in the United States, noting that the share of wealth belonging to the top 20% of earners has continued to grow. The gap is widening between the middle class and the upper echelons of society, with the US having higher income inequality than any other G7 country.<\/span><\/p>\r\nAs we start the book of Amos today, it\u2019s worth noting that we live in a time that parallels his in certain crucial ways. Academics situate Amos\u2019 prophecies in a time of economic prosperity: In the first half of the 8<\/span>th<\/span> century BCE, during the time of kings Joash and Jeroboam, the northern kingdom is no longer oppressed of Aram and not yet threatened by Assyria. Political calm brings prosperity, and with it the subjugation of the poor that is a central theme of the book.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe text describes Amos as \u201cwho was of the <\/span>Nokdim<\/span><\/em> (sheep breeders) from Tekoa.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\nAs Amos spends most of the book railing against the rich of Samaria, this phrase is critical \u2013 what is a <\/span>Noked<\/span><\/em> and where is Tekoa? Amos\u2019 profession before he turns up to prophesy against the excesses will help us understand who he is and how his audience sees him.<\/span><\/p>\r\nRadak, Rabbi David Kimchi, is one of a number of commentaries who sees \u201cNoked<\/em>\u201d as being a synonym for shepherd \u2013 implying poverty or a man-of-the-people status. He says Tekoa is in the tribe of Asher, which makes Amos a native son of the North. Perhaps he understands the people\u2019s despair because he has experienced it himself.<\/span><\/p>\r\nSome commentaries say that a <\/span>Noked<\/span><\/em> is something more (after all, the text could have called him a shepherd (<\/span>ro\u2019eh<\/span><\/em>) if it wanted.) Metzudat Tzion says that a Noked <\/em>would be appointed when sheep were many. This idea, that he might be a wealthy owner of many sheep or an overseer of many shepherds, is supported by a source that Metzudat Tzion brings telling us that the king of Moav was a Noked<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\r\nLater in our book, Amos will respond to the criticisms he faces from the priest of Bethel by saying, \u201c<\/span>\u201cI am not a prophet, and I am not a prophet\u2019s disciple. I am a cattle breeder and a tender of sycamore figs.<\/span>\u201d (7:14). Whereas prophets and priests work in an intellectual sphere, he positions himself in opposition to these leaders as a man of the earth.<\/span><\/p>\r\nIt\u2019s easy to see how Amos, with the credentials of real, practical life experience, would appeal to ordinary people as a prophet. Malbim situates him as a property owner, who oversees other <\/span>Nokdim<\/span><\/em>. He is in a position of responsibility, but not one of great honor or wealth. He sees the hardships of the people who serve under him and knows that the upper class does not recognize him as being wise, learned or influential. Nonetheless, says Malbim, Amos is willing to prophesy against this upper class.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nimage:\u00a0Favela de Parais\u00f3polis v. luxury apartments. This favela (shanti town) on the left is ironically called Parais\u00f3polis (Paradise city). Photo: Tuca Vieira<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":77038,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela.jpg","width":914,"height":608,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela-768x511.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":511,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela.jpg","large-width":914,"large-height":608,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela.jpg","1536x1536-width":914,"1536x1536-height":608,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela.jpg","2048x2048-width":914,"2048x2048-height":608,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela.jpg","post_full_size-width":914,"post_full_size-height":608,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela-631x420.jpg","home_baner-width":631,"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":"Social Justice in Amos","tile_main_caption":"Man Of The People, Man Of The Earth","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Preaching against injustice in a time of great inequality (sound familiar?)","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":77038,"alt":"","title":"","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela.jpg","width":914,"height":608,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela-768x511.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":511,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela.jpg","large-width":914,"large-height":608,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela.jpg","1536x1536-width":914,"1536x1536-height":608,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela.jpg","2048x2048-width":914,"2048x2048-height":608,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela.jpg","post_full_size-width":914,"post_full_size-height":608,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-favela-631x420.jpg","home_baner-width":631,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Amos","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"519","date":"20270825","wall_id":"519"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"77099","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"The Central Sin: Oppression of the Poor ","post_title":"The Central Sin: Oppression of the Poor","slug":"the-central-sin-oppression-of-the-poor","old_id":"77099","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39778,"post_title":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky","slug":"aliza-libman-baronofsky","old_id":"39778","first_name":"Aliza Libman ","last_name":"Baronofsky ","description":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a first-year student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD. She studied Tanach at Midreshet Lindenbaum and York University and previously taught Tanach and math at the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA. Aliza is the creator of www.chumashandmath.blogspot.com, a repository of interdisciplinary lesson plans. ","short_description":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39779,"alt":"","title":"aliza baronofsky","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","width":1425,"height":1794,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-238x300.jpg","medium-width":238,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-768x967.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":967,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-813x1024.jpg","large-width":813,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","1536x1536-width":1220,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","2048x2048-width":1425,"2048x2048-height":1794,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-953x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":953,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-334x420.jpg","home_baner-width":334,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"520","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A nation where the poor get poorer at the hands of a merciless justice system\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"
