ol (v. 40, which we will reencounter in the saga of Samson) and `Ir Shemesh (probably Beit Shemesh), which are well-known sites in the \u201ccorridor\u201d leading from Jerusalem westward to the coastal plain.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For that matter, so is Sha`albin (42), today a kibbutz and yeshivah not far from Ben Gurion Airport. Yehud and B\u2019nai B\u2019raq (45) are exits on Israel\u2019s north-south Route 4, and even Gat Rimon (same verse) could be construed as an anagram of nearby Ramat Gan. The Yarkon River and Jaffa are mentioned as well (46) and while we would not expect a reference to Tel Aviv (which was built only in 1909!), vestiges of the Dan settlement survive in the name of the region in which Tel Aviv is situated (Gush Dan) and the fact that the bus cooperative that serves Israel\u2019s largest city is likewise named Dan.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The chapter, however, also includes an account of how Dan conquered a northern site named Leshem, slew its inhabitants, and renamed it Dan, after their eponymous ancestor (47). Curiously, an identical account, occurring after the death of Joshua, is narrated in Judges 18:27 ff. (save for the substitution of Layish for Leshem, a change that can be accounted for in Hebrew philology). If the tribe of Dan waged but a single campaign of conquest, why are there two iterations, and if its conquest of Leshem was not part and parcel of its divinely ordained allocation, how was it justified? Medieval exegetes addressed both issues.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi wrote that \u201cAt this point, they took only a small portion, but the lot also fell for them in another place which was distant from their boundary.\u201d It was only after the other tribes completed the conquest of the intervening territory that Dan was able to move northward and conclude its own settlement. Rashi\u2019s disciple Yosef Kara took a slightly different tack, arguing that their initial settlement was insufficient for their needs, so they sought to expand their territory, choosing Leshem because of its name, meaning jacinth, which was the stone on the high-priest\u2019s breastplate on which the name of their tribe was inscribed (Exodus 28:19).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Either way, this is why the most northern nature reserve in Israel is called Tel Dan.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54325,"alt":"","title":"jo19-dan map","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","width":280,"height":314,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map-268x300.jpg","medium-width":268,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","medium_large-width":280,"medium_large-height":314,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","large-width":280,"large-height":314,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","1536x1536-width":280,"1536x1536-height":314,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","2048x2048-width":280,"2048x2048-height":314,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","post_full_size-width":280,"post_full_size-height":314,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":314}},"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":"\u201cWhere In The World Is\u2026. Dan?\u201d","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Why are they all over the map?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54325,"alt":"","title":"jo19-dan map","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","width":280,"height":314,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map-268x300.jpg","medium-width":268,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","medium_large-width":280,"medium_large-height":314,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","large-width":280,"large-height":314,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","1536x1536-width":280,"1536x1536-height":314,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","2048x2048-width":280,"2048x2048-height":314,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","post_full_size-width":280,"post_full_size-height":314,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo19-dan-map.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":314}},"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":"Prophets","book":"Joshua","chapter":"19","chapter_main_number":"206","date":"20260614","wall_id":"206"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"430","name":"Land of Israel","old_id":"830"},{"term_id":"444","name":"History","old_id":"844"},{"term_id":"792","name":"Tribes","old_id":"1192"}]},{"order":7,"id":"54450","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Today\u2019s \u201cAccidental\u201d Deaths ","post_title":"Today\u2019s \u201cAccidental\u201d Deaths","slug":"todays-accidental-deaths","old_id":"54450","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":53706,"post_title":"Gabe Cohen","slug":"gabe-cohen","old_id":"53706","first_name":"Gabe ","last_name":"Cohen","description":"Gabe Cohen is a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he is also pursuing his MA in Jewish Education. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Deb. ","short_description":"Gabe Cohen is a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he is also pursuing his MA in Jewish Education. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":70092,"alt":"","title":"gabe cohen2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gabe-cohen2.jpeg","width":481,"height":561,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gabe-cohen2-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gabe-cohen2-257x300.jpeg","medium-width":257,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gabe-cohen2.jpeg","medium_large-width":481,"medium_large-height":561,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gabe-cohen2.jpeg","large-width":481,"large-height":561,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gabe-cohen2.jpeg","1536x1536-width":481,"1536x1536-height":561,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gabe-cohen2.jpeg","2048x2048-width":481,"2048x2048-height":561,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gabe-cohen2.jpeg","post_full_size-width":481,"post_full_size-height":561,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gabe-cohen2-360x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":360,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"207","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"For instance - who should be held responsible for a fatal accident caused by a self-driving car?","post_main_content_content":"

