{"id":70829,"date":"2018-07-09T17:46:55","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-429\/"},"modified":"2023-09-27T14:57:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T11:57:56","slug":"wall-429","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-429\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Jeremiah-29"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"429","date":"20270421","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","books_group":"Prophets","hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":"","updates_last_update":"20\/02\/2020","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"70508","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Jeremiah Chapter 29 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Jeremiah Chapter 29","slug":"jps-audio-bible-jeremiah-chapter-29","old_id":"70508","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":"429","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 29","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_29","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":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"118135","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Who\u2019s Meshuggah ","post_title":"Who\u2019s Meshuggah","slug":"whos-meshuggah","old_id":"118135","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":"429","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And who\u2019s sane now?\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Chapter 29 has two more references to the curses and warnings of Deuteronomy. Jeremiah opens the chapter by telling the people in exile that they should get comfortable. They should not think that God will bring them back quickly: \u201cBuild houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit\u201d (verse 5).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Back in Deuteronomy, God warned the people <\/span>not <\/span><\/i>to be too comfortable when they enter the land of Israel and forget God:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Take care, lest you forget the LORD your God, by not keeping his commandments, his regulations, and his laws that I command you today, lest [when] you eat and are satisfied, and build goodly houses and settle [there] (Deut. 8:11-12).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The people did not listen to this warning, and now they lose their chance to settle peacefully in the land. Instead, God tells them they must settle peacefully in a foreign land and wait there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Later in the chapter, Jeremiah continues his attack on the false prophets that plague the nation. These prophets are also embedded in the group that was part of the initial exile. They try to undermine Jeremiah\u2019s message of surrender and wait it out. One of these false prophets, Shemaiah, sends a letter to the priests in Jerusalem asking them to silence Jeremiah. He uses an interesting word to describe Jeremiah:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The LORD appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada, to exercise authority in the House of the LORD over every madman (<\/em><\/span>meshuggah<\/span><\/em>) <\/em>who wants to play the prophet, to put him into the stocks and into the pillory (verse 26).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is a bit of irony in his use of <\/span>meshuggah<\/em> <\/span>to describe Jeremiah. Again in Deuteronomy, God promises that when the people sin in the land:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A people you do not know shall eat up the produce of your soil and all your gains; you shall be abused and downtrodden continually until you are driven mad (<\/em><\/span>meshuggah<\/span><\/em>)<\/em> by what your eyes behold\u201d (Deut. 28:33-34).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The only \u201c<\/span>meshuggahs<\/span><\/em>\u201d <\/span><\/i>now are the people who did not listen to Jeremiah and God, just as God promised back in Deuteronomy. Jeremiah is the most sane one of the bunch. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59051,"alt":"","title":"isam26-crazy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy.png","width":1920,"height":1485,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-300x232.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":232,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-768x594.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":594,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-1024x792.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":792,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1188,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1485,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-1200x928.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":928,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-543x420.png","home_baner-width":543,"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":"Who\u2019s Meshuggah?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And who\u2019s sane now?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":59051,"alt":"","title":"isam26-crazy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy.png","width":1920,"height":1485,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-300x232.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":232,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-768x594.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":594,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-1024x792.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":792,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1188,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1485,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-1200x928.