) of the covenant that you desire, he is already coming\u201d (3:1).<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe identity of these angels\/messengers is debated. Targum Yonatan treats them as common nouns (<\/span>mal\u2019akha<\/span><\/em>, in Aramaic), while Rashi simply recorded their functions: the former \u201cto eliminate the wicked,\u201d and the latter \u201cto avenge the [violation of] the covenant.\u201d Ibn Ezra, however, identified the former with \u201cMessiah, son of Joseph,\u201d a pre-messianic figure who will wage wars on behalf of Israel but die in the attempt, and \u201cthe Lord is the angel of the covenant; the two are synonymous.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nMalbim, on rabbinic authority, gave quite a different interpretation:<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe angel will precede the coming of the Lord of Hosts. He is the angel who will enter the world into the covenant of Torah and faith, and in the covenant between themselves and God. The Sages said that this is Elijah, angel of the covenant, who will come earlier in order to return many from sin, as it was he who was zealous for the covenant in Shitim, and in the time of Ahab.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe zealous Elijah of the era of Ahab is the prophet whose feats are told in the Book of Kings, particularly 1 Kings 19:10, 14: \u201cI have surely been zealous for the Lord, God of Hosts.\u201d The reference to Shitim, the wilderness site where the Israelites were seduced by the women of Midian, becomes intelligible in light of the rabbinic identification of the Prophet Elijah with its hero, Phineas, on whom God bestowed \u201cHis covenant of peace\u201d (see the previous chapter) \u201cbecause he was zealous for his god\u201d (Numbers 25:12).<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn our comments to Chapter 1, we noted that Malachi was regarded by the Sages as the last prophet of Israel. That would make Malachi 3:24 the last verse of biblical prophecy: \u201cHe shall reconcile parents with children and children with their parents, so that, when I come, I do not strike the whole land with utter destruction.\u201d However, since it is unseemly to end on a note of catastrophe, the custom is to conclude with a repetition of the penultimate verse (just like the Book of Isaiah):<\/span> \u201c<\/span>Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the LORD.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\nimage by Ben Schachter<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":63213,"alt":"","title":"2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven.jpg","width":1055,"height":793,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven-768x577.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":577,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven-1024x770.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":770,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven.jpg","1536x1536-width":1055,"1536x1536-height":793,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven.jpg","2048x2048-width":1055,"2048x2048-height":793,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven.jpg","post_full_size-width":1055,"post_full_size-height":793,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven-559x420.jpg","home_baner-width":559,"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":"\u201cBehold, I Will Send You Elijah the Prophet\u201d","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The last verse, and the very last verse","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":63213,"alt":"","title":"2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven.jpg","width":1055,"height":793,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven-768x577.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":577,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven-1024x770.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":770,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven.jpg","1536x1536-width":1055,"1536x1536-height":793,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven.jpg","2048x2048-width":1055,"2048x2048-height":793,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven.jpg","post_full_size-width":1055,"post_full_size-height":793,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings2-Schachter-ElijahAscendstoHeaven-559x420.jpg","home_baner-width":559,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Malachi","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"567","date":"20271101","wall_id":"567"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"72424","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Tsav \u2013 Burnt Offerings and Perpetual Fires ","post_title":"Tsav \u2013 Burnt Offerings and Perpetual Fires","slug":"vayikra-first-fruits","old_id":"72424","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46171,"post_title":"Avner Moriah","slug":"avner-moriah","old_id":"46171","first_name":"Avner ","last_name":"Moriah ","description":"Avner Moriah is a prolific Israel artist who has addressed a wide range of Jewish and Israeli themes during the four decades of his artistic journey. Currently, Avner is completing a singular artistic and spiritual feat of illuminating the entire Chumash. The unique illuminated books contain hundreds of original drawings that offer a profound, provocative and humorous perspective. \r\nFor the entire weekly portion series, visit: https:\/\/avnermoriahprints.com\/collections\/parasha\r\nFor more of his work visit: https:\/\/avnermoriah.com\/\r\n","short_description":"Avner Moriah is a prolific Israel artist who is illuminating the entire Chumash.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":46173,"alt":"","title":"avner moriah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679.jpg","width":1387,"height":1425,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-292x300.jpg","medium-width":292,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-768x789.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":789,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-997x1024.jpg","large-width":997,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679.jpg","1536x1536-width":1387,"1536x1536-height":1425,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679.jpg","2048x2048-width":1387,"2048x2048-height":1425,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-1168x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1168,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-409x420.jpg","home_baner-width":409,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1090","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Why did the fire have to be kept alive?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"
The first ritual described in this parasha <\/em>is the burnt offering (the olah<\/em>) and the demand that the priests never let the fire on the altar die: \u201cThis is the ritual of the burnt offering. The burnt offering itself shall remain where it is burned upon the altar all night until morning while the fire on the altar is kept going on it.\u2026 A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar not to go out\u201d (Lev. 6:1\u20136).<\/p>\r\nWhat is the special significance of the sacrifice of the burnt offering and why is the perpetual fire mentioned in connection with the ritual for this particular sacrifice? What was the priests\u2019 role in this ritual? Why did the fire have to be kept alive?<\/p>\r\n
Avner Moriah\u2019s painting for Parashat Tsav <\/em>suggests some of these answers. To the left is an altar with a ram topped by towering yellow flames. In the center we see Aaron, the High Priest, wearing his ritual garments. He is looking straight ahead, not down at the altar. His posture is static, as is the posture of the accompanying priests who are looking in the direction of the altar. The background is black, alluding to the fact that the fire burned all night. The priests\u2019 had to perform the sacrifice of the burnt offering twice a day \u2013 in the morning and in the evening. The morning ritual was followed by other sacrifices, so it would not have been difficult to keep the fire burning throughout the day, but the evening burnt offering was the last sacrifice of the day, so it must have been a challenge to keep the fire from dying out. Nonetheless, the priests were required to \u201cfeed wood to it\u201d (Lev. 6:5) and keep the flames alight till morning, when they had to sweep out the ashes, always attired in the proper garments as they attended to the altar.<\/p>\r\nAlthough the Bible does not specify the significance of the perpetual fire, we understand that it symbolized the Israelites\u2019 connection with God, as we read further on: \u201cFire came forth from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering\u201d (Lev. 9:24). In other words, the first fire on the altar came from Heaven. Thus the priests were enjoined to keep the fire alive so that all the subsequent sacrifices would be consumed by these heavenly flames.<\/p>\r\n