In Joshua 20, we read about the implications of accidental murder and what happens to the person who commits manslaughter. Those individuals are sent to an <\/span>ir miklat<\/span><\/em>\u2014one of six cities of refuge\u2014for two reasons: first, the refuge cities serve as a prison system to ensure these individuals don\u2019t accidentally kill again, and second, being in a city of refuge protects those guilty of manslaughter from family members of the slain party who might be seeking revenge. In Deut. 19:5, we are given the example of a person whose axe flew off the handle and accidentally killed a passerby. It is easy to imagine a refuge city populated with these kinds of clumsy people who are constantly putting the lives of others at risk, but it is more relevant to think about the real dangers that exist in our world that lead to accidental deaths.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A recent discussion that I took part in about halakhic questions regarding autonomous vehicles\u2014in which nobody can take direct blame for an accidental death\u2014left me thinking about the implications of what happens to those involved in light of this chapter. Who should be held responsible for a fatal accident caused by a self-driving car? Or an airplane whose controls fail the pilot? Surely, we couldn\u2019t place a car or airplane in a refuge city for concern over somebody wanting to kill the car. Do we place blame on the company or the technology behind the self-driving cars?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Regarding the Torah example of the faulty axe, the Rabbis discuss, in <\/span>Masekhet Makkot<\/span><\/em>, what happens if the axe has been thoroughly inspected and an accident leading to death still occurs. Perhaps the case in which a car accident occurs despite a car\u2019s software appearing to be completely safe, is comparable to the axe example. As our world evolves, we will be forced to grapple with the questions of what happens when things go awry with our new technologies, and we can still look to the Tanakh for guidance, regardless of how much technology changes our lives.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image by: Ian Maddox\u00a0 \/ wikimedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54451,"alt":"","title":"jo20-Tesla_Autopilot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"Today\u2019s \u201cAccidental\u201d Deaths","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"For instance - who should be held responsible for a fatal accident caused by a self-driving car?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54451,"alt":"","title":"jo20-Tesla_Autopilot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Tesla_Autopilot-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"Prophets","book":"Joshua","chapter":"20","chapter_main_number":"207","date":"20260615","wall_id":"207"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"383","name":"Death","old_id":"783"},{"term_id":"412","name":"Responsibility","old_id":"812"},{"term_id":"662","name":"Halacha","old_id":"1062"},{"term_id":"867","name":"Refuge","old_id":"1267"}]},{"order":8,"id":"54474","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"Cities For (Accidental) Killers ","post_title":"Cities For (Accidental) Killers","slug":"cities-for-accidental-killers","old_id":"54474","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":53309,"post_title":"Michael Hattin","slug":"michael-hattin","old_id":"53309","first_name":"Michael ","last_name":"Hattin ","description":"Rabbi Michael Hattin teaches Tanakh at Pardes in Jerusalem and serves as the Director of the Beit Midrash for the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators. He studied for rabbinic ordination at Yeshivat Har Etzion and holds a professional degree in architecture from the University of Toronto. Michael is the author of Passages: Text and Transformation in the Parasha (2012), and Joshua: The Challenge of the Promised Land (Koren, 2015). He lives in Alon Shevut with his wife Rivka and their five children.","short_description":"Rabbi Michael Hattin teaches Tanakh at Pardes in Jerusalem and serves as the Director of the Beit Midrash for the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":53310,"alt":"","title":"Michael Hattin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Michael-Hattin.jpg","width":2237,"height":3362,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Michael-Hattin-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Michael-Hattin-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Michael-Hattin-681x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":681,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Michael-Hattin-681x1024.jpg","large-width":681,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Michael-Hattin.jpg","1536x1536-width":1022,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Michael-Hattin.jpg","2048x2048-width":1363,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Michael-Hattin-798x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":798,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Michael-Hattin-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"207","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But no refuge for murderers","post_main_content_content":"

The commandment concerning the designation of special cities of refuge was comprehensively presented in the Torah at the very end of the Book of Numbers (Num. 35:9-34). At that time, God told Moses to command the people concerning these six cities, so that they might fulfill the injunction after they had secured their place in Canaan. The mention of the matter in the Book of Joshua now, towards the very end of the book, emphasizes that Israel achieved God's promise of possessing the land, and Joshua accomplished the daunting task of taking Moses' place. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is no question that the Torah's legislation, while acknowledging existing cultural norms, at the same time attempted to moderate and to eventually replace them with more advanced models of morality and justice. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is instructive to note that \"avenging the blood,\" by taking the life of the killer (innocent though he may have been of intent to murder) before law enforcement authorities can intervene, happens in many Middle Eastern societies today. Blood feuds, honor killings, and clan infighting are not uncommon in tribal societies; the cities of refuge are the Torah's response to these phenomena, a demand over three thousand years ago to replace cruel frontier justice with a functioning and impartial judiciary. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

