{"id":75113,"date":"2018-07-09T17:47:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-488\/"},"modified":"2023-12-19T07:41:15","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T05:41:15","slug":"wall-488","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-488\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Ezekiel-36"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"488","date":"20270713","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"488","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"74160","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Ezekiel Chapter 36 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Ezekiel Chapter 36","slug":"jps-audio-bible-ezekiel-chapter-36","old_id":"74160","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":"488","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 36","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_36","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":"36","chapter_main_number":"488","date":"20270713","wall_id":"488"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"119216","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Fivefold Redemption ","post_title":"The Fivefold Redemption","slug":"the-fivefold-redemption","old_id":"119216","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":"488","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A new Exodus, with a new heart\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

God levels with the people: they will be redeemed from their captivity not for their sake, but for the sake of God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not for your sake will I act, O House of Israel, but for My holy name, which you have caused to be profaned among the nations to which you have come\u201d (verse 22).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God then goes on to set certain promises:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I will take you<\/b> from among the nations and gather you from all the countries, and <\/span>I will bring you back<\/b> to your own land. <\/span>I will sprinkle pure<\/b> water upon you, and you shall be purified: <\/span>I will purify<\/b> you from all your defilement and from all your fetishes. And <\/span>I will give you a new heart<\/b> and put a new spirit into you: I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh (verses 27-29).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These five words of redemption echo the five words of redemption in Exodus chapter 6:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I will free you<\/b> from the labors of the Egyptians and <\/span>deliver you<\/b> from their bondage. <\/span>I will redeem<\/b> you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. And <\/span>I will take you <\/b>to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, God, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians. <\/span>I will bring you<\/b> into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession, I God.\u201d (Exodus 6:6-8).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ezekiel\u2019s message is one of redemption and after four recent diatribes against Egypt, it is fitting that the prophet matches God\u2019s words of redemption from the Exodus story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There is another hint to the story at the end of verse 29: \u201cI will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh.\u201d In the Exodus story, God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that God could perform the miracles and announce to the world that Israel is redeemed and is God\u2019s nation. Here, God is not removing the enemy's heart of stone, but from the people themselves. Unlike Pharaoh, God did not harden the people\u2019s hearts. They hardened their own hearts. But unlike Pharoah, God will remove this stubborn heart and replace it with one that will be open to following God and loving each fellow. God intervenes with the enemies of Israel in negative ways in order to punish them, but in this case, God intervenes with Israel in a positive way to save them.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":52087,"alt":"","title":"dt30-bible-heart","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart.jpg","width":1920,"height":1271,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-768x508.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":508,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-1024x678.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":678,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1017,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1271,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-1200x794.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":794,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-634x420.jpg","home_baner-width":634,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Fivefold Redemption","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A new Exodus, with a new heart","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":52087,"alt":"","title":"dt30-bible-heart","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart.jpg","width":1920,"height":1271,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-768x508.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":508,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-1024x678.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":678,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1017,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1271,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-1200x794.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":794,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt30-bible-heart-634x420.jpg","home_baner-width":634,"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":"36","chapter_main_number":"488","date":"20270713","wall_id":"488"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"75192","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Prophecies To The Land - From Elsewhere ","post_title":"Prophecies To The Land - From Elsewhere","slug":"prophecies-to-the-land-from-elsewhere","old_id":"75192","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64460,"post_title":"Vincent Calabrese","slug":"vincent-calabrese","old_id":"64460","first_name":"Vincent ","last_name":"Calabrese ","description":"Vincent Calabrese is a doctoral student in Jewish thought at the University of Toronto and a rabbinical student at the Hadar Institute","short_description":"Vincent Calabrese is a doctoral student in Jewish thought at the University of Toronto and a rabbinical student at the Hadar Institute","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64461,"alt":"","title":"vincent calabrese","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese.jpg","width":2117,"height":2504,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-768x908.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":908,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-866x1024.jpg","large-width":866,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese.jpg","1536x1536-width":1299,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese.jpg","2048x2048-width":1731,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-1015x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1015,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/vincent-calabrese-355x420.jpg","home_baner-width":355,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"488","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Ezekiel\u2019s contradictory impulses about the homeland\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

