{"id":74460,"date":"2018-07-09T17:47:49","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-485\/"},"modified":"2023-12-14T09:45:51","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T07:45:51","slug":"wall-485","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-485\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Ezekiel-33"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"485","date":"20270708","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"74154","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Ezekiel Chapter 33 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Ezekiel Chapter 33","slug":"jps-audio-bible-ezekiel-chapter-33","old_id":"74154","type":"user","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"485","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Ezekiel Chapter 33","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-753876298\/jps_audio_bible_ezekiel_chapter_33","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","date":"20270708","wall_id":"485"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"119155","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Change Is Possible ","post_title":"Change Is Possible","slug":"change-is-possible","old_id":"119155","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"485","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Both for good - and in the other direction\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Say to them: \u201cAs I live\u2014declares the Sovereign GOD \u2014it is not My desire that the wicked shall die, but that the wicked turn from their [evil] ways and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, that you may not die, O House of Israel!\u201d (verse 11).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A portion of this verse appears as part of the <\/span>Nei\u2019lah<\/em> <\/span>service of Yom Kippur. It is a simple and powerful statement about repentance. God does not want to punish anyone. The next verse provides some important context.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Now, O mortal, say to your people: The righteousness of the righteous shall not save them when they transgress, nor shall the wickedness of the wicked cause them to stumble when they turn back from their wickedness. The righteous shall not survive through their righteousness when they sin\u201d (verse 12).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Each person should not rest on their laurels. One can spend their entire life as a righteous person, but one action can derail everything. Moses is the quintessential example of this. Conversely, a wicked person is also welcome to reform themselves. Kings Menasseh and Ahab were both said to have done <\/span>teshuva <\/span><\/i>at the very very end of their lives. Despite being two of the worst kings of Israel and Judah, God forgave them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Maimonides, at the end of the Book of Damages discusses the mitzvah to assist one\u2019s enemy in unloading his donkey. Maimonides determines that the enemy here is not a foreign enemy, but a fellow Jewish \u2018enemy\u2019. He then asks how could someone have an enemy that is a fellow Jew? He answers that an enemy is someone whom you rebuke in private but who does not listen to your rebukes and continues to transgress. Maimonides states that it is a mitzvah to hate this person until they repent. Why then should one help them unload their donkey? Because your enemy may be put in danger while they are focused on saving their wares. Quoting verse 11, Maimonides concludes that:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Torah showed concern for the lives of the Jewish people, both the wicked and the righteous, for they are attached to God and believe in the fundamentals of our faith.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Maimonides learns this lesson from Ezekiel and God. God had just destroyed the Temple. He served the ultimate punishment against the people. He even tells Ezekiel that the people are to blame because God sent a messenger to warn them. One can only claim ignorance if one is not warned. Under Maimonides\u2019 definition the people are the enemies of Ezekiel and God, but God does not want enemies. God reminds the prophet that anyone can lead the most wicked life, but if they repent- even at the very end - God will forgive them. This is why this verse is the perfect fit for the end of the <\/span>Ne\u2019ilah<\/em> <\/span>service.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":106407,"alt":"","title":"-62d15720e4a02--62d15720e4a03lev26-chance 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doesn\u2019t care who your daddy was\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

One of the ideas which pervades Jewish liturgy is that of <\/span>zechut avot <\/span><\/i>\u2014 the merit of the ancestors. This idea appears in the most quotidian and the most dramatic moments of our prayers: we begin the daily <\/span>amidah <\/span><\/i>by invoking \u201cour God and the God of our fathers: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob\u201d; and in the fraught climax of the Rosh Hashanah liturgy we implore God to remember the extraordinary merit of Abraham, willing to offer his precious son up to God, and to judge us favorably on Abraham\u2019s account. This positive, constitutive connection with the deeds of our ancestors is one of the most enduring themes of Jewish thought. Even those who may not feel particularly \u2018religious\u2019 are often reluctant to discard their connection to the Jewish tradition at least in part because this sense of an ancestral claim is so deeply resonant.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A moment in the 33rd chapter of Ezekiel seems to call this entire way of thinking into question. Israelites remaining in the land connect their claim of sovereignty \u2014 unchanged, in their view, by the political reality of Babylonian rule \u2014 to the merit of Abraham. \u201cAbraham was but one man,\u201d they say, \u201cyet he was granted possession of the land. We are many; surely, the land has been given as a possession to us\u201d (verse 24). The prophet, in turn, forcefully rejects the arrogance which he sees as animating this claim: \u201cYou have relied on your sword, you have committed abominations, you have all defiled other men\u2019s wives\u2014yet you expect to possess the land!\u201d (verse 26). Whether the remaining Israelites have a claim on the land of Canaan depends not on the merit of their ancestor, but on their own conduct, which is sorely lacking.