{"id":71523,"date":"2018-07-09T17:47:03","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-438\/"},"modified":"2023-10-10T11:13:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T08:13:35","slug":"wall-438","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-438\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Jeremiah-38"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"438","date":"20270504","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"438","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"70795","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Jeremiah Chapter 38 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Jeremiah Chapter 38","slug":"jps-audio-bible-jeremiah-chapter-38","old_id":"70795","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"438","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Jeremiah Chapter 38","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-753876298\/jps_audio_bible_jeremiah_chapter_38","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"438","date":"20270504","wall_id":"438"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"118291","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Jeremiah In The Pit ","post_title":"Jeremiah In The Pit","slug":"jeremiah-in-the-pit","old_id":"118291","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":"438","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Like Joseph - he said things his brethren didn\u2019t want to hear\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Jeremiah\u2019s tour of the prison spaces of Jerusalem continues in chapter 38.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And they took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit of Malachiah the king\u2019s son, that was in the court of the guard; and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the pit there was no water, but mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud (verse 6).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There are two seemingly superfluous facts listed here. The first is that this pit is in the house of the king\u2019s son and the second is that the pit had no water, only mud. The waterless pit evokes the story of the brothers and Joseph: \u201cAnd they took him and cast him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it\u201d (Genesis 37:24). In Genesis, Rashi explains that there was no water, but there were snakes and scorpions. Rashi does not add the same commentary here, but the same idea can be applied: the pit was not a hospitable place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why would the text reference the Joseph story? Perhaps it is trying to highlight the disastrous brother on brother violence of incarcerating Jeremiah. Joseph was not the enemy of his brothers, but he was saying things they did not want to hear. Their decision to imprison him caused immense pain and anguish to their father and started a process that brought everyone to Egypt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The image is not lost on Jeremiah. Later in the chapter he prophecies that:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

All the women who are left in the palace of the king of Judah shall be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and they shall say: Those who were your friends Have seduced you and vanquished you. Now that your feet are sunk in the mire, They have turned their backs [on you]\u201d (verse 22).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The use of \u201cstuck in the mud\u201d is not accidental. Jeremiah may be expressing frustration that he was stuck in the mud of the pit and all of his protectors seemed to have disappeared. But he most certainly is telling the people that any glee in his situation will be turned back against them. The only way to avoid getting stuck in the mud would be to heed Jeremiah\u2019s warnings. Listening to Jeremiah\u2019s detractors will only lead to a role reversal, with the conspirators being trapped in mud themselves. That is exactly what happens later with Malachiah, the king\u2019s son, and all of the king\u2019s sons:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The king of Babylon had Zedekiah\u2019s sons slaughtered at Riblah before his eyes; the king of Babylon had all the nobles of Judah slaughtered (39:6).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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She is the author of four books. Her poems, articles, short stories and photography have appeared in anthologies and various publications in Israel, USA and India, including Arc, Back to Joy: Little Reminders to Help Us Through Tough Times, The Deronda Review, Prosopisia, Poetica, and the International Literary Review. Ruth holds a Masters Degree from the Creative Writing Program of Bar Ilan University and leads the Pri Hadash Women\u2019s Writing Workshop in Jerusalem. \r\nShe is a member of the Israel Association of Writers in English\r\nVisit her website at http:\/\/jerusalemlives.weebly.com\r\n","short_description":"Ruth Fogelman is a poet, and lives in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":35832,"alt":"","title":"Ruth Fogelman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman-.jpg","width":969,"height":973,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman--150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman--300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman--768x771.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":771,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman-.jpg","large-width":969,"large-height":973,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman-.jpg","1536x1536-width":969,"1536x1536-height":973,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman-.jpg","2048x2048-width":969,"2048x2048-height":973,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman-.jpg","post_full_size-width":969,"post_full_size-height":973,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman--418x420.jpg","home_baner-width":418,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"438","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Do not let me sink in this thick mud\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The kindness of the Lord never ceases! His mercies never fail! They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness<\/span><\/em>. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Lamentations 3:22-23<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And the officers said to the king, \"This man should be put to death now\u2026 for this man does not seek the welfare of this people but their harm.\" And they took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit\u2026 that is in the prison yard\u2026 and in the pit there was\u2026 mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Jeremiah 38:4, 6<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\r\n

Jeremiah<\/b><\/p>\r\n

I am cast into a covered pit<\/span><\/p>\r\n

where darkness reigns<\/span><\/p>\r\n

and no light seeps.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Frustration sears my heart.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nobody believes my words.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