In the story of the Akedah<\/em>, God told Abraham to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering, but at the last moment He provided a ram for the sacrifice in place of the boy. The artist\u2019s visualization of the burnt offering in this picture seems to be reminiscent of the Akedah<\/em>, with the ram on the altar \u2013 rather than a lamb or a cow, both of which were also sacrificed as burnt offerings \u2013 serving as a reminder of God\u2019s gift to Abraham.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":72757,"alt":"","title":"25 Tsav","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav.jpg","width":1977,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-237x300.jpg","medium-width":237,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-768x971.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":971,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-810x1024.jpg","large-width":810,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav.jpg","1536x1536-width":1215,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav.jpg","2048x2048-width":1620,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-949x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":949,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-332x420.jpg","home_baner-width":332,"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 Chapter Illustrated","tile_main_caption":"Tsav \u2013 Burnt Offerings and Perpetual Fires","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Why did the fire have to be kept alive?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":72757,"alt":"","title":"25 Tsav","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav.jpg","width":1977,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-237x300.jpg","medium-width":237,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-768x971.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":971,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-810x1024.jpg","large-width":810,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav.jpg","1536x1536-width":1215,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav.jpg","2048x2048-width":1620,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-949x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":949,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/25-Tsav-332x420.jpg","home_baner-width":332,"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":"Jeremiah","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1090"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"},{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":4,"id":"44628","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"What Does It Mean To Live A Life Of Service? ","post_title":"What Does It Mean To Live A Life Of Service?","slug":"what-does-it-mean-to-live-a-life-of-service","old_id":"44628","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34285,"post_title":"Tammy Jacobowitz","slug":"tammy-jacobowitz","old_id":"34285","first_name":"Tammy ","last_name":"Jacobowitz ","description":"Dr. Tammy Jacobowitz is the chair of the Tanakh department at the SAR High School in Riverdale, NY, and is the founding director of Makom Ba'Siach at SAR, an immersive adult education program for parents. She has taught Bible for the Wexner Heritage program, and she is also an adjunct faculty member of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, where she teaches the Pedagogy of Tanakh. \r\nShe received her BA in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, is a graduate of the Drisha Institute's Scholars Circle, and completed her PhD in Midrash at the University of Pennsylania in 2010 as a Wexner Graduate fellow. Dr. Jacobowitz is currently at work on a parsha book, geared towards parents reading to young children. Her research interests include the spiritualizing tactics of Midrash, gender and the body in the Bible and Rabbinics, purity and impurity, and the contemporary use of Midrash. She lives in Teaneck, NJ with her husband, Ronnie Perelis, and their four children.","short_description":"Dr. Tammy Jacobowitz is the chair of the Tanakh department at the SAR High School in Riverdale, NY,","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34286,"alt":"","title":"tammy j","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","width":512,"height":768,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","medium_large-width":512,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","large-width":512,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","1536x1536-width":512,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","2048x2048-width":512,"2048x2048-height":768,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","post_full_size-width":512,"post_full_size-height":768,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"98","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Learning to live a life that is totally fused with the sacred","post_main_content_content":"What does it mean to live a life of sacred service? To commit oneself to serve, to mediate between the congregation and God? Leviticus chapter 8 articulates a stark vision, laying bare the aspirational opportunities and acute threats of communal service. To prepare Aaron and his sons to act as priests, Moses ceremonially shows them the contours of their commitment. In extreme fashion, he teaches them to surrender their personal lives for the higher goals of the mishkan. He places special clothing on them, carefully circumscribing them in sacred garb, tying the belts around them. The same oil that Moshe sprinkles on the vessels of the mishkan, he sprinkles on the newly minted high priest. And he \u201cbrings them forward (\u05d5\u05d9\u05e7\u05e8\u05d1)\u201d to serve in the same way that he brings forward the bull and the ram as sacrifice. Finally, Moses instructs them that they must remain within the sanctuary throughout the period of ordination. Their food will be sacred; they must eat it at the opening of the tent.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThis is high drama, a carefully choreographed spectacle, carried out by Moses but instructed by God. And although the congregation is assembled to watch, the priests are the real audience. Moses is schooling them in the lesson he has learned on the job. To serve the congregation and to fill the critical space between the masses and God means to relinquish the hold on one\u2019s personal space, needs, and wants. It means ceding control of one\u2019s personal narrative, loosening the grip on one\u2019s family ties.<\/span><\/p>\r\nBut it also means learning to live a life that is totally fused with the sacred. Where one\u2019s every move -- down to the most mundane of acts and moments-- is aligned with divine connection. Serving the community in this capacity can bridge the yawning gap between the ordinary and the sacred and help others meet their need to elevate themselves, reach out to God, and deepen their awareness of the transcendent. Giving up a measure of the personal, communal servants anchors the sacred center for the multitude, keeping the flame flickering every day. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54508,"alt":"","title":"jo21-levites","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","width":500,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-300x300.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","large-width":500,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-420x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"What Does It Mean To Live A Life Of Sacred Service?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Learning to live a life that is totally fused with the sacred","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54508,"alt":"","title":"jo21-levites","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","width":500,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-300x300.