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This shocking rejection of the doctrine of <\/span>zechut avot <\/span><\/i>is perhaps but the most climactic moment of a tendency to be found throughout the Book of Ezekiel. Again and again in Ezekiel\u2019s prophecies we find a moral theory which is both individualist and perfectionist: \u201cThe righteousness of the righteous shall not save him when he transgresses, nor shall the wickedness of the wicked cause him to stumble when he turns back from his wickedness. The righteous shall not survive through his righteousness when he sins\u201d (33:12). Each person\u2019s relationship to God is considered individually, rather than as a part of the people, and Ezekiel places demands on the individual which seem impossibly strict \u2014 we are all on a narrow bridge, and not only are the deeds of the ancestors of no help, even our own past merits are irrelevant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Generally speaking, Ezekiel\u2019s ethics have not furnished the lines along which most Jewish moral thinking, which stresses the importance of the collective, has developed. But his doctrine offers a stark challenge to the ways in which this corporate morality can so often serve as a source of excuses and a means of avoiding difficult questions about our own conduct.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74937,"alt":"","title":"ez33-difference","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference.jpg","width":1920,"height":1298,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-300x203.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":203,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-768x519.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":519,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-1024x692.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":692,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1038,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1298,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-1200x811.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":811,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-621x420.jpg","home_baner-width":621,"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 Individualist","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"He doesn\u2019t care who your daddy was","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74937,"alt":"","title":"ez33-difference","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference.jpg","width":1920,"height":1298,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-300x203.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":203,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-768x519.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":519,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-1024x692.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":692,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1038,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1298,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-1200x811.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":811,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-difference-621x420.jpg","home_baner-width":621,"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":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","date":"20270708","wall_id":"485"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"74931","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Do We Possess Free Will To Change Immutable Decrees? ","post_title":"Do We Possess Free Will To Change Immutable Decrees?","slug":"do-we-possess-free-will-to-change-immutable-decrees","old_id":"74931","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":"485","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Resolving some challenging contradictions\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The parable of the watchman in Ezekiel Chapter 33 speaks to a tension between divine providence and free will. Ezekiel is speaking to those of the Jewish nation remaining in Jerusalem (after the majority have been exiled to Babylonia) and relates a prophetic parable about action, consequences and responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God has made it abundantly clear that the nation has transgressed, and the consequence is exile and the destruction of Jerusalem, along with those transgressors who remain. And yet, God has Ezekiel relate a prophecy in which Ezekiel is cast as a watchman over the city, warning the residents of imminent attack. If God has already decreed the end result, then why bother with a warning?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Gideon Rothstein (OU Torah) points out that the Ramban (Nachmanides) provided an idea that warning people of God\u2019s plan refers specifically to when human lives are at stake. In the story of the ten plagues on Egypt, only some of the plagues were preceded by a warning to Pharaoh. Those plagues that came with no warning (namely lice, boils and darkness) were not a direct threat to human life. Furthermore, whenever there was a warning, it was coupled with an \u201cunless\u201d statement. In the case of the plagues the warning included \u201cunless you, Pharaoh, let my people go.\u201d In the case of Ezekiel\u2019s warning the underlying message is \u201cunless you repent and change your ways.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We are told in this prophecy that the demise of the people is unequivocally a result of their own transgressions. But the responsibility to warn is so imperative that the prophecy also includes the indictment that should the watchman fail to warn the residents of an impending attack, some blame for the outcome also lies on the head of the watchman. We cannot change God\u2019s edict, but we are responsible for doing whatever is in our power to change the need to enact it. The purpose of Ezekiel\u2019s warning was to provide a pathway to redemption, so that this decree of death and destruction could be circumvented.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The parable is followed by God\u2019s reminder that \u201cif a wicked person turns back from his wickedness and acts with justice and righteousness, he shall live\u201d (33:19). God\u2019s decree of punishment for the transgressions at hand is irrevocable, but humans, with each others\u2019 help, have the free will to repent, and thus nullify their transgressions and void the decree.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74933,"alt":"","title":"ez33-change","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change.jpg","width":1920,"height":678,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-300x106.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":106,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-768x271.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":271,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-1024x362.