They say I\u2019m the enemy<\/span><\/p>\r\n

of our nation<\/span><\/p>\r\n

when I speak in the name<\/span><\/p>\r\n

of the living God!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Oh Lord, I beg You<\/span><\/p>\r\n

do not let me sink<\/span><\/p>\r\n

in this thick mud<\/span><\/p>\r\n

for I will surely die!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I plead for Your mercy<\/span><\/p>\r\n

and everlasting kindness<\/span><\/p>\r\n

constantly renewed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

My Lord, my God<\/span><\/p>\r\n

let Your servant live!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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to the Rescue ","post_title":"Ebed-Melech to the Rescue","slug":"ebed-melech-to-the-rescue","old_id":"71838","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"438","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Who are you, O Cushite?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Jeremiah was rescued from prison due to the intervention of an unlikely savior: \u201cEbed-melech the Cushite, a eunuch who was in the king\u2019s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the pit. The king was then sitting at the Benjamin Gate\u201d (7). He approached the king on behalf of Jeremiah and secured his permission to free the prophet from his captivity lest he die there of starvation (10). He collected \u201cworn cloths and rags,\u201d fashioned a rope, and pulled him up from the pit (11) and returned him to the place of his earlier confinement (13) where, presumably, he was better fed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who was Ebed-melech?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Literally, Ebed-melech means a servant of a king, a term that could be applied to any royal subject. Rashi identified him with Baruch ben Neriyah, Jeremiah\u2019s scribe, an identification that was already made in the tannaitic Midrash Sifrei. Rashi also alluded to a different rabbinic interpretation that identified \u201cthe Cushite\u201d as Zedekiah himself; that would make <\/span>ebed Melech<\/span><\/i> haCushi<\/span><\/i> an anonymous royal servant of Zedekiah the Cushite\u2014an opinion shared by Radak. In Numbers 12:1, Moses\u2019s wife is called a Cushite, which some regarded as a euphemism for exceptional. Zedekiah, Rashi claimed, exhibited exceptional righteousness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shadal,* however, took Ebed-melech as a proper noun, similar to the better-known name Abi-melech, since if it were a common noun it would have had to be Ebed Ha-melech. He also appears to have taken Cushite literally as someone from Ethiopia, since he added an observation that \u201cto this very day, Ethiopian eunuchs are highly regarded and serve in the palaces of oriental kings.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the king\u2019s \u201csitting at the Benjamin Gate,\u201d Shadal noted simply that \u201che was not at home [in the palace], but at one of the city gates.\u201d My personal assumption is that the Benjamin Gate stood at the northern end of the city\u2014since that is where the territory of Benjamin began\u2014which would also make it the closest access point to the oncoming Babylonians. The king, perhaps recalling Jeremiah\u2019s prophecy of 1:14, \u201cthe catastrophe will commence from the north,\u201d may have gone there to assess the city\u2019s military situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

*For an explanation of our objectives in studying Shadal\u2019s commentary, <\/span>see our introduction<\/span><\/a> in Jeremiah chapter 1.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71839,"alt":"","title":"jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","width":350,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah-263x300.jpg","medium-width":263,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","medium_large-width":350,"medium_large-height":400,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","large-width":350,"large-height":400,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","1536x1536-width":350,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","2048x2048-width":350,"2048x2048-height":400,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","post_full_size-width":350,"post_full_size-height":400,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","home_baner-width":350,"home_baner-height":400}},"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":"Ebed-Melech to the Rescue","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Who are you, O Cushite?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71839,"alt":"","title":"jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","width":350,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah-263x300.jpg","medium-width":263,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","medium_large-width":350,"medium_large-height":400,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","large-width":350,"large-height":400,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","1536x1536-width":350,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","2048x2048-width":350,"2048x2048-height":400,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","post_full_size-width":350,"post_full_size-height":400,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-ebed-melech-jeremiah.jpg","home_baner-width":350,"home_baner-height":400}},"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":"38","chapter_main_number":"438","date":"20270504","wall_id":"438"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"71842","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"He Wants To Know, But He Doesn\u2019t Want To Know ","post_title":"He Wants To Know, But He Doesn\u2019t Want To Know","slug":"he-wants-to-know-but-he-doesnt-want-to-know","old_id":"71842","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":"438","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"We too struggle to face what we don\u2019t want to know\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

