{"id":78534,"date":"2018-07-09T17:48:54","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-2022\/"},"modified":"2020-08-12T11:44:46","modified_gmt":"2020-08-12T08:44:46","slug":"wall-2022","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"book-Prophets-Habakkuk"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"2022","book":"Habakkuk","books_group":"Prophets","hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"date":"20200813","home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"\u05e1\u05d9\u05db\u05d5\u05dd \u05e1\u05e4\u05e8 \u05d7\u05d1\u05e7\u05d5\u05e7","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":"","updates_last_update":"05\/05\/2020","chapter":"","chapter_main_number":"","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"78621","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Confronting God ","post_title":"Confronting God","slug":"confronting-god","old_id":"78621","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":"543","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The prophetic Job\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The Book of Habakkuk begins with a superscription indicating only that what follows is the \u201cpronouncement that the Prophet Habakkuk divined \u2013 <\/span>Ha-Massa\u2019 \u2018asher Hazah Habakkuk Ha-Navi<\/span><\/em>\u2019<\/span><\/i>\u201d (Habakkuk 1:1). In the Hebrew Bible, this Prophet\u2019s name is recorded only here and in Habakkuk 3:1 but may be related etymologically to the Hebrew root <\/span>h-b-k<\/span><\/em>, \u201cembrace\u201d. Habakkuk\u2019s mention of the rise of the Chaldeans (1:6) leads modern biblical scholars to date his prophetic activity from the end of the 7<\/span>th<\/span> century to the beginning of the 6<\/span>th<\/span> century BCE. Unlike most other prophets, Habakkuk confronts God rather than presenting God as confronting people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From the beginning of his prophetic oracles, Habakkuk questions divine justice, particularly how violence and evil can possibly serve God\u2019s purpose in the world: \u201cHow long, O Lord, shall I cry out and You not listen. Shall I shout to You, \u2018Violence!\u2019 and You not save? ... Strife continues and contention goes on\u2026\u201d (1:2-3). Habakkuk\u2019s strident confrontation with God led Yehezkel Kaufmann to label Habakkuk \u201cthe Prophetic Job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Habakkuk appears again in the Apocryphal work <\/span>Bel and the Dragon<\/span><\/em>, preserved in the Septuagint as a continuation of the Book of Daniel. Here we are told that Daniel was in the lions\u2019 den for six days without being eaten by the lions and without eating \u2026 Now the prophet Habakkuk was in Judea. An angel of the Lord said to him: \u201cTake the food that you have to Babylon, to Daniel, in the lions\u2019 den.\u201d Habakkuk said: \u201cSir, I have never seen Babylon, and I know nothing about the den.\u201d So, the angel of the Lord took him and carried him by his hair. With the speed of the wind, he set him down in Babylon, right over the den. Habakkuk shouted: \u201cDaniel, Daniel! Take the food that God has sent you\u2026So, Daniel got up and ate. And the angel of God immediately returned Habakkuk to his own place...<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Among the Dead Sea Scrolls was discovered a <\/span>Pesher<\/span><\/em> (i.e. Commentary) to the Book of Habakkuk (1QpHab), dated to the second half of the first century BCE. According to this work, the Chaldeans, mentioned in Habakkuk 1:6 are the Romans (referred to as the <\/span>Kittim<\/span><\/i>), who conquered and ruled Judea at this time. Despite the fragmentary nature of the preserved text, this contemporizing interpretation becomes clear from the commentary on Habakkuk 1:6: \u201c\u2026behold I am raising up the Chaldeans -- <\/span>Pesher<\/em> <\/span>about how the <\/span>Kittim<\/span><\/i> (i.e.Romans) \u2026 speedy ones and mighty men in war to destroy \u2026 from the government of the Romans to do evil\u2026\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Midrash Exodus Rabbah 38:2 interprets Habakkuk 1:12 as referring to human mortality: \u201cYou, O Lord, are from everlasting! My holy God! We shall never die\u201d. Before Adam ate from the forbidden fruit, mankind was never to suffer death. But because Adam ignored Your command, \u201cO Lord, You have made them [human beings] subject to the judgement [of death]\u201d (end verse 12).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Statue of Habakkuk by Donatello, in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo of Florence, 1423 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78622,"alt":"","title":"hab1-habakkuk_Donatello","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","width":320,"height":714,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello-134x300.jpg","medium-width":134,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","medium_large-width":320,"medium_large-height":714,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","large-width":320,"large-height":714,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","1536x1536-width":320,"1536x1536-height":714,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","2048x2048-width":320,"2048x2048-height":714,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","post_full_size-width":320,"post_full_size-height":714,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello-188x420.jpg","home_baner-width":188,"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":"Confronting God","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The prophetic