(This post is the second in a series on social justice in Amos)<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn today\u2019s chapter, Amos finally turns to his true audience \u2013 the northern kingdom of Israel. His focus on income inequality is clear from his chastisement of the people: \u201cThey recline (<\/span>yatu<\/span><\/em>)<\/span><\/i> by every altar On garments taken in pledge, And drink in the House of their God Wine bought with fines (<\/span>anushim<\/span><\/em>) they imposed\u201d (2:8).<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe outlines of an economic system are being sketched out: There are poor people in need of capital who borrow money. Their clothing is taken from them as collateral (in contravention of the law from Exodus 22, which requires the lender to return the clothing nightly) and the upper class people who took their collateral use it as a blanket while reclining and drinking wine.<\/span><\/p>\r\nMany rare words are in use in this verse, so that some amount of commentary is needed for any clear understanding. The verb \u201c\u05d9\u05b7\u05d8\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u201d, <\/span>yatu<\/span><\/em>, translated here as reclining, comes from the definition that means \u201cto stretch out.\u201d It is not commonly used this way, but reminds us of the prohibition against unjust court rulings in the book of Deuteronomy (16:19): \u201c\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0\u05be\u05ea\u05b7\u05d8\u05bc\u05b6\u05d4 \u05de\u05b4\u05e9\u05c1\u05b0\u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05d8\u201d <\/span>lo tateh mishpat<\/span><\/em>, \u2013 do not twist or pervert justice.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe adjective \u201c\u05e2\u05b2\u05e0\u05d5\u05bc\u05e9\u05c1\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd\u201d, <\/span>anushim<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> has a similar root to the word for \u2018punishment\u2019, which leads to the commentaries and translators to understand this wine to have been purchased with proceeds from court victories.<\/span><\/p>\r\nWho are the perpetrators here? Classical commentaries seize on the references to altars and \u201chouse of their God\u201d to suggest that this could be idolatry. We don\u2019t need to understand it this way. The altar could be the altar in the temple (\u201cevery altar\u201d could be rhetorical rather than plural); the House of their God could be the temple itself.<\/span><\/p>\r\nCould it be that the public servants are the villains here? The judges could be enforcing orders to seize collateral and imposing fines, perhaps in concert with the priestly class. Here, the benefits of the economic prosperity of the era can be seen to be accruing to a few, connected to the levers of power, who misuse the justice system to increase their own wealth.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe result is a nation where the poor get poorer at the hands of a merciless justice system. Looking back two verses we find: \u201cBecause they have sold for silver Those whose cause was just, And the needy for a pair of sandals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\nRashi says this refers to judges who are taking bribes. But even judges who don\u2019t take bribes yet callously apply the law without regard for the consequences to the poor can be seen to be perverting the system. Even if the pledge can legally be taken, should it be taken such that the creditor (who has such excess that he uses the garment as a sheet) can recline while the debtor goes without?<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe society is fundamentally twisted, as the prophet will continue to explore in future chapters.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":77104,"alt":"","title":"amos2-poverty","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-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":"Social Justice in Amos","tile_main_caption":"The Central Sin: Oppression of the Poor","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A nation where the poor get poorer at the hands of a merciless justice system","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":77104,"alt":"","title":"amos2-poverty","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos2-poverty-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Amos","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"520","date":"20270826","wall_id":"520"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"77172","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"Fortresses and Storehouses ","post_title":"Fortresses and Storehouses","slug":"fortresses-and-storehouses","old_id":"77172","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39778,"post_title":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky","slug":"aliza-libman-baronofsky","old_id":"39778","first_name":"Aliza Libman ","last_name":"Baronofsky ","description":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a first-year student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD. She studied Tanach at Midreshet Lindenbaum and York University and previously taught Tanach and math at the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA. Aliza is the creator of www.chumashandmath.blogspot.com, a repository of interdisciplinary lesson plans. ","short_description":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39779,"alt":"","title":"aliza baronofsky","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","width":1425,"height":1794,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-238x300.jpg","medium-width":238,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-768x967.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":967,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-813x1024.jpg","large-width":813,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","1536x1536-width":1220,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","2048x2048-width":1425,"2048x2048-height":1794,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-953x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":953,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-334x420.jpg","home_baner-width":334,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"521","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"(This post is the third in a series on social justice in Amos)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn Amos 3, the prophet\u2019s great rhetorical opener of the first 8 verses serves to focus the listener\u2019s attention on God\u2019s might and the clear need to listen to the message. The message itself is less clear:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\u201cProclaim in the fortresses of Ashdod And in the fortresses of the land of Egypt! Say: Gather on the hill of Samaria And witness the great outrages within her And the oppression in her midst. They are incapable of doing right \u2014declares the LORD; They store up lawlessness and rapine In their fortresses. Assuredly, Thus said my Lord GOD: An enemy, all about the land! He shall strip you of your splendor, And your fortresses shall be plundered.\u201d (Amos 3:9-11)<\/span><\/p>\r\nWhat are these fortresses (<\/span>armonot<\/span><\/em>) that are mentioned four times in this verse? What is their function? What crimes are taking place that are so severe they necessitate the ultimate destruction of the fortresses of the Northern Kingdom?