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":928,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam26-crazy-543x420.png","home_baner-width":543,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"506","name":"Prophecy","old_id":"906"},{"term_id":"840","name":"Jeremiah","old_id":"1240"}]},{"order":3,"id":"71141","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"We Are Not On The Sidelines ","post_title":"We Are Not On The Sidelines","slug":"we-are-not-on-the-sidelines","old_id":"71141","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34257,"post_title":"Shmuly Yanklowitz","slug":"shmuly-yanklowitz","old_id":"34257","first_name":"Shmuly ","last_name":"Yanklowitz ","description":"Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the President & Dean of the Valley Beit Midrash, the Founder & President of Uri L\u2019Tzedek, the Founder and CEO of The Shamayim V\u2019Aretz Institute, the Founder and President of YATOM, and the author of thirteen books on Jewish ethics. Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America and the Forward named him one of the 50 most influential Jews. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the President & Dean of the Valley Beit Midrash, the Founder & President of Uri L\u2019Tzedek","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34258,"alt":"","title":"sHMULY","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","width":580,"height":580,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","medium_large-width":580,"medium_large-height":580,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","large-width":580,"large-height":580,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","1536x1536-width":580,"1536x1536-height":580,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","2048x2048-width":580,"2048x2048-height":580,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY.jpg","post_full_size-width":580,"post_full_size-height":580,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sHMULY-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"429","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"It is in the Diaspora that we can fulfill our global destiny","post_main_content_content":"

For decades, Jews were taught that two formative events, the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel, define the contemporary Jewish experience. The trauma and glory remain formative, but they can no longer be central if we\u2019re serious about fostering a thriving Jewish life in the Diaspora. Indeed, we must focus on the here and now. I believe this to be as true today, as when Jeremiah instructed the exiles to Babylon 2,500 years ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In his letter to the exiles, Jeremiah instructs the Jews in Babylon to build houses, plant gardens, marry and to have children and grandchildren. Furthermore, the community should seek the welfare of their new home and pray for it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While Israel remains the destiny of the Jewish people, we must not abandon the Diaspora. The Torah demands that we, as a nation, commit to pursuing justice; to be warriors against injustice, and thus it behooves us to be stationed everywhere around the globe. This work as an <\/span>ohr l'goyim<\/span><\/i>, a light unto the nations, is our raison d'\u00eatre.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is in the Diaspora where we can fulfill the Torah's charge to combat global poverty, injustice, and oppression wherever it may be found. Israel, and Israelis are certainly doing inspiring humanitarian work, but a nation-state's primary concern must be the welfare and security of its own citizens. We must be concerned with Israel's security as well, but our responsibility is also broader. I've met thousands of other young Jewish leaders who have intertwined their religious Zionist identities with identities as global citizens.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While Jewish thought can and should remain distinct from that of other cultures, and obviously, other religions, the Jewish intellectual tradition has always benefitted, and continues to benefit, from development in conjunction with a diverse array of neighboring societies. Taking a cue from Muslim scholars like Al Farabi and Avicenna, Rambam integrated Jewish thought and Greek philosophy without the need to sacrifice our halakhah or our identity. Today in America, as in the \"Golden Age\" of medieval Spain and the Talmudic academies of Babylonia, there is a great concentration of stellar Jewish academic programs and yeshivot.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Diaspora Jews are not watching the game from the Israel sidelines. Some of the most significant Jewish contributions have and will continue to be made in the Diaspora, where Jews can play a leading role in fighting injustice, alleviating poverty, advocating for Israel and Jewish interests, and learning from people of other faiths. While the modern State of Israel is one of the greatest blessings the Jews have received \u2014 and it cannot be neglected \u2014 we must also be sure to actualize all of the values of our Jewish tradition here in the Diaspora.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Global Jewish Population, Jewish Data Bank, 2019<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71142,"alt":"","title":"jer29-jewish population","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population.png","width":1476,"height":796,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-300x162.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":162,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-768x414.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":414,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-1024x552.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":552,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population.png","1536x1536-width":1476,"1536x1536-height":796,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population.png","2048x2048-width":1476,"2048x2048-height":796,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-1200x647.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":647,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-779x420.png","home_baner-width":779,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"We Are Not On The Sidelines","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"It is in the Diaspora that we can fulfill our global destiny","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71142,"alt":"","title":"jer29-jewish population","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population.png","width":1476,"height":796,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-300x162.