As food supplies dwindle under Babylonian siege, King Zedekiah summons Jeremiah from prison and asks for the truth the way some of us watch gory or otherwise upsetting TV shows: with our hands over our eyes, peeking through our fingers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cI want to ask you something; don\u2019t conceal anything from me\u201d (38:14) \u2013 but of course, Jeremiah has been open all along about the imminent destruction; it was the king who didn\u2019t listen (37:2).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He wants to know, but he doesn\u2019t want to know.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Jeremiah is understandably skeptical of Zedekiah\u2019s request. What good will the truth do either of them? \u201cIf I tell you, you\u2019ll surely kill me; and if I give you advice, you won\u2019t listen to me\u201d (38:15). The king, understanding his skepticism, reassures the prophet \u2013 but only halfway. \u201cAs the LORD lives who has given us this life, I will not put you to death\u2026\u201d (ibid. 16), but he says nothing about accepting advice. He knows he doesn\u2019t want to know.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is some irony in the way the king swears by his divine soul: As Abarbanel points out, this choice of oath indicates he believes in God; his clandestine demand that Jeremiah give it to him straight also implies he\u2019s certain, by now, that Jeremiah is God\u2019s true prophet. And yet \u2013 he knows, and doesn\u2019t want to know. He believes in God and His prophet but can\u2019t bring himself to fully accept the words of that prophet. He won\u2019t punish Jeremiah for his doomsday prophecies, but he can\u2019t quite accept them, either.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We\u2019ve all had similar experiences in many areas of life, not just watching fictional television shows.\u00a0 We seek information and advice, but we don\u2019t want to accept what we hear. Sometimes experts disagree and we don\u2019t know who to believe, and sometimes we\u2019re pretty sure yet still reluctant to act. It can be hard to face the reality of what we must do.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the short time since I began thinking about this post, the challenge has only intensified, as we face a global health crisis with experts calling for unprecedented action in many places. We all want to know; it seems like COVID-19 is all anyone talks about! Yet many of us struggle to fully implement these necessary changes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But while there\u2019s no danger in watching sensationalist television shows halfway, we can\u2019t afford to cover our eyes from real life, especially when we are responsible for others.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Zedekiah peeked through his fingers to find out what the prophet had to say, but he stopped there. Taking appropriate action would have required pulling his hands away completely, facing the reality of the situation, and following Jeremiah\u2019s guidance to give himself up to the Babylonian ruler (ibid. 17), no matter how painful or risky (ibid. 19).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

His hesitation is understandable, but the prophet warns him the consequences will be catastrophic, and he\u2019ll be (partly) to blame: \u201cYou will burn down this city by fire\u201d (ibid. 23). If only Zedekiah had opened his eyes all the way.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71845,"alt":"","title":"jer38-scared","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared.png","width":1077,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-252x300.png","medium-width":252,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-768x913.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":913,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-862x1024.png","large-width":862,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared.png","1536x1536-width":1077,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared.png","2048x2048-width":1077,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-1010x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1010,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-353x420.png","home_baner-width":353,"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":"He Wants To Know, But He Doesn\u2019t Want To Know","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"We too struggle to face what we don\u2019t want to know","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71845,"alt":"","title":"jer38-scared","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared.png","width":1077,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-252x300.png","medium-width":252,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-768x913.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":913,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-862x1024.png","large-width":862,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared.png","1536x1536-width":1077,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared.png","2048x2048-width":1077,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-1010x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1010,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-scared-353x420.png","home_baner-width":353,"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":"38","chapter_main_number":"438","date":"20270504","wall_id":"438"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"71817","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Lessons from Jeremiah\u2019s Rescue ","post_title":"Lessons from Jeremiah\u2019s Rescue","slug":"lessons-from-jeremiahs-rescue","old_id":"71817","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":66417,"post_title":"Maor Greene","slug":"maor-greene","old_id":"66417","first_name":"Maor ","last_name":"Greene ","description":"Maor Greene is a rabbinical student and doctoral student in Hebrew Bible at Jewish Theological Seminary. They are writing their dissertation on metaphors of violent speech in Psalms. They currently accompany others on their spiritual journeys through their work as a Jewish spiritual director. They hold degrees from Duke University (BS), Princeton Theological Seminary (M Div), Hebrew University (MA), and JTS (M Phil). ","short_description":"Maor Greene is a rabbinical student and doctoral student in Hebrew Bible at Jewish Theological Seminary.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":66418,"alt":"","title":"maor greene","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","width":240,"height":240,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":240,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","medium_large-width":240,"medium_large-height":240,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","large-width":240,"large-height":240,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","1536x1536-width":240,"1536x1536-height":240,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","2048x2048-width":240,"2048x2048-height":240,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","post_full_size-width":240,"post_full_size-height":240,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/maor-greene.jpg","home_baner-width":240,"home_baner-height":240}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"438","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Many of us know what it\u2019s like to be stuck in a pit\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

