{"id":67321,"date":"2018-07-09T17:45:35","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-379\/"},"modified":"2023-07-20T13:27:56","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T10:27:56","slug":"wall-379","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-379\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Isaiah-45"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"379","date":"20270210","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"67208","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Isaiah Chapter 45 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Isaiah Chapter 45","slug":"jps-audio-bible-isaiah-chapter-45","old_id":"67208","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":"379","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 45","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_45","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":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","date":"20270210","wall_id":"379"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"116709","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Light And Peace, Darkness And Evil ","post_title":"Light And Peace, Darkness And Evil","slug":"light-and-peace-darkness-and-evil","old_id":"116709","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":"379","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"It\u2019s all godly\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The prayer known as the Shema (Hear O Israel\u2026) is one of the central parts of <\/span>tefilah<\/span><\/em>, Jewish prayer, in the morning and evening services. The blessings surrounding the Shema vary between the two services. Mishna Brachot 4:1 discusses these blessings:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the morning one recites two blessings beforehand, and one thereafter. And in the evening one recites two blessings beforehand, and two thereafter.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Gemara asks the obvious question: what are these blessings? The first one in the morning is based on 45:7 -\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I fashion light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil\u2014 I GOD do all these things.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The actual first blessing before the morning Shema, however, is different: \u201cBlessed are you LORD, our God, King of the Universe, who forms light and creates darkness, who makes peace and <\/span>creates all<\/span><\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 The prayer alters the last words of the blessing from \u201ccreates evil\u201d to \u201ccreates all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why the change? The Gemara answers by first asking why we do not alter the verse to say \u201cfashions light and creates brightness\u201d if this blessing was about the daytime. The answer is that one does not alter a verse in the Tanach, which leads to the follow up question: then why change \u201cevil\u201d to \u201call\u201d? The Gemara answers: \u201cRather, it is written evil and we euphemistically recite the blessing \u2018all things\u2019 to avoid mention of evil. Here, too, let us euphemistically say \u2018brightness\u2019 instead of \u2018darkness.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The reason this verse is selected, even with the need to edit, is because it mentions light first, but also mentions darkness. This way light and dark are both mentioned, as they are in the nighttime blessing.\u00a0 Looking at the verse itself, Isaiah uses the same verb to describe darkness and evil- \u201ccreating\u201d- but two different verbs to describe light and peace, \u201cfashioning\u201d and \u201cmaking.\u201d Radak explains that light and peace require an act of formation. Darkness and woe are simply created by removing light and peace. The implication here is that light and peace take effort and the status quo without them is negative. God is powerful because God has the ability to fashion something that can blot out darkness and evil in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Saadya Gaon looks at the parallels of light and darkness and peace and woe as a direct attack on Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism believed in a binary system of two gods- one good, one evil. Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion in the Persian kingdom. This verse was Isaiah\u2019s way of attacking this religious ideology by showing that God had control over both sides of the coin. These messages also make this verse a powerful opening line before the Shema. \u201cHear oh Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.\u201d God is one unitary God who controls all aspects of the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":84019,"alt":"","title":"ps52-good evil","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil.png","width":1920,"height":842,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-300x132.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":132,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-768x337.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":337,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-1024x449.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":449,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":674,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":842,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-1200x526.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":526,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-958x420.png","home_baner-width":958,"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":"Light And Peace, Darkness And Evil","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"It\u2019s all godly","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":84019,"alt":"","title":"ps52-good evil","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil.png","width":1920,"height":842,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-300x132.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":132,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-768x337.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":337,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-1024x449.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":449,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":674,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":842,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-1200x526.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":526,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps52-good-evil-958x420.png","home_baner-width":958,"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":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","date":"20270210","wall_id":"379"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"460","name":"Evil","old_id":"860"},{"term_id":"466","name":"Goodness","old_id":"866"},{"term_id":"558","name":"Creation","old_id":"958"},{"term_id":"629","name":"Light","old_id":"1029"}]},{"order":3,"id":"67635","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"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>
