{"id":62131,"date":"2018-07-09T17:44:16","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-299\/"},"modified":"2023-03-29T06:45:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T03:45:22","slug":"wall-299","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-299\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-I Kings-12"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"299","date":"20261021","book":"I Kings","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"299","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"62152","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - I Kings Chapter 12 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - I Kings Chapter 12","slug":"jps-audio-bible-i-kings-chapter-12","old_id":"62152","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"299","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","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":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"I Kings Chapter 12","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/JPS_Audio_Bible_I_Kings_Chapter_12","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":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":false},{"order":2,"id":"62149","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Listening to the Prophets with Rabbi Abby Sosland- I Kings 12 ","post_title":"Listening to the Prophets with Rabbi Abby Sosland- I Kings 12","slug":"listening-to-the-prophets-with-rabbi-abby-sosland-i-kings-12","old_id":"62149","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56624,"post_title":"Abby Sosland","slug":"abby-sosland","old_id":"56624","first_name":"Abby ","last_name":"Sosland","description":"Rabbi Abby Sosland is a spiritual advisor, writer, and educator, based at The Leffell School in Westchester, New York. 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The new king is faced with an early dilemma. What will happen when the holiday season rolls around and the people return to the Temple to worship? Sensing there is a problem, Jeroboam decides to look back into Israelite history and copy the greatest sin of the generation of the wilderness by building not one but two Golden Calves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why does Jeroboam do this?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 11 explains that Solomon chased after Jeroboam, who fled to Egypt. While in Egypt, Jeroboam had the opportunity to live in a society that worshiped the Egyptian gods. At the same time, Solomon is involved with Pharaoh's daughter and begins to worship the local gods of the Egyptians among others. This may have resulted in Solomon worshiping the goddess of the sky who is often depicted as a calf and may have been the inspiration of the Golden Calf.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Next are the two cherubs that Solomon built over the Ark in the holy of holies. <\/span>As we discussed in Exodus 32<\/span><\/a>, Aaron may have been trying to send a message to the people that God needs no idol by creating a riderless idol of the Egyptian goddess of the sky. Jeroboam takes this concept and intentionally uses it to pull the people away. Instead of a localized secret placed in the Temple with two cherubs, Jeroboam sets his calves on either side of the Northern Kingdom symbolically stating that in the North all of the land is holy. Everyone is special.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The text in chapter 12 goes out of its way to compare the two stories:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So the king took counsel and made two golden calves. He said to the people\u2026 \u201cThis is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt\u201d (verse 28)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

compare to\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This he took from them and cast in a mold, and made it into a molten calf. And they exclaimed, \u201cThis is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!\u201d (Exodus 32:4).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As well as:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And Jeroboam established a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month; in imitation of the festival in Judah (verse 32)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

compare to:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron announced: \u201cTomorrow shall be a festival of the LORD!\u201d (Exodus 32:5)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the end, Jeroboam meets the same fate as the Israelites in the desert:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The men of Judah raised a shout; and when the men of Judah raised a shout, God sent a plague on (<\/span>nagaf<\/span><\/em>) Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah\u201d (II Chronicles 13:15)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

