{"id":68424,"date":"2018-07-09T17:45:54","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-399\/"},"modified":"2023-08-16T09:09:39","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T06:09:39","slug":"wall-399","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-399\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Isaiah-65"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"399","date":"20270310","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"67997","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Isaiah Chapter 65 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Isaiah Chapter 65","slug":"jps-audio-bible-isaiah-chapter-65","old_id":"67997","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":"399","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 65","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_65","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":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"117139","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Lions And Wolves And Snakes - Oh My! ","post_title":"Lions And Wolves And Snakes - Oh My!","slug":"lions-and-wolves-and-snakes-oh-my","old_id":"117139","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":"399","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But there\u2019s a serpentine mystery here.\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Chapter 65 ends with a repeat of Isaiah\u2019s famous image of the peaceful future symbolized by wild animals:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, And the serpent\u2019s food shall be earth. In all My sacred mount Nothing evil or vile shall be done \u2014said the LORD (verse 25).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The image of the wolf and lamb grazing together and the lion and ox eating straw is very powerful, yet the third clause in this phrase seems quite out of place. The serpent is not paired with another animal like the wolf and lamb and ox and lion.\u00a0 The serpent eating the dust of the earth is exactly what the serpent received already as punishment, from the story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. \u201cOn your belly shall you crawl and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life\u201d (Genesis 3:14).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why would Isaiah incorporate this exact turn of phrase in his picture of a peaceful future? Why include the serpent at all? In Isaiah 11, the snake is paired with a child as an addendum to the other animals mentioned here as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk\u2019s den (11:6-9).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why not keep the same combination as chapter 11?\u00a0 Perhaps Isaiah is trying to explain that while these wild animals lose their predatory tendencies, the punishment for their previous actions will not be absolved. The snake\u2019s punishment remains the same, so too will the punishment for Israel\u2019s enemies. Even if the future is one of peaceful harmony, God will not forget the transgressions of those that harmed Israel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":84441,"alt":"","title":"ps58-lion snake","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-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":"Lions And Wolves And Snakes - Oh My!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But there\u2019s a serpentine mystery here","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":84441,"alt":"","title":"ps58-lion snake","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps58-lion-snake-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"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":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"409","name":"Peace","old_id":"809"},{"term_id":"621","name":"Snake","old_id":"1021"},{"term_id":"660","name":"Animals","old_id":"1060"},{"term_id":"795","name":"Vision","old_id":"1195"},{"term_id":"940","name":"Isaiah","old_id":"1340"}]},{"order":3,"id":"68806","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"It\u2019s A Whole New World ","post_title":"It\u2019s A Whole New World","slug":"its-a-whole-new-world","old_id":"68806","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36147,"post_title":"Aaron Koller","slug":"aaron-koller","old_id":"36147","first_name":"Aaron","last_name":"Koller","description":"Aaron Koller is professor of Near Eastern studies at Yeshiva University, where he is chair of the Beren Department of Jewish Studies. His last book was Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought (Cambridge University Press), and his next is Unbinding Isaac: The Akedah in Jewish Thought (forthcoming from JPS\/University of Nebraska Press in 2020); he is also the author of numerous studies in Semitic philology. Aaron has served as a visiting professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and held research fellowships at the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research and the Hartman Institute. He lives in Queens, NY with his wife, Shira Hecht-Koller, and their children.","short_description":"Aaron Koller is professor of Near Eastern studies at Yeshiva University, and chair of the Department of Jewish Studies there.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36148,"alt":"","title":"AJ Koller headshot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"399","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A fitting semi-conclusion to the book of Isaiah\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

How do we deal with the broken world we live in? Some work tirelessly to make it better. You can try to do this by planting the seeds of a revolution, by inventing a language, or by working within a bureaucracy to try to make the world a little bit more sane. Others simply imagine something radically new, and this is the direction our prophet takes today: \u201cFor behold! I am creating a new heaven and a new earth. \u2026 Rejoice forever in what I am creating.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The rest of the chapter draws from earlier passages, in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Deuteronomy, and elsewhere. The next line, \u201cthey shall build houses and live in them, plant vineyards and eat their fruit,\u201d is a literal fulfillment of the enjoinder issued by Jeremiah to the Babylonian exiles (29:28), \u201cBuild houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit.\u201d The next line, \u201cThey shall not build for others, only to have another live there; they will not plant, only to have another eat,\u201d is a promise that the curses of Deuteronomy 28:30 (and see also Amos 5:11; Micah 6:15; Zephaniah 1:13; Job 31:8) will not come true.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And finally, verse 25, \u201cThe wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; the serpent\u2019s food shall be earth. In all My sacred mount nothing evil or vile shall be done, said the Lord\u201d \u2013 this brings us back to Isaiah 2. Our chapter, though it is not the end, thus serves as a fitting semi-conclusion to the book, envisioning a new world order that brings to fruition all that had been prophesied earlier in the book, and in the Bible.