These cities of refuge were associated with the Levites, whose own forty-eight designated cities included these six. The exile of the killer to the city of refuge was therefore not simply an act of justice and compassion, but one of absolution as well. The killer had to not only experience the anguish of banishment from his own town but also make the acquaintance of the Levites, whose special role was to provide spiritual instruction and guidance in ancient Israel. In this way, the killer could achieve pardon by serving his \"sentence\" of expulsion until the death of the High Priest, for that landmark event would usher in a new era of religious leadership. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In cases of premeditated homicide, however, the Torah makes it very clear that there can be no sanctuary from justice. In the bold language of Parashat Mishpatim: \"If a man schemes against his fellow and kills him intentionally, then even from My altar you shall take him to die!\" (Ex. 21:14). The institution of the cities of refuge was a sensible middle ground, preserving from harm those undeserving of death while at the same time brooking no compromise with murderers. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Joshua: The Challenge of the Promised Land<\/em> <\/span>(Jerusalem: Koren, 2015); <\/span>Chapter: \u201cCities of Refuge and Levitical Cities\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: <\/span>Cities of Refuge, illustration from a Bible card published 1901 by the Providence Lithograph Company \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54475,"alt":"","title":"jo20-Cities_of_refuge","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","width":443,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge-266x300.jpg","medium-width":266,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","medium_large-width":443,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","large-width":443,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","1536x1536-width":443,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","2048x2048-width":443,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","post_full_size-width":443,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge-372x420.jpg","home_baner-width":372,"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":"Cities For (Accidental) Killers","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But no refuge for murderers","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54475,"alt":"","title":"jo20-Cities_of_refuge","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","width":443,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge-266x300.jpg","medium-width":266,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","medium_large-width":443,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","large-width":443,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","1536x1536-width":443,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","2048x2048-width":443,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge.jpg","post_full_size-width":443,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo20-Cities_of_refuge-372x420.jpg","home_baner-width":372,"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":"Prophets","book":"Joshua","chapter":"20","chapter_main_number":"207","date":"20260615","wall_id":"207"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"762","name":"Murder","old_id":"1162"},{"term_id":"851","name":"City\/cities","old_id":"1251"},{"term_id":"867","name":"Refuge","old_id":"1267"}]},{"order":9,"id":"54520","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"A Delicious Moment of Repose ","post_title":"A Delicious Moment Of Repose","slug":"a-delicious-moment-of-repose","old_id":"54520","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34011,"post_title":"Jeremy Benstein","slug":"dr-jeremy-benstein","old_id":"34011","first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Benstein","description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English. He is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He writes the MiliMiliM - Hebrew Corner on the site, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34232,"alt":"","title":"Jeremy Benstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"208","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But for oh such a fleeting moment of history\u2026","post_main_content_content":"

Today's chapter ends on one of the sweetest notes imaginable:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"The LORD gave them rest on all sides\u2026Not one man of all their enemies withstood them\u2026Not one of the good things which the LORD had promised to the House of Israel was lacking. Everything was fulfilled (<\/span>hakol ba<\/span><\/i>)\" (verses 44-45).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Everything \u2013 everything! \u2013 was fulfilled. When had that ever been claimed before? When could it ever be claimed again? It seems like such a wonderful denouement to a book filled with warfare and violent conquest.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Too bad this isn't the last chapter in history. Or the last chapter in the Bible.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Or even the last chapter of this book.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For immediately following, in the remaining chapters of Joshua, it is described how there are still enemies, how they can lead the people into moral turpitude, and how much remains to be done. Indeed, a mere four chapters hence, the Book of Judges will begin: \"After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, \u201c'Which of us shall be the first to go up against the Canaanites and attack them?'\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And from the stories there, from the beginning to the end, we see that we don't need amoral Amorites or conniving Canaanites to lead the Israelites astray. They seem to do that just fine on their own.