{"id":54732,"date":"2018-07-09T17:42:38","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1043\/"},"modified":"2022-12-02T15:14:38","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T13:14:38","slug":"wall-1043","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1043\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20221127-to-20221203"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1043","date_from":"20221127","date_to":"20221203","book":"Judges","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"38145","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Jacob\u2019s Ladder on the Ramp in Auschwitz ","post_title":"Jacob\u2019s Ladder on the Ramp in Auschwitz","slug":"jacobs-ladder-on-the-ramp-in-auschwitz","old_id":"38145","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38016,"post_title":"Naava Semel","slug":"naava-semel","old_id":"38016","first_name":"Naava","last_name":"Semel","description":"Nava Semel was an Israeli author, playwright, screenwriter and translator. Her short story collection \u201cKova Zekhukhit\u201d (Hat of Glass) was the first work of fiction published in Israel to address the topic of the \"Second Generation\" - children of Holocaust survivors. She died in 2017\r\n","short_description":"Nava Semel was an Israeli author, playwright, screenwriter and translator.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":1305,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/15-2-e1534413416449.jpg","width":117,"height":164,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/15-2-e1534413416449-117x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":117,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/15-2-e1534413416449.jpg","medium-width":117,"medium-height":164,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/15-2-e1534413416449.jpg","medium_large-width":117,"medium_large-height":164,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/15-2-e1534413416449.jpg","large-width":117,"large-height":164,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/15-2-e1534413416449.jpg","1536x1536-width":117,"1536x1536-height":164,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/15-2-e1534413416449.jpg","2048x2048-width":117,"2048x2048-height":164,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/15-2-e1534413416449.jpg","post_full_size-width":117,"post_full_size-height":164,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/15-2-e1534413416449.jpg","home_baner-width":117,"home_baner-height":164}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"28","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"I am with you wherever you go","post_main_content_content":"

