{"id":65276,"date":"2018-07-09T17:45:06","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1070\/"},"modified":"2023-06-09T07:05:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T04:05:33","slug":"wall-1070","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1070\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20230604-to-20230610"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1070","date_from":"20230604","date_to":"20230610","book":"Isaiah","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"47276","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"The Spies In Art ","post_title":"The Spies In Art","slug":"the-spies-in-art","old_id":"47276","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37927,"post_title":"Adapted from ALHATORAH.ORG","slug":"alhatorah-org","old_id":"37927","first_name":"Adapted from","last_name":"ALHATORAH.ORG","description":"ALHATORAH.ORG is a one-stop Tanakh study resource, providing the texts, tools, techniques, and technology to help scholars, educators, and laypersons make Torah come alive in the home, classroom, and synagogue. Enter the site to explore 2,500 years of Biblical interpretation and enjoy a rich, multi-dimensional, learning experience.\r\n","short_description":"ALHATORAH.ORG Re-envisioning the way Torah can be studied and taught","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37929,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_473208484","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_473208484.jpg","width":10000,"height":10000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_473208484-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_473208484-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_473208484-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_473208484-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_473208484.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_473208484.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_473208484-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shutterstock_473208484-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"130","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Did the spies purposefully share their negativity with the nation, or was this simply a tactical error?","post_main_content_content":"

Numbers 13 \u00a0is devoted to the story of the twelve spies. Gustave Dor\u00e9's engraving \u201cReturn of the Spies from the Land of Promise\u201d and Giovanni Lanfranco's painting \u201cMoses and the Messengers from Canaan\u201d both depict the men returning from their mission, carrying the fruits of the land. The renderings differ both in the cast of characters portrayed and in how those figures are depicted, allowing for varied understandings of the spies' report and intentions.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

Dor\u00e9 depicts the spies approaching and displaying their finds to the entire nation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

Lanfranco, in contrast, depicts them returning specifically to Moses.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

To whom did the spies report according to the Biblical text? At first glance, the verses seem to support Dor\u00e9's rendering, as Numbers 13:26 presents the spies speaking to both the leaders and the congregation. The very next verse, though, states \u201cthey told him,\u201d in the singular, suggesting that the spies spoke only to Moses.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The two possibilities relate to several other questions as well. What was the purpose of the spies' mission? Was it military in nature, in which case one would have expected a private debriefing, or was it a scouting mission meant to encourage the nation, necessitating a more public report? Even if one takes the latter possibility, one must question the logic of sharing a negative report with the masses. Did the spies purposefully share their negativity with the nation,<\/span> or was this simply a tactical error on their or Moses\u2019s part?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Adapted from: ALHATORAH.ORG<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For fuller analysis, see: <\/span>http:\/\/alhatorah.org\/The_Spies_in_Art<\/span><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Spies In Art","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Did the spies purposefully share their negativity with the nation, or was this simply a tactical error?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":47278,"alt":"","title":"Num13-Lanfranco","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Lanfranco.jpg","width":544,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Lanfranco-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Lanfranco-300x265.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":265,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Lanfranco.jpg","medium_large-width":544,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Lanfranco.jpg","large-width":544,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Lanfranco.jpg","1536x1536-width":544,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Lanfranco.jpg","2048x2048-width":544,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Lanfranco.jpg","post_full_size-width":544,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Lanfranco-476x420.jpg","home_baner-width":476,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"130","date":"20260226","wall_id":"130"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"690","name":"Art","old_id":"1090"},{"term_id":"807","name":"Spies","old_id":"1207"}]},{"order":2,"id":"47470","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"The Lifeline Of Torah \u2013 Then And Now ","post_title":"The Lifeline Of Torah \u2013 Then And Now","slug":"the-lifeline-of-torah-then-and-now","old_id":"47470","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":"132","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Salvation coming out of the blue...","post_main_content_content":"

