{"id":73762,"date":"2018-07-09T17:47:39","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1095\/"},"modified":"2023-12-01T15:45:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T13:45:33","slug":"wall-1095","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1095\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20231126-to-20231202"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1095","date_from":"20231126","date_to":"20231202","book":"Ezekiel","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"118992","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"War And Morality From The Perspective Of Judaism","post_title":"War And Morality From The Perspective Of Judaism","slug":"war-and-morality-from-the-perspective-of-judaism","old_id":"118992","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":"1095","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"We Must Be Different: How To Fight Against Evil Without Descending To Their Level","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/UKKbgC9zk20","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Rabbi Benny Lau on the Challenges of This War","tile_main_caption":"War And Morality From The Perspective Of Judaism","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"We Must Be Different: How To Fight Against Evil Without Descending To Their Level","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/UKKbgC9zk20","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":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1095"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"39084","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Jacob and the Blessing of Self-Transformation ","post_title":"Jacob and the Blessing of Self-Transformation","slug":"jacob-and-the-blessing-of-self-transformation","old_id":"39084","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39086,"post_title":"David Wolpe","slug":"david-wolpe","old_id":"39086","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Wolpe","description":"Rabbi David Wolpe is the Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, California. He previously taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Hunter College, and UCLA. Ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York in 1987, Wolpe is a leader in Conservative Judaism.","short_description":"Rabbi David Wolpe is the Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, California. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39087,"alt":"","title":"david wolpe","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/david-wolpe.jpg","width":178,"height":186,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/david-wolpe-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/david-wolpe.jpg","medium-width":178,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/david-wolpe.jpg","medium_large-width":178,"medium_large-height":186,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/david-wolpe.jpg","large-width":178,"large-height":186,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/david-wolpe.jpg","1536x1536-width":178,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/david-wolpe.jpg","2048x2048-width":178,"2048x2048-height":186,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/david-wolpe.jpg","post_full_size-width":178,"post_full_size-height":186,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/david-wolpe.jpg","home_baner-width":178,"home_baner-height":186}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"32","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Jacob sees his brother and weeps for all the years he was blind","post_main_content_content":"

Jacob, having stolen the birthright from his older brother, runs away from home. He goes to the house of his Uncle Laban. \u00a0There he falls in love with Laban's daughter Rachel and plans to marry her. Jacob goes to bed that night expecting that Rachel will be his new bride. \u00a0He does not realize that her older sister Leah has snuck into his bed. In fact according to the text, Jacob is not aware of the duplicity until the morning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

How is this possible? \u00a0One message in the story is that the person you go to sleep with at night is not always the person you wake up to in the morning. Especially if you drink.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The deeper point is that something is missing in Jacob. \u00a0He may be infatuated with Rachel, but he does not truly see her.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Jacob begins life unable to see the reality of others. \u00a0He deceives his father and steals his brother\u2019s birthright. His blind father does not \u2018see\u2019 Jacob in many ways. Those who are not seen often find themselves too unable to see. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Years later, Jacob is informed that the brother from whom he stole the birthright intends to come and kill him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The night before he is to meet Esau, the Torah says \"And Jacob was alone, and a man wrestled with him until the coming of the dawn (Gen. 32:24).\" Even though the wrestler is commonly assumed to be an angel, the phrase \"Jacob was alone\" \u00a0suggests a struggle with himself. And as a result of that struggle something unforeseen takes place.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At dawn Jacob, tells the angel he will not let go until the angel blesses him. \u00a0And we read the following: The man asked him, \u201cWhat is your name?\u201d \u201cJacob,\u201d he answered.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Then the man said, \u201cYour name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel\" \u00a0(Gen. 32:27,28). Imagine asking for a blessing and hearing: \"Your name is no longer Kenneth -- your name is Fred!\" \u00a0I don't think most people would consider that much of a blessing.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And yet that is the angel's blessing to Jacob. \u00a0For the angel has given him the blessing of self-transformation. \u00a0He will not be entirely different -- many times in the future the Bible will refer to him again as 'Jacob.' \u00a0But he has grown through self-struggle.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Now, instead of confrontation we read: \"But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.\" \u00a0And then Jacob tells him, \"For to see your face is like seeing the face of God.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Jacob now sees people. Jacob sees his brother and weeps in part for all the years he was blind. Jacob has learned to see others, and to love.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":84724,"alt":"","title":"ps63-eye seeing God","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-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":"Jacob and the Blessing of Self-Transformation","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Jacob sees his brother and weeps for all the years he was blind","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":84724,"alt":"","title":"ps63-eye seeing God","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-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":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"32","chapter_main_number":"32","date":"20251013","wall_id":"32"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"490","name":"Jacob","old_id":"890"},{"term_id":"504","name":"Blessing","old_id":"904"}]},{"order":3,"id":"38691","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Tortured By the Thought of Possibly Having to Kill ","post_title":"Tortured By the Thought of Possibly Having to Kill","slug":"tortured-by-the-thought-of-possibly-having-to-kill","old_id":"38691","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37918,"post_title":"Shai Held","slug":"shai-held","old_id":"37918","first_name":" Shai ","last_name":"Held","description":"Rabbi Shai Held, theologian, scholar, and educator, is President, Dean, and Chair in Jewish Thought at Hadar, where he also directs the Center for Jewish Leadership and Ideas. A 2011 recipient of the prestigious Covenant Award for excellence in Jewish education, Rabbi Held has been named multiple times to Newsweek\u2019s list of the 50 most influential rabbis in America. He holds a doctorate in religion from Harvard; Rabbi Held's first book, Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence, was published by Indiana University Press in 2013; The Heart of Torah, a collection of essays on the Torah in two volumes, was published by JPS in 2017.","short_description":"Rabbi Shai Held is President, Dean, and Chair in Jewish Thought at Hadar,","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37919,"alt":"","title":"shai held","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","width":150,"height":186,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","medium-width":150,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","medium_large-width":150,"medium_large-height":186,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","large-width":150,"large-height":186,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","1536x1536-width":150,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","2048x2048-width":150,"2048x2048-height":186,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","post_full_size-width":150,"post_full_size-height":186,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shai-held.jpg","home_baner-width":150,"home_baner-height":186}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"32","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Having a state means having an army, but that is a tragic necessity rather than a revelation of the holy","post_main_content_content":"

What is the Jewish attitude towards violence and military force? One crucial window into that extremely important question is provided by a Rabbinic interpretation of today\u2019s chapter. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Jacob had long ago left home after taking his brother\u2019s blessing in a morally compromised fashion (Genesis 27). Now, on his way back home, he faces the fearful scene of Esau coming towards him with four hundred men (32:7); in that moment, Jacob no doubt recalls Esau\u2019s desire to kill him (27:41-42).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When he hears of Esau\u2019s approach, the Torah tells us, \u201cJacob was greatly afraid, and he was distressed\u201d (32:8). Rabbinic tradition is confused by this seemingly unnecessary doubling of language: if Jacob was greatly afraid, then surely he was also distressed. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Citing a midrash, Rashi comments: \u201cJacob was greatly afraid lest he be killed, and he was distressed lest he kill others.\u201d The Talmudic Sage R. Judah b. Ilai suggests that as Esau headed his way, Jacob thought, \u201cIf he prevails against me, will he not kill me; while if I am stronger, will I not kill him?\u201d (Genesis Rabbah 76:2). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Rashi\u2019s version of the midrash, found in several manuscripts as well, Jacob is first and foremost worried about being killed, but he is also afraid of becoming a killer himself. But in other versions of the midrash, the order is reversed: \u201cJacob was greatly afraid lest he kill, and he was distressed lest he be killed.\u201d In this rather startling formulation, Jacob is even more worried about taking a life than he is about having his own taken. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

