{"id":68428,"date":"2018-07-09T17:45:50","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1079\/"},"modified":"2023-08-11T11:42:43","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T08:42:43","slug":"wall-1079","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1079\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20230806-to-20230812"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1079","date_from":"20230806","date_to":"20230812","book":"Isaiah","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"108191","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Biblical Baldness ","post_title":"Biblical Baldness","slug":"biblical-baldness","old_id":"108191","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":"167","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The cultural contexts of sartorial statements\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our<\/span> chapter<\/span><\/a> begins with Moses\u2019 warning the assembled Israelites:<\/span> You are children of the Lord. You shall not gash yourselves or shave the front of your heads because of the dead<\/span><\/a>. In<\/span> Leviticus<\/span><\/a>, this prohibition is directed to the priestly descendants of Aaron. Forbidding gashing oneself or shaving the front of the head as a sign of mourning reflects such signs of grief practiced by the<\/span> Philistines<\/span><\/a> (see also<\/span> Ibn Ezra<\/span><\/a>). To this day, such physical expressions of grief are practiced by Shiite Muslims in the annual<\/span> Ashura<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Curiously, the anatomical point <\/span>beyn \u2018eynekha<\/em> <\/span>(literally \u201cbetween your eyes\u201d, i.e. the forehead) is referred to as a positive \"sign\" (<\/span>Biblical <\/span>\"<\/span><\/i>totafot<\/span>\"<\/span><\/i><\/a>,<\/span> rabbinic \"tefillin\"<\/span><\/a>)<\/span> earlier in<\/span> Deuteronomy<\/span><\/a> and previously in<\/span> Exodus<\/span><\/a>. The seemingly incongruous references to the human \u201cforehead\u201d as \u201ctearing the hair as a sign of mourning\u201d and the placement of the <\/span>tefillin shel rosh <\/span><\/em>(\u201chead-phylactery\u201d) have been the subject of comment from<\/span> medieval<\/span><\/a> to<\/span> modern<\/span><\/a> times. Even more incongruous are the references to the<\/span> \"bald spot on the forehead<\/span><\/a> in the discussion of the symptoms but also the signs of recovery from<\/span> tzaraat<\/span><\/a> <\/em>(\u201cleprosy\u201d) particularly in<\/span> Leviticus<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There are numerous<\/span> references<\/span><\/a> to<\/span> baldness<\/span><\/a> in Scripture, many of which refer to mourning or expressions of grief. For example,<\/span> For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\r\n

According to Jewish legend<\/span><\/a>, the name \u201cKorah\u201d, who lead a<\/span> rebellion<\/span><\/a> against Moses, is related to the Biblical word for \u201cbaldness\u201d, k<\/em><\/span>orhah<\/span><\/em>. <\/span><\/i>Moreover, the prophet Elisha was jeered by boys who cried out<\/span> \"Go away, Baldy! Go away, Baldy!<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> with tragic consequences<\/span><\/a>. Rabbi Akiva is referred to as<\/span> \"this bald one\" (ha-kereah ha-zeh<\/em><\/span><\/a>, which may be related to his son, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korchah (i.e. \u201cson of the bald one\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Leaving the front and top of the head bald, with hair remaining only behind in a kind of \u201cpony-tail\u201d or cue is mentioned in the<\/span> Talmud<\/span><\/a> in a curious<\/span> legend<\/span><\/a> about King David. He is said to have had four hundred youths in his camp, all sons of beautiful women (i.e., born to women captured in war, who were therefore gentiles). All these youths had their hair cut in the <\/span>komei<\/span><\/em> [i.e. pagan Greek] style or in a gentile hairstyle [<\/span>belorit<\/span><\/em>] leaving hair only on the back of their heads. All of them rode in golden carts at the head of the troops in David\u2019s army\u2026These four hundred youths did not actually fight in the battles, but rather they would go forth in front of the troops in order to frighten everyone.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

To return to the beginning of our chapter,<\/span> we are told<\/span><\/a> that Rabbi Meir would say: Beloved are Israel, for they are called the Children of God, as it says<\/span> You are children of the Lord.<\/span><\/a> Beloved are Israel, for they were given a precious tool (<\/span>keli hemdah<\/span><\/em>), with which the world was created. As<\/span> Scripture says<\/span><\/a>: \u201cFor I have given you a good gift. Do not forsake My Torah.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Elisha the Prophet, by vebelfetzer (CC 3.0).<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":63276,"alt":"","title":"2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6.jpg","width":800,"height":1060,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6-226x300.jpg","medium-width":226,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6-768x1018.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1018,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6-773x1024.jpg","large-width":773,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1060,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1060,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1060,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6-317x420.jpg","home_baner-width":317,"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":"Biblical Baldness","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The cultural contexts of sartorial statements\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":63276,"alt":"","title":"2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6.jpg","width":800,"height":1060,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6-226x300.jpg","medium-width":226,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6-768x1018.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1018,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6-773x1024.jpg","large-width":773,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1060,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1060,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1060,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2kings3-elisha_the_prophet_by_vebelfetzer_d3ftdi6-317x420.jpg","home_baner-width":317,"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":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"14","chapter_main_number":"167","date":"20260420","wall_id":"167"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"411","name":"mitzvah","old_id":"811"},{"term_id":"414","name":"Law","old_id":"814"}]},{"order":2,"id":"50667","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Text and Context In Matters of Diet ","post_title":"Text and Context In Matters of Diet","slug":"text-and-context-in-matters-of-diet","old_id":"50667","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49421,"post_title":"Eve Levavi Feinstein","slug":"eve-levavi-feinstein","old_id":"49421","first_name":"Eve Levavi ","last_name":"Feinstein ","description":"Dr. Eve Levavi Feinstein is a writer and editor in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a PhD in Hebrew Bible from Harvard University and is the author of Sexual Pollution in the Hebrew Bible.","short_description":"Dr. Eve Levavi Feinstein is a writer and editor in the San Francisco Bay Area","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49422,"alt":"","title":"eve levavi feinstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/eve-levavi-feinstein.jpg","width":838,"height":813,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/eve-levavi-feinstein-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/eve-levavi-feinstein-300x291.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":291,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/eve-levavi-feinstein-768x745.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":745,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/eve-levavi-feinstein.jpg","large-width":838,"large-height":813,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/eve-levavi-feinstein.jpg","1536x1536-width":838,"1536x1536-height":813,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/eve-levavi-feinstein.jpg","2048x2048-width":838,"2048x2048-height":813,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/eve-levavi-feinstein.jpg","post_full_size-width":838,"post_full_size-height":813,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/eve-levavi-feinstein-433x420.jpg","home_baner-width":433,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"167","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Taking clean and unclean from Temple cult to table","post_main_content_content":"