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":362,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":542,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":678,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-1200x424.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":424,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-1189x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1189,"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":"Do We Possess Free Will To Change Immutable Decrees?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Resolving some challenging contradictions","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74933,"alt":"","title":"ez33-change","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change.jpg","width":1920,"height":678,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-300x106.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":106,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-768x271.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":271,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-1024x362.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":362,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":542,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":678,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-1200x424.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":424,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-change-1189x420.jpg","home_baner-width":1189,"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":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","date":"20270708","wall_id":"485"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"74919","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Ezekiel The Watchman ","post_title":"Ezekiel The Watchman","slug":"ezekiel-the-watchman","old_id":"74919","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":"485","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Failing to perform his assigned function - he becomes culpable for the sins of others\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter begins the third major section of the Book of Ezekiel, which includes oracles of restoration along with more oracles against foreign nations. At the beginning of our chapter, Ezekiel is recommissioned as God\u2019s \u201cwatchman\u201d (<\/span>tzofeh<\/span><\/em>) for the House of Israel: \u201cNow, O mortal, I have appointed you a watchman for the House of Israel. And whenever you hear a message from My mouth, you must transmit My warning to them\u201d (33:7). Here the prophet\u2019s commission is being renewed (see 3:17). Elsewhere a \u201cwatchman\u201d is described as walking on the roof of the gate of the city wall or on a tower to call down a report of anyone approaching (see 2 Samuel 18:24-27, 2 Kings 9:17). In our Chapter, Ezekiel, the prophetic watchman, is equipped with a shofar with which to sound a warning to the people. If the watchman fails to sound the shofar when he sees danger approaching, the watchman will be destroyed by God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Midrash Sifre Devarim Pisqa 13 elaborates on the watchman\u2019s responsibility and culpability if he fails to perform his assigned function. \u201cAnd I will appoint them as your heads -- ve-asimem be-roshekhem (Deuteronomy 1:13) can be read as \u201ctheir guilt is upon your heads \u2013 ve-ashamam be-roshekhem\u201d. This teaches that Israel\u2019s guilt hangs on the heads of their judges if they have not sufficiently warned Israel. As God said to Ezekiel: \u201c...[if] you have not spoken to warn the wicked man against his way, he, that wicked man, shall die for his sins, but I will demand a reckoning for his blood from you\u201d (Ezekiel 33:7-8).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Midrash Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana Shuvah (24:1) preserves a parable about the importance of \u201cearly warning\u201d. An old man raised the warning of approaching foreign forces. Those who heeded the warning were saved, but those who ignored the warning were killed. As God says to Ezekiel: \u201cI have appointed you a watchman for the House of Israel\u2026if you have warned the wicked man to turn back from his way, and he has not turned from his way, he shall die for his own sins\u2026\u201d (Ezekiel 33:7-9). Similarly, \u201cShall a shofar be sounded in a city, and the people not tremble?\u201d (Amos 3:6). This refers to the shofar sounded on Rosh HaShanah causing Israel to tremble. For \u201cCan misfortune come to a city, if the Lord has not caused it?\u201d (Amos 3:6). But, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not seek the death of the wicked, as God instructs Ezekiel to say to Israel: \u201cAs I live\u2014declares the Lord God\u2014it is not My desire that the wicked shall die, but that the wicked turn from his [evil] ways and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, that you may not die, O House of Israel!\u201d (Ezekiel 33:11).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74927,"alt":"","title":"ez33-watchman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman.jpg","width":934,"height":1373,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-204x300.jpg","medium-width":204,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-697x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":697,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-697x1024.jpg","large-width":697,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman.jpg","1536x1536-width":934,"1536x1536-height":1373,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman.jpg","2048x2048-width":934,"2048x2048-height":1373,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-816x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":816,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-286x420.jpg","home_baner-width":286,"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 Watchman","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Failing to perform his assigned function - he becomes culpable for the sins of others\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74927,"alt":"","title":"ez33-watchman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman.jpg","width":934,"height":1373,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-204x300.jpg","medium-width":204,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-697x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":697,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-697x1024.jpg","large-width":697,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman.jpg","1536x1536-width":934,"1536x1536-height":1373,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman.jpg","2048x2048-width":934,"2048x2048-height":1373,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-816x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":816,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-watchman-286x420.jpg","home_baner-width":286,"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":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","date":"20270708","wall_id":"485"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"74940","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Looking