To be clear: the Jewish tradition is far from pacifistic. On the contrary, a significant principle of Jewish law and ethics asserts that \u201cif someone comes to kill you, hasten to kill him first\u201d (BT, Berakhot 58a). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

But even so, R. Judah b. Ilai imagines Jacob tormented by the thought that he would need to take a life. Justified violence is nevertheless tragic, a manifestation of a world still agonizingly far from perfection. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Today, Jews have Israel; and having a state means having an army, but that is a tragic necessity rather than a revelation of the holy. Even as Jews traditionally refuse pacifism, we ought to remember our ancestor Jacob, who was tortured by the thought that he might have to kill. An unavoidable tragedy is nevertheless a tragedy. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":103216,"alt":"","title":"-62379f63c7443--62379f63c7445gen32-idf israeli 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By the Thought of Possibly Having to Kill","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Having a state means having an army, but that is a tragic necessity rather than a revelation of the holy","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":103216,"alt":"","title":"-62379f63c7443--62379f63c7445gen32-idf israeli 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As an identical twin, it\u2019s difficult for me to read the reunion of twins Jacob and Esau without personalizing their reconciliation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The kiss they share in Genesis 33:4 was interpreted by the sages as likely violent; it was surmised that Esau <\/span>bit<\/span><\/i> Jacob instead of kissed him. \u00a0The kiss is suspect thanks to the Torah\u2019s unusual dots above the word \u201cva-yisha-kehu<\/em>\u201d (\u201che kissed him\u201d). These markings signal something jarring or amiss. An alternative rabbinic take is that Esau did indeed kiss his brother, but the dots convey it wasn\u2019t done \u201cwholeheartedly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Having seen first-hand the unmatched intimacy of twinship\u2014 the effortless shorthand between those of us who started life together in cramped darkness \u2014 I believe this biblical reunion is loving, not vindictive. \u00a0Despite the twins\u2019 estrangement, or maybe because of it, there is relief in seeing each other again after 20 years apart.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cEsau ran to greet him. He embraced him and, falling on his neck, he kissed him; and they wept.\u201d (Genesis 33:4)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When I was researching my second book, \u201cOne and the Same,\u201d about every aspect of twin science and psychology, I interviewed a physician who specializes in photographing twins. \u00a0Dr. David Teplica described standing over a bassinet waiting to capture newborns in their earliest moments \u2014reunited after the brief separation of delivery. Their first, instantaneous, impulsive act was to suck each other\u2019s faces. \u00a0Like intuitive magnets, they latched on as soon as they could.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Jacob had betrayed Esau and worried he\u2019d arrived to take revenge. \u00a0But instead, his brother runs to touch him as if it\u2019s all he\u2019s been waiting for. Twins ultimately forgive.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Cover art: Jacob\u00a0Steinhardt, Jacob and Esau<\/em>, woodcut, 1950, courtesy of Yosefa Bar-On Steinhardt.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":49397,"alt":"","title":"dt2-Jacob Steinhardt, Jacob and Esau","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt2-Jacob-Steinhardt-Jacob-and-Esau.jpg","width":500,"height":394,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt2-Jacob-Steinhardt-Jacob-and-Esau-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt2-Jacob-Steinhardt-Jacob-and-Esau-300x236.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":236,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt2-Jacob-Steinhardt-Jacob-and-Esau.jpg","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":394,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt2-Jacob-Steinhardt-Jacob-and-Esau.jpg","large-width":500,"large-height":394,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt2-Jacob-Steinhardt-Jacob-and-Esau.jpg","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":394,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt2-Jacob-Steinhardt-Jacob-and-Esau.jpg","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":394,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt2-Jacob-Steinhardt-Jacob-and-Esau.jpg","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":394,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt2-Jacob-Steinhardt-Jacob-and-Esau.jpg","home_baner-width":500,"home_baner-height":394}},"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":"Three Views on Esau's Kiss - 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We have been lost to each other for so long.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

My name means nothing to you, my memory is dust.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is not your fault, or mine. The chain connecting mother to daughter was broken and the word passed to the keeping of men, who had no way of knowing. That is why I became a footnote, my story a brief detour between the well-known history of my father Jacob, and the celebrated chronicle of Joseph, my brother<\/span>.<\/b><\/p>\r\n

On the rare occasions I was remembered, it was as a victim. Near the beginning of your holy book, there is a passage that seems to say I was raped and continues with the bloody tale of how my honor was avenged.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It\u2019s a wonder a mother ever called a daughter Dina again. But some did. Maybe you guessed that there was more to me than the voiceless cipher in the text. Maybe you heard it in the music of my name. Dee-nah. The first vowel high and clear, as when a mother calls to her child at dusk; the second sound soft, for whispering secrets on pillows.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