If you\u2019ve made it to this chapter, you may be experiencing d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. That\u2019s because you read almost exactly the same thing in Leviticus 11! Just like Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14 contains a list of animals that may not be eaten. Even the wording is almost identical.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But there is a key difference between the two chapters: Leviticus 11 comes within a larger unit of chapters on ritual purity, and its discussion of prohibited animals fits into that context. The term used to describe prohibited animals, \u201cunclean,\u201d is also used to describe things that cause ritual impurity, such as dead bodies, semen, menstrual blood, and leprosy. And in fact, Leviticus 11 follows up its main discussion of dietary prohibitions with a discussion of the ritual impurity caused by touching certain animals or carrying their carcasses. Its precise use of language also relates to this topic: the term \u201cunclean\u201d refers only to animals that cause ritual impurity from touching (such as pigs), whereas those that may not be eaten but <\/span>don\u2019t <\/span><\/i>cause ritual impurity (such as shellfish) are called \u201cabomination.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Deuteronomy 14 also uses \u201cunclean\u201d to describe animals that may not be eaten, and there is one reference to touching carcasses in verse 8. But the other connections to ritual impurity are absent. There is no discussion of ritual impurity caused by touching or carrying the carcasses of animals. And there is no terminological distinction between animals that cause ritual impurity and those that don\u2019t\u2014they are all \u201cunclean.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When texts this similar appear in the Bible, scholars naturally assume some sort of historical connection. Either the author(s) of Deuteronomy 14 copied and modified the text from Leviticus or the reverse\u2014or perhaps the authors of the two chapters drew on a third text that we no longer have. In terms of its language, our passage seems to fit the Leviticus context better. But there are also reasons to think that the parts of Leviticus 11 on ritual purity were added at a later stage.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What we can say is that in presenting the dietary laws in a context unrelated to ritual purity, Deuteronomy is bringing them closer to what they are today: a set of rules about what Jews may or may not eat, unrelated to temple-based laws of purity and purification. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image:\u00a0shutterstock_689475808<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":44985,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_689475808","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","width":4788,"height":3648,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-300x229.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":229,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-768x585.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":585,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-1024x780.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":780,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1170,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1560,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-1200x914.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":914,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-551x420.jpg","home_baner-width":551,"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":"Text And Context In Matters Of Diet","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Taking clean and unclean from Temple cult to table","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":44985,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_689475808","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","width":4788,"height":3648,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-300x229.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":229,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-768x585.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":585,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-1024x780.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":780,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1170,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1560,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-1200x914.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":914,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-551x420.jpg","home_baner-width":551,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"14","chapter_main_number":"167","date":"20260420","wall_id":"167"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"742","name":"Purity","old_id":"1142"},{"term_id":"744","name":"Kashrut","old_id":"1144"}]},{"order":3,"id":"50713","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Children of Freed Slaves - Slave Owners!? ","post_title":"Children of Freed Slaves - Slave Owners!?","slug":"children-of-freed-slaves-slave-owners","old_id":"50713","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49857,"post_title":"Tali Adler","slug":"tali-adler","old_id":"49857","first_name":"Tali ","last_name":"Adler","description":"Rabbi Tali Adler is a faculty member at Yeshivat Hadar, an egalitarian yeshiva on the Upper West Side. Tali is a musmekhet of Yeshivat Maharat and a Wexner Graduate Fellow. During her time at Yeshivat Maharat, Tali served as the clergy intern at Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim and Harvard Hillel. \r\n","short_description":"Rabbi Tali Adler is a faculty member at Yeshivat Hadar, an egalitarian yeshiva on the Upper West Side","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49865,"alt":"","title":"tali adler","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","width":165,"height":159,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","medium-width":165,"medium-height":159,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","medium_large-width":165,"medium_large-height":159,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","large-width":165,"large-height":159,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":165,"1536x1536-height":159,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":165,"2048x2048-height":159,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":165,"post_full_size-height":159,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/tali-adler-1.jpg","home_baner-width":165,"home_baner-height":159}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"168","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Do not imagine that the suffering of your past inoculates you against perpetrating evil in your future","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cWhen your brother, an Israelite, shall be sold to you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The mitzvah is startling. Addressed to a nation, all children of freed slaves, it assumes a reality in which one of them can shift identities, moving from oppressed to oppressor, from one enslaved to one who enslaves.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our visceral response is that this is not meant for me, that this is meant for someone darker, someone callous, someone who has not lived through what I have, was not raised the way I was. And sometimes this is true.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But there is value in believing the possibility of \u201cwhen your brother shall be sold to you.\u201d We cannot eradicate evil by assuming that it is the purview of the depraved. Acting against oppression means understanding why otherwise decent, good human beings might act in evil ways. Acting against oppression means understanding not just the suffering of the afflicted but the motivations of the afflicter. It means understanding that we ourselves have the capacity to oppress, that in other circumstances we might be capable of acting like those perpetrating evil. If oppression is systematic then we do ourselves no favors by assuming that we are immune to its temptations. By pretending that oppression is something only the monstrous engage in we turn it into something supernatural that we have no power to solve--and worse, we blind ourselves to the ways in which we might fall prey to it ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Google \"imagine yourself as a slave,\" and you will be faced with thousands of results. Google \"imagine yourself as a slave owner\" and you will find less than ten. Part of the mandate of Deuteronomy is to remember that you were a slave, to remember that experience, and to use that memory to help others in turn. But that mandate is matched by the mandate of \u201cwhen your brother shall be sold you\u201d\u2014remember that you too are capable of evil. Do not imagine that the suffering of your past inoculates you against perpetrating evil in your future.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image:\u00a0Michal Ben Hamu<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50728,"alt":"","title":"dt15-Michal Ben Hamu","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","width":900,"height":386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-300x129.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":129,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-768x329.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":329,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":386,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":386,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","home_baner-width":900,"home_baner-height":386}},"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":"Children of Freed Slaves - Slave Owners!?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Do not imagine that the suffering of your past inoculates you against perpetrating evil in your future","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50728,"alt":"","title":"dt15-Michal Ben Hamu","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","width":900,"height":386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-300x129.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":129,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu-768x329.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":329,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":386,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":386,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt15-Michal-Ben-Hamu.jpg","home_baner-width":900,"home_baner-height":386}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"168","date":"20260421","wall_id":"168"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"436","name":"Morality","old_id":"836"},{"term_id":"438","name":"Slavery","old_id":"838"},{"term_id":"460","name":"Evil","old_id":"860"}]},{"order":4,"id":"50684","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Opening Our Hands ","post_title":"Opening Our Hands","slug":"opening-our-hands","old_id":"50684","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":50685,"post_title":"Cheryl Peretz","slug":"cheryl-peretz","old_id":"50685","first_name":"Cheryl ","last_name":"Peretz ","description":"Based in Los Angeles, Rabbi Cheryl Peretz serves as the Associate Dean of both the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and of the Zacharias Frankel College. Rabbi Peretz known as a frequent speak and scholar-in-residence in communities throughout North America.","short_description":"Rabbi Cheryl Peretz serves as the Associate Dean of both the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and of the Zacharias Frankel College.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":50686,"alt":"","title":"Faculty Portraits","caption":"Cheryl Peretz","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz.jpg","width":2960,"height":4149,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-214x300.jpg","medium-width":214,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-731x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":731,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-731x1024.jpg","large-width":731,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz.jpg","1536x1536-width":1096,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz.jpg","2048x2048-width":1461,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-856x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":856,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/cheryl-peretz-300x420.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"168","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"We have to live in the real poverty-stricken world, even as we imagine a perfected one, sufficient for all","post_main_content_content":"

