{"id":67320,"date":"2018-07-09T17:45:37","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-380\/"},"modified":"2023-07-20T13:41:06","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T10:41:06","slug":"wall-380","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-380\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Isaiah-46"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"380","date":"20270211","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"46","chapter_main_number":"380","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"67210","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Isaiah Chapter 46 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Isaiah Chapter 46","slug":"jps-audio-bible-isaiah-chapter-46","old_id":"67210","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Isaiah Chapter 46","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-753876298\/jps_audio_bible_isaiah_chapter_46","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"46","chapter_main_number":"380","date":"20270211","wall_id":"380"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"116735","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Till You Grow Old ","post_title":"Till You Grow Old","slug":"till-you-grow-old","old_id":"116735","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Prayers from Isaiah and Proverbs comfort Mordechai and the rest of us\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The grand finale of the morning, afternoon, and evening service is a prayer known as the <\/span>aleinu<\/span><\/em>. It ends with the line \u201cAnd GOD shall be sovereign over all the earth; in that day there shall be one GOD with one name\u201d (Zechariah 14:9). After this verse, however, most prayer books\u00a0 include a three passage postscript:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Do not fear sudden terror nor the destruction of the wicked when it comes. Take counsel together but it will be foiled; speak the word and it will not stand for God is with us. Till you grow old, I will still be the same; when 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].\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This postscript is a collection of three verses, Proverbs 3:25 and Isaiah 8:10, with the last from this chapter, Isaiah 46:4.\u00a0 These three verses appear in succession in a midrash on the book of Esther about an incident after Haman declared the death date for the Jews:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Mordecai saw three children coming from school. He ran after them\u2026When Mordecai caught up to the children, he said to one of them, \u2018Quote to me the verse you are learning.\u2019 He said, \u2018Do not fear sudden terror or the disaster of the wicked when it comes\u2019 (Prov. 3:25). The second joined in and said, \u2018I also learned Tanakh today and the last verse I ended on was: Hatch a plot-- it will be foiled! Agree on an action-- it will not succeed. For with us is God!\u2019 (Isa. 8:10) The third joined in and said, \u2018Til you grow old, I will still be the same. When you turn gray, it is I who will carry. I was the Maker and I am the Carrier, I will carry and rescue you.\u2019 (Isa. 46:4). <\/span>
\r\n<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>When Mordecai heard this, he laughed and was overjoyed. Haman asked him, \u2018Why are you so joyful about the words of these children?\u2019 Mordecai said, \u2018Because they have given me the good word that I shouldn\u2019t fear from the wicked scheme you are plotting against us!\u2019\u201d (Esther Rabbah 7:13).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shlomo ha-Levi Alkabetz, a 16<\/span>th<\/span> century kabbalist and the author of the Lecha Dodi hymn, noted in his commentary on Esther Rabbah that these three verses along with others became part of the end of the service because of their protective effect as shown in the midrash. As the prayer book was compiled these three verses became the distilled version of the protective incantations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The three verses talk about God\u2019s everlasting protection. The first two detail how God will protect his people, by punishing evildoers and thwarting their evil plots. Verse 4 seems to be God\u2019s response to Proverbs 71:9: \u201cDo not cast me off in old age; when my strength fails, do not forsake me! For my enemies talk against me.\u201d Verse 4 promises that the protections of the first two verses will last throughout the lives of his people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102798,"alt":"","title":"-6228d5ef944ca--6228d5ef944ccgen25-age old elderly poor.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg.jpg","width":834,"height":855,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg-293x300.jpg","medium-width":293,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg-768x787.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":787,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg.jpg","large-width":834,"large-height":855,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":834,"1536x1536-height":855,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":834,"2048x2048-height":855,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg.jpg","post_full_size-width":834,"post_full_size-height":855,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg-410x420.jpg","home_baner-width":410,"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":"Till You Grow Old","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Prayers from Isaiah and Proverbs comfort Mordechai and the rest of us","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":102798,"alt":"","title":"-6228d5ef944ca--6228d5ef944ccgen25-age old elderly poor.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg.jpg","width":834,"height":855,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg-293x300.jpg","medium-width":293,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg-768x787.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":787,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg.jpg","large-width":834,"large-height":855,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":834,"1536x1536-height":855,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":834,"2048x2048-height":855,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg.jpg","post_full_size-width":834,"post_full_size-height":855,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/03\/6228d5ef944ca-6228d5ef944ccgen25-age-old-elderly-poor.jpg-410x420.jpg","home_baner-width":410,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"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":"437","name":"Prayer","old_id":"837"},{"term_id":"607","name":"Comfort","old_id":"1007"},{"term_id":"887","name":"Mordechai","old_id":"1287"},{"term_id":"899","name":"Proverb","old_id":"1299"}]},{"order":3,"id":"67708","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","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":4,"id":"67697","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"God Turns Into A Serpent ","post_title":"God Turns Into A Serpent","slug":"god-turns-into-a-serpent","old_id":"67697","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Thus foreshadowing Pharaoh and \u201cmaking known the end from the beginning,\u201d as Isaiah states","post_main_content_content":"

