{"id":63893,"date":"2018-07-09T17:44:41","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1065\/"},"modified":"2023-05-05T15:55:44","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T12:55:44","slug":"wall-1065","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1065\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20230430-to-20230506"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1065","date_from":"20230430","date_to":"20230506","book":"II Kings","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"45765","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Ancient Concerns, Modern Sensibilities ","post_title":"Ancient Concerns, Modern Sensibilities","slug":"ancient-concerns-modern-sensibilities","old_id":"45765","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":"111","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"When it comes to disqualifying physical blemishes in leaders, we have not moved much beyond Leviticus","post_main_content_content":"

Following several chapters which fan out to national concerns -- particularly instructions for achieving holiness -- Chapter 21 returns us to the highly circumscribed world of the priests. Striving for holiness is a national concern, but its primary practitioners and agents are clearly the kohanim. Consider how many times - and in how many forms - the root word \u2018kadosh\u2019 appears in this chapter, punctuating each unit of instruction directed at priests.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For the priests, the contours of the holy reach to the most intimate of spaces: in marriage and at the death of close relatives, priests are expected to make choices that uphold and reflect the sanctity of their job. As we saw in chapters 8 and 9, devoting one\u2019s life to divine service is a total commitment. The upsides are tremendous, but the sacrifices are steep.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the dedication of the mishkan, Nadav and Avihu\u2019s \u201cunwarranted fire\u201d made clear that the stakes are extremely high. Remaining a part of the inner circle -- and thereby facilitating a national life of holiness-- requires strict allegiance to the highly choreographed script of priestly life. But not all deviations from the script rely on personal choice. At the end of chapter 21, we read that a priest who finds himself with a physical \u201cblemish\u201d cannot serve in his inherited capacity. If he is blind, has a broken limb, uneven limbs or a growth in his eye, he cannot serve. \u00a0He will not be cast off or left to his own devices; he can eat from the foods designated for priests, from the \u201choly of holies\u201d. But he cannot enter the areas reserved for priests or act as a mediator of divine service. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

To a modern reader, this clause is hard to swallow. Why should a priest\u2019s physical appearance be a significant factor in a priest\u2019s capacity to serve? And if there are barriers to service, why are there no moral requirements? Why does the Torah care about the aesthetic and the visual when it comes to spiritual leaders?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But can we look ourselves in the eye and say honestly that we have moved beyond this today?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Cover photo: wikiblog.info\u00a0 (How many differently abled or even unattractive people do you see in the picture of those who we have chosen to serve us publicly?)<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45766,"alt":"","title":"global leaders g20 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Concerns, Modern Sensibilities","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"When it comes to disqualifying physical blemishes in leaders, we have not moved much beyond Leviticus","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":45766,"alt":"","title":"global leaders g20 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And Disability In The Presence Of God ","post_title":"Ability And Disability In The Presence Of God","slug":"ability-and-disability-in-the-presence-of-god","old_id":"45710","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":"111","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Inclusion has both contemporary relevance and Talmudic precedence","post_main_content_content":"

Leviticus 21:17\u200e\u200f is disturbing: \u201cSpeak to Aaron and say: No man of your \u200eoffspring \u200ethrough the ages who has a defect shall \u200ebe \u200equalified to offer the food of his \u200eGod.\u201d \u200eThis introduction is followed by several verses listing many specific disabilities. \u00a0\u200e<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If all people are created in God\u2019s image, how could serving God be contingent on \u200ean individual\u2019s physical condition?\u200e<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Apparently, the question is not new. In the Babylonian Talmud (Megillah 24b), Rav \u200eHuna taught: \u201cA man whose eyes run should not lift up his hands [to give the priestly \u200eblessing].\u201d \u200eDespite this, actual practice in Rav Huna\u2019s own neighborhood did allow \u200esuch a person to bless the people. Similarly, \u201cRabbi Yo\u1e25anan said: A man blind in one \u200eeye should \u200enot lift up his hands,\u201d but allowed more lenient practice where he lived. \u200eThe Talmud resolves these contradictions, \u201cThe townspeople were accustomed to \u200ethem.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That helps but only a little. The rabbis were willing to soften the rule, but only for \u200e\u200e\u201cinsiders.\u201d In a world that strives for broad accessibility, the Torah and the Talmud \u200eseem to fall short of both ethical behavior and common decency.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When the Temple was standing holiness was concentrated in one place.\u00a0<\/span>There was more centralization, \u200eseverity \u200eand emphasis on externals (not to mention the actual physical work that the \u200epriests needed to do). The \u200everse from Leviticus made a certain amount of sense in its \u200etime and place.\u200e<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In a world without a Temple, holiness is more diffuse, but also became more \u200econcealed. Rabbis took over \u200ethe mantle of leadership, and endeavored to help the \u200epeople maintain a connection to the Holy. To this end they needed to bridge the gap between \u200etheir commitment to the text and real people\u2019s lives. In the process, they permitted the \u200einclusion of people with disabilities who were otherwise part of the community.\u200e<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The modern world is more open to a fuller range of human experience, and our \u200ecommunity is larger. As people with wider variety of physical abilities and challenges \u200eare visible and \u200epresent in the public sphere, people everywhere are \u200eaccustomed (or \u200e becoming accustomed) \u200eto their presence. Therefore, the \u200eprecedents set by Rav Huna \u200eand Rabbi Yo\u1e25anan pave the way to allow all adults a place to participate in \u200ecommunal, religious \u200elife.\u200e<\/span><\/p>\r\n

