{"id":56066,"date":"2018-07-09T17:42:56","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-2007\/"},"modified":"2022-12-26T09:27:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T07:27:31","slug":"wall-2007","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-2007\/","title":{"rendered":"book-Prophets-Judges"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"2007","book":"Judges","books_group":"Prophets","hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"date":"20190603","static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":"","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"72177","color":"#effaea","size":"2","name":"24 in 24: Judges ","post_title":"24 in 24: Judges","slug":"24-in-24-judges","old_id":"72177","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56624,"post_title":"Abby Sosland","slug":"abby-sosland","old_id":"56624","first_name":"Abby ","last_name":"Sosland","description":"Rabbi Abby Sosland is a spiritual advisor, writer, and educator, based at The Leffell School in Westchester, New York. ","short_description":"Rabbi Abby Sosland is a spiritual advisor, writer, and educator, based at Schechter Westchester High School in New York. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56632,"alt":"","title":"abby sosland2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/abby-sosland2.jpg","width":182,"height":175,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/abby-sosland2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/abby-sosland2.jpg","medium-width":182,"medium-height":175,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/abby-sosland2.jpg","medium_large-width":182,"medium_large-height":175,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/abby-sosland2.jpg","large-width":182,"large-height":175,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/abby-sosland2.jpg","1536x1536-width":182,"1536x1536-height":175,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/abby-sosland2.jpg","2048x2048-width":182,"2048x2048-height":175,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/abby-sosland2.jpg","post_full_size-width":182,"post_full_size-height":175,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/abby-sosland2.jpg","home_baner-width":182,"home_baner-height":175}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"441","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"#7 - Judges: A Window To New Leadership","post_main_content_content":"

In an effort to bring more Torah content to your homes and devices, we are pleased to announce this new initiative.<\/p>\r\n

There are 24 hours in a day, 24 books of Tanakh and \u2013 counting from Monday \u2013 24 days until Pesach. Count up with us at 929!<\/p>\r\n

3.5 years to complete all of Tanakh might feel a bit long. If you are ready to dive into some of the later books of Tanakh, \u201c24 in 24\u201d is for you.<\/p>\r\n

Starting on Monday the 16th<\/sup> of March (click here to see all the videos to date<\/a>), alongside our daily chapter, we will be starting a parallel learning cycle, with the goal of working our way through all 24 books of Tanakh over the next 24 days. Drawing from our community of educators and writers, each day, here on the site, in our daily newsletter and through our social media channels we will be sharing a 20-30 minute video exploring a resonant theme in each of the 24 books of Tanakh, starting with Bereishit\/Genesis on Monday March 16, and ending with Divrei Hayamim\/Chronicles.<\/p>\r\n

Join us for this journey in text \u2013 from the comfort (and appropriately socially distanced semi-isolation) of your own home!<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_nulugRDMpU","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"24 in 24","tile_main_caption":"#7 - Judges: A Window To New Leadership","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"with: Abby Sosland","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_nulugRDMpU","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":"Jeremiah","chapter":"41","chapter_main_number":"441","date":"20270509","wall_id":"441"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"332","name":"24 in 24","old_id":"732"}]},{"order":2,"id":"56557","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Deep Parallels, Contrasts and Lessons: Ruth in the Context of Judges 17-21 ","post_title":"Deep Parallels, Contrasts and Lessons: Ruth in the Context of Judges 17-21","slug":"deep-parallels-contrasts-and-lessons-ruth-in-the-context-of-judges-17-21","old_id":"56557","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37404,"post_title":"Jennifer Raskas","slug":"jennifer-raskas","old_id":"37404","first_name":"Jennifer ","last_name":"Raskas ","description":"Jennifer Raskas is the Washington D.C. Manager for the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. She teaches classes widely on Hebrew literary approaches to readings in Tanakh. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and her Master's in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.","short_description":"Jennifer Raskas is the Washington D.C. Manager for the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37405,"alt":"","title":"Jennifer Raskas","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483.jpg","width":1680,"height":1647,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-300x294.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":294,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-768x753.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":753,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-1024x1004.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1004,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1506,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483.jpg","2048x2048-width":1680,"2048x2048-height":1647,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-1200x1176.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1176,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-428x420.jpg","home_baner-width":428,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"2007","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Judges as Context and Counterpoint","post_main_content_content":"

The book of Ruth starts with the words, \u201cVayehi Bi\u2019ymei Sh\u2019fot Hashoftim\u201d, \u201cAnd it came to pass in the days that the judges judged\u201d (Ruth 1:1). These words set the book of Ruth in the time period of the Shoftim, Judges. When we take a deeper look at the last five chapters of the book of Judges, we see many signs that the book of Ruth actually serves as a \u201cTikkun\u201d, or correction, for many of the terrible acts that the Israelites perform in Judges chapters 17-21.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Though these terrible acts will include lying, rape, stealing, killing and civil war, the people in the text often perceive their own actions as virtuous. In that way the stories describe a society where on the surface everything is fine, but beyond the surface lies depravity and sin. \u00a0In contrast, the book of Ruth is largely about Israelites meeting a woman, Ruth, who on the surface is a foreigner of little concern, and then discovering what a true \u201cEshet Chayil\u201d, woman of valor, she is (Ruth 3:11). In this way the Israelites learn to look beyond the surface and recognize true virtue.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 17<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In chapter 17, for example, we meet Micah, who returns missing money to his mother. His mother, proud of her son, exclaims, \u201cBlessed be my son to God\u201d (Judges 17:2) and then dedicates the money to the Lord. On the surface, this seems like a great pious, familial tale of righteousness. However, when we dig deeper and look at the other details, we see that Micah knows where the money is because he stole it from his mother, and they use the money to build a \u201cgraven image\u201d (17:3). Just this short episode contains multiple violations of the Ten Commandments!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In contrast, in the book of Ruth we will see acts of pure generosity, family standing loyally beside one another, and no less than five different episodes of people blessing others to God, each after an actual virtuous act. \u00a0These blessings include Boaz\u2019s servants blessing him (Ruth 2:4), Naomi twice blessing Boaz (2:19, 20), Boaz blessing Ruth (3:10), and all the women present at the end of the book blessing God over the acts he performed for Naomi (4:14).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is an ultimate sign that we may be meant to read these texts in contrast to one another? While the last five chapters of the Book of Judges contain the refrain, \u201cthere was no king in Israel, every man did what was right in their own eyes\u201d (see Judges 17:6 for example), the Book of Ruth ends with the pronouncement of a new era of leadership for Israel, the birth, through Ruth, of King David. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 18<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We begin Chapter 18 by noting the familiar phrase, \u201cIn those days there was no King\u201d (18:1). This will serve as a direct contrast to Ruth, which ends with the birth of King David.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 18 tells the story of the tribe of Dan searching for a place to \u201cla\u2019shevet\u201d to dwell in. \u00a0The book of Ruth will similarly start with Naomi\u2019s family looking for a place to \u201cshev\u201d, settle, as well as Naomi\u2019s resettling in her home in Beth-lehem (Ruth 1:4,22). The way those in Judges and Ruth choose to \u201csettle\u201d, however, show vast differences in moral priorities and piousness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Tribe of Dan, in searching for a place of their own, first steal Micah\u2019s idols and convince Micah\u2019s priest to abandon him. They do not repent when Micah confronts them. When they arrive at Laish, the city they desire, where the \u201cpeople are quiet and secure,\u201d the people of Dan \u201cput them to the sword and burned down the town\u201d (Judges 18:27). They then rename the city Dan and set up Micah\u2019s idols in the city. The people of Dan find a place to settle, therefore, through stealing, idolatry, killing innocent people and setting a quiet city on fire, all deplorable acts. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In contrast, when Naomi seeks to re-settle in Beth-lehem, she first releases her widowed Moabite daughters-in-law from coming with her, putting their needs first as she explains, she has no more sons to give them. Ruth then chooses the virtuous act of helping others over remaining settled in her home of Moab, as she \u2018sticks\u2019 to Naomi, and proclaims, \u201cwherever you lodge, I will lodge\u201d <\/span>(1:16). Boaz praises Ruth for these actions by implicitly comparing Ruth to Abraham: \u201chow you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and came to a people you had not known before\u201d (2:11). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this way the actions of Naomi and Ruth serve as a contrast and \u201cTikkun\u201d for those in Judges. While the tribe of Dan puts their own need to \u201csettle\u201d before the needs and lives of an entire city, Naomi and Ruth demonstrate putting others first, and create a home together through bonds of righteousness and loyalty. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 19<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Judges chapter 19 is a powerful story of immoral hospitality that ultimately leads to civil war. \u00a0The Hebrew root \u201c<\/span>l-y-n<\/span><\/i>\u201d, to lodge, is a <\/span>leitwort<\/span><\/i> or recurring word, appearing 12 times. \u00a0When we compare this story to episodes in the book of Ruth that use the root \u201c<\/span>l-y-n<\/span><\/i>\u201d, we see how Boaz and Ruth provide a \u201cTikkun\u201d, corrective, for these morally corrupt acts of hospitality. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In our chapter, as in chapters 17 and 18, the characters\u2019 actions at first appear moral. The story begins with a Levite who has followed his concubine to her father's house and is repeatedly offered hospitality by her father. Upon leaving, the Levite and concubine travel through the area of Benjamin, searching for new hospitality. \u00a0They find an old man from Ephraim who welcomes them into his home, feeds them and their donkeys and bathes their feet. That night the host seeks to protect the Levite when debased men demand to become intimate with him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The hospitality takes a corrupt turn, however, when the host offers the depraved men his own virgin daughter and the Levite's concubine in return for keeping the Levite safe. The debased men then rape and abuse the concubine throughout the night. In the morning, the Levite, upon finding his assaulted concubine non-responsive, cuts her into 12 pieces and sends the pieces around Israel, ultimately initiating a civil war against the tribe of Benjamin. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In contrast to the morally reprehensible acts in Judges 19, Boaz, in the book of Ruth, demonstrates how to virtuously treat a guest. Ruth, with Naomi\u2019s encouragement, secretly lies near Boaz at night, hoping he will offer to become her husband. When Boaz finds Ruth, he reassures her that she is safe by expressing how \u201call the elders of my town know what a fine woman you are\u201d<\/span> (Ruth 3:12).<\/span> Boaz then invites Ruth to stay with him [<\/span>lyni<\/span><\/i>] using that same Hebrew root featured in Judges 19. This root is also in the statement Ruth had uttered when she loyally told Naomi, \u201cwherever you lodge, I will lodge\u201d (Ruth 1:16). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In further contrast between these texts, the depraved men who seek to assault the Levite, use the word, <\/span>ve-nedaenu<\/span><\/i>, that we may <\/span>know<\/span><\/i> him, to convey their depraved intentions (Judges 19:22). \u00a0Boaz in contrast, uses a similar word when he states that all the men <\/span>yodeah<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>know<\/span><\/i> what a fine woman Ruth is (Ruth 3:12). Boaz then devises a plan to ensure Ruth\u2019s safety by sending her back before it becomes <\/span>known<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>yi-vadeh<\/span><\/i>, where she was. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