No one recalled my skill as a midwife or the songs I sang or the bread I baked for my insatiable brothers. Nothing remained except a few mangled details about those weeks in Shechem.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There was far more to tell. Had I been asked to speak of it, I would have begun with the story of the generation that raised me, which is the only place to begin. If you want to understand any woman you must first talk about her mother and then listen carefully. Stories about food show a strong connection. Wistful silences demonstrate unfinished business. The more a daughter knows of her mother\u2019s life \u2013 without flinching or whining \u2013 the stronger the daughter.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: The Red Tent \u00a9 1997 St. Martin\u2019s Press<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Used with the permission of the author, www.anitadiamant.com<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":38898,"alt":"","title":"Theredtentcover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","width":220,"height":333,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover-198x300.jpg","medium-width":198,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","medium_large-width":220,"medium_large-height":333,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","large-width":220,"large-height":333,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","1536x1536-width":220,"1536x1536-height":333,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","2048x2048-width":220,"2048x2048-height":333,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","post_full_size-width":220,"post_full_size-height":333,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","home_baner-width":220,"home_baner-height":333}},"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":"Prologue from: The Red Tent","tile_main_caption":"What if Dinah Had Gotten a Chance to Tell Her Side of the Story?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"a selection from the best-selling Biblical novel","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":38898,"alt":"","title":"Theredtentcover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","width":220,"height":333,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover-198x300.jpg","medium-width":198,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","medium_large-width":220,"medium_large-height":333,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","large-width":220,"large-height":333,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","1536x1536-width":220,"1536x1536-height":333,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","2048x2048-width":220,"2048x2048-height":333,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","post_full_size-width":220,"post_full_size-height":333,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Theredtentcover.jpg","home_baner-width":220,"home_baner-height":333}},"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":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"34","chapter_main_number":"34","date":"20251015","wall_id":"34"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"373","name":"Literature","old_id":"773"},{"term_id":"532","name":"Dinah","old_id":"932"}]},{"order":6,"id":"38951","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Names of Suffering and of Hope ","post_title":"Names of Suffering and of Hope","slug":"names-of-suffering-and-of-hope","old_id":"38951","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38437,"post_title":"Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield","slug":"rachel-jacoby-rosenfield","old_id":"38437","first_name":"Rachel ","last_name":"Jacoby Rosenfield ","description":"Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield is Executive Vice President at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38438,"alt":"","title":"Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rachel-Jacoby-Rosenfield-e1534961736337.jpg","width":200,"height":179,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rachel-Jacoby-Rosenfield-e1534961736337-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rachel-Jacoby-Rosenfield-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rachel-Jacoby-Rosenfield-e1534961736337.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":179,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rachel-Jacoby-Rosenfield-e1534961736337.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":179,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rachel-Jacoby-Rosenfield-e1534961736337.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":179,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rachel-Jacoby-Rosenfield-e1534961736337.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":179,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rachel-Jacoby-Rosenfield-e1534961736337.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":179,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rachel-Jacoby-Rosenfield-e1534961736337.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":179}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"35","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The twin acts of breathing life into being and naming are creative acts in the Divine image","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cDoes she look like a Maayan?\u201d I remember asking my husband minutes after the birth of our daughter. After 27 hours of hard labor, I urgently wished to know this little being. Settling on a name was a way of knowing her, shaping her, signaling through its meaning a connection to others I had loved and to a future I longed for.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I thought of this moment as I read about Rachel naming her newborn, Ben-oni, son of my suffering, with her dying breath. The name is painful in its honesty. At last she delivers the second of two children she has longed, prayed and begged for, but only at the moment of her death.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The twin acts of breathing life into being and naming, action and speech, are creative acts in the Divine image.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So it is quite striking when, immediately after her death, Jacob renames their son Benjamin, son of my strength, perhaps attempting to rescue him from the burden of his name\u2019s meaning, attempting to reinterpret Rachel\u2019s creative act. Indeed Jacob is all too familiar with the strife a descriptive name at birth can engender. Through the name Benjamin, Jacob invokes a different fate, one of strength rooted in the reiteration of God\u2019s covenantal promise and his name change earlier in this chapter.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rachel\u2019s creative acts, the birthing and naming and the suffering that surrounded them, cannot be fully resolved anymore than Jacob fully rises to meet the promise of his new name.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like Rachel, we create and live in the context of mortality. But in naming, we attempt to forge relationships, lend meaning and positively shape the future.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":96743,"alt":"","title":"ecc7-good name","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name.jpg","width":950,"height":534,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name.jpg","large-width":950,"large-height":534,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name.jpg","1536x1536-width":950,"1536x1536-height":534,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name.jpg","2048x2048-width":950,"2048x2048-height":534,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name.jpg","post_full_size-width":950,"post_full_size-height":534,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name-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":"Names of Suffering and of Hope","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The twin acts of breathing life into being and naming are creative acts in the Divine image","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":96743,"alt":"","title":"ecc7-good name","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name.jpg","width":950,"height":534,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name.jpg","large-width":950,"large-height":534,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name.jpg","1536x1536-width":950,"1536x1536-height":534,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name.jpg","2048x2048-width":950,"2048x2048-height":534,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name.jpg","post_full_size-width":950,"post_full_size-height":534,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-good-name-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":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"35","chapter_main_number":"35","date":"20251016","wall_id":"35"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"551","name":"Names","old_id":"951"}]},{"order":7,"id":"39036","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Esau the Peacemaker? ","post_title":"Esau the Peacemaker?","slug":"esau-the-peacemaker","old_id":"39036","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33992,"post_title":"Bradley Shavit Artson","slug":"rabbi-dr-bradley-shavit-artson","old_id":"33992","first_name":"Bradley Shavit ","last_name":"Artson","description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and is professor of philosophy there. 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Of all the characters of the book of Genesis, Esau is the one with the worst reputation. He seems violent. He seems overly emotional and overbearing. He hunts (which in the Jewish world is not a great thing), and although favored by his father, he is certainly not the cherished one of his mother. Esau famously cries: \u201cFather, don't you have a blessing for me!?\u201d So what are we to make of this chapter\u2019s little tidbit about Esau and what looks like restraint and greatness of character?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We are told (v. 6) the land isn't big enough for Esau and for his brother, Jacob \u201cfor their possessions were too many for them to dwell together in the land where they sojourned could not support them because of the livestock.\u201d At the end of that observation, without any real fanfare, the Torah just lets out (v. 8) that \u201cEsau settled in the hill country of Seir.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What's going on here? Why would he make this unusual choice for a man who is supposedly a bully and a warrior? Maybe his life experiences taught him something? \u00a0Maybe he realized that it takes real strength to walk away from conflict, that the measure of a person's character is not their bluster or their aggression, but is to be found in their ability to remain in self-control and to look out for those they love. Esau, with a large family, multiple wives, a horde of children, is that rare biblical figure: there is not a single word of conflict between any of his wives or children. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Apparently, Esau and his clan have figured out a path to living together peacefully. So he is the one who, without even a conversation about not getting along, realizes that he and his brother\u2019s clan would do better if they lived next to each other rather than in constant friction. Yet again, the Biblical insight emerges from the person you would least expect it to. Yet again, the Torah slips in its elevation of peace as the highest ideal. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

