Check 'em out here on this page - and happy holiday!<\/p>\r\n
With all the pronouncements of doom, it may be hard for someone listening to Ezekiel\u2019s messages to believe that change is possible. God decreed destruction for the evil practiced by the people, and that destruction seems quite absolute. In chapter 18, Ezekiel reassures the younger generation that they can break the downward cycle and they do not have to be punished for the acts of their elders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Ezekiel sets up a parable. One generation was righteous and did what was right in God\u2019s eyes. The next generation did the exact opposite and defiled everything that the first generation did for good. Another generation comes along and sees the sins of their fathers and wonders if they too will be punished. God replies:<\/span><\/p>\r\n Only the person who sins shall die. A child shall not share the burden of a parent\u2019s guilt, nor shall a parent share the burden of a child\u2019s guilt (verse 20).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n This cycle evokes the ping pong nature of the house of Judah: one king bad, the next good, then bad, then good, ad nauseum. God did heed his promise here. No good king was punished for the deeds of their parents. The list of horrible acts by the bad generations is very exhaustive and specific for a reason. This is a list of the many sins of the evil generations. It allows the righteous generations to see that there is so much room for improvement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n At the same time, God explains that each generation\u2019s fate is not written and actions can change and lead to other consequences. If the evil generation repents, God will withhold his punishments. Similarly, if the righteous generation falters, God will withhold his promise. This dynamic is repeated twice in verses 24-32. The chapter ends with a very positive message:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n For it is not My desire that anyone shall die\u2014declares the Sovereign GOD. Repent, therefore, and live!<\/span><\/p>\r\n God wants everyone to live. Just as God lamented the death of the Egyptians at the Red Sea, God laments the destruction of the people. The power to break the cycle of destruction lies squarely with them. They can be a generation that is righteous and stays righteous, a generation that turns away from evil. God is waiting for them to return so He can avoid destroying his people.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78683,"alt":"","title":"hab2-circle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-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":"Breaking The Downward Cycle","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The challenge to change fate","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78683,"alt":"","title":"hab2-circle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"470","date":"20270617","wall_id":"470"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"400","name":"Sin","old_id":"800"},{"term_id":"547","name":"Punishment","old_id":"947"},{"term_id":"571","name":"Repentance","old_id":"971"},{"term_id":"783","name":"Destiny","old_id":"1183"}]},{"order":4,"id":"73913","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Overturning Outmoded Theologies ","post_title":"Overturning Outmoded Theologies","slug":"overturning-outmoded-theologies","old_id":"73913","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38322,"post_title":"James A. Diamond","slug":"james-a-diamond","old_id":"38322","first_name":"James ","last_name":"Diamond ","description":"Prof. James A. Diamond holds the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Waterloo. His most recent book is \u201cJewish Theology Unbound\u201d published by Oxford University Press. ","short_description":"Prof. James A. Diamond holds the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Waterloo.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38323,"alt":"","title":"James Diamond","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","width":1186,"height":1386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-257x300.jpg","medium-width":257,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-768x898.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":898,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-876x1024.jpg","large-width":876,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","1536x1536-width":1186,"1536x1536-height":1386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913.jpg","2048x2048-width":1186,"2048x2048-height":1386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-1027x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1027,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/James-Diamond-e1534858914913-359x420.jpg","home_baner-width":359,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"470","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"From Ezekiel to the Holocaust, and beyond\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" According to one Rabbinic tradition, what Ezekiel proclaims in this chapter radically reformed a theology established by God himself in the foundational Ten Commandments (Makkot 24a). As its Exodus version asserts, God visits the guilt of the parents on the children until the fourth generation. Ezekiel however rejected this manner of divine governance that holds the innocent liable for what the guilty have done. In language that unmistakably pushes back against such patent injustice, Ezekiel declared a child shall not share the burden of a parent\u2019s guilt, nor shall a parent share the burden of a child\u2019s guilt (v 20).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Another rabbinic passage depicts this even more boldly, pitting Moses\u2019 sense of individual justice against God\u2019s of vicarious responsibility, provoking a reconsideration of His self-proclaimed manner of providence- \u201cIs it appropriate for the righteous to be punished for the sins of their fathers?\u201d Moses rhetorically asks. God acquiesces to Moses\u2019 logic, admitting, \u201cYou have taught Me something. By your life, I will nullify My decree and establish your word, as it says: Parents shall not be put to death for children, nor children be put to death for parents (Deut. 24:16) (Numbers Rabbah 19).