One of the more striking features of the prophecy delivered in the 36th chapter of Ezekiel is its audience. The addressee here is neither the leaders of Israel nor the people as a whole, not even any of the nations with which Israel is in conflict. Rather, the prophet is commanded to speak to the land <\/span>itself <\/span><\/i>\u2014 \u201cto the mountains and the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys\u201d (36:6). Though the land may currently lie desolate and depopulated, Ezekiel assures it that in the days to come \u201c you shall be tilled and sown,\u201d that God will \u201csettle a large population on you, the whole House of Israel; the towns shall be resettled, and the ruined sites rebuilt\u201d (36:9-10). The redemption of the physical<\/span> land <\/span><\/i>or Israel seems to be inextricably bound to the redemption of the <\/span>people<\/span><\/i> Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We could interpret Ezekiel\u2019s address to the land as an extended example of the rhetorical device known as \u2018apostrophe,\u2019 in which a speaker addresses herself to an absent person or\u00a0 inanimate object for effect. Really, Ezekiel is addressing the people, but in order to convey his point he speaks <\/span>as if<\/span><\/i> he is addressing the land itself. While this interpretation is possible, it is equally plausible, and perhaps more interesting, to take Ezekiel\u2019s address more literally. Numerous texts in the Bible, including ones associated with priestly thinking (as is Ezekiel), seem to conceive of the land of Israel as a kind of agent, even as a third party in the covenant between God and the descendants of Jacob. In a number of places in the Book of Leviticus, for example, we find warnings that if the Israelites stray from God\u2019s laws, the land<\/span> itself <\/span><\/i>will \u201cvomit\u201d them out (Leviticus 18:28 and 20:22). Ezekiel is thus one of the founders of a tradition which attributes a special metaphysical status and even agency to the land of Israel. This tradition would go on to have an important afterlife in Jewish thought, animating the work of the medieval philosopher Judah Halevi and much of the Kabbalah as well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Interestingly enough, it is also in Ezekiel\u2019s writing that the seeds of a counter-tradition are to be found. One of the most significant characteristics of Ezekiel is precisely that he is a prophet <\/span>of exile<\/span><\/i>, who delivers his oracles outside of the land. In his own day, many would have believed such prophetic activity to be impossible. Even in the Middle Ages, Judah Halevi had a hard time admitting that prophecy could take place outside the land, and maintained that oracles like Ezekiel\u2019s, delivered in exile, were only possible because they were <\/span>about<\/span><\/i> the land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On this issue (as on so many) Ezekiel seems to embrace contradictory impulses \u2014 he elevates the land of Israel to a unique metaphysical status at the same time as he insists that the people of Israel can enjoy an intimate relationship to their God in whatever country they may dwell.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75193,"alt":"","title":"ez36-contradictory","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-300x200.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-768x512.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-1024x683.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-1200x800.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-630x420.png","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":"Prophecies To The Land - From Elsewhere","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Ezekiel\u2019s contradictory impulses about the homeland","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75193,"alt":"","title":"ez36-contradictory","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-300x200.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-768x512.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-1024x683.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-1200x800.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-contradictory-630x420.png","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":"36","chapter_main_number":"488","date":"20270713","wall_id":"488"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"75195","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Impurity Of Death ","post_title":"The Impurity Of Death","slug":"the-impurity-of-death","old_id":"75195","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":"488","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Leading to purification for life\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The various descriptions of redemption in Ezekiel suggest that the occurrence of the redemption is not dependent on the nation\u2019s deeds, rather the process is carried out in its entirety by God. The prophet states the reason for this: the ingathering of the nation into its land takes place solely because of God\u2019s desire that His Name be sanctified in the eyes of the nations. The Destruction and the exile do not cause any fundamental change in the nation\u2019s attitude towards God, and therefore the desired processes \u2013 purification and atonement - will take place without any preconditions.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The aim of Chapter 36 is to prepare the nation to protect the future Temple. At the center of this prophecy is a ceremony in which God sprinkles purifying water over the nation, thereby cleansing them of their defilement and their sins.