{"id":67319,"date":"2018-07-09T17:45:36","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1076\/"},"modified":"2023-07-21T10:55:45","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T07:55:45","slug":"wall-1076","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1076\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20230716-to-20230722"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1076","date_from":"20230716","date_to":"20230722","book":"Isaiah","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"49323","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Lessons For The End Time On The Fragility Of Existence ","post_title":"Lessons For The End Time On The Fragility Of Existence","slug":"lessons-for-the-end-time-on-the-fragility-of-existence","old_id":"49323","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":48376,"post_title":"Tzvi Novick","slug":"tzvi-novick","old_id":"48376","first_name":"Tzvi ","last_name":"Novick ","description":"Tzvi Novick holds the Abrams College Chair of Jewish Thought and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, where he teaches in the Department of Theology. His research focuses on rabbinic literature and early liturgical poetry.\r\n ","short_description":"Tzvi Novick holds the Abrams College Chair of Jewish Thought and Culture at the University of Notre Dame","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":48377,"alt":"","title":"May 10, 2013; Tzvi Novick..Photo by Matt Cashore\/University of Notre Dame","caption":"May 10, 2013; Tzvi Novick..Photo by Matt Cashore\/University of Notre Dame","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386.jpg","width":1416,"height":1812,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-234x300.jpg","medium-width":234,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-768x983.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":983,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-800x1024.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386.jpg","2048x2048-width":1416,"2048x2048-height":1812,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-938x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":938,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tzvi-novick-e1548753867386-328x420.jpg","home_baner-width":328,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"154","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"#1 - No delegating responsibility","post_main_content_content":"

The book of Deuteronomy\u2014Moses\u2019 dying valediction\u2014is framed in space and time by the number eleven: The Israelites are encamped an eleven days\u2019 journey from Horeb (Sinai) (1:2), and Moses begins to speak on the first day of the eleventh (<\/span>ashte asar<\/span><\/i>) month (1:3). \u00a0(Note how ashte asar<\/em> is reinforced by another temporal marker: The speech begins after the conquest at ashterot<\/em>. [1:4]). In a world dominated by the number twelve\u2014the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve spies, the twelve stones of the breastplate, etc.\u2014the number eleven strikes a discordant note. I take it to signify an impending end: If twelve marks completion, summation, then eleven indicates its approach. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Deuteronomy is a book that foresees an imminent end.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the end of what? \u00a0Deuteronomy marks the end of the wilderness wandering, of course, and as such, that end is a happy one, the fulfillment of God\u2019s promise to Abraham to settle his children in the land of Canaan. Yet Deuteronomy is replete with rebuke; indeed, rebuke is arguably the book\u2019s <\/span>raison d\u2019\u00eatre<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the opening chapters of the book, Moses will recall Israel\u2019s sins in the wilderness, and warn throughout of new prospects for sinning in the land. Especially in the latter third of the book, these sins will serve as grounds for imagining a more distant future of foreign invasion and exile. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is the paradox of the book of Deuteronomy: It offers a vision of Jewish life on the land even as it envisions the end of such life. From the perspective of the book of Deuteronomy, national existence in the land of Israel is intrinsically fragile. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

This complex vision has obvious resonance for a Jewish present that counts the State of Israel as its most prominent center. But the book of Deuteronomy, so conceived, should speak likewise to people as such, inhabitants of the Anthropocene. To live in this era is to appreciate that, in the most profound way, \u201cHe has given the earth to human beings\u201d (Ps 115:16).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We are the makers of this world, and its biggest threat. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Let us, then, at the eleventh hour, begin to explicate the Torah of the Anthropocene that is implicit in Deuteronomy. Chapter 1 is a meditation on the relationship between leaders and led. Leadership decisions that in Exodus and Numbers were the result of private conversations among elites\u2014between Jethro and Moses about the appointment of judges (Exodus 19), between God and Moses about the appointment of the spies (Numbers 13)\u2014emerge in Deuteronomy 1 from negotiations between Moses and the people. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Likewise, Moses is barred from entering the land of Canaan not because of his private transgression against God, as in Numbers 20, but because he heads a generation that will itself not inherit the land. \u00a0The very juxtaposition of the judges and the spies\u2014a vital and enduring leadership institution, on the one hand, and a short-lived and disastrous one, on the other\u2014underscores the sense that leadership is an epiphenomenon, and that reality and power lie ultimately in the people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses opens with a first and fundamental lesson for the end time: There is no delegating responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Image: Planetary boundaries, by Christian Leichsenring<\/a><\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49324,"alt":"","title":"Dt1-Novick-Planetary_boundaries","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-Novick-Planetary_boundaries.png","width":800,"height":657,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-Novick-Planetary_boundaries-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-Novick-Planetary_boundaries-300x246.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":246,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-Novick-Planetary_boundaries-768x631.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":631,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-Novick-Planetary_boundaries.png","large-width":800,"large-height":657,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-Novick-Planetary_boundaries.png","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":657,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-Novick-Planetary_boundaries.png","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":657,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-Novick-Planetary_boundaries.png","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":657,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-Novick-Planetary_boundaries-511x420.png","home_baner-width":511,"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":"Reading Deuteronomy In The Anthropocene","tile_main_caption":"Lessons For The End Time On The Fragility Of Existence","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"#1 - 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Said God: You\u2019re on this mountain long enough<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The time has come to move and take command<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And though the road ahead, no doubt, is tough<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>You know that I have promised you this land. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Said I: You\u2019re much too much! I fear I\u2019ll drown!<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>I set up chieftains so the burden\u2019s shared.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>I knew, if not, you all would wear me down<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And now at least there\u2019s some of it I\u2019m spared. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

You said: Let us send spies to go ahead<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And see the land we\u2019re meant to make our own.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>You should have seen the fruit was good. Instead \u2013<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>\u201cWe\u2019re way too scared,\u201d you all began to moan. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

So God got mad and said, to my chagrin,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Just two men from amongst you will go in.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":107798,"alt":"","title":"-6318b2146c87f--6318b2146c880Deut1-sonnet 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Deuteronomy 1","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"You\u2019re on this mountain long enough \/ And though the road ahead, no doubt, is tough...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":107798,"alt":"","title":"-6318b2146c87f--6318b2146c880Deut1-sonnet 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Eloquence ","post_title":"Sudden Eloquence","slug":"sudden-eloquence","old_id":"49300","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34004,"post_title":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg","slug":"avivah-gottlieb-zornberg","old_id":"34004","first_name":"Avivah Gottlieb","last_name":"Zornberg","description":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg lives in Jerusalem where she has been lecturing on Torah since 1980. She reads biblical narratives through the prism of midrash, literature, philosophy and particularly psychoanalysis.\r\nShe was born in London and grew up in Glasgow, where her father was a Rabbi and the head of the Rabbinical Court. She studied Torah with him from childhood. Her PhD in English Literature is from Cambridge University, England. She taught English literature at the Hebrew University before turning to teaching Torah. She now teaches throughout the Jewish world, at synagogues, universities, and psychoanalytic institutes.\r\nShe is the author of five critically acclaimed books. Her latest book, Moses: A Human Life, was published by Yale University Press.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg lives and lectures on Torah in Jerusalem. She is the author of five critically acclaimed books. ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34006,"alt":"","title":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","width":454,"height":359,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg-300x237.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":237,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","medium_large-width":454,"medium_large-height":359,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","large-width":454,"large-height":359,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","1536x1536-width":454,"1536x1536-height":359,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","2048x2048-width":454,"2048x2048-height":359,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","post_full_size-width":454,"post_full_size-height":359,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avivah-Gottlieb-Zornberg.jpg","home_baner-width":454,"home_baner-height":359}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"154","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Like a spring bursting forth in the wilderness, Moses discovers a primal genius for language","post_main_content_content":"