As our chapter opens, Jeremiah\u2019s precarious position in the prison goes from bad to worse. With the king\u2019s consent, Jeremiah is placed into a pit by his well-connected accusers who are tired of hearing his prophecies against Judah. He is lowered down into this pit by ropes and he sinks into the mud (verse 6). There is no water in this pit \u2013 if Jeremiah is not rescued, he will surely die there of dehydration.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I often think about pits, particularly as we experience them today. Although most of us are not at risk of falling into (or being thrown into) physical pits, the metaphor of the pit still resonates. Those who experience severe depression, overwhelming grief, or hugely challenging life circumstances often have a very clear understanding of what it feels like to be stuck in a pit. The feelings of isolation, fear, and despair are profound.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Returning to our chapter, we see that Jeremiah does not die in the pit. One of the king\u2019s servants, Ebed-melech, intercedes on Jeremiah\u2019s behalf and gets permission to rescue him. Ebed-melech then goes down to the pit with 30 men. In a rather complicated process using worn clothes and rags, likely to protect Jeremiah\u2019s body from chafing, they pull Jeremiah up with ropes. Jeremiah is still in prison, but his death is no longer imminent.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I would like to offer three reflections on Jeremiah\u2019s rescue, particularly as they relate to contemporary experiences of the pit:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

First, Jeremiah cannot rescue himself. He needs the help of others to get out of the pit.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When those whom we love get stuck, we need to help them get unstuck, often when they cannot or do not know how to ask for help. When we get stuck and need help, we must also accept the help provided by others if we wish to survive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Second, Jeremiah is rescued by a large number of people. Ebed-melech does not attempt to pull Jeremiah out on his own, but instead goes to rescue him with 30 men.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It will never be just on one person who rescues another from a pit. Instead, it will take a community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Third, Jeremiah\u2019s rescuers show care and sensitivity towards Jeremiah. With 30 men and ropes, they likely could have pulled Jeremiah out without needing to use worn clothes and rags to protect Jeremiah\u2019s body. However, they are not only concerned with getting Jeremiah out of the pit, but also with protecting him from further pain. They restore his dignity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We cannot be so focused on trying to get those we love out of their pits that we inadvertently hurt them in the process.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The truth is that we all get stuck in pits sometimes, although some people\u2019s pits are surely more dangerous than others. Let us learn from these lessons of Jeremiah\u2019s rescue, giving and receiving wise help as we are able.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: by Ben Schachter<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71822,"alt":"","title":"Jer38-MGreene-pit","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit.jpg","width":1126,"height":569,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit-300x152.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":152,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit-768x388.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":388,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit-1024x517.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":517,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit.jpg","1536x1536-width":1126,"1536x1536-height":569,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit.jpg","2048x2048-width":1126,"2048x2048-height":569,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit.jpg","post_full_size-width":1126,"post_full_size-height":569,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit-831x420.jpg","home_baner-width":831,"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":"Lessons from Jeremiah\u2019s Rescue","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Many of us know what it\u2019s like to be stuck in a pit","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71822,"alt":"","title":"Jer38-MGreene-pit","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit.jpg","width":1126,"height":569,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit-300x152.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":152,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit-768x388.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":388,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit-1024x517.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":517,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit.jpg","1536x1536-width":1126,"1536x1536-height":569,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit.jpg","2048x2048-width":1126,"2048x2048-height":569,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit.jpg","post_full_size-width":1126,"post_full_size-height":569,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jer38-MGreene-pit-831x420.jpg","home_baner-width":831,"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":"38","chapter_main_number":"438","date":"20270504","wall_id":"438"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"301","name":"Ben Schachter","old_id":"701"}]},{"order":7,"id":"71731","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Jeremiah Thrown In A Pit And Left To Rot ","post_title":"Jeremiah Thrown In A Pit And Left To Rot","slug":"jeremiah-thrown-in-a-pit-and-left-to-rot","old_id":"71731","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. 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As Babylonia draws ever closer to Jerusalem, Jeremiah's message does not change. The Chaldeans take a long time to build their siege ramp, while the people of Jerusalem desperately search for a way out. The prophet keeps urging anyone who will listen: \"Give yourselves up to the Babylonians!\" Despite his preferential treatment in the prison yard, he continues to agitate, trying the patience of local leaders, who wish to keep up morale:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Finally, the officials say it explicitly \u2014 Jeremiah does not seek the welfare of his people! He seeks only their ruin and should be put to death! These officials have been waiting a long time for permission to kill the prophet. This aging prophet simply does not let up. One person mentioned here is Gedaliah son of Pashhur \u2014 almost certainly the same Pashhur who placed Jeremiah in the stocks decades earlier. His son, one of the highest officials in the city, has inherited his father's distaste for the man who cursed his family. The king, never a strong figure, feebly grants Gedaliah and his cronies their wish, and without further ado, they take action:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Judean officials do just what Joseph's brothers did \u2014 why dirty your hands with killing when you can fling your victim into a pit? Most probably, they choose to kill him this way because Jeremiah is no longer an unknown figure. As Babylonia advances on Jerusalem, many recall his warnings and begin to believe him. Therefore, he cannot be openly executed. By lowering him into the mud, his executioners can easily cover their tracks. In a backhanded way, the text draws attention to the empty wells of Jerusalem by confirming that this pit is empty of water, containing only mud. The well is not in use, so no one, the officials think, will ever discover how they eliminated the traitorous prophet. However, they fail to notice Ebed-melech the Cushite (a servant of the king, of Ethiopian origins), who serves his masters but, like all good servants, remains invisible to them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This servant of a different color and class notices Jeremiah's plight and takes great pains to rescue him from the depths of the pit. Jeremiah utters a prophecy of gratitude to this sensitive man who, despite his enslavement, has not lost his humanity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Lau, Binyamin. <\/span>Jeremiah: The Fate of a Prophet<\/span><\/i>. Maggid Books, 2013. \u201cJeremiah Continues to Agitate and Is Thrown into the Pit\u201d<\/span>
\r\n<\/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":"Jeremiah 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promise of no more suffering - but first, the cataclysmic destruction\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter, packed with action and intrigue, ends on an ominous note. Jeremiah delivers his message to the king, and is sent back to the dungeon to wait for the next scene. The last verse of the chapter ends in an unexpected phrase: When Jerusalem was captured\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