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Historians claim that much of the Book of Joshua that speaks of total conquest and rampant dispossession was a sort of historical fantasy \u2013 that much of the reported victories never occurred, and that most of the peoples listed continued to exist alongside the Israelites. This may have been a geopolitical challenge for the ancient Israelites, but is a sort of cold moral comfort for many liberal moderns who are discomfited by the book's, how shall we put it? Not exactly multi-culti vibe\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So these lovely verses too may have been a sort of fantasy of finally being at rest, at peace \u2013 with all our prayers and hopes, all our wishes and needs, fulfilled, with nothing to do but sit under our collective vines and fig trees.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Sound boring? Stay tuned: the upcoming Book of Judges should provide ample action and entertainment. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54523,"alt":"","title":"jo21-peace","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace.jpg","width":1920,"height":878,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-300x137.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":137,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-768x351.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-1024x468.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":468,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":702,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":878,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-1200x549.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":549,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-918x420.jpg","home_baner-width":918,"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":"A Delicious Moment Of Repose","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But for oh such a fleeting moment of history\u2026","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54523,"alt":"","title":"jo21-peace","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace.jpg","width":1920,"height":878,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-300x137.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":137,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-768x351.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-1024x468.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":468,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":702,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":878,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-1200x549.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":549,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-peace-918x420.jpg","home_baner-width":918,"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":"Prophets","book":"Joshua","chapter":"21","chapter_main_number":"208","date":"20260616","wall_id":"208"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"409","name":"Peace","old_id":"809"},{"term_id":"434","name":"War","old_id":"834"},{"term_id":"444","name":"History","old_id":"844"}]},{"order":10,"id":"54507","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"Levites Living On The Margins ","post_title":"Levites Living On The Margins","slug":"levites-living-on-the-margins","old_id":"54507","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49419,"post_title":"Josh Weiner","slug":"josh-weiner","old_id":"49419","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Weiner ","description":"Rabbi Josh Weiner has worked as a social worker, tour guide and kindergarten teacher. He is currently the assistant rabbi at the Adath Shalom community in Paris, teaches halacha at the Zacharias Frankel college, a new conservative rabbinical seminary in Berlin, and supports entrepreneurial Jewish education in both cities. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Rabbi Josh Weiner is currently the assistant rabbi at the Adath Shalom community in Paris and teaches halacha at the Zacharias Frankel college in Berlin.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49420,"alt":"","title":"josh weinder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287.jpg","width":360,"height":448,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287-241x300.jpg","medium-width":241,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287.jpg","large-width":360,"large-height":448,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287.jpg","1536x1536-width":360,"1536x1536-height":448,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287.jpg","2048x2048-width":360,"2048x2048-height":448,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287.jpg","post_full_size-width":360,"post_full_size-height":448,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/josh-weinder-e1550144676287-338x420.jpg","home_baner-width":338,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"208","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Let us learn from these wandering warriors the power of music and the strength that only matters when given away","post_main_content_content":"

One final act of division has to be made in order for the settling of the land to be complete. The Levites have to find their place in society. Their portion is last, by definition, because Levi was destined to be a guest tribe, living on the margins. Only once the other tribes were settled could they become hosts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is worth reflecting on the role and function of these Levites, and perhaps to think what they have to teach us today. In fact, teaching us is one of the prime functions of this tribe - \u201c<\/span>They shall teach Your laws to Jacob, and Your instruction to Israel<\/span><\/i>\u201d (Deuteronomy 33:10). And like any liminal figure living on the boundary of society - inside and outside of daily life, inside and outside of the sacred space - they can teach us more than those in the centre about what sacred and \u2018normal\u2019 mean.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In one passage in the Torah, when the Levites are \u2018dedicated\u2019 to the (temporary) Temple and take on their special role as assistants there, God says that they are \u201c<\/span>given, given to Me from among the Israelites<\/span><\/i>\u201d (Numbers 8:16) The commentator Rashi cites a midrashic explanation for the repetition of the word, explaining \u201cThey are given to carry, and given to sing.