In our chapter, Isaiah contrasts the lifelessness of idols to the quintessential \u201clivingness\u201d of the God of Israel. In this prophecy God proclaims: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, and from before what has not yet been done (Isaiah 46:9-10).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The midrash preserves a dramatic depiction of how God showed Moses what would transpire in bringing about the redemption from Egypt. A manuscript fragment recovered from the Cairo Genizah (Cambridge University Library, TS C1 46), preserves a unique early version of a Tanhuma-Yelammedenu<\/em> homily that opens with our verse: \u201cGod makes known the end from the beginning\u201d (Isa. 46:10). The rabbis say, when Moses was at the burning bush, God showed him how Pharaoh would twist deviously and stand against him. Therefore, God made Himself into a serpent [\u2018asah \u2018atzmo nahash<\/em>] before Moses to inform him that just as the serpent twists deviously, so Pharaoh would twist deviously against him. God said to Moses: If Pharaoh comes to twist deviously against you, rise up and be a man of valor before him, and: \u201cIf Pharaoh shall speak to you saying: Give a sign for yourselves, then you shall say to Aaron: Take your staff and cast it before Pharaoh, and it will turn into a serpent\u201d (Exodus 7:9).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We seem to have here a highly imaginative envisioning of the Burning Bush narrative in which God says to Moses: \u201c\u2018What is that in your hand?\u2019 \u2018A staff\u2019, he replied. The Lord said, \u2018Throw it on the ground\u2019. Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and he fled from it\u2026.\u2019This\u2019, said the Lord, \u2018is so that they may believe that the Lord\u2026has appeared to you\u2019\u201d (Exodus 4:2-5). The Midrash here creatively interprets the miraculous appearance of the serpent as the appearance of God to Moses. In this way, our verse from Isaiah on how God \u201cmakes known the end from the beginning\u201d is illustrated by the sign of the serpent at the Burning Bush, which foretells the performance of that sign by Moses and Aaron in their appearance before Pharaoh in Exodus 7.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This surprising interpretation of the Biblical narrative is not preserved elsewhere. But Exodus Rabbah 3:12 seems to preserve an opposing tradition. A \u201cMatronah\u201d (Roman Lady) says to Rabbi Yosi: My god is greater than your God, for Moses fled from before the serpent, who is my god. Rabbi Yosi replies that Moses was saved from the serpent by just taking a few steps away. But when God appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush, Moses did not flee, but hid his face (see Exodus 3:6) as the Matronah herself had noted. Moses indeed fled from the serpent, but not from God, as it says: \u201cIf a man enters a hiding place, Do I not see him? \u2014says the Lord. For I fill both heaven and earth\u2014declares the Lord\u201d (Jeremiah 23:24).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For more on this, see: Marc Bregman, <\/span>The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature -- Studies in the Evolution of the Versions<\/em> <\/span>(Gorgias Press: Piscataway NJ, 2003).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Moses' Rod Turned into a Serpent, illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67703,"alt":"","title":"is46-moses snake","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","width":636,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake-300x283.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":283,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","medium_large-width":636,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","large-width":636,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","1536x1536-width":636,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","2048x2048-width":636,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","post_full_size-width":636,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake-446x420.jpg","home_baner-width":446,"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":"God Turns Into A Serpent","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Thus foreshadowing Pharaoh and \u201cmaking known the end from the beginning,\u201d as Isaiah states","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67703,"alt":"","title":"is46-moses snake","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","width":636,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake-300x283.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":283,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","medium_large-width":636,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","large-width":636,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","1536x1536-width":636,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","2048x2048-width":636,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake.jpg","post_full_size-width":636,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-moses-snake-446x420.jpg","home_baner-width":446,"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":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"397","name":"Moses","old_id":"797"},{"term_id":"469","name":"Egypt","old_id":"869"},{"term_id":"621","name":"Snake","old_id":"1021"}]},{"order":5,"id":"67716","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Natural Law And Supernatural Providence ","post_title":"Natural Law And Supernatural Providence","slug":"natural-law-and-supernatural-providence","old_id":"67716","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And the dynamic between faith and enlightenment\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