...and then what? The next chapter doesn\u2019t directly continue the narrative, so we don\u2019t really know what will happen. But, of course, we anticipate that it will not be good. Jeremiah has spent the previous 37 chapters warning about the destruction and downfall that awaits the Israelites, so if we imagine the downfall of Jerusalem as our climactic battle scene, we know to anticipate a lot of bloodshed and misery. When Jerusalem was captured, the people suffered catastrophic losses, and the survivors were forced into a painful exile. It seems like an inevitable \u201cterribly ever after\u201d, with no chance for a \u201chappily ever after\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Unless you look at the midrash. In several different midrashim, rabbis claim that any place in Tanach that we see the phrase \u201cvayehi\u201d (it will be) or \u201cvehaya\u201d (it was), it is a sign of impending joy. They bring other verses from Tanach to support their assertion, but inevitably they bring our verse, which seems to call this into question. How could the downfall of Jerusalem be a sign of joy?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If you take the long view, the downfall of Jerusalem was not just a concrete catastrophe, but the fulfillment of a messianic promise, in which God assures Israel that she will not suffer any more. The authors of the midrash bring a verse from Lamentations, rabbinically attributed to Jeremiah, which claims that after the destruction and exile, the people will never again suffer that kind of punishment. The suffering of the destruction was a discrete moment of pain, but the peace and divine protection that follows is everlasting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It can be very hard to focus on the future when we are in a moment of crisis. Even if we are optimistic people, it takes a tremendous leap of faith to believe that this too shall pass when it currently feels unbearable. As Albus Dumbledore said in the movie version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, \u201cHappiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The rabbis of the midrash add a new human element: we do not need to rely on just ourselves to turn on the light, but can look to others to help us through the suffering and see the bright destination at the end of the tunnel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71850,"alt":"","title":"jer38-hope","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-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":"Signs Of Impending Joy In Dark Times","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A promise of no more suffering - but first, the cataclysmic destruction\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71850,"alt":"","title":"jer38-hope","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-hope-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":"38","chapter_main_number":"438","date":"20270504","wall_id":"438"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"71832","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Ebed-Melech The Ethiopian Eunuch ","post_title":"Ebed-Melech The Ethiopian Eunuch","slug":"ebed-melech-the-ethiopian-eunuch","old_id":"71832","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":"438","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A bit part in Jeremiah, but hero of lore and legend\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In our Chapter, Jeremiah is cast into a mud-filled cistern in the prison compound in Jerusalem. Ebed-Melech, who is described as an Ethiopian eunuch, and as an officer of King Zedekiah, speaks to the king on Jeremiah\u2019s behalf. The king allows Ebed-Melech to rescue the prophet. Though, Jeremiah remains imprisoned, at less risk, in the prison compound (38:1-13).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This curious figure, Ebed-Melech, is the hero of a popular legend preserved in the pseudepigraphic work known, in its Ethiopian version, as \u201cThe Rest of the Words of Baruch\u201d (IV Baruch). This work seems to have been based on a Hebrew or Aramaic original, composed in the 1<\/span>st<\/span> to 2<\/span>nd<\/span> centuries CE perhaps in Jerusalem. According to this extensive narrative, on the eve of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Lord instructs Jeremiah to leave the city together with his faithful secretary Baruch. Jeremiah is also instructed to take with him the Temple vessels and to \u201cdeliver them to the earth\u201d for their preservation. Moreover, in recompense for his having rescued him from the cistern, Jeremiah sends Ebed-Melech out of Jerusalem just as the Babylonians arrive to conquer and destroy the Holy City. The pretext for Jeremiah\u2019s saving Ebed-Melech is for him to gather figs for the sick at the nearby farm of Agrippa (who anachronistically is known to have ruled as King of the Jews in the 1<\/span>st<\/span> century CE).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While out of Jerusalem, Ebed-Melech stops in the heat of the day to rest under a tree and falls asleep for 66 years. Compare the legend of Honi Ha-Me\u2018aggel who slept for 70 years according to Bavli Ta\u2019anit 22b. Ebed-Melech and his basket of figs are both miraculously preserved by the Lord. When he awakens, he even complains about the brevity of his nap. Returning to Jerusalem, he is totally disoriented to find the city so completely changed. An old man explains to him what has happened. An angel then leads Ebed-Melech to Baruch.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Baruch interprets Ebed-Melech\u2019s awakening as proof of the individual resurrection of the dead and as an indication that God is about to collectively redeem the people of Israel. Baruch pens a letter to the prophet Jeremiah who is in Babylonia with the Judean exiles. This letter is miraculously delivered to Jeremiah by an eagle. The letter instructs Jeremiah to prepare the people for their return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity. In the end of this amazing narrative, Jeremiah leads the exiles back to Jerusalem. Jeremiah reveals to Baruch and Ebed-Melech all the mysteries he has seen. After this, he dies, having taken on the likeness of a stone. Jeremiah is ceremoniously buried by Baruch and Ebed-Melech who place the stone on Jeremiah\u2019s tomb, on which they inscribe: \u201cThis is the stone that was the ally of Jeremiah\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to Derekh Eretz Zuta 1, Ebed-Melech is counted as one of the nine extraordinary personalities who are said to have entered the Garden of Eden (i.e. paradise) alive.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Limestone wall relief depicting a royal attendant, a eunuch. From the Central Palace at Nimrud, Iraq, 744\u2013727 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul \/ wikiwand<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71835,"alt":"","title":"jer38-eunuch","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","width":640,"height":642,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":642,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":642,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":642,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":642,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":642,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch-419x420.jpg","home_baner-width":419,"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":"Ebed-Melech The Ethiopian Eunuch","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A bit part in Jeremiah, but hero of lore and legend","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71835,"alt":"","title":"jer38-eunuch","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","width":640,"height":642,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":642,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":642,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":642,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":642,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":642,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-eunuch-419x420.jpg","home_baner-width":419,"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":"38","chapter_main_number":"438","date":"20270504","wall_id":"438"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"118302","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-Jeremiah38","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-Jeremiah38","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-jeremiah38","old_id":"118302","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. His first book \"I Kings - Torn in Two\" was published in 2013. See his website www.alexisrael.org, and his podcasts at https:\/\/elmad.pardes.org\/ and https:\/\/tanachstudy.com\/ \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33693,"alt":"","title":"alex israel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","width":1657,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":679,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","large-width":679,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1018,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1357,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-795x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":795,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"438","type_929":"4","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Tanakh Podcast","tile_main_caption":"Jeremiah 38: Stuck In The Mud","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Jeremiah is thrown into a cistern and submerged in mud. Surprisingly a foreigner Ebed-Melech the Kushite, saves his life!","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":108885,"alt":"","title":"-635baf915f04f--635baf915f050tanakh podcast - Alex Israel.JPG","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","width":350,"height":352,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-298x300.jpg","medium-width":298,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","medium_large-width":350,"medium_large-height":352,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","large-width":350,"large-height":352,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","1536x1536-width":350,"1536x1536-height":352,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","2048x2048-width":350,"2048x2048-height":352,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","post_full_size-width":350,"post_full_size-height":352,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","home_baner-width":350,"home_baner-height":352}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/0Z3M7221aS2rbLmej3qCRX","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"438","date":"20270504","wall_id":"438"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"589","name":"audio","old_id":"989"},{"term_id":"857","name":"podcast","old_id":"1257"}]},{"order":11,"id":"71729","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Jeremiah Stays Til The Very End ","post_title":"Jeremiah Stays Til The Very End","slug":"jeremiah-stays-til-the-very-end","old_id":"71729","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"438","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A puzzling verse\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