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":162,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-768x414.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":414,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-1024x552.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":552,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population.png","1536x1536-width":1476,"1536x1536-height":796,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population.png","2048x2048-width":1476,"2048x2048-height":796,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-1200x647.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":647,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population-779x420.png","home_baner-width":779,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"71138","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Rabbi, A Blessing For The (Babylonian) Czar? ","post_title":"Rabbi, A Blessing For The (Babylonian) Czar?","slug":"rabbi-a-blessing-for-the-babylonian-czar","old_id":"71138","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37561,"post_title":"Deena Cowans","slug":"deena-cowans","old_id":"37561","first_name":"Deena ","last_name":"Cowans","description":"Deena Cowans is a rabbinical student at JTS and alumnus of the Master's in Public Administration- Development Practice at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). \r\nDeena is the Director of Education (Rosh Chinuch) at Camp Ramah in the Rockies since January 2016, and was the Youth and Family Programs at Congregation Ansche Chesed in 2016-2017.","short_description":"Deena Cowans is a rabbinical student at JTS, and the Director of Education at Camp Ramah in the Rockies","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37562,"alt":"","title":"deena cowans","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","width":181,"height":207,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","medium-width":181,"medium-height":207,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","medium_large-width":181,"medium_large-height":207,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","large-width":181,"large-height":207,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","1536x1536-width":181,"1536x1536-height":207,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","2048x2048-width":181,"2048x2048-height":207,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","post_full_size-width":181,"post_full_size-height":207,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","home_baner-width":181,"home_baner-height":207}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"429","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Prayers for the captors, between revenge and empathy\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"


\r\nIn the opening scene of \u201cFiddler on the Roof\u201d, a group of Chasids approach their rabbi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cRabbi, may I ask you a question?\u201d<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>\u201cCertainly!\u201d<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>\u201cIs there a proper blessing\u2026 for the czar?\u201d<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>\u201cA blessing for the czar?\u00a0 Of course! May God bless and keep the czar\u2026 far away from us!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This iconic line is not only a great comedic opening to the movie, but also a deeply Jewish idea. We learn it in some of the most quoted Jewish texts, including in Proverbs, in Pirkei Avot, and in this chapter. In verse 7, the prophet urges the people: \u201cseek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to the LORD in its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper.\u201d Some commentators take this to mean that if the Babylonian Empire is secure, the Jews will suffer less. This is certainly a pragmatic approach, in which the Jews in exile would essentially be praying for their own wellbeing, all while hopefully culling favor in the eyes of their captor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But in comparison with the text from Proverbs, it seems that Jeremiah may have a different message. In Proverbs 25, we learn \u201cIf your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; If he is thirsty, give him water to drink. You will be heaping live coals on his head, And the Lord will reward you.\u201d Here, the writer believes that God will look favorably upon us if we can show mercy and compassion even to our enemies.Through this lens, the prayer Jeremiah encourages is not a form of genuine petition, but a way of cultivating our own sense of revenge, and God\u2019s favor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Or might we read Jeremiah as encouraging the people to develop empathy for their captors, in the belief that the best way to ensure peace is through tolerance and respect? The idea might be foreign to the immediate context of the book, which otherwise mostly indulges a traumatized people\u2019s need for revenge fantasies after the horrors of the exile. But even in the halting and sometimes circular process of healing from trauma, we might have moments of relative peace and clarity, in which we are able to offer some degree of forgiveness or understanding for those who harmed us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is not easy, nor is the process automatic. The book of Jeremiah as a whole indicates that primarily trauma leaves behind a lot of pain, fear and suffering. Yet, even when we are at our most raw and vulnerable, we still might be able to recognize that eventually, peace will need to involve some degree of reconciliation, or at least recognition of the other\u2019s humanity. Like Jeremiah, we might get it as a brief flash amidst overwhelming anger, but let us hold on to that flash and know that even at our most downtrodden, we are still capable of tremendous empathy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: from \u201cFiddler on the Roof,\u201d Otterbein University Theatre & Dance, 2016 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71139,"alt":"","title":"jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":533,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":533,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":533,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":533,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof-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":"Rabbi, A Blessing For The (Babylonian) Czar?