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n What these striking portrayals of prophetic iconoclasm reflect is a strong current in rabbinic thought that obliges critical thinking to determine the propriety of any rule or a law over blind submission to authority. If Moses and Ezekiel could challenge no less a supreme authority than God then surely the ethical quality of any earthly authority\u2019s governance must be subject to the same careful scrutiny.<\/span><\/p>\r\n This revolutionary break with long accepted theologies thought to be sanctioned by God also offers a precedent for how religion should respond to historical events against which those theologies prove to be tired and worn. Ezekiel\u2019s innovation addressed a widespread sentiment against divine injustice popularized in the proverb \u201cParents eat sour grapes and their children\u2019s teeth are blunted\u201d (v.2). Rather than his characteristic condemnation of the people\u2019s immoral conduct, the prophet also needed to be sensitive to their own crises of faith. Facing the unique catastrophe of exile and the Temple\u2019s destruction the proverb justifiably articulated resentment with a theology of suffering as a consequence of past generations\u2019 misdeeds. The prophet conceded, overturning a decrepit theology that was no longer sustainable for the future of Israelite faith.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Though Ezekiel may have set the precedent for rethinking theologies, he did not put an end to it. In the aftermath of the Shoah an aspect of Ezekiel\u2019s own theological recalibration must now also be rejected. His endorsement of individual responsibility drew a causal link between sin and punishment, \u201cThe person who sins, only he shall die.\u201d A theology that considers catastrophe divine punishment for sin now too is bankrupt in the shadow of over a million murdered children. Though there may never be an adequate theology that responds to such unprecedented consummate devastation, Moses\u2019 and Ezekiel\u2019s legacy of challenging \u2018authorized\u2019 theologies at the very least demands the dismissal of blasphemous ones.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u2018Dedicated to the memory of Adam Friedman who privileged me with his friendship and Torah \u05d9\u05d4\u05d9 \u05d6\u05db\u05e8\u05d5 \u05d1\u05e8\u05d5\u05da\u2019<\/span><\/p>\r\n image:\u00a0Faces, Jewish Museum Berlin (pikrepo)<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73914,"alt":"","title":"ez18-faces-jewish-museum-berlin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-faces-jewish-museum-berlin.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-faces-jewish-museum-berlin-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-faces-jewish-museum-berlin-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-faces-jewish-museum-berlin-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-faces-jewish-museum-berlin.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":533,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-faces-jewish-museum-berlin.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":533,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-faces-jewish-museum-berlin.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":533,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-faces-jewish-museum-berlin.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":533,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-faces-jewish-museum-berlin-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":"Overturning Outmoded Theologies","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"From Ezekiel to the Holocaust, and 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Responsibility For The Consequences Of Your Own Actions ","post_title":"Accepting Responsibility For The Consequences Of Your Own Actions","slug":"accepting-responsibility-for-the-consequences-of-your-own-actions","old_id":"73920","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64462,"post_title":"Analia Bortz","slug":"analia-bortz","old_id":"64462","first_name":"Analia ","last_name":"Bortz ","description":"Rabbi Dr. Analia Bortz is a medical doctor with postdoctoral studies in Bioethics. She is the first female Latin American rabbi, and is a AJWS Global Justice Fellow in 2019-2020 She and her husband Rabbi Mario Karpuj founded Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs, Georgia. She is the author of The Voice of Silence: A Rabbi's Journey into a Trappist Monastery and Other Contemplation (2017)","short_description":"Rabbi Dr. Analia Bortz is a medical doctor and with her husband Rabbi Mario Karpuj founded Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs, Georgia. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64463,"alt":"","title":"analia bortz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/analia-bortz.jpg","width":225,"height":225,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/analia-bortz-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/analia-bortz.jpg","medium-width":225,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/analia-bortz.jpg","medium_large-width":225,"medium_large-height":225,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/analia-bortz.jpg","large-width":225,"large-height":225,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/analia-bortz.jpg","1536x1536-width":225,"1536x1536-height":225,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/analia-bortz.jpg","2048x2048-width":225,"2048x2048-height":225,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/analia-bortz.jpg","post_full_size-width":225,"post_full_size-height":225,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/analia-bortz.jpg","home_baner-width":225,"home_baner-height":225}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"470","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Clearly contradicting even the Ten Commandments\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" As we visit the books of the Torah we come across texts that emphasize the importance of our behavior, and how our actions might have repercussions for future generations. The claim is that not following God\u2019s commandments will affect our heirs almost similar to a genetic disease.The Decalogue in Exodus 20 (and also in Deuteronomy 5) are very clear about the intergenerational impact of our conduct:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u201cYou shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, YHWH, your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Babylonian Talmud Makkot 24a comments that in four cases the prophets invalidated a decree Moses made in the Torah. The prophets adjusted to the realities of their time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u201cRabbi Yossi bar Chanina said: \u201cMoses made four decrees upon [the people of] Israel which four prophets came and canceled\u2026<\/span> The Prophet adamantly portrays a clear picture: be responsible for your own actions!