At the beginning of our chapter, Moses instructs the Israelite people: \u201cwhen you come into the Land of your settlements which God is giving you, that they should make various offerings to God (Num. 15:1-31). Following the story of a man punished for gathering sticks on Shabbat (15:32-36) \u2013 and to help prevent such transgressions in the future -- our Chapter concludes with the Mitzvah of Tzitzit (\u201cfringes\u201d): \u201cThe Lord spoke to Moses saying: Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue (ptil tekhelet) to the fringe at each corner\u2026look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord and observe them\u2026\u201d (15:37-39, summarized in Deut. 22:12). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Midrash (Tanhuma Buber, Shelah 31 and parallels) subtly ties the \u201ccord of blue\u201d \u00a0in the Tzitzit to another sort of \u201ccord\u201d that may also assist in the performance of the commandments in general. This is done by relating a parable [mashal] about a man who has been thrown into the water. The captain of the boat casts him a rope, saying: Grab this rope and hold on for dear life, for if you let it go, you are lost. Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to Israel: As long as you hold fast to the Mitzvot, then, \u201cAll of you who hold fast to the Lord, Your God, are alive today\u201d (Deuteronomy 4:4). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In ancient times, seafaring, even on the Mediterranean, was fraught with danger (see Daniel Sperber, Nautica Talmudica, 1986, pp. 94-106). Even today, boats above a certain size and ships are generally required by law to have at the ready rescue equipment, such as life rings or lifebuoys attached to lifelines, much like the lifeline cast to the man thrown overboard in our parable. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The concluding application (nimshal) of our parable, beginning \u201cSo too does the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Israel\u2026\u201d suggests the following application to our present situation. In our day, many of those drawn to a life of halakhic observance may do so because of a feeling of \u201chaving been thrown overboard\u201d from the storm-tossed \u201cship\u201d on the turbulent \u201csea\u201d of their previous lifestyle. And it is the \u201clifeline\u201d of the Torah, thrown to them by the \u201cCaptain of the Universe\u201d, that may serve to save them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: <\/span>https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Winslow_Homer,_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg<\/span><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":47472,"alt":"","title":"Winslow_Homer,_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg","width":5945,"height":3758,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-300x190.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":190,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-768x485.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":485,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-1024x647.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":647,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":971,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1295,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-1200x759.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":759,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-664x420.jpg","home_baner-width":664,"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 Lifeline Of Torah \u2013 Then And Now","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Salvation coming out of the blue...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":47472,"alt":"","title":"Winslow_Homer,_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg","width":5945,"height":3758,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-300x190.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":190,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-768x485.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":485,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-1024x647.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":647,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":971,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1295,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-1200x759.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":759,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Winslow_Homer_American_-_The_Life_Line_-_Google_Art_Project-664x420.jpg","home_baner-width":664,"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":"Numbers","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"132","date":"20260302","wall_id":"132"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"410","name":"Torah","old_id":"810"},{"term_id":"411","name":"mitzvah","old_id":"811"},{"term_id":"812","name":"Tzitzit","old_id":"1212"}]},{"order":3,"id":"65428","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Havdalah As Midrash ","post_title":"Havdalah As Midrash","slug":"havdalah-as-midrash","old_id":"65428","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":62571,"post_title":"Yaakov Bieler","slug":"yaakov-bieler","old_id":"62571","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Bieler ","description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1974. He has lectured and written extensively on Modern Orthodoxy, and blogs daily at https:\/\/yaakovbieler.wordpress.com ","short_description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":62572,"alt":"","title":"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","width":141,"height":180,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler-141x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":141,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium-width":141,"medium-height":180,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium_large-width":141,"medium_large-height":180,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","large-width":141,"large-height":180,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","1536x1536-width":141,"1536x1536-height":180,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","2048x2048-width":141,"2048x2048-height":180,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","post_full_size-width":141,"post_full_size-height":180,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","home_baner-width":141,"home_baner-height":180}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"346","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The text of the ritual for the conclusion of the Shabbat makes a deep point about the nature of salvation\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Two verses in Isaiah 12 (v. 2 and 3) serve as the beginning of the introductory text for the Jewish ritual of Havdalah (<\/span>lit<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>separation; making a demarcation between Shabbat and the upcoming weekdays<\/span><\/i>), recited every Saturday evening at the conclusion of Shabbat:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

2 Behold, God is my unfailing <\/span>help<\/span>; I will trust in God and will not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and song; God is my <\/span>Deliverer<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

3 With joy shall you draw water out of the wells of <\/span>salvation<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The verses in question could be understood as stark reminders that although we are transitioning <\/span>from<\/span> a time when we were able to intimately engage with thoughts about God\u2019s role in our lives via Shabbat\u2019s special prayers, festive meals, Torah study, and conversations with family and friends, <\/span>to<\/span> having to focus once again upon the every day, primarily secular, responsibilities over the course of the following six days, we should try to continue to keep in mind how he can rely on God, especially when the \u201cgoing gets rough.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In effect, all of the introductory verses of Havdalah, including the two verses from Isaiah, sound a similar theme of reliance on God for salvation and assistance, with a single, blatant exception:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Psalms 3:9 \u201c<\/span>Salvation<\/span> belongeth unto the LORD; Thy blessing be upon Thy people. Selah.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ibid. 46:8 \u201cThe LORD of hosts is <\/span>with us<\/span>; the God of Jacob is <\/span>our high tower<\/span>. Selah.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ibid. 84:13 \u201cO LORD of hosts, happy is the man that <\/span>trusteth<\/span> in Thee.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ibid. 20:10 \u201cSave, LORD; let the King <\/span>answer us<\/span> in the day that we call.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Esther 8:16 \u201cThe Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honor.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\r\n