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Prayers for the captors, between revenge and empathy","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71139,"alt":"","title":"jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":533,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":533,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":533,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":533,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-Fiddler_On_the_Roof-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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"71153","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Experiencing History In Real Time ","post_title":"Experiencing History In Real Time","slug":"experiencing-history-in-real-time","old_id":"71153","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":44114,"post_title":"Shalom Holtz","slug":"shalom-holtz","old_id":"44114","first_name":"Shalom ","last_name":"Holtz ","description":"Shalom E. Holtz is Professor of Bible at Yeshiva University. He is the author of numerous comparative studies of biblical and ancient Near Eastern law. His most recent book is Praying Legally (2019), which examines courtroom metaphors in Hebrew prayer. ","short_description":"Shalom E. Holtz is Professor of Bible at Yeshiva University.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":44115,"alt":"","title":"shalom holtz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","width":200,"height":200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":200,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":200,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shalom-holtz.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":200}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"429","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Confusion about if, when, where and how life might ever return to normal was basic\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Like chapter 24, this chapter also addresses the new historical reality that emerged in the wake of the exile of King Jeconiah in 597 BCE and the division of the Judeans into two communities, one in Babylon and one in Judah. There, with his vision of the fig baskets, Jeremiah undermined the Jerusalem community's self-perception as being favored by God.\u00a0 Here, Jeremiah's letter to Babylon re-orients that other community's views about the length of the exile.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While the Jerusalem community consisted of the \"poorest of the land\" (2 Kings 24:14), the community in exile included the Judean upper crust: \"King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and the smiths\" (Jeremiah 29:2).\u00a0 These people had strong reasons to hope for a speedy return from Babylon to Jerusalem. The restoration of life as it was before the exile would mean returning to their former prestigious positions. The opening lines of Jeremiah's letter, with their message to settle down in Babylon, dash these hopes.\u00a0 Ultimately, the future is bright (29:10\u201317). In the shorter term, however, life will go on in exile.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While we, as readers today, know that Jeremiah turned out to be right, it cannot have been so simple for those experiencing the history \"in real time.\" As it is presented in this chapter, Jeremiah's message of accommodation has to compete with the words of other prophets.\u00a0 Just as Jeremiah sends a letter to Babylon denouncing false prophets, another prophet, Shemaiah the Nehelamite, has sent correspondence to Jerusalem denouncing Jeremiah (29:25\u201328). Jeremiah labels Shemaiah and others as false, but how clear would this distinction have been to Jeremiah's audience? Confusion about if, when, where and how life might ever return to normal was basic to the turmoil of the last years of the Kingdom of Judah.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71154,"alt":"","title":"jer29-change","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change.jpg","width":1920,"height":858,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-300x134.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":134,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-768x343.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":343,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-1024x458.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":458,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":686,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":858,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-1200x536.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":536,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-940x420.jpg","home_baner-width":940,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Experiencing History In Real Time","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Confusion about if, when, where and how life might ever return to normal was basic","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71154,"alt":"","title":"jer29-change","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change.jpg","width":1920,"height":858,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-300x134.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":134,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-768x343.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":343,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-1024x458.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":458,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":686,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":858,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-1200x536.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":536,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-change-940x420.jpg","home_baner-width":940,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"71147","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Marry And Beget Sons And Daughters ","post_title":"Marry And Beget Sons And Daughters","slug":"marry-and-beget-sons-and-daughters","old_id":"71147","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":"429","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Jeremiah commands: be fruitful and multiply!\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In our Chapter, Jeremiah writes a letter from Jerusalem to the exiles of Judah in Babylonia: \u201cThus said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, to the whole community which I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them\u2026Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there, do not decrease\u201d (Jeremiah 29:4-6). This is in contrast to God\u2019s previously having commanded Jeremiah himself not to marry and not to have sons and daughters (Jeremiah 16:2).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The first commandment in the Torah, to \u201cbe fruitful and multiply\u201d (Genesis 1:28) is clearly addressed to both Adam and Eve. Nevertheless, according to Mishnah Yevamot 6:6, the majority of the Rabbinic Sages restricted the commandment of procreation to the male alone: \u201cA man shall not abstain from procreation...The man is commanded concerning the duty of procreation but not the woman. However, Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka says: Concerning both of them it says: \u201cAnd God blessed them, and God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply\u2026\u201d (Genesis 1:28).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Gemara of the Talmud Bavli Yevamot 61b extends the ruling of the Mishnah: If a man has children, he may abstain from performing the duty of procreation but not from that of living with a wife.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Jeremiah\u2019s directive to the Babylonian exiles \u201cTake wives and beget sons and daughters\u201d seems to prefigure the Halakhic requirement for a man to \u201clive with a wife\u201d and also the later Halakhic ruling that the commandment of procreation is fulfilled by having at least one son and one daughter (see Shulhan Arukh Even Ha-Ezer 1:5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Talmud Bavli Kiddushin 29a lists the obligations of a father to his son: to circumcise him, to redeem him if he is a first-born, to teach him Torah, to take a wife for him, and to teach him a craft. Some add that a father is also obligated to teach his son to swim. In Talmud Bavli Kiddushin 30b the obligation of the father to take a wife for his son is derived from our verse in Jeremiah: \u201c\u2026take wives for your sons\u2026\u201d. The Gemara notes that it is indeed in the power of the father to take a wife for his son, since \u201chis son is in his hand\u201d (i.e. under his control). But, the Gemara asks whether this is also the case as regards the daughter, since a woman must wait for a man to ask for her hand in marriage. According to Rashi, the answer to this question relies on Jeremiah\u2019s directive \u201c\u2026and give your daughters to husbands\u2026\u201d, which the Gemara interprets to mean that the father should provide his daughter enough dowry and attractive clothing \u201cso that men will leap\u201d at the opportunity to marry her.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71148,"alt":"","title":"jer29-family","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family.png","width":1268,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-297x300.png","medium-width":297,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-768x775.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":775,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-1014x1024.png","large-width":1014,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family.png","1536x1536-width":1268,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family.png","2048x2048-width":1268,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-1189x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1189,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-416x420.png","home_baner-width":416,"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":"Marry And Beget Sons And Daughters","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Jeremiah commands: be fruitful and multiply!","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71148,"alt":"","title":"jer29-family","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family.png","width":1268,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-297x300.png","medium-width":297,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-768x775.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":775,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-1014x1024.png","large-width":1014,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family.png","1536x1536-width":1268,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family.png","2048x2048-width":1268,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-1189x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1189,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-family-416x420.png","home_baner-width":416,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"71150","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Round Biblical 70 ","post_title":"A Round Biblical 70","slug":"a-round-biblical-70","old_id":"71150","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":"429","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But this time it\u2019s exact\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In v. 10, Jeremiah prophesied that the Babylonian exile would last for 70 years, after which God would return the exiles to their home. Should that number be taken literally or figuratively?