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The biblical background to this ceremony is twofold. On one hand, it recalls the ceremony whereby someone who has contracted ritual impurity through contact with a corpse is purified using the \u201cmei nidda\u201d \u2013 such that the sins of the nation are compared to the impurity of death, and God\u2019s sprinkling of water is compared to the sprinkling of the purifying water that is performed by the priest. On the other hand, it also recalls the forging of the covenant in Exodus, at the center of which is the \u201cceremony of blood\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this way Ezekiel reinforces the importance of this ceremony in which the nation is cleansed, and he emphasizes the severity of the deeds of the people by comparing them to the impurity entailed in contact with death \u2013 a severe form of impurity requiring a comprehensive process of purification. Ezekiel emphasizes that the future purification \u2013 like the covenant at Sinai \u2013 has historical significance, and will redefine the relationship between God and His people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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

Image:\u00a0 Image of watercolor on paper by Barthelemy Toguo, Purification, Tate Modern , London, England \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75196,"alt":"","title":"ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2.jpg","width":5873,"height":3924,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-768x513.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-1024x684.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":684,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1026,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1368,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-1200x802.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":802,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-629x420.jpg","home_baner-width":629,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Impurity Of Death","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Leading to purification for life","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75196,"alt":"","title":"ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2.jpg","width":5873,"height":3924,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-768x513.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-1024x684.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":684,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1026,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1368,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-1200x802.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":802,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-Purification_Barthelemy_Toguo2-629x420.jpg","home_baner-width":629,"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":"36","chapter_main_number":"488","date":"20270713","wall_id":"488"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"75190","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Raining Blessings ","post_title":"Raining Blessings","slug":"raining-blessings","old_id":"75190","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":74351,"post_title":"Noam Goldberg-Kellman","slug":"noam-goldberg-kellman-2","old_id":"74351","first_name":"Noam ","last_name":"Goldberg-Kellman ","description":"Noam Goldberg-Kellman is a senior at SAR High School and a recipient of Maharat\u2019s Emerging Scholars Award. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":74352,"alt":"","title":"noam goldberg kellman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","width":602,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman-300x300.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","medium_large-width":602,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","large-width":602,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","1536x1536-width":602,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","2048x2048-width":602,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","post_full_size-width":602,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman-422x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"488","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The land as divine partner, and human reward\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Ezekiel 36 is God\u2019s promise to restore the Land of Israel in preparation for the People of Israel\u2019s return. God vows to protect the land-- \u201dI will care for you, I will turn to you\u201d (36:9) and apologizes for allowing her to \u201cbecome a prey and a laughingstock to the other nations round about\u201d (36:4). The Book of Ezekiel is no stranger to God\u2019s relationship with a personified Israel, but God\u2019s love poem to the land in Chapter 36 feels very different from His condemnation of the personified Jerusalem a few chapters earlier. In Chapters 16 and 23, God accuses Jerusalem of whoring with other nations and disavows her out of disgust and anger. Why is God now, only a few chapters later, eager to protect and restore the land He turned his back on?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Though they are both places in a relationship with God, there is a difference between the Jerusalem of Chapters 16 and 23 and the Land of Israel. While Jerusalem represents Israel, the unfaithful wife, in the metaphor of marriage between God and the people, the Land of Israel is not a literary device. The land is actually God\u2019s partner.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There has always been a unique dialectic between God and the Land of Israel. Since Genesis, drought and famine in the Land of Israel have altered our ancestors\u2019 stories. And in Leviticus, the first reward listed in the Blessings and Curses is: \u201cIf you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, I will grant your rains in their season, so that the earth shall yield its produce and the trees of the field their fruit\u201d (Lev 26:3-4). Throughout the Books of the Prophets, God constantly threatens and punishes the people with a lack of rain, and people are always praying to God and repenting their sins in an effort to achieve rain. The obsession with rain in Ancient Israel is not surprising given the cultural and economic centrality of agriculture and Israel\u2019s lack of a sufficient body of water. And Israel\u2019s apparent geographical deficiency is \u2018intentional.\u2019 It forces the Israelites to rely on God for rain, thus for their lives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Land of Israel has always been a tool through which the Israelites connect to God and repent for their sins. In Chapter 36, God is still angry at the people of Israel. They have not yet repented or realized the severity of their sins. But even though God has not yet forgiven the people, He understands that they need the land in order to repent. God restores the Land of Israel before the people deserve it, and trusts that they will achieve full redemption after they return.