<\/span><\/p>\r\nPreviously, we acknowledged that the first half of the 8<\/span>th<\/span> century was seen by scholars to be a time of economic prosperity. In her book, \u201cAmos and the Officialdom of the Kingdom of Israel,\u201d Prof. Izabela Jaruzelska uses academic and archaeological sources to posit that there was increased population in both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and neighboring Phonecia, necessitating an increase in oil and grain production in the Northern Kingdom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe Northern Kingdom, producing more agricultural products, needed more sophisticated ways to store, protect and export all of this oil and grain. An industry was needed to support this \u2013 fortresses need to be constructed that include storehouses (<\/span>otzarim<\/span><\/em>). Officials were hired to manage and maintain these facilities. However, instead of storing grain and oil, the prophet tells us: \u201cThey store up lawlessness and rapine In their fortresses\u201d (3:10).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nWhat were these officials doing? Logically, Jaruzelska suggests, they were using their positions to enrich themselves. The classical commentaries interpret these words as meaning \u201ctheft.\u201d Are they skimming a bit off the top? The details can\u2019t be known but the prophet\u2019s words make it easy to imagine.<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn this time of prosperity, the population grew and agricultural products increased. Yet the gains of this time accrued only to those with plum jobs in palace storehouses \u2013 an elite class who are the targets of these prophecies. This elite class was not just making a fair wage \u2013 they were abusing their access to enrich themselves while the people below them suffered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nAs a consequence of the misdeeds described in verses 10 and 11, we can understand that the historical enemies of the Israelites (the Philistines and Egyptians) referenced in verse 9 are mentioned because of an idea of Israelite exceptionalism that persists among the people. All is not well, says the prophet, and you are no better than them. Your fortresses are no more noble than theirs, and will be destroyed without mercy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nImage: John Day, Gentleman giving alms to a beggar, woodcut, 1569 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":77178,"alt":"","title":"Amos3-Giving_Alms_to_a_Beggar","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Amos3-Giving_Alms_to_a_Beggar.jpg","width":695,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Amos3-Giving_Alms_to_a_Beggar-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Amos3-Giving_Alms_to_a_Beggar-300x259.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":259,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Amos3-Giving_Alms_to_a_Beggar.jpg","medium_large-width":695,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Amos3-Giving_Alms_to_a_Beggar.jpg","large-width":695,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Amos3-Giving_Alms_to_a_Beggar.jpg","1536x1536-width":695,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Amos3-Giving_Alms_to_a_Beggar.jpg","2048x2048-width":695,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Amos3-Giving_Alms_to_a_Beggar.jpg","post_full_size-width":695,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Amos3-Giving_Alms_to_a_Beggar-487x420.jpg","home_baner-width":487,"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":"Social 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Religiosity And A Culture of Conspicuous Consumption ","post_title":"Faux Religiosity And A Culture of Conspicuous Consumption","slug":"faux-religiosity-and-a-culture-of-conspicuous-consumption","old_id":"77267","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39778,"post_title":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky","slug":"aliza-libman-baronofsky","old_id":"39778","first_name":"Aliza Libman ","last_name":"Baronofsky ","description":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a first-year student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39779,"alt":"","title":"aliza baronofsky","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","width":1425,"height":1794,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-238x300.jpg","medium-width":238,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-768x967.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":967,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-813x1024.jpg","large-width":813,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","1536x1536-width":1220,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","2048x2048-width":1425,"2048x2048-height":1794,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-953x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":953,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-334x420.jpg","home_baner-width":334,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"522","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The money has to come from somewhere...\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"(This post is the fourth in a series on social justice in Amos)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn our series examining income inequality in the Northern Kingdom as described in the book of Amos, we have noted that there are a number of officials and public servants who are misusing their positions to enrich themselves.<\/span><\/p>\r\nToday\u2019s chapter helps us understand why. The prophet opens with the words \u201cHear this word, you cows of Bashan On the hill of Samaria\u2014 Who defraud the poor, Who rob the needy; Who say to your husbands, \u201cBring [wine], and let\u2019s carouse!\u201d\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe cows of the Bashan symbolize wealth and luxury: only a person who can afford more than they need has the luxury of being fat.<\/span><\/p>\r\nMany commentaries suggest that \u201ccows of the Bashan\u201d refers to the wives of the officials we discussed yesterday.\u00a0 In case the reader thought they were not party to the sins of their husbands, the opening verse here singles them out as perpetrators. Malbim explains that they demanded fine things from their husbands and therefore bear partial responsibility for their subsequent suffering. Radak adds that if their husbands didn\u2019t deliver, they would personally go and wring the necessary cash from the poor themselves. Metzudat David even adds that they\u2019d personally beat the poor if they tried to refuse.<\/span><\/p>\r\nVerses 4-5 describe the people\u2019s sacrificial habits in derogatory terms. In chapter 2, the altar was mentioned as a place where the targets of these prophecies enjoyed their ill-gotten gains.