In Jewish tradition, Moses is known as Moses our Teacher\u2014Moshe rabbenu. The irony is that, from the beginning of the narrative, Moses questions his own ability to transmit God\u2019s messages. When he describes himself as \u201cheavy of mouth, and heavy of tongue,\u201d as \u201cof uncircumcised lips,\u201d he reveals a profoundly personal dimension of his life. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the book of Deuteronomy, he speaks in a new way, reaching out to his listeners \u2014and to his future readers\u2014in the mode of <\/span>teaching<\/span><\/em>. Skeptical of his power to affect them, Moses stages for his students new teaching possibilities that are generated, I suggest, precisely by his inhibition.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The opening to language originates in the wilderness: \"These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan, in the wilderness....\" In fact, says the midrash, it is the wilderness that generates the explosion of language that he experiences in the last months of his life:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"These are the words...\u201d: [...] Forty years after leaving Egypt, Moses began to interpret the Torah in seventy languages\u2014\"He explained this Torah\" (Deut. 1:5). The mouth that had said, \"I am not a man of words,\" now spoke \"these [are] the words.\" And the prophet cried out: \"Then shall the lame leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute shall sing aloud!\" (Isa. 35:6) Why? \u201cFor waters should burst forth in the desert, streams <\/span>in the wilderness<\/span><\/em>...\" \u00a0(Tanchuma <\/span>Devarim<\/span><\/i> 2) <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Suddenly, it seems, Moses gains that access to language that was so long withheld from him. He can talk to everyone in his own language; he translates God's word into the terms of each human encounter. He discovers a primal genius for language; unprompted, like a spring in the desert, his voice resounds in the many words of Deuteronomy. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The mysterious force of the analogy\u2014language bursting forth like water in the wilderness\u2014becomes more poignant when we consider the context and purpose of many of Moses' final speeches in Deuteronomy. Many of the passages repeat earlier stories or laws; other passages contain new material. But these speeches, which occupy a large portion of the book, are understood, even by some of the traditional commentaries, as bearing an unprecedentedly personal stamp. They are not simply mechanical transmissions of God's words, but the creation, to some extent, of the man Moses in the final months of his life. This assumption lies behind the midrash we have just quoted: the people are quizzically amazed at Moses' sudden eloquence, at the fertility of symbolic resonance that he now generates. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Excerpted from: Bewilderments,<\/em> Schocken Books, 2017, p. <\/span>284-286 <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Ein Bokek, by \u05d9. \u05e9., commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=17935163<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49301,"alt":"","title":"Dt1-AZEinbokek","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek-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":"Sudden Eloquence","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Like a spring bursting forth in the wilderness, Moses discovers a primal genius for language","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49301,"alt":"","title":"Dt1-AZEinbokek","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt1-AZEinbokek-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":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"154","date":"20260401","wall_id":"154"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"397","name":"Moses","old_id":"797"},{"term_id":"729","name":"Teaching","old_id":"1129"},{"term_id":"798","name":"language","old_id":"1198"}]},{"order":4,"id":"49532","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Are We There For Our Leaders? ","post_title":"Are We There For Our Leaders?","slug":"are-we-there-for-our-leaders","old_id":"49532","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49163,"post_title":"Elie Kaunfer","slug":"elie-kaunfer","old_id":"49163","first_name":"Elie ","last_name":"Kaunfer ","description":"Rabbi Elie Kaunfer is president and CEO of the Hadar Institute (www.hadar.org), an organization committed to furthering Torah, Avodah and Hesed through Jewish learning and community building. A Wexner Graduate Fellow and Dorot Fellow, Elie is the author of Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities (Jewish Lights). Elie holds a doctorate in liturgy from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was also ordained. \r\n","short_description":"Rabbi Elie Kaunfer is president and CEO of the Hadar Institute (www.hadar.org)","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49164,"alt":"","title":"elie kaunfer","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/elie-kaunfer-e1549871936379.jpg","width":123,"height":150,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/elie-kaunfer-e1549871936379-123x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":123,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/elie-kaunfer-e1549871936379.jpg","medium-width":123,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/elie-kaunfer-e1549871936379.jpg","medium_large-width":123,"medium_large-height":150,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/elie-kaunfer-e1549871936379.jpg","large-width":123,"large-height":150,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/elie-kaunfer-e1549871936379.jpg","1536x1536-width":123,"1536x1536-height":150,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/elie-kaunfer-e1549871936379.jpg","2048x2048-width":123,"2048x2048-height":150,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/elie-kaunfer-e1549871936379.jpg","post_full_size-width":123,"post_full_size-height":150,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/elie-kaunfer-e1549871936379.jpg","home_baner-width":123,"home_baner-height":150}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"156","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Moses prayed so much for Israel; why won\u2019t Israel pray for Moses?","post_main_content_content":"