To Past And Future ","post_title":"Looking To Past And Future","slug":"looking-to-past-and-future","old_id":"74940","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":"485","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But unlike other prophets, no consolation, sorrow, reconciliation or compassion\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Ezekiel and the Jews in Babylon receive the news of the destruction of the Temple. Ezekiel must contend with the claim of the remnant left in the land that they are the ones who will eventually inherit it despite their small numbers. Yet, their size or number is not the decisive factor. The argument of the remnant is erroneous: not because of their small number, but rather due to the multitude of their sins.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The claim of the remnant in the land seems to belong to the period preceding the murder of Gedaliah. Their claim indicates that they assumed that exile was a matter pertaining only to those now in Babylonia, while they themselves were continuing the national survival of Israel, and were therefore deserving of possession of the land. The murder of Gedaliah brought this claim to an end. They ceased to view themselves as a distinct group that was separate from their brethren in Babylonia.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

An understanding of the prophecy from its historical context raises two exegetical possibilities: If Gedaliah was murdered in the Tishrei immediately after the destruction of the Temple, then Ezekiel\u2019s prophecy \u2013 taking place later, in the month of Tevet \u2013 is no longer relevant. The other, more likely possibility is that this prophecy describes the situation in the land at a slightly later stage \u2013 not during the weeks immediately following the Destruction. At this time there were still a good number of Jewish inhabitants in the land, and they still viewed their group as an alternative to the Babylonian exiles. This perspective rests upon the assumption that Gedaliah was assassinated not in the month of Tishrei immediately after the Destruction, but rather a year or more later.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The prophet does not focus on the Destruction itself; he looks to the past and to the future. The reason for this is that the exiles in Babylonia have not experienced the crisis personally, and they have already begun to internalize the new reality. These prophecies contain nothing in the way of consolation, sorrow, reconciliation or compassion over what has happened in Jerusalem. This is especially conspicuous if we compare these chapters with Jeremiah, who laments at length over the Destruction.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74941,"alt":"","title":"ez33-clock","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-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":"Looking To Past And Future","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But unlike other prophets, no consolation, sorrow, reconciliation or compassion\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74941,"alt":"","title":"ez33-clock","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-clock-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":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","date":"20270708","wall_id":"485"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"119159","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-Ezekiel33","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-Ezekiel33","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-ezekiel33","old_id":"119159","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. 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Now Ezekiel can demonstrate that his prophecies have been accurate: the message that he has preached is correct. This chapter is a validation of his prophecy.","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":108885,"alt":"","title":"-635baf915f04f--635baf915f050tanakh podcast - Alex Israel.JPG","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","width":350,"height":352,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-298x300.jpg","medium-width":298,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","medium_large-width":350,"medium_large-height":352,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","large-width":350,"large-height":352,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","1536x1536-width":350,"1536x1536-height":352,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","2048x2048-width":350,"2048x2048-height":352,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","post_full_size-width":350,"post_full_size-height":352,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","home_baner-width":350,"home_baner-height":352}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/0v7G7AkposIIzT9c0Y2YaI","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":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","date":"20270708","wall_id":"485"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"589","name":"audio","old_id":"989"},{"term_id":"857","name":"podcast","old_id":"1257"}]},{"order":8,"id":"74947","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Watchman, Won\u2019t You Blow Your Horn? ","post_title":"Watchman, Won\u2019t You Blow Your Horn?","slug":"watchman-wont-you-blow-your-horn","old_id":"74947","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. 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At the opening of our chapter, God instructed Ezekiel to speak to his countrymen as follows: \u201cWhen I bring the sword against a country, the citizens of that country take one of their number and appoint him their watchman. Suppose he sees the sword advancing against the country, and he blows the horn and warns the people\u201d (2-3).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God told Ezekiel that He was appointing him to be the watchman (or, lookout) for Israel, charged with the responsibility of warning the people about impending danger. As God explained, in detail, if a warning is given and someone ignores it, that person alone bears responsibility for his own fate. However, if a watchman fails to give warning, then he bears the responsibility for the fate of all the people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Malbim, characteristically, came up with two types of watchmen and three distinctions among them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. A lookout who is stationed to see if the enemy is approaching the city.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. After the enemy has arrived, a lookout is stationed to observe the enemy camp and warn the people to protect the flank from which it intends to launch its attack by firing arrows and catapulting rocks.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    The distinctions are:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      \r\n\t