Tehillim 116:13 \u201cI will lift up the cup of <\/span>salvation<\/span> and call upon the name of the LORD.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not only does the verse from Esther cited in Havdalah\u2019s introduction not mention anything about God, but His name never appears in the entire Megillah<\/span>, leading the Talmud (Chullin 139b) to comment: \u201cWhere is Esther indicated in the Torah? \u2018And I will surely hide (<\/span>Astir<\/span><\/i>) My face\u2026\u2019\u201d (Deuteronomy 31:19).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Reading the story related in Esther could lead one to reach one of two conclusions. E<\/span>ither<\/span> that the Jews being saved from Haman\u2019s genocidal plans was entirely an exercise in serendipity, and they ended up celebrating their close brush with death and destruction due to pure luck. Or, rather,\u00a0<\/span>while God was not overtly perceived as the orchestrator of the events affecting the Persian Jewish community (as was clear, for example, in Exodus\u2019 account of the Jews being redeemed from Egypt), God nevertheless remained extremely active \u201cbehind the scenes.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The amalgam of verses introducing Havdalah make a case for the latter approach.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Observing the Havdalah ritual, 14th-century Spain, Detail from a miniature in the Barcelona Haggadah, British Library \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":65429,"alt":"","title":"is12-Havdala","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","width":278,"height":328,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","medium_large-width":278,"medium_large-height":328,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","large-width":278,"large-height":328,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","1536x1536-width":278,"1536x1536-height":328,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","2048x2048-width":278,"2048x2048-height":328,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","post_full_size-width":278,"post_full_size-height":328,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":328}},"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":"Havdalah As Midrash","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The text of the ritual for the conclusion of the Shabbat makes a deep point about the nature of salvation","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":65429,"alt":"","title":"is12-Havdala","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","width":278,"height":328,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","medium_large-width":278,"medium_large-height":328,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","large-width":278,"large-height":328,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","1536x1536-width":278,"1536x1536-height":328,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","2048x2048-width":278,"2048x2048-height":328,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","post_full_size-width":278,"post_full_size-height":328,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is12-Havdala.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":328}},"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":"Isaiah","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"346","date":"20261227","wall_id":"346"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"378","name":"Shabbat","old_id":"778"},{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"517","name":"Esther","old_id":"917"},{"term_id":"940","name":"Isaiah","old_id":"1340"}]},{"order":4,"id":"65437","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Sing To The Lord An Old-New Song ","post_title":"Sing To The Lord An Old-New Song","slug":"sing-to-the-lord-an-old-new-song","old_id":"65437","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64468,"post_title":"Ethan Schwartz","slug":"ethan-schwartz","old_id":"64468","first_name":"Ethan ","last_name":"Schwartz ","description":"Ethan Schwartz is a PhD candidate in Hebrew Bible at Harvard University.","short_description":"Ethan Schwartz is a PhD candidate in Hebrew Bible at Harvard University.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64469,"alt":"","title":"ethan schwartz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ethan-schwartz.jpg","width":961,"height":1272,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ethan-schwartz-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ethan-schwartz-227x300.jpg","medium-width":227,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ethan-schwartz-768x1017.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1017,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ethan-schwartz-774x1024.jpg","large-width":774,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ethan-schwartz.jpg","1536x1536-width":961,"1536x1536-height":1272,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ethan-schwartz.jpg","2048x2048-width":961,"2048x2048-height":1272,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ethan-schwartz-907x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":907,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/ethan-schwartz-317x420.jpg","home_baner-width":317,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"346","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The songs of a storied past may yet be those of a redeemed future","post_main_content_content":"