<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u201c...and now you ask, \u201cWhy has not the son shared the burden of his father\u2019s guilt?\u201d But the son has done what is right and just, and has carefully kept all My laws: he shall live! The person who sins, he alone shall die. A child shall not share the burden of a parent\u2019s guilt, nor shall a parent share the burden of a child\u2019s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous shall be accounted to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be accounted to him alone\u201d (18:19-20).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73923,"alt":"","title":"ez18-decalogue2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2.jpg","width":960,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2.jpg","large-width":960,"large-height":720,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":720,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2-560x420.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":"Accepting Responsibility For The Consequences Of Your Own Actions","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Clearly contradicting even the Ten Commandments","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":73923,"alt":"","title":"ez18-decalogue2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2.jpg","width":960,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2.jpg","large-width":960,"large-height":720,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2.jpg","post_full_size-width":960,"post_full_size-height":720,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-decalogue2-560x420.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":"18","chapter_main_number":"470","date":"20270617","wall_id":"470"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"73909","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Nefesh ","post_title":"Nefesh","slug":"nefesh","old_id":"73909","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"470","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Soul, spirit, psyche, life-force\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" Our Chapter represents a separate unit in the prophecies of Ezekiel that deals with the question of individual as opposed to collective (especially transgenerational) retribution. The key message is stated succinctly but forcefully: \u201cThe person (<\/span>nefesh<\/span><\/em>) who sins, he shall die\u201d (Ezekiel 18:4, repeated in verse 20). This divine declaration clearly contradicts the earlier divine declaration: \u201cI, the Lord your God, am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children\u2026\u201d (Exodus 20:4).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n In Talmud Bavli Makkot 24a, we find a remarkably unflinching contrasting of these two verses. Moses said that the guilt of the parents shall be visited upon the children, but Ezekiel came and annulled this, saying \u201cThe person who sins, he shall die\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n It should be noted that the Hebrew word \u201c<\/span>nefesh<\/span><\/em>\u201d, translated in the above quotation as \u201cperson\u201d, has a broader and highly significant range of meanings, occurring 754 times in the Hebrew Bible. In Genesis Chapter 1 \u201c<\/span>nefesh<\/span><\/em>\u201d is repeatedly used to refer to animals as \u201cliving creatures \u2013 <\/span>nefesh hayah<\/span><\/em>\u201d (verses 20, 21 and 24); seemingly meaning the \u201cbreath of life\u201d or the \u201clife-force\u201d that animates all living creatures. Significantly, in first describing the creation of Adam, Genesis 2:7 states: \u201cThe Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life (<\/span>nishmat hayyim<\/span><\/em>), and man became a living creature (<\/span>nefesh hayah<\/span><\/em>)\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n A later Biblical text (Job 12:10) says of God: \u201cIn His hand is the life of every living being (<\/span>nefesh kol hai<\/span><\/em>) and the spirit of all flesh of man (<\/span>ve-ruah kol besar ish<\/span><\/em>)\u201d. This suggests that it is \u201cspirit \u2013 <\/span>ruah<\/span><\/em>\u201d that animates flesh. Indeed, according to Scripture, death occurs when the \u201c<\/span>nefesh<\/em> <\/span>\u2013 breath, life-force\u201d leaves the body (see Genesis 35:18). In the Hellenistic period, the multivocal Hebrew term, \u201c<\/span>nefesh<\/span><\/em>\u201d was translated by the Greek \u201cpsyche\u201d and later by the Latin \u201canima\u201d, both of which are normally rendered as \u201csoul\u201d in English. In Rabbinic literature, \u201c<\/span>nefesh<\/span><\/em>\u201d is normally used to refer to \u201csoul\u201d as distinct from \u201cbody \u2013 <\/span>guf<\/span><\/em>\u201d. Though essentially separate, only when the body and soul operate together could the complete human being fall into sin. And only together as a resurrected body and soul could the individual person rightly face God in the Final Judgement.*\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Rabbinic Sages (Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana, Shuva, 24:7) discuss the question of the punishment for sin. Ezekiel\u2019s answer: \u201cThe person (<\/span>nefesh<\/span><\/em>) who sins, he shall die\u201d (Ezekiel 18:4) is seen as particularly harsh. But God\u2019s answer is more forgiving -- Repentance (<\/span>teshuvah<\/span><\/em>): \u201cGood and upright is the Lord. Therefore, He shows sinners the way\u201d (Psalms 25:8) \u2013 by showing sinners how to repent their sins.