compare to\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Then the LORD sent a plague (<\/span>nagaf<\/span><\/em>) upon the people, for what they did with the calf that Aaron made\u201d (Exodus 32:35).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The text makes the comparison between the two stories to show how displeasing this idea was in the eyes of God even if it was a successful political ploy by 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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":"299","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Who should be listened to? And what does his little finger have to do with it?","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter tells how Rehoboam came to Shechem to be acclaimed king of all Israel. The people request that Rehoboam first lighten the heavy burden of taxation that King Solomon had placed on them to finance his extensive building projects (12:1-5). He first consulted with the elders, who advised him to reduce the taxes. But he ignored them, and instead asked young men, apparently childhood friends of his. Scripture reports their response: \u201cSay to them: My little finger is thicker than my father\u2019s loins. My father imposed a heavy yoke on you, and I will add to your yoke; my father flogged you with whips, but I will flog you with scorpions\u201d (verses 6-11). This leads to the rebellion of the Northern Tribes of Israel and the division of the previously United Monarchy (verses 12-33).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Talmud (Nedarim 40a, Megillah 31b) expands on the biblical story of Rehoboam\u2019s rejection of the wise counsel of the Elders in a \u201cBaraita\u201d (tradition from the period of the Mishnah). \u201cIt was taught (Tanya) that Simeon ben Eleazar said: If the \u201cChildren\u201d tell you \u201cbuild!\u201d, but the Elders say: \u201ctear down!\u201d (setor!), listen to the Elders rather than to the \u201cChildren\u201d, for the building of the \u201cChildren\u201d is destruction, while the destruction of the Elders is building. And a biblical precedent for this principle is the story of Rehoboam the son of Solomon.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi to Nedarim explains that because Rehoboam acted on the counsel of the \u201cChildren\u201d, Solomon\u2019s \u201cbuilding\u201d, the Temple in Jerusalem was eventually destroyed. The Maharsha (Rabbi Shmuel Eidels, died 1631) on Nedarim understands this Talmudic principle to refer to one who has a walled building on which he wishes to build an additional story. The \u201cChildren\u201d tell him to build the second story, while the Elders, who certainly were more experienced, tell him to tear down the building, in order to build thicker walls to bear the weight of a second story. But like Rehoboam, he listens to the \u201cChildren\u201d and misses the opportunity to construct a tall building that will stand the test of time.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Listening to the counsel of more experienced Elders, rather than one\u2019s youthful peers, remains sound advice to this day.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Hans Holbein the Younger, Fragment of the wall painting in the Great Council Chamber of Basel Town Hall, c. 1529 \/ Wikimedia (It portrays Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, whose arrogant government led to his people's rebellion and the loss of part of his kingdom. He holds out his little finger, saying, \"My little finger is thicker than my father's waist!\" The murals reminded the councilors of the need for wise and godly government).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62293,"alt":"","title":"1kings12-Rehoboam by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger..jpg","width":1024,"height":696,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.-300x204.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":204,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.-768x522.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":522,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.-1024x696.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":696,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger..jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":696,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger..jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":696,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger..jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":696,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.-618x420.jpg","home_baner-width":618,"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":"Counsel Of The Elders Versus The Counsel Of The Young Men","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Who should be listened to? And what does his little finger have to do with it?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":62293,"alt":"","title":"1kings12-Rehoboam by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger..jpg","width":1024,"height":696,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.-300x204.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":204,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.-768x522.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":522,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.-1024x696.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":696,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger..jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":696,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger..jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":696,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger..jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":696,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-Rehoboam-by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.-618x420.jpg","home_baner-width":618,"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":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"372","name":"Wisdom","old_id":"772"},{"term_id":"871","name":"Government","old_id":"1271"},{"term_id":"924","name":"Rehoboam","old_id":"1324"}]},{"order":6,"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. She holds degrees in Israel studies , education and psychology, and has been a leader and educator in Northern California for over 25 years. Her first novel, Hachug (\"Extracurricular\") was published in Israel in 2016 and her weekly blog can be found at http:\/\/www.miko284.com\r\n\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Currently based in Israel, Rabbanit Michal Kohane is a graduate of Yeshivat Maharat, a writer, community leader and teacher of Talmud & Torah. ","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\n

This 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\n

King 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\n

Rehoboam 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\n

Rehoboam 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\n

And 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\n

Choosing 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":7,"id":"62300","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The March of Folly: Rulers and Bad Advice ","post_title":"The March of Folly: Rulers And Bad Advice","slug":"the-march-of-folly-rulers-and-bad-advice","old_id":"62300","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"299","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"With an extended commentary by Barbara Tuchman","post_main_content_content":"