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","post_title":"How Does God Work?","slug":"how-does-god-work","old_id":"67663","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":"379","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Why was Cyrus the Chosen One - should not the redeemer of the Jewish people come from the Jewish people?\u00a0\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In chapter 45, God opens with a perplexing statement. He proclaims Cyrus, the king of Persia, to be \u201c<\/span>meshicho<\/span><\/em>,\u201d his anointed one. In conquering the Babylonians, it appears that Cyrus has become a heroic, even redemptive figure. He liberates the Jewish people from their oppressors and gives them permission to return to the Land of Israel. Nevertheless, to see him described as God\u2019s anointed one is jarring, for should not the redeemer of the Jewish people come from the Jewish people? Was this not the case with Moses and the many others God chose over the generations to save the Jewish people from their enemies? The traditional commentators do their best to downplay the significance of this description, arguing that in fact all kings are to be called anointed for that is how they are appointed to the kingship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Yet, one is still left with the question as to why Cyrus would be singled out by God and called his anointed one.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The truth is that we find it profoundly difficult to see God act in a way that we cannot understand, and therefore, there will always be an allure to remake God according to our expectations. God, however, is aware of this danger and later on in the book of Isaiah makes clear that human beings will never fully understand God\u2019s ways, (55:8) \u2018For My plans are not your plans, Nor are My ways your ways.\u2019 God\u2019s inscrutability and otherness is an essential part of God\u2019s existence, and no matter how much we may want to comprehend God\u2019s actions, there will always remain aspects that defy human understanding. For reasons we cannot fully apprehend, God chose Cyrus to be his anointed one and performed miracles through him that led to the salvation of the Jewish people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Later on in the chapter, God\u2019s inscrutability and otherness is emphasized once more when God says to the Jewish people (45:7), \u201cI form light and create darkness, I make peace <\/span>and<\/b> create evil\u2014 I the LORD do all these things.\u201d In our personal theology, most of us are dualists. We ascribe only the good to God and relegate evil to the actions of human beings. Isaiah, however, challenges us to recognize that the same God who brings goodness into our lives also creates a world in which evil abounds. We may find it difficult to accept God\u2019s inscrutability and otherness, but in failing to do so, we make an idol out of God no different from those of our ancestors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67664,"alt":"","title":"is45-why","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"How Does God Work?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Why was Cyrus the Chosen One - should not the redeemer of the Jewish people come from the Jewish people?\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67664,"alt":"","title":"is45-why","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-why-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","date":"20270210","wall_id":"379"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"403","name":"Redemption","old_id":"803"},{"term_id":"458","name":"Nations","old_id":"858"},{"term_id":"500","name":"Messiah","old_id":"900"},{"term_id":"537","name":"Jew","old_id":"937"},{"term_id":"752","name":"Reason","old_id":"1152"},{"term_id":"818","name":"Understanding","old_id":"1218"}]},{"order":5,"id":"67639","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Generosity, Salvation, and Goodness ","post_title":"Generosity, Salvation, and Goodness","slug":"generosity-salvation-and-goodness","old_id":"67639","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":"379","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The key to lives of abundance in a world blighted by tragedy","post_main_content_content":"

In the midst of a series of prophecies about the Persian King, Cyrus, and his role in the salvation of the Jews, and of the known world, Isaiah shares an observation \u2013 both about the natural order and about human psychology \u2013 that bears our focus and will reward direct attention.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Prophet perceives God as offering <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Pour out, O heavens, from above, and let the upper heights drip generosity; Let the earth open up and salvation and goodness will flourish; let it make them sprout together; I am the Lord who created this\u201d (verse 8).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Here\u2019s what we know about this spectacular planet. In a vast, cold, explosive cosmos, this is an island of stability, bounty, and life. The extraordinary confluence of stabilizing features, none of them unique to the earth, but coming together, quite unusual, are a rotating moon, a stable equator, a churning interior with a thin crust, just the right distance from the sun \u2026 and on and on. No one of these features is sufficient or unique. But there are precious few places in the vast spacetime bubble we find ourselves that combine them all. And all, together, are necessary to support the evolution of complex life, with the kind of mindfulness that can sprout into consciousness, self-consciousness, and spirit. It is indeed because of this cosmic \u201cgenerosity\u201d that the earth can open up to salvation and goodness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This reality is no less true on the human level. In lives blighted not only by tragic events, but stewing in rage and resentment, it is virtually impossible for humans to thrive. For lives of \u201c<\/span>shefa<\/span><\/em>\u201d <\/span><\/i>(bounty, abundance) there has to be a primary coat of generosity \u2013 of focusing on instances of abundance rather than of deprivation, relying on those relationships that nourish, rather than chasing those which merely glitter from afar. A life rooted in \u201cgenerosity\u201d is the only kind that can sprout in salvation and goodness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Generosity is an aspect of reality, and an attitude toward reality. It reflects a choice to attend to the resources of a fuller life and an interweave of connections, rather than to endlessly bemoan life\u2019s limits, challenges, and disappointments.