Studies of American philanthropy often point to two traits strongly related to an individual\u2019s participation in giving \u2013 education and wealth. According to some, this alone would be the justification for the stronger than average giving by American Jews. Nevertheless, Chapter 15 of Deuteronomy offers a different basis, a basis that may well be not only the underpinning of the Jewish commitment, but also the universal recognition that poverty exists and the human condition makes it impossible to turn our back on those in need.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As my teacher Rabbi Elliot Dorff understands, the 15<\/span>th<\/span> century Spanish commentator, Abarbanel, identifies three reason for giving tzedakah: to express mercy towards the poor, to recognize the poor person as one of your fellow human beings (and perhaps even your relative), and to be a part of sustaining the community.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the same time, there is an inherent contradiction raised as well. In verse 4, the Torah says <\/span>\u201cThere shall be no needy among you,\u201d and, in verse eleven, \u201cFor the poor will never cease from the land.\u201d \u00a0How is it possible to both understand the Divine promise to cease poverty and in the same passage to admit that it will never go away?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Great debates take place between commentators over the generations in attempts to reconcile these two disparate comments. Ramban says <\/span>\u201cFor the poor will never cease \u00a0[means] it is impossible that the poor will permanently disappear. [Moses] mentions this because, having assured them that there would be no needy if they observed all of the commandments, he goes on to say, \u201cI know that not every generation, forever, will observe all of the commandments to the point that there is no longer any need for commandments concerning the poor. For perhaps, at certain times, there will be needy, and therefore, I am commanding you for the case in which they are present.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In other words, we anticipate a perfected world when poverty would be eliminated, but we plan for the imperfect one in which there are indeed needy amongst us. The same passage reminds us that the worst possible case of all would be to make ourselves callous to the reality of need. So, surely we open our hands to the needy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ken yehi ratzon<\/em> - may it ever be so.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50687,"alt":"","title":"workplace-donation","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","width":1280,"height":954,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-300x224.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":224,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-768x572.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":572,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-1024x763.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":763,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":954,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":954,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-1200x894.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":894,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-564x420.png","home_baner-width":564,"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":"Opening Our Hands","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"We have to live in the real poverty-stricken world, even as we imagine a perfected one, sufficient for all","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50687,"alt":"","title":"workplace-donation","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","width":1280,"height":954,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-300x224.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":224,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-768x572.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":572,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-1024x763.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":763,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":954,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":954,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-1200x894.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":894,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/workplace-donation-564x420.png","home_baner-width":564,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"168","date":"20260421","wall_id":"168"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"681","name":"Giving","old_id":"1081"},{"term_id":"777","name":"Tzedaka","old_id":"1177"},{"term_id":"836","name":"poverty","old_id":"1236"}]},{"order":5,"id":"50715","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"A Case For Reparations ","post_title":"A Case For Reparations","slug":"a-case-for-reparations","old_id":"50715","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33923,"post_title":"Jonathan Sacks","slug":"rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks","old_id":"33923","first_name":"Jonathan ","last_name":"Sacks","description":"An international religious leader, philosopher, and award-winning author of over 35 books, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the International President of 929.\r\nRabbi Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth years between 1991 and 2013, and was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer. Rabbi Sacks passed away on 7th November 2020, aged 72. He was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, who bridged the religious and secular world through his ground-breaking canon of work.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"k (1948-2020) was the former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the International 929 president.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36222,"alt":"","title":"JSacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","width":437,"height":548,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-768x448.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":448,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-1024x597.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","1536x1536-width":437,"1536x1536-height":548,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","2048x2048-width":437,"2048x2048-height":548,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","post_full_size-width":437,"post_full_size-height":548,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-335x420.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"168","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Leaving a legacy of bitterness, slavery is an insult to the human condition","post_main_content_content":"

Before the Israelites left Egypt they were commanded to ask of their neighbors\u00a0<\/span>silver and gold and other precious objects. The morality of this has long been a source of perplexity. The key to understanding it lies in the later law to which it gave rise. When you let a slave go free, commands the Torah, \u201cyou must not send him away empty-handed. You must give to him of your flock, your granary and your wine-vat; you shall give him of all that the Lord your God has blessed you with. And you shall remember that you were once a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; this is \u00a0why, today, I command you thus\u201d (Deut. 15:13-15). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Slavery is an insult to the human condition, and it leaves a legacy of bitterness that itself prevents an ex-slave from being fully free of the past. Freedom involves more than just releasing a slave. It means furnishing him or her with the means to begin an independent life. It also involves tangible recognition of the work he or she did while a slave. Without this \u00a0a slave continues to resent his former owner. With it, they can face one another in mutual dignity and respect. Payment is restitution in the deepest sense of the word, not only financial but also psychological.
\r\n
\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Excerpted from The Jonathan Sacks Haggada<\/span><\/em>, p.79<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Israel in Egypt\u00a0<\/em>(Edward Poynter, 1867) - Wikicommons<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50724,"alt":"","title":"dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt.jpg","width":1920,"height":805,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-300x126.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":126,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-768x322.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":322,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-1024x429.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":429,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":644,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":805,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-1200x503.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":503,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-1002x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1002,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"A Case For Reparations","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Leaving a legacy of bitterness, slavery is an insult to the human condition","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50724,"alt":"","title":"dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt.jpg","width":1920,"height":805,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-300x126.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":126,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-768x322.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":322,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-1024x429.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":429,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":644,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":805,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-1200x503.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":503,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-Edward_Poynter_-_Israel_in_Egypt-1002x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1002,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"168","date":"20260421","wall_id":"168"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"354","name":"Rabbi Sacks","old_id":"754"},{"term_id":"436","name":"Morality","old_id":"836"},{"term_id":"438","name":"Slavery","old_id":"838"}]},{"order":6,"id":"50796","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"To Appreciate Freedom ","post_title":"To Appreciate Freedom","slug":"to-appreciate-freedom","old_id":"50796","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":47903,"post_title":"Aviva Golbert","slug":"aviva-golbert","old_id":"47903","first_name":"Aviva ","last_name":"Golbert ","description":"Aviva Golbert is the Director of the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators. Aviva is a Jewish educator with over twenty years of experience in curriculum development, classroom teaching, school administration and educational consulting. Upon making Aliyah in 1996, Aviva developed formal and informal educational materials for Melitz and at the Leo Baeck Education Center. She then served as the head of the department of Jewish Studies at Immanuel College, London.","short_description":"Aviva Golbert is the Director of the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":47904,"alt":"","title":"aviva golbert","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782.jpg","width":1639,"height":1811,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-272x300.jpg","medium-width":272,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-768x849.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":849,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-927x1024.jpg","large-width":927,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782.jpg","1536x1536-width":1390,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782.jpg","2048x2048-width":1639,"2048x2048-height":1811,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-1086x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1086,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/aviva-golbert-e1548150612782-380x420.jpg","home_baner-width":380,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"169","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"When you\u2019ve been a slave, you know what it is to be a stranger, fatherless, and a widow all at the same time","post_main_content_content":"