38:28 \u201cAnd Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard till the day Jerusalem was captured. And it happened, when the city was captured...\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Hebrew cannot mean \u201cAnd he was there when the city was captured,\u201d as some have claimed. Rather, this is a clause that breaks off. S.D. Luzatto, the eighteenth-century Italian Hebrew exegete, proposes that the actual place of this clause is at the beginning of 39:11. This does make syntactic and semantic sense as follows: \u201cAnd it happened, when the city was captured, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylonia charged concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the high chamberlain, saying.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Jeremiah Stays Til The Very End","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A puzzling verse\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"438","date":"20270504","wall_id":"438"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"71829","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"In The Pit With Jeremiah And Joseph ","post_title":"In The Pit With Jeremiah And Joseph","slug":"in-the-pit-with-jeremiah-and-joseph","old_id":"71829","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36277,"post_title":"Yedidya Sinclair","slug":"yedidya-sinclair","old_id":"36277","first_name":"Yedidya","last_name":"Sinclair","description":"Rabbi Yedidya Sinclair serves as Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon, the leading US Jewish environmental organization. From 2011-16 he was Vice President for Research and Senior Economist at Energiya Global, a Jerusalem-based solar energy company focused on the developing world and he continues to consult on renewable energy and climate change preparedness. In 2014 he published together with Hazon, a translation of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's great work on shmitta, the Sabbatical year, \"Introduction to Shabbat Ha'aretz.\" Yedidya holds a BA from Oxford University, an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and lives with his family in Jerusalem.","short_description":"Yedidya Sinclair is a Jerusalem-based rabbi and economist, and is Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36278,"alt":"","title":"yedidya sinclair","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","width":200,"height":200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":200,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":200,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":200}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"438","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Both are nearly killed for speaking about a divine plan that was too disturbing for their listeners to hear\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Jeremiah\u2019s final attempt to save Jerusalem from total destruction infuriates the leaders of the city so much that they have him thrown in a pit, intending that he should die.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This fate is reminiscent of Joseph. The striking parallels between the two stories are noted by Rabbi David Sabato.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