While the actions of hospitality on the surface of Judges 19 seem at first righteous, they end in depravity. \u00a0In contrast, in the book of Ruth, Boaz demonstrates virtuous hospitality by reassuring, protecting and ultimately redeeming his guest, Ruth. It is no surprise that Judges 19 opened with the familiar refrain of anarchy; \u201cIn those days when there was no king in Israel\u201d (Judg. 19:1) while the book of Ruth will end with the birth of King David.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 20<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Judges 20 glaringly describes a story that on its surface appears virtuous but is replete with depravity and sin: the civil war. On the surface the Israelites are repeatedly described as uniting as <\/span>one man<\/span><\/i> before the Lord<\/span><\/i> (see Judges 20:1) and they heroically proclaim their intention to <\/span>stamp out the evil from Israel<\/span><\/i> (20:13). They even bring God offerings while seeking His advice. This unified and \u201cnoble\u201d war, however, is a civil war! The Israelites proclaim unity as they literally fight against their brother, the tribe of Benjamin. The text emphasizes this perverse association with brotherhood as the Israelites refer to the tribe of Benjamin as <\/span>achi<\/span><\/i>, my brother, even as they seek to kill them (Judges 20:23,28).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In stark contrast, in the book of Ruth, Boaz displays true loyalty in the name of brotherhood.<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Inspired by Ruth\u2019s loyalty to Naomi, Boaz announces that he will redeem the field that belonged <\/span>le\u2019achenu,<\/span><\/i> to our brother (Ruth 4:3) because <\/span>echav,<\/span><\/i> brothers of Israel should never be cut off (4:10). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

There are numerous words in Judges that describe perverse aspects of the civil war and then describe virtuous acts in Ruth. In Judges, for example, the soldiers in the civil war are described as foot soldiers who<\/span> shalaf<\/span><\/i>, draw their swords (Judges 20:2). Nowhere else in Tanakh are soldiers described as drawing their swords and also as <\/span>fighting men on foot<\/span><\/i>. In Ruth the word <\/span>shalaf<\/span><\/i> is also used in the context of feet. Here, Boaz virtuously redeems Naomi\u2019s husband\u2019s field when he draws, <\/span>va\u2019yishlof<\/span><\/i>, his shoe (Ruth 4:7-8). Throughout Tanakh the root <\/span>sh-l-f<\/span><\/i> describes fighting and aggression. Only in the book of Ruth is the root <\/span>sh-l-f<\/span><\/i> used peacefully, when it twice describes Boaz's righteous redemption of his brother\u2019s field.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The root <\/span>d-v-k <\/span><\/i>in Judges similarly describes Israelites belligerently chasing one another (see Judges 20:42). In the Book of Ruth, <\/span>d-v-k<\/span><\/i> describes virtuous loyalty, when Ruth <\/span>davka,<\/span><\/i> clings<\/span> to Naomi and when Boaz tells Ruth to <\/span>tidbikin<\/span><\/i>, stick to his maidens and field (Ruth 1:14; 2:8; 2:23). \u00a0Similar patterns appear for the words <\/span>menucha<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Tamar<\/span><\/i> and c<\/span>hayil<\/span><\/i> (see for example Judges 20:43, Ruth 1:9, 3:1; Judges 20:33, Ruth 4:12 and Judges 20:44, Ruth 2:1)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These words then follow the surface-depth theme we\u2019ve seen throughout the comparisons of these two texts. Just as Judges describes a society that on the <\/span>surface<\/span> appears moral but <\/span>in reality<\/span> is corrupt, these words in Judges are on their <\/span>surface<\/span> positive words, but their <\/span>context<\/span> describes depravity and sin. In the book of Ruth, as the Israelites learn to look beyond the surface of Ruth as a foreign woman and discover her inner goodness, these very words from Judges regain their positive associations while describing acts of true valor and virtue.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 21<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this last chapter of Judges we will contrast one final theme: how the Israelites in Judges and then in Ruth attempt to save a part of Israel they fear may become lost forever. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