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","large-width":500,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites.jpeg","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo21-levites-420x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Leviticus","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"98","date":"20260113","wall_id":"98"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"692","name":"Sacred","old_id":"1092"},{"term_id":"707","name":"Service","old_id":"1107"}]},{"order":5,"id":"44595","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Gratitude In Situations Of Plenty ","post_title":"Gratitude In Situations Of Plenty","slug":"gratitude-in-situations-of-plenty","old_id":"44595","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38047,"post_title":"Shoshana Michael Zucker","slug":"shoshana-michael-zucker","old_id":"38047","first_name":"Shoshana Michael ","last_name":"Zucker ","description":"Shoshana Michael Zucker is a translator and editor by profession, but would much rather be learning and teaching Torah. A graduate of Barnard College, she made aliyah in 1983 and now lives in Kfar Saba where she is an active member of the Masorti Congregation Hod veHadar. ","short_description":"Shoshana Michael Zucker is a translator and editor and lives in Kfar Saba \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38048,"alt":"","title":"Shoshana Michael Zucker","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","width":231,"height":310,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker-224x300.jpg","medium-width":224,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","medium_large-width":231,"medium_large-height":310,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","large-width":231,"large-height":310,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","1536x1536-width":231,"1536x1536-height":310,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","2048x2048-width":231,"2048x2048-height":310,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","post_full_size-width":231,"post_full_size-height":310,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","home_baner-width":231,"home_baner-height":310}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"97","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Rituals of thanksgiving are needed to help us overcome our deeply ingrained reluctance to admit dependence","post_main_content_content":"On one hand, it seems natural that the Torah prescribes a special thanksgiving offering (Leviticus 7:12-15), as a channel for expressing gratitude. On the other hand, it seems forced. If someone is truly grateful, no ritual ought be necessary. Gratitude should be expressed freely, by each person in their own way.<\/span><\/p>\r\nNonetheless, observation of human nature shows that people who enjoy bounty in their lives aren\u2019t consistently the most grateful. Author Maya Angelou trenchantly observed: \u201cPeople whose history and future were threatened each day by extinction considered it was only by divine intervention that they were able to live at all. I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence is attributed to God\u2019s will but that as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility with commensurate speed\u201d (<\/span>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings<\/span><\/i>, p. 118).<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe dual meaning of the Hebrew word <\/span>\u05ea\u05d5\u05d3\u05d4<\/span>-<\/span>todah<\/span><\/i>, which means both \u201cacknowledge\u201d and \u201cthank\u201d embodies some of this difficulty. In order to be grateful, we must first acknowledge that we can\u2019t do it all ourselves. Perhaps that is the reason that people in more difficult situations are quicker to express gratitude. They have fewer illusions about their ability to succeed unaided. Therefore, gratitude must be ritualized and taught particularly in situations of plenty.<\/span><\/p>\r\nIndeed, a midrash reports: \u201cRabbi Pinhas, Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yohanan taught in the name of Rabbi Menachem from Gallia: \u2018In the future, all sacrifices will be annulled, but the sacrifice of thanksgiving will not be annulled. All prayers will be annulled, but the prayer of gratitude will not be annulled\u2019\u201d (<\/span>Leviticus Rabba<\/span><\/i> 9:7). In that more perfect world, there be neither sin for which to atone through sacrifice and prayer, nor any unfilled needs for which to pray, but even then \u2013 the rabbis insist \u2013 prescribed rituals of thanksgiving, whether verbal or sacrificial, will be needed to help people overcome their deeply ingrained human reluctance to admit dependence.<\/span><\/p>\r\nFortunately, the rituals and prayers do exist, in Leviticus and throughout the Jewish tradition. We would do well to learn their lesson, and heed the warning of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: \u201cThe secret of existence is appreciation\u2026. [Humanity] will not die for lack of information; it may perish for lack of appreciation\u201d (<\/span>Insecurity of Freedom<\/span><\/i>, p. 26).<\/span><\/p>\r\nIllustration: Michal Ben Hamu<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":5418,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"\u05d0\u05d9\u05d5\u05e8: \u05de\u05d9\u05db\u05dc \u05d1\u05df \u05d7\u05de\u05d5","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","width":872,"height":315,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652-300x108.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":108,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652-768x277.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":277,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","large-width":872,"large-height":315,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","1536x1536-width":872,"1536x1536-height":315,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","2048x2048-width":872,"2048x2048-height":315,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","post_full_size-width":872,"post_full_size-height":315,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","home_baner-width":872,"home_baner-height":315}},"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":"Gratitude in Situations of Plenty","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Rituals of thanksgiving are needed to help us overcome our deeply ingrained reluctance to admit dependence","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":5418,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"\u05d0\u05d9\u05d5\u05e8: \u05de\u05d9\u05db\u05dc \u05d1\u05df \u05d7\u05de\u05d5","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","width":872,"height":315,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652-300x108.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":108,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652-768x277.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":277,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","large-width":872,"large-height":315,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","1536x1536-width":872,"1536x1536-height":315,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","2048x2048-width":872,"2048x2048-height":315,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","post_full_size-width":872,"post_full_size-height":315,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/main-1652.jpg","home_baner-width":872,"home_baner-height":315}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Leviticus","chapter":"7","chapter_main_number":"97","date":"20260112","wall_id":"97"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"437","name":"Prayer","old_id":"837"},{"term_id":"520","name":"Gratitude","old_id":"920"}]},{"order":6,"id":"62050","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Darker Strands: The Beginning of the Fall ","post_title":"Darker Strands: The Beginning of the Fall","slug":"darker-strands-the-beginning-of-the-fall","old_id":"62050","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. His first book \"I Kings - Torn in Two\" was published in 2013. See his website www.alexisrael.org, and his podcasts at https:\/\/elmad.pardes.org\/ and https:\/\/tanachstudy.com\/ \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33693,"alt":"","title":"alex israel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","width":1657,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":679,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","large-width":679,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1018,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1357,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-795x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":795,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"296","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The biblical text increasingly accentuates the negative aspects of Solomon's reign: greed, over-indulgence and a national trade deficit","post_main_content_content":"