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68807,"alt":"","title":"is65-change","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change.jpg","width":1920,"height":858,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-300x134.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":134,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-768x343.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":343,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-1024x458.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":458,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":686,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":858,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-1200x536.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":536,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-940x420.jpg","home_baner-width":940,"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":"It\u2019s A Whole New World","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A fitting semi-conclusion to the book of Isaiah\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68807,"alt":"","title":"is65-change","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change.jpg","width":1920,"height":858,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-300x134.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":134,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-768x343.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":343,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-1024x458.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":458,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":686,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":858,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-1200x536.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":536,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-change-940x420.jpg","home_baner-width":940,"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":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"407","name":"Tikkun","old_id":"807"},{"term_id":"500","name":"Messiah","old_id":"900"},{"term_id":"506","name":"Prophecy","old_id":"906"},{"term_id":"795","name":"Vision","old_id":"1195"}]},{"order":4,"id":"68809","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Here I Am, Here I Am ","post_title":"Here I Am, Here I Am","slug":"here-i-am-here-i-am","old_id":"68809","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49926,"post_title":"Binyamin Cohen","slug":"binyamin-cohen","old_id":"49926","first_name":"Binyamin ","last_name":"Cohen ","description":"Binyamin Cohen is a Jewish Studies teacher at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield, IL. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49927,"alt":"","title":"binyamin cohen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","width":800,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-240x300.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-768x960.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":960,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-336x420.jpg","home_baner-width":336,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"399","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Unconditional, inevitable, unprecedented love\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

God is unconditional. God is there for us, even when we are not there for God. God says, \u201cI responded to those who did not ask, I was at hand to those who did not seek Me; I said, \u2018Here I am, here I am,\u2019 to a nation that did not invoke My name\u201d (v.1). God tried; we didn\u2019t. But God was still there; God is unconditional.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God is inevitable. God\u2019s people have sinned in all manner of vile ways. Their punishment is certain, their collective sins all known to God, the consequences inescapable. God does not forget; God is inevitable.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God is optimistic. \u201cDon\u2019t destroy it; there\u2019s good in it,\u201d says God (v.8). God does not forget, which means God also remembers the good. God will see that good, cherish that good, nurture that good, cause it to flower. The people and the land will flourish; God is optimistic.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God is unprecedented. God created the universe from nothing. Now God says (v.17), \u201cI am creating a new heaven and a new earth; The former things shall not be remembered, they shall never come to mind.\u201d If the first creation was unprecedented, this second re-creation is too. The world will be utterly changed, for the better: God\u2019s chosen people will live long, joy-filled lives, full of accomplishment and blessing. God is unprecedented.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God is unconditional. \u201cBefore they pray, I will answer; While they are still speaking, I will respond.\u201d (v.24.) God won\u2019t wait for us to reach out. God is there for us, anticipates our needs, and especially when we are able to seek out God\u2019s aid, God will proactively reach out to us. God\u2019s love for us is not limited to the joy that we feel in our lives. God\u2019s love is the response to our prayers, the answer to our cries; God is unconditional.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68810,"alt":"","title":"is65-extended hand","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand.jpg","width":1920,"height":1360,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-300x213.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":213,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-768x544.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":544,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-1024x725.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":725,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1088,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1360,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-1200x850.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":850,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-593x420.jpg","home_baner-width":593,"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":"Here I Am, Here I Am","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Unconditional, inevitable, unprecedented love\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68810,"alt":"","title":"is65-extended hand","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand.jpg","width":1920,"height":1360,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-300x213.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":213,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-768x544.