Jacob, the child, is sleeping. Jacob, the child, is dreaming. And there is no ramp in his dream to which the soldiers and murderers push him. In the dream of the child Jacob, his father and mother appear, from whom he is torn, and they whisper to him: \"Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go\" (Genesis 28:15).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The child Jacob - perhaps he was nicknamed Jacob\u2019ele or Yankele - does not want to open his eyes and wake up to the nightmare in which he will find out, \"How full of awe\/fear is this place!\" (28:17).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And the child Jacob\u2019s ladder\/stairway, there are no angels ascending or descending, neither in that order nor in any other order.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to one explanation, the word \u201cladder\/stairway\u201d derives from the Hebrew root s\u2019l\u2019l, whose meaning is a ramp. \u00a0On the ramp in Auschwitz, people of flesh and blood degraded the child Jacob to the lowest level of \"not being human\" whereas on the ladder of Jacob our forefather, the angels ascended, and only afterwards did they descend.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The dream meets our patriarch Jacob while he wallows in fear due to his retreat into exile when Esau threatened his life. The night vision, when his head is resting on a stone instead of a pillow, is God's way of assuring Rebecca and Isaac\u2019s son that He will protect him until he returns to the land He promised him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When he awakens, our patriarch Jacob announces that this is the gate to heaven. \u00a0My mother who survived Auschwitz will never forget the chimneys that opened up in the direction of heaven. Up to her last day, that smell of horror, not angels, will accompany her. She did not dream anything there, and if she dreamed, she forgot.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like our father Jacob, she, too, made the long journey to the land that was established for her. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to Midrash Tanchuma, God suggested to our patriarch Jacob to ascend the ladder\/stairway. \u00a0However, Jacob, afraid, refused. When he awoke, he took the stone that was under his head and turned it into a monument. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One brave boy, whose name was not Jacob but Hanus Hachenburg from the Terezin ghetto, left behind his dream for us to remember forever, before he was exterminated in 1944:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But anyway, I still believe I only sleep today,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>That I\u2019ll wake up, a child again, and start to laugh and play.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>I\u2019ll go back to childhood sweet like a briar rose,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Like a bell which wakes us from a dream,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Like a mother with an ailing child<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Loves him with woman\u2019s love.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: <\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/i>I never saw another butterfly\u2026 Children\u2019s Drawings and Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp 1942-1944<\/span><\/em>.\u201d<\/em> McGraw-Hill, New York, 1971. Printed in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The above essay is dedicated to the late Naphtali Lau-Lavie, an Israeli journalist, author, and diplomat. Lavie's entire family was murdered during the Holocaust, with the exception of his brother, Yisrael, who would later become the Chief Rabbi of Israel.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":38147,"alt":"","title":"auschwitz-jacob","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob.jpg","width":1024,"height":550,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob-300x161.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":161,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob-768x413.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":413,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob-1024x550.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":550,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":550,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":550,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":550,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob-782x420.jpg","home_baner-width":782,"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":"Jacob\u2019s Ladder on the Ramp in Auschwitz","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"I am with you wherever you go","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":38147,"alt":"","title":"auschwitz-jacob","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob.jpg","width":1024,"height":550,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob-300x161.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":161,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob-768x413.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":413,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob-1024x550.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":550,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":550,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":550,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":550,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/auschwitz-jacob-782x420.jpg","home_baner-width":782,"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":"28","chapter_main_number":"28","date":"20251007","wall_id":"28"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"408","name":"Holocaust","old_id":"808"}]},{"order":2,"id":"38225","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Emotions of a Barren Woman ","post_title":"Emotions of a Barren Woman","slug":"emotions-of-a-barren-woman","old_id":"38225","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38045,"post_title":"Elana Bekerman Frank","slug":"elana-bekerman-frank","old_id":"38045","first_name":"Elana ","last_name":"Bekerman Frank ","description":"Elana Bekerman Frank has over 18 years of experience working with non-profits (in America and in Israel) in fundraising, marketing, community outreach, and program development in the field of fertility. She is the Executive Director & Founder of Jewish Fertility Foundation and resides in Atlanta, GA with her husband Jason and their two children, Levi and Avidan.\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Elana Bekerman Frank is the Executive Director & Founder of Jewish Fertility Foundation and resides in Atlanta, GA","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38046,"alt":"","title":"elana bekerman frank","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/elana-bekerman-frank-e1534497853414.jpg","width":146,"height":190,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/elana-bekerman-frank-e1534497853414-146x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":146,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/elana-bekerman-frank-e1534497853414.jpg","medium-width":146,"medium-height":190,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/elana-bekerman-frank-e1534497853414.jpg","medium_large-width":146,"medium_large-height":190,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/elana-bekerman-frank-e1534497853414.jpg","large-width":146,"large-height":190,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/elana-bekerman-frank-e1534497853414.jpg","1536x1536-width":146,"1536x1536-height":190,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/elana-bekerman-frank-e1534497853414.jpg","2048x2048-width":146,"2048x2048-height":190,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/elana-bekerman-frank-e1534497853414.jpg","post_full_size-width":146,"post_full_size-height":190,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/elana-bekerman-frank-e1534497853414.jpg","home_baner-width":146,"home_baner-height":190}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"29","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Despite medical breakthroughs, all of the raw negative feelings, pressure, jealousy, marital stress and pain are still as real and painful as they were for Rachel","post_main_content_content":"