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThere is a false religiosity here \u2013 a religiosity of luxury. Verse 5 says \u201cAnd burn a thank offering of leavened bread\u201d though most sacrifices were brought without leavened bread. Instead, types of matza and simple crackers made with oil were used. These people are bringing the \u201cTodah,\u201d a sacrifice traditionally accompanied by forty loaves, only their loaves are made out of leavened bread. The Todah\u2019s traditional rules require the offerer to eat all the meat within a day and a night of offering it. This law, known as <\/span>piggul<\/span><\/em>, can be seen as a way of enabling sharing of the meat with others. However, they have perverted the spirit of these laws and turned them simply into a vehicle for excessive consumption of meat and bread.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThese verses describe religious practice done only for show \u2013 the verse says \u201cproclaim freewill offerings loudly,\u201d because they bring these sacrifices only for the purpose of others seeing their virtue.<\/span><\/p>\r\nWe can imagine a world where you got invited to someone else\u2019s Todah sacrifice party and thus feel compelled to throw your own, to keep up with the neighbors. This requires bringing your own bull, along with accompanying bread and wine. The costs would add up \u2013 and the money has to come from somewhere.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":77268,"alt":"","title":"amos4-money","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money.jpg","width":1920,"height":1324,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-300x207.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":207,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-768x530.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":530,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-1024x706.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":706,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1059,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1324,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-1200x828.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":828,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-609x420.jpg","home_baner-width":609,"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":"Social Justice in Amos","tile_main_caption":"Faux Religiosity And A Culture of Conspicuous Consumption","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The money has to come from somewhere...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":77268,"alt":"","title":"amos4-money","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money.jpg","width":1920,"height":1324,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-300x207.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":207,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-768x530.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":530,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-1024x706.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":706,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1059,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1324,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-1200x828.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":828,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos4-money-609x420.jpg","home_baner-width":609,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Amos","chapter":"4","chapter_main_number":"522","date":"20270830","wall_id":"522"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"77369","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Culpability Of The Judges ","post_title":"The Culpability Of The Judges","slug":"the-culpability-of-the-judges","old_id":"77369","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39778,"post_title":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky","slug":"aliza-libman-baronofsky","old_id":"39778","first_name":"Aliza Libman ","last_name":"Baronofsky ","description":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a first-year student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39779,"alt":"","title":"aliza baronofsky","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","width":1425,"height":1794,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-238x300.jpg","medium-width":238,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-768x967.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":967,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-813x1024.jpg","large-width":813,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","1536x1536-width":1220,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","2048x2048-width":1425,"2048x2048-height":1794,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-953x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":953,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-334x420.jpg","home_baner-width":334,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"523","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And they will be punished\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"(This post is the fifth in a series on social justice in Amos)<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn Chapter 2, we first raised the possibility that the community\u2019s judges were perpetuating the system of economic inequality. In today\u2019s chapter, the prophet returns to the judicial system with a lengthy statement in verses 7-13 contrasting the evil of the judges with the power of God.<\/span><\/p>\r\nVerse 10 reads: \u201cThey hate the rebuker [or arbiter] in the gate, And detest him whose plea is just.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\nBiblical scenes of court cases are classically situated in the gates of the city (most famously in the fourth chapter of the book of Ruth.) The prophet tells us: \u201cThey hate the <\/span>mochiach, <\/span><\/i>rebuker in the gate.\u201d The use of the root word for rebuke leads the commentaries to say that the prophet went to the gate to rebuke the judges for their contribution to the injustice in society. There, the prophet would have found quite a crowd of judges, litigants and other parties. These judges are not receptive to the call to change their ways.<\/span><\/p>\r\nWhat have these judges done? In every society, disputes arise and judges adjudicate them. In a time of increased oil and grain production, someone has to do the producing. History is full of cases where rich landowners laid out impossible conditions for their serfs. Droughts, pests and other factors could give a particular farmer a bad season \u2013 who bears the loss? If the landowner demands a specific yield, a farmer could toil endlessly without getting out of debt. The poor could bring landowners to court for a better deal \u2013 but more likely the landowner brought his serf to court to seek a legal judgement for monies not repaid. After all, farmers constantly need equipment and supplies and often have to borrow to get them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn the second half of verse 10, the judge is said to \u201cdetest the one whose speech is unblemished.\u201d JPS renders this \u201cdetest him whose plea is just.\u201d In other words, though judges are empowered to use their rulings to promote justice and fairness, they unjustly side with the wealthy landowners.<\/span><\/p>\r\nNestled between verse 10 and 12, verse 11 might initially seem to be about the wealthy officials and landowners we have discussed in previous chapters:<\/span><\/p>\r\nAssuredly, Because you impose a tax on the poor And exact from him a levy of grain, You have built houses of hewn stone, But you shall not live in them; You have planted delightful vineyards, But shall not drink their wine.