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Still in Jerusalem, God summons six figures to the city gates with weapons ready. The Talmud (Shabbat 55a) explains that these six figures represent six types of destruction- Anger, Wrath, Fury, Destroyer, Breaker, Annihilator. Before these six can attack, God summons a figure in linen clothing. God instructs the figure to travel through the city and mark all those who complained about idol worship with a mark on their forehead. These individuals will be spared the destruction of the six other figures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What exactly is this mark and why is it placed on the forehead? The idea of a mark protecting the righteous from destruction dates back to the Exodus story and the blood placed on the doorposts. The Israelites themselves were the ones who had to show their loyalty to God by placing the blood on the doorposts. Here, the people are judged by their previous actions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A mark on the forehead, however, evokes other signs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The first is the tefillin worn on the forehead. The commandment in Deuteronomy 6:8 for tefillin is \u201cbetween ones eyes\u201d, which is understood to mean one's forehead. The tefillin were meant to be a sign that the wearer remembered that God took the people out of Egypt and to show obedience to God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is a second sign on the forehead that may be more specific- the <\/span>tzitz<\/em> <\/span>worn by the high priest. The same word used in this chapter for forehead as is used in Exodus 28:38 to describe the <\/span>tzitz<\/span><\/em>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It shall be on Aaron\u2019s forehead, that Aaron may take away any sin arising from the holy things that the Israelites consecrate, from any of their sacred donations; it shall be on his forehead at all times, to win acceptance for them before God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The high priest\u00a0 also wore linen garments like the figure marking foreheads in Jerusalem. The Zohar explains that the high priest could use the <\/span>tzitz<\/em> <\/span>to determine if a person was impious, and if so, he would pray to God to forgive the individual. Ezekiel also uses this word several times in chapter 3:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the House of Israel will refuse to listen to you, for they refuse to listen to Me; for the whole House of Israel are brazen of forehead and stubborn of heart.<\/span> But I will make your face as hard as theirs, and your forehead as brazen as theirs.<\/span> I will make your forehead like adamant, harder than flint. Do not fear them, and do not be dismayed by them, though they are a rebellious breed (3:7-9).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The mark on the forehead links these three pieces. It resembles the tefillin to show that these individuals submitted to God\u2019s kingship. It resembles the <\/span>tzitz<\/span><\/em> because these people who had been impious have decided to follow God, and God has heard their prayers and saved them. Finally, the mark distinguishes these people from those who are brazen and rebel against God and who will not be saved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Our<\/span> chapter<\/span><\/a> describes in detail Ezekiel\u2019s vision of the execution of idolaters in Jerusalem. At the beginning of this terrifying prophecy, six \u201cmen\u201d are appointed as \u201cexecutioners.\u201d Then a mysterious \u201cman among them dressed in linen\u201d is told by God to:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the persons who moan and groan because of all the abominations that are committed in it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ezekiel tries to stop the slaughter:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I cried out, Ah, my Sovereign Lord! Are you going to annihilate all that is left of Israel, pouring out Your fury upon Jerusalem?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But God replies:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The iniquity of the Houses of Judah and Israel is very, very, great, the land is full of crime and the city is full of corruption. For they say, the Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see. I, in turn, will show no pity or compassion; I will give them their deserts<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our chapter ends apparently with the complete slaughter of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, which is duly reported back to God:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And then the one clothed in linen with the writing case at his waist brought back word, saying, \u201cI have done as You commanded me.\u201d (<\/span>Ezekiel 9:1-11<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The<\/span> Mekhilta<\/span><\/a> preserves a midrashic interpretation of our entire chapter from beginning to end. When the Holy One Blessed be He decrees good decrees and bad decrees for Israel, a report is returned to Him for the good decrees, but not for the bad decrees: Six men fulfilled God\u2019s decree of execution of the Jerusalem idolaters but returned no report to God. However, the man clothed in linen who was assigned to put a saving sign on those who opposed the idolatrous abominations did return a report to God, as it<\/span> says<\/span><\/a>: \u201cAnd then the one clothed in linen with the writing case at his waist brought back word, saying, I have done as You commanded me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The interpretation of our chapter is further elaborated in<\/span> Talmud Bavli<\/span><\/a> (and numerous parallels). The \u201cman dressed in linen\u201d is said to be the angel Gabriel and the \u201csix men\u201d who carry out the execution are characterized as six angels of destruction (<\/span>mal\u2019akhey habalah<\/span><\/a><\/em>) named Fury, Wrath, Rage, Destroyer, Breaker and Annihilator. The saving \u201cmark\u201d (<\/span>tav<\/span><\/em>, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, probably written in<\/span> Paleo-Hebrew<\/span><\/a> form as an X) put on the foreheads of those who opposed idolatry is the subject of various rabbinic interpretations. <\/span>Tav<\/span><\/em> is the first letter of the word <\/span>ti\u1e25ye<\/em> <\/span>(\u201cyou shall live\u201d), indicating that the righteous shall live. The letter <\/span>tav<\/span><\/em> is the first letter of the word <\/span>ta\u1e25on<\/span><\/em> indicating that God \u201cwill have mercy\u201d on the righteous who deserve the<\/span> merit of the patriarchs<\/span><\/a> (<\/span>z<\/span>ekhut avot<\/span><\/a><\/em>). The seal of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is <\/span>Emet<\/em> <\/span>(\u201cTruth\u201d) which begins with <\/span>alef<\/em> <\/span>and ends with <\/span>tav<\/span><\/em>. And so, the letter <\/span>tav<\/span><\/em> marks those who observe the entire Torah from <\/span>alef<\/span> <\/em>through <\/span>tav<\/span><\/em>.