Upon first acquaintance with these chapters, the reader is impressed by the accomplishments of this king. But as one revisits them, especially with the awareness of Solomon's failures at the end of his reign, one appreciates that he did not fail overnight; darker strands are revealed, indicating the deep flaws that threatened the impressive national enterprise. Chapters 9 and 10 of I Kings exemplify this literary ambivalence, as the biblical text increasingly accentuates the negative aspects of Solomon's reign.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nChapter 9, verses 10-14 presents a tense conversation, as King Hiram of Tyre expresses his dissatisfaction with Kabul, the land he has received from Solomon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nTwenty years earlier, Solomon had a positive relationship with Hiram, and the country produced excess wheat and oil, financing the imports of cedar and cypress timber (5:24-25) . Now, Solomon is in such financial deficit that he has to trade away segments of the land of Israel! What has changed? In place of timber, Hiram now supplies Solomon with \"gold according to all his desire,\" the price of which the national agriculture surplus cannot cover.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nIt seems that the increased demand for gold is representative of a wider shift in national lifestyle and priorities. The Talmud explains that in Kabul the people were \u201cwere wealthy and spoiled, they did not engage in manual labor [so the land deteriorated]\u201d (Shabbat 54a).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nWhen Solomon rose to power, the nation was made up primarily of farmers, earning their living from the land. The gross national product was enormous and consumption was relatively modest, resulting in a huge national surplus. Now the people have become affluent, with no desire to get their hands dirty in the field.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nIf this Talmudic passage is correct, the problem is not so much the import of gold, but the fact that Israel has abandoned agriculture for \"higher\" pursuits, such as commerce and national planning and administration (see 9:22-23). With declining national production and increasing domestic consumption, the country suffers from a deficit, and Solomon eventually has to surrender land in order to pay off the national debt!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nThis is just one example of a significant transformation in the lifestyle of the kingdom. Chapters 9 and 10 revisit most of the topics already addressed in chapters 3-5 and by a method of \"compare and contrast,\" the reader can take note of the national transitions.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe word \"gold,\" appears seventeen times in chapters 9-10; chapters 3-5 fail to refer to gold even once. Thus we discern a palpable emphasis upon material extravagance and overindulgence. Something is wrong in Solomon's kingdom.<\/span><\/p>\r\nAlex Israel, 1 Kings: Torn in Two<\/em>, Maggid Books, 2013, Wealth and Opulence\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":61437,"alt":"","title":"alex israel - kings 1","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","width":1020,"height":1304,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-235x300.jpg","medium-width":235,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-768x982.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":982,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-801x1024.jpg","large-width":801,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1020,"1536x1536-height":1304,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1020,"2048x2048-height":1304,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-939x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":939,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-329x420.jpg","home_baner-width":329,"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":"Excerpts from: 1 Kings - Torn in Two","tile_main_caption":"Darker Strands: The Beginning of the Fall","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The biblical text increasingly accentuates the negative aspects of Solomon's reign: greed, over-indulgence and a national trade deficit","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":61437,"alt":"","title":"alex israel - kings 1","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","width":1020,"height":1304,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-235x300.jpg","medium-width":235,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-768x982.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":982,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-801x1024.jpg","large-width":801,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1020,"1536x1536-height":1304,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1020,"2048x2048-height":1304,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-939x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":939,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-329x420.jpg","home_baner-width":329,"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":"I Kings","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"296","date":"20261018","wall_id":"296"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"440","name":"Wealth\/money","old_id":"840"},{"term_id":"838","name":"Solomon","old_id":"1238"},{"term_id":"884","name":"Corruption","old_id":"1284"}]},{"order":7,"id":"62056","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Dangerously Close to Pharaonic Egypt ","post_title":"Dangerously Close To Pharaonic Egypt","slug":"dangerously-close-to-pharaonic-egypt","old_id":"62056","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39058,"post_title":"Samuel Stern","slug":"samuel-stern","old_id":"39058","first_name":"Samuel ","last_name":"Stern ","description":"Samuel Stern is a fourth-year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles and has received an MA in Jewish Communal Service from Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson University and an MA in Hebrew Letters from HUC-JIR. He currently serves as the Rabbinic Intern of the Hillel at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Prior to attending HUC, he had worked as a Youth Professional in synagogues for 8 years.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Samuel Stern is a rabbinical student at HUC-JIR, and serves as the Rabbinic Intern of the Hillel at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. . ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39059,"alt":"","title":"samuel stern","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/samuel-stern-e1535867738995.jpeg","width":460,"height":443,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/samuel-stern-e1535867738995-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/samuel-stern-e1535867738995-300x289.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/samuel-stern-768x740.jpeg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":740,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/samuel-stern-e1535867738995.jpeg","large-width":460,"large-height":443,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/samuel-stern-e1535867738995.jpeg","1536x1536-width":460,"1536x1536-height":443,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/samuel-stern-e1535867738995.jpeg","2048x2048-width":460,"2048x2048-height":443,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/samuel-stern-e1535867738995.jpeg","post_full_size-width":460,"post_full_size-height":443,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/samuel-stern-e1535867738995-436x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":436,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"296","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What would you call a powerful monarchy which enslaves other peoples?","post_main_content_content":"Solomon is the most pharaonic monarch the Israelites ever had. The stability and prosperity of his reign makes his Israel the closest to an Egypt-level power that the Israelites ever achieved. Solomon also loved building and making other states his vassals. He builds the Temple, and the royal palace, and accomplishes these tasks on the back of ethnicity-based discrimination. The ethnic groups (Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) that we did not wipe away from the land were used as slave labor and\/or were specially taxed by Solomon for the purpose of finishing construction projects according to verse 21 of chapter 9.