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":50275,"alt":"","title":"dt11-rain","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt11-rain.jpg","width":1920,"height":1285,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt11-rain-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt11-rain-300x201.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":201,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt11-rain-768x514.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":514,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt11-rain-1024x685.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":685,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt11-rain.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1028,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt11-rain.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1285,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt11-rain-1200x803.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":803,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt11-rain-628x420.jpg","home_baner-width":628,"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":"Raining 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The Right Thing For The Wrong Reasons\u00a0 ","post_title":"Doing The Right Thing For The Wrong Reasons\u00a0","slug":"doing-the-right-thing-for-the-wrong-reasons","old_id":"75187","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37561,"post_title":"Deena Cowans","slug":"deena-cowans","old_id":"37561","first_name":"Deena ","last_name":"Cowans","description":"Deena Cowans is a rabbinical student at JTS and alumnus of the Master's in Public Administration- Development Practice at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). \r\nDeena is the Director of Education (Rosh Chinuch) at Camp Ramah in the Rockies since January 2016, and was the Youth and Family Programs at Congregation Ansche Chesed in 2016-2017.","short_description":"Deena Cowans is a rabbinical student at JTS, and the Director of Education at Camp Ramah in the Rockies","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37562,"alt":"","title":"deena cowans","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","width":181,"height":207,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","medium-width":181,"medium-height":207,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","medium_large-width":181,"medium_large-height":207,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","large-width":181,"large-height":207,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","1536x1536-width":181,"1536x1536-height":207,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","2048x2048-width":181,"2048x2048-height":207,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","post_full_size-width":181,"post_full_size-height":207,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/deena-cowans-e1534076835642.jpg","home_baner-width":181,"home_baner-height":207}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"488","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What would Eleanor do?","post_main_content_content":"

In NBC\u2019s philosophical comedy \u201cThe Good Place\u201d Eleanor Shellstrop, played by Kristen Bell, finds herself recently dead and in \u201cThe Good Place\u201d, only to quickly realize there has been a mistake. Eleanor was not a very good person when she was alive, and she doesn\u2019t belong in \"The Good Place\" at all. Eleanor tries to pretend she fits in with the other remarkable people in the \u201cneighborhood\u201d, but quickly changes tack and tries to convince another character to give her \u201cgood person lessons\u201d. While viewers enjoy the comedic value of Eleanor\u2019s studies in ethics and moral philosophy, they\u2019re also forced to confront a fundamental ethical conundrum: If we do the right thing, but we do it for the wrong reasons, is it still \u201cgood\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This chapter of Ezekiel poses the same question\u2026 about us and God. Once again, we read in this chapter a promise from God to replace our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. <\/span>In chapter 11, I wrote about this switch <\/span><\/a>as evidence of a brave and vulnerable move towards living a fulfilling life. But in this chapter, the same seemingly compassionate act is not a show of God\u2019s love or a move towards a more whole-hearted human existence, but is really in God\u2019s self-serving interest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This chapter contains all the prophecies of salvation and restoration that a destroyed people could want: we will be back on our land, the land will be prosperous, and we will be returned to our former glory. But lest we think we deserve any of this, God claims that our \u201credemption\u201d is really just a way for God to save face. We may feel like we are living free on our land, but only in service of God. Even our new hearts of flesh will not be for our own benefit, but in service of God, \u201cthat I [God] will cause you to follow my laws and faithfully observe my rules\u201d. We get back everything we lost and more, but at the cost of our free will.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Though God does not present this restoration as a choice to the Israelite people, we modern readers have the chance to consider: would we rather have a sort of redemption but know we don\u2019t deserve it? Or would we reject this \u201cfake\u201d redemption if it comes with ethical strings attached? And, perhaps ironically, if we choose option B, do we actually deserve the redemption more than if we had taken it in option A?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image:\u00a0Official poster for the first season of \"The Good Place\" \/ wikipedia (fair use)<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75188,"alt":"","title":"ez36-good place","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","width":247,"height":264,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","medium-width":247,"medium-height":264,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","medium_large-width":247,"medium_large-height":264,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","large-width":247,"large-height":264,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","1536x1536-width":247,"1536x1536-height":264,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","2048x2048-width":247,"2048x2048-height":264,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","post_full_size-width":247,"post_full_size-height":264,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","home_baner-width":247,"home_baner-height":264}},"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":"Doing The Right Thing For The Wrong Reasons\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"What would Eleanor do?