Certain important philosophers and historians of religion once claimed that the Bible marked a radical break with the dominant ancient conception of time. For most ancient civilizations, the theory went, time was cyclical\u2014a perpetual circle of order giving way to chaos giving way again to order, life yielding to death yielding again to life. But ancient Israel was supposed to be different: as monotheists, they conceived of time linearly. The God who was above time itself could act without precedent, once and for all. Abraham\u2019s call, the exodus, Sinai\u2014all of these were radically unique events.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This theory has fallen on hard times, and rightfully so. It is a misleadingly simplistic (if not outright inaccurate) characterization of both ancient civilizations in general and the Bible in particular. Linear conceptions of time appear outside of Israel, and the Bible is no stranger to cyclicality. One particularly vivid example may be found in Isaiah 12.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The stage is set in the previous chapter. Isaiah 11 depicts God\u2019s restoration of subjugated Israel as nothing less than a second exodus: \u201cIn that day, my Lord will apply His hand again to redeeming the other part of His people from Assyria\u201d (Isa 11:11). Once God has made a path \u201csuch as there was for Israel when it left the land of Egypt\u201d (Isa 11:15), the prophet informs the people that, on that day, they will sing to their redeemer, \u201cBehold the God who gives me triumph! I am confident, unafraid; For Yah the LORD is my strength and might, And He has been my deliverance. \u2026 Hymn the LORD, For He has done gloriously\u201d (Isa 12:2, 5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If this sounds familiar, you are not imagining things. It both quotes and alludes to the so-called \u201cSong at the Sea\u201d (Exod 15:1\u201318), which Moses and Israel sang to God after the original exodus from Egypt. Now, in the age foreseen by Isaiah, the new exodus will culminate with the same song. Returning to their land from the clutches of Assyria, Israel will effectively stand once again on the shores of the Sea of Reeds and proclaim God\u2019s glorious kingship\u2014this time, forever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A well-known rabbinic adage goes, \u201cThe stories of the ancestors are paradigms for the descendants.\u201d Long before the rabbis, however, Isaiah already affirmed this ideal. Jewish history is not simply a forward-facing march. Divine actions that seem discrete and linear in isolation might ultimately constitute a historical cycle so vast in scale that it takes a prophet to perceive it. The songs of a storied past may yet be those of a redeemed future.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Sing To The Lord An Old-New Song","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Divine actions that seem isolated might ultimately constitute a historical cycle so vast in scale that it takes a prophet to perceive it. The songs of a storied past may yet be those of a redeemed future","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","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":"Isaiah","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"346","date":"20261227","wall_id":"346"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"420","name":"Time","old_id":"820"},{"term_id":"506","name":"Prophecy","old_id":"906"},{"term_id":"550","name":"Future","old_id":"950"}]},{"order":5,"id":"65560","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"A Special Hell For Women And Children ","post_title":"A Special Hell For Women And Children","slug":"a-special-hell-for-women-and-children","old_id":"65560","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":41525,"post_title":"Sivan Rotholz","slug":"sivan-rotholz","old_id":"41525","first_name":"Sivan ","last_name":"Rotholz","description":"Sivan Rotholz is a joint rabbinical and MARE student at Hebrew Union College, where she is a Wexner Graduate Fellow and a New Israel Fund Elissa Froman Fellow. She taught feminist Torah study and creative writing at Brooklyn College, Tel Aviv University, and Temple Israel of the City of New York. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from Brooklyn College and a Juris Doctorate from Golden Gate University School of Law and is the Managing Editor of the Saturday Poetry Series on As It Ought To Be. ","short_description":"Sivan Rotholz is a joint rabbinical and MARE student at Hebrew Union College, where she is a Wexner Graduate Fellow and a New Israel Fund Elissa Froman Fellow. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":41526,"alt":"","title":"sivan rotholz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sivan-rotholz.jpg","width":320,"height":312,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sivan-rotholz-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sivan-rotholz-300x293.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":293,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sivan-rotholz.jpg","medium_large-width":320,"medium_large-height":312,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sivan-rotholz.jpg","large-width":320,"large-height":312,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sivan-rotholz.jpg","1536x1536-width":320,"1536x1536-height":312,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sivan-rotholz.jpg","2048x2048-width":320,"2048x2048-height":312,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sivan-rotholz.jpg","post_full_size-width":320,"post_full_size-height":312,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sivan-rotholz.jpg","home_baner-width":320,"home_baner-height":312}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"347","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Perhaps it\u2019s time to break the cycle of inherited trauma and imagine a better view of the future than Isaiah could?","post_main_content_content":"

And their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes<\/span>. <\/span>Their houses will be ransacked, and their wives raped.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