There's a lesson there for us today, isn't there?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: by Gabriel Wolff, courtesy of the artist<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":82443,"alt":"","title":"ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace.jpg","width":1010,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace-281x300.jpg","medium-width":281,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace-768x821.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":821,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace-958x1024.jpg","large-width":958,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace.jpg","1536x1536-width":1010,"1536x1536-height":1080,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace.jpg","2048x2048-width":1010,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace.jpg","post_full_size-width":1010,"post_full_size-height":1080,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace-393x420.jpg","home_baner-width":393,"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":"Esau the Peacemaker?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"He walks away from conflict, teaching us a valuable lesson","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":82443,"alt":"","title":"ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace.jpg","width":1010,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace-281x300.jpg","medium-width":281,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace-768x821.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":821,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace-958x1024.jpg","large-width":958,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace.jpg","1536x1536-width":1010,"1536x1536-height":1080,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace.jpg","2048x2048-width":1010,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace.jpg","post_full_size-width":1010,"post_full_size-height":1080,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-GabrielWolff_SeekPeace-393x420.jpg","home_baner-width":393,"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":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"36","date":"20251019","wall_id":"36"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"409","name":"Peace","old_id":"809"},{"term_id":"486","name":"Esau","old_id":"886"}]},{"order":8,"id":"73988","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"The Circle Of Hope\u00a0 ","post_title":"The Circle Of Hope\u00a0","slug":"the-circle-of-hope","old_id":"73988","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":70715,"post_title":"Judry Subar","slug":"judry-subar","old_id":"70715","first_name":"Judry ","last_name":"Subar","description":"Judry Subar, who lives in Potomac, Maryland, spent most of his professional career as a lawyer with the federal government in Washington, DC. 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Since his retirement, he has been involved in various writing and educational projects.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":70716,"alt":"","title":"judry subar","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","medium_large-width":400,"medium_large-height":400,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","large-width":400,"large-height":400,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","1536x1536-width":400,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","2048x2048-width":400,"2048x2048-height":400,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","post_full_size-width":400,"post_full_size-height":400,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","home_baner-width":400,"home_baner-height":400}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"471","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Big cat biblical scholarship\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Elton John and Tim Rice, on the one hand, and Naftali Herz Imber, on the other, provide perspectives on Ezekiel\u2019s relationship with the mixture of contemplation, anticipation, and optimism that we call hope.\u00a0 What Imber had to say about hope based on Ezekiel 37 was meaningful, to be sure, but listening to Tim Rice\u2019s words with Elton John\u2019s music while reading Ezekiel 19 adds more nuance to the topic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ezekiel 37 tells us about the mass of dry bones that express a lack of any hope.\u00a0 Imber takes their words -- \u201cavda tikvatenu<\/em>,\u201d \u201call our hope is lost\u201d \u2013 and, in keeping with the divine command to Ezekiel to tell the bones that their redemption will come, adds words to create a poem that became Israel\u2019s national anthem, articulating the powerful but simple message that hope has actually not yet been lost.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 19 of Ezekiel references hope in a different context.\u00a0 Here Ezekiel tells us of a mother lion\u2019s reaction when, distraught about the capture of one of her cubs (referring according to many commentators to Jehoahaz, the deposed king of Judea), she has \u201clost her hope,\u201d \u201cavda tikvata<\/em>.\u201d Knowing that the unfortunate little lion isn\u2019t the only one in the pride, the feline matriarch nudges a different cub \u2013 this one perceived as one or another of the other Judean kings \u2013 to the top of the heap.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the John-Rice hit \u201cThe Circle of Life\u201d from the Broadway show <\/span>The Lion King,<\/span><\/i> the rock stars\/Bible-scholars-despite- themselves turn the verse around (unknowingly, we might presume), sharing the thought that \u201cin the circle of life . . . it\u2019s the band of hope.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The song invites us to consider in lion-inspired terms the idea that we all work toward our respective destinies even though we don\u2019t know what life has in store for us and even as we recognize that we can\u2019t ever accomplish the entire task that faces us. Against the echo of this big-cat pop-philosophy, Ezekiel 19 has us wonder about the fickle mother that pins her hope first on one of her offspring and when that one falls short in the face of challenges turns on a dime to another one.\u00a0 What is hope, if it can be so easily lost?\u00a0 What is hope if it\u2019s conditioned on the strength and luck of someone whom we imagine, maybe without basis, will prevail on our behalf?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rice and John leave us with a thought that should discourage us from being too hard on Ezekiel\u2019s confused and bitter lion mom, reminding us that \u201c[t]here\u2019s\u2026 [m]ore to find than can ever be found.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73990,"alt":"","title":"ez19-lion king","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","width":639,"height":388,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king-300x182.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":182,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","medium_large-width":639,"medium_large-height":388,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","large-width":639,"large-height":388,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","1536x1536-width":639,"1536x1536-height":388,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","2048x2048-width":639,"2048x2048-height":388,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","post_full_size-width":639,"post_full_size-height":388,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","home_baner-width":639,"home_baner-height":388}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Circle Of Hope\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Big cat biblical scholarship","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":73990,"alt":"","title":"ez19-lion king","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","width":639,"height":388,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king-300x182.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":182,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","medium_large-width":639,"medium_large-height":388,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","large-width":639,"large-height":388,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","1536x1536-width":639,"1536x1536-height":388,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","2048x2048-width":639,"2048x2048-height":388,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","post_full_size-width":639,"post_full_size-height":388,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez19-lion-king.png","home_baner-width":639,"home_baner-height":388}},"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":"19","chapter_main_number":"471","date":"20270620","wall_id":"471"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"74101","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"The Singular Commandment That Defines Our Relationship With God ","post_title":"The Singular Commandment That Defines Our Relationship With God","slug":"the-singular-commandment-that-defines-our-relationship-with-god","old_id":"74101","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. 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The elders come to Ezekiel seeking guidance from God and God\u2019s answer, slightly paraphrased, is almost comically sarcastic: \u201cReally, you\u2019re coming to inquire about me? Well, I\u2019ve got something to tell you.\u201d And for the remainder of this chapter God enumerates the many times He tried to establish a relationship with the Jewish nation and was rejected. Each time they turned to idols and for each episode God reminds them that they \u201cdid not follow My decrees, they spurned My laws, and they desecrated my Sabbaths (20:13).\u201d Similar language is reiterated throughout this chapter.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why, of all the decrees and laws that God could use as an example does he specifically invoke \u201cMy sabbaths\u201d? And why \u201csabbaths\u201d in the plural? Abarbanel comments that the pluralized sabbaths refers to the seventh day of the week as well as the seventh year \u2013 the sabbatical year in which fields are left fallow, and the year after the seventh cycle of sabbaticals \u2013 the jubilee year in which again, no agricultural work is done. All these rest periods are granted to the nation as times for setting aside the physical world and reflecting on and strengthening our relationship with God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This unique status of sabbath is reflected in the ten commandments in which only one ritual practice is included: the fourth commandment, to keep the sabbath. Rabbi Yosef Kara explains that \u201cwhen Israel observes Shabbat, they testify that God created the world in six days.\u201d The Radak comments that the special nature of Shabbat transforms it into a symbol for all commandments.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That is precisely what God is trying to impress upon the nation when He repeatedly, throughout Tanach says, \u201cFollow My law, observe My rules and sanctify My sabbaths, that they may be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I the Lord am your God (20:19-20).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is the breach of the sabbaths that signals to God that His people have pulled away from Him. If they cannot acknowledge God\u2019s providence, then ultimately, they will gravitate towards other transgressions, including idol worship. It is by the grace of God, quite literally, that the rejection is not reciprocal, and we are the benefactors of God\u2019s promise to bring us back \u201cto know that I am God when I act with you for My Name\u2019s sake, and not in accord with your evil ways (20:44).\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74102,"alt":"","title":"ez20-mitzva train","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train.jpg","width":4608,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1536,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Singular Commandment That Defines Our Relationship With God","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The one that symbolizes and heads up all the others","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74102,"alt":"","title":"ez20-mitzva train","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train.jpg","width":4608,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1536,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-mitzva-train-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"20","chapter_main_number":"472","date":"20270621","wall_id":"472"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"74104","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Ezekiel The Historiographer ","post_title":"Ezekiel The Historiographer","slug":"ezekiel-the-historiographer","old_id":"74104","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":73524,"post_title":"Yaakov Beasley","slug":"yaakov-beasley","old_id":"73524","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Beasley ","description":"Yaakov Beasley is the Tanakh Coordinator at Yeshivat Hesder Lev haTorah, the host of the TanachTalks podcast, and the author of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: Lights in the Valley (Maggid Press, 2020). ","short_description":"Yaakov Beasley is the Tanakh Coordinator at Yeshivat Hesder Lev haTorah, podcast host and author. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":73525,"alt":"","title":"yaakov beasley","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","width":409,"height":484,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","medium_large-width":409,"medium_large-height":484,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","large-width":409,"large-height":484,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","1536x1536-width":409,"1536x1536-height":484,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","2048x2048-width":409,"2048x2048-height":484,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","post_full_size-width":409,"post_full_size-height":484,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-355x420.jpg","home_baner-width":355,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"472","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The three movements of Israel\u2019s history\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Chapter 20 begins with Ezekiel recounting how \u201ccertain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord and sat before me.\u201d Most of the commentators suggest that they weren't pious \u2013 rather, they were looking for an excuse from Ezekiel to justify the cancellation of the covenant (from the people's perspective), just as a divorced wife is no longer responsible for her husband's welfare (Rashi). God uses the opportunity not only to upbraid the elders for their dishonesty, but to argue that this deception began in the earliest stages of Israel's history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Here begins one of the most fascinating exercises in historiography in all of the prophets.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ezekiel opens with the beginning of the Jewish people, which he dates to their becoming a nation in Egypt. He describes a specific pattern of behavior, beginning with the people and followed by God's response. Ezekiel describes three movements of Israel's history:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. Israel in Egypt (v. 5-9)<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. The first generation in the desert (v. 10-17)<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. The second generation in the desert (vv. 18-26)<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    The larger pattern is as follows \u2013 God establishes laws for the people (or reminds or rebukes them regarding statutes that were given), inevitably followed by the Jewish people violating the statutes. This leads to a period of Divine anger and God planning to annihilate the nation, but ultimately God chooses to forgo the full punishment for the sake of His Name.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In the first cycle, God chooses Israel, and chooses for them a bountiful land for them to live in \u2013 on the condition that they reject their idolatry: \" So says the Lord God, On the day I chose Israel \u2026 to bring them out of the land of Egypt, to a land that I had sought out for them, flowing with milk and honey; it is the glory of all the lands\" (v. 5-6). Yet, the people refuse to forsake their idols.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In the second cycle, Ezekiel emphasizes the greatness of the laws that God gave them at Sinai, laws that \"if a man perform [them], he shall live through them\" (v. 11). Yet, the people rebel again. Despite this, God chooses not to finish them in the desert \"For the sake of His Great Name.\"\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The final cycle is addressed to the following generations: \u201cDo not follow the statutes of your parents\u201d (v. 18). Again, Ezekiel emphasizes the greatness of the laws \u2013 yet Israel rejects God again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    This speech is significant not only for Ezekiel's negative portrayal of the Jewish people, who continually violate God\u2019s laws and are unworthy of redemption. But more importantly, Ezekiel reveals the secret of their survival \u2013 the lowly state of the Jewish people is a <\/span>chillul Hashem \u2013 <\/span><\/i>a desecration of God's name. So too, suggests Ezekiel, the future redemption is not dependent on the righteousness of the people but the need to restore honour to God's name.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74105,"alt":"","title":"ez20-triangle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle.jpg","width":1920,"height":1472,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-300x230.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":230,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-768x589.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":589,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-1024x785.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":785,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1178,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1472,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-1200x920.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":920,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-548x420.jpg","home_baner-width":548,"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":"Ezekiel The Historiographer","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The three movements of Israel\u2019s history","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74105,"alt":"","title":"ez20-triangle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle.jpg","width":1920,"height":1472,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-300x230.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":230,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-768x589.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":589,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-1024x785.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":785,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1178,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1472,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-1200x920.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":920,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez20-triangle-548x420.jpg","home_baner-width":548,"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":"20","chapter_main_number":"472","date":"20270621","wall_id":"472"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":11,"id":"74107","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Changing God\u2019s Decrees For The Better ","post_title":"Changing God\u2019s Decrees For The Better","slug":"changing-gods-decrees-for-the-better","old_id":"74107","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":"472","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Despite Israel\u2019s extensive rap sheet, and their extensive hypocrisy, there will be forgiveness and return\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    In Ezekiel 14 and again in chapter 20, elders of Israel visit the prophet in order to seek God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    On both occasions, God responds with derision. In 14:3, He asks the prophet rhetorically, \u201cshall I be sought by them?\u201d In 20:3, He instructs Ezekiel to say to the elders directly, \u201cAre you coming to seek Me? As I live, I will not be sought by you!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Why reject them so forcefully? A quest to find God sounds like a noble goal, even an act of repentance that should serve to reopen any lines of connection broken by past sins. As Deuteronomy 4:29 proclaims, after describing a fall into idolatry, \u201cBut\u2026 you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and soul.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But perhaps these elders aren\u2019t truly seeking Him with all their hearts and souls. Both Radak and Rashi stress in their comments on 14:1 that while the elders pretended to seek God, their true intent was evil. Rabbi <\/span>Yechiel Tzvi Moskowitz offers a slightly softer characterization: Perhaps they honestly want the prophet \u201cto seek God on their behalf\u201d \u2013 but they hypocritically refuse to abandon their idolatrous ways.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Something, however, seems to change between chapters 14 and 20. While previously it was an inference (and a pretense), in chapter 20 the prophet states explicitly that these elders \u201ccame to seek God\u201d (v. 1). This time, Radak asserts, \u201cthese elders came to seek God, and they were righteous.\u201d Perhaps the imminence of Jerusalem\u2019s destruction inspired their newfound sincerity; perhaps, as Moskowitz suggests, their efforts now included a [reasonable] claim based on God\u2019s ancient promises to His people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Even with the claim of those ancient promises, however, it is not so easy. Much of chapter 20 is then devoted to reminding these bold elders of Israel\u2019s extensive rap sheet, sins from ancient times right up to their own day \u2013 and given all that, once again, \u201cshall I be sought by you? By My life\u2026 I shall not be sought by you!\u201d (20:31).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    And yet \u2013 there is indeed an ancient promise to uphold, and so the prophecy begins to make a subtle shift: Despite (or through) the anger palpable in most of the chapter, somehow it ends with the ingathering of Israel\u2019s exiles (\u201c\u2026 with overflowing fury\u2026 gather you from the lands where you are scattered\u201d \u2013 vs. 33-34) and their eventual repentance (\u201cto the country that I swore to give to your fathers\u2026There you will recall your ways\u201d \u2013 vs. 42-43). Rejection is complicated; the quest for God can still succeed, at least \u201cfor My Name\u2019s sake\u201d (v. 44).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Rashi notes in his comment on 20:3 that although God declares He will not be sought by these evil hypocrites, a later verse expresses His commitment to do exactly that: \u201cI will yet for this be sought by the house of Israel, to do for them\u201d (36:37) \u2013 for even God\u2019s own decrees can always be changed for the better.\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":"Changing God\u2019s Decrees For The Better","tile_main_caption":"Despite Israel\u2019s extensive rap sheet, and their extensive hypocrisy, there will be forgiveness and return","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":"20","chapter_main_number":"472","date":"20270621","wall_id":"472"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"74220","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Ezekiel The Riddlemonger ","post_title":"Ezekiel The Riddlemonger","slug":"ezekiel-the-riddlemonger","old_id":"74220","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":"473","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But God has all the answers\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    In the opening of this chapter, Ezekiel was given, prophetically, yet another parable that he was instructed to deliver to \u201cthe brushland of the south\u201d (2). God will be a blazing fire that will be so all-consuming that it will destroy damp trees along with dry ones (3). Curiously, Ezekiel responded by saying: \u201cAh, Lord God! They say of me: He is just a riddlemonger\u201d (5), a challenge to God reminiscent of Moses whose early messages were similarly ignored by the Israelites, leading him to lose faith in his own mission (Exodus 6:12). Here, God\u2019s response was to provide His own explanation of that parable: The fire is His sword; the damp trees are the righteous; the dry trees are the wicked; and \u201cMy sword shall assuredly be unsheathed against all flesh\u201d (9).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Rashi identified \u201cthe south\u201d with \u201cthe Land of Israel that is south of Babylonia, and \u201cthe brushland\u201d (literally: the field of the forest) with the Temple that\u2014after its destruction\u2014would resemble a desolate field roamed by foxes. Eliezer of Beaugency identified the south\u2014somewhat more particularly\u2014with Judah, which is situated in the south of the Land of Israel, and the brushland, implicitly, with Jerusalem in which one might find noblemen resembling the lofty trees of the forest. Radak cited, as proof text: \u201cFrom the north shall the catastrophe begin\u201d (Jer. 1:14), Jeremiah\u2019s initial prophecy of impending doom descending upon Israel from Babylonia to its north, thereby confirming Jerusalem as the object of Ezekiel\u2019s instruction, too, along with placing his prophecy firmly into the company of Jeremiah, with whom he was contemporary.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Malbim spotted an ongoing connection in the continuation of the chapter, explaining:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \u201cSet your face\u201d (2): This is what prepared him to know which direction to face while prophesying about the siege of Jerusalem (v.13 ff.). Here, he told how Nebuchadnezzar engaged in divination to determine whether to turn left\u2014towards Rabat Ammon\u2014or right\u2014to Jerusalem. The lot fell to the south, which was to his right, to wit: \u201cIn his right hand came up the omen against Jerusalem\u201d (27).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Going southward from Babylonia, Nebuchadnezzar could have attacked either Ammon, which was situated to his west, or left, or Jerusalem, which lay to his right, or east. His choice may have appeared to him to be relatively random, but we know that it was preordained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74221,"alt":"","title":"ez21-riddle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle.jpg","width":1920,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-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":"","tile_main_caption":"Ezekiel The Riddlemonger","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But God has all the answers","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74221,"alt":"","title":"ez21-riddle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle.jpg","width":1920,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-riddle-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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"21","chapter_main_number":"473","date":"20270622","wall_id":"473"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"74215","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"The Sword Of The King Of Babylon Is The Sword Of God ","post_title":"The Sword Of The King Of Babylon Is The Sword Of God","slug":"the-sword-of-the-king-of-babylon-is-the-sword-of-god","old_id":"74215","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":72948,"post_title":"Tova Ganzel","slug":"tova-ganzel","old_id":"72948","first_name":"Tova ","last_name":"Ganzel ","description":"Dr. Tova Ganzel is the Director of the Midrasha at Bar-Ilan University, and is one the first trained women\u2019s halakhic advisors (Yoatzot Halacha). She received her PhD from Bar-Ilan\u2019s Department of Bible Studies, and teaches at the Institute for Advanced Torah Studies at Bar-Ilan University. Her work is mainly on the Hebrew Bible in the context of the larger ancient Near Eastern world. \r\n","short_description":"Dr. Tova Ganzel is the Director of the Midrasha at Bar-Ilan University, and is one the first trained women\u2019s halakhic advisors (Yoatzot Halacha).","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":72949,"alt":"","title":"tova ganzel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tova-ganzel.jpg","width":892,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tova-ganzel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tova-ganzel-268x300.jpg","medium-width":268,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tova-ganzel-768x861.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":861,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tova-ganzel.jpg","large-width":892,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tova-ganzel.jpg","1536x1536-width":892,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tova-ganzel.jpg","2048x2048-width":892,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tova-ganzel.jpg","post_full_size-width":892,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tova-ganzel-375x420.jpg","home_baner-width":375,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"473","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And He will loose its fateful lightning\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    Chapter 21 mentions God\u2019s Name fifteen times in different forms. This emphasis is meant to counter the popular perception \u2013 prevalent in pagan thought \u2013 that God would not destroy His own land, and to emphasize that the events will come about by God\u2019s will.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Jerusalem will not be saved; not only that but the city is about to suffer a large-scale massacre, and the sword that slaughters will do so in the agency of God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The prophet addresses the sword of the king of Babylon. The proximity of these two units highlights the idea that the sword of the king of Babylon is none other than the sword of God, in whose agency the king is acting.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Published in conjunction with hatanach.com. For the <\/span>full Article, see here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\r\n