Deuteronomy 16 contains one of the Torah\u2019s references to the <\/span>Shalosh Regalim<\/span><\/em>:<\/span><\/i> the three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot. In the Pesach section, we are enjoined to eat matzot for seven days and to eschew leavened bread, so that we may \u201cremember the day of [our] departure from the land of Egypt as long as [we] live.\u201d This makes sense. The national memory of running out the door, not having enough time to let our bread rise, having to eat \u2018poor man\u2019s bread,\u2019 will serve us well as a constant, life-long reminder that we are forever indebted to God for having saved us from the hellhole that was Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A reminder found in the Shavuot section is more curious. \u201cBear in mind that you were slaves in Egypt, and take care to obey these laws.\u201d What in the world does Egyptian slavery have to do with <\/span>Chag HaAsif<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> the festival that celebrates the first big yield in the annual Land of Israel harvest cycle? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

It has everything to do with it. God and Moses are fearful \u2013 and rightfully so \u2013 that once they\u2019ve entered the Promised Land, the Israelites will become farmers, raise their crops, reap their produce, and begin to believe that their own efforts have allowed for a bountiful harvest. I mean, why not believe that? Farmers work extremely hard every day of their lives.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When God and Moses tell the Israelites to observe Shavuot, offer free-will produce offerings commensurate with how much they\u2019ve been blessed in their fields, and share the joy with everyone in their household, including their servants, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in their midst alongside their own family, they must also remember that they used to be slaves. They used to be slaves in Egypt, where they weren\u2019t free to make choices about their planting. Where they couldn\u2019t own any land. They used to be slaves in Egypt, and God took them out and brought them to their own land, where He is the only Master. They used to be slaves in Egypt, and now they are free men, who owe their lives and their livelihood to God. They must remember, so they can acknowledge God in all that they have. And so they can share the bounty of the land, which is truly God\u2019s and not their own.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When you\u2019ve been a slave, you know what it is to be a stranger, fatherless, and a widow all at the same time. When you\u2019ve been a slave, you can never forget the kindness of another. When you\u2019ve been a slave, and can remember being a slave, you can appreciate everything you have and share it with everyone in your midst.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So God and Moses tell the Israelites: You MUST remember. Only then will you be truly free to obey these laws.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50797,"alt":"","title":"dt16-remember","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","width":1920,"height":577,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-300x90.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":90,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-768x231.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":231,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1024x308.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":308,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":462,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":577,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1200x361.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":361,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1398x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1398,"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":"To Appreciate Freedom","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"When you\u2019ve been a slave, you know what it is to be a stranger, fatherless, and a widow all at the same time","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":50797,"alt":"","title":"dt16-remember","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","width":1920,"height":577,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-300x90.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":90,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-768x231.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":231,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1024x308.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":308,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":462,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":577,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1200x361.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":361,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt16-remember-1398x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1398,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Deuteronomy","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"169","date":"20260422","wall_id":"169"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"384","name":"God","old_id":"784"},{"term_id":"405","name":"Memory","old_id":"805"},{"term_id":"413","name":"Freedom","old_id":"813"},{"term_id":"438","name":"Slavery","old_id":"838"}]},{"order":7,"id":"68372","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"Be Gone With The Wind\u00a0 ","post_title":"Be Gone With The Wind\u00a0","slug":"be-gone-with-the-wind","old_id":"68372","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":"391","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Or inherit the land","post_main_content_content":"

When you cry out, let those gathered round you save you. But all of them the wind shall bear off, a mere breath take them away. But who shelters in Me shall inherit the land and take hold of My holy mountain (.57:13).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is another ambiguous reference. \u201cThose gathered round\u201d could mean the gods that the paganizing Israelites have collected, or it could refer to the adherents of the pagan cult. In all this, the denunciation of paganism in the Judahite community is a very different theme from what one finds in Isaiah 40-55. The aim of this later prophet is to purge the community of its wayward elements. A sharp division in the Judahites community is envisioned: those who have exerted themselves to go after strange gods (verses 9-10) will be borne off by the wind, while those who have been steadfast in their loyalty to YHWH will \u201cinherit the land,\u201d which is to say, they will be the legitimate possessors of the Persian province of Yehud, now restored to the people of Israel.<\/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 Gone With The Wind\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Or inherit the land","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":"57","chapter_main_number":"391","date":"20270228","wall_id":"391"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"68374","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Build Up A Highway ","post_title":"Build Up A Highway","slug":"build-up-a-highway","old_id":"68374","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":67942,"post_title":"Joshua Gischner","slug":"joshua-gischner","old_id":"67942","first_name":"Joshua ","last_name":"Gischner ","description":"Joshua Gischner is a student rabbi and masters in Religious Education student at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion. Josh is passionate about inclusion, Jewish history, and using creativity to support the Jewish community in finding meaningful Jewish moments. Josh is a member of Cohort 9 of the iCenter's Master\u2019s Concentration in Israel Education and is the Education Intern at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue.","short_description":"Joshua Gischner is a student rabbi and masters in Religious Education student at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":67943,"alt":"","title":"Joshua Gischner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Joshua-Gischner.jpeg","width":3464,"height":4330,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Joshua-Gischner-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Joshua-Gischner-240x300.jpeg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Joshua-Gischner-768x960.jpeg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":960,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Joshua-Gischner-819x1024.jpeg","large-width":819,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Joshua-Gischner.jpeg","1536x1536-width":1229,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Joshua-Gischner.jpeg","2048x2048-width":1638,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Joshua-Gischner-960x1200.jpeg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Joshua-Gischner-336x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":336,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"391","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Removing Obstacles To The Highway Of Inclusion\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