illustration: 3Daliashutterstock.com<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45754,"alt":"","title":"wheelchair","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","width":354,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair-300x297.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":297,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","medium_large-width":354,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","large-width":354,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","1536x1536-width":354,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","2048x2048-width":354,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","post_full_size-width":354,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","home_baner-width":354,"home_baner-height":351}},"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":"Ability And Disability In The Presence Of God","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Inclusion has both contemporary relevance and Talmudic precedence","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":45754,"alt":"","title":"wheelchair","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","width":354,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair-300x297.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":297,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","medium_large-width":354,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","large-width":354,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","1536x1536-width":354,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","2048x2048-width":354,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","post_full_size-width":354,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/wheelchair.png","home_baner-width":354,"home_baner-height":351}},"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":"21","chapter_main_number":"111","date":"20260201","wall_id":"111"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"370","name":"Divine\/human","old_id":"770"},{"term_id":"480","name":"Holiness","old_id":"880"},{"term_id":"769","name":"Disabilities","old_id":"1169"}]},{"order":3,"id":"45846","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Holy Time-Out, Holy Time-In ","post_title":"Holy Time-Out, Holy Time-In","slug":"holy-time-out-holy-time-in","old_id":"45846","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33859,"post_title":"Avidan Freedman","slug":"avidan-freedman","old_id":"33859","first_name":"Avidan","last_name":"Freedman","description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. He is an activist advocating for moral limits on Israeli arms exports, and on behalf of African refugees, and a proud husband and father of 5. He received his rabbinical ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York, and from the Israeli chief rabbinate.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. ","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33860,"alt":"Avidan Freedman","title":"Avidan Freedman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","width":856,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-251x300.jpg","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-768x919.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":919,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-856x1024.jpg","large-width":856,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","1536x1536-width":856,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","2048x2048-width":856,"2048x2048-height":1024,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-351x420.jpg","home_baner-width":351,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"113","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Connecting the strands of holiness in time in our lives ","post_main_content_content":"

Read chapter 23 carefully, and you'll find you're seeing double. There are two openings and two closings, two sets of holidays, and two versions of Sukkot. This isn't repetition, but a representation of the two types of holy time. There is holy time-out, and then there is holy time-in.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The paradigm of holy time-out is Shabbat. This is the holiness of pausing your creative work, taking a step outside, and taking stock. On a weekly basis, we experience this on the seventh day. On a yearly basis, in a more intense way, we do it in the seventh month, during the cycle of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, festivals called '<\/span>Shabbaton<\/span><\/i>'.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But what about the rest of the time? This, too, is holy. \"For six days you work\", the rabbis say, is also a <\/span>mitzvah<\/span><\/em>. This holiness, the active holiness of time-in, is given expression during the cycle of Pesach-Shavuot-Sukkot, busy, active holidays, full of sacrifices, rituals, obligations, and symbols. During these holidays, we take everything we gather, everything we produce, and we declare that it, too, is holy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But there is a single verse, smack in the middle of the chapter, which doesn't have anything to do with any of this. Which, of course, means that it has everything to do with all of this, and that it holds the key to an even deeper understanding of this concept.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In verse 22, a propos of almost nothing, the Torah repeats some laws of charity we already learned only a few chapters ago.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"And when you harvest the harvest of your land, don't destroy the corner of your land as you harvest, and don't collect the gleanings of the harvest, leave it for the poor and the stranger, I am the Lord your God.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Some people don't realize that there can be holiness in time at all. Some people recognize it, but only appreciate one type: either the holiness of time-out, without seeing how one's daily life itself can be made holy, or the holiness of time-in, without appreciating the need to occasionally step outside and evaluate. And some people appreciate both types, but see them as utterly distinct. But the ultimate expression of holiness of time is when both types of holiness are brought together, and this is found in the mitzvot of <\/span>leket<\/span><\/em> and <\/span>peah<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>which ask the person in the throes of creative activity to stop, to hold back, and to leave for those less fortunate.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: <\/span>Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Millet - 1857 - Gleaners - Google Art 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","post_title":"Inside\/Outside","slug":"inside-outside","old_id":"46014","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36423,"post_title":"Ari Hoffman","slug":"ari-hoffman","old_id":"36423","first_name":"Ari ","last_name":"Hoffman","description":"Ari Hoffman is a columnist for the Forward, where he writes about politics and culture. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at N.Y.U., and his writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Tablet Magazine, The New York Observer, and a range of other publications. He holds a doctorate in English Literature from Harvard and a law degree from Stanford.\r\n","short_description":"Ari Hoffman is a columnist for the Forward, where he writes about politics and culture, and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at N.Y.U.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36424,"alt":"","title":"Ari Hoffman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","width":1044,"height":1438,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-218x300.jpg","medium-width":218,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-743x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":743,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-743x1024.jpg","large-width":743,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","1536x1536-width":1044,"1536x1536-height":1438,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400.jpg","2048x2048-width":1044,"2048x2048-height":1438,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-871x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":871,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ari-Hoffman-e1532985000400-305x420.jpg","home_baner-width":305,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"114","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"We are still wondering how to find the right words, in our own way and in our own rooms","post_main_content_content":"