Moses\u2019s life is full of accomplishment, and also suffused with tragedy. One of the greatest tragedies of Moses\u2019s life is his inability to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land. This comes full force in the end of Deuteronomy 3. Moses tells the people how he begged God: \u201cPlease! Let me cross over (\u05d0\u05e2\u05d1\u05e8\u05d4) and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan (Deut 3:25).\u201d But, of course, God denies Moses\u2019s request, spinning the word \u201ccross over\u201d (\u05d0\u05e2\u05d1\u05e8\u05d4) into God\u2019s being \u201ccross\u201d (\u05d5\u05d9\u05ea\u05e2\u05d1\u05e8) with Moses. \u201cEnough! Never speak to Me of this matter again!\u201d (Deut 3:26).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But this rejection by God is not the deepest tragedy in Moses\u2019s life. It isn\u2019t even the most tragic part of our chapter, Deuteronomy 3. Because there is a silent bystander to this exchange: the people of Israel. Why didn\u2019t the people jump in and plead with God on Moses\u2019s behalf to let him join them?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This tragedy is magnified in the rabbinic interpretation of this scene. Rabbi Tanhuma notices that Moses tells the people, with Joshua at their head, that \u201cyou shall cross\u201d over the Jordan (Deut 3:21) and enter the Promised Land. R. Tanhuma imagines a pregnant pause here, in which the people are strangely silent:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is the force of \"You are crossing over (Deut 3:21)\"? R. Tanhuma said: Moses prostrated himself before Israel and said to them: \u201cYou are to cross over,\u201d but not I. He gave them the opportunity to pray for him, but they did not grasp his meaning (Deuteronomy Rabbah 3:11)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moses thought: I have prayed on behalf of Israel \u2013 with success! \u2013 so many times. My prayers saved them from annihilation following the sin of the Golden Calf. Isn\u2019t it possible that they will pray for me now? But Moses was let down: Israel did not take the hint, and never intervened on Moses\u2019s behalf.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is a deep lesson here for all of us in our relationship to people in power. How many times in life do we miss the cues from people we consider powerful, from our leaders, parents and teachers? When they need our support and our prayers, are we there for them? Imagine a world in which Israel prayed for Moses, and God forgave him. Is that a world we are willing to try to pray for now? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Image: <\/span>Depiction of Moses on the Knesset Menorah raising his arms<\/a>, <\/span>by Deror Avi<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49533,"alt":"","title":"Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","width":420,"height":660,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses-191x300.jpg","medium-width":191,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","medium_large-width":420,"medium_large-height":660,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","large-width":420,"large-height":660,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","1536x1536-width":420,"1536x1536-height":660,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","2048x2048-width":420,"2048x2048-height":660,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","post_full_size-width":420,"post_full_size-height":660,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses-267x420.jpg","home_baner-width":267,"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":"Are We There For Our Leaders?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Moses prayed so much for Israel; why won\u2019t Israel pray for Moses?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":49533,"alt":"","title":"Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","width":420,"height":660,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses-191x300.jpg","medium-width":191,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","medium_large-width":420,"medium_large-height":660,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","large-width":420,"large-height":660,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","1536x1536-width":420,"1536x1536-height":660,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","2048x2048-width":420,"2048x2048-height":660,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses.jpg","post_full_size-width":420,"post_full_size-height":660,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dt3-The_Knesset_Menorah_Moses-267x420.jpg","home_baner-width":267,"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":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"156","date":"20260405","wall_id":"156"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"397","name":"Moses","old_id":"797"},{"term_id":"437","name":"Prayer","old_id":"837"},{"term_id":"598","name":"Israelites","old_id":"998"}]},{"order":5,"id":"67346","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"Shining A Light Outward ","post_title":"Shining A Light Outward","slug":"shining-a-light-outward","old_id":"67346","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":"376","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Realizing our own destiny will in turn lift up the entire world\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

A great deal of ink and angst has been spilled over the concept of Jews being \u201ca light unto the nations\u201d as expressed, among other places in Tanach, in this chapter of Isaiah:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I the LORD, in My grace, have summoned you, And I have grasped you by the hand. I created you, and appointed you A covenant people, <\/span>a light of nations (42:6).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi questions who \u201cthe light\u201d and \u201cthe nations\u201d are referring to in this instance. Where popular thought revolves around the light being the Jewish people and the nations being the rest of the world, Rashi, among others, posits that God is referring to Isaiah\u2019s leadership of the twelve tribes, each considered a nation unto themselves. Regardless of who is enlightening who, the subject of enlightenment is agreed to be the universal belief in a singular God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Yaakov Bieler, in a 2015 blog post entitled \u201cThe Chosen People \u2013 Parsing a Morally Challenging Concept\u201d, references the distinction made by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks between Judaism as a particularistic religion, compared to most other universalistic ones. Judaism is not, nor has ever been, focused on missionary work outside of our own people. We know what our responsibilities are (613 in fact) and what the nations of the world are responsible for (the seven Noachide laws), and not only do we make no effort to bring other nations in line with us, we are obligated to discourage those seeking to convert. It\u2019s not so much a \u201cstay in your own lane\u201d mentality as a \u201cfulfill your own obligations before looking to take on someone else\u2019s.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So, what do we make of this notion of a light unto the nations, whether it means Jews to the world or Isaiah to the Jews? Remember how King Solomon built the Holy temple with windows that were small on the inside and large on the outside (1 Kings 6:4)? The purpose of that was to let the light of the Temple spirituality out to the rest of the world.\u00a0 If we as individuals and a nation concern ourselves with realizing our own proscribed destiny instead of with what others are doing or think of us, the outcome will be a natural uplifting of the world that is watching (and they always are), resulting in the Messianic universal acceptance of one God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That\u2019s how we shine our light outward.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67347,"alt":"","title":"is42-light","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light.jpg","width":1920,"height":1271,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-768x508.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":508,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-1024x678.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":678,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1017,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1271,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-1200x794.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":794,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-634x420.jpg","home_baner-width":634,"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":"Shining A Light Outward","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Realizing our own destiny will in turn lift up the entire world\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67347,"alt":"","title":"is42-light","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light.jpg","width":1920,"height":1271,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-768x508.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":508,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-1024x678.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":678,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1017,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1271,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-1200x794.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":794,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-light-634x420.jpg","home_baner-width":634,"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":"42","chapter_main_number":"376","date":"20270207","wall_id":"376"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"458","name":"Nations","old_id":"858"},{"term_id":"629","name":"Light","old_id":"1029"},{"term_id":"648","name":"Choseness","old_id":"1048"},{"term_id":"652","name":"Commandments","old_id":"1052"}]},{"order":6,"id":"67371","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Sharing The Light ","post_title":"Sharing The Light","slug":"sharing-the-light","old_id":"67371","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":"376","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A role, a mission, a calling","post_main_content_content":"

In this chapter, the prophet uses terminology that appears only two other times in the Bible, specifically several chapters later in the same book, and which has become a touchstone for Judaism\u2019s role in the world:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

42:6 - \u201cI the LORD, in My grace, have summoned you, And I have grasped you by the hand. I created you, and appointed you A covenant people, <\/span>a light of nations<\/b>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

49:6 - \u201cFor He has said: \u2018It is too little that you should be My servant In that I raise up the tribes of Jacob And restore the survivors of Israel: I will also make you <\/span>a light of nations<\/b>, That My salvation may reach the ends of the earth.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

60:3 - \u201cAnd <\/span>nations shall walk by your light<\/b>, Kings, by your shining radiance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While the theme of \u201clighting up the darkness,\u201d where the prophet metaphorically states that Jews are charged by God to achieve for others, is developed in 49:9, the image is far more fleshed out in chapters 42 (7, 16, 18-20) and 60 (1-2, 19-20.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Until 42:8, it seems that the prophet is specifically requiring Israel to shine its \u201clight\u201d upon others in the world, who, because they have not \u201cseen\u201d the truth, are depicted as residing in figurative \u201cdarkness,\u201d bereft of clarity when it comes to moral and ethical issues.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, verses 19-20 suddenly appear to describe God\u2019s very own servants as <\/span>also <\/span><\/i>being \u201cblind\u201d and \u201cunseeing.\u201d If God\u2019s servants, typically Israel, cannot themselves \u201csee\u201d, how can they possibly show others how to \u201csee\u201d by shedding their \u201clight\u201d upon them?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps this is where 60:19-20 supplies an insight that clarifies the conundrum of these verses.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