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Our Chapter, which deals so intensely with retribution for sin, ends on a similar more positive note: \u201cFor it is not My desire that anyone shall die\u2014declares the Lord God. Repent, therefore, and live!\u201d (Ezekiel 18:32).<\/span><\/p>\r\n *See Marc Bregman, in <\/span>Journal of Theological Studies <\/span><\/i>42 (1991), pp. 125-138.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73911,"alt":"","title":"ez18-soul","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-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":"Nefesh","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Soul, spirit, psyche, life-force","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":73911,"alt":"","title":"ez18-soul","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-soul-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"470","date":"20270617","wall_id":"470"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"73925","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Sour Grapes Are Their Own Punishment ","post_title":"Sour Grapes Are Their Own Punishment","slug":"sour-grapes-are-their-own-punishment","old_id":"73925","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":"470","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Bottom line: repent and live!\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" The word of the LORD came to me: What do you mean by quoting this proverb upon the soil of Israel, \u201cParents eat sour grapes and their children\u2019s teeth are blunted\u201d? As I live\u2014declares the Lord GOD\u2014this proverb shall no longer be current among you in Israel. Consider, all lives are Mine; the life of the parent and the life of the child are both Mine. The person who sins, only he shall die. (1-4)<\/span><\/p>\r\n The use of sour grapes as a metaphor for sin and of blunted teeth (or: teeth standing on edge) for its consequence, is already familiar to us from Jeremiah, where it was addressed with the selfsame divine resolution: \u201cIn those days, they shall no longer say, \u2018Parents have eaten sour grapes and children\u2019s teeth are blunted\u2019 but every one shall die for his own sins. Whosoever eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be blunted\u201d (31:29-30). Jeremiah, as the author of Lamentations, also presented this issue in a more prosaic form: \u201cOur ancestors sinned, yet they are gone, while we have suffered [on account of] their iniquities\u201d (Lamentations 5:7).<\/span><\/p>\r\n The \u201csour grapes\u201d proverb in the opening verses poses two challenges to God\u2019s justice (theodicy): If the children have not sinned, why would they be punished, and, if the parents did sin, how did they escape their punishment? The answer, however, seems to address only one of the two premises. By saying that only sinners die, God is implying that the children are being punished for their own sins, rather than for those of their parents. However, it leaves unanswered the question of how the parents escaped punishment.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Eating sour grapes, though, is perhaps not a metaphor for the sin, but a form of punishment. Sour grapes set teeth on edge and, arguably, are not eaten by choice but out of dire necessity. The eating and blunting are not a cause and its effect, but the two ends of a single process, yielding a form of inclusion\u2014like \u201ctop to bottom\u201d or \u201ca to z.\u201d The parents began the sinful behavior; the children carry it on. Each is responsible and each is punished.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n That is the theme through v.20, while the balance of the chapter features its corollary, summed up in the final verse: \u201cFor it is not My desire that anyone shall die\u2014declares the Lord God; repent, therefore, and live!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n Note that these questions of theodicy also arise regarding Exodus 34:7: \u201cHe accounts the sins of the parents to the children and the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations,\u201d where a panoply of classical and medieval rabbinic sources addressed them. For a highly accessible representation of these views, see<\/span> here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Image: Sour Grapes - SMcGarnigle, 2012 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73926,"alt":"","title":"ez18-sourgrapes","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","width":463,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes-232x300.jpg","medium-width":232,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","medium_large-width":463,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","large-width":463,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","1536x1536-width":463,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","2048x2048-width":463,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","post_full_size-width":463,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes-324x420.jpg","home_baner-width":324,"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":"Sour Grapes Are Their Own Punishment","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Bottom line: repent and live!\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":73926,"alt":"","title":"ez18-sourgrapes","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","width":463,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes-232x300.jpg","medium-width":232,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","medium_large-width":463,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","large-width":463,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","1536x1536-width":463,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","2048x2048-width":463,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes.jpg","post_full_size-width":463,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-sourgrapes-324x420.jpg","home_baner-width":324,"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":"18","chapter_main_number":"470","date":"20270617","wall_id":"470"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"73930","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"It's Not My Fault I\u2019m Like This ","post_title":"It's Not My Fault I\u2019m Like This","slug":"its-not-my-fault-im-like-this","old_id":"73930","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":"470","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Ah, but yes my son, it is (and that\u2019s the good news!)