     <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74218,"alt":"","title":"ez21-sword","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","width":640,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Sword Of The King Of Babylon Is The Sword Of God","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And He will loose its fateful lightning","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74218,"alt":"","title":"ez21-sword","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","width":640,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez21-sword-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"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":"21","chapter_main_number":"473","date":"20270622","wall_id":"473"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":14,"id":"74288","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Challenging God In The People\u2019s Defense: Ezekiel\u2019s Failure ","post_title":"Challenging God In The People\u2019s Defense: Ezekiel\u2019s Failure","slug":"challenging-god-in-the-peoples-defense-ezekiels-failure","old_id":"74288","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38322,"post_title":"James A. 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Diamond holds the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Waterloo.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38323,"alt":"","title":"James Diamond","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","width":1186,"height":1386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-257x300.jpg","medium-width":257,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-768x898.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":898,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-876x1024.jpg","large-width":876,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","1536x1536-width":1186,"1536x1536-height":1386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","2048x2048-width":1186,"2048x2048-height":1386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-1027x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1027,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-359x420.jpg","home_baner-width":359,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"474","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"He was no Abraham or Moses, nor even Ezekiel\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    This chapter climaxes in God\u2019s exasperated search for an antidote against the destructive consequences of His anger. After surveying the governing classes of Israelite society for leadership, be they spiritual\/moral (prophets - v.25; 28), cultic (priests - v.26), or political (officials - v.27), the search fails. God\u2019s \u2018search\u2019 demands an individual to \u201crepair the wall, or stand in the breach, before Me in behalf of this land that I might not destroy it.\u201d (v.30). Previously Ezekiel accused false \u201cdegenerate prophets\u201d of failure to provide this very strategy for they \u201cdid not enter the breaches and repair the walls for the House of Israel.\u201d (13:5) What kind of action does this metaphor uniquely call for? And why doesn\u2019t Ezekiel, himself qualify?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    God announced unleashing indiscriminate destruction which \u201cwipes out both the righteous and the wicked\u201d (21:8-9), directly contravening God\u2019s self-proclaimed rejection of collective punishment, \u201cthe righteousness of the righteous shall be accounted to him alone and the wickedness of the wicked to him alone\u201d (18:20). Though the breached wall is commonly understood as Israel\u2019s corrupt behaviour needing corrective guidance, it is far more radical in intent. Since God initiates punishment, it is God who has breached the city\u2019s walls and is about to wreak total destruction. The \u201cbreach\u201d is God\u2019s own betrayal of justice, of the \u2018wall\u2019 which should protect the innocent but now exposes them to the same fate as the guilty. The people need an Abraham who first challenged God on this very principle protesting God\u2019s intent to annihilate the innocent and the guilty of Sodom (Gen 18:25). Yet there was no Abraham to be found.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    However, the metaphor demands more to rescue Israel, requiring both a \u201crepair\u201d of the wall and actually becoming part of the wall by \u201cstanding in the breach.\u201d Abraham mounted a repair of God\u2019s breach, offering a moral standard of individual culpability for God to consider instead of collective punishment. However, \u201cstanding in the breach\u201d requires the self-sacrifice that would place oneself as a barrier between the enemy and the people. The Bible singles out only Moses as having \u201cstood in the breach\u201d against God\u2019s destructive wrath (Ps. 106:23) referencing his confronting God at the Golden Calf episode, personally placing himself on the line. He rejected God\u2019s offer of a glorious future to replace the annihilated community (Deut. 9:14) and posed an ultimatum: either forgive the people or \u201cerase me from the record\u201d (Exod. 32:32). Yet, there was no Moses to be found.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    What of Ezekiel? When commissioned to prophesy the very message that endorsed collective punishment, in one of his extremely rare personal reactions Ezekiel fears \u201cthey will say of me \u2018He is just a maker of parables\u2019\u201d (21:5) Rather than challenge God in the mold of Abraham and Moses he was concerned only about his reputation, of being perceived a mere poet rather than the more prestigious prophet. There was no Ezekiel to be found!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Image: Moses and Abraham, stained glass, Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898), dedicated in 1907, St Mary the Virgin, Merton Park, in southwest London, photo by: Jacqueline Banerjee. By permission of victorianweb.org.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74289,"alt":"","title":"ez22-moses 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help others seek it too - for the bystanders are judged with the perpetrators\u00a0\r\n\r\n\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