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75188,"alt":"","title":"ez36-good place","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","width":247,"height":264,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","medium-width":247,"medium-height":264,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","medium_large-width":247,"medium_large-height":264,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","large-width":247,"large-height":264,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","1536x1536-width":247,"1536x1536-height":264,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","2048x2048-width":247,"2048x2048-height":264,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","post_full_size-width":247,"post_full_size-height":264,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-good-place.jpg","home_baner-width":247,"home_baner-height":264}},"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":"36","chapter_main_number":"488","date":"20270713","wall_id":"488"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"75181","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Water ","post_title":"Water","slug":"water","old_id":"75181","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":"488","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The ultimate purification\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

At the beginning of our chapter, Ezekiel is told by God \u201cto prophecy to the mountains of Israel\u201d. Previously, when Ezekiel was told by God \u201cturn your face toward the mountains of Israel\u201d it was to prophecy the destruction of the Land (6:2 and following). But our chapter continues with God\u2019s blessing of salvation to the Land of Israel and its inhabitants. In contrast to the current scene of \u201cdesolate wastes and deserted cities\u201d (36:4), and despite God\u2019s \u201cblazing wrath\u201d (verse 6), the Lord promises future redemption: \u201cBut you, O mountains of Israel, shall yield your produce and bear your fruit for My people Israel, for their return is near\u2026The towns shall be resettled, and the ruined sites rebuilt\u201d (8-10). Despite the defilement of the Land by both its Israelite inhabitants and their enemies, God will purify the Land and those who will return to dwell in it: \u201cI will bring you back to your own land. And I will sprinkle pure water upon you, and you shall be purified. From all your impurities and from all your idols, I will purify you\u201d (verses 24-25).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The discussion of Yom Kippur in the Mishnah (Yoma 8:9) concludes with a memorable midrashic tradition: This was expounded by Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah: \u201cFor on this day atonement shall be made for you to purify you of all your sins; you shall be purified before the Lord\u201d (Leviticus 16:30)\u2026Yom HaKippurim itself effects atonement!...Rabbi Akiva said: Happy are you, Israel! Before whom are you purified? And who is it that purifies you? Your Father who is in heaven! As it is said: \u201cAnd I will sprinkle pure water upon you, and you shall be purified\u201d (Ezekiel 36:25). And it further says: \u201cThe Lord is the hope (mikveh) of Israel\u2026[The Lord is the Font of Living Waters]\u201d (Jeremiah 17:13). Just as a mikveh purifies the impure, so too the Holy One, blessed be He, purifies Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Tanna Debei Eliyahu Rabbah 18:10 states that just as the water in a mikveh purifies Israel, so too words of Torah purify Israel in all their places of habitation. Come and see how great is the power of Torah! Torah can purify the transgressors of Israel when they repent, even with their idols still in their hands, as it says: \u201cAnd I will sprinkle pure water upon you, and you shall be purified. From all your impurities and from all your idols, I will purify you\u201d (Ezekiel 36:24-25).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Tanhuma Metzora 9 relates that the Holy One, blessed be He, says to Israel: In this World you were purified but then you again became defiled. But in the future, it is I who will purify you forever so that you will never again become defiled, as it says: \u201cAnd I will sprinkle pure water upon you, and you shall be purified\u2026\u201d (ibid).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Water Drop, by Jos\u00e9 Manuel Su\u00e1rez<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75182,"alt":"","title":"ez36-water","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":533,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":533,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":533,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":533,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water-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":"Water","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The ultimate purification","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75182,"alt":"","title":"ez36-water","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":533,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":533,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":533,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":533,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez36-water-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":"36","chapter_main_number":"488","date":"20270713","wall_id":"488"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"75184","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Redemption Like A Flowering Tree ","post_title":"Redemption Like A Flowering Tree","slug":"redemption-like-a-flowering-tree","old_id":"75184","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":"488","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Budding in the month of Nisan\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