<\/b><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":57563,"alt":"","title":"isam10-sign","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-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":"A Saving Sign","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Saved from - Fury, Wrath, Rage, Destroyer, Breaker and Annihilator","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":57563,"alt":"","title":"isam10-sign","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam10-sign-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"461","date":"20270606","wall_id":"461"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"361","name":"Hebrew language","old_id":"761"},{"term_id":"613","name":"Signs","old_id":"1013"},{"term_id":"680","name":"Symbolism","old_id":"1080"}]},{"order":4,"id":"118773","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Divine Frustration","post_title":"Divine Frustration","slug":"divine-frustration","old_id":"118773","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":62571,"post_title":"Yaakov Bieler","slug":"yaakov-bieler","old_id":"62571","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Bieler ","description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1974. He has lectured and written extensively on Modern Orthodoxy, and blogs daily at https:\/\/yaakovbieler.wordpress.com ","short_description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":62572,"alt":"","title":"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","width":141,"height":180,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler-141x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":141,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium-width":141,"medium-height":180,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium_large-width":141,"medium_large-height":180,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","large-width":141,"large-height":180,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","1536x1536-width":141,"1536x1536-height":180,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","2048x2048-width":141,"2048x2048-height":180,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","post_full_size-width":141,"post_full_size-height":180,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","home_baner-width":141,"home_baner-height":180}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"461","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Though even Nebuzaradan had his reservations\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Ezekiel 9 describes a prophetic vision that bodes badly for many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Ezekiel mentions that after an angel will place a mark on the heads of people who critiqued the everyday life of the city (v. 4), other angels would be instructed to kill anyone not so marked (vs. 5-7).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The prophet is cast in the role that Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian general, played when described by the Talmud as questioning the acute vengeance that God or His prophet, Zechariah, had authorized:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nebuzaradan found the blood of Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, and saw that it was bubbling up from the ground, and he said: What is this? Those in the Temple said to him: It is sacrificial blood that had been poured there. He brought animal blood, compared it to the blood bubbling up from the ground, and saw that it was not similar to it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nebuzaradan said to them: If you tell me whose blood this is, it will be well for you.\u00a0 But if not, I will comb your flesh with iron combs. They said to him: What shall we say to you? He was a prophet among us, who used to rebuke us about heavenly matters, and we rose up against him, and killed him (II\u00a0Chron. 24:20\u201322), and for many years now his blood has not settled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nebuzaradan said to them: I will appease Zechariah. He brought the members of the Great Sanhedrin and of a lesser Sanhedrin and killed them alongside the bubbling blood, but it still did not settle. He then brought young men and virgins and killed them alongside it, but it still did not settle. He then brought schoolchildren and killed them alongside it, but it still did not settle. Finally, Nebuzaradan said to him: Zechariah, Zechariah, I have killed the best of them. Would it please you if I destroyed them all? When he said this, the blood at last settled (Gittin 57b).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Compare:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ah, my Sovereign GOD ! Are you going to annihilate all that is left of Israel, pouring out Your fury upon Jerusalem? The answer came, \u201cThe iniquity of the Houses of Judah and Israel is very very great, the land is full of crime and the city is full of corruption. For they say, \u2018GOD has forsaken the land, and GOD does not see.\u2019<\/span> I, in turn, will show no pity or compassion; I will give them their deserts\u201d (Ez. 9:8-10).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is disturbing that God, the creator of all, feels justified in wiping out an entire cohort of people in defense of his priests, prophets, and edicts (v. 6) regardless of the sin(s) they reputedly committed, while Nebuzaradan has reservations (albeit after having killed multitudes). The Talmud even boldly suggests that Nebuzaradan converted to Judaism<\/span> \u00a0following this experience, much as the crew on Jonah\u2019s ship were moved by God\u2019s display of power (Jonah 1:16). Perhaps the creator is more personally frustrated when His creations defy him?<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":104301,"alt":"","title":"-62656957aedbb--62656957aedbdex7-river 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Begins A Long Drawn-Out Retreat ","post_title":"God Begins A Long Drawn-Out Retreat","slug":"god-begins-a-long-drawn-out-retreat","old_id":"73417","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":"461","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Furious justice amidst hints of divine pain at the destruction\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