First, in both episodes, the text says, \u201cthe pit was empty; there was no water in it.\u201d Neither pit can sustain life. Joseph and Jeremiah\u2019s assailants both intend that the pit experience should be fatal. But rather than murder the victim with their own hands they prefer to inflict a delayed death, so as not to be held directly culpable for the victim\u2019s demise.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Second, a weak bystander disagrees with the attackers\u2019 plan but fails to stand up to them. In the Joseph story, Reuben, the eldest brother says \u201cshed no blood; cast him into that pit, but do not touch him yourselves,\u201d intending to save him from them\u201d (Gen 37:22). In Jeremiah\u2019s case it is King Zedekiah, who in the last chapter sought out Jeremiah\u2019s prophecy and protects him, who now gives in to the persecutors, saying, \u201che is in your hands, the king cannot oppose you in anything\u201d (Jeremiah 38:5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Third, both are taken out of the pit through the intervention of a non-Jew. Joseph is pulled out by passing Midianites, while Jeremiah is saved by Ebed-melech the Cushite, a servant who protests to the king against Jeremiah\u2019s fate and begs him to pull the dying prophet from the pit.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Fourth, in both stories, the persecutors deny the benign motives of the victim. Joseph explains his dangerous journey to the desert saying to the mysterious man at Shechem, saying \u201cI seek my brothers\u201d (Gen.37:15). The city leaders tell the king that Jeremiah \u201cis not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm,\u201d when the seer is trying to prevent the city\u2019s complete destruction.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Finally, Jeremiah and Joseph are both visionaries who foresee exile and try to prepare people for its wrenching consequences. Joseph says about himself when he reconciles with his brothers in Egypt, \u201c\"For God sent me before you to preserve life\" (Gen 45:5). His childhood dreams of grandeur are revealed to presage Joseph\u2019s rule in exile.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Jeremiah\u2019s prophecies encompass not just the doom of Jerusalem, but also the way the people will survive in exile: \u201cseek the peace of the city to which I have exiled you, (Jer. 29:7) and their eventual return, \u201cFields shall once again be purchased in the land, (Jer. 32:34).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Both Jeremiah and Joseph are despised and nearly killed for glimpsing and speaking about a divine plan that was too disturbing for their listeners to hear.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":71830,"alt":"","title":"jer38-joseph","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","width":446,"height":473,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph-283x300.jpg","medium-width":283,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","medium_large-width":446,"medium_large-height":473,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","large-width":446,"large-height":473,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","1536x1536-width":446,"1536x1536-height":473,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","2048x2048-width":446,"2048x2048-height":473,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","post_full_size-width":446,"post_full_size-height":473,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph-396x420.jpg","home_baner-width":396,"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":"In The Pit With Jeremiah And Joseph","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Both are nearly killed for speaking about a divine plan that was too disturbing for their listeners to hear","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":71830,"alt":"","title":"jer38-joseph","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","width":446,"height":473,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph-283x300.jpg","medium-width":283,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","medium_large-width":446,"medium_large-height":473,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","large-width":446,"large-height":473,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","1536x1536-width":446,"1536x1536-height":473,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","2048x2048-width":446,"2048x2048-height":473,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph.jpg","post_full_size-width":446,"post_full_size-height":473,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer38-joseph-396x420.jpg","home_baner-width":396,"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":"38","chapter_main_number":"438","date":"20270504","wall_id":"438"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"70890","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Jeremiah 38 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Jeremiah 38","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-jeremiah-38","old_id":"70890","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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\u201cLand of the Prophets\u201d<\/a> by Ezra Schwartz: Compare and contrast Biblical prophets with each other.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\u201cJerusalem Anthology - Jeremiah\u201d<\/a> by Michael Feuer: Explore texts related to Jerusalem and relevant toe Jeremiah.<\/p>\r\n