I once taught a child who could not control his body.\u00a0 Although not his fault, initially I did not know the proper '<\/span>highway' <\/span>to his soul as we received no information about him. He would impulsively jump, dance, and move differently from his peers throughout class. I thought he was being a nuisance. Initially, I did not recognize that I was creating an <\/span>obstacle<\/span> to his learning when I simply showed my frustration, lacking compassionate understanding.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is embarrassing to write as I too cannot control my body. I have Tourette\u2019s Syndrome, a neurological disorder which causes involuntary tics. Although mine are manageable now, they were an <\/span>obstacle<\/span> for my teachers as well when I was my student\u2019s age. Imagine the stumbling block created when tics or impulses are viewed as a disruptive call for attention.\u00a0 Imagine the frustration.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Isaiah commands (57:14): \u201cBuild up, build up<\/span> a <\/span><\/i>highway<\/span><\/em>, remove <\/span>michshol<\/span><\/em>, any obstacle, from before My people!\u201d In its only appearance in the Torah, the word <\/span>michshol<\/span><\/em> is not connected to harming a person with a disability (Lev 19:14), thus how I read Isaiah\u2019s message. I\u2019ve learned that it can be difficult to <\/span>build up that highway<\/span><\/em>, without first understanding the individual\u2019s <\/span>obstacles<\/span><\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I began dismantling my student\u2019s <\/span>michshol<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>following an eye-opening conversation with a mentor. Exodus describes the sacrificial altar as having steps (20:23) to which a concerned Rashi there responds that one should not build an altar without a ramp. My mentor helped me build that ramp. It was at that moment when the steps to the altar began to slope, as frustration turned into compassion. It was then when my student\u2019s learning dramatically improved as I began to better understand the <\/span>highway <\/span><\/i>to his soul.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I would bet that Rashi knew a person who could not ascend those steps. He saw them and dismantled a <\/span>michshol<\/span><\/em> in the Torah text. We must do the same.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68375,"alt":"","title":"is57-help","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-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":"Build Up A Highway","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Removing Obstacles To The Highway Of Inclusion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68375,"alt":"","title":"is57-help","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is57-help-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":"57","chapter_main_number":"391","date":"20270228","wall_id":"391"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"386","name":"Psychology","old_id":"786"},{"term_id":"399","name":"Education","old_id":"799"},{"term_id":"616","name":"Spirit","old_id":"1016"},{"term_id":"769","name":"Disabilities","old_id":"1169"}]},{"order":9,"id":"68442","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Should It Be Prohibited To Even Think About Work On Shabbat? ","post_title":"Should It Be Prohibited To Even Think About Work On Shabbat?","slug":"should-it-be-prohibited-to-even-think-about-work-on-shabbat","old_id":"68442","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":"392","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Is that even possible?","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter concludes with what may be regarded as the most significant prophetic proclamation about Shabbat: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, from pursuing your affairs on My holy day. If you call the sabbath \u2018delight\u2019, the Lord\u2019s holy day \u2018honored\u2019. And if you honor it and go not your ways, nor look to your affairs, nor strike bargains, then you shall delight in the Lord... (58:13-14).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In his Mishneh Torah, Maimonides refers to these verses at both the beginning and the end of the final chapter (30) of Hilkhot Shabbat. The two aspects of Shabbat observance that are explicated by the Prophets are \u201cHonoring Shabbat (Kevod Shabbat<\/em>)\u201d and \u201cDelighting in Shabbat (Oneg Shabbat<\/em>)\u201d (Halakhah 1)\u2026 Whoever observes the Shabbat, according to Law, and honors it and delights in it according to his ability, will receive reward in this world in addition to the reward in the world to come, as Isaiah proclaims: 'Then you shall delight in the Lord\u2026\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The early Midrash Mekhilta (Bahodesh 7) extends Isaiah\u2019s Shabbat proclamation in a significant way: \u201cSix days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Shabbat of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work\u201d (Exodus 20:8-9) \u2013 Rest even from the thought of labor (shvut mi-mahshevet avodah<\/em>), as it says: \u201cIf you turn away your foot from Shabbat, from pursuing your affairs on My holy day\u2026then you shall delight in the Lord\u201d (Isaiah 58:13-14).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The more specific prohibition recorded in Bavli Shabbat 38b (according to the commentary of Rashi), \u201cA man may not go into his field (on Shabbat) in order to see what work is necessary (after Shabbat)\u201d seems clearly to be based on an implicit interpretation of Isaiah\u2019s prophecy: \u201cIf you turn away your foot from Shabbat, from pursuing your affairs on My holy day\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Significantly, this line of Halakhic midrash on Isaiah\u2019s prophecy seems already to be reflected in the Sabbath Laws preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q421, 4Q264a) and in a previously discovered parallel text found among the manuscripts in the Cairo Genizah. The \u201cDamascus Covenant\u201d (10:20-21) rules: \u201cA man may not walk in the field in order to do [i.e. to plan] his desired labor [for the days following the] Sabbath\u201d. This appears to be a creative interpretation of the two initial phrases of Isaiah\u2019s Shabbat proclamation: \u201cIf you turn away your foot from Shabbat, from pursuing your affairs on My holy day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We might ask if it is perhaps beyond the limits of normal mental self-control to prohibit even thinking for the duration of Shabbat about what work must be done in the coming week?\u00a0 Nevertheless, to what extent and in what way might this Shabbat proscription be practiced today?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Moritz Oppenheim, Sabbath Afternoon, c. 1865 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68443,"alt":"","title":"is58-shabbat-afternoon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon.jpg","width":906,"height":800,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon-300x265.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":265,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon-768x678.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":678,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon.jpg","large-width":906,"large-height":800,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon.jpg","1536x1536-width":906,"1536x1536-height":800,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon.jpg","2048x2048-width":906,"2048x2048-height":800,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon.jpg","post_full_size-width":906,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon-476x420.jpg","home_baner-width":476,"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":"Should It Be Prohibited To Even Think About Work On Shabbat?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Is that even possible?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68443,"alt":"","title":"is58-shabbat-afternoon","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon.jpg","width":906,"height":800,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon-300x265.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":265,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon-768x678.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":678,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon.jpg","large-width":906,"large-height":800,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon.jpg","1536x1536-width":906,"1536x1536-height":800,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon.jpg","2048x2048-width":906,"2048x2048-height":800,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon.jpg","post_full_size-width":906,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-shabbat-afternoon-476x420.jpg","home_baner-width":476,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"58","chapter_main_number":"392","date":"20270301","wall_id":"392"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"378","name":"Shabbat","old_id":"778"},{"term_id":"386","name":"Psychology","old_id":"786"},{"term_id":"652","name":"Commandments","old_id":"1052"},{"term_id":"662","name":"Halacha","old_id":"1062"}]},{"order":10,"id":"68447","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Break Every Yoke ","post_title":"Break Every Yoke","slug":"break-every-yoke","old_id":"68447","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64460,"post_title":"Vincent Calabrese","slug":"vincent-calabrese","old_id":"64460","first_name":"Vincent ","last_name":"Calabrese ","description":"Vincent Calabrese is a doctoral student in Jewish thought at the University of Toronto and a rabbinical student at the Hadar Institute","short_description":"Vincent Calabrese is a doctoral student in Jewish thought at the University of Toronto and a rabbinical student at the Hadar Institute","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64461,"alt":"","title":"vincent calabrese","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese.jpg","width":2117,"height":2504,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-768x908.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":908,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-866x1024.jpg","large-width":866,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese.jpg","1536x1536-width":1299,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese.jpg","2048x2048-width":1731,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-1015x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1015,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-355x420.jpg","home_baner-width":355,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"392","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"On the immorality of imprisonment","post_main_content_content":"