After the Israelites win the civil war against their brother Benjamin, they virtuously cry out upon realizing the men of Benjamin have no women to marry and therefore may disappear as a tribe. The Israelites, however, are themselves to blame as they killed all the women of Benjamin and had earlier taken an oath against marrying into the tribe of Benjamin. In fact, they swore that anyone from among Israel who did not partake in this oath should be put to death. The Israelites then realize that the people of Jabesh-gilead were not at the oath-taking ceremony. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Israelites send fighters to Jabesh-gilead with instruction to kill all the men, married women and children, thereby seemingly fulfilling their obligation to kill those who didn\u2019t take that oath. They then leave the virgin women alive, breaking the very oath they just murdered a whole city for, and give those women to the Benjaminite men. There are not enough women, however, so they instruct the men of Benjamin to hide and seize other women celebrating a festival for the Lord. The Israelites have \u201csaved\u201d a tribe of Israel through additional mass killings and seizing of innocent women.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the last chapter of Ruth, Boaz also encounters the potential loss of a part of Israel, the possibility of Naomi\u2019s family\u2019s names disappearing if a relative does not redeem their field. After a closer relative declines to redeem the field and marry Ruth, Boaz, a distant relative, marries Ruth and redeems the field as he proclaims that<\/span> 'the name of the deceased should not be cut off from among his brothers'<\/span><\/i> (Ruth 4:10). This redemption ends not with mass killing, but with a new life, the birth of a son to Boaz and Ruth.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Through exploring words, actions and themes, we saw how the book of Ruth serves as a contrast to the corruption in the end of Judges. The book of Ruth then is a redemptive story about a nation as they learn to look beyond the surface, and overcome their transgressions from Judges. While the last episodes in Judges refrain and ultimately end with <\/span>there was no king in Israel<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>every man did what was right in his own eyes <\/span><\/i>(Judges 21:25), the book of Ruth concludes with the pronouncement that the people merit a new era of kingship, as the union of Boaz and Ruth leads directly to the birth of King David.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For a fuller exploration about the contrast between the end of the Book of Judges and the Book of Ruth, please see: Raskas, Jennifer R.<\/span> \u201cThe Book of Ruth: A Contrast to the End of the Book of Judges.\u201d<\/span><\/a> Jewish Bible Quarterly. Volume 43:4 (2015): p. 223-232<\/span><\/em><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56559,"alt":"","title":"jud-end-wheat-field","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-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":"Special Series: The Tikkun of Ruth I-V Complete","tile_main_caption":"Deep Parallels, Contrasts and Lessons: Ruth in the Context of Judges 17-21","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Judges as Context and Counterpoint","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56559,"alt":"","title":"jud-end-wheat-field","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-wheat-field-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":"Judges","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":"20190603","wall_id":"2007"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"337","name":"Ruth","old_id":"737"},{"term_id":"837","name":"Judges","old_id":"1237"}]},{"order":3,"id":"56552","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Retrospective on Judges: Themes And Variations ","post_title":"Retrospective on Judges: Themes And Variations","slug":"retrospective-on-judges-themes-and-variations","old_id":"56552","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":"2007","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Conquest, idolatry, salvation, depravity, anarchy","post_main_content_content":"

In our comments over the last four chapters of the Book of Judges, we had occasion to report on the rabbinic view that the book does not maintain a strict chronological sequence and that the events described in its concluding section actually transpired at the very start of the era. Here, we should like to suggest that this is because an alternative organizational principle was utilized for the book: a thematic one. We are indebted to the authors and editors of the Da`at Mikra series for their inspiration.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Part one, covering through 2:5, informs us that the source of all evils during this period was the neglect of Joshua\u2019s instructions to complete the conquest of the land and, paradoxically, forging alliances with the indigenous nations against whose company they were warned going back to Moses and the Torah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Part two, extending through chapter 16, apprises us that the most serious consequence of that neglect was idolatry, adopting the mores of the people they had failed to evict from the land. Each time their negligence reached a high-water mark, they were delivered into the hands of an enemy, their oppression lasting until they rallied around a religious savior and the waters that threatened to engulf them receded, albeit temporarily.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Part three, comprising the final five chapters, serves as the book\u2019s conclusion, describing perhaps the most egregious events pertaining to the themes of idolatry and depravity, regardless of their place in the chronological sequence. It is itself divisible into chapters 17-18 and 19-21. The first tells of Micah\u2019s idol and delivers a somewhat sarcastic rebuke for idolatry that was so ongoing that it blithely utilized monies dedicated to God and employed a Levite as priest. The second is more austere and severe, depicting the anti-social behavior of Gibeah on a par with that of the infamous Sodom and Gomorrah, leaving a lasting legacy of civil strife and near decimation due, again, to the influence of their assimilation of local mores and habits.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The concluding verse of the book, a repetition of \u201cin those days there was no king in Israel,\u201d links the two halves of the final portion to one another and also serves as a segue into the Book of Samuel, as we shall shortly see.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54952,"alt":"","title":"jud1-tribes","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","width":563,"height":349,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes-300x186.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","medium_large-width":563,"medium_large-height":349,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","large-width":563,"large-height":349,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","1536x1536-width":563,"1536x1536-height":349,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","2048x2048-width":563,"2048x2048-height":349,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","post_full_size-width":563,"post_full_size-height":349,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","home_baner-width":563,"home_baner-height":349}},"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":"Retrospective on Judges: Themes And Variations","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Conquest, idolatry, salvation, depravity, anarchy","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54952,"alt":"","title":"jud1-tribes","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","width":563,"height":349,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes-300x186.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","medium_large-width":563,"medium_large-height":349,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","large-width":563,"large-height":349,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","1536x1536-width":563,"1536x1536-height":349,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","2048x2048-width":563,"2048x2048-height":349,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","post_full_size-width":563,"post_full_size-height":349,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-tribes.jpg","home_baner-width":563,"home_baner-height":349}},"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":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":"20190603","wall_id":"2007"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"429","name":"Idolatry","old_id":"829"},{"term_id":"837","name":"Judges","old_id":"1237"}]},{"order":4,"id":"56546","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"Retrospective on the Women of Judges ","post_title":"Retrospective on the Women of Judges","slug":"retrospective-on-the-women-of-judges","old_id":"56546","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56547,"post_title":"Maya Rubenstein","slug":"maya-rubenstein","old_id":"56547","first_name":"Maya ","last_name":"Rubenstein","description":"Maya Rubenstein is a rising senior at SAR High School. She loves Tanach and finds Torah reading especially meaningful. Maya also enjoys science, writing, and music. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Maya Rubenstein is a rising senior at SAR High School","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56549,"alt":"","title":"maya rubenstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/maya-rubenstein-1.jpg","width":403,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/maya-rubenstein-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/maya-rubenstein-1-284x300.jpg","medium-width":284,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/maya-rubenstein-1.jpg","medium_large-width":403,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/maya-rubenstein-1.jpg","large-width":403,"large-height":426,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/maya-rubenstein-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":403,"1536x1536-height":426,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/maya-rubenstein-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":403,"2048x2048-height":426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/maya-rubenstein-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":403,"post_full_size-height":426,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/maya-rubenstein-1-397x420.jpg","home_baner-width":397,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"2007","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

An overall theme of the Book of Judges is warning regarding the dangers of a society without structure. This message mainly manifests politically--the book records the war and anarchy of a lawless world. However, this idea is mirrored in the way women are portrayed. Paralleling the message of \"In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did as he pleased\" Judges endorses marriage--a crucial bedrock of societal structure--by championing the married female characters and negatively depicting unmarried women.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Deborah and Yael epitomize the praiseworthiness of the book's married women. Deborah was both a prophetess and a judge and initiates the Israelites' military resistance against the Canaanites. The Bible includes within the first five words of her introduction that she was the \"wife of Lappidoth,\" even though Lappidoth never appeared in the story. Similarly, Yael, who emerged victorious as the killer of the story's antagonist, is identified as the wife of Heber the Kenite. Later on, the wife of Manoah gave birth to Samson, who became an Israelite hero.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Unmarried women, however, are portrayed much more negatively. Samson and Delilah are not recorded to be married; Delilah ultimately brought about Samson's downfall. Similarly, the concubine of the Levite in chapter 19 was raped, and this led to a massively destructive civil war. The Bible thus portrays the importance of structure of marriage in maintaining society.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56550,"alt":"","title":"jud-end-mrs","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs.jpg","width":1280,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"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":"Retrospective on the Women of Judges","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Looking at Deborah, Yael, Delilah, and the nameless concubine - we can see the importance of marriage as a foundation of social structure","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56550,"alt":"","title":"jud-end-mrs","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs.jpg","width":1280,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/jud-end-mrs-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"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":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":"20190603","wall_id":"2007"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"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":6,"id":"54889","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Welcome 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":"54975","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Roller Coaster of Tribal Anarchy ","post_title":"The Roller Coaster Of Tribal Anarchy","slug":"the-roller-coaster-of-tribal-anarchy","old_id":"54975","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54651,"post_title":"Abi Weber","slug":"abi-weber","old_id":"54651","first_name":"Abi ","last_name":"Weber ","description":"Abi Weber is a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, where she is also working towards a Master's degree in Bible. Abi serves as a Marshall T. Meyer Rabbinic Fellow at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, a community committed to spiritual practice and innovative interpretations of Judaism. \r\n","short_description":"Abi Weber is a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54652,"alt":"","title":"abi weber","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/abi-weber.jpg","width":580,"height":768,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/abi-weber-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/abi-weber-227x300.jpg","medium-width":227,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/abi-weber.jpg","medium_large-width":580,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/abi-weber.jpg","large-width":580,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/abi-weber.jpg","1536x1536-width":580,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/abi-weber.jpg","2048x2048-width":580,"2048x2048-height":768,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/abi-weber.jpg","post_full_size-width":580,"post_full_size-height":768,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/abi-weber-317x420.jpg","home_baner-width":317,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"212","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Suddenly, leadership seems to be a meritocratic enterprise rather than a genealogical presumption. But is it sustainable?","post_main_content_content":"