\u201d I imagine them as muscular poets, or as warrior dervishes: various descriptions throughout the 929 chapters of the Bible have them carrying the Tabernacle from place to place, as zealous fighters in the name of God, as singing psalms to accompany the Temple worship, and helping out their priestly cousins in their ritual roles. At the end of the book of Judges, we\u2019ll read of a maverick Levite who was hired to serve an idol, and in Ezra (8:16), we\u2019ll see that some of the Levites didn\u2019t seem so keen to return from exile. The Levites aren\u2019t perfect holy men, but they neither are they part of regular society. Margins!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Levites had no property or land of their own, and subsisted on the taxes, the tithes, given to them by their fellow Israelites. This is the background to our chapter here. The 48 cities given to them allowed them to spread out, to collect these gifts from the farmers of the other tribes, and to become a link between the people and the ritual-locus around the Tabernacle, and later in Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I suggest we can learn from them, because every exception (in midrashic logic) has something to teach us about the seemingly non-exceptional cases. Let us learn from the Levites the freedom of landlessness, of wandering, of trust. Let us learn the power of music that accompanies, supports, invites and creates. Let us learn the strength that only matters when given away, supporting spiritual structures. Let us learn to teach, by example, always.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: teta.co.il<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54508,"alt":"","title":"jo21-levites","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","width":500,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-300x300.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","large-width":500,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-420x420.jpeg","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":"","tile_main_caption":"Levites Living On The Margins","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Let us learn from these wandering warriors the power of music and the strength that only matters when given away","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54508,"alt":"","title":"jo21-levites","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","width":500,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-300x300.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","large-width":500,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-420x420.jpeg","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":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Joshua","chapter":"21","chapter_main_number":"208","date":"20260616","wall_id":"208"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"362","name":"Poetry","old_id":"762"},{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"512","name":"Music","old_id":"912"},{"term_id":"796","name":"Levites","old_id":"1196"}]},{"order":11,"id":"54655","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Infighting, Suspicion And Mistrust \u2013 Then And Now ","post_title":"Infighting, Suspicion And Mistrust \u2013 Then And Now","slug":"infighting-suspicion-and-mistrust-then-and-now","old_id":"54655","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":52866,"post_title":"Shani Abramowitz","slug":"shani-abramowitz","old_id":"52866","first_name":"Shani ","last_name":"Abramowitz ","description":"Shani Abramowitz is a poet, community organizer, and Jewish educator. Originally from the Chicago-area, Shani is in her third year of rabbinical school at JTS, and currently works as a rabbinic organizer at the New Israel Fund. ","short_description":"Shani Abramowitz is a poet, community organizer, and Jewish educator.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":52867,"alt":"","title":"shani abramowitz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/shani-abramowitz.jpg","width":139,"height":156,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/shani-abramowitz-139x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":139,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/shani-abramowitz.jpg","medium-width":139,"medium-height":156,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/shani-abramowitz.jpg","medium_large-width":139,"medium_large-height":156,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/shani-abramowitz.jpg","large-width":139,"large-height":156,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/shani-abramowitz.jpg","1536x1536-width":139,"1536x1536-height":156,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/shani-abramowitz.jpg","2048x2048-width":139,"2048x2048-height":156,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/shani-abramowitz.jpg","post_full_size-width":139,"post_full_size-height":156,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/shani-abramowitz.jpg","home_baner-width":139,"home_baner-height":156}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"209","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What happens when fear, anger and divisiveness drive communal relations","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter offers a familiar glimpse into the unfortunate inner workings of a community in formation. We are introduced to an early biblical example of the chaos that can erupt from communal infighting, suspicion and mistrust.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Israelites just divided the land; each tribe receiving a reasonably-sized territory. This division was divinely commanded, and the process goes so smoothly that the chapter ends with a ringing endorsement of the leadership, and the comfort that the Israelites will experience.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Lord gave them rest on all sides... the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands. Not one of the good things which the Lord has promised to the House of Israel was lacking. Everything was fulfilled.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