60:19-20 - \u201cNo longer shall you need the sun For light by day, Nor the shining of the moon For radiance [by night]; <\/span>For the LORD shall be your light everlasting<\/b>, Your God shall be your glory. Your sun shall set no more, Your moon no more withdraw; For <\/span>the LORD shall be a light to you forever<\/b>, And your days of mourning shall be ended.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God\u2019s servants are best positioned to realize how bereft they are of the ability to independently \u201csee\u201d clearly, and thus find that they are also figuratively \u201cblind.\u201d So, rather than relying exclusively upon themselves, as human beings are wont to do, since they are able to unreservedly embrace God\u2019s light as their own, they can then go on to share such a perspective with others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67372,"alt":"","title":"is42-share","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share.png","width":1152,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-270x300.png","medium-width":270,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-768x853.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":853,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-922x1024.png","large-width":922,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share.png","1536x1536-width":1152,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share.png","2048x2048-width":1152,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-1080x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1080,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-378x420.png","home_baner-width":378,"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":"Sharing The Light","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A role, a mission, a calling","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67372,"alt":"","title":"is42-share","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share.png","width":1152,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-270x300.png","medium-width":270,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-768x853.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":853,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-922x1024.png","large-width":922,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share.png","1536x1536-width":1152,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share.png","2048x2048-width":1152,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-1080x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1080,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is42-share-378x420.png","home_baner-width":378,"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":"42","chapter_main_number":"376","date":"20270207","wall_id":"376"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"629","name":"Light","old_id":"1029"}]},{"order":7,"id":"67411","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Do You Feel That Your Name Is Yours? ","post_title":"Do You Feel That Your Name Is Yours?","slug":"do-you-feel-that-your-name-is-yours","old_id":"67411","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":66417,"post_title":"Maor Greene","slug":"maor-greene","old_id":"66417","first_name":"Maor ","last_name":"Greene ","description":"Maor Greene is a rabbinical student and doctoral student in Hebrew Bible at Jewish Theological Seminary. They are writing their dissertation on metaphors of violent speech in Psalms. They currently accompany others on their spiritual journeys through their work as a Jewish spiritual director. They hold degrees from Duke University (BS), Princeton Theological Seminary (M Div), Hebrew University (MA), and JTS (M Phil). ","short_description":"Maor Greene is a rabbinical student and doctoral student in Hebrew Bible at Jewish Theological Seminary.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":66418,"alt":"","title":"maor greene","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","width":240,"height":240,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":240,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","medium_large-width":240,"medium_large-height":240,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","large-width":240,"large-height":240,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","1536x1536-width":240,"1536x1536-height":240,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","2048x2048-width":240,"2048x2048-height":240,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","post_full_size-width":240,"post_full_size-height":240,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","home_baner-width":240,"home_baner-height":240}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"377","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Names are words infused with power to change the world and who we are","post_main_content_content":"

Isaiah teaches that God calls us by many names.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Think about your name. Who gave you your name? Do you use the name you were born with, or have you changed it? Do you have multiple names? What does your name mean? What does your name communicate about you? Do you feel that your name is yours?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Names are complicated! Names signify us, identify us, and distinguish us from others. Names give us familial and communal identity. We call someone\u2019s name to get their attention. We speak the names of people not present and call them to mind. Even if a person has died, their name may live on. Names can be used to heal or hurt. Names are more than just words \u2013 they are words infused with power to change the world and who we are.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Isaiah 43 begins with God, \u201cHashem\u201d (\u201cThe Name\u201d) speaking words of compassion to the people of Israel as they are returning from exile in Babylon. In verse 1, the God who \u201ccreated Jacob\u201d and \u201cformed Israel\u201d begins speaking directly, saying \u201cDo not be afraid, because I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name \u2013 you are mine.\u201d God has called Israel by its name, but which name is that: is it Jacob or Israel? Despite the events in Gen. 32, Israel continues being known also as Jacob. Even more confusingly, we can also read God as calling Israel by the name \u201cyou are mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the next several verses, God expresses God\u2019s deep love for Israel. God will gather the descendants of Israel from all directions and bless them once again. Who is to be included in this ingathering? God clarifies in verse 7, \u201cEveryone who is called by my name, and whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.\u201d It is clear: Israel is not called by its own name(s), but by God\u2019s name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This idea will be expanded a few verses later in Isaiah 44:5. There, God describes how \u201cThis one will say, \u2018I am Hashem\u2019s,\u2019 another will be called by the name of Jacob, yet another will write on the hand, \u2018Hashem\u2019s,\u2019 and title themselves with the name of Israel.\u201d Here we understand how we might be called by God\u2019s name. We also learn that we have the power to change our names to reflect this identity in God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Taking all of these passages together, we learn from Isaiah that we have two kinds of names: (1) our human names (Jacob\/Israel) and (2) our divine name (Hashem\u2019s). These names do not appear to be in conflict with one another, but instead function in a complementary way. They signify that our lives are our own and yet not our own \u2013 they also belong to God.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Imagine what our lives might look like if we lived with a greater awareness of our human and divine identities. If our names carry meaning and power to change the world, what might it mean that we bear God\u2019s name?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: by Ben Schachter<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67423,"alt":"","title":"IS43-MGreene","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene.jpg","width":821,"height":442,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene-300x162.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":162,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene-768x413.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":413,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene.jpg","large-width":821,"large-height":442,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene.jpg","1536x1536-width":821,"1536x1536-height":442,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene.jpg","2048x2048-width":821,"2048x2048-height":442,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene.jpg","post_full_size-width":821,"post_full_size-height":442,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene-780x420.jpg","home_baner-width":780,"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":"Do You Feel That Your Name Is Yours?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Names are words infused with power to change the world and who we are","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67423,"alt":"","title":"IS43-MGreene","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene.jpg","width":821,"height":442,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene-300x162.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":162,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene-768x413.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":413,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene.jpg","large-width":821,"large-height":442,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene.jpg","1536x1536-width":821,"1536x1536-height":442,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene.jpg","2048x2048-width":821,"2048x2048-height":442,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene.jpg","post_full_size-width":821,"post_full_size-height":442,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IS43-MGreene-780x420.jpg","home_baner-width":780,"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":"43","chapter_main_number":"377","date":"20270208","wall_id":"377"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"301","name":"Ben Schachter","old_id":"701"},{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"462","name":"Identity","old_id":"862"},{"term_id":"551","name":"Names","old_id":"951"}]},{"order":8,"id":"67427","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Face Forward! ","post_title":"Face Forward!","slug":"face-forward","old_id":"67427","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":"377","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Lift our gaze to a future that might be beautifully discontinuous with the past","post_main_content_content":"