\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" \u201cThe parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children\u2019s teeth are set on edge\u201d (18:2).<\/p>\r\n Ezekiel complains about a proverb that the people repeat. They believe that they aren't responsible for their sorry situation. They blame God for unfairly and unjustly punishing them for their parents and ancestors who went astray. The prophet has a simple response - \u201cThe soul that sins \u2013 it shall die\u201d (v. 4). Everyone is to be punished only for what they did.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Ezekiel then details the righteous man's behavior (including avoiding idolatry, robbery, and immoral sexual relations, as well as actively performing kindnesses), with a list that comprises the transgressions of his wicked son (and then the deeds of his righteous grandson). After a long description of all the deeds of each generation, Ezekiel returns to his initial point: \u201cThe son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son, the soul that sins \u2013 it shall die\u201d (v. 20). The entire speech is a paean to individual responsibility. Many commentators come to explain that the only time punishment is carried into the next generation is when people continue their ancestors' evil ways. Ezekiel's audience's claim that \u201cThe way of the Lord is unfair\u201d (vv. 25, 29) - is simply incorrect.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Except it isn't.<\/span><\/p>\r\n While growing up in small-town Canada, I had two lessons from my father. One \u2013 never ever play poker. Two \u2013 whenever my father drove past the mill town near our town, he would flinch. Finally I learned the story behind the two lessons. Our family used to own the land where this mill was located \u2013 but in the early 19<\/span>th<\/span> century, my great-great-great-grandfather lost it all in a poker game (on his Wikipedia page, it is called a \"speculative investment\"). Had he not gambled (or at least had he drawn a full house), we would have been multi-millionaires. So I've been told. Whether or not I may spend too much money now on Amazon is irrelevant to my inherited penury.<\/span><\/p>\r\n So too the people of Judah. As the book of Kings repeats, God was punishing them for the sins of King Manasseh \u2013 even generations later. Even Josiah, the best king they had, could only stave off the punishment (2 Kings 23). Their grievance that God was punishing them for the sins of their ancestor had merit. Numerous times, God delayed punishment out of mercy, to see if the people would repent. But they didn't understand His ways, and instead complained that God was using them to punish their ancestors \u2013 and if so, all is foretold, and an individual's actions no longer have influence or meaning. What Ezekiel has to do is to convince the people that they aren't trapped by the past, that they can influence the future.<\/span><\/p>\r\n And maybe if I stop buying so many books, I can be a millionaire too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73931,"alt":"","title":"ez18-fault","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault.jpg","width":1920,"height":518,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-300x81.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":81,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-768x207.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":207,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-1024x276.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":276,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":414,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":518,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-1200x324.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":324,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-1557x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1557,"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":"It's Not My Fault I\u2019m Like This","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Ah, but yes my son, it is (and that\u2019s the good news!)","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":73931,"alt":"","title":"ez18-fault","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault.jpg","width":1920,"height":518,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-300x81.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":81,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-768x207.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":207,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-1024x276.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":276,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":414,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":518,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-1200x324.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":324,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez18-fault-1557x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1557,"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":"18","chapter_main_number":"470","date":"20270617","wall_id":"470"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"73928","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Who Suffers? ","post_title":"Who Suffers?","slug":"who-suffers","old_id":"73928","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. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"470","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":" In the beginning of this chapter, Ezekiel expresses a seeming reversal of a previous decree about intergenerational punishment. Earlier passages of Tanach alluded to the idea of children suffering the sins of their fathers. The words \u201cHe visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children\u201d are uttered by Moses after the sin of the golden calf (Exodus 34:7) and after the fallout of the spies\u2019 negative report about the promised land (Numbers 14:18). In both cases God seemed to actually reward the nation: He provided a second set of tablets in the first instance and (eventually) took the Israelites into their land in the second.