Job","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78622,"alt":"","title":"hab1-habakkuk_Donatello","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","width":320,"height":714,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello-134x300.jpg","medium-width":134,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","medium_large-width":320,"medium_large-height":714,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","large-width":320,"large-height":714,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","1536x1536-width":320,"1536x1536-height":714,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","2048x2048-width":320,"2048x2048-height":714,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello.jpg","post_full_size-width":320,"post_full_size-height":714,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-habakkuk_Donatello-188x420.jpg","home_baner-width":188,"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":"Habakkuk","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"543","date":"20270928","wall_id":"543"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"78618","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Just Who Is Great And Terrible, Eminent And Awesome? ","post_title":"Just Who Is Great And Terrible, Eminent And Awesome?","slug":"just-who-is-great-and-terrible-eminent-and-awesome","old_id":"78618","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":70715,"post_title":"Judry Subar","slug":"judry-subar","old_id":"70715","first_name":"Judry ","last_name":"Subar","description":"Judry Subar, who lives in Potomac, Maryland, spent most of his professional career as a lawyer with the federal government in Washington, DC. Since his retirement, Jud has been involved in various writing and educational projects.","short_description":"Judry Subar spent most of his professional career as a lawyer with the federal government in Washington. Since his retirement, he has been involved in various writing and educational projects.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":70716,"alt":"","title":"judry subar","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","medium_large-width":400,"medium_large-height":400,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","large-width":400,"large-height":400,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","1536x1536-width":400,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","2048x2048-width":400,"2048x2048-height":400,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","post_full_size-width":400,"post_full_size-height":400,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/judry-subar.jpg","home_baner-width":400,"home_baner-height":400}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"543","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And how do we overcome that awe to demand justice?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cAyom v\u2019norah<\/em>\u201d \u2013 a phrase that can move the heart.\u00a0 We might remember the words coming from the mouth of the <\/span>chazzan<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>cantor,<\/span> on the High Holy Days. In the prayer that begins with the word \u201c<\/span>Hineni<\/span><\/em>,<\/em>\u201d cantors throw themselves on the mercy of the court, as it were, as they describe themselves as the unworthy messengers of a congregation imploring the divine tribunal to exercise compassion. God is described in the prayer as \u201cayom v\u2019norah<\/em>,\u201d which is translated in that context by the Metzudah Machzor as \u201ceminent and awesome.\u201d Understanding the phrase as referring to the omnipotent heavenly judge makes sense when we recall that these words form the opening phrase of verse seven of the first chapter of Habbakuk. The verse read in isolation might be translated as, \u201cHe is eminent and awesome, His law and His majesty come from Him,\u201d suggesting a sense of the divine as all-powerful and fearsome, yet just and commanding ultimate respect.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But read in the broader Habakkukian context, this verse means something very different.\u00a0 The book opens with the prophet\u2019s rebuke of God for allowing the righteous (presumably the prophet\u2019s people) to suffer at the hands of barbarous hordes. The evil-doers, identified in verse six as the Chaldeans, are described in verse seven as follows, using the JPS translation:\u00a0 \u201cThey are terrible, dreadful; They make their own laws and rules.\u201d\u00a0 As Malbim explains, this can mean that the oppressive nation engenders terror in its victims because it perceives no need to follow internationally accepted norms. Instead, it follows its own rules that are based exclusively on its own interests.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This doesn\u2019t mean that we must read the phrase found in the High Holy Day machzor as entirely disconnected from what Habakkuk had to say. The traditional Rosh Hashana liturgy has us reading stories of Abraham, the Chaldean-turned-Jewish-progenitor, shortly before the <\/span>chazzan<\/span><\/em> sings (or this year, perhaps, whispers) <\/span>Hineni<\/span><\/em>. When we hear that prayer describe the divine as \u201cayom v\u2019norah<\/em>,\u201d we can recall that both Abraham and Habakkuk were able at times to overcome their awe of the divine to demand that divine justice operate in this world in a universalizable fashion for all.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: <\/span>Hineni<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>Michael Sgan-Cohen, 1978 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78619,"alt":"","title":"hab1-hineni","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni.jpg","width":800,"height":590,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni-300x221.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":221,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni-768x566.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":566,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":590,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":590,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":590,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":590,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni-569x420.jpg","home_baner-width":569,"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":"Just Who Is Great And Terrible, