{"id":69565,"date":"2018-07-09T17:46:39","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-412\/"},"modified":"2023-09-04T17:36:08","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T14:36:08","slug":"wall-412","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-412\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Jeremiah-12"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"412","date":"20270329","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"412","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"69610","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Jeremiah Chapter 12 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Jeremiah Chapter 12","slug":"jps-audio-bible-jeremiah-chapter-12","old_id":"69610","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"412","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Jeremiah Chapter 12","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-753876298\/jps_audio_bible_jeremiah_chapter_12","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"412","date":"20270329","wall_id":"412"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"117504","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Weeding Society\u2019s Garden ","post_title":"Weeding Society\u2019s Garden","slug":"weeding-societys-garden","old_id":"117504","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"412","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Uprooting evil wherever it sprouts\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

To open chapter 15, Jeremiah asks God the ultimate question: \u201cWhy do good things happen to bad people?\u201d Jeremiah could be referring to the wicked Nebuchadnezzar who will succeed in destroying Jerusalem and the Temple. He could be referring to the people of Anathoth, Jeremiah\u2019s hometown, which was full of corrupt priests. He could also just be asking a general question about the state of Jerusalem at the time where the wicked prospered at the expense of the good. Jeremiah then shifts to plant metaphors:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

You have planted them, and they have taken root, They spread, they even bear fruit. You are present in their mouths, But far from their thoughts (verse 2).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This theme appears again at the end of the chapter:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Thus said GOD: As for My wicked neighbors who encroach on the heritage that I gave to My people Israel\u2014I am going to uproot them from their soil, and I will uproot the House of Judah out of the midst of them. Then, after I have uprooted them, I will take them back into favor, and restore them all to their own inheritance and their own land (verses 14-15).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What is the connection between good things happening to bad people and plants? Anyone who grows a garden knows the answer. At the start of the garden season, the garden beds are nice and clean. Seedlings are transplanted from a garden store or from the house and planted in the garden bed. This is a moment full of promise. The plants are fertilized and watered day in and day out. If all goes well, eventually small green shoots will appear and the seedlings will begin to grow. Everything seems so magical.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But then, the seedlings are not the only things that grow. Weeds start to appear out of nowhere. The weeds were not carefully selected or grown in the house or evenly spaced as seeds. They grow on their own and they grow fast and wild. If they are not taken care of early they spread. Meanwhile, the intentionally-planted plants can begin to yellow, or wither, or break in the wind or be eaten by animals. The weeds still grow and even when pulled they come back. Pesticides would harm the vegetable plants as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The only way to rid the garden of the weeds is to spend the time and effort pulling each one out before it grows too strong. Anything less than a complete effort would be futile. The people at the time, all farmers or gardeners, would understand this. Why do good things happen to bad people? Because those bad people, like the weeds, are allowed to thrive because of indifference, or lack of effort in rooting them out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":117505,"alt":"","title":"-64f5655362a9b--64f5655362a9cjer12-weed 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","post_title":"A Question Without Answer: Why Do The Wicked Prosper?","slug":"a-question-without-answer-why-do-the-wicked-prosper","old_id":"69885","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. 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Jeremiah launches this chapter with one of humanity\u2019s timeless questions: \u201cwhy does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are betrayers tranquil?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The question is more than an inquiry. It is a cry of shock, of anguish, and of rage. How is it possible, in a world governed by a loving God, for there to be such senseless suffering, gross injustice, and the apparent triumph of evildoers time and time again?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Reality is an affront to our moral compass.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Beyond our sense of injustice, the apparent wellbeing of evil people and the success of their plots shreds any sense we might have of a lawful universe in which compassion or goodness have a self-preservatory role.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The world as it is just doesn\u2019t seem reliable.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Sometimes, the power of a gut-wrenching question transcends even the possibility of an answer. After all, religious people have been attempting answers to the \u201cbad things to good people\u201d question for as long as literature has existed. We are told that it is all for the best. Or it\u2019s a mystery. Or that nothing happens without a reason. Or that we will know by and by.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

None of the answers satisfy, and often they simply make it worse.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Wisely, then, this chapter in Jeremiah raises the ancient question, but never offers an answer.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Neither God, nor the universe, provide a verbal response that makes the problem go away. Instead, we are faced with a mute appeal to take a different route. Instead of seeking a comprehensive rationale that makes the current levels of tragedy tolerable, the silence pushes us to seek a remedy in our own engagement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Don\u2019t sit on the sidelines and contemplate suffering. Instead, lean in and help those who suffer. Ours is not to reason why, ours is the task of sharing the load, feeding the hungry, sheltering the outcast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":69886,"alt":"","title":"jer12-wicked3","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3.jpg","width":1138,"height":706,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3-300x186.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3-768x476.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":476,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3-1024x635.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":635,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3.jpg","1536x1536-width":1138,"1536x1536-height":706,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3.jpg","2048x2048-width":1138,"2048x2048-height":706,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3.jpg","post_full_size-width":1138,"post_full_size-height":706,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3-677x420.jpg","home_baner-width":677,"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 Question Without Answer: Why Do The Wicked Prosper?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Don\u2019t sit on the sidelines and contemplate suffering: lean in and help those who suffer\u00a0\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":69886,"alt":"","title":"jer12-wicked3","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3.jpg","width":1138,"height":706,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3-300x186.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3-768x476.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":476,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3-1024x635.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":635,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3.jpg","1536x1536-width":1138,"1536x1536-height":706,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3.jpg","2048x2048-width":1138,"2048x2048-height":706,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3.jpg","post_full_size-width":1138,"post_full_size-height":706,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-wicked3-677x420.jpg","home_baner-width":677,"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":"Jeremiah","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"412","date":"20270329","wall_id":"412"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"},{"term_id":"412","name":"Responsibility","old_id":"812"},{"term_id":"436","name":"Morality","old_id":"836"}]},{"order":4,"id":"69892","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Theodicy Turned Sideways ","post_title":"Theodicy Turned Sideways","slug":"theodicy-turned-sideways","old_id":"69892","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":"412","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Putting God on trial\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Jeremiah opened this chapter with what appears to be a continuation of the previous one, referring to the people of Anathoth, when he replies to God: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

You will win, O LORD, if I make claim against You, yet I shall present charges against You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are the workers of treachery at ease? (1). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Indeed, it was so understood by the secondary interpretation (<\/span>yesh omrim<\/span><\/em>) proferred by Rashi, \u201cHe is calling out complaining about the people of Anathoth.\u201d Rashi\u2019s initial interpretation had identified the complaint as concerning Nebuchadnezzar, calling into question his successful conquest of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shadal,* ingeniously\u2014and characteristically\u2014turned the interpretation sideways to achieve not another condemnation of the people, but an attempt at their absolution.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After God told Jeremiah, \u201cDo not pray to Me on behalf of this people\u2026. who offer incense to Baal,\u201d the prophet figured out how to defend his countrymen, saying: \u201cWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?\u201d In other words, why do You allow the small number of wicked people in Israel to prosper, when that prompts others to learn from them and imitate their wicked ways? \u201cI will present charge against You\u201d despite my knowing that You are righteous and that I am incapable of disputing You, I wish to present charges and to question Your actions.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Indeed, our verse opened with Jeremiah lodging a \u201cclaim\u201d against God, using the Hebrew word <\/span>riv<\/span><\/em>, which has the predominant meaning of contention (as in its use throughout Psalms and Proverbs), but frequently is a technical legal term denoting a court case (as in Exodus and Deuteronomy). Shadal also pointed out that \u201cpresenting charges\u201d (<\/span>ledaber mishpat<\/span><\/em>), likewise a legal term, which appeared in Jeremiah 1:16, and 4:12, and recurs, later, in 39:5 and 52:9.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

*For an explanation of our objectives in studying Shadal\u2019s commentary, <\/span>see our introduction<\/span><\/a> in Jeremiah chapter 1.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Rembrandt: Jeremiah Lamenting, 1630 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":69893,"alt":"","title":"Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","width":472,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","medium_large-width":472,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","large-width":472,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","1536x1536-width":472,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","2048x2048-width":472,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","post_full_size-width":472,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt-330x420.jpg","home_baner-width":330,"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":"Theodicy Turned Sideways","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Putting God on trial","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":69893,"alt":"","title":"Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","width":472,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","medium_large-width":472,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","large-width":472,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","1536x1536-width":472,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","2048x2048-width":472,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt.jpg","post_full_size-width":472,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jeremiah_lamenting-Rembrandt-330x420.jpg","home_baner-width":330,"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":"Jeremiah","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"412","date":"20270329","wall_id":"412"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"460","name":"Evil","old_id":"860"},{"term_id":"506","name":"Prophecy","old_id":"906"}]},{"order":5,"id":"69873","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Blood-Spattered Vulture\u00a0 ","post_title":"A Blood-Spattered Vulture\u00a0","slug":"a-blood-spattered-vulture","old_id":"69873","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":"412","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Bring the beasts to the devouring\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

12:9 \u201cIs My estate a blood-splattered vulture? Are the vultures circling round her? Go gather all beasts of the field, bring them to the devouring.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A blood-splattered vulture<\/span><\/em>: This phrase is a famous crux. The word <\/span>tsavu\u2019a<\/span><\/em> does mean \u201cpainted,\u201d as some understood it in later Hebrew, but is not used in this sense elsewhere in the Bible, and painting birds of prey would be a strange practice. Lundbom finesses this by translating it as \u201cspeckled.\u201d Others link it with the Hebrew word for \u201cfinger\u201d and suggest that it refers to sharp claws. This translation follows Rashi and Kimchi, assuming that the relentlessness of the bird as a scavenger is emphasized. In later Hebrew, the phrase became a term for \u201chypocrite,\u201d with <\/span>tsavu\u2019a<\/span><\/em> itself having that meaning. The usage was based on the idea that the bird was actually painted, passing itself off as something it was not.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

[editor\u2019s note: Compare the JPS translation on the page: \u201cMy own people acts toward Me Like a bird of prey [or] a hyena; Let the birds of prey surround her! Go, gather all the wild beasts, Bring them to devour!\u201d<\/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>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"A Blood-Spattered Vulture\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Bring the beasts to the devouring","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":"Jeremiah","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"412","date":"20270329","wall_id":"412"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"361","name":"Hebrew language","old_id":"761"},{"term_id":"569","name":"Translation","old_id":"969"}]},{"order":6,"id":"117502","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-Jeremiah12 ","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-Jeremiah12","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-jeremiah12","old_id":"117502","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. 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You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit (12:2).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When we pick apart the text of Tanach we find layers of interleaving metaphors - most obtusely when it comes to the main character, the nation of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Since Israel is not a person it is a very useful device to be able to personify the nation metaphorically, and the Tanach does this in five primary ways, each bringing out an element of God\u2019s love for Israel and its place in the world. They may also form a hierarchy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. Israel as God's wife<\/em>.<\/b> Though by inference from Gen. 1.27, God, like the \u201cAdam\u201d he created, is not gendered, Israel is portrayed in the feminine. The apogee is seen at Sinai - a marriage between God and Israel. After Israel sins with the Golden Calf, the remedy echoes the <\/span>Sotah<\/em>\u00a0(suspected unfaithful wife)\u00a0<\/span>ordeal, with the message that while some died, the survivors were innocent of the \u201cadultery\u201d and could depend on God's eternal love. Most of Jeremiah 3 and <\/span>many <\/span>other places explicitly embody this imagery.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Israel as God\u2019s child<\/em>.<\/b> This is made explicit in a number of places (Hosea 11:1, Ex. 4:22) but there is an over-arching narrative of exquisite imagery that follows the life cycle of a baby in the womb of Egypt through his birth, at the literal breaking of waters at the Sea. Israel is an infant before Sinai, wailing for food and water. Their adolescence alongside God in the desert is bookended by their entry into the land. It is Rahab the harlot who opens the door to them, with the text implying that Israel's emissaries partook of her services. There is a reason why we are given her trade - \u201cthis is Israel coming of age\u201d in the usual unsavory way that would have been universally recognized by the ancient reader.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Israel as God\u2019s servant<\/em>. A common metaphor, Isaiah makes this explicit (41:8), but this metaphor is put to use in the ten commandments (Ex. 20:11) where the implication is that since we are God\u2019s servants and we like Him rest on Sabbath, so too our servants must rest.<\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Israel as God\u2019s flock<\/em>.<\/b> This is Israel on a low level. When they complain about the lack of food (Num. 11.5) they enumerate five items of vegetation or fodder.\u00a0 When they accept the spies slander against the land, it is the conspicuously-named Caleb - \u201cdog\u201d - who corrals the \"sheeple\" onto the straight and narrow.\u00a0 From the \u201cvalley of death\u2019s shadow\u201d the Psalmist calls to his God-shepherd.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. Israel as God\u2019s crop<\/em>.<\/b> The lowest level - as we see in above, Israel planted in the land, the failing crop that is to be uprooted.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    To understand the text we need to understand the metaphors and to understand the metaphors we need to understand the mentality and the context of the initial audience of the text.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":69890,"alt":"","title":"jer12-fractal five","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five.jpg","width":1920,"height":1825,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-300x285.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":285,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-768x730.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":730,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-1024x973.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":973,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1460,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1825,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-1200x1141.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1141,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-442x420.jpg","home_baner-width":442,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"God\u2019s Five-Fold Metaphors of Love","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Israel as wife, child, servant, flock and crop","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":69890,"alt":"","title":"jer12-fractal five","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five.jpg","width":1920,"height":1825,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-300x285.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":285,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-768x730.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":730,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-1024x973.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":973,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1460,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1825,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-1200x1141.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1141,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer12-fractal-five-442x420.jpg","home_baner-width":442,"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":"Jeremiah","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"412","date":"20270329","wall_id":"412"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"539","name":"Israel","old_id":"939"},{"term_id":"854","name":"Metaphor","old_id":"1254"}]},{"order":8,"id":"69632","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Jeremiah 12 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Jeremiah 12","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-jeremiah-12","old_id":"69632","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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    \u201cKal v'Chomer in Tanakh\u201d<\/a> by Rachel Buckman: Explore the instances of this Rabbinic interpretive principle in the Bible.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