In his latest vision of doom and gloom, the prophet Isaiah threatens the people of Israel with infanticide and rape. The subject of this threat is the Israelite <\/span>men<\/span><\/em> \u2014 the women and children are their property in the same way as their houses \u2014 the threat here is really that of destruction of property.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While threatening what will befall the men, of course, no consideration is given to the women.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is nothing in this passage that is concerned with the experience of the women, who first watch their children murdered, and are then raped by the murderers. It is a special kind of hell that befalls the women of Isaiah 13, and yet the men who write their story give no thought to their experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Bible is rife with rape. Dina, the Levite\u2019s concubine, Tamar. The women of Numbers 31 and Judges 21. The summoning of Bathsheba. Deuteronomy with its captive brides and women raped in a city, in a field.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As in Isaiah, these are stories told to further men\u2019s narratives. As in Isaiah, consideration is not given for the women\u2019s experiences; there was no #MeToo movement in the biblical age.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And what of Isaiah\u2019s infanticide?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is in Isaiah 13 a chilling inversion of an earlier biblical moment. \u201cBy the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, as we remembered Zion.\u201d These opening lines of Psalm 137 are beloved and well-known. Less known are the closing lines of this biblical poem, \u201cFair Babylon, you predator, a blessing on him who repays you in kind what you have inflicted on us; a blessing on him who seizes your babies and dashes them against the rocks!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The dashing of babies was apparently rich fodder for the biblical literary imagination. But how could a people who suffered having their babies dashed against the rocks \u2014 who wished this as a kind of eye-for-an-eye justice upon their worst enemy \u2014 return from exile only to threaten this same atrocity against their own people? The oppressed threatens to become the oppressor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Isaiah 13 offers us a rare glimpse into a people wounded by exile who, in turn, perpetuated a cycle of abuse. Thousands of years later, we continue to internalize Jewish trauma and pass it down from generation to generation. Is smashing our babies against the rocks really what we want to wish upon ourselves or others? Is the cycle of abuse really a legacy the people of Israel wants to perpetuate? Perhaps it\u2019s time to break the cycle of inherited trauma and imagine a better view of the future than Isaiah could.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Whether for women or for the future of Judaism, we owe it to our past to do better for our future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":65569,"alt":"","title":"is13-baby","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"A Special Hell For Women And Children","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Perhaps it\u2019s time to break the cycle of inherited trauma and imagine a better view of the future than Isaiah could?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":65569,"alt":"","title":"is13-baby","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-baby-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"347","date":"20261228","wall_id":"347"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"386","name":"Psychology","old_id":"786"},{"term_id":"457","name":"Rape","old_id":"857"},{"term_id":"529","name":"Children","old_id":"929"},{"term_id":"600","name":"Women","old_id":"1000"},{"term_id":"667","name":"Judaism","old_id":"1067"}]},{"order":6,"id":"65512","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"2","name":"As Gazelles And Sheep ","post_title":"As Gazelles And Sheep","slug":"as-gazelles-and-sheep","old_id":"65512","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"347","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"They shall flee and turn back to their people","post_main_content_content":"

In our comments on 2 Kings 20, which reports on the reign of Hezekiah, we observed that the Babylonians made their initial appearance there as an up-and-coming world power. We also noted that Isaiah made an appearance and predicted that those same Babylonians would empty the treasuries he had shown them and take Hezekiah\u2019s royal descendants captive. Now, we have a formal prophecy of Isaiah on the eventual displacement of Babylonia by Medea.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In his detailed description of the Babylonian downfall, Isaiah offered the following simile:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Then like gazelles that are chased, and like sheep that no man gathers, each man shall turn back to his people, they shall flee every one to his land (14).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Radak, typifying the <\/span>peshat<\/span><\/em> approach, commented: \"<\/span>When disaster comes, the foreigners residing in Babylonia will be like a displaced gazelle that is being chased to capture it and runs with all its strength [to evade pursuit]. So all the foreigners will rush to leave Babylon, each turning to his own nation and his own land.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Malbim* splits the following linguistic hairs (so to speak) between pursued gazelles and straying sheep.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Sheep need to flock together so their shepherd can protect them from danger, and then they are secure even while grazing in a field or forest, but if they scatter they get lost and become prey for wolves. The gazelle, however, usually goes alone and deer do not generally flock together\u2026 rather they need a special place to reside\u2026 and be protected from stronger animals\u2026 Therefore, the chased gazelle seeks his special place while stray sheep seek to gather with their flock.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So it will be with the foreigners in Babylon who, up until now, have regarded it as their own land and the Chaldeans their own people. When the city will be captured, they will be like chased gazelles seeking their own land and like stray sheep seeking their own kind.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Malbim\u2019s distinction strikes a familiar contemporary chord with respect to minorities\u2014which is what the foreigners were in Babylon. They generally retain some affinity for their places of origin; however, some feel a greater kinship based on territory while others feel it towards ethnicity. Either way, when their lives are disrupted, they often need to migrate lest the indigenous people turn on them as a fifth column.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

*For the significance of Malbim\u2019s commentary to the Book of Isaiah,<\/span> see our introduction to chapter 1.<\/span><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":65515,"alt":"","title":"is13-gazelles and sheep","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"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":"As Gazelles And Sheep","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"They shall flee and turn back to their people","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":65515,"alt":"","title":"is13-gazelles and sheep","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is13-gazelles-and-sheep-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"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":"Isaiah","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"347","date":"20261228","wall_id":"347"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"660","name":"Animals","old_id":"1060"}]},{"order":7,"id":"65581","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"What Of Converts? ","post_title":"What Of Converts?","slug":"what-of-converts","old_id":"65581","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33992,"post_title":"Bradley Shavit Artson","slug":"rabbi-dr-bradley-shavit-artson","old_id":"33992","first_name":"Bradley Shavit ","last_name":"Artson","description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and is professor of philosophy there. Artson is married to Elana Shavit Artson, and they are the parents of twins, Shira and Jacob.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson is the Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33993,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","width":204,"height":199,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-256x300.png","medium-width":256,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","medium_large-width":204,"medium_large-height":199,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","large-width":204,"large-height":199,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","1536x1536-width":204,"1536x1536-height":199,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","2048x2048-width":204,"2048x2048-height":199,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","post_full_size-width":204,"post_full_size-height":199,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","home_baner-width":204,"home_baner-height":199}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"348","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Isaiah and other positive traditional views\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

Any impartial survey of Jewish literature on the topic of converts to Judaism is forced to admit to an unsteady ambivalence. Not that any particular thinker is ambivalent; no, each has very strong opinions on the subject. It\u2019s that the strong opinions are mutually incompatible. Converts are as bad for the Jewish people as fleas on a dog, says one sage. No, converts are as good for the Jewish people as ribbons on a stallion, says another. Everyone knows what Judaism says about converts, but no one agrees as to what that is.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Isaiah 14, we see the prophet of comfort weigh in on the topic: when Israel is once again favored, says Isaiah, \u201cthe proselyte will join them and be attached to the House of Jacob.\u201d That seems pretty clear and unambiguous: non-Jews will join us, and they will become part of the House of Jacob.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For what it\u2019s worth, I think Isaiah is the view to follow. Converts appear scattered throughout ancient Israel\u2019s history in surprisingly positive and prominent places. Ruth is understood to be a convert, and through her we receive King David and eventually the Messiah. The great sages Shemaiah and Avtalion, leading lights of their generation, were both converts to Judaism.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A Judaism that is based on courage, expansive vision, and hope, is one that embraces and welcomes those people who see themselves as sharing our destiny, even if their ancestors did not share our history.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That expansive view enters Jewish law with the edit that it is prohibited to remind a convert of their having converted (presumably as a way of disparaging their view or way of practicing Judaism).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In our own day, we have a similar choice to make. Do we retreat to a \u201ccircle the wagons\u201d kind of Judaism in which outsiders are treated with suspicion and the bar to joining is raised impossibly high?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Or dare we stand with Isaiah and live in the light, welcoming anyone brave enough to stand with us, and grateful for any fellow travelers who can share our love for the God of Israel and an embrace of the mitzvot that have elevated Jewish living across the ages?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Rabbi Gershom Sizomu leads the men and boys to the Mikvah to complete their conversion to Judaism in the Abayudaya village of Nabogoye Uganda. (Photo: Yahel Herzog \/ Be'chol Lashon).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":65582,"alt":"","title":"is14-convers2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","width":600,"height":402,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2-300x201.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":201,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":402,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","large-width":600,"large-height":402,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":402,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":402,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":402,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","home_baner-width":600,"home_baner-height":402}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"What Of Converts?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Isaiah and other positive traditional views\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":65582,"alt":"","title":"is14-convers2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","width":600,"height":402,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2-300x201.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":201,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":402,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","large-width":600,"large-height":402,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":402,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":402,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":402,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-convers2.jpg","home_baner-width":600,"home_baner-height":402}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"14","chapter_main_number":"348","date":"20261229","wall_id":"348"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"579","name":"Convert","old_id":"979"},{"term_id":"667","name":"Judaism","old_id":"1067"},{"term_id":"774","name":"Africa","old_id":"1174"}]},{"order":8,"id":"65549","color":"#eceffa","size":"1","name":"Lucifer - The Shining One, Fallen From Heaven ","post_title":"Lucifer - The Shining One, Fallen From Heaven","slug":"lucifer-the-shining-one-fallen-from-heaven","old_id":"65549","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":"348","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Isaiah, Rashi, the Vulgate, Dante, Milton and DC Comics\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter includes Isaiah\u2019s prophecy concerning the fall of the King of Babylon in cosmic terms: \u201cHow are you fallen from heaven, O Shining One, son of Dawn [Heylel Ben-Shahar<\/em>]! How are you felled to earth, who casts lots over nations!\u201d (Isaiah 14:12). In earlier English translations of the Hebrew Bible, following the Latin Vulgate, this epithet, Heylel Ben-Shahar, was translated as \u201cLucifer\u201d (the \u201clight-bringer\u201d, the \u201cMorning-Star\u201d, also the planet Venus), another name for Satan.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Rabbinic Sages (Tanhuma Be-Shalah 13) found in our verse a key reference to how God deals with the Nations of the World that have oppressed Israel: The Holy One, Blessed be He, does not destroy a terrestrial Nation, until He first brings down its extraterrestrial guardian angel [Sar<\/em>], as it is written: \u201cHow are you fallen from heaven, O Shining One, son of Dawn [Heylel Ben-Shahar<\/em>]!\u201d immediately after which is written: \u201cHow are you felled to earth, who casts lots over nations!\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Significantly, the major medieval Jewish bible commentator, Rashi (France, died 1105) adopts the Latin Vulgate understanding of \u201cHeylel Ben-Shahar<\/em>\u201d as the planet Venus that casts light like the Morning Star. In this dirge on the guardian angel [Sar<\/em>] of Babylon, it is said that he will fall from Heaven. \u201cYou are felled to earth\u201d, Rashi understands as referring to Nebuchadnezzar, who \u201ccasts lots over the fate of nations [Holesh \u2018al Goyim<\/em>]\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This pregnant phrase Rashi interprets to suggest that this evil king would determine by lot which ruler of what nation would serve him on each day. This interpretation, Rashi relates, is derived from the tradition recorded in Talmud Bavli Shabbat 149b that Nebuchadnezzar would cast lots each day to decide which ruler would serve him sexually!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Dante\u2019s Inferno, Canto 34, Lucifer (i.e. Satan), based on Isaiah Chapter14, is trapped in ice in the Ninth Circle of Hell, as far as possible from God in Paradise.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lucifer reappears in John Milton\u2019s epic poem, <\/span>Paradise Lost<\/span><\/i>, as Satan, who has been banished from Heaven. In Hell, he volunteers to corrupt the newly created Earth and God's most favored creation, Mankind. Famously, in Book I, line 263, he says: \u201cBetter to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Even more recently, Lucifer has the title role in the TV series \u201cLucifer\u201d, based on the character in DC Comics, in which Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil, abandons Hell, which he rules, for Los Angeles where he runs his own nightclub called Lux. Involved in a murder investigation, Lucifer becomes a consultant to the Los Angeles Police Department!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Gustave Dor\u00e9, Lucifer, King of Hell, illustrating Canto XXXIV of Divine Comedy, Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, c. 1865 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":65550,"alt":"","title":"is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg.jpg","width":800,"height":629,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg-300x236.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":236,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg-768x604.