    As William Shakespeare wrote in Twelfth Night, \u201cSome are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them\u201d. The circumstances of our lives may change the way that we achieve our potential, and some of us may find ourselves achieving things far beyond what we might have imagined for ourselves. But behind this famous quote lies a great truth: each one of us is capable of greatness. Though not all of us dream of becoming heroes of changing the world, we each contain infinite potential. We might find that it comes naturally to us, we might have to work for it, and we might suddenly find ourselves pushed to our potential.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But even if we are born great, we still have the free will to choose how to direct our lives. This means that those who seem to be born with natural gifts and abilities to lead and heal may end up causing damage, or turning their potential for bad uses. And when we squander our potential, or we fail to put ourselves in situations that will allow us to thrive, we risk the fate of the princes of Israel described in verse 6: every one of the princes of Israel used his strength for bloodshed, and God destroyed their kingdom as a result.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In fact, God places the blame not just on the princes for misuse of their power, but on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: \u201cOh city in whose midst blood is shed\u2026. you stand guilty of the blood you have shed\u201d (verses 3-4). If each of us can have the potential for greatness, each of us can also have the potential for evil. And while we might claim that simply allowing evil in our midst is a little like having evil thrust upon us that we do not participate in, when it comes time for the Ultimate Judgement, the bystanders will be judged with the perpetrators.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Though we may not be royalty, we should all see ourselves as leaders who can set the tone for our society. All it takes for society to be consumed by bloodshed and evil is a small group of leaders who fail to achieve greatness. If we do not see our leaders set an example, we all become guilty of their sins, even passively.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Our charge is double, then. We must strive to be leaders in our society, striving for greatness even if we do not feel we were born with it. And we must push everyone around us to seek greatness too. Our survival as a society depends on it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74285,"alt":"","title":"ez22-greatness","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"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":"Seek Greatness","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And help others seek it too - for the bystanders are judged with the perpetrators\u00a0 \u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74285,"alt":"","title":"ez22-greatness","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-greatness-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"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":"22","chapter_main_number":"474","date":"20270623","wall_id":"474"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":16,"id":"74278","color":"#e8ecf6","size":"1","name":"Of Punishments ","post_title":"Of Punishments","slug":"of-punishments","old_id":"74278","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":58418,"post_title":"Naomi (Jaffe) Eini","slug":"naomi-jaffe-eini","old_id":"58418","first_name":"Naomi (Jaffe)","last_name":"Eini","description":"Naomi (Jaffe) Eini is an educational psychologist, lecturer and workshop facilitator, and author of the book, \"Journey To The Real World\" (Hebrew). She is a graduate of Mandel School For Educational Leadership, works at Midreshet Lindenbaum, and is writing a doctorate in psychology at Bar Ilan University.","short_description":"Naomi (Jaffe) Eini is an educational psychologist, lecturer and workshop facilitator, and doctoral candidate in psychology.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":58420,"alt":"","title":"naomi eini","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini.jpg","width":960,"height":1135,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini-768x908.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":908,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini-866x1024.jpg","large-width":866,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":1135,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":1135,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":1135,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/naomi-eini-355x420.jpg","home_baner-width":355,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"474","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The wrong kind - and the right\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    The people of Israel are punished with exile because of their sins against God and against each other.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    It's hard to punish:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \"I am unable to punish,\" a teacher told me recently, \"Despite their unruly behavior - I give my students endless opportunities to mend their ways, and then I feel failure.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    A frustrated father shared his feelings with me: \"As I am threatening him, I know I will not enforce the threat. And worst of all - my son understands this well when he looks me in the eye.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \"I don't want to hurt her.\" explained a young mother, \"After all, what she did was not so bad\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    There are two rules that should, in my view, be a condition for a punishment to be successful:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      \r\n\t
    1. Viewing the act that was done as undermining the fundamental values that we are trying to convey.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    2. The ability to \"turn over a new leaf\" in terms of the relationship with the person being punished, after punishing him\/her.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