In our comments on 2 Samuel 19, we observed that the Sages were perturbed over David\u2019s rash and baseless decision to have Mephi-Boshet split his property with Tziva, and noted a midrash (cited by Radak) stating that it caused a heavenly voice (<\/span>bat kol<\/span><\/em>) to announce the eventual division of David\u2019s kingdom amongst Rehoboam, his grandson, and Jeroboam ben Nebat. The proverbial chickens have come home to roost in our chapter.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This episode also features prominently in the preface to a most intriguing book: <\/span>The March of Folly<\/span>, by Pulitzer Prize winning author Barbara W. Tuchman. In chapter one, entitled \u201cPursuit of Policy Contrary to Self-Interest,\u201d she offers Rehoboam\u2019s rejection of a tax cut as evidence of how often leaders act foolishly\u2014particularly when more wholesome alternatives are readily available. (The book is subtitled: \u201cFrom Troy to Vietnam.\u201d) Let these excerpts from her description of this event serve as our lesson.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Acknowledged King without question by the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, Rehoboam, clearly aware of unrest in Israel, traveled at once to Shechem, center of the north, to obtain the people\u2019s allegiance. He was met instead by a delegation of Israel\u2019s representatives who demanded that he lighten the heavy yoke of labor put upon them by his father and said that if he did so they would serve him as loyal subjects. Among the delegates was Jeroboam who had hurriedly been sent for from Egypt as soon as King Solomon died, and whose presence must certainly have warned Rehoboam that he faced a critical situation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u2026 With the first sensation of sovereignty heating his blood, Rehoboam found this advice [of the older counselors\u2014to be lenient] too tame and turned to \u201cthe young men that were grown up with him.\u201d They knew his disposition and like counselors of any time who wish to consolidate their position in the \u201cOval Office,\u201d gave advice they knew would be palatable\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Delighted with this ferocious formula [\u201cmy father chastised you with whips, I will chastise you with scorpions\u201d], Rehoboam faced the delegation when it returned on the third day and addressed them \u201croughly\u201d word for word as the young men had suggested\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Instantly\u2014so instantly as to suggest that they had previously decided upon their course of action in case of a negative reply\u2014the men of Israel announced their secession from the House of David with the battle cry \u201cTo thy tents, O Israel! See to thine own house, David.\"<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62310,"alt":"","title":"1kings12-TheMarchOfFolly3","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-TheMarchOfFolly3.jpg","width":508,"height":543,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-TheMarchOfFolly3-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-TheMarchOfFolly3-281x300.jpg","medium-width":281,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-TheMarchOfFolly3.jpg","medium_large-width":508,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-TheMarchOfFolly3.jpg","large-width":508,"large-height":543,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-TheMarchOfFolly3.jpg","1536x1536-width":508,"1536x1536-height":543,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-TheMarchOfFolly3.jpg","2048x2048-width":508,"2048x2048-height":543,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-TheMarchOfFolly3.jpg","post_full_size-width":508,"post_full_size-height":543,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings12-TheMarchOfFolly3-393x420.jpg","home_baner-width":393,"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 March of Folly: Rulers And Bad Advice","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"With an extended commentary by Barbara 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","post_title":"What\u2019s Wrong With A Golden Calf Or Two?","slug":"whats-wrong-with-a-golden-calf-or-two","old_id":"62166","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":"299","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"On the difference between idolatry and forbidden images","post_main_content_content":"

One question that occupies all the commentators is the degree to which Jeroboam's calves and altars constituted idolatry. On the one hand, his calves are viewed by the Bible with great severity; the book of Kings consistently refers to Jeroboam's sins as \"other gods and images,\" which enrage God. These acts bring punishment and destruction upon the house of Jeroboam and are a catalyst in the eventual national exile. This would thus appear to be an open-and-shut case. Yet many traditional commentaries question whether these calves were truly perceived as idolatry. What evidence suggests that they weren't?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. In chapter 13, when the \"man of God\" arrives in Bethel to denounce Jeroboam's religious deviance, the prophet addresses his reproach to the king's altar but fails to mention the calf there. Surely molten images are worse than an altar. Why does the calf go unmentioned?<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Religious campaigns aimed at eradicating idolatry in the times of Elijah, Jehu, and Hezekiah target Baal as a national problem. The golden calves are never removed! If they were idolatry, why weren't they destroyed?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. After the exile of the northern tribes, the Assyrians settle a non-Jewish population in place of the ousted Israelites. These non-Jews experience a mysterious attack of lions, which is perceived as a sign that God is furious with their idolatry. The solution to the problem is that an exiled Israelite teaches these foreigners how to worship: \"So one of the priests who was exiled from Samaria came and settled in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord\" (II Kings 17:28). If the religion of Bethel and Dan was idolatry, how does this Samarian priest offer a solution that will remove the threat of the lions?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    For these reasons, many commentators suggest that the calves were forbidden images but not idol worship.\u00a0<\/span>These commentators are far from legitimizing Jeroboam, but they make a significant and fundamental distinction.\u00a0<\/span>There are two basic forms of idolatry. In one form, a person abandons service of God and replaces Him with a different deity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In the other form, one worships God through an improper and illicit medium. This transgresses the second of the Ten Commandments, as it involves images and physical likenesses, but it does not constitute the adoption of a foreign deity; it is merely worship of God through incorrect means. Jeroboam's altars and calves were directed at serving the God of Israel, not repudiating Him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Alex Israel, 1 Kings: Torn in Two<\/em>, Maggid Books, 2013, Revolution\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":"What\u2019s Wrong With A Golden Calf Or Two?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"On the difference between idolatry and forbidden images","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":"12","chapter_main_number":"299","date":"20261021","wall_id":"299"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"429","name":"Idolatry","old_id":"829"},{"term_id":"695","name":"Calf","old_id":"1095"}]},{"order":10,"id":"113822","color":"#f6edf6","size":"2","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-IKings12","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-IKings12","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-ikings12","old_id":"113822","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. 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The people crown his son Rehoboam and ask for a tax break. Rehoboam responds in an imperious, disdainful manner. The northern tribes revolt, form their own state and appoint Jeroboam as king. 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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":"299","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A fear of a return to tribalism?","post_main_content_content":"