When a leader dies, the first question on everyone\u2019s mind is, \u201cWho\u2019s in charge now?\u201d Throughout the Tanakh, the answer is usually clear: after Abraham comes Isaac, after Isaac comes Jacob; after a long period of slavery in Egypt, Moses is called by God to lead, and upon his death, Joshua takes over. But what happens when Joshua dies? This is where things get complicated, as Judges 1:1 reads: \u201cAfter the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the Lord, \u2018Which of us shall be the first to go up against the Canaanites and attack them?\u2019\u201d What follows is a disjointed account of each tribe entering the land of Israel and attempting to conquer different cities from their current inhabitants: Judah and Simeon team up to attack a few areas, while Benjamin, Ephraim, Manasseh, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali wander off in different directions, more or less successfully taking over territory. Even within each tribe, it is mysterious who is running the show: Caleb, who would seem like a worthy leader of the tribe of Judah, offers his daughter in marriage to <\/span>anyone <\/span><\/i>who can capture the town of Kiryat-Sefer. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

It certainly seems like total anarchy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This anarchic approach to leadership continues throughout the book of Judges, as leaders rise up, attain prestige and power through military success, and eventually die, leaving a power void for another charismatic leader to fill. In a way, this anarchy is a welcome change: suddenly, leadership seems to be a meritocratic enterprise rather than a genealogical presumption. But as the book of Judges continues, it becomes clear that this form of leadership is not sustainable; the tribes fall apart, warring with one another and sinning in violent and disturbing ways. We must wait until the book of Samuel before Israel will unite again. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy the rollercoaster of ups and downs.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54976,"alt":"","title":"jud1-roller-coaster","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster.jpg","width":1920,"height":1066,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-300x167.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":167,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-768x426.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-1024x569.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":569,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":853,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1066,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-1200x666.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":666,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-756x420.jpg","home_baner-width":756,"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 Roller Coaster Of Tribal Anarchy","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Suddenly, leadership seems to be a meritocratic enterprise rather than a genealogical presumption. But is it sustainable?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54976,"alt":"","title":"jud1-roller-coaster","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster.jpg","width":1920,"height":1066,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-300x167.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":167,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-768x426.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-1024x569.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":569,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":853,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1066,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-1200x666.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":666,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud1-roller-coaster-756x420.jpg","home_baner-width":756,"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"},{"term_id":"594","name":"Unity","old_id":"994"}]},{"order":8,"id":"55148","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Deborah and Yael: Heroine Role Models ","post_title":"Deborah And Yael: Heroine Role Models","slug":"deborah-and-yael-heroine-role-models","old_id":"55148","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":52873,"post_title":"Tikva Frymer-Kensky","slug":"tikva-frymer-kensky","old_id":"52873","first_name":"Tikva ","last_name":"Frymer-Kensky","description":"Dr. Tikva Frymer-Kensky (1943-2006) had been the director of Biblical Studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and was a professor of Hebrew Bible and the History of Judaism at the University of Chicago. She was a pioneer in combining rigorous study of the ancient Near East with rigorous feminism. She received her bachelor's degree in ancient world studies from City College of New York and a bachelor's in Hebrew Literature in Bible and Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1965, a master's in West Semitics from Yale in 1967, and a doctorate in Assyriology and Sumerology from Yale in 1977.\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Tikva Frymer-Kensky (1943-2006) was a professor of Hebrew Bible and the History of Judaism at the University of Chicago, and had been the director of Biblical Studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":52874,"alt":"","title":"tikva frymer-kensky","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/tikva-frymer-kensky.jpg","width":125,"height":175,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/tikva-frymer-kensky-125x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":125,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/tikva-frymer-kensky.jpg","medium-width":125,"medium-height":175,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/tikva-frymer-kensky.jpg","medium_large-width":125,"medium_large-height":175,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/tikva-frymer-kensky.jpg","large-width":125,"large-height":175,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/tikva-frymer-kensky.jpg","1536x1536-width":125,"1536x1536-height":175,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/tikva-frymer-kensky.jpg","2048x2048-width":125,"2048x2048-height":175,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/tikva-frymer-kensky.jpg","post_full_size-width":125,"post_full_size-height":175,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/tikva-frymer-kensky.jpg","home_baner-width":125,"home_baner-height":175}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"215","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What can learn about their roles from their names?","post_main_content_content":"