I point to this ending specifically because underscores the absurdity of what comes next.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Joshua calls the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Menashe, blesses them, and sends them home to the other side of the Jordan. All of this, with God\u2019s gentle approval and blessing. The tribes travel back to their homes, and build a large, conspicuous altar on the banks of the Jordan River, to thank God for their good fortune.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When the Israelites dwelling in Canaan hear about this large altar, they gather and conspire to attack their fellow Israelites:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Thus said the whole community of the LORD: What is this treachery that you have committed this day against the God of Israel, turning away from the LORD, building yourselves an altar and rebelling this day against the LORD!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We are given a brutal picture of the community\u2019s anguish; the thought of those Jews on the other side of the Jordan, serving God on their own, in their own way, is devastating.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The pain of the Israelites is real and large. It is clear that their reaction, and readiness to wage war, speaks to a deep and pervasive problem, that is also devastating in the contemporary Jewish world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Israelites who remain in Israel feel threatened. They are angry, jealous, and afraid of what this gesture might mean for the future of their community. My sense is that there is a genuine and deep concern for their tradition, and for the new fidelity to God that they have collectively committed to express.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Despite the comfort and security achieved through the division of the land, the fear of fracture overwhelms and pervades everything.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Today, tension is thick throughout the Jewish community. There is fear, judgment, and suspicion across denominations, and it frequently feels that we are growing even further part. Though these fears are often rooted in a deep existential desire to keep the Jewish people together, their manifestations often have the opposite effect.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When we are critical of another\u2019s practice, or judge the legitimate decisions that a family or an institution makes with their specific needs in mind, when we publicly shame and demean other Jews for choosing differently, we forget what we are here to do, and that we are united by one fundamental project: to serve God and build a better world. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54656,"alt":"","title":"jo22-suspicion","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-suspicion.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-suspicion-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-suspicion-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-suspicion-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-suspicion-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-suspicion.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-suspicion.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-suspicion-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo22-suspicion-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"Infighting, 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We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate ","post_title":"What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate","slug":"what-we-have-here-is-a-failure-to-communicate","old_id":"54527","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34250,"post_title":"Sarah Rudolph","slug":"sarah-rudolph","old_id":"34250","first_name":"Sarah ","last_name":"Rudolph","description":"Sarah Rudolph is a freelance Jewish educator, writer, and editor. She has been sharing her passion for Jewish texts of all kinds for over 15 years, with students of all ages. Sarah\u2019s essays have been published in a variety of internet and print media, including Times of Israel, Kveller, Jewish Action, OU Life, The Lehrhaus, TorahMusings, and more. Sarah lives in Cleveland with her husband and four children, but is privileged to learn online with students all over the world through www.TorahTutors.org and www.WebYeshiva.org. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Sarah Rudolph is a freelance Jewish educator, writer, and editor.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34251,"alt":"","title":"Sarah R","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","width":2824,"height":4246,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-681x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":681,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-681x1024.jpg","large-width":681,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","1536x1536-width":1022,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","2048x2048-width":1362,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-798x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":798,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"209","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Whose fault was the narrowly averted civil war? And what should they have done differently?","post_main_content_content":"

Joshua 22 opens on a highly positive note, as Joshua commends the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half of Menashe, for having fulfilled their duty to their brothers and says they may now take up residence in their own territory on the eastern side of the Jordan River.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Yet, what is their first act of note upon settling in their own land? They \u201cbuilt an altar there on the Jordan, an altar great to behold\u201d (v. 10).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At that point in history, altars outside the Tabernacle were prohibited, and the rest of the nation immediately understands this one as an act of rebellion against God. Fearing collective punishment, they immediately prepare to go to battle against their rebellious brothers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As it turns out, however, the altar was intended <\/span>only<\/em> <\/span>to be \u201cgreat to behold\u201d \u2013 not for sacrificial use, but as a monument. Ironically, the structure which seemed to be a statement of separation was actually built for the opposite purpose: as a visual reminder to future generations that the physical distance between them should never imply a division in their connection to God and His service.