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":544,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-1024x725.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":725,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1088,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1360,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-1200x850.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":850,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-extended-hand-593x420.jpg","home_baner-width":593,"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":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"381","name":"love","old_id":"781"},{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"}]},{"order":5,"id":"68812","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Does Creating A New Life For Ourselves Mean Forgetting The Past? ","post_title":"Does Creating A New Life For Ourselves Mean Forgetting The Past?","slug":"does-creating-a-new-life-for-ourselves-mean-forgetting-the-past","old_id":"68812","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":66417,"post_title":"Maor Greene","slug":"maor-greene","old_id":"66417","first_name":"Maor ","last_name":"Greene ","description":"Maor Greene is a rabbinical student and doctoral student in Hebrew Bible at Jewish Theological Seminary. They are writing their dissertation on metaphors of violent speech in Psalms. They currently accompany others on their spiritual journeys through their work as a Jewish spiritual director. They hold degrees from Duke University (BS), Princeton Theological Seminary (M Div), Hebrew University (MA), and JTS (M Phil). ","short_description":"Maor Greene is a rabbinical student and doctoral student in Hebrew Bible at Jewish Theological Seminary.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":66418,"alt":"","title":"maor greene","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","width":240,"height":240,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":240,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","medium_large-width":240,"medium_large-height":240,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","large-width":240,"large-height":240,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","1536x1536-width":240,"1536x1536-height":240,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","2048x2048-width":240,"2048x2048-height":240,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","post_full_size-width":240,"post_full_size-height":240,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","home_baner-width":240,"home_baner-height":240}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"399","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"On the implications of memory and renewal\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

Many times in the course of our lives we look back at past experiences and wish that things could have gone differently. Who has not wished at some point in our lives that we could somehow make a clean start, breaking with the past? Who has also not wished that we do the same to alleviate the suffering of a loved one?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Isaiah 65, God seems to have the same idea. In verse 17, God speaks to the Judeans living in Jerusalem after returning from exile in Babylon. God declares:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For behold! I am creating <\/span>
\r\n<\/span>A new heaven and a new earth; <\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The former things shall not be remembered, <\/span>
\r\n<\/span>They shall never come to mind.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God goes on to talk about the joy such an act of new creation will cause. Like us, God too seems to want a clean start. Rather than focus on Judah\u2019s sin and the violent destruction of Jerusalem caused by it, God wants to make everything new again. Rather than its past characterized by pain, God is going to recreate Jerusalem as a joy and a delight \u2013 both God and Jerusalem will rejoice.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi notes that there are two different interpretations of God\u2019s intentions here. God may be renewing the heavens and the earth (as if the world were being created anew) or God may actually be creating a literal new heavens and earth. The second option raises serious questions. Would the old inhabitants of Jerusalem be destroyed in favor of new inhabitants? How would the new inhabitants of Jerusalem know to rejoice in God\u2019s actions if they have no memory of the past?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If we use Rashi\u2019s first option (that God is renewing already existing creation), how should we understand that the former things that happened to Jerusalem shall not be remembered, or even come to mind? How can Jerusalem\u2019s inhabitants fully rejoice in God\u2019s actions on their behalf if they cannot acknowledge the reversal in their fortunes? How can we rejoice in the positive developments in our own lives if we cannot fully acknowledge our past?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Here I think the passage does not mean that we should try to wipe our memories of our past. Those memories, often of past pains we wish we could forget, form an integral part of who we are. To break with them would be to break with our very selves. However, this passage does tell us that we do not always have to call those memories to mind. We do not have to let our past define who we are.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Each moment brings with it the possibility of renewal. When we work to make wiser choices in our present, we participate in the creation of our new selves. We cannot change the past, but through our choices in the present we have the opportunity to build a happier future for ourselves and for those whom we love.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68813,"alt":"","title":"is65-past-memory","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","width":1920,"height":752,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-300x118.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":118,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-768x301.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":301,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1024x401.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":401,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":602,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":752,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1200x470.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":470,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1072x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1072,"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":"Does Creating A New Life For Ourselves Mean Forgetting The Past?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"On the implications of memory and renewal\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68813,"alt":"","title":"is65-past-memory","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","width":1920,"height":752,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-300x118.