Gen 29: 31 \u2013 \"And the LORD saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The pressure is on for Rachel. Her womb is barren. She is infertile. She cannot produce a child. This is HER issue. Rachel feels this sense of guilt and shame that her body has failed her. Jacob is not the one with fertility issues, he has children with his other wife, Leah. Where does that leave Rachel? Frustrated, sad, angry, jealous, stuck and alone. Many women (and men) who suffer from infertility today relate to Rachel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The verse implies that fertility is a reward or a pity-present gifted to Leah and that because Rachel was loved, she deserved to suffer. There is a stigma surrounding fertility where the woman is blamed for this medical issue that does not exist when it comes to other medical conditions. Certainly infertility feels like a punishment. It is an attack on all of your plans and visions for your future. As someone who has gone through what Rachel has gone through, I have asked myself \u201cWhat did I do wrong to deserve this?\u201d \u201cWhy me?\u201d And even, \u201cWhy her, and not me?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rachel gets to a place in her fertility journey where she envied her sister Leah and tells her husband, Jacob, \u201cGive me children, or I shall die.\u201d Infertility really is that powerful. Jewish identity is so intertwined with children that it often leaves adults without children feeling alone, isolated, and even suicidal. Couples struggling to build their own families feel left out of Jewish life cycle events, holiday celebrations, Shabbat invites, and they are often overlooked or not included in leadership roles within the Jewish Community. Emotions are raw and painful and Jacob too is frustrated. He tells Rachel that it really has nothing to do with him, it\u2019s up to God. Jacob may be trying to be a supportive partner but instead, he further alienates himself from Rachel, leaving her even more alone. Fertility puts additional pressure and stress on marriages. This is not how they envisioned their life together.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Thanks to medicine, fertility breakthroughs and adoption, women and families today have many more options and resources on how to face their infertility. However, all of the raw negative feelings, pressure, jealousy, marital stress and pain are still as real and painful as they were for Rachel in Biblical times.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":38226,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_776784970","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970.jpg","width":4000,"height":2667,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1366,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-630x420.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":"Emotions of a Barren Woman","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Despite medical breakthroughs, all of the raw negative feelings, pressure, jealousy, marital stress and pain are still as real and painful as they were for Rachel","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":38226,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_776784970","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970.jpg","width":4000,"height":2667,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1366,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_776784970-630x420.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":"29","chapter_main_number":"29","date":"20251008","wall_id":"29"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"513","name":"Rachel","old_id":"913"},{"term_id":"521","name":"Fertility","old_id":"921"},{"term_id":"522","name":"Marriage","old_id":"922"}]},{"order":3,"id":"38434","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Of Sheep and Surfaces ","post_title":"Of Sheep and Surfaces","slug":"of-sheep-and-surfaces","old_id":"38434","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36423,"post_title":"Ari Hoffman","slug":"ari-hoffman","old_id":"36423","first_name":"Ari ","last_name":"Hoffman","description":"Ari Hoffman is a columnist for the Forward, where he writes about politics and culture. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at N.Y.U., and his writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Tablet Magazine, The New York Observer, and a range of other publications. He holds a doctorate in English Literature from Harvard and a law degree from Stanford.\r\n","short_description":"Ari Hoffman is a columnist for the Forward, where he writes about politics and culture, and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at N.Y.U.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36424,"alt":"","title":"Ari Hoffman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","width":1044,"height":1438,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-218x300.jpg","medium-width":218,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-743x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":743,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-743x1024.jpg","large-width":743,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","1536x1536-width":1044,"1536x1536-height":1438,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","2048x2048-width":1044,"2048x2048-height":1438,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-871x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":871,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-305x420.jpg","home_baner-width":305,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"30","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The wild and wooly interstices of family and destiny require distance from the herd, and vigilance against the wolves...","post_main_content_content":"