The eminent art critic T.J. Clark\u2019s recent book <\/span>Picasso and Truth: From Cubism to Guernica<\/span><\/i> focuses much of its critical attention on one of the most vital setting for Picasso, and indeed for much of the literature and art that came of age in the nineteenth century and helped to define the twentieth; the room. Classical literature had taken as its subject the large doings of heroes and empires, stretched across the broad expanse of seas and planes. The turn towards realism brought art indoors, and the domestic space became the site and scene of drama; the epic relocated to the living room, with occasional excursions to the bedroom. The room, with its human choreography and array of details, became the world in miniature.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Today\u2019s chapter is a short one that transpires both inside and outside. Its first half presents the Menorah and the Showbread in an almost ekphrastic rotation. These are the landmarks of the holiest space in Jewish life, the intimate inside of the Mishkan. We can feel the quiet around them, the flickering of the flames and the tantalizing bread-smell. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The second half of the chapter moves to the town square and features the enigmatic incident of the blasphemer. It is a meditation on public space and the kinetic friction produced by the interface between private belief and communal norms. Speech can be broadcast at a wide range of frequencies, from the most intimate whisper to proclamations that can reach millions. It is one of the many paradoxes of the contemporary world that we value privacy as never before, even as we are more public than we have ever been. The incident of the blasphemer raises questions of surveillance, norms, and speech that have never quite been put to rest. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

We don\u2019t quite know what was said that day, but we are still wondering how to find the right words, in our own way and in our own rooms.<\/span><\/p>\r\n


\r\nImage: <\/span>https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/0\/0b\/Temple_showbread.JPG<\/span><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":46015,"alt":"","title":"Lev24-Temple_showbread","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","width":500,"height":428,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread-300x257.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":257,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":428,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","large-width":500,"large-height":428,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":428,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":428,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":428,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread-491x420.jpg","home_baner-width":491,"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":"Inside\/Outside","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"We are still wondering how to find the right words, in our own way and in our own rooms","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":46015,"alt":"","title":"Lev24-Temple_showbread","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","width":500,"height":428,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread-300x257.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":257,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":428,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","large-width":500,"large-height":428,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":428,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":428,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread.jpg","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":428,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Lev24-Temple_showbread-491x420.jpg","home_baner-width":491,"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":"24","chapter_main_number":"114","date":"20260204","wall_id":"114"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"690","name":"Art","old_id":"1090"}]},{"order":5,"id":"63959","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The First \u201cPushke\u201d ","post_title":"The First \u201cPushke\u201d","slug":"the-first-pushke","old_id":"63959","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. 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As we noted apropos of the previous chapter, Joash was a righteous king whose actions were guided by his tutelage at the hands of Jehoiada the High Priest. The one caveat to this description is that he\u2014like nearly all the kings of Judah\u2014tolerated the continued worship on the high platforms (<\/span>bamot<\/span><\/em>, or shrines, see vs.3-4). One particular way in which his righteousness made itself manifest was in his concern for repairing the physical plant of the Temple. Our narrative (v.7 ff.) picks up in the 23<\/span>rd<\/span> year of his 40-year reign, as king and high priest confronted the reality that the priests had not obeyed their instructions and had not commissioned the necessary repairs\u2014even though it seems that they had been collecting money for it all along.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Their solution to the problem set a precedent that continues to be followed by Jewish organizations and in Jewish homes to this every day.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And the priest Jehoiada took a chest and bored a hole in its lid. He placed it at the right side of the altar as one entered the House of the LORD, and the priestly guards of the threshold deposited there all the money that was brought into the House of the LORD (10). Whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the royal scribe and the high priest would come up and put the money accumulated in the House of the LORD into bags, and they would count it (11). Then they would deliver the money that was weighed out to the overseers of the work, who were in charge of the House of the LORD\u2026 (12).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Hence, we have the <\/span>pushke<\/span><\/i> (from the Polish <\/span>puszka, meaning a tin can), a receptacle in which money (usually coins) intended for charitable purposes is collected and stored until there is a sufficient amount to meet a particular need. Another precedent, albeit one that has not necessarily withstood the test of time, was that \u201c<\/span>No check was kept on the men to whom the money was delivered to pay the workers; for they dealt honestly\u201d (17). Halakha requires that charitable funds must be counted by two people and decisions about their distribution are to be made by three.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":63982,"alt":"","title":"2kings12-pushke","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","width":258,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke-258x300.jpg","medium-width":258,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","medium_large-width":258,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","large-width":258,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","1536x1536-width":258,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","2048x2048-width":258,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","post_full_size-width":258,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","home_baner-width":258,"home_baner-height":300}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The First \u201cPushke\u201d","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Jewish legal precedent in the oversight of the collection and distribution of charitable contributions","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":63982,"alt":"","title":"2kings12-pushke","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","width":258,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke-258x300.jpg","medium-width":258,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","medium_large-width":258,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","large-width":258,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","1536x1536-width":258,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","2048x2048-width":258,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","post_full_size-width":258,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-pushke.jpg","home_baner-width":258,"home_baner-height":300}},"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":"II Kings","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"321","date":"20261122","wall_id":"321"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"662","name":"Halacha","old_id":"1062"},{"term_id":"777","name":"Tzedaka","old_id":"1177"},{"term_id":"778","name":"Temple","old_id":"1178"}]},{"order":6,"id":"64018","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Temple Dues, Renovations And Building Funds: A Blueprint For The Ages? ","post_title":"Temple Dues, Renovations And Building Funds: A Blueprint For The Ages?","slug":"temple-dues-renovations-and-building-funds-a-blueprint-for-the-ages","old_id":"64018","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"321","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Some things never change","post_main_content_content":"