<\/span><\/p>\r\nFrom the context it is clear this verse is talking about the judges castigated in the verses that precede and follow it. They have used their judicial powers to uphold the system of taxation to their own gain; as a result, they will be punished alongside the landowners when the time comes.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":77370,"alt":"","title":"amos5-judges","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges.png","width":1280,"height":906,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-300x212.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-768x544.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":544,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-1024x725.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":725,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":906,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":906,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-1200x849.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":849,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-593x420.png","home_baner-width":593,"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":"Social Justice in Amos","tile_main_caption":"The Culpability Of The Judges","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And they will be punished","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":77370,"alt":"","title":"amos5-judges","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges.png","width":1280,"height":906,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-300x212.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-768x544.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":544,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-1024x725.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":725,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":906,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":906,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-1200x849.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":849,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos5-judges-593x420.png","home_baner-width":593,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Amos","chapter":"5","chapter_main_number":"523","date":"20270831","wall_id":"523"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"77393","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"An 8th century BCE Gilded Age ","post_title":"An 8th century BCE Gilded Age","slug":"an-8th-century-bce-gilded-age","old_id":"77393","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39778,"post_title":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky","slug":"aliza-libman-baronofsky","old_id":"39778","first_name":"Aliza Libman ","last_name":"Baronofsky ","description":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a first-year student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD. She studied Tanach at Midreshet Lindenbaum and York University and previously taught Tanach and math at the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA. Aliza is the creator of www.chumashandmath.blogspot.com, a repository of interdisciplinary lesson plans. ","short_description":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39779,"alt":"","title":"aliza baronofsky","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","width":1425,"height":1794,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-238x300.jpg","medium-width":238,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-768x967.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":967,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-813x1024.jpg","large-width":813,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","1536x1536-width":1220,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","2048x2048-width":1425,"2048x2048-height":1794,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-953x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":953,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-334x420.jpg","home_baner-width":334,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"524","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And as with modern economic crashes - too few listened until it was too late\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"(This post is the sixth in a series on social justice in Amos)<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn the late 19<\/span>th<\/span> century, Gilded Age mansions constructed on Fifth Avenue in New York and on similar streets elsewhere housed the tycoons of the era while many thousands of others toiled in sweatshops and lived in tenements. The lifestyle characterized by opulent surroundings and succulent foods takes a page out of Amos 6, where the wealthy are criticized for their excessive lifestyle:<\/span><\/p>\r\nVerse 4 tell us: \u201cThey lie on ivory beds.\u201d Ivory brings to mind the worst excesses of recent centuries \u2013 the widespread massacre of elephants for their tusks \u2013 but in the era of 8<\/span>th<\/span> century BCE, it must have been even more difficult and expensive to acquire and transport enough ivory to the Middle East to make a bed of sufficient size.<\/span><\/p>\r\nLater in the verse, we are told that they feast on lambs and calves. Then comes the musical entertainment: \u201cthey hum snatches of song to the tune of the lute.\u201d Though these people think of themselves like David, they are much closer to Goliath, with his reliance on his power and his scorn for the weak. These verses illustrate parties with food, music, wine, and oil for anointing.<\/span><\/p>\r\nVerse 6 warns \u201cBut they are not concerned about the ruin of Joseph.\u201d The prophet is warning about the destruction of the Northern Kingdom but these rich people are impervious to his warnings. We can understand their blindness: we\u2019ve seen it so many times throughout history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\t- The Gilded Age of the late 19<\/span>th<\/span> century ended with the Panic of 1893, when the collapse of commodity prices spelled trouble for those who had taken on too much debt.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
- More familiar to us is the end of the Roaring 20s, when the stock market crash of 1929 was propelled by similar forces.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
- In the summer of 2007, gas and housing prices had been soaring, when economists began to warn that the bubble would burst.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