    12:1 \u201cAnd Rehoboam came to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Shechem was a frequent assembly-point in the tribal period. One might have expected, however, that the coronation would take place in Jerusalem. In this national meeting at Shechem there appears to be an intimation that Rehoboam\u2019s succession to the throne was not an automatic matter, or to put this differently, that the Davidic rule over what had been, barely half a century earlier, a federation of tribes was not entirely assured. Thus Rehoboam comes out from Jerusalem to an assembly that he hopes will acclaim or ratify his succession. His knowledge of Jeroboam\u2019s ambitions for the throne may be a motivator.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    From: 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":"Rehoboam In Shechem","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A fear of a return to tribalism?","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":"12","chapter_main_number":"299","date":"20261021","wall_id":"299"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"62157","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- I Kings 12 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- I Kings 12","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-i-kings-12","old_id":"62157","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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    \u201cEliyahu and Elisha the Prophets: From the Student to the Master\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Eric Levy: Learn about these two powerful prophets.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \u201cWho are the People of Israel?\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Michael Howald: Explore sources about Jewish identity.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","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":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - I Kings 12","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":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":false},{"order":14,"id":"62296","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - I Kings 12 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - I Kings 12","slug":"points-to-ponder-i-kings-12","old_id":"62296","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"299","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

      \r\n\t
    1. Confused<\/em>? The names Rehoboam and Jeroboam are similar and confusing. When we look into their meaning, we see that Jeroboam\u2019s name fits him to a \u201ct\u201d: <\/span>yerav<\/span><\/i>-\u2019am, the people will be great, or many (i.e., he will win wide popular support). Rehoboam\u2019s name, on the other hand is sadly ironic. He was not backed by <\/span>rechav<\/span><\/i>-\u2019am, a \u201cwide\u201d margin if support, but rather the opposite.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    2. Fed up with taxes<\/em>. That\u2019s the official reason for the rebellion and the split. That\u2019s also why Adoram, who was sent to collect taxes for Rehoboam (verse 18) was stoned to death.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    3. A lesson for the ages<\/em>. Rehoboam\u2019s foolishness in choosing the arrogant advice of his young buddies over the more reasonable counsel of the elders, has a message for every leader in every age.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    4. Calves<\/em>. If the golden calves that Jeroboam set up remind you of some problematic desert experience from our collective history - it\u2019s not by coincidence. What\u2019s the connection between Exodus 32 and our chapter? Commentators and scholars have interesting answers - it\u2019s worth looking into.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    5. Parallels intersect<\/em>. Human politics and the divine plan as it is laid out in the story meet each other here. In the books of Kings we will have much occasion to meet these two axes: usually the heroes of the stories are only familiar with their own political plans, but we the readers have the privilege of knowing both.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"I Kings 12","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"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":false}],"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\/62131"}],"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=62131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}