We don\u2019t flinch when Jacob pulls a bit of petting zoo magic on Laban and conjures speckles and spots to recoup his share of the livestock. It was owed to him after all, hidden back wages written onto hides. Jacob is young and building a family and a fortune in equally robust arithmetic leaps. Rather than divide and conquer, he multiplies and prospers. The solution to Laban\u2019s duplicitous rhetoric is the irrefutable appeal to the visual. Words wend away from what they mean when Laban says one thing and does another. But a speckled sheep is a particularly convincing baa-ing bit of evidence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The depths of Jacob\u2019s story can be told as a skein of surfaces. \u00a0He would have known the sheepy, wooly, soft and scratchy feeling of a sheep\u2019s coat from the inside, his nervous sweat mingling with the promised dew from the birthright he sheared from his brother. There too words yield to a more senior sense; not sight, but its more archaic colleague, touch. But that old way of orienting in the void, when all is dark and there is no one to hear, leads Isaac to mistake his twins, blunting fatherhood\u2019s brand of insight.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The third in this triptych of surfaces; Joseph\u2019s coat, yet another lying bit of evidence. Here the material is not animal pelts of a particular pattern or coarseness but a piece of human craft, a coat meant to be worn to the world soaked with a goat\u2019s innards. The forensics are false, but Jacob, who knew how slippery speckles could be and how touch dissembles, failed to summon the requisite hermeneutics of suspicion.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps Jacob\u2019s complicated brand of truth is founded on the insight that it always shares a skin with falsehood. Surfaces often wormhole to the deepest depths, and the wild and wooly interstices of family and destiny require distance from the herd, and vigilance against the wolves playing costume and plying their own brand of savage wisdom who make no distinction between the solid, speckled, or striped.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Cover art by Ben Schachter<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":38456,"alt":"","title":"Schachter_Genesis30-32","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32.jpg","width":1080,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32.jpg","1536x1536-width":1080,"1536x1536-height":1080,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32.jpg","2048x2048-width":1080,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32.jpg","post_full_size-width":1080,"post_full_size-height":1080,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Of Sheep and Surfaces","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The wild and wooly interstices of family and destiny require distance from the herd, and vigilance against the wolves...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":38456,"alt":"","title":"Schachter_Genesis30-32","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32.jpg","width":1080,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32.jpg","1536x1536-width":1080,"1536x1536-height":1080,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32.jpg","2048x2048-width":1080,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32.jpg","post_full_size-width":1080,"post_full_size-height":1080,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Schachter_Genesis30-32-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"30","chapter_main_number":"30","date":"20251009","wall_id":"30"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"301","name":"Ben Schachter","old_id":"701"},{"term_id":"490","name":"Jacob","old_id":"890"}]},{"order":4,"id":"54864","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"What Have We Learned In And From Joshua? ","post_title":"What Have We Learned In And From Joshua?","slug":"what-have-we-learned-in-and-from-joshua","old_id":"54864","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38552,"post_title":"Benny Lau","slug":"benny-lau","old_id":"38552","first_name":"Benny","last_name":"Lau ","description":"Rav Benny Lau is the founder and co-head of the Israeli initiative 929 along with Gal Gabbai. In addition, he is the rabbi of the Ramban synagogue in Jerusalem and is a community leader, activist, author, and public speaker.","short_description":"Rav Benny Lau is the founder and co-head of the Israeli initiative 929 along with Gal Gabbai.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":1708,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","medium-width":150,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","medium_large-width":150,"medium_large-height":150,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","large-width":150,"large-height":150,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":150,"1536x1536-height":150,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":150,"2048x2048-height":150,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":150,"post_full_size-height":150,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","home_baner-width":150,"home_baner-height":150}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"2006","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

A new generation arises, who's roots were in an enslaved, broken nation, totally dependent on a dominant leader, and matures and assumes power through wars, conquest and settling of the land.<\/p>\r\n

Five weeks of touring the land with Joshua have come to an end. Let's take a look back and try to understand the experience in its entirety.<\/p>\r\n

The Book of Joshua reminds me of a young child learning to ride a bike. Joshua and the Israelites are making their first halting efforts in the Land of Israel. Not yet pedaling on their own, not yet able to get along without the immediate presence of Moses and God, but already grappling with sovereignty and independence, which include a few tumbles.<\/p>\r\n

There are very few miracles in this book. Miracles represent God's patronage and watchful eye, which guarded the people during forty years in the desert. Jericho continued that model: neither Joshua nor the people conquered Jericho. Marching around the walls with shofars was much more of a prayer than a plan of attack. A prayer to God to fight their battles. It should have been otherwise: crossing the Jordan should have transferred authority from God to the people. But you can't just throw such an ill prepared people directly into the fray of freedom. Jericho was the training wheels, before taking them on the open road. The pursuit of the enemy in the first real war against the kings of the South, will be forever remembered because of Joshua's cry: \u201cStand still, O sun, at Gibeon, O moon, in the Valley of Aijalon!\u201d This plea is calling out to Dad not to leave me alone, but to hold onto the bike, because I am not sure of my own abilities.<\/p>\r\n

Like the education of any child, there are successes and there are failures. There are years of conquest and settlement, and there are tribes who slack off. \"Joshua was now old, advanced in years\u2026and very much of the land still remains to be taken possession of\" (13:1). Maturity necessitates dealing with weakness, with failure, with internal conflicts and with partial successes. The book will not end with the blowing of trumpets. The death of Joshua, unlike that of Moses, does not describe a harmonious situation, but rather the gathering of storm-clouds, portending what will occur in the next book. There is no passing of the baton - it is the end of central leadership, to be followed by tribal responsibility, with local leaders.<\/p>\r\n