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Which is to say that generosity is, in part, a choice. And from that choice, salvation and goodness can flow.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67640,"alt":"","title":"is45-giving hand","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Generosity, Salvation, and Goodness","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The key to lives of abundance in a world blighted by tragedy","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67640,"alt":"","title":"is45-giving hand","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-giving-hand-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","date":"20270210","wall_id":"379"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"360","name":"Nature\/Environment","old_id":"760"},{"term_id":"498","name":"Abundance","old_id":"898"},{"term_id":"542","name":"Generosity","old_id":"942"}]},{"order":6,"id":"67677","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"One God ","post_title":"One God","slug":"one-god","old_id":"67677","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":"379","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"So what is the source of darkness, death and evil then?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

God\u2019s identification of Cyrus as \u201cMy messiah\u201d (1) is problematic. On the one hand, since the term literally means one who is anointed, and since there is evidence that all kings in the ancient world were anointed at their coronations, Cyrus, King of Persia, can easily be so entitled. However, given that he did not step on to the world stage until the middle of the 6<\/span>th<\/span> century BCE, the appearance of his name in the prophecy of an 8<\/span>th<\/span> century prophet is widely cited as evidence that the second part of the Book of Isaiah (beginning with Chapter 40) belongs to a later prophet\u2014often designated \u201cDeutero- (Second-) Isaiah.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nevertheless, Malbim\u2019s* commentary has v. 5 address an idiosyncratically Persian audience, arguing that it is a retort to the Zoroastrian belief in dualism.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In order to understand these verses, we need to provide a brief introduction. Among the Persians at that time was a widespread belief in dualism. They believed that the world had two beginnings: one produced light, existence, and goodness, and the other was the source of darkness, absence, and evil. They believed that these two beginnings\u2014each one\u2019s sovereignty bordering on the other\u2019s\u2014are in perpetual combat; sometimes one triumphs and sometimes the other, but ultimately the light will vanquish the darkness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These believers maintain that darkness, death, and blindness are not absences but existing entities. Light and darkness are opposite entities, like cold and heat, and they found it difficult to imagine that diametric opposites derive from the same source. Therefore, they said that all goodness derive from one wholly good source while evil, darkness and absence derive from a different wholly evil origin.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We, the [true] believers, will respond to these fools\u2026 that darkness, death, and evil are the negation of light, life, and goodness. Rather than independent entities, they are absences. We ascribe to God only goodness and presence because He is intrinsically good.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Malbim\u2019s insight is borne out by v. 7: \u201cI form light and create darkness, I make peace (`<\/em><\/span>ose shalom<\/span><\/em>) and create evil (<\/span>ubore\u2019 ra<\/span><\/em>`<\/em>)\u2014 I the LORD do all these things,\u201d which is reformulated in the daily Shaharit (morning) service as \u201cmake peace and create everything (<\/span>ubore\u2019 et hakol<\/span><\/em>).\u201d<\/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>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67678,"alt":"","title":"is45-good and evil","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","width":1920,"height":1483,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-300x232.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":232,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-768x593.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":593,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-1024x791.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":791,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1483,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-1200x927.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":927,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-544x420.jpg","home_baner-width":544,"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":"One God","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"So what is the source of darkness, death and evil then?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":67678,"alt":"","title":"is45-good and evil","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","width":1920,"height":1483,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-300x232.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":232,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-768x593.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":593,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-1024x791.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":791,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1483,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-1200x927.