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThere are tremendous parallels between this model of statehood and the Egyptian model. Solomon is king in a time when Egypt is only beginning to recover from the late Bronze Age collapse. Solomon\u2019s governance was a Judaizing of what was and would continue to be the ideal government of civilizations for hundreds of years to come. A monarchy with disenfranchised ethnic populations could still be progressive in the 10<\/span>th<\/span> century BCE by focusing on the divinity of God rather than claiming the king is God, by not practicing human sacrifice, etc. Still, in this situation something irritates many modern observers. A community whose origin story is based on liberation from state-sponsored slavery does not look wise when they engage in similar practice.<\/span><\/p>\r\nTo quote a truism made popular by Jewish comic writer and actor Mel Brooks, \u201cIt\u2019s good to be the king.\u201d But kings are limited and anachronistic in the 21<\/span>st<\/span> century. For those of our Jewish communities who do not seek the restoration of monarchy, what would the Judaizing of modern governments look like? If our people went to a prophet today, what would they say rather than \u2018set a king over us\u2019? Would it look like the parliamentary system in Israel, or a president, or some other model? Maybe to solve this conundrum, we need a leader with the wisdom of Solomon.<\/span><\/p>\r\nimage: Israel in Egypt (Edward Poynter, 1867) - Wikicommons<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50724,"alt":"","title":"dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt.jpg","width":1920,"height":805,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-300x126.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":126,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-768x322.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":322,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-1024x429.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":429,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":644,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":805,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-1200x503.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":503,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-1002x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1002,"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":"Dangerously 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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":"297","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"As told by an African Queen to a Jewish King","post_main_content_content":"Solomon, we have been told, is the wisest of Monarchs. His wisdom is the harvest of one of the two prophetic moments in his life, when God erupted into voice and spoke to the king as he was beginning his important reign. God offered Solomon the opportunity to have anything he desired, and he requested wisdom. God was so taken by the request that wealth and longevity were thrown in as a bonus.<\/span><\/p>\r\nSo apparent is this king\u2019s wisdom, that the visiting Queen of Sheba can\u2019t help but notice it as well. After Solomon spends a good deal of time explaining all the secrets of the universe to the apparently willing Queen (Kingsplaining, anyone?), she exclaims, \u201cTrue was the word that I had heard in my country about your words and your wisdom!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\nBut the real wisdom we overhear between the two Royals comes not from King Solomon, but from the more modestly packaged Queen. Let\u2019s listen in while she reinforces for the King what the sole justification for his power and wealth really are: \u201cGod has established you as king to do justice and righteousness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\nWhy are you powerful? To do justice and righteousness. That is the only legitimate purpose for which government is established, and toward which it must strive.<\/span><\/p>\r\nMaintaining domestic tranquility is an important component, but not the goal in and of itself. Defending the borders of the nation is crucial, but not the point. Collecting taxes, maintaining a military, printing currency, all the things we think of government doing are steps along the way. The solid justification for the power of governments \u2013 whether kings or presidents or prime ministers \u2013 is the establishment and promotion of justice and righteousness.<\/span><\/p>\r\nAnd if anyone asks where you learned this crucial insight, tell them that you overheard it in a private conversation between an African Queen and a Jewish King.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nImage: Solomon meets the Queen of Sheba, on the Paradise Door of the Florence Baptistry, Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378\u20121455), bronze relief<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62096,"alt":"","title":"1kings10-Saabaghiberti","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti.jpg","width":800,"height":803,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti-768x771.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":771,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":803,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":803,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":803,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":803,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti-418x420.jpg","home_baner-width":418,"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 Purpose of Power","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"As told by an African Queen to a Jewish King","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":62096,"alt":"","title":"1kings10-Saabaghiberti","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti.jpg","width":800,"height":803,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti-768x771.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":771,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":803,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":803,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":803,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":803,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings10-Saabaghiberti-418x420.jpg","home_baner-width":418,"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":"I Kings","chapter":"10","chapter_main_number":"297","date":"20261019","wall_id":"297"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"},{"term_id":"573","name":"Righteousness","old_id":"973"},{"term_id":"774","name":"Africa","old_id":"1174"},{"term_id":"838","name":"Solomon","old_id":"1238"},{"term_id":"908","name":"Queen","old_id":"1308"}]},{"order":9,"id":"113768","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Queen of Sheba: The First Ethiopian Jew? ","post_title":"The Queen of Sheba: The First Ethiopian Jew?","slug":"the-queen-of-sheba-the-first-ethiopian-jew","old_id":"113768","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"297","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"There is no archaeological record, but\u2026\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"Knowledge of Solomon\u2019s wealth and wisdom spread throughout the known world. The Queen of Sheba hears about Solomon through the name of God and wants to visit him herself to test him with riddles. The origin of the Queen\u2019s visit sounds similar to Jethro\u2019s visit back in Exodus and Rahab\u2019s in Joshua: \u201cJethro priest of Midian, Moses\u2019 father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, God\u2019s people, how God had brought Israel out from Egypt\u201d (Exodus 18:1) and \u201cwe have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Sea of Suf before you, when you came out of Egypt\u201d (Joshua 2:10). This time, the trigger for an outsider to visit is not miraculous, it is simply fame: in wisdom and wealth. This presents a shift of Israel to a \u201cnormal\u201d nation. Not God's miracles, but the wealth, knowledge, and fame of the new nation under the protection of God brings in outsiders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nWho was the Queen of Sheba? There is no archaeological record of her. Some scholars believe this was a parable meant to show Solomon's wealth and wisdom and renown with the Queen acting as a stand-in for all nations of the area. Other scholars link her to a ruler or princess from Yemen or Ethiopia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nSome trace the origin of the Beta Israel Ethiopian Jewish community to the offspring of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon. This is based on a story in a medieval Ethiopian book. During her visit with Solomon, the two royals slept together and the Queen of Sheba had a baby named <\/span>Menelik<\/span>. Menelik was raised Jewish by his mother and the two returned to Jerusalem twenty years later. Solomon asked him to stay to rule the Israelites, but he refused and wanted to return to Ethiopia. Some versions have Solomon giving the Ark to him as a gift, while others have Menelik stealing the Ark. This origin story is only a legend, but there was a \u201cSolomonic\u201d dynasty in Ethiopia that began in the 13th century by a ruler who claimed to be a descendant of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nimage: The Story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, by the Ethiopian artist Tamrat, 1971. From the Bar David Museum collection, Kibbutz Bar Am.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":113769,"alt":"","title":"-642014a916373--642014a9163741kings10-solomon 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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":"298","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Solomon has trouble in figuring out where to draw the line","post_main_content_content":"