It\u2019s a natural human tendency to look toward the past. We seek to resolve our current emotional dilemmas by unpacking the disappointments and complexities of our childhood, or trying to root out the sources of marital strife by looking more deeply at the opening chapters of our romance. We even speak of ourselves, like plants, as rooted. The past becomes a source of understanding, of validation, and sometimes of renewal as well \u2013 \u201crenew our days as of old.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But all that focus on the past comes at a heavy price as well. By framing our present in terms of our past, we grant the past the power to define and constrain the choices we are capable of perceiving today. If the current sources of our discontent don\u2019t fit with the parameters of our history, then it remains unexamined, often invisible to us now.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What if we made a choice not to straitjacket our future into the confines of our past? What if, instead, we imagined the future as it might be, rather than as it must be when it is merely an extension, a continuation, of what has already been?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Isaiah offers us this radical turn, when he perceives God as saying \u201cDo not recall former occurrences and do not contemplate earlier events. Behold, I am bringing forth something new! Now it will sprout, and you will surely know it!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Step toward the future that is open with possibilities. The past does not exist unless you carry it with you in the present. And the future need not depend on the traumas of yesterday. Instead, we can welcome the Divine as a source of an open future, one that beckons us to choose from among many possible destinies and asks us to partner in creating the best possible tomorrow.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Instead of filtering the future through the constraints of what has already happened, we can lift our gaze to a future that might be beautifully discontinuous with the past. Just because something has always been doesn\u2019t mean it must always be. It just means that habit and culture are hard to break. But every first time is an impossibility until someone does it, and every great dynasty was launched by someone who saw themselves not as a descendant, but as an ancestor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Imagine the future ample enough for your dreams, and then go make it happen.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67429,"alt":"","title":"is43-uplifting","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting.jpg","width":1920,"height":1324,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-300x207.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":207,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-768x530.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":530,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-1024x706.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":706,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1059,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1324,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-1200x828.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":828,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-609x420.jpg","home_baner-width":609,"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":"Face Forward!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Lift our gaze to a future that might be beautifully discontinuous with the past \u00a0\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67429,"alt":"","title":"is43-uplifting","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting.jpg","width":1920,"height":1324,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-300x207.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":207,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-768x530.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":530,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-1024x706.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":706,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1059,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1324,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-1200x828.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":828,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is43-uplifting-609x420.jpg","home_baner-width":609,"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":"43","chapter_main_number":"377","date":"20270208","wall_id":"377"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"439","name":"Dreams","old_id":"839"},{"term_id":"550","name":"Future","old_id":"950"}]},{"order":9,"id":"67497","color":"#faeed8","size":"2","name":"Picture It! ","post_title":"Picture It!","slug":"picture-it","old_id":"67497","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":59587,"post_title":"Benjamin Morse","slug":"benjamin-morse","old_id":"59587","first_name":"Benjamin ","last_name":"Morse ","description":"Dr. Benjamin Morse studied religion and art history at Vassar, Oxford, and the Courtauld before completing a PhD in biblical interpretation. His dissertation reads the Hebrew Bible\u2019s \u201cmodern methods\u201d through the lens of painting and collage. His illustrated children\u2019s Torah, The Oldest Bedtime Story Ever, has won multiple awards.\r\nPhoto by Lenka Opalena.","short_description":"Dr. Benjamin Morse studied religion and art history, and is the author and illustrator of the illustrated children\u2019s Torah, The Oldest Bedtime Story Ever. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":59588,"alt":"","title":"Benjamin Morse by Lenka Opalena","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Benjamin-Morse-by-Lenka-Opalena.jpg","width":1069,"height":1576,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Benjamin-Morse-by-Lenka-Opalena-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Benjamin-Morse-by-Lenka-Opalena-203x300.jpg","medium-width":203,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Benjamin-Morse-by-Lenka-Opalena-695x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":695,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Benjamin-Morse-by-Lenka-Opalena-695x1024.jpg","large-width":695,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Benjamin-Morse-by-Lenka-Opalena.jpg","1536x1536-width":1042,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Benjamin-Morse-by-Lenka-Opalena.jpg","2048x2048-width":1069,"2048x2048-height":1576,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Benjamin-Morse-by-Lenka-Opalena-814x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":814,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Benjamin-Morse-by-Lenka-Opalena-285x420.jpg","home_baner-width":285,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"378","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Assemblage, earth actions, and the art of exile","post_main_content_content":"

It may be impossible to answer who had it worse, the elites who were carted off to Babylon or those who were left behind in the rubble. Some scholars however have questioned whether life was indeed all that bad for the exiles and for their offspring in the decades that followed. A number of them likely assimilated; others didn\u2019t let humiliation or being a minority turn them and stuck instead to their religious guns. So it\u2019s tremendous news when God finally tells them they\u2019re all free to go home. The passage is so confident and all-caps, even the mountains and forests are alive with song (v. 23).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The chapter employs some popular visual strategies of this second section of Isaiah. It personifies Israel as God\u2019s servant, calls forth the heavens and the earth to praise, and envisions water as a medium of salvation. Structurally it is a six-part collage of poetic forms grafted around a chunky prose passage about those idiots who actually build houses for their handmade idols. History has proven there is no other god but YHWH.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The opening oracle (continued from the previous chapter), broken trial speech (interrupted by the prose passage), eschatological hymn of praise (v. 23), and beginning of the oracle on Cyrus fit together in happy disjunction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

They are like the spontaneous assemblages Kurt Schwitters crafted as a refugee in the Lake District after World War II.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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

(Kurt Schwitters, Cigar, 1947 \/ wikimedia)<\/p>\r\n

Schwitters pasted together his jubilant compositions from whatever was at hand\u2014used bus tickets, greeting cards, Bovril wrappers. They reflect a man thanking God for the end of war. He even described his method as a form of prayer. As is the case in Second Isaiah, disparate fragments compile into a delightful totality.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But prophecy is also oral. It is performance. And this one seems to enact that exile can be okay. One\u2019s identity as a descendant of Jacob and Israel can remain solid no matter where one ends up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A similar counterpart can be found in the earth and performance sculptures of Ana Mendieta. She once molded a fertility sculpture into the shape of her native Cuba in the mud of the Iowa River (\u201cspringing up like poplars beside the water courses\u201d, v. 4) knowing it would erode in the current. <\/span>In the photograph of <\/span>Tree of Life<\/span><\/i> (1979) her body lies as a corpse with flowers sprouting from it, <\/span><\/a>a mortal member of the \u201ceverlasting people\u201d (v. 7), \u201cformed from the womb\u201d (vv. 2, 24) and returning to the \u201cdepths of the earth\u201d (v. 23).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