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the one hand, the number seventy features prominently in several biblical texts in which it is not exact. For instance, the Torah indicates that \u201call the souls who accompanied Jacob to Egypt were seventy\u201d (Gen. 46:27), yet only 69 names are enumerated. The Torah also makes frequent reference to \u201cseventy elders,\u201d while reason would dictate that equal representation for each of twelve tribes would yield seventy-two. Additionally, based on: \u201cThe length of our days is seventy years\u201d (Ps. 90:10), we might argue that 70 is a \u201ctypological,\u201d symbolic number, representing an average lifespan. (A similar argument can be made for the 40 years prescribed for the wandering in the wilderness as symbolic of a generation, based on \u201cForty years I was provoked by a generation\u201c (Ps. 95:10)).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Radak, in his commentary to 25:12, where this number makes its first appearance, reckoned it to be exact and calculated it from the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s reign, rather than from his destruction of Jerusalem. He himself ruled 45 years, Evyl-Merodakh, his son, ruled 23 years, and his son Belshazar was killed by the Persian conqueror Cyrus in the third year of his reign, totaling 70. None of these figures is recorded in the Bible; they are drawn from Seder Olam, a rabbinic work on chronology.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shadal*, however, was also familiar with the information about ancient Babylonia reported by the first century CE Jewish historian Josephus Flavius on the authority of the 3<\/span>rd<\/span> century BCE Greek historian Berosus. That source confirms the length of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar but divides the subsequent 23 years among no fewer than four other rulers prior to the Persian conquest: \u201cEvilmaraduko [Amil-Marduk] 2, Neriglissar 4, Labosoarcod [Labashi-Marduk] \u00be, and Nabonnedus [Nabonidus] 17.\u201d While Shadal\u2019s data differs from that cited in the\u00a0 rabbinic chronology, the total of seventy years remains the same.\u00a0<\/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>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71151,"alt":"","title":"jer29-seventy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy.jpg","width":1920,"height":1147,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-300x179.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":179,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-768x459.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":459,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-1024x612.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":612,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":918,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1147,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-1200x717.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":717,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-703x420.jpg","home_baner-width":703,"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 Round Biblical 70","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But this time it\u2019s exact","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71151,"alt":"","title":"jer29-seventy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy.jpg","width":1920,"height":1147,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-300x179.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":179,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-768x459.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":459,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-1024x612.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":612,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":918,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1147,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-1200x717.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":717,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-seventy-703x420.jpg","home_baner-width":703,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"71117","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Calling Out Jeremiah\u2019s Defeatism ","post_title":"Calling Out Jeremiah\u2019s Defeatism","slug":"calling-out-jeremiahs-defeatism","old_id":"71117","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38552,"post_title":"Benny Lau","slug":"benny-lau","old_id":"38552","first_name":"Benny","last_name":"Lau ","description":"Rav Benny Lau is the founder and co-head of the Israeli initiative 929 along with Gal Gabbai. In addition, he is the rabbi of the Ramban synagogue in Jerusalem and is a community leader, activist, author, and public speaker.","short_description":"Rav Benny Lau is the founder and co-head of the Israeli initiative 929 along with Gal Gabbai.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":1708,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","medium-width":150,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","medium_large-width":150,"medium_large-height":150,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","large-width":150,"large-height":150,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":150,"1536x1536-height":150,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":150,"2048x2048-height":150,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":150,"post_full_size-height":150,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/8-1.jpg","home_baner-width":150,"home_baner-height":150}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"429","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"His accommodationism has its critics\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Let us attempt to understand the situation from the perspective of Jeremiah's disputants. Instead of reading the official organ of the \"Babylonian Accommodation Party,\" headed by Jeremiah, let us read an editorial by the \"Land of Israel Loyalist Party,\" chaired by Ahab and