Too few listened until it was too late.<\/span><\/p>\r\nIt is easy to confuse tangibility with permanence. The house you own, the ivory bed you sleep on, the well-stocked wine cellar feel permanent because you can touch (or taste) them. In every era, there are wealthy people who believe that it is through their own virtue that they have great wealth, which will never run out.\u00a0 Nothing material is permanent, the prophet reminds us. Not the house of the private citizen, which can be seized by the bank, the government or invading armies, and not the fortresses and palaces which <\/span>we discussed in chapter 3<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\r\nWhat is permanent and enduring? Only God, God\u2019s power, and hopefully, the relationship God has with the remnant of God\u2019s people.<\/span><\/p>\r\nImage: Heinrich Merz, Destruction of Jerusalem (detail) \/ picryl<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":77394,"alt":"","title":"amos6-mertz destruction","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction.jpeg","width":1000,"height":653,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction-300x196.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":196,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction-768x502.jpeg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":502,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction.jpeg","large-width":1000,"large-height":653,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction.jpeg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":653,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction.jpeg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":653,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction.jpeg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":653,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction-643x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":643,"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":"Social Justice in Amos","tile_main_caption":"An 8th century BCE Gilded Age","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And as with modern economic crashes - too few listened until it was too late","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":77394,"alt":"","title":"amos6-mertz destruction","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction.jpeg","width":1000,"height":653,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction-300x196.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":196,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction-768x502.jpeg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":502,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction.jpeg","large-width":1000,"large-height":653,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction.jpeg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":653,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction.jpeg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":653,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction.jpeg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":653,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos6-mertz-destruction-643x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":643,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Amos","chapter":"6","chapter_main_number":"524","date":"20270901","wall_id":"524"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"77565","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"When The Rich Gouge The Poor ","post_title":"When The Rich Gouge The Poor","slug":"when-the-rich-gouge-the-poor","old_id":"77565","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":39778,"post_title":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky","slug":"aliza-libman-baronofsky","old_id":"39778","first_name":"Aliza Libman ","last_name":"Baronofsky ","description":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a first-year student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD. She studied Tanach at Midreshet Lindenbaum and York University and previously taught Tanach and math at the Maimonides School in Brookline, MA. Aliza is the creator of www.chumashandmath.blogspot.com, a repository of interdisciplinary lesson plans. ","short_description":"Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":39779,"alt":"","title":"aliza baronofsky","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","width":1425,"height":1794,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-238x300.jpg","medium-width":238,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-768x967.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":967,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-813x1024.jpg","large-width":813,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","1536x1536-width":1220,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky.jpg","2048x2048-width":1425,"2048x2048-height":1794,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-953x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":953,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/aliza-baronofsky-334x420.jpg","home_baner-width":334,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"526","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"If the privileged will not protect the disadvantaged, God will no longer protect them\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"In this series on economic inequality in the book of Amos, we\u2019ve seen how officials, judges and priests are all implicated in the plight of the poor. Today\u2019s chapter brings together these ideas in a striking text when the prophet describes the schemes of the rich to increase their wealth:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\u00a0\u201cListen to this, you who devour the needy, annihilating the poor of the land, saying, 'If only the new moon were over, so that we could sell grain; the sabbath, so that we could offer wheat for sale, using an ephah that is small, and a shekel that is big, tilting a dishonest scale, and selling grain refuse as grain!\u2026'\u201d (verses 4-6).<\/span><\/p>\r\nFor Ibn Ezra, this is a statement of the storehouse administrators. They wish for a famine so they can sell stored food for more money. He notes that in time of famine, food sellers will benefit from an increase in prices.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThe plain meaning of the Hebrew <\/span>matai ya'avor hachodesh<\/span><\/em> is that the speaker is eager for the New Moon to be over \u2013a day of rest where commerce was not allowed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nHowever, Malbim reads the verb <\/span>ya'avor<\/em> <\/span>as though it is \u2018to make <\/span>me'ubar<\/span><\/em>\u2013 i.e., to make a leap year. These speakers hope the court will extend the calendar year with a leap month. Why? Because the new grain cannot be eaten until after the Omer is offered on the second night of Pesach, so extending the calendar year would mean that the current grain would have to last an additional month. Here, too, prices would increase, benefiting the rich landowners and administrators.<\/span><\/p>\r\nMalbim also reads the word \u201cthe Sabbath\u201d as referring to the Sabbatical year. During the sabbatical year, the ordinary working people don\u2019t till their fields. They go to storehouses to purchase food, says Malbim. There, they can be sold small quantities for large amounts of money, with dishonest measurements.<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn 2:10, we saw reference to God taking the Jews from Egypt through the desert for 40 years. God\u2019s goal \u2013 to create a nation of people loyal to God\u2019s laws and compassionate to strangers and the subservient \u2013 should have been realized during that time of embryonic national development. The agricultural, legal and religious systems set up were designed to protect the weak (as much as possible in the Ancient Near East). Courts, holidays, sabbatical years: all of these should be creating a more just and equal society. Instead, the privileged have begun to hope for famine and hunger so as to line their own pockets.