Will this succeed? Not clear. But it had to happen, to make sure that not only did we leave Egypt, but that Egypt left us as well. Hundreds of years of servitude created a nation of slaves, with souls that wanted to run away from independence and responsibility. The first stage of leaving Egypt required a strong leader for a people with no backbone. Forty years in the desert allowed a new generation to arise, and so the people who entered Egypt had not been crippled by slavery. Now they will learn to get on by themselves, to fall again and again, but the end result will be to grow in stature, until they can walk upright in their land.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":52855,"alt":"","title":"JoshuaBook","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook.jpg","width":800,"height":800,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":800,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":800,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":800,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Joshua Conclusion and Retrospective","tile_main_caption":"What Have We Learned In And From Joshua?","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"It was like learning how to ride a bicycle...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":52855,"alt":"","title":"JoshuaBook","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook.jpg","width":800,"height":800,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":800,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":800,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":800,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/JoshuaBook-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Joshua","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":"20190505","wall_id":"2006"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"54856","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Much Remains To Be Done In The Promised Land ","post_title":"Much Remains To Be Done In The Promised Land","slug":"much-remains-to-be-done-in-the-promised-land","old_id":"54856","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. 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The Book of Joshua began with the sending of the spies to Jericho, the crossing of the Jordan River, the mass circumcision, and the celebration of Passover in the new land. All recalled earlier formative moments. But this time there was no hesitation, no panic, and no turning back \u2014 the forty-odd years of wilderness wandering during which God had patiently inculcated in Israel self-reliance and a spirit of gratitude had done their work.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The conquest of the land followed: With each successive battle, God's overt intervention decreased. How else could He nurture initiative and enterprise if not by receding to encourage Israel's independence \u2014 which included extending to His people the freedom to fail? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

So while Akhan took from the spoils and Israel suffered setback at the ramparts of Ai, a precious lesson was borne home: while God wishes nothing more than for us to succeed, we must make our own sometimes ruinous choices. To learn from one's failures and to do better next time is life's greatest gift. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The second half of the Book of Joshua described the beginnings of that progression as tribal territories were allotted and lands were secured. Memorable figures such as Caleb and Akhsa appeared in this section \u2014 to strengthen the resolve of the people by offering them a critical paradigm: One need not fear the giants or the most colossal of undertakings if one's trust in God is steadfast and one's belief in oneself is sure. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The final part of the book returned us to its beginning as aged Joshua now prepared to take his leave of the people as Moses had done before him. Calling the people to assemble, he offered words of encouragement tinged with caution, for he knew that so much remained to be done. As the book closed, he could only hope, as Israel did with him, that success would one day be theirs. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

As students of the Tanakh, we know that the people of Israel did not succeed in securing permanence in the land. Israel strayed from God and was eventually driven out, just as the aged leader had warned. Sometimes, exile to distant lands brought them \u00a0calamity, catastrophe, and death; sometimes, it brought them prosperity, permanence, and the balm of forgetfulness. But the land was never entirely forgotten from their hearts. With the preservation of that ancient memory, the way back to the Promised Land was secured, just as it was for us. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Joshua: The Challenge of the Promised Land <\/span><\/i>(Jerusalem: Koren, 2015); <\/span>Chapter: \u201cThe Tabernacle at Shilo\u201d <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54859,"alt":"","title":"\"Promised Land\" Road Sign with dramatic clouds and 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To The Book of Judges: \"Unbridled Lust, Implacable Hostility, Mutual Mayhem\" ","post_title":"Welcome To The Book of Judges: \"Unbridled Lust, Implacable Hostility, Mutual Mayhem\"","slug":"welcome-to-the-book-of-judges-unbridled-lust-implacable-hostility-mutual-mayhem","old_id":"54889","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"212","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"\"In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did what was right in his own eyes.\"\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Judges represents, one might say, the Wild West era of the biblical story\u2026.There are warriors who can toss a stone from a slingshot at a hair and not miss; a bold left-handed assassin who deftly pulls out a short sword strapped to his right thigh to stab the Moabite king in the soft underbelly; another warrior-chieftain who panics the enemy camp in the middle of the night with the shock and awe of piercing ram's horn blasts and smashed pitchers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