      I found supporting evidence for these two rules in today\u2019s chapter.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      \"Behold, I will strike My hands over the ill-gotten gains that you have amassed, and over the bloodshed that has been committed in your midst\"(22:13).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      The Lord strikes His hands together in pain for the murder committed among the people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      God does not punish us for small and marginal acts and when He does punish, He has no regrets, as modern parents and educators do, for the suffering that will be caused\u00a0 to our \"delicate souls.\" God\u2019s regret is for the damage that we do, and for how we have spoiled the world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      The appropriate foundation for a punishment is an educational position that comes to fix a broken world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      \u201cYou shall be dishonored in the sight of nations, and you shall know that I am the LORD\u201d (22:16).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Rashi explains the word \u201cdishonored\u201d to mean \u201cto be shocked and horrified.\u201d\u00a0 The Jewish nation ought to be ashamed of its actions, but also needs to know that there is the option to correct its ways (according to the explanation of the Malbim).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      A punishment that is given wisely and for the right reasons, has the power to bring about learning and to enable a new connection and beginning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Translated by: Chava Wilschanski<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74279,"alt":"","title":"ez22-punishment","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-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":"Of Punishments","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The wrong kind - and the right","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74279,"alt":"","title":"ez22-punishment","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez22-punishment-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":"Ezekiel","chapter":"22","chapter_main_number":"474","date":"20270623","wall_id":"474"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":17,"id":"74363","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"True Blue ","post_title":"True Blue","slug":"true-blue","old_id":"74363","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64450,"post_title":"David Curwin","slug":"david-curwin","old_id":"64450","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Curwin ","description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","short_description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64452,"alt":"","title":"david curwin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","width":427,"height":464,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-276x300.png","medium-width":276,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","medium_large-width":427,"medium_large-height":464,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","large-width":427,"large-height":464,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","1536x1536-width":427,"1536x1536-height":464,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","2048x2048-width":427,"2048x2048-height":464,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","post_full_size-width":427,"post_full_size-height":464,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-387x420.png","home_baner-width":387,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"475","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Believe it or not, the Tanach didn\u2019t have a word for it\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

      In chapter 23, Ezekiel tells the story of two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah. Oholah represents Samaria and Oholibah represents Jerusalem. He goes on to tell the story of their infidelity and adultery, and God\u2019s angry reaction.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      In verse 40, the prophet describes how Oholibah prepared herself for her suitors: \u201cyou bathed, painted your eyes, and donned your finery.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      The verb for \u201cpainted\u201d is <\/span>kachal<\/span><\/em>. This is the only appearance of this verb in the Bible, and it specifically means painting the eyes (and eyelids). In post-biblical literature, it also refers to cosmetics, and a related word is <\/span>mikchol<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 originally a painting stick for makeup, and is now a general term for paintbrush.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      The Arabic cognate, <\/span>kuhl<\/span><\/em>, meant powder used to darken the eyelids, and entered English as \u201ckohl.\u201d In Arabic, when the definitive article was added (\u201cthe\u201d), it was pronounced <\/span>al-kuhul<\/span><\/em>. First referring to a fine powder, it eventually came to refer to the \u201cpure spirit of anything.\u201d In English it became \u201calcohol\u201d and was used to describe the intoxicating spirit of wine, the \u201calcohol\u201d of the liquor. Later it became the name for the chemicals we are familiar with today.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Arabic also turned the same root into the word <\/span>kakhli<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>for the color navy blue (presumably a common color for eyeliner.) Based on this word, in the late 19<\/span>th<\/span> century, the linguist Rabbi Zeev Yavetz coined the word <\/span>kachol<\/span><\/em>\u00a0for the color blue.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      This may be surprising \u2013 could Hebrew have existed for thousands of years without a word for the color blue?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Well, first of all, there is a word for a shade of blue \u2013 <\/span>techelet<\/span><\/em>. <\/span><\/i>However, while today <\/span>techelet<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is a much lighter blue, like the color of the sky, in biblical Hebrew it was a shade of violet.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      But secondly, scholars have discovered that over the course of their development, languages introduce words for colors following a common pattern. They always start off with words for \u201cblack\u201d and \u201cwhite\u201d (or \u201cdark\u201d and \u201clight\u201d). If they only have three words for colors, the third is almost always \u201cred.\u201d The fourth color word to be introduced is yellow or green. Only after those colors do we find words for blue (and brown).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      This isn\u2019t to say that speakers of those languages couldn\u2019t see more than two or three colors, but they simply didn\u2019t have words to describe them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      There is a major debate among linguists about how the presence or absence of a word in a language affects the thought process of the speakers. Some say it has a major effect, some say much less so. One example given to show the impact is that speakers of languages with different words for light and dark blue, like Modern Hebrew (and Russian), are more likely to see them distinctly on a spectrum.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      So while ancient Hebrew (like ancient Greek and Sanskrit) did not have a word for dark blue, in modern Hebrew <\/span>kachol<\/span><\/em>\u00a0takes a central place \u2013 with the national colors of Israel being white and blue.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74364,"alt":"","title":"ez23-blue","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue.png","width":1280,"height":897,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-300x210.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":210,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-768x538.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":538,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-1024x718.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":718,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":897,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":897,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-1200x841.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":841,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-599x420.png","home_baner-width":599,"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":"True Blue","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Believe it or not, the Tanach didn\u2019t have a word for it","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74364,"alt":"","title":"ez23-blue","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue.png","width":1280,"height":897,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-300x210.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":210,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-768x538.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":538,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-1024x718.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":718,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":897,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":897,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-1200x841.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":841,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-blue-599x420.png","home_baner-width":599,"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":"23","chapter_main_number":"475","date":"20270624","wall_id":"475"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":18,"id":"74403","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Israel As Addict ","post_title":"Israel As Addict","slug":"israel-as-addict","old_id":"74403","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":"475","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"They reached a point where they simply couldn\u2019t help themselves\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