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":118,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-768x301.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":301,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1024x401.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":401,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":602,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":752,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1200x470.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":470,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-past-memory-1072x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1072,"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":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"376","name":"Choice","old_id":"776"},{"term_id":"405","name":"Memory","old_id":"805"},{"term_id":"550","name":"Future","old_id":"950"}]},{"order":6,"id":"117174","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-Isaiah65","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-Isaiah65","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-isaiah65","old_id":"117174","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. 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","post_title":"They Sin Against Me To My Very Face!","slug":"they-sin-against-me-to-my-very-face","old_id":"68815","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. 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In this chapter, Isaiah addressed those Jews who presented themselves as devout but were indulging in a wide variety of idolatrous and pernicious practices.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Malbim\u2019s* commentary to vs. 2-3-4 has the effect of making their misconduct appear all the worse.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cI spread out My hands\u201d and approached them. I beseeched them; I sought them out. Not once, but every day and always. But they were a disloyal and rebellious people \u201cwho walk the way that is not good following their own designs.\u201d They followed an evil path not out of error or miscalculation, but deliberately and consciously since they had contemplated and analyzed which path to choose and still ended up choosing the evil path of deviation and heresy. (2)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not only do they sin against Me, but they do so \u201cto My very face,\u201d brazenly, to spite Me. \u201cMy face\u201d [symbolizes] My providence that observes all their abominations. They \u201csacrifice in gardens\u201d to idols, and \u201coffer incense on the tiles\u201d because they hide themselves from people and are afraid to build altars for idolatry in public. In the presence of others, they pretend sanctimony as though they were God-fearing\u2026 thereby angering Me brazenly, as though they were sinning only in My presence, as though I alone would be aware. (3)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moreover, they spend the nights in hidden places of filth into which the carcasses of animals are cast. They spend the nights there hiding from people, and there they eat the flesh of swine out of anyone\u2019s sight. Their bowls are filled with \u201cthe broth of unclean things\u201d and they eat impure foods in impure places, hidden from other people. But it is in My sight; I see them there. (4)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As bad as it would have been had they sinned only to satisfy their appetites (the Talmud calls this <\/span>mumar lete\u2019av<\/span><\/em>on<\/em>), their misbehavior is all the worse because it was considered and deliberate. The effrontery to commit these sins in the very sight of God was a brazen attempt to goad Him into reacting (<\/span>mumar lehakh`is<\/span><\/em>) and their pretense at sanctimony was but hypocrisy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/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

Image: The Aztec Tula Atlantean statues \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68817,"alt":"","title":"is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula.jpg","width":960,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula.jpg","large-width":960,"large-height":720,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":720,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula-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":"They Sin Against Me To My Very Face!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A veritable cornucopia of idolatry","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68817,"alt":"","title":"is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula.jpg","width":960,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula.jpg","large-width":960,"large-height":720,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":720,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-idolatry-Telamones_Tula-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":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"429","name":"Idolatry","old_id":"829"},{"term_id":"527","name":"Anger","old_id":"927"}]},{"order":8,"id":"68800","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Two Isaiahs? Or One? ","post_title":"Two Isaiahs? Or One?","slug":"two-isaiahs-or-one","old_id":"68800","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":61002,"post_title":"Yogev Bar-Gad","slug":"yogev-bar-gad","old_id":"61002","first_name":"Yogev ","last_name":"Bar-Gad","description":"Yogev Bar-Gad is a lawyer and a Torah lecturer.","short_description":"Yogev Bar-Gad is a lawyer and a Torah lecturer.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":61003,"alt":"","title":"yogev bar gad","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/yogev-bar-gad.jpg","width":431,"height":582,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/yogev-bar-gad-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/yogev-bar-gad-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/yogev-bar-gad.jpg","medium_large-width":431,"medium_large-height":582,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/yogev-bar-gad.jpg","large-width":431,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/yogev-bar-gad.jpg","1536x1536-width":431,"1536x1536-height":582,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/yogev-bar-gad.jpg","2048x2048-width":431,"2048x2048-height":582,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/yogev-bar-gad.jpg","post_full_size-width":431,"post_full_size-height":582,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/yogev-bar-gad-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"399","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Mixing optimism and pessimism, castigation and comfort","post_main_content_content":"