<\/span><\/p>\r\nIt's clear overall, that the prophet does not object to wealth itself. Societies need judges, priests, administrators and landowners. If they become wealthy at the expense of the poor, if they use their positions to push others down, rather than lifting them up \u2013 it is then that their wealth and power are illegitimate. As a result, God swears, \"I will never forget any of their doings.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nIf the privileged will not protect the disadvantaged, God will no longer protect them.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":77566,"alt":"","title":"amos8-money-shark","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark.jpg","width":1920,"height":1367,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-300x214.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":214,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-768x547.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":547,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-1024x729.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":729,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1094,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1367,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-1200x854.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":854,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-590x420.jpg","home_baner-width":590,"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":"Social Justice in Amos","tile_main_caption":"When The Rich Gouge The Poor","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"If the privileged will not protect the disadvantaged, God will no longer protect them","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":77566,"alt":"","title":"amos8-money-shark","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark.jpg","width":1920,"height":1367,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-300x214.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":214,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-768x547.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":547,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-1024x729.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":729,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1094,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1367,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-1200x854.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":854,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos8-money-shark-590x420.jpg","home_baner-width":590,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Amos","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"526","date":"20270905","wall_id":"526"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"77043","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"Israel\u2019s Highly Conditional Specialness\u00a0 ","post_title":"Israel\u2019s Highly Conditional Specialness\u00a0","slug":"israels-highly-conditional-specialness","old_id":"77043","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":67893,"post_title":"Saul Sadka","slug":"saul-sadka","old_id":"67893","first_name":"Saul ","last_name":"Sadka","description":"Saul Sadka is a businessman and author living in Tel Aviv, the author of the Sadka-Rabinowicz edition of the Torah. ","short_description":"Saul Sadka is a businessman and author living in Tel Aviv, the author of the Sadka-Rabinowicz edition of the Torah. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":67894,"alt":"","title":"saul sadka","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/saul-sadka.jpg","width":1200,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/saul-sadka-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/saul-sadka-225x300.jpg","medium-width":225,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/saul-sadka-768x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/saul-sadka-768x1024.jpg","large-width":768,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/saul-sadka.jpg","1536x1536-width":1152,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/saul-sadka.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":1600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/saul-sadka-900x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/saul-sadka-315x420.jpg","home_baner-width":315,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"519","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Beware lest you be swept away in a flash flood of justice\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"Chronologically speaking, Amos is the first of the named prophets with his own book. This is perhaps because he was the first to write his prophecies down, or have them written down for him. Although Amos is a Judean, he spoke primarily against the kings of Israel in the time of King Jeroboam II.<\/span><\/p>\r\nJeroboam had enjoyed fantastic success but had fallen into the wealth trap described in Deuteronomy (see e.g., ch. 8). He had defeated all before him and had exerted influence over the surrounding nations. Yet instead of enlightening them, he and his people became benighted by their pagan practices. They had become corrupt and had forgotten the message of the freedom from slavery to the extent that the elite had enslaved their poor brethren. Not only had they failed to become the intended light and blessing to the nations after being freed from bondage to Egypt, they had become exactly like the Egyptians themselves, holding their poor as bondsmen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nAmos opens with a litany against each of Israel\u2019s neighbors in turn, finally zeroing in on Israel for whom there is the worst condemnation. The message is that Israel\u2019s neighbors may be bad, but Israel is worse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\nAmos was prophesying around the time of a great earthquake around 750 BCE. Many later prophets, including Isaiah and even Zachariah (14:5) ten generations later, recalled this seismic event. It would seem that this had an impact on the theology of the people, perhaps beginning to tie the actions to God\u2019s response as a prelude to their defeat and exile soon after.<\/span><\/p>\r\nAmos denounces the people for their hypocrisy in demonstrating outward devotion to God through ritual while dealing unjustly with their fellow men. Amos clarifies that these are inseparable, and that if they do not act justly they will be swept away by a \u201cflash flood\u201d of justice (Amos 5:24). This implies a microcosm of God\u2019s punishment of the generation of Noah. Water is viewed as a constant metaphor for Torah within the Tanakh and by rabbis throughout the ages (see e.g., Bava Kamma 17a). Here the people are told, if you fail to repent and fail to behave justly, you will be swept away in a flood of Torah that will come suddenly and make your valley bloom once you are gone.<\/span><\/p>\r\nPerhaps it is Amos that set the people on the path to understanding that while Israel was special, that specialness was based on the people fulfilling their purpose and not an innate characteristic. Perhaps it was also Amos who began the preparation for the detachment of the people from the land without the loss of their belief in their God by establishing justice, not ritual, as paramount.