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    \r\n\t
  1. What\u2019s so dangerous about the pit<\/em>? According to verse 6, possibly drowning in the mud\u2026 According to Ebed-melech the Cushite, death by starvation. Either way, it\u2019s clear that without the intervention of Ebed-melech the Cushite - Jeremiah would\u2019ve died down there.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Righteous among the nations<\/em>. Jeremiah\u2019s saviour was Ebed-melech the Cushite, a foreigner, a servant, an African. Think about that.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Big rescue mission.<\/em> 30 people! Quite a delegation. All the details of the rescue are in verses 10-13. Perhaps the detailed description is a way of showing support for the righteous rescuer, who will yet get his reward - stay tuned...<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Sinking in the mud<\/em>. In verse 22, in the description of the expected disaster if Zedekiah does not surrender to the Babylonians, there is a lament that is put in the mouths of the women of the palace: \u201cThey shall say: \u2018The men who were your friends Have seduced you and vanquished you. Now that your feet are sunk in the mire\u2026\u2019\u201d The image that Jeremiah chooses to threaten Zedekiah is from his own personal experience, 14 verses previously, when he himself was sunk in the muck.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. Cover story<\/em>. Zedekiah is so worried that his tete a tete with Jeremiah will be discovered by his ministers, that he supplies Jeremiah with his cover story. See verses 25-26. Jeremiah plays along and lies to the ministers. Not only to defend the king, but also to protect himself. He has known since the beginning of the chapter what will be the price he will have to pay for his prophecies.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  6. The level of violence rises<\/em>. The violence of the ministers towards Jerusalem is taken up a notch (compared to the previous chapter). There\u2019s also a general mood of violence among the people. 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