Up until now when money was brought to the Temple for offerings, it became the property of the temple priests who, in addition to purchasing the relevant offerings, were responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the temple from their own purse. Added to that fund were the private donations that each priest procured \u201cfrom his benefactor (12:5)\u201d, meaning from his own personal contacts. This model has some obvious gaps, including a lack of accountability for spending and the risk of corruption and power imbalances that come from using personal contacts to raise funds. That is not to infer that the Temple priests engaged in anything untoward, but nevertheless, this system did not prove very successful and, in this chapter, we find a Temple in disrepair.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

King Joash (of Judah) tries a different approach and sends the priests out to purposefully collect money for temple repairs but that too proves unsuccessful. So, the King implements an entirely new model: a collection box is placed inside the temple and everyone who comes is required to leave a donation. Essentially King Jehoash has instituted the first instance of synagogue membership dues (or perhaps the first building fund.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this new budget model two people, the King\u2019s scribe and the high priest, collect, count and bag the money once the box is full, ensuring control and public accountability \u2013 standards of public finance that persist until today. And because the new fee is mandatory for all, but with some degree of anonymity, power imbalances and risk of corruption are minimized.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Today\u2019s synagogues largely maintain a blended model of the two presented in this chapter. Synagogues charge membership dues, assess building fund fees and rely on private donations \u2013 admittedly sometimes currying the favor of those with more means. In contrast, churches largely rely on donations without membership fees, but as reported in a 2010<\/span> Freakonomics report<\/span><\/a>, both models result in approximately equal contributions per member, so who\u2019s to say one model is better than the other.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is surprisingly missing from the new Temple model, however, is fiscal reporting requirements. For the extensive Temple renovation project, those in charge of hiring and paying the workers had complete autonomy, made possible because of the reported high degree of integrity and honesty among the profession at that time: \u201cfor they dealt honestly (12:15).\u201d\u00a0 Budget models aside, and not to disparage the profession, it\u2019s probably a good thing that that particular practice has not persisted.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":64019,"alt":"","title":"2kings12-dues","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","width":250,"height":289,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","medium-width":250,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","medium_large-width":250,"medium_large-height":289,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","large-width":250,"large-height":289,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","1536x1536-width":250,"1536x1536-height":289,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","2048x2048-width":250,"2048x2048-height":289,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","post_full_size-width":250,"post_full_size-height":289,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","home_baner-width":250,"home_baner-height":289}},"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":"Temple Dues, Renovations And Building Funds: A Blueprint For The Ages?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Some things never change","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":64019,"alt":"","title":"2kings12-dues","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","width":250,"height":289,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","medium-width":250,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","medium_large-width":250,"medium_large-height":289,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","large-width":250,"large-height":289,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","1536x1536-width":250,"1536x1536-height":289,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","2048x2048-width":250,"2048x2048-height":289,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","post_full_size-width":250,"post_full_size-height":289,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings12-dues.jpg","home_baner-width":250,"home_baner-height":289}},"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":"II Kings","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"321","date":"20261122","wall_id":"321"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"723","name":"Money","old_id":"1123"},{"term_id":"777","name":"Tzedaka","old_id":"1177"},{"term_id":"778","name":"Temple","old_id":"1178"}]},{"order":7,"id":"64065","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"The Power Of Symbolic Actions ","post_title":"The Power Of Symbolic Actions","slug":"the-power-of-symbolic-actions","old_id":"64065","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36277,"post_title":"Yedidya Sinclair","slug":"yedidya-sinclair","old_id":"36277","first_name":"Yedidya","last_name":"Sinclair","description":"Rabbi Yedidya Sinclair serves as Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon, the leading US Jewish environmental organization. From 2011-16 he was Vice President for Research and Senior Economist at Energiya Global, a Jerusalem-based solar energy company focused on the developing world and he continues to consult on renewable energy and climate change preparedness. In 2014 he published together with Hazon, a translation of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's great work on shmitta, the Sabbatical year, \"Introduction to Shabbat Ha'aretz.\" Yedidya holds a BA from Oxford University, an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and lives with his family in Jerusalem.","short_description":"Yedidya Sinclair is a Jerusalem-based rabbi and economist, and is Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36278,"alt":"","title":"yedidya sinclair","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","width":200,"height":200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":200,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":200,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":200}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"322","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But Elisha cannot sufficiently communicate the miraculous acts that will bring victory","post_main_content_content":"