There are few words in the religious vocabulary more evocative than \u2018salvation\u2019. It means deliverance from the state of sin and confusion in which we live our ordinary lives. But in what does it consist? What does it mean to be right in the eyes of God? Popular Jewish thinking on the subject often emphasizes Judaism\u2019s practical disposition \u2014 we are a religion of \u2018deed, not creed,\u2019 the claim often goes. Too often, though, that stress on the importance of the deed gets misdirected\u00a0 into a narrow concern with ritual performance; in Isaiah 58 we read of a community who cannot fathom why their punctilious observance of ascetic rituals has not produced the spiritual \u2018results\u2019 they expected \u2014 \u201cWhy, when we fasted, did You not see? When we starved our bodies, did You pay no heed?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The prophet answers the community, <\/span>not<\/em> <\/span>by condemning ritual as such, but by stressing its subordination to what we today call \u2018social justice.\u2019 God is interested, first and foremost, in how we treat one another. One moment in the prophet\u2019s reply is particularly striking: he declares that the act desired by God is that we \u201cunlock the fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of the yoke to let the oppressed go free; to break every yoke.\u201d There seems to be something particularly offensive, from the prophet\u2019s perspective, about the idea of physical confinement \u2014 binding and chaining our fellow human beings.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Although in contemporary society we are used to thinking of imprisonment as a more humane alternative to corporal punishment, it is noteworthy that traditional Jewish sources do not share this assumption. Although there are some exceptions, it is generally the case that no option of imprisonment exists at all in the criminal justice system as imagined in rabbinic literature. Ben Zion Meir Chai Uziel, the first Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, wrote that \u201cthe punishment of imprisonment is distant from and opposed to the laws and punishments of the Torah of Israel.\u201d His student, Hayim David Halevi, argued that this was the case because \u201cthe Torah\u2019s perspective on human freedom and the social nature of the human being, created in the image of God,\u201d implies that \u201cno other person has the right to confine the human spirit, or his freedom of movement, or his freedom, which are holy of holies among all creations in the image of God.\u201d Although Halevi accepts the existence of prisons within the modern state, he remained deeply uneasy about them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The unmistakable message of this chapter is that our salvation depends in the first instance on creating a society in which each individual is honored as an image of God. One of the ways in which that image is most dishonored is when it is bound and fettered, unable to move in the world or commune with others. The prophet\u2019s rebuke to the people urges us to imagine a world in which human freedom is truly unfettered, assuring us that in such a world our light \u201cwill burst through like the dawn.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68448,"alt":"","title":"is58-break free","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-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":"Break Every Yoke","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"On the immorality of imprisonment","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68448,"alt":"","title":"is58-break free","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-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":"58","chapter_main_number":"392","date":"20270301","wall_id":"392"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"},{"term_id":"403","name":"Redemption","old_id":"803"},{"term_id":"413","name":"Freedom","old_id":"813"},{"term_id":"991","name":"Prison","old_id":"1391"}]},{"order":11,"id":"68453","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Deep Tzedakah ","post_title":"Deep Tzedakah","slug":"deep-tzedakah","old_id":"68453","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"392","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Both heart and hand are necessary\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

Chapter 58 of Isaiah opens with God\u2019s criticism of the way in which the people have conducted themselves. Central to God\u2019s displeasure is the way in which they carry out their religious obligations. Specifically, they dispense with them as rote acts of piety rather than with thoughtfulness and intentionality of spiritual growth, and then wonder why God doesn\u2019t answer their prayers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God gives us a very specific example of how we correct this all-too-common tendency to act mindlessly, and the answer touches on respect and human connection: \u201cGive bread to the hungry and bring the poor into your home (58:7).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This commandment for giving charity (tzedakah) has two parts. The action of giving plus investment in the recipients. It is not enough, God tells us, to simply feed the poor. We must also try to identify and empathize with them and discern what the recipient\u2019s full needs are so that we may help in a meaningful, deeper way. In Deuteronomy 15:7 this dual nature of charity is reflected as <\/span>\u201cDo not close your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.\u201d Hand and heart are both required to properly fulfill the commandment of tzedakah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Maimonides (Rambam) delineated eight levels of charitable giving, and at the top of the list is \u201c<\/span>entering into partnership with him or finding him work so that his hand will be fortified so that he will not have to ask others\u201d (Mishneh Torah<\/span>, Laws of Giving to the Poor). <\/span>Rambam\u2019s number one level of charity involves not merely providing handouts but striving to establish a more equitable world in which the need for personal charity is reduced through our efforts to increase personal self-sufficiency. We are also taught to be mindful of not causing embarrassment through our acts of tzedakah, and Rambam\u2019s second level is giving anonymously, where neither donor nor recipient know the other\u2019s identity. That respect for privacy, understanding and dignity also comes from the heart.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Hebrew word for charity \u2013 <\/span>tzedakah<\/span><\/i> \u2013 is also the word for righteousness and justice. Charity is not meant to be an act of personal magnanimity but is a foundation for personal development and for building a just society. Though it\u2019s both physically and emotionally more comfortable to give charity from a distance, God is telling us to break down barriers, and connect with others, especially those who need our help.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68454,"alt":"","title":"is58-heart-hand","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","width":1280,"height":1230,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-300x288.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":288,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-768x738.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":738,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-1024x984.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":984,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1230,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1230,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-1200x1153.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1153,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-437x420.png","home_baner-width":437,"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":"Deep Tzedakah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Both heart and hand are necessary\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68454,"alt":"","title":"is58-heart-hand","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","width":1280,"height":1230,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-300x288.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":288,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-768x738.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":738,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-1024x984.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":984,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":1230,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1230,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-1200x1153.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1153,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-heart-hand-437x420.png","home_baner-width":437,"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":"58","chapter_main_number":"392","date":"20270301","wall_id":"392"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"468","name":"Relationships","old_id":"868"},{"term_id":"573","name":"Righteousness","old_id":"973"},{"term_id":"777","name":"Tzedaka","old_id":"1177"},{"term_id":"868","name":"Maimonides","old_id":"1268"}]},{"order":12,"id":"68492","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"They Shall Not Budge ","post_title":"They Shall Not Budge","slug":"they-shall-not-budge","old_id":"68492","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":"393","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A Covenant of Salt","post_main_content_content":"

He shall come as redeemer to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn back from sin \u2014declares the LORD. And this shall be My covenant with them, said the LORD: My spirit which is upon you, and the words which I have placed in your mouth, shall not be absent from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your children, nor from the mouth of your children\u2019s children\u2014said the LORD\u2014from now on, for all time. (20-21)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These closing verses of our chapter comprise the opening of a prayer recited towards the close of the daily <\/span>shaharit<\/span><\/em> service, conventionally known by its first two words as <\/span>Uva le-Tziyon<\/span><\/em>. Malbim*, who has consistently sought to view Isaiah\u2019s prophecies in the light of his contemporary Jewish experience, shared the following insight in his commentary here.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The redeemer will come to Zion to restore the glory of Zion, the Temple, and the Sanhedrin. He will also come to the penitents, the exiles, who will be brought to repentance by the oppression of their enemies. And were one to ask: How will they subsist until that time, which is yet distant? The reply is: \u201cThis is My covenant.\u201d I have forged a covenant with them. \u201cFor My spirit that is upon thee\u201d refers to the words of the prophets, and \u201cthe words I have placed in your mouth\u201d refers to the words of Torah that Moses set before Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThey shall not budge from your mouth:\u201d Initially, [the Jews] utilized prophecy up to Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi. Once prophecy was sealed up, Malachi, at the close of his own prophecy\u2014which is also the close of prophecy in general\u2014 said: \u201cRecall the Torah of Moses My servant\u201d (3:22) \u2026 This is how [the Jews] will subsist. This is a covenant of salt (<\/span>b\u2019rit melach<\/span><\/em>) that neither your descendants nor your reputation will perish.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is a \u201ccovenant of salt\u201d? The term is used in Numbers 18:19, in the context of the priestly prerogatives, and its only other appearance is in 2 Chronicles 13:5, describing God\u2019s promise to David of his uninterrupted dynastic rule. Salt is a preservative; a covenant of salt is a covenant that is guaranteed to be preserved.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