All this is certainly exciting in a way that is analogous to the gunslinger justice of the Wild West, but there is an implicit sense, which becomes explicit at the end of the book, that survival through violence, without a coherent and stable political framework, cannot be sustained and runs the danger of turning into sheer destruction. In the first chapter of the book, before any of the Judges are introduced, we are presented with the image of the conquered Canaanite king, Adoni-Bezek, whose thumbs and big toes are chopped off by his Judahite captors. This barbaric act of dismemberment, presumably intended to disable the king from any capacity for combat, presages a whole series of episodes in which body parts are hacked, mutilated, crushed. King Eglon's death by Ehud's hidden sword is particularly grisly: his killer thrusts the weapon into his belly all the way up to the top of the hilt, and his death spasm grotesquely triggers the malodorous release of the anal sphincter. Women are also adept at this bloody work: there is a vividly concrete report of how Jael drives the tent-peg through the Temple of Sisera the Canaanite general and into the ground; another woman, this one anonymous, smashes the head of the nefarious Abimelech with a millstone she drops on him from her perch in a besieged tower\u2026The grand finale of Samson's story, in which thousands of Philistine men and women, together with the Israelite hero, are crushed by the toppling temple, is an even more extensive crushing and mangling of bodies.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Against this background, one can see a line of imagistic and thematic continuity from the maiming of Adoni-Bezek at the very beginning of the book to the dismembering of the concubine at the end [see chapter 19]. That act of chopping a body into pieces, of course, is intended as a means to unite the tribes against Benjamin and its murderous rapists, but there is a paradoxical tension between the project of unity \u2013 unity, however, for a violent purpose \u2013 and the butchering of the body, the violation of its integrity, which in the biblical world as in ours was supposed to be respected through burial\u2026 After this dark impasse to which the Book of Judges comes, it will be the task of the next great narrative sequence, which is the Book of Samuel, concluding in the second chapter of 1 Kings, \u00a0to imagine a political means to create a center and lease the anarchy. That goal is in part realized, but\u2026 the blood-dimmed tide is never stemmed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, <\/span>The Hebrew Bible, <\/span><\/i>vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, pp. 80-81<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"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":"Selections From Robert Alter's Hebrew Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Welcome To The Book of Judges: \"Unbridled Lust, Implacable Hostility, Mutual Mayhem\"","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"It's the original Game of Thrones \u2013 but without a throne\u2026","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Judges","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"212","date":"20260622","wall_id":"212"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"54898","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"A Guide to the Book of Judges: The Task is Unending ","post_title":"A Guide to the Book of Judges: The Task is Unending","slug":"a-guide-to-the-book-of-judges-the-task-is-unending","old_id":"54898","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33992,"post_title":"Bradley Shavit Artson","slug":"rabbi-dr-bradley-shavit-artson","old_id":"33992","first_name":"Bradley Shavit ","last_name":"Artson","description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and is professor of philosophy there. Artson is married to Elana Shavit Artson, and they are the parents of twins, Shira and Jacob.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson is the Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33993,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","width":204,"height":199,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-256x300.png","medium-width":256,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","medium_large-width":204,"medium_large-height":199,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","large-width":204,"large-height":199,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","1536x1536-width":204,"1536x1536-height":199,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","2048x2048-width":204,"2048x2048-height":199,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","post_full_size-width":204,"post_full_size-height":199,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","home_baner-width":204,"home_baner-height":199}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"212","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"This extraordinary book teaches that there is no single great leader who can clean things up forever","post_main_content_content":"