The end of Elisha\u2019s life is a poignant teaching about both the power and the limitations of a great leader to influence events after his death.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Knowing that he will soon die, Elisha orders King Yoash to come to him with a bow and arrows. Placing his own hands over the king\u2019s hands that are grasping the bow, the prophet commands the king to shoot arrows from the window. Elisha declares that this symbolizes, \u201can arrow of victory for the Lord! An arrow of victory over Aram!\u201d (v17)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Then the prophet asks the king to gather the arrows and strike the ground with them, which he did, three times. But Elisha became angry with the king, explaining, \u201cIf only you had struck five or six times, then you would have annihilated Aram. As it is, you shall defeat Aram only three times.\u201d The end of the chapter tells us that indeed, Yoash defeated Aram three times, just as Elisha had said.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These are mysterious verses that give rise to several questions. What is the power of these symbolic actions? Why does Elisha get angry at Yoash? If he had wanted the king to strike the ground five or six times, why didn\u2019t he explicitly say so? And moreover if, as we commonly see in the Bible, the symbolic act is sort of a concrete, visual representation of the prophetic message, why does doing the symbolic action wrong matter? Isn\u2019t the prophecy the main thing with the act serving as merely a sort of graphic aid?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Elchanan Samet explains that the acts of shooting arrows and striking the earth with them are more than symbolic. Through these acts, it is as if Elisha, with his last energies, is actually engaging in the battles against Aram, even though they will take place after his death. This is the significance of the prophet placing his own feeble hands over the king\u2019s hands on the bow.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If so, then perhaps we can understand his anger at Yoash failing to precisely fulfil his will. Maybe it is an expression of frustration that he cannot sufficiently communicate the miraculous acts that will bring victory. Elisha\u2019s reliance on Yoash as the deeply flawed living agent charged with fulfilling his plan after he dies inevitably creates a gap between the prophetic vision and its execution in reality.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Samet movingly depicts the extent of Elisha\u2019s love of Israel. With his dying breaths, the prophet tries to the utmost to safeguard their well-being after he will be gone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: The Arrow Of The Lord's Deliverance, William Henry Margetson (1861-1940)<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":64066,"alt":"","title":"2kings13-William+Henry+Margetson-The+Arrow+Of+The+Lord's+Deliverance","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-WilliamHenryMargetson-TheArrowOfTheLordsDeliverance.jpg","width":310,"height":428,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-WilliamHenryMargetson-TheArrowOfTheLordsDeliverance-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-WilliamHenryMargetson-TheArrowOfTheLordsDeliverance-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-WilliamHenryMargetson-TheArrowOfTheLordsDeliverance.jpg","medium_large-width":310,"medium_large-height":428,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-WilliamHenryMargetson-TheArrowOfTheLordsDeliverance.jpg","large-width":310,"large-height":428,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-WilliamHenryMargetson-TheArrowOfTheLordsDeliverance.jpg","1536x1536-width":310,"1536x1536-height":428,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-WilliamHenryMargetson-TheArrowOfTheLordsDeliverance.jpg","2048x2048-width":310,"2048x2048-height":428,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-WilliamHenryMargetson-TheArrowOfTheLordsDeliverance.jpg","post_full_size-width":310,"post_full_size-height":428,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-WilliamHenryMargetson-TheArrowOfTheLordsDeliverance-304x420.jpg","home_baner-width":304,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Power Of Symbolic Actions","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But Elisha cannot sufficiently communicate the miraculous acts that will bring 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","short_description":"Jessica Fisher is in her final year of rabbinical school at JTS where she is also pursuing an MA in Jewish Gender and Women's Studies. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":46167,"alt":"","title":"jessica fisher","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/jessica-fisher-e1545510172550.jpg","width":198,"height":230,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/jessica-fisher-e1545510172550-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/jessica-fisher-276x300.jpg","medium-width":276,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/jessica-fisher-e1545510172550.jpg","medium_large-width":198,"medium_large-height":230,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/jessica-fisher-e1545510172550.jpg","large-width":198,"large-height":230,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/jessica-fisher-e1545510172550.jpg","1536x1536-width":198,"1536x1536-height":230,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/jessica-fisher-e1545510172550.jpg","2048x2048-width":198,"2048x2048-height":230,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/jessica-fisher-e1545510172550.jpg","post_full_size-width":198,"post_full_size-height":230,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/jessica-fisher-e1545510172550.jpg","home_baner-width":198,"home_baner-height":230}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"322","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"He left this world with messages of support, comfort, empowerment and the power of memory","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cElisha had been stricken with the illness of which he was to die.\u201d (v.14) According to the Rabbis, the prophet and miracle-maker Elisha was the first person to get sick and recover, but this verse teaches us that this time he would not heal. The end of Elisha\u2019s life gives us a glimpse into three models of a leader leaving a legacy at the end of his life. First he gives comfort to King Joash, who arrives distraught and fearful of a future for his people. Elisha soothes King Joash by giving him something to do (shoot a bow and arrow out the window) and by prophesying victory for Joash and his people. Elisha then instructs Joash to hit the ground with the arrows, leaving the number of times he hit open to Joash, a number which Elisha interprets in the context of future military exploits, explaining that because he hit the ground three times, Joash would defeat his enemy three more times, but if he had hit the ground more times he would have eliminated his enemy. Finally, sometime after his death, a body of another deceased man is unceremoniously dumped on top of Elisha\u2019s in the grave. As soon as the man comes in contact with Elisha\u2019s body, the man comes back to life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Although we seem to be living in a post-miracle and post-prophecy world, Elisha\u2019s final three actions can offer us insight into ways we might think about the end of our own lives and the legacy we want to leave. The first is to be a supportive presence to people who love us. Elisha comforts King Joash both by giving him something to do and by reassuring Joash about the near future. The second is to empower those who depend on us, which Elisha does by giving Joash minimal instructions about hitting the ground with the bow, effectively pushing Joash to determine his people\u2019s future by choosing to hit the ground three times instead of more or fewer. Finally, by reviving a dead man <\/span>while he himself was still dead<\/span><\/em>, Elisha reminds us about the power of memory and the ongoing reverberations of our actions during our lifetimes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":64071,"alt":"","title":"2kings13-faces","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-faces.jpg","width":1920,"height":1355,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-faces-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-faces-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-faces-768x542.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":542,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-faces-1024x723.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":723,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-faces.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1084,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-faces.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1355,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-faces-1200x847.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":847,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings13-faces-595x420.jpg","home_baner-width":595,"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":"Elisha\u2019s 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Remember poor King Joash and how his servants murdered him after he was forced to become a vassal to the local king of Aram? Well, a new generation has grown to adulthood, and his son, Amaziah is now the king. It is generally the way of biblical kings that they take revenge for the wrongs perpetrated on their predecessors (recall David\u2019s Godfather-like conversation with his son, Solomon, on his deathbed?) or, even worse, they often wipe out the children and relatives of deposed opponents. Nothing personal, of course, it\u2019s just politics. A cruel but effective way of removing any competing claimants to their throne.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So we\u2019ve been primed to expect that from the new king as well. Once his realm is secure, we aren\u2019t surprised when he turns his attention to revenge against the servants to murdered his dear old dad: \u201cit happened when the kingship\u00a0 was firmly in his power that he struck down his servants who had assassinated the king, his father.\u201d Business as usual for an Iron Age king.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But what comes next is far from business as usual: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u2026 but he did not put to death the sons of the assassins, as it is written in the Book of the Torah of Moses, which God had commanded, saying, \u201cParents shall not be put to death because of their children, nor children put to death for their parents, rather, people should be put to death for their own sin\u201d (Deut. 24:16)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Amaziah is the first king to explicitly restrain himself because of a verse in the Torah. And in doing so, he reveals the intended purpose of Torah itself. In the face of customs that are universally accepted, despite the casual practice of brutality and cruelty, the Torah asks us to rise to a higher standard. It sets itself against cruel consensus or callous indifference and demands that we are each responsible for our own deeds. Even in the realm of politics, we are not to hold people guilty for the actions of their families or their loved ones.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