Regarding 44:5, Malbim* (<\/span>see our comments there<\/span><\/a>), identified the one who will \u201cadopt the name of Israel\u201d as someone subject to supernatural providence. In his commentary to 46:10, he elaborated on the singularity of that status as follows.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God will act in two ways. [A] According to the laws of nature that He set in place and the results that they cause to occur. Of this, the verse says \u201cforetell the end from the beginning,\u201d because He set the limits of the laws of nature and their consequences and when such a [natural] process begins, He can foretell the conclusion that will derive therefrom according to those laws that He established. [B] He can act above (beyond) nature, performing deeds that are independent of any causation. Of this, it states \u201cfrom the start, things that had not occurred\u201d; even if the results could be determined beforehand, i.e., before the causation occurred or even the causes themselves, He could perform signs and wonders that are independent of their causes because \u201cHe spoke and so it was\u201d (Ps. 33:9).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

[Isaiah] elaborated through parallelism: In parallel with \u201cforetell the end from the beginning,\u201d he said, \u201cMy plan shall be fulfilled.\u201d This refers to the plans I made for the conduct of the world based on the laws [of nature] that I established\u2014they shall be fulfilled. In contrast to \u201cfrom the start, things that had not occurred,\u201d [he said] \u201cI will do all that I purposed,\u201d i.e., in doing whatever I please, I will not be bound by the limits of nature, but My will surpasses the laws of nature.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Drawing and maintaining this distinction between natural law and supernatural providence was an essential ingredient in Malbim\u2019s opposition to the Enlightenment (Haskalah) and the nascent Reform movement, which invoked science in their assaults on tradition. It was also consistent with his repeated assertion that \u201cenlightenment without faith is folly.\u201d (See David Berger: <\/span>Malbim\u2019s Secular Knowledge and his Relationship to the Spirit of the Haskalah<\/span><\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

*For the significance of Malbim\u2019s commentary to the Book of Isaiah,<\/span> see our introduction to chapter 1.<\/span><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67718,"alt":"","title":"is46-providence","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence.jpg","width":1440,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-225x300.jpg","medium-width":225,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-768x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-768x1024.jpg","large-width":768,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence.jpg","1536x1536-width":1152,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence.jpg","2048x2048-width":1440,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-900x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-315x420.jpg","home_baner-width":315,"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":"Natural Law And Supernatural Providence","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And the dynamic between faith and enlightenment\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67718,"alt":"","title":"is46-providence","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence.jpg","width":1440,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-225x300.jpg","medium-width":225,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-768x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-768x1024.jpg","large-width":768,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence.jpg","1536x1536-width":1152,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence.jpg","2048x2048-width":1440,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-900x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is46-providence-315x420.jpg","home_baner-width":315,"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":"414","name":"Law","old_id":"814"},{"term_id":"756","name":"Science","old_id":"1156"}]},{"order":6,"id":"116743","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-Isaiah46 ","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-Isaiah46","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-isaiah46","old_id":"116743","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. His first book \"I Kings - Torn in Two\" was published in 2013. See his website www.alexisrael.org, and his podcasts at https:\/\/elmad.pardes.org\/ and https:\/\/tanachstudy.com\/ \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33693,"alt":"","title":"alex israel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","width":1657,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":679,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","large-width":679,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1018,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1357,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-795x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":795,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"4","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Tanakh Podcast","tile_main_caption":"Isaiah 46: Who Is Carrying You?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Isaiah addresses the skeptics who doubt that God will save the Jewish people. God affirms that he has always carried the people, from the womb, and will continue to carry us for all time.","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":108885,"alt":"","title":"-635baf915f04f--635baf915f050tanakh podcast - Alex Israel.JPG","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","width":350,"height":352,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-298x300.jpg","medium-width":298,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","medium_large-width":350,"medium_large-height":352,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","large-width":350,"large-height":352,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","1536x1536-width":350,"1536x1536-height":352,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","2048x2048-width":350,"2048x2048-height":352,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","post_full_size-width":350,"post_full_size-height":352,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","home_baner-width":350,"home_baner-height":352}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/2SPDKS30vXlv7aKffW3JFx","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"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":"589","name":"audio","old_id":"989"},{"term_id":"857","name":"podcast","old_id":"1257"}]},{"order":7,"id":"67698","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Be Ashamed! ","post_title":"Be Ashamed!","slug":"be-ashamed","old_id":"67698","type":"event","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"At least that makes sense\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