The Book of Judges, following immediately after the Book of Joshua, leaves no doubt about its predicament. \u201cAfter the death of Joshua,\u201d the Book opens. When we closed the previous Book, the conquest seemed complete. The tribes were occupying their rightful places, the enemy had been vanquished, Joshua had retired as a lauded and successful warrior, and died peacefully in his own bed. It is a bit of a rude awakening that the new book opens with unraveling and with crisis. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The tribes of Israel, apparently, have not yet completed their assignment. Amorites, Canaanites and others still hold much of the land, and the Israelites are soon to be taken to task for not having taken the land and established peace. A new cycle emerges: oppressed by their enemies, the Israelites call out in fear and suffering. A new chieftain (or judge) emerges from one tribe or another, the people come together in confederation to repulse the new enemies, and then everyone goes home. Eventually, old habits revive and Israelites fall away from a life of covenant, only to strengthen their enemies for another round. Enemies, Judges, conflict and elusive peace: these are the recurrent cycles of the Book of Judges.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So what are we to learn from all the Book of Judges?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That molding a people around a high standard isn\u2019t something that happens once and for all. The Children of Israel, like all people, need regular schooling in decency, law, and justice.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the fact that they will backslide doesn\u2019t mean we have to abandon hope. They also can be inspired to come together, to try again, to turn the tide on their erroneous ways and their evil choices.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The power of repentance and renewal offer an antidote to habit, indifference, and the temptation to be like everyone else, to just let it slide. We can, like our ancestors in this remarkable book, rally around mindfulness and intentionality. We can choose who we are going to become, and that can have consequences for how our lives will play out.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Finally, this extraordinary book teaches that there is no single great leader who can clean things up forever. Instead, we can look to new generations of leaders who will meet the challenges of their day, and then get out of the way so that a succeeding generation of leaders can do so in turn. There is no single permanent fix; but we can anticipate a resurgence of new talent and vision that will allow us to move forward as a people.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54918,"alt":"","title":"jud1-after joshua","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua.jpg","width":807,"height":707,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua-300x263.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":263,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua-768x673.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":673,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua.jpg","large-width":807,"large-height":707,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua.jpg","1536x1536-width":807,"1536x1536-height":707,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua.jpg","2048x2048-width":807,"2048x2048-height":707,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua.jpg","post_full_size-width":807,"post_full_size-height":707,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua-479x420.jpg","home_baner-width":479,"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 Guide to the Book of Judges: The Task is Unending","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"This extraordinary book teaches that there is no single great leader who can clean things up forever","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54918,"alt":"","title":"jud1-after joshua","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua.jpg","width":807,"height":707,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua-300x263.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":263,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua-768x673.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":673,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua.jpg","large-width":807,"large-height":707,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua.jpg","1536x1536-width":807,"1536x1536-height":707,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua.jpg","2048x2048-width":807,"2048x2048-height":707,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua.jpg","post_full_size-width":807,"post_full_size-height":707,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-after-joshua-479x420.jpg","home_baner-width":479,"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":"Judges","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"212","date":"20260622","wall_id":"212"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"402","name":"Leadership","old_id":"802"}]},{"order":8,"id":"55033","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Never Forget! ","post_title":"Never Forget!","slug":"never-forget","old_id":"55033","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42588,"post_title":"Avi Spodek","slug":"avi-spodek","old_id":"42588","first_name":"Avi ","last_name":"Spodek ","description":"Avi Spodek is the Rabbinics Department Chair at the Frankel Jewish Academy of Metro Detroit. He was born in Toronto, Canada, and lived in Israel for six years, two years when was a fellow in the Pardes Educators\u2019 Program, earned a graduate degree in Jewish education from Hebrew College and received his rabbinic ordination (he is a Talmid of Rav Daniel Landes). ","short_description":"Avi Spodek is the Rabbinics Department Chair at the Frankel Jewish Academy of Metro Detroit.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":42589,"alt":"","title":"avi spodek","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/avi-spodek-e1540274719836.jpg","width":800,"height":988,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/avi-spodek-e1540274719836-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/avi-spodek-e1540274719836-243x300.jpg","medium-width":243,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/avi-spodek-e1540274719836-768x948.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":948,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/avi-spodek-616x1024.jpg","large-width":616,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/avi-spodek-e1540274719836.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":988,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/avi-spodek-e1540274719836.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":988,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/avi-spodek-722x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":722,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/avi-spodek-e1540274719836-340x420.jpg","home_baner-width":340,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"213","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And always know what you\u2019re supposed to remember","post_main_content_content":"

The Book of Judges records a \u201ccycle of violence\u201d that the Israelites experienced in Israel after Joshua\u2019s passing until the establishment of a monarchy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Judges 2:11-21 the reader is provided with a thesis-style explanation of this cycle and its cause(s), which can be summarized as follows:<\/span><\/p>\r\n