By allowing the children of the assassins to live, King Amaziah lays claim to being the first really Jewish king: one who moderates cultural norms in the light of the ethical values of Torah. The presumption that each person is made in the divine image precludes erasing someone\u2019s unique value and identity. We cannot treat people based on expedience or political self interest, realpolitik must take a back seat to righteousness, compassion, and justice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Jacob Chayat, King Solomon, detail, 2015\u00a0 \/ wikipedia\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":64086,"alt":"","title":"2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","width":752,"height":900,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat-251x300.jpg","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","medium_large-width":752,"medium_large-height":900,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","large-width":752,"large-height":900,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","1536x1536-width":752,"1536x1536-height":900,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","2048x2048-width":752,"2048x2048-height":900,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","post_full_size-width":752,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat-351x420.jpg","home_baner-width":351,"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":"Why Amaziah Is The First Really Jewish King \u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The end of Don Corleone starts with Torah","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":64086,"alt":"","title":"2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","width":752,"height":900,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat-251x300.jpg","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","medium_large-width":752,"medium_large-height":900,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","large-width":752,"large-height":900,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","1536x1536-width":752,"1536x1536-height":900,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","2048x2048-width":752,"2048x2048-height":900,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat.jpg","post_full_size-width":752,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings14-King_Jacob_Chayat-351x420.jpg","home_baner-width":351,"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":"II Kings","chapter":"14","chapter_main_number":"323","date":"20261124","wall_id":"323"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"410","name":"Torah","old_id":"810"},{"term_id":"436","name":"Morality","old_id":"836"},{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"}]},{"order":10,"id":"64079","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"The Cedar And The Thistle ","post_title":"The Cedar And The Thistle","slug":"the-cedar-and-the-thistle","old_id":"64079","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":"323","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A dreadful tactical miscalculation and a pointless civil war\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The text does not give enough information to verifiably determine the cause of the war. But the correlative story in Chronicles provides enough information to explain the catalyst to the flare-up:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Amaziah assembled the men of Judah...300,000 chosen men, fit for service, able to bear spear and shield. He hired 100,000 warriors from Israel for with talents of silver. Then a man of God came to him and said, \"O King! Do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel \u2014 all these Ephraimites. But go by yourself and do it.... So Amaziah detached the force that came to him from Ephraim, [ordering them] to go back to their place. They were greatly angered against Judah and returned to their place in a rage. Amaziah took courage and, leading his army, he marched to the Valley of Salt. He slew 10,000 men of Seir.... The men of the force that Amaziah had sent back...made forays against the towns of Judah from Samaria to Beth-Horon. They slew 3,000 of them, and took much booty (II Chr. 25:6-10, 13).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Originally Amaziah had indeed proposed \"a marriage,\" a military alliance against Edom. And Joash had accepted his offer when he sent his 100,000 troops to boost the Judahite army. However, as the troops mobilized, Amaziah, on prophetic instruction, discharged the northern troops and sent them home. The infuriated soldiers responded by rampaging through Judahite territory, killing three thousand people and despoiling the towns and villages en route. Here we understand the second clause of the parable; if one had to express it in poetic form, one might say: \"A wild beast in Lebanon went and trampled down the thistle.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why did the northern troops react with such ferocity? Their violent reprisal was presumably motivated by a dual factor. First is the king's insulting rejection of the northern troops, on the prophet's proclamation: \"The Lord is not with Israel.\" Second is the financial aspect. The mercenaries were hired for a sum of one hundred talents of silver. It would seem that this modest payment was to be supplemented by looting and despoiling the enemy. But now, as Ahaziah relieves them from active duty, their anticipated income, the spoils of war, had been taken away. When the Israelite troops loot Judahite towns, they are unleashing their frustration while also recouping what they perceived as their financial loss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Amaziah hears about this rampage and declares war on the north. Joash warns him that their forces are mismatched; he is the \"cedar\" compared with the lowly \"thistle.\" This explanation shifts some of the weight off Amaziah. After all, he was responding to a northern provocation. Amaziah made a dreadful tactical miscalculation; his indignation blinding his better judgment. There is little doubt that this civil war was a total blunder for Amaziah. The southern army is defeated, Jerusalem is penetrated, and Amaziah and members of his clan are taken captive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Alex Israel, II Kings: In a Whirlwind,<\/em> Maggid Books, 2019, Amaziah (Judah)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":63310,"alt":"","title":"Alex Israel - 2_kings_cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","width":1711,"height":1821,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-282x300.jpg","medium-width":282,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-768x817.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":817,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-962x1024.jpg","large-width":962,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1443,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1711,"2048x2048-height":1821,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-1128x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1128,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-395x420.jpg","home_baner-width":395,"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: II Kings - In A Whirlwind","tile_main_caption":"The Cedar And The Thistle","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A dreadful tactical miscalculation and a pointless civil war\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":63310,"alt":"","title":"Alex Israel - 2_kings_cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","width":1711,"height":1821,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-282x300.jpg","medium-width":282,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-768x817.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":817,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-962x1024.jpg","large-width":962,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1443,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1711,"2048x2048-height":1821,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-1128x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1128,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-395x420.jpg","home_baner-width":395,"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":"II Kings","chapter":"14","chapter_main_number":"323","date":"20261124","wall_id":"323"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"423","name":"Politics","old_id":"823"},{"term_id":"434","name":"War","old_id":"834"},{"term_id":"539","name":"Israel","old_id":"939"}]},{"order":11,"id":"64114","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Pieces Of An Infinite Puzzle ","post_title":"Pieces Of An Infinite Puzzle","slug":"pieces-of-an-infinite-puzzle","old_id":"64114","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":"324","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"There may be reward and punishment - for some","post_main_content_content":"