46:8 \u201cRecall this and be shamed, take it to heart, O criminals, recall the first things of yore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The verb in the received text, <\/span>hit\u2019oshashu<\/span><\/em>, appears to be based on the root that suggests strength, hence the New Jewish Publication Society rendering \u201cstand firm.\u201d But that makes no sense in the context of a castigation. This translation adapts an emendation that has been proposed by several scholars, <\/span>hitboshashu<\/span><\/em>, which involves the changing of one consonant.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, <\/span>The Hebrew Bible<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Be Ashamed!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"At least that makes sense","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"46","chapter_main_number":"380","date":"20270211","wall_id":"380"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"586","name":"Shame","old_id":"986"}]},{"order":8,"id":"67720","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"God Carries The Day, And The People ","post_title":"God Carries The Day, And The People","slug":"god-carries-the-day-and-the-people","old_id":"67720","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34250,"post_title":"Sarah Rudolph","slug":"sarah-rudolph","old_id":"34250","first_name":"Sarah ","last_name":"Rudolph","description":"Sarah Rudolph is a freelance Jewish educator, writer, and editor. She has been sharing her passion for Jewish texts of all kinds for over 15 years, with students of all ages. Sarah\u2019s essays have been published in a variety of internet and print media, including Times of Israel, Kveller, Jewish Action, OU Life, The Lehrhaus, TorahMusings, and more. Sarah lives in Cleveland with her husband and four children, but is privileged to learn online with students all over the world through www.TorahTutors.org and www.WebYeshiva.org. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Sarah Rudolph is a freelance Jewish educator, writer, and editor.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34251,"alt":"","title":"Sarah R","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","width":2824,"height":4246,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-681x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":681,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-681x1024.jpg","large-width":681,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","1536x1536-width":1022,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","2048x2048-width":1362,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-798x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":798,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

Who is in charge? Who has the power?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the face of it, Isaiah 46 looks like a showdown of sorts between God and gods; it\u2019s not dramatic like Elijah\u2019s showdown at Mount Carmel, but seems to convey similar ideas: <\/span>Hey, gods, look who\u2019s bowing now! You have no power like God does; He carries others, while you must yourselves be carried!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

The word \u201ccarried\u201d is one of several words repeated noticeably in the thirteen verses of this chapter, and calls upon the reader to note who carries and who is carried; who is strong and who is weak; who directs their own fortunes and who is subject to the whims and directions that others choose to take.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And of course, it is God who carries (verse 4) and the gods who are carried, most explicitly and pejoratively in verse 7, which describes their manufacture as well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

People are also carried, as in verse 3: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Listen to Me, O House of Jacob, all that are left of the House of Israel, who have been carried since birth, supported since leaving the womb.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the face of it, this is another expression of God as Carrier \u2013 in contrast to other gods, who are carried.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Or, maybe this time a distinction is being drawn not between God and gods, but between those who serve the One and those who serve the others.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The JPS translation of verse 1 reads: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Bel is bowed, Nebo is cowering, their images are a burden for beasts and cattle; the things you would carry [in procession] are now piled as a burden on tired [beasts]<\/span><\/p>\r\n

describing the gods themselves and how they have been brought low. In Malbim\u2019s reading, however, the verse is about people who have lowered themselves to worship those gods. In typical Malbim fashion, he gleans nuances from apparent synonyms: Two Hebrew roots are used in relation to carrying, and Malbim argues that <\/span>
\r\n<\/span>one (\u05e0.\u05e9.\u05d0.) suggests willing acceptance of a burden while the other (\u05e2.\u05de.\u05e1.) describes a load imposed upon another \u2013 the way animals typically have loads assigned to them against their will.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