Deborah<\/b> is a prophet-woman, someone who speaks with divine authority, and she is <\/span>Lapidot-woman.<\/span> Eshet lapidot<\/span><\/em> could be translated \"wife of Lapidot,\" but it also means \"woman of torches.\" <\/span>Lapidot<\/span><\/em>, \"torches,\" comes where we would normally expect a husband's name, but it is a strange-sounding name for a man and, moreover, does not have the standard patronymic \"son of.\" Translating it \"wife of Lapidot\" has the advantage of emphasizing that a prophet could be married and that a married woman could have another role. On the other hand, \"woman of torches\" or \"fiery woman\" fits the image of Deborah and would fit the story in the manner of biblical names. \"Torch-Lady\" provides a significant wordplay, for it is Deborah, not her husband, who is the torch that sets the general Barak (whose name means \"lightning\") on fire. Moreover, in Mesopotamian mythology, the torch and the lightning (<\/span>sullat<\/em> <\/span>and <\/span>hanis<\/span><\/em>) are the heralds of the storm god. In the same way, \"Torch-Lady\" and \"Lightning\" are fit agents for the God of Israel who defeats Sisera by creating a river of mud to incapacitate his chariots\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Both the story and the song emphasize the fact that Deborah is a woman\u2026 And the song stresses that Deborah was a \"mother in Israel.\" Deborah is not the typical \"mother\": she does not stay home protecting the children and waiting the return of the husband. If she had children, they played no part in the story. The motherhood of this \"mother in Israel\" goes beyond biology. It describes her role as counselor during the days before the war, and it indicates her role in preserving the heritage of Israel, in her case, by advising in battle\u2026 protecting the people in time of danger.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"Blessed be <\/span>Yael<\/b> by women\" (5:24) \u2013 Here is the warrior Yael whom Deborah mentioned at the beginning of her song (5:6). A woman warrior, perhaps married, the wife of Heber the Kenite. And perhaps not, for <\/span>heber<\/span><\/em> means \"a group.\" Instead of Yael the wife of Heber the Kenite, the Song may refer to Yael the woman of a band of Kenites. Whether mentioned or not, the husbands of Yael and Deborah play no role in the action. But Yael's womanness is important: she is <\/span>ishah<\/span><\/em> \"woman\" (or wife). Deborah calls on women to praise her; translators who are perhaps influenced by the way they read Elizabeth's blessing of Mary (\"blessed among women,\" Luke 1:42) often put it that Yael is most blessed of women. There is a subtle difference: to translate \"most blessed of women\" is to imply that Yael is alone among women to be such a heroine; <\/span>Blessed be Yael by women<\/span><\/em> calls for women to claim Yael as their own heroine and even role model. The Hebrew <\/span>tevorach minashim<\/span> ya'el<\/span><\/em> can be understood both ways. The reader must decide: Do all women have this capacity for ferocity and courage?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Tikva Freymer-Kensky, \"Warriors of Weapon and Word: Deborah and Yael,\" in <\/span>Reading the Women of the Bible<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>Schocken: 2002, pp. 45-57.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Salomon de Bray: <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Jael, Deborah, and Barak, <\/span><\/i>c. 1630 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":55150,"alt":"","title":"jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael,_Deborah,_and_Barak","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","width":461,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak-231x300.jpg","medium-width":231,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","medium_large-width":461,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","large-width":461,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","1536x1536-width":461,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","2048x2048-width":461,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","post_full_size-width":461,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak-323x420.jpg","home_baner-width":323,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Women of Story and Song \u2013 1","tile_main_caption":"Deborah and Yael: Heroine Role Models","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"What can learn about their roles from their names?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":55150,"alt":"","title":"jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael,_Deborah,_and_Barak","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","width":461,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak-231x300.jpg","medium-width":231,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","medium_large-width":461,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","large-width":461,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","1536x1536-width":461,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","2048x2048-width":461,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak.jpg","post_full_size-width":461,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud4-Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael_Deborah_and_Barak-323x420.jpg","home_baner-width":323,"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":"4","chapter_main_number":"215","date":"20260625","wall_id":"215"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"519","name":"Courage","old_id":"919"},{"term_id":"551","name":"Names","old_id":"951"},{"term_id":"600","name":"Women","old_id":"1000"}]},{"order":9,"id":"55445","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"The Man Who Definitely, Maybe, Probably, Would Not Be King ","post_title":"The Man Who Definitely, Maybe, Probably, Would Not Be King","slug":"the-man-who-definitely-maybe-probably-would-not-be-king","old_id":"55445","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":55294,"post_title":"Sarah Gordon","slug":"sarah-gordon","old_id":"55294","first_name":"Sarah ","last_name":"Gordon ","description":"Sarah Gordon is the Director of Student Activities and Experiential Education at Ma\u2019ayanot Yeshiva High School, where she teaches Talmud and a course on Contemporary Israel. She holds dual MA degrees in Jewish Education and Modern Jewish History from Yeshiva University. She is currently pursuing an Ed.D through Azrieli Graduate School as a Wexner Fellow and Davidson Scholar. She lives with her husband in Washington Heights in NYC.","short_description":"Sarah Gordon is the Director of Student Activities and Experiential Education at Ma\u2019ayanot Yeshiva High School","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":55295,"alt":"","title":"sarah gordon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/sarah-gordon.jpeg","width":640,"height":640,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/sarah-gordon-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/sarah-gordon-300x300.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/sarah-gordon.jpeg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":640,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/sarah-gordon.jpeg","large-width":640,"large-height":640,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/sarah-gordon.jpeg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":640,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/sarah-gordon.jpeg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":640,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/sarah-gordon.jpeg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":640,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/sarah-gordon-420x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"219","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But should he have been? He did name his son \u201cmy father is king\u201d","post_main_content_content":"

Following the defeat of the Midianites, the people of Israel turn to Gideon and ask him to become king. This request for a dynastic rule, \u201cyou, your son, and your grandson\u201d (Judges 8:22), appears to be a rejection of the current, rotating system of Judges, in favor of a stable ruling family.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Gideon is the ideal candidate for the job. He is a creative military tactician and war hero. His appeasement of the men of Ephraim show his diplomatic strengths, while his punishment of the people of Succoth and Penuel are very much the actions of a king, meting out royal justice to those who disobey his directives. He is also seen as a king by others, with Zebah and Zalmunna describing him and his brothers as resembling \u201csons of a king\u201d (8:18). Even his earlier doubts of his leadership abilities (see 6:15-17) parallel him to other reluctant leaders of great stature, such as Moses (Exodus 3-4) and Saul (1 Samuel 9:21).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, Gideon turns down the position, stating \u201cthe Lord alone shall rule over you\u201d (8:23). Possibly, Gideon\u2019s refusal reflects a belief that only the religious office of the High Priest should be a permanent institution, alluded to in the fashioning of the ephod, the garment worn by the High Priest (See \u201cWhen the Judges Judges: Exegetical Studies in the Book of Judges\u201d by Yisrael Rozenson, p. 126-131). Or, maybe Gideon thought it improper that the people were choosing a king based on military might.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Surprisingly, while Gideon turns down the official responsibilities of the position, he continues to enjoy the perks of kingship, taking many wives, and naming his son Abimelech, literally, \u201cmy father is king\u201d (8:30-31). Even his act of collecting gold for the ephod is reminiscent of the delaying tactic of Aaron at the golden calf, highlighting the disparity behind Gideon's verbal rejection of the position, but continued use of the role when beneficial to him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

With Gideon\u2019s refusal to rule, the book of Judges takes a dark turn. The next group of Judges is a violent, bizarre group, and the book ends with a civil war. One wonders what the alternate ending would have been had Gideon stepped up to be the leader his people needed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Gideon asks bread of the men of Succoth, James Jacques Joseph Tissot, 1904<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":55446,"alt":"","title":"jud8-sukkoth","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","width":531,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth-266x300.jpg","medium-width":266,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","medium_large-width":531,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","large-width":531,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","1536x1536-width":531,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","2048x2048-width":531,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","post_full_size-width":531,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth-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":"The Man Who Definitely, Maybe, Probably, Would Not Be King","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But should he have been? He did name his son \u201cmy father is king\u201d","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":55446,"alt":"","title":"jud8-sukkoth","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","width":531,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth-266x300.jpg","medium-width":266,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","medium_large-width":531,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","large-width":531,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","1536x1536-width":531,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","2048x2048-width":531,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth.jpg","post_full_size-width":531,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-sukkoth-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":"Judges","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"219","date":"20260701","wall_id":"219"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"402","name":"Leadership","old_id":"802"},{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"}]},{"order":10,"id":"55463","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"Imperfect Leadership Versus No Leadership ","post_title":"Imperfect Leadership Versus No Leadership","slug":"imperfect-leadership-versus-no-leadership","old_id":"55463","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"219","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The dangers of a political vacuum","post_main_content_content":"