Why did some kings rule for decades, while others didn\u2019t even last a full year?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like many questions, this one can have multiple answers. On the human level, sometimes a reign was cut short by a successful rebellion; however, perhaps those rebellions got a helping Hand.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For instance, Abarbanel asserts that Shallum son of Jabesh was replaced by Menahem son of Gadi after just a month (15:13-14) because \u201che was punished measure for measure: he killed Zechariah, and Menahem son of Gadi killed him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is a very neat explanation, but it raises some questions. After all, Shallum was far from the only king to gain his throne through a bloody coup. Why punish him but not others?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This question, too, is open to multiple answers \u2013 including a study of what motivated each of those bloody coups. E.g., Jehu annihilated Ahab\u2019s family and was rewarded rather than punished \u2013 despite his ensuing transgressions \u2013 because God had commanded those deaths.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the same time, perhaps the apparent inconsistency itself contains an important message.\u00a0<\/span>The Tanach is full of divine providence, sometimes in the form of general promises of reward and punishment, and sometimes through narratives about specific instances.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, this perspective can lead one down some troubling mental paths. For instance, if we start trying to guess which <\/span>mitzvah <\/span><\/i>or transgression might have led to various events in our or others\u2019 lives, we would wrongly be assuming we can read God\u2019s mind, and be in danger of violating Antigonus ish Socho\u2019s dictum against \u201cserving our Master for the sake of reward\u201d (Avot 1:3).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

How do we look at Tanach and NOT conclude that everything that happens is a direct reward or punishment? How do we avoid concluding that a tsunami, for instance, must be someone\u2019s fault, and perhaps speculating about whose fault and why?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps by realizing Providence is not so linear in Tanach \u2013 and neither is it straightforward in our lives.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Sometimes the Bible tells us why, as when God promised Jehu his dynasty would last four generations because he followed instructions so well (10:30) \u2013 presumably to convey the notion of divine justice in the world.\u00a0<\/span>Sometimes it doesn\u2019t tell us but we can infer, by applying that notion to events in this finite body of information that we know is shared with a didactic goal \u2013 as Abarbanel does regarding Shallum.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But sometimes, the bad guy rules for decades or the good guy doesn\u2019t, and we have no idea why \u2013 perhaps to convey the message that reward and punishment are only two pieces of an infinite puzzle, and that if cause and effect aren\u2019t in the book with God's stamp, then there must be pieces we can never presume to know.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":64115,"alt":"","title":"2kings15-puzzle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle.jpg","width":1920,"height":1056,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-300x165.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":165,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-768x422.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":422,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-1024x563.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":563,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":845,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1056,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-1200x660.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":660,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-764x420.jpg","home_baner-width":764,"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":"Pieces Of An Infinite Puzzle","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"There may be reward and punishment - for some","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":64115,"alt":"","title":"2kings15-puzzle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle.jpg","width":1920,"height":1056,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-300x165.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":165,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-768x422.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":422,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-1024x563.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":563,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":845,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1056,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-1200x660.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":660,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings15-puzzle-764x420.jpg","home_baner-width":764,"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":"II Kings","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"324","date":"20261125","wall_id":"324"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"460","name":"Evil","old_id":"860"},{"term_id":"466","name":"Goodness","old_id":"866"},{"term_id":"531","name":"Reward","old_id":"931"},{"term_id":"547","name":"Punishment","old_id":"947"}]},{"order":12,"id":"64105","color":"#eceffa","size":"1","name":"Extreme Political Instability In The North ","post_title":"Extreme Political Instability In The North","slug":"extreme-political-instability-in-the-north","old_id":"64105","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"324","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"As evidenced by King Shallum - king for a month\u2026.","post_main_content_content":"