As part of the prophecy of Israel\u2019s restoration (<\/span>see our comments to the previous chapter<\/span><\/a>), Ezekiel addressed the mountains of Israel, calling upon them to bear fruit in anticipation of the return of the exiled to their land (8). This verse plays a major role in the Talmudic scheme of the ultimate redemption, called the \u201cend\u201d (<\/span>ketz<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Abba said: There is no \u201cend\u201d more visible than the one stated: \u201cYou, mountains of Israel, present your branches and bear your fruits to My people, Israel, for they are approaching.\u201d (Sanhedrin 98a)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The representation of redemption and renewal as a fruit-bearing tree recalls the opening line of the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our Father in heaven, rock of Israel and its redeemer, bless the State of Israel, the first flourishing of our redemption.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Fruit-bearing trees are also the focus of a singular blessing that can be recited only during the springtime:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Whoever goes out during the Nisan season and sees trees that are producing blossoms, recites: \u201cBlessed\u2026 Who left nothing out of his world; who created in it goodly creatures and trees to provide pleasure to mankind\u201d (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 226:1).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Another verse in this chapter plays a supporting role in the same system of redemption:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But when they came to those nations, they caused My holy name to be profaned, in that it was said of them, \u201cThese are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave His land.\u201d (20)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A close reading reveals that the verb that is translated here as \u201cthey came,\u201d in the plural, is actually written in the singular: \u201che came\u201d (<\/span>vayavo\u2019<\/span><\/em>). As Rashi noted, that is consistent with the prophet\u2019s address of the \u201cHouse of Israel\u201d as a singular collective noun (17); however, the Midrash resolved the discrepancy by identifying the singular subject as God Himself, who, as it were, went into exile along with His people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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36:38 \u201c\u2018I will multiply humans like sheep. Like consecrated sheep, like the sheep of Jerusalem on its festivals, so shall the ruined towns be filled with human sheep, and they shall know that I am the LORD.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The reference is to sheep brought to be sacrificed in the Temple. At least according to the hyperbolic account in Kings, which Ezekiel probably knew, thousands upon thousands of sacrificial animals were brought to Jerusalem on the occasion of the festivals. The simile is not entirely apt because, even though it conveys the idea of a very large number, the sheep were destined to be slaughtered, which is hardly what the prophet means to suggest about the people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. 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With these digital texts, we can create new, interactive interfaces for Web, tablet and mobile, allowing more people to engage with the textual treasures of our tradition.","short_description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":42230,"alt":"","title":"Sefaria Logo2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","width":1200,"height":1200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":1200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":1200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"488","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cDoes \u201cImpure\u201d Mean \u201cUnclean\u201d\u201d<\/a> by Theodore Lichtenfeld: Ritual purity in the Torah.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cLife and Death and Defilement: Convergent & Divergent Paradigms of Blood and Semen\u201d<\/a> by Alexandra Botzum: Sources discussing bodily fluids and the implications they have on purity.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe establishment of the State of Israel as a general sanctification of Hashem\u2019s name\u201d <\/a>by Keith Posner: How is the State of Israel a manifestation of God\u2019s name.\u00a0\u00a0<\/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 36","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":"36","chapter_main_number":"488","date":"20270713","wall_id":"488"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"75136","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - Ezekiel 36 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - Ezekiel 36","slug":"points-to-ponder-ezekiel-36","old_id":"75136","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":"488","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Mountain v. mountains<\/em>. In the previous chapter, we read the catastrophic prophecy regarding the mountains of Edom. The redemption of the mountains of Israel is not only a mirror image, it is also the concrete answer to the words of the Edomites, which, if you read the previous chapter, you will see them here in the words of the enemies.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Manifestation of the end of days<\/em>. When the land of Israel gives of its fruit generously, that\u2019s a sign of redemption. At least that\u2019s what Rabbi Abba says, basing himself on verse 8: \u201cAnd Rabbi Abba says: You have no more explicit manifestation of the end of days than this following phenomenon, as it is stated: \u201cBut you, mountains of Israel, you shall give your branches, and yield your fruit to My people of Israel, for they will soon be coming\u201d (Ezekiel 36:8). When produce will grow in abundance in Eretz Yisrael, it is an indication that the Messiah will be coming soon\u201d (Talmud Sanhedrin 98a).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. A land that devours its inhabitants<\/em>? Not any more! See verses 13-14.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Regards from chapter 20<\/em>. In chapter 20, we encountered a prophecy similar to that in verses 16-36. There too the return from the exile was for the \u201csake of the name of the LORD,\u201d but there is a big difference. Look for it <\/span>in chapter 20<\/span><\/a>, starting at verse 34.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. A very priestly image<\/em>. Only a cohen<\/em>, a priest, such as Ezekiel would imagine the blessed multitudes of a restored Israel, as sheep who are destined for sacrifice in the Temple, which filled Jerusalem at the height of its glory, on holy days.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Ezekiel 36","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Ezekiel","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"488","date":"20270713","wall_id":"488"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":"","link_teaser":"","listen_link":"","other_title":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/75113"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}