From previous chapters of 1 Kings we learn of the great regard in which King Solomon is held by God Himself, as well as on the world stage. That landscape makes the sudden downfall of King Solomon in this chapter all the more stunning, and nearly incomprehensible, with the suggestion of this revered and holy King devolving to the level of idol worshipper.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe Gemara (Shabbat 56b) as well as many commentaries (Rashi, Radak and Ralbag among them) explain that King Solomon himself did not participate in idol worship but his 700 wives and 300 concubines did. The implication that that King Solomon was guilty by association goes even further, with the Gemara and commentaries taking King Solomon to task for failing to take action to oppose the behavior of his wives. That apparent complicity was deemed by God as tantamount to participation.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe narrative of the construction of the Temple describes a global economy in which King Solomon was deeply embedded. Through trade with neighboring countries for building materials and employment of foreign labor, the Jewish nation both physically and spiritually did not exist in a bubble. The presence of differing and often conflicting moral practices would likely have been pervasive, and King Solomon had the unenviable task of walking the line between building and leading a Torah-based nation while pragmatically needing to maintain allegiances with nations and leaders who modeled practices that were wholly contradictory to Torah.<\/span><\/p>\r\nKing Solomon faced an age-old challenge that remains relevant for every nation, leader and individual today: \u201cWhat can I accept? What can I overlook? And where do I draw the line?\u201d Looking through the lens of King Solomon\u2019s personal and professional environment one can understand how he became desensitized to the gravity of idol-worship. But this particular line had already been drawn by God. There are few things for which our Torah requires a zero-tolerance policy, but idol worship is one of them (along with murder and adultery).<\/span><\/p>\r\nModern western societies often demonstrate 20<\/span>th<\/span> century philosopher Karl Popper\u2019s paradox of tolerance: upholding tolerance by being intolerant of intolerance. But Torah spins it differently, insisting on some absolute moral imperatives of which we are commanded to be intolerant, and actively protest infractions of them. The risk of not doing so is being held accountable as though we committed those deeds ourselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nImage: Willem de Poorter, The idolatry of King Solomon, c. 1640 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62194,"alt":"","title":"1kings11-solomon and 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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":"298","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"This can\u2019t end well...","post_main_content_content":"11:1\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAnd King Solomon loved many foreign women -- Pharaoh\u2019s daughter and Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, Hittites\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\nThese words mark a strong shift in the perception of Solomon. Up to this point, he had been portrayed as an ideally wise and fabulously wealthy king to whom God gave rousing promises and who built God\u2019s house in Jerusalem. The previous mentions of his marriage to Pharaoh\u2019s daughter do not put that alliance in any negative light. (Later prohibitions on intermarriage were not operative in the early centuries of Israelite national existence.) Here, however, the legendary profusion of Solomon\u2019s foreign wives -- a full thousand -- leads to the sin of idolatry. The Deuteronomistic editor, for all the inherited stories of Solomon\u2019s grandeur, needed an explanation for the splitting of the kingdom after Solomon\u2019s death, and he now provides it in a manner in keeping with Deuteronomy\u2019s conception of historical causation, in which idolatry leads to national disaster.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nFrom: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/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":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"A Man Of A Thousand Wives","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"This can\u2019t end well...","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,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Kings","chapter":"11","chapter_main_number":"298","date":"20261020","wall_id":"298"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"400","name":"Sin","old_id":"800"},{"term_id":"429","name":"Idolatry","old_id":"829"},{"term_id":"838","name":"Solomon","old_id":"1238"}]},{"order":12,"id":"62322","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Rehoboam - This Acorn Fell Far From The Tree ","post_title":"Rehoboam - This Acorn Fell Far From The Tree","slug":"rehoboam-this-acorn-fell-far-from-the-tree","old_id":"62322","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42746,"post_title":"Michal Kohane","slug":"michal-kohane","old_id":"42746","first_name":"Michal ","last_name":"Kohane ","description":"Currently based in Israel, Rabbanit Michal Kohane is a graduate of Yeshivat Maharat, a writer, community leader and teacher of Talmud & Torah. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":42747,"alt":"","title":"michal kohane","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","width":214,"height":226,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","medium-width":214,"medium-height":226,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","medium_large-width":214,"medium_large-height":226,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","large-width":214,"large-height":226,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","1536x1536-width":214,"1536x1536-height":226,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","2048x2048-width":214,"2048x2048-height":226,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","post_full_size-width":214,"post_full_size-height":226,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/michal-kohane-e1540448078529.jpg","home_baner-width":214,"home_baner-height":226}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"299","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Choosing who to get advice from is in itself a great wisdom","post_main_content_content":"There\u2019s a not-so-funny joke about a husband who comes home to find his wife gazing at the TV, repeatedly pleading with the screen where a beautiful bride can be seen walking down the aisle, \u2018no. no, don\u2019t do that!\u2019 Looking at her, he mutters, \u2018oh, you\u2019re watching our wedding video again?!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\nThis is a reflection of my feeling while reading these chapters. \u2018Don\u2019t do that\u2019! I want to plead with Rehoboam, but he does it anyway, and we remain to live with the consequences.<\/span><\/p>\r\nKing Solomon dies at the end of chapter 11, and his son, Rehoboam, rules after him. Before Solomon died, he already deviated from God\u2019s instructions, and promises were made to Jeroboam, to lead the \u201cTen Tribes\u201d. When Jeroboam hears that Solomon died, he comes back from Egypt where he was hiding, along with other representatives, to ask Rehoboam to reduce the taxes which were laid on the people during Solomon days.