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":604,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":629,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":629,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":629,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":629,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg-534x420.jpg","home_baner-width":534,"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":"Lucifer - The Shining One, Fallen From Heaven","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Isaiah, Rashi, the Vulgate, Dante, Milton and DC Comics","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":65550,"alt":"","title":"is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg.jpg","width":800,"height":629,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg-300x236.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":236,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg-768x604.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":604,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":629,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":629,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":629,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":629,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is14-DVinfernoLuciferKingOfHelljpg-534x420.jpg","home_baner-width":534,"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":"Isaiah","chapter":"14","chapter_main_number":"348","date":"20261229","wall_id":"348"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"373","name":"Literature","old_id":"773"},{"term_id":"404","name":"Myth","old_id":"804"},{"term_id":"478","name":"Christianity","old_id":"878"}]},{"order":9,"id":"65613","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Crying For A Neighbor ","post_title":"Crying For A Neighbor","slug":"crying-for-a-neighbor","old_id":"65613","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36147,"post_title":"Aaron Koller","slug":"aaron-koller","old_id":"36147","first_name":"Aaron","last_name":"Koller","description":"Aaron Koller is professor of Near Eastern studies at Yeshiva University, where he is chair of the Beren Department of Jewish Studies. His last book was Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought (Cambridge University Press), and his next is Unbinding Isaac: The Akedah in Jewish Thought (forthcoming from JPS\/University of Nebraska Press in 2020); he is also the author of numerous studies in Semitic philology. Aaron has served as a visiting professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and held research fellowships at the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research and the Hartman Institute. 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This chapter and the next one are the first of a series of <\/span>massa\u2019ot<\/span><\/i>, a word that normally means \u201cburdens.\u201d Here, each <\/span>massa<\/span><\/i> is a prophetic lament over another nation, beginning today with Moab. The picture of destruction that is painted in these chapters is merciless. The cities have fallen, the soldiers are despondent, the fugitives flea in tears and desperation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is striking is the tone. There is no gloating here, no joy over the fall of a rival. Instead, the prophet cries with the Moabites: \u201cMy heart cries out for Moab: His fugitives flee down to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. They walk up the ascent of Luhith weeping; they cry in anguish as they walk on the road to Horonaim.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The pathos of this original Moabite Trail of Tears evokes nothing but pain and sympathy in Isaiah. Sometimes, all the messenger can do is deliver his message and cry.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: by Michal Ben Chemo, 929.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":65614,"alt":"","title":"is15-michal ben chemo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo.jpg","width":1200,"height":584,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-300x146.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":146,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-768x374.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":374,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-1024x498.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":498,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":584,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":584,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-1200x584.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":584,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-863x420.jpg","home_baner-width":863,"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":"Crying For A Neighbor","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Pain and sympathy for a vanquished nation","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":65614,"alt":"","title":"is15-michal ben chemo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo.jpg","width":1200,"height":584,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-300x146.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":146,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-768x374.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":374,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-1024x498.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":498,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":584,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":584,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-1200x584.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":584,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is15-michal-ben-chemo-863x420.jpg","home_baner-width":863,"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":"Isaiah","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"349","date":"20261230","wall_id":"349"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"476","name":"Compassion","old_id":"876"}]},{"order":10,"id":"65606","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"From Moab To Syria ","post_title":"From Moab To Syria","slug":"from-moab-to-syria","old_id":"65606","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34235,"post_title":"Marc Gitler","slug":"marc-gitler","old_id":"34235","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Gitler","description":"Rabbi Marc Gitler, a recipient of the Wexner Fellowship, was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and earned an MPA from NYU . 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Our chapter details the prophetic devastation of Israel\u2019s long lost cousin-the Moabites. Its cities will be destroyed, its vegetation will vanish, and its citizens' blood will flow like a river.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This \u201cMasah\u201d this oracle, and burden (masah<\/em> can be translated both ways) contains one stunning phrase \u201cmy heart cries out to Moab.\u201d It is stunning because, by Isaiah\u2019s time, Moab was not a long lost cousin, but a fierce enemy. From the days of Eglon and Ehud in the book of Judges, continuing through the lifetimes of Saul, David, and king Omri, Israel and Moab battled for land, wealth and supremacy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Yet, rather than celebrate Moab\u2019s annihilation, Isaiah cries out. He expresses himself emotionally, lest one believe that his tears fell from fears that the conquerors of Moab would then set their sights upon Israel. These are not self-serving words of a terrified man because violence begets violence, but an emotional outpouring over the destruction of a nation: both its culture, and its people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Fast forward to today: For nearly a decade Syria has been a place of horrific unrest. According to reports nearly half the population has been displaced due to fighting, with nearly a third of the populace fleeing to neighboring countries. Blood is certainly filling the Tigris, with death toll estimates as high as 500,000.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The recent history between Israel and Syria is certainly not one of collegiality. From the anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo in 1947 through the bloody wars that continue to the present day, all peace efforts have failed. Nevertheless Isaiah instructs us that our enemies\u2019 suffering is not our victory, but a burden that should elicit our sympathy and tears.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Syrian and Iraqi refugees arrive from Turkey to Skala Sykamias, Lesbos island, Greece, 2015 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":65607,"alt":"","title":"is15-syrian 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obligation to extend radical hospitality to those in need","post_main_content_content":"