She also burned the silhouette of her hand onto an ethnographer\u2019s study of concepts of birth and rebirth. Does the child of Jacob not do likewise when he inscribes on his hand that he belongs to YHWH (v. 5)? The brand and the hand aren\u2019t forever; from dust to dust, one\u2019s relationship to the planet and to God somehow is. Sometimes it takes the liberating, even joyous experience of being an exile to see that. Prophetic art has the power to do so too.<\/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":"Picture It!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Assemblage, earth actions, and the art of exile","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68178,"alt":"","title":"is44-BMorse-Schwitters2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-BMorse-Schwitters2.jpg","width":1024,"height":1266,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-BMorse-Schwitters2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-BMorse-Schwitters2-243x300.jpg","medium-width":243,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-BMorse-Schwitters2-768x950.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":950,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-BMorse-Schwitters2-828x1024.jpg","large-width":828,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-BMorse-Schwitters2.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1266,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-BMorse-Schwitters2.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":1266,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-BMorse-Schwitters2-971x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":971,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-BMorse-Schwitters2-340x420.jpg","home_baner-width":340,"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":"44","chapter_main_number":"378","date":"20270209","wall_id":"378"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"},{"term_id":"506","name":"Prophecy","old_id":"906"},{"term_id":"854","name":"Metaphor","old_id":"1254"}]},{"order":10,"id":"67654","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"Adopting The Name Of Israel ","post_title":"Adopting The Name Of Israel","slug":"adopting-the-name-of-israel","old_id":"67654","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":60755,"post_title":"Katja Vehlow","slug":"katja-vehlow","old_id":"60755","first_name":"Katja ","last_name":"Vehlow ","description":"Dr. Katja Vehlow is a rabbinical student at JTS in New York City. She taught as an Associate Professor of Religious and Jewish studies at the University of South Carolina. ","short_description":"Dr. Katja Vehlow is a rabbinical student at JTS in New York City. She taught as an Associate Professor of Religious and Jewish studies at the University of South Carolina. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":60757,"alt":"","title":"Katja Vehlow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Katja-Vehlow.jpg","width":454,"height":580,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Katja-Vehlow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Katja-Vehlow-235x300.jpg","medium-width":235,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Katja-Vehlow.jpg","medium_large-width":454,"medium_large-height":580,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Katja-Vehlow.jpg","large-width":454,"large-height":580,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Katja-Vehlow.jpg","1536x1536-width":454,"1536x1536-height":580,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Katja-Vehlow.jpg","2048x2048-width":454,"2048x2048-height":580,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Katja-Vehlow.jpg","post_full_size-width":454,"post_full_size-height":580,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Katja-Vehlow-329x420.jpg","home_baner-width":329,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"378","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The ins and outs, ups and downs, of conversion today\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

Blessings come in many disguises. For some, a blessing is God's response to a prayer, a gentle rain on a scorching summer afternoon, or a friend's embrace when we are low. For others, it is the joy of finding a spiritual home, a community, a new family to call one\u2019s own. Our chapter affirms the validity of conversion, and the myriad ways that may lead a person to \u201cadopt the name of Israel.\u201d The Jewish people will grow, asserts the medieval Ashkenazi commentator Rashi in his remarks to today\u2019s chapter, when those who are \"among the grass\" turn towards the God of Israel,.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Today, when people become Jewish, often becoming a minority for the first time in their lives, they, too, frequently enter a period of anguish. Being a newcomer can be bewildering, forging a new identity that welds together the past and a meaningful future can be disorienting, and family and friends may be less than understanding. On the one hand, it is easier than at most times to join the Jewish world (and some people live happy Jewish lives without ever joining up formally). Gone are the times that converts are required to physically leave their birth communities, as was often the case during the European middle ages, when remaining might have put the individual and the receiving community at peril.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Joining the Jewish community in the US for example means to enter a well-established community that is fully part of civil society, one whose presence is reflected on TV and elsewhere. Media and popular culture are full of references to Jewish culture and religion, and many non-Jewish children grow up twirling dreidls and eating latkes with Jewish friends on Chanukkah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And yet, what does it mean for converts to choose Judaism at a period of rising antisemitism, of threats\u00a0 against our children\u2019s schools and institutions, and attacks on supermarkets? Like others, they wonder what to do when anti-semitic political parties seemingly become mainstream throughout Europe. Should we seek out allies? Take self-defense courses? Withdraw deeper into our communities, putting up high protective walls against the outside world?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Isaiah wrote these powerful and comforting words at a time of great distress for himself and his community. Converts, with their rich identities, with their optimism\u2014after all, they chose to live as Jews!\u2014remind their communities of the beauty and excitement of living a Jewish life, with all its contemporary messiness. Communities would do well to embrace this enthusiasm, and the newcomers in their midst who, years into their journey, might still yearn for a home, a place in their communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67661,"alt":"","title":"is44-feet wet","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","width":300,"height":199,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":199,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":199,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":199,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":199,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":199,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":199}},"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":"Adopting The Name Of Israel","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The ins and outs, ups and downs, of conversion today\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67661,"alt":"","title":"is44-feet wet","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","width":300,"height":199,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":199,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":199,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":199,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":199,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":199,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-feet-wet.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":199}},"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":"44","chapter_main_number":"378","date":"20270209","wall_id":"378"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"579","name":"Convert","old_id":"979"}]},{"order":11,"id":"67635","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Thank You God For All The... Evil ","post_title":"Thank You God For All The... 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This chapter contains a verse that might be familiar from the liturgy\u2026. with a twist. Every morning, right after the Barechu<\/em> prayer, Jews who pray from a traditional siddur<\/em> say the blessing, \u201cBlessed are you, God, ruler of the universe, who fashions light and creates darkness, making peace and creating all.\u201d The line is clearly drawn from this chapter of Isaiah, but with a twist. Verse seven of our chapter calls God the creator of evil, not creator of all.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The change to the wording comes from the Talmud. The sages, in discussing what blessings we should say before and after the Shema, debate whether to recite the words as they appear in our chapter, or to change to the more appealing \u201ccreator of all.\u201d Spoiler alert: the euphemism wins. The rabbis of the Talmud changed the formulation so that we do not explicitly recall God\u2019s role in evil on a daily basis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Theodicy, the question of why God allows evil to occur, takes an even more sinister twist in this verse, claiming that not only does God permit evil or witness evil, but God actually creates evil. For some, the idea of a God who creates evil is simply too far from their acceptable theology. For others, the idea might seem perfectly natural.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