Zedekiah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These patriotic prophets cannot reconcile themselves to seventy years of exile. They want to return to Zion at all costs and cannot fathom the notion of living in an alien, impure country. Without the Land of Israel, they argue, life is not worth living. Their heroes are Caleb and Joshua, who resisted the defeatism of the other spies and insisted that the Israelites could conquer the Promised Land, and whose motto was \"Let us go up at once...for we are well able to overcome it\" (Num. 13:30). When Jeremiah calls on these prophets to get used to Babylonian life, their opposition becomes more entrenched. They would rather die in the king's furnaces than live on his soil! This party has already generated a considerable following and established ties back home. When Jeremiah's letter arrives, urging accommodation, Shemaiah the Nehelamite, a leader of this faction, dispatches a sharply worded complaint to the wardens of law and order in the Temple.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shemaiah is clearly convinced that the recipient is on his side. In fact, he cannot imagine anyone in Jerusalem (aside from the crazy prophet from Anathoth, of course) exhorting the exiled Jews to grow accustomed to Babylonia; it flies in the face of all logic, all morality, all faith \u2014 everything! A people in exile must constantly renew its passion for its homeland and not let defeatists weaken it. Shemaiah is obviously well-known, for the priest indeed summons Jeremiah to a hearing about the letter he has sent (29:29).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The picture that emerges from this correspondence is clear: Those who live in Jerusalem toe the party line that \"this land is ours.\" The faction led by Shemaiah, Ahab, and Zedekiah has stirred up anti-Babylonian unrest. The King of Babylonia has become aware of these movements and has begun liquidating their leadership. Yet Jeremiah remains worried. He continues to condemn this movement, but his is a hard prophecy to accept; it is not easy to convince a people that its promised inheritance will be given to foreigners for seventy years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Just at the start of his reign, King Zedekiah is not so bold as to defy his Babylonian patron. But as the months pass, Zedekiah begins listening to those around him, urging him to shed the Babylonian yoke again.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lau, Binyamin. <\/span>Jeremiah: The Fate of a Prophet<\/span><\/em>. Maggid Books, 2013. \u201cConflict Between Two Prophets.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":69252,"alt":"","title":"jer-lau2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","width":884,"height":635,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-300x215.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":215,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-768x552.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":552,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","large-width":884,"large-height":635,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","1536x1536-width":884,"1536x1536-height":635,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","2048x2048-width":884,"2048x2048-height":635,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","post_full_size-width":884,"post_full_size-height":635,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-585x420.jpg","home_baner-width":585,"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":"Calling Out Jeremiah\u2019s Defeatism","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"His accommodationism has its critics","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":69252,"alt":"","title":"jer-lau2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","width":884,"height":635,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-300x215.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":215,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-768x552.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":552,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","large-width":884,"large-height":635,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","1536x1536-width":884,"1536x1536-height":635,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","2048x2048-width":884,"2048x2048-height":635,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2.jpg","post_full_size-width":884,"post_full_size-height":635,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/jer-lau2-585x420.jpg","home_baner-width":585,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"71156","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"The Path From Exile To Redemption ","post_title":"The Path From Exile To Redemption","slug":"the-path-from-exile-to-redemption","old_id":"71156","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. 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Jeremiah Chapter 29 shows us a letter, written by the prophet to the Jewish people in exile in Babylonia. One would think such a missive would be about giving the people hope: hope that their exile would soon end, that they would overcome their captors, that they would survive and soon return to freedom in their own land. But in fact, the message is quite different. \u201cBuild houses, plant gardens, have families\u201d (29:5-6), says Jeremiah. And most surprisingly he tells them to pray for the city in which they have been exiled \u201cfor through its peace you will have peace (29:7).\u201d We\u2019re not expected to just survive exile, we\u2019re expected to flourish, to some degree even be thankful for it, and to recognize that by helping to bring peace to other nations we bring peace to our own.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There\u2019s no argument that this, or any exile, is accidental. It\u2019s all part of God\u2019s master plan. In fact, God ordained that the Jewish people would experience exile even before there was a Jewish nation. Early in the book of Genesis God <\/span>informed Abraham that his descendants would be strangers in a land that is not theirs.