Following Gideon\u2019s role in the deliverance of the Jewish nation from Midianite oppression, the Israelites ask Gideon to become their monarchic ruler. With the language in verse 22 of \u201cRule over us, also your son and your son\u2019s son\u201d, the populace is exploring a new leadership model. After a succession of judges who lead the people to glory followed by what now seems to be the inevitable cycle of the judge\u2019s death - spiritual decline of the people - new oppressor - new judge, could it be that they have become weary of this repeating sequence? Are they now considering that a monarchic dynasty would provide them with a continuity of leadership that would stabilize their nationhood?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Gideon refuses the request, reminding the Israelites that God is their one true King. Eliyahu Assis suggests a tension between Gideon\u2019s refusal to become a king of the Israelites and his subsequent king-like behavior of proffering items that could only logistically be from his own spoils of battle against the Midianite kings. Together with his addition to the contribution of the rest of the people, Gideon creates a conspicuous, if perhaps unintentional monument to his leadership (see his \u201cSelf-Interest or Communal Interest: An Ideology of Leadership in the Gideon, Abimelech and Jephthah Narratives,\u201d Vetus Testamentum, 2005: 106). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Though Gideon meant for the ephod to remind the Israelites of God\u2019s deliverance of them from the Midianites, it is not surprising, especially considering the precedent of the golden calf, that this ephod \u201cbecame a snare to Gideon and to his house (verse 27)\u201d and started the people down yet another path of idol-worship.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Had Gideon accepted the role of king, he undoubtedly would have groomed a suitable successor and the catastrophe of Avimelech that followed Gideon\u2019s death might have been avoided. Menachem Leibtag (tanach.org) argues that we may learn from this story that Samuel\u2019s point in including it in the Book of Judges is to argue the danger of allowing a leadership vacuum and that, perhaps, equally as dangerous as appointing the wrong person is not appointing anyone.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When election times come around, we might be well-advised to remember this lesson about balancing no leadership with less than ideal leadership. Had the Israelites benefited from Gideon\u2019s imperfect leadership they may well have avoided the disastrous evil leadership that filled the void. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: <\/span>Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians \/ Pixabay<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":55465,"alt":"","title":"jud8-king","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king.jpg","width":1920,"height":1281,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1281,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-1200x801.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":801,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-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":"Imperfect Leadership Versus No Leadership","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The dangers of a political vacuum","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":55465,"alt":"","title":"jud8-king","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king.jpg","width":1920,"height":1281,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1281,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-1200x801.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":801,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud8-king-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":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Judges","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"219","date":"20260701","wall_id":"219"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"402","name":"Leadership","old_id":"802"},{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"}]},{"order":11,"id":"55560","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Dr. Seuss\u2019s Torah On Leadership ","post_title":"Dr. Seuss\u2019s Torah On Leadership","slug":"dr-seusss-torah-on-leadership","old_id":"55560","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39525,"post_title":"Erica Brown","slug":"erica-brown","old_id":"39525","first_name":"Erica ","last_name":"Brown","description":"Dr. Erica Brown is associate professor at the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at The George Washington University and director of its Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership. She is the author of 12 books. Her forthcoming book is The Book of Esther: Power, Fate and Fragility in Exile (Maggid\/OU).","short_description":"Dr. Erica Brown is Director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership at The George Washington University.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39526,"alt":"","title":"erica brown","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","width":154,"height":186,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","medium-width":154,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","medium_large-width":154,"medium_large-height":186,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","large-width":154,"large-height":186,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","1536x1536-width":154,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","2048x2048-width":154,"2048x2048-height":186,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","post_full_size-width":154,"post_full_size-height":186,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/erica-brown-e1536180373903.jpg","home_baner-width":154,"home_baner-height":186}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"220","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Bad leaders fills the vacuum when good leaders don\u2019t step up","post_main_content_content":"

In a striking and curious parable about leadership in Judges 9, a nominating committee of trees seeks a ruler. They go to three fine species: the olive, the fig and the vine. Each rejects leadership.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the olive tree, \u201cReign over us.\u2019 But the olive tree replied, \u2018Have I, through whom God and men are honored, stopped yielding my rich oil, that I should go and wave about the trees? So the trees said to the fig tree, \u2018You come and reign over us.\u2019 But the fig tree replied...So the trees said to the vine, \u201cYou come and reign over us.\u201d But the vine replied...Then all the trees said to the thornbush, \u201cYou come and reign over us.\u201d And the thornbush said to the trees, \u201cIf you are acting honorably in anointing me king over you, come and take shelter in my shade, but if not, may fire issue from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!\u201d (Judges 9:8-15)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It's clear that each tree believes it nobility and distinction lies in what it produces \u2013 a product of honor, sweetness or happiness, and that leadership is just \u201cto wave above the trees.\u201d To sway is to flip-flop, to go with the wind, to not take a position, to not move forward.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The nominating committee is ineffectual because they don\u2019t persuade individual candidates. They simply move to the next candidate. They eventually turn to a bramble that has no shade (but promises that it does!), no roots and no fruit. The bramble agrees on one condition. It must be appointed honorably and not just as a last ditch-effort to put someone in place. Otherwise, the bramble will do what brambles are good at: setting other trees on fire. Bad leadership destroys.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nogah Hareuveni in <\/span>Tree and Shrub in Our Biblical Heritage<\/span><\/em> makes the case that this bramble, the <\/span>atad<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> is not a rolling tumbleweed but a tree called the <\/span>Ziziphus Spinachristi<\/span><\/em>, brought to Israel by way of Africa. Although the tree offers much shade and height, it is known to be harmful to fruit trees because it chokes them from the roots. Leaders may look good, but they can destroy ecosystems beneath the surface.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The message of the parable couldn\u2019t be clearer. Bad leaders fills the vacuum when good leaders don\u2019t step up. Often we\u2019d rather have bad leaders than no leaders so that we have someone else to blame for our troubles and someone else to make our communal decisions. Giving up that autonomy, the parable teaches, has a steep price because when leadership gets really bad, good leaders are afraid to step in and take responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

[For a full treatment of this parable, see Erica Brown \u2018Where have All the Leaders Gone?\u201d in <\/span>Rav Shalom Banayikh<\/em> <\/span>(Ktav, 2012)]<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":55561,"alt":"","title":"jud9-seussian tree","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","width":609,"height":759,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree-241x300.jpg","medium-width":241,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","medium_large-width":609,"medium_large-height":759,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","large-width":609,"large-height":759,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","1536x1536-width":609,"1536x1536-height":759,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","2048x2048-width":609,"2048x2048-height":759,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","post_full_size-width":609,"post_full_size-height":759,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree-337x420.jpg","home_baner-width":337,"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":"Dr. Seuss\u2019s Torah On Leadership","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Bad leaders fills the vacuum when good leaders don\u2019t step up","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":55561,"alt":"","title":"jud9-seussian tree","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","width":609,"height":759,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree-241x300.jpg","medium-width":241,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","medium_large-width":609,"medium_large-height":759,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","large-width":609,"large-height":759,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","1536x1536-width":609,"1536x1536-height":759,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","2048x2048-width":609,"2048x2048-height":759,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree.jpg","post_full_size-width":609,"post_full_size-height":759,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud9-seussian-tree-337x420.jpg","home_baner-width":337,"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":"9","chapter_main_number":"220","date":"20260702","wall_id":"220"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"402","name":"Leadership","old_id":"802"},{"term_id":"704","name":"Parable","old_id":"1104"}]},{"order":12,"id":"55716","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"Divine Frustration And Sarcasm ","post_title":"Divine Frustration And Sarcasm","slug":"divine-frustration-and-sarcasm","old_id":"55716","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54871,"post_title":"Hannah Vorchheimer","slug":"hannah-vorchheimer","old_id":"54871","first_name":"Hannah ","last_name":"Vorchheimer ","description":"Hannah Vorchheimer is a senior at SAR High School. After spending her gap year in Migdal Oz, she will attend Barnard College. ","short_description":"Hannah Vorchheimer is a senior at SAR High School. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54991,"alt":"","title":"Hannah Vorchheimer","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","width":480,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer-300x300.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","medium_large-width":480,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","large-width":480,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","1536x1536-width":480,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","2048x2048-width":480,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","post_full_size-width":480,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer-420x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"221","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Even God loses patience with Israel\u2019s endless cycles\u2026.","post_main_content_content":"

During the time the nation worshipped idolatrous gods, they were delivered into the hands of the Philistines and Ammon. Obviously distressed by the military onslaught, they turned to God to send them another savior. While the normal cycle dictated a new savior, instead God responds in a very different manner, \u201cYet you have forsaken Me and have served other gods. No, I will not deliver you again, Go cry to the gods you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is surprising, as God isn\u2019t normally the one to express his anger in such a sarcastic way. In fact, in many other places in the Bible, God disapproves of leaders who react in this mocking fashion. In Numbers, after vociferous complaining about water, Moses snaps and retorts to God \u201cDid I conceive all this people, did I bear them, that You should say to me, \u2018Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries an infant,\u2019 to the land that You have promised on oath to their fathers?\u201d (Numbers 11), but God redirects Moses\u2019 line of thinking and helps him find a solution. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