William James wrote of two kinds of people, the \u201chealthy minded\u201d and the \u201csick souled.\u201d The healthy minded are those who are able to meet every challenge with optimism. The sick-souled are conscious of the evil, and don\u2019t seek to turn from it or transform it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This verse is written for the sick souled, those who cannot help but see evil and know it has its place in the world. To be a person of faith who also believes that God creates evil can be tremendously lonely. Especially in Christian-dominated societies where God\u2019s loving presence dominates the theological dialogue, this verse is a validation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Though there is a societal bias in many places towards the healthy minded, both approaches exist in Tanach. One can be a person of faith regardless of how one understands the presence of evil in the world. The rabbis of the Talmud may have opted to refer to evil by euphemism in our daily prayers, but we need not feel obligated to do the same. If we see evil in the world, we should feel welcome, as the prophet Isaiah, to acknowledge it and its place in the world. It is all part of God\u2019s work.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67636,"alt":"","title":"is45-evil","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-evil.jpg","width":1920,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-evil-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-evil-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-evil-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-evil-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-evil.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-evil.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-evil-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-evil-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Thank You God For All The... Evil ","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"What is the purpose of blessing God for the good and the evil? 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He lives in the Southern Hebron Hills with his wife and six children.","short_description":"Avraham Norin teaches in Israel at the Machon Meir and Ora conversion program","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64759,"alt":"","title":"avraham norin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","width":1064,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-681x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":681,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-681x1024.jpg","large-width":681,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","1536x1536-width":1021,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","2048x2048-width":1064,"2048x2048-height":1600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-798x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":798,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"379","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"So how shall the nation of Israel be redeemed?\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Rabbi Hillel says: 'There is no Messiah for the Jewish people, as they already consumed it during the days of Hezekiah' (Talmud Sanhedrin 99a).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While this statement of Rabbi Hillel seems to be against one of the basic principles of Judaism, it actually shows a deep understanding of the layout of the book of Isaiah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The book of Isaiah in chapter 1 laments how Jerusalem had changed from a city of justice to one of bribery. In chapters 2-5, Isaiah continues to show how the leadership of the nation is corrupt and needs to be replaced. In chapter 11, we understand that Isaiah has high hopes for Hezekiah, that he will be the perfect leader who will spread justice and righteousness to the entire world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, in chapter 39 we are shown that Hezekiah did not live up to Isaiah's idea. Instead of distributing the treasures of the kingdom to insure social equality for his people, Hezekiah uses the nation's wealth only to impress the Babylonians of the king's affluence. The city of Jerusalem still awaits justice and righteousness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From Chapter 40 and onwards, there are no more prophecies of a just leader. Rather, the focus of the book of Isaiah, and the obligation to do justice, is now transferred to the entire nation of Israel. Isaiah realizes that the power of redemption is not in the hands of one perfect man, but in the hands of the entire people working together. Indeed, now Isaiah's Messiah is Cyrus the king of Persia who will allow the People of Israel to return to their homeland:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Thus said the LORD to His Messiah, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue nations before him\u2026 'For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel Mine elect, I have called you by your name\u2026' (Chapter 45).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is what Rabbi Hillel meant when he said there will be no Messiah in Israel.\u00a0 According to Isaiah, the messiah will no longer be fulfilled through the perfect Israelite leader. Rather he will be the non-perfect, non-Israeli king who will encourage the Jewish people to come back to their land in order to create a just and righteous state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Indeed, the book of Isaiah closes with the vision of the people of Israel living in peace in the land of Israel, while working together to implement God's ideas of justice and righteousness:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Thus says the LORD: ,Just as when wine is found in the cluster, one says 'Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it'; so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy all. I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains. Mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for my people who have sought Me\u201d (chapter 65).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67683,"alt":"","title":"is45-mashiach","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach.jpg","width":960,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach.jpg","large-width":960,"large-height":720,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":720,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach-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":"The Messiah Is NOT Coming","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"So how shall the nation of Israel be redeemed?\u00a0\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67683,"alt":"","title":"is45-mashiach","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach.jpg","width":960,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach.jpg","large-width":960,"large-height":720,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":720,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-mashiach-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":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","date":"20270210","wall_id":"379"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"},{"term_id":"500","name":"Messiah","old_id":"900"},{"term_id":"573","name":"Righteousness","old_id":"973"},{"term_id":"898","name":"Hezekiah","old_id":"1298"}]},{"order":13,"id":"67691","color":"#effaea","size":"2","name":"Radical Monotheism And Human Responsibility ","post_title":"Radical Monotheism And Human Responsibility","slug":"radical-monotheism-and-human-responsibility","old_id":"67691","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. He lives in Queens, NY with his wife, Shira Hecht-Koller, and their children.","short_description":"Aaron Koller is professor of Near Eastern studies at Yeshiva University, and chair of the Department of Jewish Studies there.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36148,"alt":"","title":"AJ Koller headshot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"379","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

This chapter is the most explicitly, polemically, argumentatively monotheistic text in the Hebrew Bible. There are other, earlier passages that <\/span>assume<\/span><\/em> that God controls the whole world: \u201cAh, Assyria, the rod of my anger\u201d (Isaiah 10:5), for example, or \u201cTo Me, O Israelites, you are Just like the Ethiopians \u2014declares the LORD. True, I brought Israel up From the land of Egypt, But also the Philistines from Caphtor And the Arameans from Kir\u201d (Amos 9:7). There are also texts that seem to assume that there are other divine beings alongside God \u2013 but perhaps subservient to God \u2013 such as, \u201cWho is like you among the divine beings, O God?\u201d (Exodus 15:11).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our chapter, though, leaves no room for ambiguity and has no time for subtlety.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I am the Lord and there is none else; Beside Me, there is no god\u2026 So that they may know, from east to west, That there is none but Me. I am the Lord and there is none else, I form light and create darkness, I make good and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We can talk about this text as polemicizing against Zoroastrianism, then gaining popularity in Persia, which argued that different gods created good and evil. We can talk about this text as arguing against the priests of Marduk, who said that the god of Babylon had given Cyrus his victories. But I want to talk about the results of these bold theological claims for humanity.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Far from crowding out any space for humankind to operate, this radical and thoroughgoing monotheism results in a massive responsibility for us, as we read in verse 18: \u201cHe did not create it to be chaos (<\/span>tohu<\/span><\/em>), but formed it for civilization (<\/span>shevet<\/span><\/em>).\u201d <\/span>Tohu<\/span><\/em> was the state of the world before creation. If there is one thing the world is not supposed to be, it is <\/span>tohu<\/span><\/em>. But this is not all God\u2019s responsibility. God did God\u2019s part, back in Genesis 1.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Now it is on humankind to steer the world away from <\/span>tohu<\/span><\/em> and towards civilization. This is not a specific <\/span>mitzvah<\/span><\/em>: it is the entire point of creation. The Rabbis (Mishnah Gittin 4:5; \u2018Eduyyot 1:3) derive from this the bold idea that people must be allowed to procreate. More generally, the goal is to empower people to continue God\u2019s work. God took the first step away from <\/span>tohu<\/span><\/em>. Now it is upon us to continue that job.<\/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":"Radical Monotheism And Human Responsibility","tile_main_caption":"Far from crowding out any space for humankind to operate, this thoroughgoing monotheism results in a massive responsibility for us...God took the first step away from tohu. Now it is upon us to continue that job.","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"","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":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","date":"20270210","wall_id":"379"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"370","name":"Divine\/human","old_id":"770"},{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"412","name":"Responsibility","old_id":"812"}]},{"order":14,"id":"67708","color":"#eceffa","size":"1","name":"God The Mother ","post_title":"God The Mother","slug":"god-the-mother","old_id":"67708","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":67068,"post_title":"Zachary Truboff","slug":"zachary-truboff","old_id":"67068","first_name":"Zachary ","last_name":"Truboff ","description":"Rabbi Zachary Truboff lives in Jerusalem and has a passion for using Jewish texts and ideas along to address important issues of the day.","short_description":"Rabbi Zachary Truboff lives in Jerusalem and has a passion for using Jewish texts and ideas along to address important issues of the day.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":67069,"alt":"","title":"zach truboff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/zach-truboff.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/zach-truboff-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/zach-truboff.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/zach-truboff.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/zach-truboff.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/zach-truboff.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/zach-truboff.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/zach-truboff.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/zach-truboff.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"God\u2019s love is maternal love amplified: dynamic, volatile, and keenly attentive","post_main_content_content":"