There is an ongoing debate in the United States, and other countries, about admitting refugees and caring for immigrants who flee violence and migrate in search of a better life. One side claims that refugees and immigrants could bring violence and disease with them, causing destruction in our country like the destruction plaguing the countries they fled. The other side claims that these are people in need, and that we have a moral imperative to provide them life-saving shelter and aid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For better or for worse, United States politicians have not consulted the Hebrew Bible for answers on how to address the situation. If they did, however, they would find ample support for the second position, that we are obligated to extend our hands to the stranger and the oppressed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The chapter imagines the eventual downfall of Moab, and exhorts the Judeans to welcome and offer support to the Israelites who flee their country. This is no small ask: though the Israelite tribes of the north and the Judeans of the south were all part of the same nation, they had a contentious relationship and were often in conflict with one another. Nonetheless, the prophet demands in the name of God that the Judeans welcome the Israelite refugees who come to them. The verse assures the Judeans that the danger has passed, and that violence will not threaten them if they take in these refugees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The chapter takes the exhortation to have mercy even further, imagining the Moabites wailing over the destruction of their cities and fields. And, like the Midrash in which God chastises the Israelites for rejoicing over the death of the Egyptians after the Israelites escape from Egypt, this chapter imagines God lamenting their destruction and pain. Commentators from Rashi to Radak, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of God sympathizing with the destroyed Moab, claim that the verse represents the Moabites speaking in first person. Nonetheless, the description of their emotional state after their downfall strikes an emotional chord. We cannot read the poetic descriptions of their lament without considering for ourselves how we would feel if our own cities and livelihoods were destroyed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Either way you read it, the chapter is clear. We must not gloat in the downfall of other people, but instead imagine the pain they experience and extend our hospitality to those in need, no matter who they are or where they came from.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":65681,"alt":"","title":"is16-refugees","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"When Mercy Is Justice","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The obligation to extend radical hospitality to those in need","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":65681,"alt":"","title":"is16-refugees","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is16-refugees-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"350","date":"20261231","wall_id":"350"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"476","name":"Compassion","old_id":"876"},{"term_id":"867","name":"Refuge","old_id":"1267"}]}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/65276"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}