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Whose fault was this near civil war?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As in most misunderstandings, both sides shared the blame.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The <\/span>Chomat Anach<\/span><\/em> suggests those on the east side should have revealed their positive intent to Joshua from the beginning, clarifying their loyalty to God and His Torah. It was their own fault that the others suspected them, since they did something highly suspicious with no warning or explanation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But those on the west side could have behaved differently, too. When they heard of that suspicious action, Malbim points out that they just heard and assumed; they didn\u2019t judge \u201c<\/span>l\u2019chaf zechut<\/span><\/em>,\u201d give them the benefit of the doubt, but relied on the rumors that judged their brothers as guilty. What they <\/span>didn\u2019t<\/span><\/em> do was <\/span>ask<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

How many misunderstandings could be avoided by simply asking a question? \u201cIt sounds like you just said X; is that what you meant?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ultimately, what saved the day was communication: the Israelites on the west side sent a message of condemnation, and those on the east explained their innocence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the next time, before relying on our own interpretations of apparently divisive acts, perhaps we might remember to hold off on the battle cries, warnings, and condemnations \u2013 and simply ask. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

We might find that what looks like it divides us could ultimately unite us.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54528,"alt":"","title":"jo22-communicate","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"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":"What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Whose fault was the narrowly averted civil war? And what should they have done differently?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54528,"alt":"","title":"jo22-communicate","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-communicate-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"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":"Prophets","book":"Joshua","chapter":"22","chapter_main_number":"209","date":"20260617","wall_id":"209"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"409","name":"Peace","old_id":"809"},{"term_id":"434","name":"War","old_id":"834"},{"term_id":"525","name":"Communication","old_id":"925"},{"term_id":"792","name":"Tribes","old_id":"1192"}]},{"order":13,"id":"54530","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The First Exercise in Israel-Diaspora Relations ","post_title":"The First Exercise In Israel-Diaspora Relations","slug":"the-first-exercise-in-israel-diaspora-relations","old_id":"54530","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"209","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Then, a crisis of misunderstanding was avoided by talking - and listening. What about now?","post_main_content_content":"

Just as the allocation of the land amongst the tribes and the establishment of the cities of refuge fulfilled conditions laid down by Moses, so does the current chapter satisfy the terms he set out for the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If you volunteer for military service\u2026 and serve until the Lord disperses His enemies\u2026 and the land is conquered\u2026 then you will be entitled to your land (Numbers 32:20 ff.).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After 14 years of conquest, Joshua permitted these two-and-one-half tribes to return to their families and possessions on the eastern bank of the Jordan. Prior to crossing, however, they paused to erect an imposing altar (v.10), triggering the suspicions of the remaining tribes that the purpose of the altar was idolatrous. A delegation led by the High Priest Phineas (v.14) determined that their intentions were pure and the potential for a civil war was defused.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The argument the tribes of Trans Jordan offered in their defense resonates with a contemporary issue: the relationship between the Jews of Israel and Diaspora Jewry. Here is what the departing tribes said to their brothers remaining in Israel:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We have acted out of anxiety lest your children challenge our children in the future saying, What have you to do with the Lord God of Israel? God made the Jordan the boundary between us\u2026 You have no share in the Lord\u2026 So we have erected this altar\u2026 to serve as an everlasting witness between us\u2026 (vs.21-29)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Even though they had fought side by side for 14 years and the physical distance that was to divide them was minimal, there was still the fear that their separation would lead to their spiritual and religious estrangement. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

How much more so should we worry about the prospects of the alienation of Diaspora Jewry from Israel, given the considerable increase of both time and distance, and work toward sustaining mutual understanding and support?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: 2018 GA, Tel Aviv: www.jns.org\/jfna-2018<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54533,"alt":"","title":"jo22-lets talk","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-lets-talk.jpg","width":2000,"height":1125,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-lets-talk-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-lets-talk-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-lets-talk-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-lets-talk-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-lets-talk.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-lets-talk.jpg","2048x2048-width":2000,"2048x2048-height":1125,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-lets-talk-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo22-lets-talk-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The First Exercise In Israel-Diaspora Relations","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Then, a crisis of misunderstanding was avoided by talking - and listening. 