There is a famous theory about two alleged prophets named Isaiah. The first was a pessimistic prophet, who lived in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and made 39 castigating prophecies (Isaiah 1-39). The second was an optimistic prophet, who lived in the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, and prophesied 27 comforting prophecies (Isaiah 40-66). Due to this theory, our chapter (Isaiah 65) is expected to be optimistic and comforting. But actually most of it is not as expected.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In our chapter Isaiah predicts that:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Disloyal people, who walk the way that is not good\u2026 The people who provoke My anger, who continually to my very face sacrifice in gardens and burn incense on tiles\u2026 Who sit inside tombs\u2026 Who eat the flesh of swine\u2026 Such things make my anger rage like fire\u2026 I will\u2026 deliver their sins into their bosom\u2026 I will count out their recompense in full into their bosoms\u2026 you who forsake the LORD\u2026 I will destine you for the sword, you will all kneel down to be slaughtered\u2026 (Isaiah 65, 2-12).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This prophecy is our chapter is reminiscent of the castigating prophecy in the 1<\/span>st<\/span> chapter of Isaiah, in which:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rebels and sinners shall all be crushed, and those who forsake the LORD shall perish. Truly, you shall be shamed\u2026 you shall be confounded because of the gardens you coveted\u2026 shall burn together with none to quench\" (Isaiah 1, 28-31). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The words that describe the sinners (\"who forsake the LORD\") and the places where the sins are committed (\"gardens\") are similar in both prophecies.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A closer look at these two chapters reveals that both of them contain a mixture of castigating and comforting prophecies. To the first chapter's pessimistic prophecy Isaiah adds an optimistic prophecy and predicts that \"Zion shall be saved in the judgment; Her repentant ones in the retribution\" (Isaiah 1, 27). To the castigating prophecy in our chapter Isaiah adds an optimistic prophecy about a wonderful, peaceful, \u2018vegetarian\u2019 world. There wolves won\u2019t eat lambs, lions like the ox will eat only straw, and \u201cin all the LORD\u2019s sacred mount nothing evil or vile shall be done\u201d (verse 25). Just as God promised 54 chapters ago (Isaiah 11:6-9).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In conclusion, our chapter \u2013 like other chapters in Isaiah \u2013 challenges the theory about two completely different prophets named Isaiah, one pessimistic and the second optimistic. Our chapter supports the very words of the book of Isaiah itself about one prophet named Isaiah, that mixes castigating and comforting prophecies as well.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68801,"alt":"","title":"is65-two isaiahs","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Two Isaiahs? Or One?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Mixing optimism and pessimism, castigation and comfort","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68801,"alt":"","title":"is65-two isaiahs","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-two-isaiahs-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"506","name":"Prophecy","old_id":"906"},{"term_id":"607","name":"Comfort","old_id":"1007"},{"term_id":"763","name":"Vegetarian","old_id":"1163"},{"term_id":"940","name":"Isaiah","old_id":"1340"}]},{"order":9,"id":"68796","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Be Aware ","post_title":"Be Aware","slug":"be-aware","old_id":"68796","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":"399","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"No profane person is allowed to come near me\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

65:5 \u201c...saying, \u2018Keep off, do not approach me, for I am not to be touched by you.\u2019 These are smoke in my nostrils, smoldering fire all day long.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Hebrew <\/span>qedashtikha<\/span><\/em> is problematic. The reasoning behind this translation is: to be <\/span>qadosh<\/span><\/em>, \u201choly,\u201d is to be unapproachable except by designated priests. The speaker may be saying that I have assumed a condition of <\/span>qedushah<\/span><\/em>, holiness, by my participation in these rites, and so no profane person is allowed to come near me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, 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 Aware","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"No profane person is allowed to come near me","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":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"480","name":"Holiness","old_id":"880"}]},{"order":10,"id":"68803","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Wolf, Lamb, Lion And Serpent ","post_title":"Wolf, Lamb, Lion And Serpent","slug":"wolf-lamb-lion-and-serpent","old_id":"68803","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":"399","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But in particular\u00a0 - the serpent\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter concludes with a remarkable vision of the future: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The wolf and the lamb shall graze together. And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the serpent\u2019s food shall be earth. In all My sacred mount, nothing evil or vile shall be done, said the Lord (Isaiah 65:25). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Here, Isaiah re-echoes one of his earlier visions: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb...And the lion, like the ox, shall eat straw. A babe shall play over a viper\u2019s hole\u2026In all My sacred mount, nothing evil or vile shall be done (Isaiah 11:6-9).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe serpent\u2019s food shall be earth\u201d clearly reflects the curse of the serpent for leading the first humans to eat of the forbidden fruit: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Then the Lord God said to the Serpent, \u2018Because you did this, more cursed shall you be than all domesticated animals and all wild beasts. On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life\u2019 (Gen. 3:14).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Serpent\u2019s curious diet particularly attracted the attention of the Rabbinic Sages. Talmud Bavli Yoma 75a preserves a discussion between two important Rabbis (3<\/span>rd<\/span>-4<\/span>th<\/span> century CE) on the verse: \u201cAnd the serpent\u2019s food shall be earth\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Ammi said: \u2018Even if the serpent were to eat all the delicacies of the world, he would only taste earth\u2019. Rabbi Assi said: \u2018Even if the serpent were to eat all the delicacies of the world, he would not be satisfied until he had eaten earth.