So what could possibly motivate God to react sarcasticallyto the nation? A closer look at several seemingly inconsequential details can assist in understanding this response. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Earlier in the chapter, the Bible recounts the names of a few judges in quick succession with very little detail about their story, as opposed to the long narratives of some of the previous leaders. While this seems like a surface level difference, perhaps it highlights the exasperating nature of the current situation of the Children of Israel. The terse mentioning of these judges emphasizes the numerous amount of times that God sent a savior. It appears that God is growing frustrated with the cyclical nature of \u201csin-invasion-salvation:\u201d no matter how many times God steps in and saves the nation from their enemies, they still are not able to realize their sins that brought their enemies to the front door, and they sin once again. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rather than just sending another prophet, God challenges them to take a closer look at their ways in order for the nation to institute productive change and rid themselves of this vicious cycle.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":55717,"alt":"","title":"jud10-frustration","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","width":300,"height":296,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration-300x296.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":296,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":296,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","large-width":300,"large-height":296,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":296,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":296,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":296,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":296}},"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":"Divine Frustration And Sarcasm","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Even God loses patience with Israel\u2019s endless cycles\u2026.","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":55717,"alt":"","title":"jud10-frustration","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","width":300,"height":296,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration-300x296.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":296,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":296,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","large-width":300,"large-height":296,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":296,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":296,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":296,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud10-frustration.jpeg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":296}},"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":"10","chapter_main_number":"221","date":"20260705","wall_id":"221"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"400","name":"Sin","old_id":"800"},{"term_id":"403","name":"Redemption","old_id":"803"}]},{"order":13,"id":"55886","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"The Power In The Act of Naming ","post_title":"The Power In The Act Of Naming","slug":"the-power-in-the-act-of-naming","old_id":"55886","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":"224","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"With over 90% of the woman in the Tanakh being nameless, this chapter gives centrality to a nameless woman","post_main_content_content":"

Remembrance is an integral thread woven tightly into Judaism. From the imperative to remember Shabbat in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8), to the Pesach Haggadah\u2019s command to remember that we were once slaves in Egypt, to our \u201cYizkor\u201d service recited four times each year, remembering our past forms a crucial part of observing Judaism and living Jewishly. The first blessing of the Amidah, our central prayer traditionally recited thrice daily, recalls Avoteinu, our patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as we acknowledge that we stand before the same God. The liturgy traces our divine covenant back to its beginnings, to God\u2019s individual covenants with these men of ancient times. Yet, the traditional prayer does not mention the matriarchs, without whom there would be no patriarchs!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In recent decades, progressive streams of Judaism have continued to adapt to our changing world. The names of our matriarchs have appeared in our siddurim since the early 1990s, reflecting wider recognition of women\u2019s roles together with the shift towards gender equality. <\/span>Mishkan T\u2019filah: A Reform Siddur<\/span><\/em>, Reform Judaism\u2019s siddur first published in 2007, includes Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah in the Amidah. The first blessing is entitled Avot v\u2019Imahot<\/em>, patriarchs and matriarchs, instead of just Avot<\/em>. By naming our matriarchs every time we recite the Amidah, we remember them along with their husbands. There are congregations who also add Zilpah, birthmother of Gad and Asher, and Bilhah, birthmother of Dan and Naphtali, their sons named and claimed by Jacob\u2019s wives Leah and Rachel respectively. In naming all these women \u2013 Sarah and Rebecca, Leah and Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhah \u2013 we remember them and their pivotal role in carrying and giving birth to the next generation of patriarchs, and ultimately the twelve tribes of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Over ninety percent of women in the Tanakh are unnamed. In Judges 13 we meet a woman who is only referred to in the context of her husband, Manoah. Like Sarah, she is unable to conceive a child. An angel of God appears to her, saying \u2018You are barren and have borne no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son\u2019 (13:3). She is given strict instructions not to drink wine and not to eat anything ritually impure, nor to cut the hair of her child. In due course, she gives birth to a son, whom she names Shimshon, Samson, a boy who grows to a man with superhuman strength and bravery (13:24). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Tanakh may not tell us her name but it does tell us that she was the one who named her son. Her name may not have been recorded, but her naming of her son was. We know that she chose Samson\u2019s name, even though her name has been forgotten in the mists of time.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":55889,"alt":"","title":"jud13-name","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name.jpg","width":1618,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-768x513.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-1024x684.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":684,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name.jpg","2048x2048-width":1618,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-1200x801.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":801,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-629x420.jpg","home_baner-width":629,"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 Power In The Act Of Naming","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"With over 90% of the woman in the Tanakh being nameless, this chapter gives centrality to a nameless woman","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":55889,"alt":"","title":"jud13-name","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name.jpg","width":1618,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-768x513.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-1024x684.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":684,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name.jpg","2048x2048-width":1618,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-1200x801.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":801,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud13-name-629x420.jpg","home_baner-width":629,"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":"13","chapter_main_number":"224","date":"20260708","wall_id":"224"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"365","name":"Gender","old_id":"765"},{"term_id":"405","name":"Memory","old_id":"805"},{"term_id":"551","name":"Names","old_id":"951"},{"term_id":"600","name":"Women","old_id":"1000"},{"term_id":"604","name":"Mothers","old_id":"1004"}]},{"order":14,"id":"56229","color":"#e8ecf6","size":"1","name":"Samson: Incredible Hulk Or Divine Prophet? ","post_title":"Samson: Incredible Hulk Or Divine Prophet?","slug":"samson-incredible-hulk-or-divine-prophet","old_id":"56229","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":51424,"post_title":"Bracha Jaffe","slug":"bracha-jaffe","old_id":"51424","first_name":"Bracha ","last_name":"Jaffe ","description":"Rabbanit Bracha Jaffe serves as Community Educator and Director of Mercaz Center for Adult Education in Beth Tfiloh synagogue in Baltimore, MD. As a graduate of Yeshivat Maharat, she has interned in shuls in New York and Houston as well as participating in chaplaincy programs at New York Presbyterian Hospital and at a maximum security women's prison. ","short_description":"Rabbanit Bracha Jaffe serves as Community Educator and Director of Mercaz Center for Adult Education in Beth Tfiloh synagogue in Baltimore, MD.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":51425,"alt":"","title":"bracha jaffe","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bracha-jaffe.jpg","width":1107,"height":1085,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bracha-jaffe-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bracha-jaffe-300x294.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":294,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bracha-jaffe-768x753.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":753,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bracha-jaffe-1024x1004.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1004,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bracha-jaffe.jpg","1536x1536-width":1107,"1536x1536-height":1085,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bracha-jaffe.jpg","2048x2048-width":1107,"2048x2048-height":1085,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bracha-jaffe.jpg","post_full_size-width":1107,"post_full_size-height":1085,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/bracha-jaffe-429x420.jpg","home_baner-width":429,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"227","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"His legacy lives on well after his death","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter brings the story of Samson to a close. After a colorful and tumultuous life sprinkled with acts of heroism and supernatural strength as well as promiscuity, Samson redeems his name by repenting and literally bringing down the (Philistine) house with his death. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

What kind of hero was Samson? Was he just another version of The Incredible Hulk?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rav Adin Steinsaltz doesn\u2019t think so. He suggests that Samson was actually a <\/span>navi<\/span><\/i> - a prophet. Wait - what? Isn\u2019t a prophet someone who speaks the word of God by chastising and making predictions? Samson was a man of action, not a man of word!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rav Steinsaltz has a broader vision of a prophet: one who transmits God\u2019s message in the world. True - this is most often through the spoken word but not exclusively so. In Samson\u2019s case God transmits His message to Israel and the Philistines through Samson\u2019s amazing displays of power and might. His unique role as a mighty hero cows the Philistines into submission where words would have failed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I would suggest the following, that Samson\u2019s actions and influence lasted long after his death. Looking carefully at the end of the chapter, we see a hint to this when we notice Samson\u2019s epitaph in the last verse:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

