{"id":70831,"date":"2018-07-09T17:46:55","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1086\/"},"modified":"2023-09-29T16:34:19","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T13:34:19","slug":"wall-1086","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1086\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20230924-to-20230930"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1086","date_from":"20230924","date_to":"20230930","book":"Jeremiah","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"106322","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Sukkot Of The Ages","post_title":"Sukkot Of The Ages","slug":"sukkot-of-the-ages","old_id":"106322","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":"113","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The eternal protection that a ramshackle hut can symbolize\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

This chapter is the first comprehensive list of all the holidays since Exodus chapters 23 and 34. There are a few differences between the lists. The Leviticus list first discusses Shabbat and then lists the holidays in chronological order with Passover first followed by Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. The Exodus lists only included the three festival holidays. In those chapters, Passover is given the most detail including the reason behind the festival and the special commandments. Sukkot and Shavuot are only referred to by their agricultural names and very little else.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Leviticus 23 also explains the sacrifices for each holiday. This makes sense given that the book of Leviticus focuses on the Mishkan and sacrificial rites. In addition to a more extensive list of the specific mitzvot of Sukkot, Leviticus 23 also gives the reason for the holiday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

You shall observe it as a festival of God for seven days in the year; you shall observe it in the seventh month as a law for all time, throughout the ages. You shall live in booths (<\/span>sukkot<\/span><\/em>) seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths; in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt (verses 41-43).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Two interesting questions arise here. The first is what are the <\/span>sukkot<\/span><\/em>? The Torah never actually mentions that the Israelites lived in <\/span>sukkot<\/span><\/em>, usually they are in tents. The second question is why does the Torah command that Sukkot be \u201ca law for all time, throughout the ages\u201d?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Some commentators explain that the protective <\/span>sukkot<\/em> <\/span>were actually \u201cthe clouds of glory\u201d protecting the people. This answer helps answer the second question, along with the comparison between Passover and Sukkot. Passover is the historical holiday remembering the Exodus. There may come a time in the future when remembering the Exodus is overshadowed by a greater redemption, such as in the messianic age. Sukkot, though, is eternal. The protection of the <\/span>sukkot<\/em> <\/span>occurred during the wilderness, but Sukkot does not commemorate a specific event. Instead, the commemoration is about God protecting the people during a transition period. That message is eternal. God will always be there to protect his people between any exodus and any redemptive period.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":98184,"alt":"","title":"ez6-sukka","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ez6-sukka.jpg","width":650,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ez6-sukka-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ez6-sukka-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ez6-sukka.jpg","medium_large-width":650,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ez6-sukka.jpg","large-width":650,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ez6-sukka.jpg","1536x1536-width":650,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ez6-sukka.jpg","2048x2048-width":650,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ez6-sukka.jpg","post_full_size-width":650,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ez6-sukka-559x420.jpg","home_baner-width":559,"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":"Sukkot 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links here to a range of fascinating interpretations to this weird and wonderful book","post_main_content_content":"

The Book of Kohelet \/ Ecclesiastes is comprised of 12 chapters. Click on each of the links to go to individual chapters.\u00a0 In chapter one there are two lovely introductory essays by Moshe Sokolow and Menachem Fisch (you can follow Fisch's systematic interpretation of the book with his day by day posts in each chapter). And on the summary page there are links to a range of highlights from the book, as well as a video lesson on the book, with Shira Hecht-Koller and award winning author Ruby Namdar.<\/p>\r\n

Chapter 1<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 2<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 3<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 4<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 5<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 6<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 7<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 8<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 9<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 10<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 11<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 12<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Summary 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Elana lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her family.","short_description":"Dr. Elana Stein Hain is Scholar in Residence and Director of Faculty at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":44912,"alt":"","title":"elana stein hain","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","width":115,"height":98,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","medium_large-width":115,"medium_large-height":98,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","large-width":115,"large-height":98,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","1536x1536-width":115,"1536x1536-height":98,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","2048x2048-width":115,"2048x2048-height":98,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","post_full_size-width":115,"post_full_size-height":98,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","home_baner-width":115,"home_baner-height":98}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"426","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"It turns out that denial flows in Judah as well\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

This chapter exposes our capacity for denying the truths that threaten us. Furthermore, it exposes our capacity for committing violence against those who express those truths. In this chapter, the Israelites, led by their priests (!) and their (false) prophets attempt to put Jeremiah to death for treason because he condemns their evil ways and prophecies their demise if they do not repent. The chapter further describes king Jehoiakim and his cabinet pursuing another prophet who holds a mirror up to their society, Uriah, dragging him back from his refuge in Egypt to execute him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rather than grappling with the allegations of these prophets \u2013 that society had become corrupted by violence, injustice, idolatry \u2013 leaders and their constituents respond by trying to stamp out the voice that adjures them.\u00a0 It is a common story: no one, no community, no society wants to be told that its basic conventions are profoundly wrong, that its roots have become rotten. And the desperation that ensues to do everything but self-reflect is typical. Instead, our shock becomes anger, and we launch our aggression against those who dare challenge the status quo in which we are so invested. We read their message as transgressing the ethics of group loyalty instead of considering the ethics they are actually bringing to light.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

To be sure, there are softer, more diplomatic ways to challenge a society than Jeremiah used, and there were prophets who employed such approaches (recall, for instance, Natan\u2019s parable to King David about Bathsheba. That was remarkably effective as a rhetorical\/ pedagogical strategy, as it allowed David to lower his guard and to empathize with his victims).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moreover, false prophets\u00a0do\u00a0exist\u00a0\u2013 people whose screeds are\u00a0primarily\u00a0fueled by animosity, greed or ego\u00a0rather than\u00a0by\u00a0integrity and genuine concern for others.\u00a0Discerning the difference between a false prophet and a true prophet \u2013 in both the ancient and the modern senses of the word \u2013 can be quite a subjective affair. But if a criticism cuts deeply enough that it brings out rage, it may be worth considering the criticism itself before taking up our pitchforks and going after the messenger. Because sometimes \u2013 even if not always - that rage manifests our innermost fears that Jeremiah and Uriah may just be right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: by Ben Schachter, after Giorgio Ghisi (Sistine Chapel, 1570-1575)<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":70983,"alt":"","title":"Jer26-ProphetJeremiahGiorgioGhisislilicencedunderCC01.0","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer26-ProphetJeremiahGiorgioGhisislilicencedunderCC01.0-1.jpg","width":732,"height":1235,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer26-ProphetJeremiahGiorgioGhisislilicencedunderCC01.0-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer26-ProphetJeremiahGiorgioGhisislilicencedunderCC01.0-1-178x300.jpg","medium-width":178,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer26-ProphetJeremiahGiorgioGhisislilicencedunderCC01.0-1-607x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":607,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer26-ProphetJeremiahGiorgioGhisislilicencedunderCC01.0-1-607x1024.jpg","large-width":607,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer26-ProphetJeremiahGiorgioGhisislilicencedunderCC01.0-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":732,"1536x1536-height":1235,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer26-ProphetJeremiahGiorgioGhisislilicencedunderCC01.0-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":732,"2048x2048-height":1235,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer26-ProphetJeremiahGiorgioGhisislilicencedunderCC01.0-1-711x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer26-ProphetJeremiahGiorgioGhisislilicencedunderCC01.0-1-249x420.jpg","home_baner-width":249,"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":"Cancel Culture Confronts Jeremiah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"It turns out that denial flows in Judah as 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","post_title":"The People Of The Book, Or The People With A Voice?","slug":"the-people-of-the-book-or-the-people-with-a-voice","old_id":"70932","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64758,"post_title":"Avraham Norin","slug":"avraham-norin","old_id":"64758","first_name":"Avraham ","last_name":"Norin ","description":"Avraham Norin teaches in Israel at the Machon Meir and Ora conversion program. He lives in the Southern Hebron Hills with his wife and six children.","short_description":"Avraham Norin teaches in Israel at the Machon Meir and Ora conversion program","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64759,"alt":"","title":"avraham norin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","width":1064,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-681x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":681,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-681x1024.jpg","large-width":681,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","1536x1536-width":1021,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","2048x2048-width":1064,"2048x2048-height":1600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-798x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":798,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"426","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Oral and written tradition in ancient Israel\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In 1976, Israel Finklestein led an exciting archaeology excavation at 'Izbet Sartah.\u00a0 There he and his students from Tel Aviv University uncovered an agricultural village, predating the era of King David. At the site, one student found a piece of ceramic which looked interesting. She showed it to the professor for his assessment. He told her to throw it away and to continue looking for vessels or houses, items that he was interested in finding. She disregarded her teacher's advice, and took the ceramic to her home to clean it up. After removing the dirt, she discovered five lines of ancient Hebrew letters engraved on the ceramic. The fifth line was the complete 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet written in order.\u00a0 However, these letters were written from left to right, as English is written today. It seems that a child wrote them down to practice writing the Hebrew letters. Even Professor Finklestein admitted that it was good that his student didn't listen to his advice this time.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While the message written in the first four lines of the shard is unclear, the fifth line with the complete alphabet is quite revealing. It tells us that literacy was a widespread phenomenon in ancient Israel. If a child living in a remote farming village during the pre-Davidic era knew how to read and write the <\/span>aleph bet<\/span><\/i>, then we can assume that to some degree all the people of this society were literate. However, the picture we receive from chapter 26 of Jeremiah is that Biblical Israel was an oral society, rather than a written one.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is noteworthy that all of the verbs in chapter 26 of Jeremiah are connected to speaking or listening. Jeremiah is first sent to <\/span>speak<\/b> to the people. He is to <\/span>warn <\/b>them that their refusal to <\/span>listen <\/b>to the words of the prophets will bring dire results upon the city of Jerusalem. The people <\/span>hear <\/b>Jeremiah <\/span>say <\/b>these words causing them to <\/span>shout<\/b> that he is guilty of treason.\u00a0 Jeremiah <\/span>explains <\/b>that he was <\/span>repeating<\/b> the words of God. Different factors <\/span>express their opinion<\/b> if Jeremiah should live or die. The elders defend Jeremiah by <\/span>quoting<\/b> the prophet Micah which they <\/span>heard<\/b> in their youth. Upon <\/span>hearing<\/b> Micah's prophecy, King Hezekiah took heed to it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This chapter gives the impression that Israel during this time was exclusively oral. There is no written protocol during the court case. Even when the elders of the city bring a proof from the prophet Micah, they do not bring a scroll to read what it is written. Rather, they quote the prophecy, by heart and word-perfect.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

How do we understand this in light of the archeological find at 'Izbet Sartah?\u00a0 Does the Tanach have other references to whether the Israeli culture was oral or written?\u00a0 Are we the People of the Book, or the People with a Voice? We will return to these questions while discussing chapters 32 and 45 of Jeremiah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

(This is the first of a three part series which discusses if Biblical Israel was a written or oral society).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":70971,"alt":"","title":"jer26-reading 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People Of The Book, Or The People With A Voice?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Oral and written tradition in ancient Israel","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":70971,"alt":"","title":"jer26-reading 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a cast of characters","post_main_content_content":"

During the period leading up to the destruction of the Temple, there were many false prophets who encouraged people to rebel against the Babylonians. Jeremiah delivered the word of God and told them to ignore those messages of false hope:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cAs for you, give no heed to your prophets, augurs, dreamers, diviners, and sorcerers, who say to you, \u2018Do not serve the king of Babylon.\u2019\u201d (Jeremiah 27:9)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Let\u2019s take a look at a few of these words for these fortune tellers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The \u201cprophets\u201d are <\/span>nevi\u2019im<\/span><\/em>, or <\/span>navi<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>in the singular. The word likely derives from a root meaning \u201cto call, proclaim.\u201d Some say that this means that the prophet was the \u201cone called\u201d by God, but more likely it means the one who calls to God, or proclaims the word of God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is possible that the Arabic <\/span>na\u2019ib<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cviceroy\u201d \u2013 is related to <\/span>navi<\/span><\/em>, in that the viceroy was appointed to, or \u201ccalled upon\u201d to fulfill the position. <\/span>Na\u2019ib<\/span><\/em>\u00a0entered the Indian language of Hindi as <\/span>nabab<\/span><\/em>, which eventually became the English word \u201cnabob\u201d \u2013 an important (and usually wealthy) person.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The next word in the verse is \u201caugurs.\u201d The Hebrew word for augur here is <\/span>kosem<\/span><\/em>. <\/span><\/i>Today a <\/span>kosem<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>is a magician, who performs magic \u2013 <\/span>kesem<\/span><\/em>, with none of the religious overtones. We also have the word <\/span>kesam<\/span><\/em>\u00a0in modern Hebrew, meaning \u201ctoothpick,\u201d and earlier meant \u201cchip, carving.\u201d This is actually related to <\/span>kosem<\/span><\/em>, because either the augur used carving in his craft, or he divided up lots (breaking them up like chips) to determine the future. A related Arabic word, <\/span>kisma<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cdivision, lot, destiny\u201d, later entered Turkish and gave us the word \u201ckismet,\u201d meaning \u201cfate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The third word in the list is \u201cdreamers\u201d. A dream in Hebrew is <\/span>chalom<\/span><\/em>, which in the Hebrew spelling seems very similar to the word <\/span>hachlama<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u2013 \u201crecovery; to become healthy, strong.\u201d A number of efforts have been made to connect the two words.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Some say that <\/span>hachlama<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>means \u201cto be well\u201d, and when you have dreams you are \u201csleeping well.\u201d Others say that having dreams is a sign of maturity, which is related to becoming stronger.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A particularly interesting theory claims that during sleep, our ideas become strong and are therefore free of the rule of the intellect.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In that way, the less rational the dream the stronger the idea it represents might appear to be. This would be exactly the approach that the realistic Jeremiah was arguing against.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen: Saul and the Witch of Endor, 1526\u00a0 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71068,"alt":"","title":"Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor.jpeg","width":800,"height":569,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor-300x213.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":213,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor-768x546.jpeg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":546,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor.jpeg","large-width":800,"large-height":569,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor.jpeg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":569,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor.jpeg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":569,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor.jpeg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":569,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor-591x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":591,"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":"Prophets, Augurs, Dreamers, Diviners, Sorcerers","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Quite a cast of characters \u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71068,"alt":"","title":"Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor.jpeg","width":800,"height":569,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor-300x213.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":213,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor-768x546.jpeg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":546,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor.jpeg","large-width":800,"large-height":569,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor.jpeg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":569,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor.jpeg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":569,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor.jpeg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":569,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-Saul_bij_de_heks_van_Endor-591x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":591,"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":"27","chapter_main_number":"427","date":"20270419","wall_id":"427"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"361","name":"Hebrew 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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":"427","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Common sense prevails","post_main_content_content":"

This chapter, perhaps more than others, captures the essence of Jeremiah\u2019s prophetic mission: to persuade the Judeans that their spiritual independence (i.e., the continued existence of the Temple) depended upon surrendering their political autonomy to Babylon.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While that much is agreed upon universally, that is not the case for the text of v. 1:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the beginning of the reign of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The problem, to begin, is that vs. 2-3 instruct the prophet to dispatch \u201cthe thongs and bars of a yoke,\u201d the symbols of capitulation, to \u201cenvoys who have come to Zedekiah King of Judah,\u201d and 11 years separate the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim from that of Zedekiah. Furthermore, v. 8 mentions Nebuchadnezzar by name, while according to 25:1 he did not ascend his throne until the 4<\/span>th<\/span> year of Jehoiakim.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Moreover, the first verse of the very next chapter (28:1) opens with \u201cThat year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah,\u201d implying that the events of chapters 27 and 28 occurred in the same year and that year was at the start of the reign of Zedekiah rather than Jehoiakim.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shadal* addressed the problem as follows:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Undoubtedly, the name Jehoiakim was written by mistake instead of Zedekiah, since v. 3 and v. 12 mention him [explicitly] and the next chapter begins, \u201cThat year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah\u2026\u201d
\r\n<\/span>A manuscript in Koenigsberg (Prussia) has Zedekiah, and another manuscript had \u201cZedekiah,\u201d but it was emended to \u201cJehoiakim.\u201d Another manuscript, in the royal library of Vienna, has \u201cZedekiah\u201d in the margin. The Syriac version [Peshitta] reads \u201cZedekiah,\u201d as does an Arabic version of the Septuagint (our text of the Septuagint is missing this verse). It would have been easy for scribes to write \u201cJehoiakim\u201d instead of \u201cZedekiah\u201d since he is mentioned several times in the previous chapter as well as at its beginning (26:1).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While the subject of textual emendation is, from a religious perspective, sensitive, Shadal\u2019s willingness to be swayed by the preponderance of logical evidence is consistent with his declaration (that we cited in our introduction to him*) that \u201cThe third foundation of exegesis is the very foundation of all human endeavors: common sense.\u201d<\/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":71065,"alt":"","title":"Jer27-emendation","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation.jpg","width":1080,"height":256,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation-300x71.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":71,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation-768x182.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":182,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation-1024x243.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":243,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation.jpg","1536x1536-width":1080,"1536x1536-height":256,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation.jpg","2048x2048-width":1080,"2048x2048-height":256,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation.jpg","post_full_size-width":1080,"post_full_size-height":256,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation.jpg","home_baner-width":1080,"home_baner-height":256}},"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":"Shadal Corrects the Text of Jeremiah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Common sense prevails","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71065,"alt":"","title":"Jer27-emendation","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation.jpg","width":1080,"height":256,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation-300x71.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":71,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation-768x182.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":182,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation-1024x243.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":243,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation.jpg","1536x1536-width":1080,"1536x1536-height":256,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation.jpg","2048x2048-width":1080,"2048x2048-height":256,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation.jpg","post_full_size-width":1080,"post_full_size-height":256,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer27-emendation.jpg","home_baner-width":1080,"home_baner-height":256}},"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":"27","chapter_main_number":"427","date":"20270419","wall_id":"427"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"721","name":"Text","old_id":"1121"}]},{"order":8,"id":"71081","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"The Prophet Margin: The Fine Line Between True And False ","post_title":"The Prophet Margin: The Fine Line Between True And False","slug":"the-prophet-margin-the-fine-line-between-true-and-false","old_id":"71081","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":"428","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The case study of Hananiah son of Azzur","post_main_content_content":"

Hananiah's prophecy offers a fascinating case study. The talmudic rabbis consider that he may have been a true prophet and use this story to attempt to define a false prophet. A mishna in Sanhedrin asserts that some prophets are put on trial for their prophecy: one who invents a prophecy without having actually received it, and one who prophesies what another prophet heard. An example of the first category is Zedekiah son of Kenaana, who stages a prophetic performance in the presence of the kings of Israel and Judah before they battle Edom. As an example of the second category, the rabbis offer Hananiah son of Azzur, \"who would hear things from Jeremiah the prophet as he prophesied in the upper market, and then go and repeat his words in the lower market.\" How can this be? Jeremiah uttered the exact opposite of Hananiah's prediction! This contradiction is addressed in the Talmud itself:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cJeremiah stood in the upper market and said: \"Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Behold, I shall break the bow of Elam\" [49:35]. Hananiah reasoned <\/span>a fortiori<\/span><\/i>: If concerning Elam, which merely assisted Babylonia, God said: \"Behold, I shall break the bow of Elam,\" then it should certainly be true of the Chaldeans! He went to the lower market and said: \"Thus said the Lord of Hosts...I will break the yoke of the King of Babylonia.\" R. Papa said to Abbaye: Didn't he repeat this prophecy to his colleague [i.e., Jeremiah]? Abbaye responded: Since Hananiah deduced this conclusion logically, it was as if Jeremiah had said these words\u201d (Sanhedrin 89a).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Evidently, the rabbis felt that Hananiah's words had some substance. The rebellion against Babylonia was not absurd. After Jeremiah leaves the Temple, he receives another divine vision, instructing him to encounter Hananiah once more:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThen the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah: Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, thus said the Lord: I shall cast you off the face of the earth \u2014 this year you will die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord. In the seventh month of that year, Hananiah the prophet died\u201d (28:15-17) .<\/span><\/p>\r\n

No one else heard Jeremiah's curse. Though Hananiah indeed died, his prophecy did not die with him, and the people still believed in it. Hananiah probably died a hero's death, meriting an honorable burial.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lau, Binyamin. <\/span>Jeremiah: The Fate of a Prophet<\/span><\/i>. 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":"The Prophet Margin: The Fine Line Between True And False","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The case study of Hananiah son of Azzur","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,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"28","chapter_main_number":"428","date":"20270420","wall_id":"428"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"390","name":"Prophets","old_id":"790"},{"term_id":"463","name":"Truth","old_id":"863"},{"term_id":"625","name":"Lying","old_id":"1025"}]},{"order":9,"id":"71102","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"The Power Of Saying Amen ","post_title":"The Power Of Saying Amen","slug":"the-power-of-saying-amen","old_id":"71102","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":"428","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Roger that","post_main_content_content":"

In our chapter, Jeremiah confronts the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who declares in the presence of the priests and all the people: \u201cThus said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: I hereby break the yoke of the king of Babylon\u201d (Jeremiah 28:2). At first, it seems that Jeremiah confirms this promising prophecy, saying: \u201cAmen! May the Lord do so!\u201d (verse 6). But in the continuation, Jeremiah casts doubt on this dubious promise. At the end of our chapter, Jeremiah says: <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, and you have given this people lying assurances. Assuredly, thus said the Lord: I am going to banish you from off the earth. This year you shall die, for you have urged disloyalty to the Lord (verses 15-16). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

And indeed, we are then told: \u201cAnd the prophet Hananiah died that year\u201d (verse 17).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps, not surprisingly, the rabbinic sages criticize Jeremiah for having even initially responded to Hananiah\u2019s prophecy with the word \u201cAmen\u201d.\u00a0 According to Talmud Bavli Sotah 41b-42a, Jeremiah is seen to have flattered Hananiah by first responding \u201cAmen\u201d to him, rather than immediately condemning him as a false prophet. This interpretation of our Chapter is embedded in an instructive discussion of the evils of \u201cflattery\u201d (hanupah<\/em>). Of one who flatters, it is said that \u201ceven the embryos in their mothers' wombs curse him\u201d, and that he will \u201cfall into Gehinnom\u201d. And in reference to our chapter, it is said that whoever flatters his fellow man, will eventually \u201cfall into his hand\u201d. And if he does not fall into his hand, he will fall into the hand of his sons or grandsons. Jeremiah said to Hananiah obsequiously, \u201cAmen\u201d (Jeremiah 28:6). Then, further on, Jeremiah is arrested by none other than Irijah, the grandson of Hananiah (see Jeremiah 37:13).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Elsewhere, Talmud Bavli (Shevuot 36a) states more directly that one of the main uses of the word \u201cAmen\u201d is the \u201cconfirmation of words \u2013 ha\u2019amanat devarim.<\/em>\u201d This is demonstrated by Jeremiah\u2019s response to the prophecy of Hananiah: \u201cAmen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill your words (devarekha<\/em>) that you have prophesied\u201d (Jeremiah 28:6).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cAmen\u201d is a much-used word not only among Jews, but also among Christians and Muslims (\u201cAmin\u201d in Arabic). It is generally an expression of strong agreement, and more specifically as a response to blessings and prayers. A Jew who hears another adult Jew recite a blessing is halakhically obligated to answer \u201cAmen\u201d (Maimonides, Laws of Blessings 1:13; Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 215:2). Indeed, the Talmud Bavli Shabbat 119a teaches that He who responds \u201cAmen\u201d with all his might, \u201cthe gates of Paradise are opened for him\u201d, as it is written: \u201cOpen the gates, and let a righteous nation enter, that keeps faith [shomer emunim<\/em>]\u201d (Isaiah 26:2) \u2013 which can be re-read \u201cshe-omrim amen<\/em> \u2013 those who say Amen\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71107,"alt":"","title":"jer28-amen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen.jpg","width":1920,"height":1087,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-300x170.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":170,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-768x435.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":435,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-1024x580.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":580,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":870,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1087,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-1200x679.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":679,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-742x420.jpg","home_baner-width":742,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Power Of Saying Amen","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Roger that","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71107,"alt":"","title":"jer28-amen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen.jpg","width":1920,"height":1087,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-300x170.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":170,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-768x435.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":435,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-1024x580.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":580,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":870,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1087,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-1200x679.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":679,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-amen-742x420.jpg","home_baner-width":742,"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":"28","chapter_main_number":"428","date":"20270420","wall_id":"428"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"437","name":"Prayer","old_id":"837"},{"term_id":"504","name":"Blessing","old_id":"904"}]},{"order":10,"id":"71110","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Hananiah\u2019s Demagoguery\u00a0 ","post_title":"Hananiah\u2019s Demagoguery\u00a0","slug":"hananiahs-demagoguery","old_id":"71110","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38322,"post_title":"James A. Diamond","slug":"james-a-diamond","old_id":"38322","first_name":"James ","last_name":"Diamond ","description":"Prof. James A. Diamond holds the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Waterloo. His most recent book is \u201cJewish Theology Unbound\u201d published by Oxford University Press. ","short_description":"Prof. James A. Diamond holds the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Waterloo.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38323,"alt":"","title":"James Diamond","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","width":1186,"height":1386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-257x300.jpg","medium-width":257,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-768x898.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":898,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-876x1024.jpg","large-width":876,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","1536x1536-width":1186,"1536x1536-height":1386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","2048x2048-width":1186,"2048x2048-height":1386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-1027x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1027,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-359x420.jpg","home_baner-width":359,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"428","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Not by might, and not by bling","post_main_content_content":"

Maimonides specifically cited Hananiah in his <\/span>Letter to Yemen<\/span><\/em> as emblematic of a false prophet whose credentials are impugned by the content of his message rather than other external factors such as miracles or pedigree. Listening closely to the precise articulation of their prophecies then should determine authenticity in the duel between Jeremiah and Hananiah. One such substantive component of Hananiah\u2019s prophecy that exposed Hananiah\u2019s charade was the issue of the Temple vessels looted by the Babylonians. Hananiah boldly predicted that God would<\/span> \u201crestore to this place all the vessels of the House of the Lord which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took\u201d (28:3). Hananiah\u2019s choice of the vessels, of stuff, as the supreme symbol of victory rested on an implicit endorsement of a decadent ideology King Josiah long before tried to rout. Josiah\u2019s reform shifted the focus of national existence from the furnishings of the Temple, the material symbols of its glory, to a text, to the Torah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After a public reading of the \u201ctext of the covenant\u201d (2 Kings 23:2), that had been exhumed after being buried beneath centuries of hoarding stuff, Josiah emptied the Temple of \u201call the vessels made for Ba\u2019al and Asherah and the host of heaven\u201d (23:4). Obsession with the material symbols of holiness led naturally to a syncretistic obsession with the deification of the material aspects of nature. Hananiah crafted this choice of the return of the Temple vessels as the crowning achievement of his predicted victory over Babylon to appeal to just these popular sensual predilections. But this seduction of a surfeit of vessels in the Temple also appealed to the ruling class, playing to aspirations which traced their way back to the very origins of the Davidic dynasty. David constructed his own castle, or paean to his own glory, before contemplating as an afterthought a center dedicated to God, \u201cHere I am dwelling in a house of cedar while the Ark of the Lord sits in a tent\u201d (2 Sam 7:2). Once built the Temple was populated by a glut of vessels dedicated to a pantheon of gods. These were the residue of self-empowering alliances Solomon forged by numerous foreign marriages in direct violation of the Deuteronomic law of the king (Deut. 17).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

By focusing on the return of Temple vessels as the goal of any insurrection against Babylonia, Hananiah engaged in classic demagoguery that would naturally appeal to the material and political ambitions of the king and the people. It was a populist strategy aimed at restoring that nationalistic and monarchic glory so inimical to the overarching aims of the Torah, once again gathering dust underneath them. The Babylonian king enhanced his political stature by pillaging the Temple and so the Israelite polis would restore its glory by repatriating those symbols of its national prestige.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Hananiah\u2019s message exploited the allure of political power raising those dangers posed by kingship in the ancient Near East that conflated God with the king.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71111,"alt":"","title":"jer28-menorahs","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","width":720,"height":590,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs-300x246.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":246,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","medium_large-width":720,"medium_large-height":590,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","large-width":720,"large-height":590,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","1536x1536-width":720,"1536x1536-height":590,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","2048x2048-width":720,"2048x2048-height":590,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","post_full_size-width":720,"post_full_size-height":590,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs-513x420.jpg","home_baner-width":513,"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":"Hananiah\u2019s Demagoguery\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Not by might, and not by bling","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71111,"alt":"","title":"jer28-menorahs","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","width":720,"height":590,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs-300x246.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":246,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","medium_large-width":720,"medium_large-height":590,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","large-width":720,"large-height":590,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","1536x1536-width":720,"1536x1536-height":590,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","2048x2048-width":720,"2048x2048-height":590,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs.jpg","post_full_size-width":720,"post_full_size-height":590,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer28-menorahs-513x420.jpg","home_baner-width":513,"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":"28","chapter_main_number":"428","date":"20270420","wall_id":"428"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"423","name":"Politics","old_id":"823"},{"term_id":"440","name":"Wealth\/money","old_id":"840"},{"term_id":"676","name":"Material","old_id":"1076"},{"term_id":"942","name":"Josiah","old_id":"1342"}]},{"order":11,"id":"71138","color":"#f7f7f5","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":12,"id":"71153","color":"#effaea","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":13,"id":"71141","color":"#e8ecf6","size":"1","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":14,"id":"71185","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Someone Cares ","post_title":"Someone Cares","slug":"someone-cares","old_id":"71185","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34250,"post_title":"Sarah Rudolph","slug":"sarah-rudolph","old_id":"34250","first_name":"Sarah ","last_name":"Rudolph","description":"Sarah Rudolph is a freelance Jewish educator, writer, and editor. She has been sharing her passion for Jewish texts of all kinds for over 15 years, with students of all ages. Sarah\u2019s essays have been published in a variety of internet and print media, including Times of Israel, Kveller, Jewish Action, OU Life, The Lehrhaus, TorahMusings, and more. Sarah lives in Cleveland with her husband and four children, but is privileged to learn online with students all over the world through www.TorahTutors.org and www.WebYeshiva.org. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Sarah Rudolph is a freelance Jewish educator, writer, and editor.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34251,"alt":"","title":"Sarah R","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","width":2824,"height":4246,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-681x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":681,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-681x1024.jpg","large-width":681,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","1536x1536-width":1022,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R.jpg","2048x2048-width":1362,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-798x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":798,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sarah-R-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"430","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The prophet addresses the fear of abandonment: theirs, and our own\u00a0\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cBut I will bring healing to you and cure you of your wounds, declares the LORD. Though they called you \u2018Outcast, that Zion whom no one seeks out.\u2019\u201d (Jeremiah 30:17)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What happens to a person when no one seeks them out? When nobody cares to see how they are doing, to make sure they\u2019re okay?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The obvious: danger. Those who call Zion \u201coutcast\u201d in this verse seem to be expressing their confidence that she has no protection: they can keep treating her as they like, with no repercussions. Bad things might happen to those left on their own.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the pain of abandonment \u2013 or apparent abandonment \u2013 goes deeper, as the prophet highlights in describing the end of the period of destruction and exile to come.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The allusion to that depth may be found in Malbim\u2019s interpretation of Jeremiah\u2019s seemingly redundant assurance that God will \u201cbring healing to you and cure you of your wounds.\u201d While some readers brush this sort of repetition off as poetic style, Malbim will have none of that. Instead, he explains that the apparent synonyms are not in fact synonyms but refer to different types of pain: \u201chealing\u201d describes the external brokenness that requires [physical] healing, while \u201cyour wounds\u201d describes internal damage \u2013 perhaps of the emotional sort that comes from feeling abandoned.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For although it is others who describe Zion as an outcast in this verse, one can only imagine that Zion\u2019s people themselves would feel alone in their exile, as if there is no one seeking their welfare or paying them any attention. (See verse 14 as well.) And among the greatest sources of emotional pain is that sense of loneliness, feeling one has been left to face all kinds of external and internal ills alone, as if no one cares.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As the Talmud astutely points out (Sukkah 41a), the phrase \u201cwhom no one seeks out\u201d implies \u201cwho needs seeking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Don\u2019t we all need to know someone seeks us out, that someone cares?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And don\u2019t we all sometimes feel that no one does?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Yet \u2013 often there actually is someone, maybe Someone, interested and invested in our welfare, who will seek us out to \u201ccure our wounds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this prophecy of comfort, those who would rejoice in the idea that no one does care about Zion, that they can do what they want to her \u2013 they are in for a rude awakening. As in the preceding verse, \u201cAll who wanted to devour you shall be devoured, and every one of your foes shall go into captivity; those who despoiled you shall be despoiled, and all who pillaged you I will give up to pillage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But it\u2019s not just about the physical payback to those who have harmed Zion physically, externally.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The deeper comfort lies in what that payback tells the people: that somebody does care.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That, as promised in Deuteronomy 11:2, God <\/span>always <\/span><\/i>\u201cseeks\u201d out the welfare of His land; \u201cHis eyes are always upon it.\u201d And upon His people, too.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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