By choosing to carry their inanimate gods, Malbim explains, idolaters find they have become like \u201cbeasts and cattle\u201d: they\u2019ve surrendered their humanity to cower under the burden of their idols, a burden which involves extra weight they didn\u2019t intend to choose.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the other hand, God calls His people to \u201clisten\u201d and realize they have been \u201ccarried since birth, supported since leaving the womb.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

His people do not carry, but are carried.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And while a baby has no power to choose, perhaps the point in this prophecy is to remind the people that they are no longer babes in arms but are mature enough to make their own choices. Will they choose to surrender themselves beneath those who are powerless? Or will they recognize a higher Power and allow themselves to be carried?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Which path represents true self-determination?<\/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":"God Carries The Day, And The People","tile_main_caption":"Will the people choose to surrender themselves beneath those who are powerless? Or will they recognize a higher Power and allow themselves to be carried?","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":"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"}]},{"order":9,"id":"67712","color":"#e2f4fa","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. A sought after speaker, spiritual leader and educator, Rabbi Tuchman has taught at numerous synagogues and other Jewish venues throughout North America and was named to the Jewish Week's 36 under 36 for her innovative leadership concerning inclusion of Jews with disabilities in all aspects of Jewish life.","short_description":"Rabbi Lauren Tuchman is a Jewish educator based in the Washington, DC area.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37131,"alt":"","title":"Lauren Tuchman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150.jpg","width":1728,"height":2494,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-208x300.jpg","medium-width":208,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-709x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":709,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-709x1024.jpg","large-width":709,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150.jpg","1536x1536-width":1064,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150.jpg","2048x2048-width":1419,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-831x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":831,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Lauren-Tuchman-e1533662722150-291x420.jpg","home_baner-width":291,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The divine whole subsumes us all","post_main_content_content":"

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"}]},{"order":10,"id":"67231","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Isaiah 46 ","post_title":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Isaiah 46","slug":"sefaria-source-sheets-isaiah-46","old_id":"67231","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42228,"post_title":"Sefaria","slug":"sefaria","old_id":"42228","first_name":"","last_name":"Sefaria","description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. We are assembling a free living library of Jewish texts and their interconnections, in Hebrew and in translation. With these digital texts, we can create new, interactive interfaces for Web, tablet and mobile, allowing more people to engage with the textual treasures of our tradition.","short_description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":42230,"alt":"","title":"Sefaria Logo2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","width":1200,"height":1200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":1200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":1200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cTeaching Text in the Age of #metoo\u201d<\/a> by Tamara Cohen: Difficult Biblical sources about women and womanhood.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cGod's Faith in Us\u201d<\/a> by Hannah Goldstein: Explore texts about God\u2019s relationship with humanity.\u00a0<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - Isaiah 46","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"46","chapter_main_number":"380","date":"20270211","wall_id":"380"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":11,"id":"67699","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - Isaiah 46 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - Isaiah 46","slug":"points-to-ponder-isaiah-46","old_id":"67699","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"380","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Idle idols.<\/em> When a city was in danger of being conquered, the believers were in the habit of \u201cexfiltrating\u201d the idols of their gods to a safe place, so they wouldn\u2019t be harmed by the invaders. The Babylonian idols of Nebo and Bel were not saved in time, and since they were after all, just statues, they also didn\u2019t run away, and of course, did not save their faithful. That\u2019s just how it is, all ye idol-worshippers.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Cyrus swoops down<\/em>. Who conquered Babylon and defeated its idols? Cyrus. Who was \u201cthe swooping bird from the East\u201d (11)? Cyrus, king of Persia, which is east of Babylonia. Who summoned the bird? God, of course.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Metallica<\/em>. Two chapters ago (44) we met the woodworker who made idols out of logs. Verses 6 and 7 here describe a metal worker who is hired to make an idol out of gold and silver. Despite the clearly superior materials, this model too gets a negative score in efficacy: \u201c When they put it down, it stands, It does not budge from its place. If they cry out to it, it does not answer; It cannot save them from their distress\u201d (verse 7).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Stubborn hearts<\/em>. That\u2019s what those who are \u201cfar from victory\u201d (12) are called. The Hebrew is abirei lev<\/i>, which sounds almost noble (abir <\/i>= knight). But sometimes toughness or standoffishness is simply hard-heartedness, or lack of understanding of the absence of faith and hope.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Isaiah 46","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"46","chapter_main_number":"380","date":"20270211","wall_id":"380"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/67320"}],"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=67320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}