This chapter is short but powerful in its portrayal of divine retribution. The story begins in chapter 8 with the prophet\u2019s tour (\u201cin visions of God\u201d \u2013 verse 3) of the people\u2019s sins \u2013 <\/span>Look over here, son of Man! And here! Do you see their abominations? Oh, if you could only see what they do in private!<\/span><\/i> \u2013 a tour that culminates in 8:18 with a vengeful, unforgiving declaration: \u201cI also will act with fury; I will show no pity or compassion; though they call in My ears with a great voice, I will not listen to them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Metzudat David offers a fairly shocking paraphrase: \u201cJust as they behave improperly, thus I will behave with anger, improperly, for I will show no pity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God himself will behave improperly? As if we didn\u2019t already think the situation was harsh.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, after thus resolving to ignore the \u2018loud cries in His ears,\u2019 God Himself \u201ccalled in my [Ezekiel\u2019s] ears with a great voice\u201d (9:1). He directs this call towards His agents of destruction, but ensures Ezekiel hears it as an echo of the previous verse; the similarity in wording between the verses seems too much to be coincidental.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps the underlying message to His prophet is that even as God proclaims the harshest of divine retributions, even improper in its unabated wrath \u2013 His own cries echo those of His people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps when He declares He will not listen to their cries, He is (in anthropomorphic terms) \u2018steeling\u2019 Himself against His own cries as well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For though He has committed to the destruction of His city, His Temple, and many of His people \u2013 the Tanach never portrays Him as happy about it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As those agents of destruction are told to wipe out all inhabitants of the city (except those marked as having expressed distress over their fellows\u2019 sins), the divine Presence retreats, moving \u201cfrom the cherub on which it had rested to the platform of the House\u201d (9:3). According to Lamentations Rabbah (Petichta 25), this was actually the second step; the first is described in chapter 10, along with several others, and other steps may be found elsewhere in Scripture \u2013 totaling ten stages of divine retreat.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why so many? Why does it take God so long to leave His Temple? Naturally, because He\u2019s not happy about it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The midrash points out that God\u2019s third step, described in 10:18, mixes up directions: the verse says the divine presence \u201cwent out from the threshold of the house\u201d to the cherubs \u2013 but from threshold to cherubs is inward! Rabbi Acha explains with an analogy to a human king who leaves his palace in anger \u2013 but is immediately drawn back, kissing the walls and pillars, crying and wishing his beloved palace well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Beneath the improperly vengeful surface in chapter 9, the midrash sees hints of divine pain at the destruction justice requires. He\u2019ll do it, but He\u2019s not happy about it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem, David Roberts ()1796-1894), Williamson Art Gallery, under CC BY-NC-ND.<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73420,"alt":"","title":"ez9-siege","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege.jpg","width":960,"height":540,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege.jpg","large-width":960,"large-height":540,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":540,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":540,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":540,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"God Begins A Long Drawn-Out Retreat","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Furious justice amidst hints of divine pain at the destruction","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":73420,"alt":"","title":"ez9-siege","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege.jpg","width":960,"height":540,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege.jpg","large-width":960,"large-height":540,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":540,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":540,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":540,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-siege-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"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":"Ezekiel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"461","date":"20270606","wall_id":"461"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"73414","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Righteous And Evil - The Dividing Line ","post_title":"Righteous And Evil - The Dividing Line","slug":"righteous-and-evil-the-dividing-line","old_id":"73414","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":"461","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Are good people who don\u2019t protest wrongdoing- still good?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The chapter contains an alarming story, in which God musters a small force to kill all those who disobey God, young and old alike. Only a few will survive, marked on their foreheads by a mysterious man with a writing case. They are singled out because they have \u201cmoaned and groaned\u201d about the sins of the Israelites, voicing their dissatisfaction or opposition to the actions of the many. But how many people were killed who did not engage in the actions that enraged God, but also did not speak out?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Talmud asks this very question. In the tractate Shabbat, Rabbi Aha imagines that originally, God had instructed the man with the writing case to mark on the foreheads of all the righteous in the city, so that they would be spared. But the Angel of Justice spoke up, claiming to God \u201cThese righteous people did not try to stop the wicked from their deeds!