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":927,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-544x420.jpg","home_baner-width":544,"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":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"460","name":"Evil","old_id":"860"},{"term_id":"500","name":"Messiah","old_id":"900"},{"term_id":"832","name":"Theology","old_id":"1232"}]},{"order":7,"id":"116733","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-Isaiah45 ","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-Isaiah45","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-isaiah45","old_id":"116733","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. 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He uses identical language to an ancient Persian text that praises Marduk, but instead affirms that it is God and God alone who will return the Jewish people to their land.","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\/6pWu90kkz6QijLYzVB05d2","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":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","date":"20270210","wall_id":"379"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"589","name":"audio","old_id":"989"},{"term_id":"857","name":"podcast","old_id":"1257"}]},{"order":8,"id":"67691","color":"#e2f4fa","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. 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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":9,"id":"67681","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Messiah Is NOT Coming ","post_title":"The Messiah Is NOT Coming","slug":"the-messiah-is-not-coming","old_id":"67681","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64758,"post_title":"Avraham Norin","slug":"avraham-norin","old_id":"64758","first_name":"Avraham ","last_name":"Norin ","description":"Avraham Norin teaches in Israel at the Machon Meir and Ora conversion program. 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":10,"id":"67632","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"\u201cI Will March Before You, And Level The Hills That Loom Up\u201d ","post_title":"\u201cI Will March Before You, And Level The Hills That Loom Up\u201d","slug":"i-will-march-before-you-and-level-the-hills-that-loom-up","old_id":"67632","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64450,"post_title":"David Curwin","slug":"david-curwin","old_id":"64450","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Curwin ","description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","short_description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64452,"alt":"","title":"david curwin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","width":427,"height":464,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-276x300.png","medium-width":276,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","medium_large-width":427,"medium_large-height":464,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","large-width":427,"large-height":464,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","1536x1536-width":427,"1536x1536-height":464,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","2048x2048-width":427,"2048x2048-height":464,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","post_full_size-width":427,"post_full_size-height":464,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-387x420.png","home_baner-width":387,"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":"What else can that mean? ","post_main_content_content":"

In Chapter 45 of Isaiah, God address Cyrus, the king of Persia, and presents him with his mission to defeat Babylon and return Israel to their land. God makes it clear that He will be the one to provide Cyrus with that victory. In verse 2, He says:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I will march before you<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And level the hills that loom up;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>I will shatter doors of bronze<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And cut down iron bars.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In a footnote to this translation, the editors added that the meaning of the phrase \u201cthe hills that loom up\u201d in the original Hebrew is uncertain. The difficult word here is <\/span>hadorim<\/span><\/em>. The inspiration for this translation apparently comes from a related word in Arabic that means, \u201cswollen\u201d or \u201clofty\u201d. A Hebrew cognate is <\/span>hadar<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cglory, majesty\u201d, and according to this theory developed from \u201clofty\u201d to \u201cproud\u201d to \u201cmajesty.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But that is not the only explanation of <\/span>hadorim<\/span><\/em>. Medieval commentators like Rashi and Radak, along with some modern scholars, think a better translation of that phrase would be \u201cstrengthen the twisting paths.\u201d This understanding claims that the word <\/span>hadorim<\/em> <\/span>derives from a different root, the verb <\/span>h-d-r<\/span><\/em>. In Aramaic it means \u201cto go around\u201d or \u201cto return\u201d and is likely cognate with the Hebrew root <\/span>ch-z-r<\/span><\/em>, of the same meaning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The root <\/span>h-d-r\u00a0<\/span><\/em>made its way from Aramaic into a number of Hebrew words. At the conclusion of learning a tractate of the Talmud, a passage is read that begins with the word <\/span>hadran<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cWe will return (to study the tractate again).\u201d Based on this, in Modern Hebrew a <\/span>hadran<\/span><\/em> is an \u201cencore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Another word from that root is <\/span>mahadura<\/span><\/em>. As we saw above, the Aramaic <\/span>h-d-r<\/span><\/em> and Hebrew <\/span>ch-z-r<\/span><\/em> are cognate, and so <\/span>mahadura<\/span><\/em> is the Aramaic version of the Hebrew word <\/span>machzor<\/span><\/em>. Both words originally meant \u201ccycle, period of time\u201d. But eventually the meanings diverged, with <\/span>machzor<\/span><\/em> meaning any recurring event (or the prayer book used on the holidays) and <\/span>mahadura<\/span><\/em> became \u201cedition\u201d \u2013 first of a printed work, and now a newscast.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One additional word from that root is <\/span>mehadrin<\/span><\/em>. While today it has a sense of \u201csuper kosher\u201d, it first appears in the Talmud, in the laws of Chanukah. The minimum number of required candles per night is actually just one, but the custom we have today, of adding a new candle each night is called \u201c<\/span>mehadrin min hamehadrin<\/span><\/em>\u201d. Some commentaries say that <\/span>mehadrin<\/span><\/em> also derives from <\/span>hadar<\/span><\/em>, where every additional candle adds more glory to the <\/span>mitzvah<\/span>.