    \u201cGod? Six Jewish Responses<\/a>\u201d by Patrick Beaulier: How does Jewish theology differ across time and between people?\u00a0<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - Jeremiah 12","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"412","date":"20270329","wall_id":"412"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"69875","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - Jeremiah 12 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - Jeremiah 12","slug":"points-to-ponder-jeremiah-12","old_id":"69875","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"412","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

      \r\n\t
    1. The ultimate question<\/em>. Verse 1 gives voice to the frustration of anyone who believes that God is <\/span>tzadik<\/span><\/em>, wholly righteous. If God is just, \u201cWhy does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are the workers of treachery at ease?\u201d Someone who is evil, yet has it good (<\/span>rasha\u2019 vetov lo<\/span><\/em>) is as troublesome as the suffering of the righteous (<\/span>tzadik ve-ra\u2019 lo<\/span><\/em>).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    2. What do the bad people think?<\/em> And why do they allow themselves to do such evil things with no account? An answer appears in verse 4, \u201cHe will not look upon our future?\u201d God isn\u2019t watching, and won\u2019t punish in the end.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    3. Cheer up - it will be worse\u2026<\/em> That\u2019s what God says to Jeremiah in verses 5-6. It\u2019s actually already worse than you think. If you thought you have some support from your family, you\u2019re wrong: \u201cFor even your kinsmen and your father\u2019s house, Even they are treacherous toward you, They cry after you as a mob. Do not believe them when they speak cordially to you.\u201d And God knows what he\u2019s talking about. We will also learn in the chapters that follow.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    4. Watch out! Wild animals<\/em>. Verses 8-9 present a very unfriendly band of predators. The people is like \u201ca lion in the forest\u201d who roars at God, as if He were the enemy, and not a friend. The \u201cinheritance\u201d (the people) behaves like \u201ca vulture.\u201d The enemy too is likened to a vulture, that circles carrion. And the climactic punishment is inviting all the wild beasts to come and join in the devouring. Not very pleasant.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    5. Bad neighbors<\/em>. We\u2019re not talking here about the enemy from the North, but the closer neighbors, such as: Ammon, Moav, Edom, and Philistia. From verse 14 it seems that in the generation of the destruction, there were those that \u201cencroached on the heritage,\u201d and conquered Judan territory. The prophecy in the chapter doesn\u2019t name names, but in another 65 chapters, Ezekiel will indeed be more specific (Ezek. 25).<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Jeremiah 12","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"412","date":"20270329","wall_id":"412"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/69565"}],"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=69565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}