*For the significance of Malbim\u2019s commentary to the Book of Isaiah,<\/span> see our introduction to chapter 1.<\/span><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68493,"alt":"","title":"is59-salt","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-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 Shall Not Budge","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A Covenant of Salt","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68493,"alt":"","title":"is59-salt","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is59-salt-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":"59","chapter_main_number":"393","date":"20270302","wall_id":"393"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"395","name":"Covenant","old_id":"795"},{"term_id":"437","name":"Prayer","old_id":"837"},{"term_id":"814","name":"Salt","old_id":"1214"}]},{"order":13,"id":"68501","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"The Camels And Dromedaries Of Redemption ","post_title":"The Camels And Dromedaries Of Redemption","slug":"the-camels-and-dromedaries-of-redemption","old_id":"68501","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":"394","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And tuna with humps\u2026.","post_main_content_content":"

Isaiah chapter 60, describes the future redemption. The exiles who left the land in poverty will return with great wealth:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Raise your eyes and look about: They have all gathered and come to you. Your sons shall be brought from afar, Your daughters like babes on shoulders. As you behold, you will glow; Your heart will throb and thrill\u2014 For the wealth of the sea shall pass on to you, The riches of nations shall flow to you. Dust clouds of camels shall cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah. They all shall come from Sheba; They shall bear gold and frankincense, and shall herald the glories of the LORD (60:4-6).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Those returning will have so many camels that the dust they kick up will cover everyone. Two words are used for camels in the last verse: camels and dromedaries. The Hebrew for \u201ccamels\u201d is the common word <\/span>gamal<\/span><\/em>, ultimately the source of the English word \u201ccamel\u201d. But the Hebrew original for \u201cdromedary\u201d is the rare <\/span>bekher<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i> A more precise translation would be \u201cyoung camel\u201d, and that is the meaning of the Arabic cognate <\/span>bakr<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

Bekher<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>is related to the more familiar words <\/span>bekhor<\/span><\/em> \u2013 \u201cfirst born\u201d and <\/span>bikkurim<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u2013 \u201cfirst fruits.\u201d What is the connection to young camels?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Apparently, the original meaning of that root had a sense of \u201cbreaking forth\u201d, \u201cbeing first\u201d and \u201cbeing early.\u201d So these young camels were considered to be living at an earlier stage than their mature relatives.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While <\/span>bekher\u00a0<\/span><\/em>is rare in Biblical Hebrew, it has a cognate in a familiar English word. The Arabic word <\/span>bakr<\/span><\/em> was borrowed into Portuguese and Spanish as <\/span>albacora<\/span><\/em>, and somewhere along the way it began to refer to a large kind of tuna \u2013 which we know today as \u201calbacore.\u201d The connection between tuna and camels isn\u2019t clear. Some say it\u2019s because of the size. I wonder if maybe the large dorsal fin reminded them of the hump of a camel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But this may not be the only connection between Isaiah and the fish.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In chapter 27, he prophesies about a battle where God will defeat various sea monsters:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In that day the LORD will punish,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>With His great, cruel, mighty sword<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Leviathan the Elusive Serpent\u2014 Leviathan the Twisting Serpent;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>He will slay the Dragon of the sea. (Isaiah 27:1)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Hebrew word for \u201cdragon\u201d is <\/span>tanin<\/span><\/em>. <\/span><\/i>While in other biblical verses <\/span>tanin<\/span><\/em> refers to other animals, such as a snake (Exodus 7:9) and crocodile (Ezekiel 29:3 \u2013 and this is the meaning in modern Hebrew), a common thread between them all seems to be that they live in the water. One theory says that the Greek word <\/span>thynnos<\/span><\/em> derived from the Hebrew <\/span>tanin<\/span><\/em>, and referred to a particular large fish. <\/span>Thynnos<\/span><\/em> went on quite a linguistic journey \u2013 through Latin, Arabic, Spanish \u2013 and eventually - here's an encore for the albacore - became the English word \u201ctuna.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68587,"alt":"","title":"is60-camels","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","width":1920,"height":1295,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-300x202.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":202,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-768x518.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":518,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-1024x691.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":691,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1036,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1295,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-1200x809.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":809,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-623x420.jpg","home_baner-width":623,"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 Camels And Dromedaries Of Redemption","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And tuna with humps\u2026.","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68587,"alt":"","title":"is60-camels","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","width":1920,"height":1295,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-300x202.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":202,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-768x518.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":518,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-1024x691.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":691,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1036,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1295,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-1200x809.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":809,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-camels-623x420.jpg","home_baner-width":623,"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":"60","chapter_main_number":"394","date":"20270303","wall_id":"394"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"361","name":"Hebrew language","old_id":"761"},{"term_id":"660","name":"Animals","old_id":"1060"}]},{"order":14,"id":"68590","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"Let The Light Shine In ","post_title":"Let The Light Shine In","slug":"let-the-light-shine-in","old_id":"68590","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":"394","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The rest of the world may be dark, but you are now a source of illumination","post_main_content_content":"

Light shines throughout the first part of the chapter. In a line that echoes through our Friday night liturgy, embedded in the kabbalistic prayer <\/span>Lekha dodi<\/span><\/em>, the prophet says, \u201cArise (<\/span>qumi<\/span><\/em>)! Shine (<\/span>ori<\/span><\/em>)! For your light has set, but the presence of the Lord has shone upon you!\u201d One phrase in that line needs comment: the Hebrew <\/span>ki ba orekh<\/span><\/em>. As the twelfth-century Spanish polymath Abraham ibn Ezra argued, <\/span>ba<\/span><\/em> typically means \u201centered,\u201d and when the subject is light, the light has \u201cset.\u201d He compares the expression <\/span>ba ha-shemesh<\/span><\/em>, \u201cthe sun set.\u201d While not all his colleagues were persuaded, this seems right to me. The prophet enjoins, \u201cGet up and shine again, although your own light has already set \u2013 for the presence of the Lord is shining on you!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The rest of the world may be dark, but you are now a source of light. And as we know, even a little light can illuminate a lot of territory. Nations and kings will use you as a source of light, and people from all around will stream to you.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If this sounds at all familiar, that\u2019s appropriate: the prophet here is clearly re-using the vision of Isaiah 2, where Jerusalem was to be a source of inspiration to people all around. There, too, people were to look from afar, and realize that something glorious was taking place. Note the use of the verb <\/span>nhr<\/span><\/em>, \u201cglow, gleam\u201d (nothing to do with <\/span>nahar<\/span><\/em> rivers!) in both, as well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The vision reaches its crescendo in the last verses. \u201cNo more shall your sun set (<\/span>yavo shimshekh<\/span><\/em> \u2013 using the same verb as in v. 1), and there shall be no more mourning. The shoot that the Lord planted \u2013 a reference to Isaiah 11? \u2013 is now revealed to be the whole people of Israel, as \u201cyour nation, all righteous, shall forever possess the land.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68591,"alt":"","title":"is60-googletext-iphone","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone.jpg","width":1920,"height":1077,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-300x168.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":168,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-768x431.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":431,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-1024x574.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":574,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":862,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1077,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-1200x673.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":673,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-749x420.jpg","home_baner-width":749,"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":"Let The Light Shine In","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The rest of the world may be dark, but you are now a source of illumination","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68591,"alt":"","title":"is60-googletext-iphone","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone.jpg","width":1920,"height":1077,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-300x168.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":168,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-768x431.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":431,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-1024x574.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":574,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":862,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1077,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-1200x673.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":673,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is60-googletext-iphone-749x420.jpg","home_baner-width":749,"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":"60","chapter_main_number":"394","date":"20270303","wall_id":"394"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"539","name":"Israel","old_id":"939"},{"term_id":"629","name":"Light","old_id":"1029"},{"term_id":"635","name":"Jerusalem","old_id":"1035"}]},{"order":15,"id":"68634","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"For The Humble, The Broken Hearted And The Captives ","post_title":"For The Humble, The Broken Hearted And The Captives","slug":"for-the-humble-the-broken-hearted-and-the-captives","old_id":"68634","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":"395","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Only by cultivating a sense of brokenness can we bring about true liberation","post_main_content_content":"