    1. The first category consists of many lookouts who are positioned on every flank, while the second is but a single lookout observing the enemy\u2019s preparations.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    2. The first type of lookouts can be ordinary people, while the second requires a soldier knowledgeable in military tactics.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    3. The first lookouts are selected by the king or general because if they see enemy movement the people will have to deploy for battle. The second is selected by all the people because if he reports that the enemy is overpowering, they will all have to flee for their lives.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

      Our verses, by speaking of a sword that has already come, and, further, by emphasizing the lookout\u2019s selection by the \u201ccitizens,\u201d is, according to Malbim, clearly referring to the second type.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      The figure of the watchman was so memorable, that the sages of the Talmud used it to represent the biblical prophets. In a discussion of who introduced into the Hebrew alphabet the five letters that have additional final forms (<\/span>otiyot sofiyot<\/span><\/em>), they declared that \u201cthe watchmen (<\/span>tzofim<\/span><\/em>) said so\u201d (BT Megillah 2b). Moreover, while the sequence of these letters would be K-M-N-P-Tz, the sages consistently spoke of them as M-N-Tz-P-K, thereby spelling out the words: <\/span>min tzofekha<\/span><\/em>; \u201cfrom your watchmen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":74949,"alt":"","title":"ez33-night-watchman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman.jpg","width":1920,"height":1426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-300x223.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":223,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-768x570.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":570,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-1024x761.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":761,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1141,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-1200x891.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":891,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-565x420.jpg","home_baner-width":565,"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":"Watchman, Won\u2019t You Blow Your Horn?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"If you see the sword advancing - it\u2019s your job to warn","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":74949,"alt":"","title":"ez33-night-watchman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman.jpg","width":1920,"height":1426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-300x223.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":223,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-768x570.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":570,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-1024x761.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":761,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1141,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-1200x891.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":891,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez33-night-watchman-565x420.jpg","home_baner-width":565,"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":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","date":"20270708","wall_id":"485"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"74960","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Turn Back, Turn Back! ","post_title":"Turn Back, Turn Back!","slug":"turn-back-turn-back","old_id":"74960","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":"485","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But the people think they are in the right, and will ignore him, only to realize once it\u2019s too late\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

      The metaphor that the prophet employs in the first portion of chapter 33 is that of a watchman who sees danger approaching and whose responsibility it is to warn individuals who are potentially under threat. Verse 7 states how this parable applies directly to the personal situation of Ezekiel, and for that matter, that of any true prophet:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      \u201cNow, O mortal, I have appointed you a watchman for the House of Israel; and whenever you hear a message from My Mouth, you must transmit My warning to them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Failure to deliver the message, however unpopular confronting evil-doers in this manner may prove to be, places the prophet into the category of \u201c<\/span>koveish et nevuato<\/span><\/em>\u201d (\u201cone who squelches his prophecy\u201d), and for whom dire consequences are prescribed, not unlike what is stated in Ezekiel 33:6, 8 itself: \u201cA person who is \u201c<\/span>koveish et nevuato<\/span><\/em>\u201d\u2026 his death will be by the hand of Heaven, as it is said: (Deuteronomy 18:19) \u201c\u2026And I will demand it of him\u201d (Mishna Sanhedrin 11:5, Bavli Sanhedrin 89a).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      But a significant difference regarding God\u2019s \u201cwatchmen\u201d when compared to others assigned such a role, is that the former\u2019s aim is not simply to clearly warn individuals marked for potential destruction of impending danger, but to get them to actually change their ways. (see Jonah 3-4). In the most famous verse of the chapter, a reprise of Ezekiel 18:32, God states his overall intention: \u201cAs I live\u2014declares the Lord GOD\u2014it is not My desire that the wicked shall die, but that the wicked turn from his [evil] ways and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, that you may not die, O House of Israel!\u201d (verse 11).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Unfortunately, no one wants to change; but the prophet proclaims God\u2019s expectations, regardless of what others consider \u201cfair\u201d or \u201cunfair\u201d (v. 20).