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The founder of Fast for Feast, he lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife Sarah and their four children. He used to work for 929 North America.\r\n","short_description":"Rabbi Marc Gitler, founder of Fast for Feast, lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife Sarah and their four children. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34236,"alt":"","title":"Marc Gitler","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","width":407,"height":407,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","medium_large-width":407,"medium_large-height":407,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","large-width":407,"large-height":407,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","1536x1536-width":407,"1536x1536-height":407,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","2048x2048-width":407,"2048x2048-height":407,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","post_full_size-width":407,"post_full_size-height":407,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Gitler.jpg","home_baner-width":407,"home_baner-height":407}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"210","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Leading the way to the Promised Land","post_main_content_content":"

Living in the Western United States I encounter Joshuas from time to time. No, not the Biblical, but the botanical, the <\/span>yucca brevifolia<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This particular spiny yucca, native to the Mojave desert, is known the world over as \u201cthe Joshua Tree.\u201d Surprisingly, the tree\u2019s name is related to our Biblical hero.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Legend has it that Mormons traveling westward to escape persecution named the tree Joshua. Either because the tree\u2019s unique shape reminded them of Joshua reaching up towards the sky in prayer (perhaps while holding a shofar) or because they envisioned the tree as an encouraging sign leading them westward to their Zion, just as Joshua lead the Israelites westward into our promised land.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is sadly ironic, and somewhat humorous that to millions of people Joshua is not the man who miraculously split the Jordan, brought down the walls of Jericho, or defeated 31 kings, but the tree, the National Park, and the U2 album that bear his name.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The irony is especially acute due to Joshua\u2019s black and white message in our chapter-don\u2019t assimilate. Cling to God, he tells us, and not to the nations in your midst. Don\u2019t let these foreign cultures seep into our way of life, lest we veer from the book of Moses right or left.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Mormons, National parks, rock albums oy vey!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Please Joshua don\u2019t roll over in your grave (especially since according to tradition your <\/span>yahrtzeit<\/span><\/em> was yesterday, the 26th of Nissan). We love Bono, and trips to the desert, but cherish and honor Moses\u2019 faithful servant who gallantly lead the young nation into the promised land.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54678,"alt":"","title":"jo23-joshua-tree","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"Joshua The Yucca","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Leading the way to the Promised Land","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54678,"alt":"","title":"jo23-joshua-tree","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo23-joshua-tree-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"Prophets","book":"Joshua","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"210","date":"20260618","wall_id":"210"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"512","name":"Music","old_id":"912"},{"term_id":"553","name":"Trees","old_id":"953"},{"term_id":"781","name":"America","old_id":"1181"}]},{"order":15,"id":"109424","color":"#e8ecf6","size":"1","name":"Resist! (Temptation) ","post_title":"Resist! (Temptation)","slug":"resist-temptation","old_id":"109424","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":"210","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Joshua\u2019s first last speech\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In chapter 31 of Deuteronomy, Moses gives his final address to the people. In it, there is a fatalistic message from God. God announces that when the people enter the land they will disobey God, they will worship other gods, and they will be punished. Here, in chapter 23, Joshua tries to change this decree. He warns the people not to worship idols. They must resist the temptations of the people around them. God will help them remove the people, but the ones that remain will be a snare and a test. Resist the trap.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 24 has a different goodbye message it seems. In chapter 24, Joshua reviews the history of the Israelites starting from Terach. This seems like a second goodbye speech, but these are linked. Moses never started his reviews of the history of the Israelites that far back. Why does Joshua start with Terach?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Then Joshua said to all the people, \u2018Thus said the L<\/span>ORD<\/span>, the God of Israel: In olden times, your forefathers\u2014Terach, father of Abraham and father of Nahor\u2014lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods. But I took Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt' (24:1-3).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Abraham grew up surrounded by idols. His father worshiped them, and yet he was not tempted. God was able to take Abraham away from the life of idol worship. Isaac and Jacob also lived in the land of Canaan. Jacob also had to deal with Esau. All three of the forefathers lived in the land of Canaan surrounded by idol worshipers. They were able to continue to follow God despite these temptations. Between these two chapters, Joshua tries two different ways to warn the people. Chapter 23 is direct. Do not be tempted. Chapter 24 is experiential. Your forefathers were in the same position, and they were able to follow God despite the idol worship around them, you should too.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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