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Tanhuma Vayigash 8 preserves a \u201ccircular proem\u201d that begins and ends with the first verse of Isaiah\u2019s prophecy: \u201c\u2018The wolf and the lamb shall graze together\u2019 \u2013 \u2018Come and see! What the Holy One blessed be He, injures in this World, He will heal in the World to Come\u2026Even most of the beasts shall be \u2018healed\u2019, as it says: \u2018The wolf shall dwell with the lamb\u2026\u2019 But the serpent shall never be healed, as it says: \u2018And the serpent\u2019s food shall be earth\u2019. For it was the serpent who \u2018brought mankind down into the earth\u2019 (i.e. humans are buried in the earth, which is punishment for the sin of Adam and Eve, instigated by the serpent, in eating the forbidden fruit, see Talmud Bavli Shabbat 55b)\u2026\u2019Lamb\u2019 refers to the People of Israel, who may be \u2018scattered like sheep\u2019 (Jeremiah 50:17), but in the time of Joseph the sons of Jacob\/Israel came together in reconciliation\u2019\u201d (see Genesis 43:33).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This ancient Midrash bears a message that remains relevant to our day. However, \u201cscattered\u201d we may be in our divergent views on various issues, it behooves us to reconcile our differences in a spirit of compromise in order to forge a unified approach to achieving those basic goals on which we do agree.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68804,"alt":"","title":"is65-snake","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake.jpg","width":1920,"height":1339,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-300x209.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":209,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-768x536.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":536,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-1024x714.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":714,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1071,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1339,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-1200x837.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":837,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-602x420.jpg","home_baner-width":602,"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":"Wolf, Lamb, Lion And Serpent","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But in particular\u00a0 - the serpent\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68804,"alt":"","title":"is65-snake","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake.jpg","width":1920,"height":1339,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-300x209.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":209,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-768x536.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":536,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-1024x714.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":714,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1071,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1339,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-1200x837.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":837,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is65-snake-602x420.jpg","home_baner-width":602,"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":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"621","name":"Snake","old_id":"1021"},{"term_id":"660","name":"Animals","old_id":"1060"}]},{"order":11,"id":"68026","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Isaiah 65 ","post_title":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Isaiah 65","slug":"sefaria-source-sheets-isaiah-65","old_id":"68026","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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\u201cIs God Happy?\u201d<\/a> by Evan Krame: Can God be said to have emotions?<\/p>\r\n

\u201cStanding By and Bystanding\u201d<\/a> by Tamar Grimm: When is the right time to take action?<\/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 65","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":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"68794","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - Isaiah 65 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - Isaiah 65","slug":"points-to-ponder-isaiah-65","old_id":"68794","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":"399","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 narrative frame.<\/em> There are more than a few connections between the last two chapters of Isaiah, and its beginning, chapter 1. The linguistic connections serve to sharpen the differences: Who is asking and answering? God or the people? Who is ignoring whom? And what does God truly desire? Worth looking into...<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Those who sit in tombs, and eat pigs.<\/em> The image that verse 4 describes is not a caricature. It is a picture of the cultic worship of the god of She\u2019ol, and part of the practice of serving the dead.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Servants of the Lord.<\/em> In prophecies from previous chapters we met \u201cIsrael, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Seed of Abraham My friend\u201d (Is. 41:8). It was clear that all Israelites are part of the chosen crowd. In today\u2019s chapter a different picture arises. The servants of God are a group within the nation. Not everyone. Is this perhaps a foretaste of the sectarianism that will become the norm in second temple times?<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. The ultimate blessing.<\/em>\u201dThey shall build houses and dwell in them, They shall plant vineyards and enjoy their fruit.They shall not build for others to dwell in, Or plant for others to enjoy\u201d (verses 21-22). The blessing is to complete what you began to do, for lives that have been interrupted in the middle are a curse (see for instance Deut. 28:30). The desire for a blessed world such as this is also one of the conditions for being released from going off to war: \u201cIs there anyone who has built a new house but has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his home, lest he die in battle and another dedicate it\u201d (verses 5,6,7).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. If this vision sounds familiar\u2026<\/em> If the vision of peace between predators and prey reminds you of something, then you have a good memory! 54 chapters ago, in Isaiah 11, \u201cand the wolf shall dwell with the lamb.\u201d<\/span><\/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 65","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":"65","chapter_main_number":"399","date":"20270310","wall_id":"399"},"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\/68424"}],"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=68424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}