<\/span><\/i> But Rashi says that <\/span>mehadrin<\/em> <\/span>comes from <\/span>h-d-r<\/span><\/i> meaning \u201cto go around\u201d, so that the person who is <\/span>mehadrin<\/span><\/em> is \u201cpursuing the mitzvot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So enjoy your Chanuka \u2013 may it be <\/span>mehadrin min hamehadrin\u00ad <\/span><\/em>\u2013 both full of glory, and returning you to this special time of year!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image:\u00a0Chocolate Hills of the Philippines \/ wikipedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67633,"alt":"","title":"is45-hills","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-hills.jpg","width":1024,"height":768,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-hills-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-hills-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-hills-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-hills-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-hills.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-hills.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":768,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-hills.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":768,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-hills-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":"\u201cI Will March Before You, And Level The Hills That Loom Up\u201d ","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"What else can that mean? 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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":"379","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"It was created for a purpose","post_main_content_content":"

45:18 \u201cFor thus said the LORD, Creator of the heavens, He is God, Fashioner of the earth and its Maker, He founded it. Not for nothing did He create it, to dwell there He fashioned it. I am the LORD and there is no other.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The use of <\/span>tohu<\/span><\/em> amounts to a pun. Adverbially, it can mean \u201cfor nothing,\u201d \u201cfutilely,\u201d as it clearly does in the next verse. But as a noun, it designates the primordial chaos (in this translation of <\/span>tohu wavohu<\/span><\/em>, \u201cwelter and waste\u201d) that preceded creation, so what is also being asserted is that God did not create the earth to be mere chaos or void.<\/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>\r\n

 <\/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":"The World Is No Tohu-Bohu","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"It was created for a purpose","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":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","date":"20270210","wall_id":"379"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"67229","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Isaiah 45 ","post_title":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Isaiah 45","slug":"sefaria-source-sheets-isaiah-45","old_id":"67229","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. 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\u201cA Brief History of Prayer\u201d<\/a> by Jay Schlesinger: Jewish texts about this central practice.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSci-Fi and the Rabbis: Good vs. Evil?\u201d<\/a> by Amelia Lavranchuk: Is there really a sharp distinction between right and wrong?<\/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 45","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":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","date":"20270210","wall_id":"379"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"67591","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - Isaiah 45 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - Isaiah 45","slug":"points-to-ponder-isaiah-45","old_id":"67591","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":"379","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. A historic moment<\/em>. Cyrus - nice to meet you. King Cyrus of Persia began his political life as governor of Anshan, a Medean city. But he wasn\u2019t satisfied with local rule, and after a series of successful rebellions and wars he became the strongest leader in the region. So much so, that the city of Babylon, the capital of the Babylonian empire, surrendered to him without a fight. And so on the 3rd of Mar-cheshvan in the year 539 BCE, the Persian empire began its rule. Cyrus was known for his policies of religious tolerance towards all the conquered peoples in his empire, including Israel. In light of this approach, in 538 BCE Cyrus permitted the exiles of Judah to return to Jerusalem, and rebuild the Temple, and he even helped them to do so.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Surprise<\/em>! We\u2019ve already heard in Isaiah\u2019s prophecies that geo-politics is one of God\u2019s tools in running the world, and that \u201cAssyria, rod of My anger, In whose hand, as a staff, is My fury!\u201d (10:5). But in the role of messiah - we expected to see a king from the House of David, \u201ca shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse\u201d (10:1). And so when the chapter opens \u201cThus said the LORD to Cyrus, His anointed one,\u201d it comes as a bit of a surprise. And from Isaiah\u2019s rhetoric, it looks like it was a surprise to his original listeners, and not just to us.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Monotheism\u2019s little problem.<\/em> If there is only one God, then that God is the source of everything. That includes both the good, and the troublesome. \u201cI form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe [evil]\u2014 I the LORD do all these things\u201d (verse 7). If you don\u2019t understand the theological challenge - the book of Job will be happy to oblige in about 370 chapters.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Exclusivity<\/em>. The phrase \u201cThere is no other (\u201cein \u2018od\u201d) <\/i>appears five times in this chapter. It seems that the prophet had quite a lot of convincing to do. Especially when he turns to all of humanity.<\/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 45","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":"45","chapter_main_number":"379","date":"20270210","wall_id":"379"},"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\/67321"}],"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=67321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}