<\/span> So, when God outright ordered the Jewish people to \u201cput your necks into the yoke of the king of Babylonia and serve him and his people, <\/span>so that you may live (27:12)<\/span><\/i>\u201d,<\/span> He was not condemning them to an untimely end but providing them with the opportunity they didn\u2019t know they needed, to break out of their physical environment and progress spiritually.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to Rabbi Hershel Reichman (Rosh Yeshiva of RIETS), \u201cthe word <\/span>galut <\/span><\/i>(\u05d2\u05dc\u05d5\u05ea) - exile is related to <\/span>l\u2019galot <\/span><\/i>(\u05dc\u05d2\u05dc\u05d5\u05ea) \u2013 reveal, meaning that exile reveals and brings out our strength, and compels us to rise above our environment to discover our spiritual strengths.\u201d This is not to say that we should ever wish for exile, not those that we have endured nor the one we are currently enduring. 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29:1 \u201cAnd these are the words of the missive that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exiles and to the priests and to the prophets and to all the people whom Nebuchadrezzar had exiled from Jerusalem to Babylonia.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Although the Hebrew <\/span>sefer<\/span><\/i> often has the sense of \u201cbook,\u201d it can designate anything set down in writing on a scroll. In this instance it clearly refers to a letter, but it is a communication of public and prophetic import, hence the more formal translation choice of \u201cmissive.\u201d But what is Jeremiah doing in this sending of missives to the exiles in Babylonia? One might think that he has enough on his hands with a contentious populace and a hostile king in Judah. This entire episode must be read in the context of Jeremiah\u2019s confrontation with the false prophet Hananiah, recorded in the previous chapter. For Jeremiah, everything in his prophetic mission is at stake in distinguishing between true and false prophecy. Hananiah had predicted that the exiles would return to their land in just two years. One infers that he had counterparts in Babylonia itself who were deluding the people with similar rosy predictions. Against this Jeremiah wants to make it perfectly clear to the exiles that they will have a long residence in Babylonia before any return can take place (verses 5-7).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Jeremiah\u2019s Missive To The Exiles","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Settle in for the long haul","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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"70492","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Jeremiah 29 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Jeremiah 29","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-jeremiah-29","old_id":"70492","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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\u201cWhat Now? Responding to Constant News-Cycle Trauma<\/a>\u201d by Lauren Steinberg: Jewish resources for dealing with the challenges of the world.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\u201cAm I Jewish?\u201d<\/a> by Evan Krame: Explore texts about Jewish identity.<\/p>\r\n

 <\/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 29","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":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":14,"id":"71118","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - Jeremiah 29 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - Jeremiah 29","slug":"points-to-ponder-jeremiah-29","old_id":"71118","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":"429","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. It\u2019s a matter of time<\/em>. The big difference between the the false prophets and the prophecy of Jeremiah, is the question of time. The false prophets speak of an immediate victory over Babylonia, and a quick return to Jerusalem, from exile. Jeremiah prophecies the victory and return over the span of seventy years.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Repentance and prayer<\/em>. There are plans \u201cto give you a hopeful future\u201d but there is also an expectation that the people too will take steps to become closer and strengthen the connection with God: \u201cWhen you call Me, and come and pray to Me, I will give heed to you. You will search for Me and find Me, if only you seek Me wholeheartedly.\u201d (verses 11-13).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. The end of the fig season<\/em>. In verse 17 there\u2019s a reference to the prophecy in chapter 24, that represented the exilic population in Babylonia as good figs, while the ones who were left in Jerusalem were \u201cloathsome figs, so bad that they cannot be eaten.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. How to deal with public disturbances<\/em>. From the complaint that Shemaiah sends, we learn what the priestly officials did to meddlesome prophets: \u201cThe LORD appointed you priest...to exercise authority in the House of the LORD over every madman who wants to play the prophet, to put him into the stocks and into the pillory\u201d (verse 26). That\u2019s what Pashhur did to Jeremiah 9 chapters ago (Jer 20).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. Prayer for the government<\/em>. From verse 7, our sages learned that the well-being of a city means the well-being of its citizens, native and foreign, and not only in Babylonia, but everywhere. \u201cPray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear it inspires, every man would swallow his neighbor alive\u201d (Ethics of the Fathers, 3:2).<\/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 29","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":"29","chapter_main_number":"429","date":"20270421","wall_id":"429"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"link_teaser":"","listen_link":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/70829"}],"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=70829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}