<\/span><\/p>\r\nRehoboam asks the elders, who tell him to accept the people\u2019s demands. Then he asks the \u201cchildren\u201d, his friends who advise him to show his power and not accept the people\u2019s requests. Not only does he not accept what the people ask for and the elder\u2019s wise advice, to be a servant this once, so the people will become his servants always, but he chastises them with his famous statement: \u201cMy father flogged you with whips, while I will flog you with scorpions\u201d (12:11). The people revolt, kill Rehoboam\u2019s tax collector, Adoram, and Rehoboam himself escapes to hide in Jerusalem. Thus begins the split between the two kingdoms, Israel in the north and Judah in the south; a split from which we\u2019re still trying to recover with the Ten Tribes scattered around the world, with only faint hints to their whereabouts.<\/span><\/p>\r\nRehoboam was 41 years old when he became king; he had 18 wives and 60 concubines; 28 sons and 60 daughters. Yet, his peers are known as the \u201cchildren\u201d, his young friends who are likely to have been just about his age. I would like to think that their advice is scorned not because of their age but its content. They were not interested in improving life for anyone, but in showing off their power.<\/span><\/p>\r\nAnd yet, there is a dangerous conclusion here, as if children\u2019s advice is bad and elders\u2019 - always good.\u00a0 Many of us call our children (or get calls from our parents) when our cellphones, computers, tv\u2019s don\u2019t work right and other parts of life as well. Likewise, there is no guarantee that a long life begets wisdom. In Pirkei Avot we see both: it\u2019s great to learn things young, fresh, open-minded, and at the same time, there is great value to \u201cripe grapes\u201d (4:20).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nChoosing who to get advice from is in itself a great wisdom.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62323,"alt":"","title":"1kings12-acorn","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn.jpg","width":1920,"height":1277,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-768x511.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":511,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-1024x681.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":681,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1022,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1277,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-1200x798.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":798,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-631x420.jpg","home_baner-width":631,"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":"Rehoboam - This Acorn Fell Far From The Tree","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Choosing who to get advice from is in itself a great wisdom","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":62323,"alt":"","title":"1kings12-acorn","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn.jpg","width":1920,"height":1277,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-768x511.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":511,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-1024x681.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":681,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1022,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1277,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-1200x798.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":798,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-acorn-631x420.jpg","home_baner-width":631,"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":"I Kings","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"299","date":"20261021","wall_id":"299"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"372","name":"Wisdom","old_id":"772"},{"term_id":"924","name":"Rehoboam","old_id":"1324"}]},{"order":13,"id":"62425","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Temptation, Rationalization, Persuasion ","post_title":"Temptation, Rationalization, Persuasion","slug":"temptation-rationalization-persuasion","old_id":"62425","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34250,"post_title":"Sarah Rudolph","slug":"sarah-rudolph","old_id":"34250","first_name":"Sarah ","last_name":"Rudolph","description":"Sarah Rudolph is a freelance Jewish educator, writer, and editor. She has been sharing her passion for Jewish texts of all kinds for over 15 years, with students of all ages. Sarah\u2019s essays have been published in a variety of internet and print media, including Times of Israel, Kveller, Jewish Action, OU Life, The Lehrhaus, TorahMusings, and more. Sarah lives in Cleveland with her husband and four children, but is privileged to learn online with students all over the world through www.TorahTutors.org and www.WebYeshiva.org. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Sarah Rudolph is a freelance Jewish educator, writer, and editor.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34251,"alt":"","title":"Sarah R","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","width":2824,"height":4246,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-681x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":681,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-681x1024.jpg","large-width":681,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","1536x1536-width":1022,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","2048x2048-width":1362,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-798x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":798,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"300","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"How we get swayed from what we know we should do...","post_main_content_content":"Following the man of God\u2019s prophecy at Bethel, King Jeroboam invites him over for refreshments. The invitation is declined, however: \u201cI will not\u2026 eat bread or drink water in this place, for so I was commanded\u2026\u201d (13:8-9). The word of God is strong in this man: he delivered His message, he successfully entreated Him to heal Jeroboam\u2019s arm, and he expresses loyalty to His command.<\/span><\/p>\r\nAnd yet \u2013 an old, possibly false,\u00a0 prophet manages to break down his defenses so that the man of God disobeys his God.<\/span><\/p>\r\nLike Jeroboam, this second prophet extends an invitation; unlike Jeroboam, he won\u2019t take \u201cno\u201d for an answer. \u201cI am a prophet, too, and an angel said to me by command of the LORD: Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water\u201d (v. 18). But the verse lets the reader in on a little secret: \u201cHe was lying.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nIt doesn\u2019t even seem like such a secret. Wasn\u2019t this an obvious ploy? How could the man of God possibly have believed a claim of contradictory prophecy from some guy on the street? Who was this alleged prophet anyway, and why would he lie?<\/span><\/p>\r\nWhy, indeed, do any of us flout rules we know we should obey? And why do we egg each other on to do so?<\/span><\/p>\r\nAbarbanel suggests the elderly prophet was worried about the hungry hero, and figured God\u2019s command wasn\u2019t meant to include stopping to eat and drink with the likes of him. \u201cGod prevented him from eating <\/span>there<\/span><\/i> \u2013 with those sinners.\u201d I, however, am a prophet! The decree didn\u2019t include eating with me! And God wouldn\u2019t want you to starve!<\/span><\/p>\r\nIt can be so easy to rationalize, so easy to think we know all the intentions behind a rule and how it doesn\u2019t apply to us. The Talmud (<\/span>Sanhedrin 21b) a<\/span>sserts that Solomon himself, wise as he was, made that very mistake<\/span>, and it was his downfall as it was the downfall of this man of God.<\/span><\/p>\r\nMalbim further suggests that the man of God was himself unclear on the exact parameters of God\u2019s command; while he initially applied a more stringent interpretation, he was easily swayed to leniency under the influence of his new friend.<\/span><\/p>\r\nOne wonders how a prophet could have been unclear about his own prophecy \u2013 but perhaps that just illustrates how powerful the temptation can be to look for loopholes even when we really know better, to pretend we think it\u2019s okay to do what we want. And of course, how powerful the influence of others can be in swaying our views on proper conduct.