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cBut I know even if they tried, they would never have succeeded in changing the behavior of the wicked,\u201d God claims.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cStill, they could not have known if they would succeed or not, and they didn\u2019t even try,\u201d argues Justice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So God retracted God\u2019s protection of the righteous, and allowed the Angel of Destruction to take those righteous people who did not protest the actions of the evil. Only those who spoke out against the wickedness in their midst were saved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For anyone who has ever let something slide, who has kept their mouth shut when they saw injustice because they didn\u2019t feel they could change it, this is a chilling story. We may not be able to change anyone, and indeed we might do damage to ourselves by speaking out. But when it comes time to reckon for our actions, we will be marked by our actions, not our impact. We should strive not for persuasion, or even fortitude to resist temptation; we should strive for bravery, to speak truth to power even when power will not hear us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image:\u00a0Ezekiel's Vision of the Sign \"Tau\" (Ezekiel IX:2-7), anonymous (Flemish - Mosan Region), mid 12th C., champlev\u00e9 enamel, copper gilt, Walters Art Museum \/ wikimedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73415,"alt":"","title":"ez9-mark","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","width":600,"height":826,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark-218x300.jpg","medium-width":218,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":826,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","large-width":600,"large-height":826,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":826,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":826,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":826,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark-305x420.jpg","home_baner-width":305,"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":"Righteous And Evil - The Dividing Line","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Are good people who don\u2019t protest wrongdoing - still good?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":73415,"alt":"","title":"ez9-mark","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","width":600,"height":826,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark-218x300.jpg","medium-width":218,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":826,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","large-width":600,"large-height":826,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":826,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":826,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark.jpg","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":826,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez9-mark-305x420.jpg","home_baner-width":305,"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":"Ezekiel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"461","date":"20270606","wall_id":"461"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"73408","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"X Marks the Spot ","post_title":"X Marks the Spot","slug":"x-marks-the-spot","old_id":"73408","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":"461","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The ancient Hebrew letter \u201ctav\u201d\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Continuing with the scenario of the previous chapter\u2019s vision, Ezekiel now saw six executioners approaching Jerusalem, armed with the clubs with which they were to slay its inhabitants (1-2). God next instructed another of them\u2014who was equipped with \u201ca scribe\u2019s kit at his waist\u201d: \u201cPass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who moan and groan because of all the abominations that are committed in it\u201d (4).<\/span> In other words, those who took exception to the abominations were to be spared and the mark (<\/span>tav<\/span><\/i>) was to distinguish them so they would not be slain indiscriminately.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What was this sign? Rashi stated blandly, \u201ca sign (<\/span>roshem<\/span><\/i>) of some sort.\u201d Eliezer of Beaugency elaborated further and compared it to the blood that was placed about the doorways in Egypt prior to the Exodus to prevent the plague from entering. Kara stipulated that the mark was the Hebrew letter <\/span>tav<\/span><\/i> but gave no further explanation of it. Radak, however, cited a rabbinic tradition to the following effect:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our Sages explained that the <\/span>tav<\/span><\/i> was the letter <\/span>tav.<\/span><\/i> God told Gabriel: \u201cInscribe on the foreheads of the righteous a <\/span>tav<\/span><\/i> of ink, and on the foreheads of the wicked a <\/span>tav<\/span><\/i> of blood. Why a <\/span>tav<\/span><\/i>? Rav said, <\/span>tav<\/span><\/i> for \u201cyou shall live\u201d (<\/span>tichyeh<\/span><\/i>) and <\/span>tav<\/span><\/i> for \u201cyou shall die\u201d (<\/span>tamut<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Curiously, the letter tav of the ancient Hebrew alphabet (the one it shared with the Phoenicians and that, subsequently, was adopted, with some variation, by the Greeks and Romans) had the shape of an X.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A subject not addressed by these early medievals is whether the scribe found any righteous people whose foreheads he could mark for survival. However, Don Yitzhak Abrabanel (15-16<\/span>th<\/span> centuries, Spain and Italy) inferred from v. 8 (\u201cAh, Lord God, are you going to annihilate all that is left of Israel?\u201d) that no one was going to be spared.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A final, rueful thought, is that some Christian commentators identified the X as the sign of the cross and took a malicious delight in explaining that righteous Jews were being saved by having a cross inscribed on their foreheads, which may actually account for Abrabanels\u2019 insistence that there were to be no survivors, in which case the sign of the cross was the mark of death.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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The prophet begins by describing the famine that will befall the city; then the wild animals that will pass through the land, followed by the sword, and finally, the pestilence. Describing these imminent afflictions raises the question of whether any righteous people will survive the onslaught. And if so, might their families\u00a0 also be saved in their merit, as in similar situations described in the Torah?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The prophetic response to this question is that if indeed there are any righteous individuals to be found in the city, they alone will be saved. The inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be saved by virtue of the righteous present there. Through the comparison to Noah, the anticipated Destruction seems even more devastating than the Flood. Noah saved his entire family, but now even that possibility does not exist.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ultimately, there are some survivors of the destruction of Jerusalem. But they are left alive not by virtue of the righteous individuals, but because of God\u2019s desire that the terrible actions and the resulting punishment of the inhabitants of the city be made known.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Posted in conjunction with hatanach.com. For full article, <\/span>see here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Who Shall Live And Who Shall Die?","tile_main_caption":"Through the comparison to Noah, the anticipated Destruction seems even more devastating than the Flood.","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","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":"Ezekiel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"461","date":"20270606","wall_id":"461"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"73382","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Saving Mark ","post_title":"The Saving Mark","slug":"the-saving-mark","old_id":"73382","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":"461","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Reminiscent of the mark of Cain","post_main_content_content":"

9:4 \u201cAnd the LORD said to him, \u2018Pass through the city, in the midst of Jerusalem, and trace a mark on the foreheads of the men groaning and moaning over all the abominations done in her midst.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The word for \u201cmark,\u201d <\/span>taw<\/span><\/em> is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In paleo-Hebrew script, the form of this letter was an X. The saving mark on the forehead recalls the mark that saves Cain from retribution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"The Saving Mark","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Reminiscent of the mark of Cain","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":"Ezekiel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"461","date":"20270606","wall_id":"461"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":11,"id":"72943","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Ezekiel 9 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Ezekiel 9","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-ezekiel-9","old_id":"72943","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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\u201cThe Kittel\u201d<\/a> by Roni Tabick: An increased understanding of the Kittel<\/p>\r\n

\u201cJews and Tattoos\u201d<\/a> by Simon Stratford: Sources about making permanent marks on the skin<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - Ezekiel 9","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"461","date":"20270606","wall_id":"461"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"73384","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - Ezekiel 9 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - Ezekiel 9","slug":"points-to-ponder-ezekiel-9","old_id":"73384","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"461","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Signs that save from destruction.<\/em> 399 chapters ago (Exodus 12), on the night of the exodus from Egypt, and the plague of the killing of the first born, whoever marked their house was saved from the plague of the destroyer. Find the differences between these two events in the history of the people.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. The sign of the tav - X<\/em>. What did the mark (v. 4) on the foreheads of the people look like? Perhaps it was like the letter <\/span>tav <\/span><\/i>(the word used there), which in ancient Hebrew script - looked like an X.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Not collective punishment.<\/em> Marking the innocent in advance creates a just response. Whoever deserves to be saved - will be. This is actually exceptional in what generally happens in catastrophes of this nature. \u201cOnce the permission is granted the destroyer to cause harm, there is no distinguishing between righteous and wicked\u201d - Talmud bava Kama 60a. But this is in line with Ezekiel\u2019s sense of just retribution. Everyone is responsible for their own actions, and incurs the consequences that they deserve.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. I heard you!<\/em> God had also heard that \u201c\u2018The LORD does not see us; the LORD has abandoned the country\u2019\u201d (8:12). He also saw to what level of decadence and anarchy the people have sunk. Now He will show that the world has not been abandoned.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. The Temple<\/em>. \u201cBegin here at My Sanctuary\u201d (v. 6). Not only is the Temple not a shelter or a refuge, as it is in routine times for people who are threatened (see e.g. Adonijah, I Kings 1), and not only is it not protecting the people as many believed in Jerusalem - but precisely the opposite. The punishment will begin there. Perhaps because of what we were witness to, together with Ezekiel in the previous chapter.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  6. The Shechinah is on the move<\/em>. In verse 3, the Shechinah begins to leave the Temple. \u201cNow the Presence of the God of Israel had moved from the cherub on which it had rested to the platform of the House.\u201d Stay tuned for developments on the Shechina front in the next chapter.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Ezekiel 9","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"9","chapter_main_number":"461","date":"20270606","wall_id":"461"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"link_teaser":"","listen_link":"","other_title":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/73380"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}