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Delaying punishment to some future generation seems unjust on the face of it, but it\u2019s not meant to be on any random generation. Rather, it\u2019s to be rolled into punishment that was earned through ongoing transgressions that mirror the original. There are two other cases of this same expression of visiting the guilt of the parents on the children and they both centre around the sin of idol worship (Exodus 20:5 and Deut. 5:9). In these instances, it is God\u2019s voice we hear, and the language is qualified by the additional phrase \u201cof those who reject me.\u201d Rabbi Dr. Zev Farber (thetorah.com) explains that this additional phrase refers to the punishment due to those children who perpetuate their parents\u2019 sin of idol worship.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Talmud <\/span>(Makkot 24a<\/span>)<\/span> talks about this decree of punishment, prophesied by Moses and revoked by Ezekiel in this chapter. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Covenant & Conversation) elaborates that the Talmudic idea of children being punished for the sins of their fathers is really about children who \u201chad the power to protest\/prevent their parents from sinning but failed to do so\u201d, representing a sin in its own right. Rabbi Sacks also distinguishes between divine justice meted out in heaven and human justice meted out in courts of law. Ezekiel\u2019s decree of reversal speaks to judicial punishment in which only the criminal is responsible for his crime. Only God can speak to the impact of one generation\u2019s actions on another, and the moral responsibility we bear \u201cif we take seriously our roles as parents, neighbours, townspeople, citizens and children of the covenant (Rabbi Sacks).\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The fact that we are presented with both cases reminds us that we have the dual responsibility of ensuring a fair judicial process and attending to the moral and spiritual health of our society and future generations.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Who Suffers?","tile_main_caption":"We have the dual responsibility of ensuring a fair judicial process and attending to the moral and spiritual health of future generations","tile_main_caption_size":"2","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":"18","chapter_main_number":"470","date":"20270617","wall_id":"470"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"73916","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Gates Of Repentance Remain Open\u00a0 ","post_title":"The Gates Of Repentance Remain Open\u00a0","slug":"the-gates-of-repentance-remain-open","old_id":"73916","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":"470","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But individual atonement might not change the fate of the city\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" The people of Ezekiel\u2019s generation claimed that since the destruction was inevitable, their individual actions no longer had any importance and it made no difference whether they remained loyal to God\u2019s commandments or not. Others believed that \u201cThe way of the Lord is unfair.\u201d\u00a0 Therefore Ezekiel repeats and emphasizes the responsibility of every individual for his actions and the life-and-death consequences that follow. Ezekiel concludes by stating that the people\u2019s claim \u2013 that the son dies because of the sins of the father \u2013 is simply incorrect.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The prophet also declares that the gates of repentance remain open to the individual. These verses are quite unusual given that nowhere in the book is there any call for the people to mend their ways so that God will not destroy His Temple. Although the prophet here calls upon the people to repent, he offers no promise that this will prevent the destruction; he only speaks of deliverance from the death for the sinners when the destruction comes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The sins brought about the imminent destruction of the city according to Ezekiel are idolatry, sexual immorality and bloodshed. Ezekiel does not seem to attribute the destruction of the First Temple to the social transgressions of the nation as a whole \u2013 in neither the prophecies before nor after the Destruction.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Later, in chapter 22, as the destruction of Jerusalem draws nearer, the prophet appears to place more of an emphasis on the personal responsibility that the leaders of the people bear for their actions, along with the dire consequences of their corrupt leadership for the nation as a whole. That chapter attributes sins both social and religious in nature to the office-bearers in leadership positions. Thus, the fate of the city is sealed because of idolatry, sexual immorality, bloodshed, and \u2013 finally \u2013 the deeds of the leadership.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Published in conjunction with hatanach.com. 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He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"470","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Why should you die??\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" 18:31 \u201cFling away from you all your trespasses that you have committed and make you a new heart and a new spirit. 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By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"A New Heart And A New Spirit","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Why should you die??","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"470","date":"20270617","wall_id":"470"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"73619","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Ezekiel 18 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Ezekiel 18","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-ezekiel-18","old_id":"73619","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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\r\n<\/span>Moses said (Exod 34:7): \u2018He visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children.\u2019<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Ezekiel came and canceled this (Ezek 18:4): \u2018The one who sins will die.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\r\n