Isaiah is known as the Prophet of Hope. Speaking across the generations to the countless numbers who will endure exile, poverty, bigotry and violence, Isaiah reminds them (and us) that God remains an ally, a companion, and a vindication. Listen in on his stirring words:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God has sent me as a herald of joy to the humble,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>To bind up the broken hearted,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>To proclaim release to the captives,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Liberation to the imprisoned.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

An orator of unparalleled greatness, Isaiah uses words with surgical precision. He divides the suffering masses he addresses into two broad groups: the humble, and everyone else.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What does it mean to be humble? These are the people who patiently endure whatever suffering comes their way. They don\u2019t harbor expectations of anything better, and accept whatever comes, however it comes. There is both something noble and tragic in such a response to life\u2019s hardships. Surely there is great strength to be found in simply accepting one\u2019s suffering without complaint or struggle. And yet, such a response abandons even the hope of making it better. So Isaiah doesn\u2019t promise action for such people, simply an emotional orientation of joy. They will, thanks to their humility, retain the capacity to rejoice occasionally, even in the midst of their tribulations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And for the rest of us? Those who complain when assaulted, who hold on to a vision of what could possibly be, of how much better it ought to be? What does Isaiah have for us?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not an emotion, but a series of actions. For the broken hearted - binding of wounds. For the captives - release. For the imprisoned - liberation. Isaiah\u2019s vision of redemption is one of a changing reality so that it finally accords with God\u2019s vision of a humanity thriving in the healing light of justice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps, Isaiah is also suggesting that there is a part of our hearts that belongs to the humble, and there is the strength of patience and resilience that can emerge from holding on to such humility. Yet at the same time, a piece of our hearts must cultivate a dissatisfaction and a sense of brokenness. Only then can we come together to channel the divine energy that will bring about true liberation.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68638,"alt":"","title":"is61-humble","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble.png","width":1280,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-200x300.png","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-683x1024.png","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-683x1024.png","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble.png","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-800x1200.png","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-280x420.png","home_baner-width":280,"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":"For The Humble, The Broken Hearted And The Captives","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Only by cultivating a sense of brokenness can we bring about true liberation","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68638,"alt":"","title":"is61-humble","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble.png","width":1280,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-200x300.png","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-683x1024.png","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-683x1024.png","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble.png","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-800x1200.png","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-humble-280x420.png","home_baner-width":280,"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":"61","chapter_main_number":"395","date":"20270304","wall_id":"395"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"386","name":"Psychology","old_id":"786"},{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"},{"term_id":"394","name":"Emotions","old_id":"794"},{"term_id":"451","name":"Hope","old_id":"851"},{"term_id":"643","name":"Humility","old_id":"1043"}]},{"order":16,"id":"68640","color":"#eceffa","size":"1","name":"Remember: Always Pay The Tolls! ","post_title":"Remember: Always Pay The Tolls!","slug":"remember-always-pay-the-tolls","old_id":"68640","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":"395","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"(and p.s. - this chapter almost got Jesus killed\u2026)\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The story is told of a Jew who went to synagogue, and who had the honor of reading there the <\/span>haftarah<\/span><\/i> from the prophets. That day the reading was from Isaiah 61, so the Jew read: \u201cThe spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.\u201d When he finished reading, he rolled up the scroll and told the others in the synagogue: \u201cToday, this has been fulfilled\u201d \u2013 and pointed to himself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This story is told, to be specific, in Luke 4, and the Jew, of course, is Jesus. The people of Nazareth, where this took place, were not amused, leading Jesus to comment sardonically, \u201cA prophet is never accepted in his hometown.\u201d Then the people tried to push him off a cliff, but he escaped.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In its original context, the beginning of our chapter is more uplifting than provocative. It alludes to Leviticus 25 in saying that the prophet\u2019s goal is \u201cto proclaim liberty (<\/span>deror<\/span><\/i>) to those in captivity.\u201d One other important lesson comes later in the chapter: \u201cFor I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery with a burnt offering.\u201d This verse serves as the basis for a parable given by a different famous ancient Jew, Rabbi Shimon bar Yo\u1e25ai (<\/span>quoted in Sukkah 30a<\/span><\/a>):<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A parable of a flesh-and-blood king who was passing by a customs house. He said to his servants: \u201cPay the toll to the toll collectors.\u201d They said to him: \u201cDoesn\u2019t all the toll belong to you?\u201d He said to them: \u201cFrom my conduct, all travelers will learn and will not evade payment of the toll.\u201d So too, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: \u201cI the Lord... hate robbery in a burnt-offering.\u201d [Even though all the sacrifices are his anyway], God says, \u201cFrom me my children will learn and distance themselves from robbery.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68641,"alt":"","title":"is61-toll-booth","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","width":700,"height":490,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth-300x210.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":210,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","medium_large-width":700,"medium_large-height":490,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","large-width":700,"large-height":490,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","1536x1536-width":700,"1536x1536-height":490,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","2048x2048-width":700,"2048x2048-height":490,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","post_full_size-width":700,"post_full_size-height":490,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth-600x420.jpg","home_baner-width":600,"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":"Remember: Always Pay The Tolls!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"(and p.s. - this chapter almost got Jesus killed\u2026)","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68641,"alt":"","title":"is61-toll-booth","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","width":700,"height":490,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth-300x210.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":210,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","medium_large-width":700,"medium_large-height":490,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","large-width":700,"large-height":490,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","1536x1536-width":700,"1536x1536-height":490,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","2048x2048-width":700,"2048x2048-height":490,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth.jpg","post_full_size-width":700,"post_full_size-height":490,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is61-toll-booth-600x420.jpg","home_baner-width":600,"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":"61","chapter_main_number":"395","date":"20270304","wall_id":"395"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"478","name":"Christianity","old_id":"878"},{"term_id":"627","name":"Talmud","old_id":"1027"},{"term_id":"704","name":"Parable","old_id":"1104"}]}],"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\/68428"}],"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=68428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}