      Ezekiel employs in chapter 23 a graphic metaphor for the spiritual \u201cadultery\u201d of the Jewish people, resulting in God\u2019s fury, an image that appears in a variety of forms throughout Tanach. Perhaps the most radical instance of such a metaphor is the prophetic vision appearing in Hosea. See this prophetic book as well as Milton Steinberg\u2019s posthumously published, unfinished novel, <\/span>The Prophet\u2019s Wife.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

      In Ezekiel\u2019s version, two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, represent Judah and Israel (v. 4), and become \u201cmarried\u201d to God. But they are so deeply enamored with the non-Jewish world, that they literally \u201cprostituted themselves\u201d again and again in order to hopefully woo the objects of their affections. And ever so ironically, perhaps in the spirit of <\/span>mida keneged mida<\/span><\/i>, \u201cmeasure for measure,\u201d God unleashed the very cultures at whom they \u201cthrew\u201d themselves, in order to humiliate and slaughter them and their offspring.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      A secondary metaphor appearing in chapter 23:31-34 is the \u201ccup of desolation\u201d that these women will be \u201crequired\u201d to drink:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      \u201cYou walked in your sister\u2019s path; therefore, I will put her cup into your (<\/span>Oholibah\u2019s<\/span><\/i>) hand. Thus said the Lord GOD: You shall drink of your sister\u2019s cup, so deep and wide; it shall cause derision and scorn, it holds so much. You shall be filled with drunkenness and woe. The cup of desolation and horror, the cup of your sister Samaria (<\/span>Oholah<\/span><\/i>). You shall drink it and drain it and gnaw its shards\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      It is as if the determination of these women to subject themselves to\u00a0 the abuses of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Babylonians was an irrational urge, an addiction to the intoxicating substance that filled these cups, that they ever more desperately sought to sate. Malbim on v. 34 writes in terms reminiscent of an unthinking addict:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      The first time, they would drink the contents of the cup (v. 32.) The second time, they would \u201csuck up\u201d whatever remained on the sides of the cup (v. 34.). And the third time, they would crush the shards of the cup\u2026 in order to try to extract what had been absorbed into the cup\u2019s sides (Ibid.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      The portrayal of sinful behavior such as this as a type of dependency that cannot be rationally accounted for, let alone controlled, by the perpetrator, suggests some deep-seated, inherent psychological flaw that might justify an \u201cinsanity defense.\u201d Might the Jewish people have reached a point, orchestrated by God Himself, where they simply couldn\u2019t help themselves, thereby mitigating to a certain extent their blameworthiness?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74405,"alt":"","title":"ez23-wine-love","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love.jpg","width":1920,"height":1279,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1023,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1279,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-1200x799.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":799,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-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":"Israel As Addict","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"They reached a point where they simply couldn\u2019t help themselves\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74405,"alt":"","title":"ez23-wine-love","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love.jpg","width":1920,"height":1279,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1023,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1279,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-1200x799.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":799,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez23-wine-love-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":"Ezekiel","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"475","date":"20270624","wall_id":"475"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":19,"id":"74407","color":"#eceffa","size":"1","name":"The Death Of Desire ","post_title":"The Death Of Desire","slug":"the-death-of-desire","old_id":"74407","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":72765,"post_title":"George Daniel Frankel","slug":"george-daniel-frankel","old_id":"72765","first_name":"George Daniel","last_name":"Frankel","description":"Danny Frankel lives in New York City. He is the author of \u201cDan Shall Judge His People: 5 Essays on Torah im Derech Eretz and the Breuer Community Today.\u201d\r\n","short_description":"Danny Frankel lives in New York City. He is the author of \u201cDan Shall Judge His People: 5 Essays on Torah im Derech Eretz and the Breuer Community Today.\u201d\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":72766,"alt":"","title":"danny frankel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel.jpg","width":1822,"height":2743,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-680x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":680,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-680x1024.jpg","large-width":680,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1020,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1360,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-797x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":797,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"475","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Wedded to God in a match without love\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

      The closest parallel to our chapter in prophetic literature is the story of Gomer, the adulterous wife of the prophet Hosea.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      There is one crucial difference. There, Hosea, representing God, is commanded to take his wife back with the immortal formula \u201cAnd I will betroth you unto Me for ever\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Here, there is no second betrothal. Although they begin life as God\u2019s possession (\u201c\u2026and they became Mine\u201d, v.4), there is no indication that Oholah and Oholibah remain \u201cMine\u201d after their tribulations are over. Ezekiel ends the chapter abruptly with his cold and ubiquitous refrain: \u201c\u2026and you shall know that I am the Lord God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Ezekiel is difficult for the modern reader because he focuses on idolatry (presented here as adultery). We don\u2019t relate.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      There is no idolatry today because we have no desire for it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      What happened to the Jewish people\u2019s desire for idolatry? A clue is offered in verse 27: \u201cI will put an end to your wantonness (i.e., idolatry).\u201d While being exiled from Israel to Babylonia, the Jewish people underwent a transformation that excised the urge for idolatry from their psyches.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      According to the Talmud the Men of the Great Assembly prayed that the yearning for idolatry should be removed from the Jewish people. And proof of their success was that by the time of the Maccabees, Jews were willing to die rather than worship idols.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Buoyed by their success, the Men of the Great Assembly then prayed that the yearning for sexual immorality also be removed! Then something went terribly wrong: chickens stopped laying eggs. The Men of the Great Assembly had gone too far.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Could it be that their first prayer also had unintended consequences, that something essential had been lost?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Adultery is an overflowing of the banks of desire. Absent desire, there is no adultery\u2026and no love. Have we lost not only the yearning for idolatry, but also the yearning for closeness to God?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      The Pew Study has revealed us to be, by and large, the one religion most devoid of any attachment to God. Even among the Orthodox, we feel more comfortable talking about Jewish law than about God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      When an evangelist approaches us in Times Square and says to us \u201cJesus loves you\u201d, we are discomfited and don\u2019t know how to reply. When we see a Muslim prostrate himself on his prayer rug in public, we are embarrassed\u2026and slightly envious.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      As Amos Oz quotes S.Y. Agnon in \u201cA Tale of Love and Darkness\u201d: \u201cI fear God but I don\u2019t love God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      After 2000 years of persecution culminating in the Holocaust, can any Jew say with a straight face that God loves us\u2026or that we love God?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      In chapter 16, verse 25, Ezekiel accused us of \u201copening (our) legs to every passerby.\u201d Yet, after 2000 years, it is fair to say that we have been more loyal to God than God has been to us. So, we remain wedded to God\u2026in a match without love.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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