... And he judged Israel twenty years (Judges 16:31)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why would the text repeat this piece of information? We already know this from the previous chapter!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years (Judges 15:20)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps we can understand it this way: Samson was a judge, prophet and leader for twenty years during his lifetime. Yet even after his death, Samson continued to \u201cjudge\u201d and lead Israel to another twenty years of peace through the legacy he left behind that continued to instill fear in the hearts of the Philistines. It took another twenty years for the Philistines to dare fight Israel, giving the Jews some respite from war and strife.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Each of us have our own way of manifesting God in the world. Samson is an intriguing and compelling model of how we can do just that.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Giorgione, Samson captured by the Philistines<\/em>, 1510 \/ wikiart<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56230,"alt":"","title":"jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","width":484,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines-242x300.jpg","medium-width":242,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","medium_large-width":484,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","large-width":484,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","1536x1536-width":484,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","2048x2048-width":484,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","post_full_size-width":484,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines-339x420.jpg","home_baner-width":339,"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":"Samson: Incredible Hulk Or Divine Prophet?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"His legacy lives on well after his death","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56230,"alt":"","title":"jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","width":484,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines-242x300.jpg","medium-width":242,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","medium_large-width":484,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","large-width":484,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","1536x1536-width":484,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","2048x2048-width":484,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines.jpg","post_full_size-width":484,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud16-samson-captured-by-the-philistines-339x420.jpg","home_baner-width":339,"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":"16","chapter_main_number":"227","date":"20260713","wall_id":"227"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"392","name":"Hero","old_id":"792"},{"term_id":"506","name":"Prophecy","old_id":"906"},{"term_id":"878","name":"Samson;","old_id":"1278"}]},{"order":15,"id":"56315","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"The Trauma of Anarchy ","post_title":"The Trauma of Anarchy","slug":"the-trauma-of-anarchy","old_id":"56315","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49926,"post_title":"Binyamin Cohen","slug":"binyamin-cohen","old_id":"49926","first_name":"Binyamin ","last_name":"Cohen ","description":"Binyamin Cohen is a Jewish Studies teacher at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield, IL. He completed his Master\u2019s in Jewish Education through Pardes Day School Educators Program in conjunction with Hebrew College. He is originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and currently lives in Chicago.","short_description":"Binyamin Cohen is a Jewish Studies teacher at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield, IL. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49927,"alt":"","title":"binyamin cohen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","width":800,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-240x300.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-768x960.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":960,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-336x420.jpg","home_baner-width":336,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"229","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The traumas of Judges teach us that breaking out of the cycle of trauma can itself be traumatic","post_main_content_content":"

The theme of the last five chapters of Judges is, \u201cIn those days there was no king in Israel; every person did what was right in their own eyes.\u201d The two stories contained across these chapters are two of the most shocking, traumatic, violent, and twisted stories in all of Tanach. Chapter 18 starts off with the first half of this verse, and proceeds to tell the second and more disturbing half of the story of Micah, the operator of his very own cultic centre.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Each of these five chapters deals with a different kind of pain and suffering. In chapter 17, we have the breakdown of trust in a parent-child relationship, and earnest but flawed service of God. In chapter 19, we see trauma and violence perpetrated by poor hospitality and oppressive misogyny. In chapter 20, we witness the desolation and grief inherent in even a just civil war. In chapter 21, we experience the shock and sorrow of massacre, and the fraught and hopeless attempts to rebuild what was lost.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 18 is ultimately a story of the tribe of Dan\u2019s trauma: chased from their ancestral home, seeking security and peace, they stumbled upon Micah and his little temple. What catches their attention, what brings them to Micah, is in fact the voice of the Levite who is serving in Micah\u2019s temple. They hear something familiar, something safe. They latch on to that safety, but because they are in the midst of trauma, they decide to take that safety by force. They make this same decision again later in the chapter \u2013with much more violent consequences\u2013 when they capture and annihilate the inhabitants of pacifist Laish.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These are the traumas of \u201cthere was no king in Israel\u201d. These are the traumas of a divided nation, of tribes sundered from their kin, of living in fear and reaching out for safety, only to cause even more harm. The entire book of Judges is about the dangers of anarchy, and these chapters are the peak of that message.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And what, ultimately, does the Tanach say is the reason for this? \u201cEvery person did what was right in their own eyes\u201d. Each person only did what was best for <\/span>them<\/span><\/i>, what <\/span>they<\/span><\/i> felt was right. There was no temporal king to guide them, and they forgot the guidance of the True King. The traumas of Judges teach us that breaking out of the cycle of trauma can itself be traumatic. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56316,"alt":"","title":"jud18-cracked","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-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":"The Trauma of Anarchy","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The traumas of Judges teach us that breaking out of the cycle of trauma can itself be traumatic","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56316,"alt":"","title":"jud18-cracked","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-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":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Judges","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"229","date":"20260715","wall_id":"229"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"588","name":"Trauma","old_id":"988"},{"term_id":"606","name":"Pain","old_id":"1006"}]},{"order":16,"id":"56400","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"We Don't Always Know The Right Thing To Do ","post_title":"We Don't Always Know The Right Thing To Do","slug":"we-dont-always-know-the-right-thing-to-do","old_id":"56400","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":"230","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"No God, no king, no positive social norms, no moral clarity","post_main_content_content":"

This is where the story starts to get really messy. The second half of this book, basically since the story of Gideon, has had a strong pro-monarchic, pro-establishment message. The repeating trope in this part of the book warns us: \"There was no king in Israel at that time, everyone did as they pleased.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This story has an eerie, uncomfortable feeling. The nameless protagonists, the strange prolonged stay with the girl's father, the encounter with the old man. It\u2019s not entirely clear what's wrong with these incidents, but they don't feel right. There are no 'good guys' in this story, no heroes to identify with. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

If only there was a king to tell people how to act, protect the weak, punish the haughty!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Maimonides sees the rule of law on the individual level as a manifestation of the strength of the state. In the Guide to the Perplexed, he brings the example of an old, weak and fragile money-changer, who can tell a strong muscular beggar to get lost. This is proof that a king exists! There is a law, it is respected. The opposite of this story.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Gibeonites here closely parallel the violent townspeople in Sodom, back in the book of Genesis. But the midrash makes an important distinction: here, the people were lawless and evil, and there, in Sodom, the law itself was evil. So it's not just a matter of having a strong state: as the twentieth century reminded us, doing the right thing is sometimes above the law.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Yet even that is too simplistic. The messy reality that we live in, and that the Tanach also acknowledges, is that we don't always know the right thing to do. Surely murder and rape are horrific, but more everyday decisions are often ambiguous. Should the Levite have trusted the Jebusites and stayed in Jerusalem? Should he have stayed with his father-in-law? How should he have appeased his concubine? What's the right thing to do?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Absent from this story is God. Sure, God is mentioned by the Levite, who brags about going to the sanctuary in Bethlehem. But this is using God as an object, a path to status. Perhaps a real relationship with God would have brought moral clarity; at the very least, a perspective touched by this relationship would have brought some modesty and kindness into play, and a tempering of the ego.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Amnon Beker, Concubine of Givah<\/em>, 2000, by courtesy of the artist<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56401,"alt":"","title":"723","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723.jpg","width":1654,"height":1367,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-300x248.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":248,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-768x635.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":635,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-1024x846.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":846,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1269,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723.jpg","2048x2048-width":1654,"2048x2048-height":1367,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-1200x992.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":992,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-508x420.jpg","home_baner-width":508,"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":"We Don't Always Know The Right Thing To Do","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"No God, no king, no positive social norms, no moral clarity","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56401,"alt":"","title":"723","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723.jpg","width":1654,"height":1367,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-300x248.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":248,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-768x635.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":635,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-1024x846.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":846,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1269,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723.jpg","2048x2048-width":1654,"2048x2048-height":1367,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-1200x992.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":992,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/723-508x420.jpg","home_baner-width":508,"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":"19","chapter_main_number":"230","date":"20260716","wall_id":"230"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"503","name":"Power","old_id":"903"},{"term_id":"543","name":"Violence","old_id":"943"},{"term_id":"724","name":"Trust","old_id":"1124"},{"term_id":"762","name":"Murder","old_id":"1162"}]}],"chapter":"","chapter_main_number":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/56066"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}