<\/span><\/p>\r\nBut no other can know our responsibilities like we can. The man of God is punished and the elderly prophet who swayed him is not, Abarbanel argues, because the elderly prophet simply tried to help; he truly didn\u2019t know better. The man of God, however, received a command and was responsible to uphold it regardless of temptation, rationalization, or persuasion.<\/span><\/p>\r\nImage: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62426,"alt":"","title":"1kings13-persuasion","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion.jpg","width":1170,"height":821,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion-300x211.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":211,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion-768x539.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":539,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion-1024x719.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":719,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion.jpg","1536x1536-width":1170,"1536x1536-height":821,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion.jpg","2048x2048-width":1170,"2048x2048-height":821,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion.jpg","post_full_size-width":1170,"post_full_size-height":821,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion-599x420.jpg","home_baner-width":599,"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":"Temptation, Rationalization, Persuasion","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"How we get swayed from what we know we should do...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":62426,"alt":"","title":"1kings13-persuasion","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion.jpg","width":1170,"height":821,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion-300x211.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":211,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion-768x539.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":539,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion-1024x719.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":719,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion.jpg","1536x1536-width":1170,"1536x1536-height":821,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion.jpg","2048x2048-width":1170,"2048x2048-height":821,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion.jpg","post_full_size-width":1170,"post_full_size-height":821,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-persuasion-599x420.jpg","home_baner-width":599,"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":"I Kings","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"300","date":"20261022","wall_id":"300"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"386","name":"Psychology","old_id":"786"},{"term_id":"506","name":"Prophecy","old_id":"906"}]},{"order":14,"id":"62360","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Iddo, The Man Of God ","post_title":"Iddo, The Man Of God","slug":"iddo-the-man-of-god","old_id":"62360","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"300","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Severe, and bizarre, condemnation of Jeroboam and his policies","post_main_content_content":"Our chapter continues the condemnation of Jeroboam begun in Chapter 12, in which Jeroboam sets up two golden calves, one at Beth-El and the other at Dan. At the beginning of our chapter, an unnamed prophet suddenly appears: \u201cA man of God arrived at Bethel from Judah at the command of the Lord. While Jeroboam was standing on the altar to present the offering, the man of God, at the command of the Lord, cried out against the altar: \u2018O Altar, Altar! Thus, said the Lord: A son shall be born to the House of David, Josiah by name; and he shall slaughter upon you the priests of the shrines who bring offerings upon you. And human bones shall be burned upon you\u2019\u201d (13:1-2).<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe rabbinic sages identify this \u201cMan of God\u201d with the Prophet Iddo (see Seder Olam Rabbah 20), in line with II Chronicles 9:29, which speaks of \u201cthe visions of Iddo, the seer, concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat\u201d. It seems that Iddo\u2019s \u201cvisions\u201d were recorded in one of the lost books mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, referred to as \u201cthe Midrash of the Prophet Iddo\u201d (II Chronicles 13:22).<\/span><\/p>\r\nJosephus (Antiquities VIII.8-9) elaborates on this biblical narrative. When Jeroboam was about to offer sacrifices on the altar at Beth-El, a \u201cman of God\u201d named \u201cJadon\u201d (i.e. Iddo), sent by God from Jerusalem, made his prophecy as recorded our chapter. In anger, Jeroboam stretched out his hand to seize Iddo, but his right hand withered. The altar at Bethel also was broken to pieces; and all that was upon it was poured out, as the Prophet had foretold should come to pass.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nSo, the King Jeroboam understood that Iddo was a true prophet. He begged Iddo to restore his right hand. When his had was restored, Jeroboam invited the Prophet to dine with him. But Iddo refused, saying that God had forbidden him to eat or drink in Bethel. But a false prophet in that city did manage to persuade Iddo to eat with him. But God appeared to Iddo and said, that he would be killed for transgressing God\u2019s commands. Indeed, as Iddo was returning to Jerusalem, a lion attacked and killed him. The false prophet of Bethel had Iddo buried in the grave reserved for himself and instructed his sons, after his death, to bury him together with Iddo (13:3-32).<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe Tanhuma Toledot 12 explains that Iddo cried to the Altar twice (13:2) to include in his prophecy both the idolatrous golden calves at the Altars at Bethel and at Dan (see 12: 28-29). When Iddo made his prophecy, Jeroboam thought him a madman. But when the Altar at Bethel was split and his hand withered and was restored, Jeroboam realized that Iddo was a \u201cman of God\u201d and a true prophet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nImage: The Disobedient Prophet, by Benjamin West, 1793, National Gallery of Art \/ public domain<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62361,"alt":"","title":"1kings13-iddo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","width":641,"height":402,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo-300x188.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":188,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","medium_large-width":641,"medium_large-height":402,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","large-width":641,"large-height":402,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","1536x1536-width":641,"1536x1536-height":402,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","2048x2048-width":641,"2048x2048-height":402,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","post_full_size-width":641,"post_full_size-height":402,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","home_baner-width":641,"home_baner-height":402}},"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":"Iddo, The Man Of God","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Severe, and bizarre, condemnation of Jeroboam and his policies","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":62361,"alt":"","title":"1kings13-iddo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","width":641,"height":402,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo-300x188.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":188,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","medium_large-width":641,"medium_large-height":402,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","large-width":641,"large-height":402,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","1536x1536-width":641,"1536x1536-height":402,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","2048x2048-width":641,"2048x2048-height":402,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","post_full_size-width":641,"post_full_size-height":402,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-iddo.jpg","home_baner-width":641,"home_baner-height":402}},"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":"I Kings","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"300","date":"20261022","wall_id":"300"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"390","name":"Prophets","old_id":"790"},{"term_id":"923","name":"Jeroboam","old_id":"1323"}]}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/62128"}],"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=62128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}