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      While verse 11 is extremely similar to 18:32, there is a key difference in word selection. In 33:11, the phrase is \u201c<\/span>bemot harasha<\/span><\/em>\u201d (that the wicked shall die\u2026), whereas in 18:32 the text reads: \u201cbemot hameit\u201d (that the dead shall die). Yerushalmi Berachot 2:3 asks the obvious question: \u201cCan the (already) dead, die?\u201d and responds, \u201cEvil-doers, even during their lifetimes, are referred to as (spiritually) dead,\u201d a sort of metaphysical \u201cdead man walking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      The middle section of chapter 33 (verses 21-9) is directed at the Jewish people dwelling in the land of Israel, apparently believing that their claim to the land is sacrosanct, regardless of how immorally they may be conducting their lives. God charges the prophet to tell the people that they are in for a rude awakening, should their transgressing continue.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      The chapter concludes with Ezekiel being told to expect his predictions to be ignored, again like so many other prophets, with the people treating him as little more than a source of rude entertainment rather than a harbinger of the truth, something they will realize only once it is too late.<\/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":"Turn Back, Turn Back!","tile_main_caption":"But the people think they are in the right, and will ignore him, only to realize once it\u2019s too late","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":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","date":"20270708","wall_id":"485"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"74908","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Between Ecstasy And Silence ","post_title":"Between Ecstasy And Silence","slug":"between-ecstasy-and-silence","old_id":"74908","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"485","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Ezekiel\u2019s mood swings...\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

      33:22 \u201cAnd the Hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening before the fugitive came, and He opened my mouth, and I was no longer mute.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      As elsewhere, Ezekiel represents his prophetic experience as a kind of bodily seizure by God in which he is virtually a passive instrument. One suspects that, more than the other prophets, he underwent extreme ecstatic states. He seems to imply here that prior to the night before the arrival of the fugitive, he had been plunged in a condition of muteness. By his own account, he had certainly prophesied several times in the period before and after the final conquest of the kingdom of Judah. It may be the case that he alternated between times of ecstatic prophecy and times of total silence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Between Ecstasy And Silence","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Ezekiel\u2019s mood swings...","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":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","date":"20270708","wall_id":"485"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":11,"id":"74826","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Ezekiel 33 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- Ezekiel 33","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-ezekiel-33","old_id":"74826","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. He received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He received the Covenant Award in 2000. He is the author of APassover Haggadah: Go Forth and Learn, published by JPS in 2011, and the newly released For Such a Time as This: Biblical Reflections in the Book of Esther, published by Koren Publishing in 2017 (Hebrew). ","short_description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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      \u201cPrison Reform\u201d<\/a> by Jewish Teen Funders Network: What is the ethical obligation Jews have towards prisoners?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

      \u201cHallel on Chol HaMoed Pesach\u201d<\/a> by Binyamin Feinmesser: Can we say Hallel on Chol Hamoed.<\/p>\r\n

      \u201cAlarms and Signals\u201d<\/a> by Cameron Hamm: Different calls to action in the Torah.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - Ezekiel 33","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"33","chapter_main_number":"485","date":"20270708","wall_id":"485"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"74906","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - Ezekiel 33 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - Ezekiel 33","slug":"points-to-ponder-ezekiel-33","old_id":"74906","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":"485","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

        \r\n\t
      1. Between 3 and 33<\/em>. Many themes that were raised in chapters 2 and 3 are now being resumed or reaching closure in today\u2019s chapter. The prophet as watchman; silence (muteness) and resumed speech. The purpose: \u201cBut when it comes\u2014and come it will\u2014they shall know that a prophet has been among them\u201d (verse 33). Now is the time to go back and <\/span>reread chapter 3<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
      2. Straight as an arrow<\/em>. A prophet who has not warned, and a sinner who has died on account of his sin, both pay the price. Each for his share of the responsibility: \u201cBut if the watchman sees the sword advancing and does not blow the horn, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and destroys one of them, that person was destroyed for his own sins; however, I will demand a reckoning for his blood from the watchman\u201d (verse 6). Ezekiel\u2019s sense of retribution is absolute, and there is no cutting corners.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
      3. Quantity and quality<\/em>. The claim of the remaining residents of the land is quantitative: \u201cAbraham was but one man, yet he was granted possession of the land. We are many; surely, the land has been given as a possession to us\u201d (verse 24). Ezekiels retort is qualitative: whosoever commits abominations - cannot inherit the land. And vice versa.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
      4. Reality check<\/em>. The prophecies refer, both directly and indirectly, to peoples\u2019 actual lives: what they are saying in Babylonia, and what in Judah. 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