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":77044,"alt":"","title":"amos1-flood2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","width":616,"height":585,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2-300x285.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":285,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","medium_large-width":616,"medium_large-height":585,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","large-width":616,"large-height":585,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","1536x1536-width":616,"1536x1536-height":585,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","2048x2048-width":616,"2048x2048-height":585,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","post_full_size-width":616,"post_full_size-height":585,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2-442x420.jpg","home_baner-width":442,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Israel\u2019s Highly Conditional Specialness\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Beware lest you be swept away in a flash flood of justice","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":77044,"alt":"","title":"amos1-flood2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","width":616,"height":585,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2-300x285.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":285,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","medium_large-width":616,"medium_large-height":585,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","large-width":616,"large-height":585,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","1536x1536-width":616,"1536x1536-height":585,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","2048x2048-width":616,"2048x2048-height":585,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2.jpg","post_full_size-width":616,"post_full_size-height":585,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/amos1-flood2-442x420.jpg","home_baner-width":442,"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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Amos","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"519","date":"20270825","wall_id":"519"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"77029","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Who Are You Amos? ","post_title":"Who Are You Amos?","slug":"who-are-you-amos","old_id":"77029","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":"519","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Your business card raises more questions than it answers\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"The opening verse of the Book of Amos introduces him as follows: \u201cThe words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders (noqdim<\/em>) from Tekoa, who prophesied concerning Israel in the reigns of Kings Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.\u201d Nearly every segment of this verse has yielded multiple interpretations.<\/span><\/p>\r\nWere <\/span>noqdim<\/em> <\/span>specifically sheep breeders (see 2 Kings 3:4) or also herdsmen of cattle (see Amos 7:14)? Was Tekoa situated in Judah (2 Chronicles 11:6, in the vicinity of Bethlehem), or was it the Tekoa lauded by the Mishnah for its fine olive oil (Menachot 5:3), which was situated in the Galilee? Either way (Amos is identified with kings of both Judah and Israel), should it be understood as \u201cAmos, of Tekoa, was among the herdsmen,\u201d or \u201cAmos, one of the herdsmen, was from Tekoa\u201d?\u00a0 Finally, when the text uses the past tense to identify Amos as one who \u201cwas\u201d (<\/span>hayah<\/span><\/em>) of the herdsmen, is it implying that he ceased that profession upon commencing his prophecy, or does his own reference to his profession in the present tense (7:14) rule that out?<\/span><\/p>\r\nAnd what about \u201cthe noise\u201d (ra`ash<\/em>), universally recognized as a biblical synonym for an earthquake; which earthquake did he precede by two years? Rashi identified it with the earthquake during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah when, as interpreted by the Midrash, he sought to offer incense in the Temple. That, he noted, would place Amos prior to Isaiah whose prophetic career was launched by that very episode (see Isaiah 6:1). See our <\/span>comments on Hosea Chapter 1<\/span><\/a>, in which we observed that the somewhat awkward usage, \u201cWhen the Lord first spoke to Hosea\u201d (1:2) led the Talmud to proclaim Hosea the \u201cfirst\u201d of four contemporaries (Baba Batra 14b). Later scholarship declared Amos second, Isaiah third, and Micah last.<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn any case, that earthquake was memorable enough that many years later the Prophet Zechariah invoked it as a paradigm of God\u2019s mighty wonders to be displayed in the eschatological future: \u201cAnd the valley in the hills shall be stopped up, for the valley of the hills shall reach only to Azal; it shall be stopped up as it was stopped up as a result of the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah\u2014and the LORD my God, with all the holy beings, will come to you\u201d (14:5).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":77031,"alt":"","title":"amos1-business 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Are You Amos?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Your business card raises more questions than it answers","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":77031,"alt":"","title":"amos1-business 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A Tsadik For Silver And The Needy For Shoes ","post_title":"Selling A Tsadik For Silver And The Needy For Shoes","slug":"selling-a-tsadik-for-silver-and-the-needy-for-shoes","old_id":"77064","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":"520","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Joseph. 20 pieces of silver. And a punishment a long time in coming\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"In our chapter, the Prophet Amos repeats the pattern phrase: \u201cFor three transgressions\u2026 and for four\u201d eight times. In the last occurrence, Israel is to be punished: \u201cBecause they have sold for silver, those whose cause was just, and the needy (<\/span>evyon<\/span><\/em>) for a pair of shoes\u201d (2:6).<\/span><\/p>\r\nHere, according to its biblical context, \u201c<\/span>evyon<\/span><\/em>\u201d refers to \u201cthe needy\u201d in general. However, the Midrash (Tanhuma Vayeshev 2, Pirqey de-Rabbi Eliezer 38) understands that this phrase refers to Joseph who was sold by his brothers to passing Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28). When a group of Ishmaelites passed by, they [Joseph\u2019s brothers] said to each other: \u201cCome, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites\u2026\u201d (37:27). [Joseph\u2019s brothers] sold him for twenty pieces of silver. Each one [of the ten brothers] thus received two pieces of silver with which to buy shoes for themselves. But, how could such a handsome youth as Joseph be sold for only twenty pieces of silver?! When Joseph was thrown into the pit, out of fear of snakes and scorpions, the radiance of his face had changed, the blood had drained from it, so that his face turned green. This is the reason that Joseph\u2019s brothers sold him for only twenty pieces of silver, with which they each purchased shoes for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\r\n