15:13 \u201cShallum son of Jabesh had become king in the thirty-ninth year of Uziah king of Judah, and he was king in Samaria for a month.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The northern kingdom by this point in history, in the eighth century BCE, exhibits extreme political instability -- monarch after monarch is assassinated as coup follows coup. The Deuteronomistic editor makes some attempt to provide a theological explanation for these upheavals -- \u201cThis was the word of the Lord that he spoke to Jehu\u201d -- but he cannot encompass all the rapid challenges in this way. Thus no reason is given for the fact that Shallum reigns for only a month before he is murdered by Menahem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, <\/span>The Hebrew Bible<\/span><\/i>, 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":"Extreme Political Instability In The North","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"As evidenced by King Shallum - king for a month\u2026.","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Kings","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"324","date":"20261125","wall_id":"324"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"64175","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Ahaz ","post_title":"Ahaz","slug":"ahaz","old_id":"64175","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":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Oy-vay!","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter relates the reign of King Ahaz of Judah (743\u2013727 BCE). Unlike his forefather, King David, Ahaz did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Most prominently, \u201ceven his son he passed through the fire [sacrificed]\u2026He sacrificed and made offerings at the shrines, on the hills, and under every leafy tree\u201d (II Kings 16:1-4, II Chronicles 28). Ahaz joined forces with the Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser III, whose altar he saw in Damascus and had copied in the Temple in Jerusalem (II Kings 16:10-16). Ahaz reigned in the time of Isaiah (see Isaiah 7-9). Isaiah counsels Ahaz to trust in God rather than foreign allies (Isaiah 7:11) and gives Ahaz the sign of the birth of a child, whose mother will call him Immanuel, meaning \"God-is-with-us\" (Isaiah 7:13-14).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Rabbinic Sages (see Midrash Genesis Rabbah 42:3 and parallels) compare Ahaz to the tutor of a king\u2019s son who plotted to kill the son. He reasoned that if he himself did the deed he would be executed by the king. So, he separated the son from his wet-nurse in order to let him die by malnutrition. Similarly, Ahaz reasoned that if there are no children there will be no disciples who will become sages. And if there are no sages, there will be no prophets. And if there are no prophets, the Holy One, blessed be He, will have no one upon whom to cause His divine presence to dwell. The Midrash goes on to explain that this evil king was called Ahaz (literally \u201che seized\u201d), because he \u201cseized\u201d the synagogues and study-houses to close them. When he did this evil deed, everyone began to cry out \u201cWoe\u201d (\u201cVay\u201d), as it says: And (Vay \u2013 Woe) it came to pass in the days of Ahaz (Vay-yehi biyemey Ahaz)\u2026 (Isaiah 7:1).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Indeed, according to Scripture, it seems Ahaz had only one son, Hezekiah, who ruled Judah after him (II Kings 18:1). His mother was Abi (II Kings 18:2), also called Abijah (11 Chronicles 29:1). According to Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 63b, the son whom Ahaz \u201cpassed through the fire\u201d was none other than his only son Hezekiah. But Hezekiah was saved by his mother, who daubed him with the blood of the salamander, whose blood was a legendary fire-retardant (see Aristotle, History of Animals V, 19).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In 1873 a clay tablet was discovered in the ancient Assyrian palace at Nimrud on which Tiglath-Pileser III boasts of the tribute paid to him by Ahaz as mentioned in II Kings 16:8. In part, the inscription reads: \u201cFrom these I received tribute \u2026 Jehoahaz [Ahaz] of Judah \u2026 including gold, silver, iron, fine cloth and many garments made from wool that was dyed in purple\u2026\u201d. In the mid-1990\u2019s a bulla (clay seal) came to light bearing the inscription \u201cBelonging to Ahaz (son of) Yehotam, King of Judah\u201d. Most recently, in 2015, another such bulla was discovered that reads \"Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah\".<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Alabaster wall relief, the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III stands over an enemy, from the Central Palace at Nimrud,\u00a0 Neo-Assyrian period, circa 728 BCE \/ The British Museum \/ 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we learn the lessons of the past?","post_main_content_content":"

King Ahab and King Pekah ruled Israel for 20-22 years each. Both of them did what was displeasing to the LORD and did not depart from the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. Also both of them committed a murder \u2013 Ahab against his citizen Naboth and Pekah against his king Pekahiah. But there was an important difference between these two kings. Ahab cooperated with the king of Judah against the king of Aram. Pekah cooperated with the king of Aram against the King of Judah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In response to Pekah's cooperation with a foreign army against his brothers in Judah, King Ahaz of Judah did the same. Ahaz cooperated with the foreign King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria against King Pekah of Israel. King Tiglath-pileser came and captured Gilead, Galilee and Naphtali and he deported the inhabitants to Assyria. The northern and the eastern parts of Israel Kingdom were no longer Israelite.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The historical lesson of this disastrous policy wasn't learned. A few hundreds of years later Prince Judah Aristobulus the Second competed on the throne against his elder brother High Priest Prince John Hyrcanus the Second. After the two brothers had reached an agreement regarding giving the elder the High Priesthood and the younger the throne, the elder had second thoughts about it. John Hyrcanus the Second decided to cooperate with foreign armies \u2013 Idumaean, Nabataean and Roman \u2013 against his own brother. As a result the Edomites and the Nabataeans and the Romans took Judah's territories, killed tens of thousands of Jews and put an end to the independence of Judah's Kingdom.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Will the lesson be learned in the future? Only time will tell.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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