In Jewish liturgy, the most prominent metaphor used to describe the relationship between God and the Jewish people is that of kingship. A king, however, is distant and stands apart from his nation. He has the power to punish or reward them, and it is their job to serve Him. Chapter 46 of Isaiah offers an alternative metaphor, one that is far more intimate. God says to the Jewish people (46:3-4): \u2018<\/span>Listen to Me, O House of Jacob, All that are left of the House of Israel, <\/span>Who have been carried since birth, Supported since leaving the womb:<\/strong>Till you grow old, I will still be the same;\u00a0When you turn gray, it is I who will carry; I was the Maker, and I will be the Bearer; And I will carry and rescue [you]<\/strong>.\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In these verses, God is described as the mother who gave birth to the Jewish people. Since their birth, God has looked after them, cared for their needs, and carried them wherever they might need to go.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The metaphor works so powerfully because a mother is distinctly tied to her children, and as a result, she gives of herself totally to them. This dynamic is explored powerfully in Mara Benjamin\u2019s <\/span>The Obligated Self: Maternal Subjectivity and Jewish Thought<\/span><\/em>. She describes from her own experience of motherhood that, \u2018<\/span>No sooner had this baby, this stranger, appeared than she held a claim on me. I was now responsible for addressing her needs and wishes, for seeking out the meaning of her unfamiliar body and its often cryptic language.\u2019 In the same way, she explains, God acts towards the Jewish people. Despite all of their whining and complaining, their miscues and their failures, God feels an enduring commitment to them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For God, this maternal obligation is also a manifestation of love. Not love in the romantic sense but something more complex: a love that often knows frustration and even anger. A mother is aware that her child can shower affection upon her one minute only to reject her in the next. A mother\u2019s love lives not in grand gestures but in the day to day acts of care and compassion that she provides for her children. As Benjamin describes it, \u2018God\u2019s love for his people is maternal love amplified: dynamic, volatile, and keenly attentive.\u2019 It is this maternal love that binds God and the Jewish people together, and as Isaiah remind us, it is a bond that cannot be broken.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67709,"alt":"","title":"is46-shechina2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","width":640,"height":404,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2-300x189.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":189,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":404,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":404,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":404,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":404,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":404,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","home_baner-width":640,"home_baner-height":404}},"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":"God The Mother","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"God\u2019s love is maternal love amplified: dynamic, volatile, and keenly attentive","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67709,"alt":"","title":"is46-shechina2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","width":640,"height":404,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2-300x189.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":189,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":404,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":404,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":404,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":404,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":404,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-shechina2.jpg","home_baner-width":640,"home_baner-height":404}},"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":"46","chapter_main_number":"380","date":"20270211","wall_id":"380"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"381","name":"love","old_id":"781"},{"term_id":"428","name":"Parent","old_id":"828"},{"term_id":"604","name":"Mothers","old_id":"1004"},{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"}]},{"order":15,"id":"67712","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"We Are A Part, Not Apart ","post_title":"We Are A Part, Not Apart","slug":"we-are-a-part-not-apart","old_id":"67712","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37130,"post_title":"Lauren Tuchman","slug":"lauren-tuchman","old_id":"37130","first_name":"Lauren ","last_name":"Tuchman ","description":"Rabbi Lauren Tuchman received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2018 and is, as far as she is aware, the first blind woman in the world to enter the rabbinate. 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Isaiah\u2019s prophecies regarding the fall of the Babylonian Gods are presented in stark contrast to the constant, unfaltering God of Israel. Unlike the fickle, faltering gods of the Babylonians, the one God of Israel remains with the People of Israel throughout their lifespan, even when they transgress or are far from God. Isaiah reminds us that we are part of something greater than ourselves, beyond time and space and our own generation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Though the juxtaposition Isaiah presents here might jar some modern readers, I urge an attitude of \u2018productive discomfort\u2019 here. While we could read this chapter as a celebration of the downfall of Israel\u2019s enemies, we might also read this as a reflection upon the ways in which we place the needs of our ego, our own individual need for constant striving, above the truth that we are all bound together, part of a larger whole. In a world in which we make idols out of any number of ultimately temporal things\u2014fame, wealth, personal status\u2014and in which the desire to place those we admire or wish to emulate upon a pedestal is quite strong, Isaiah\u2019s imploring us to remember always that we are part of something so much larger than ourselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That reminder is both a humbling and challenging one. Even when we find ourselves far from God, God is there, with a constant, yearning for our wholehearted return. Our lives are filled with peaks and valleys, joy and sorrow, trial and triumph. Amidst all that, we have the ability and are indeed encouraged to return, every day, to a remembrance, a sense, that we are part of something much larger, that there is none other than the divine reality of which we are all a part.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67713,"alt":"","title":"is46-part-whole","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole.png","width":1920,"height":1908,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-300x298.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-768x763.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":763,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-1024x1018.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1018,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1526,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1908,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-1200x1193.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1193,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-423x420.png","home_baner-width":423,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"We Are A Part, Not Apart","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The divine whole subsumes us all","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67713,"alt":"","title":"is46-part-whole","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole.png","width":1920,"height":1908,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-300x298.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-768x763.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":763,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-1024x1018.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1018,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1526,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1908,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-1200x1193.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1193,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-part-whole-423x420.png","home_baner-width":423,"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":"46","chapter_main_number":"380","date":"20270211","wall_id":"380"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"429","name":"Idolatry","old_id":"829"}]}],"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\/67319"}],"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=67319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}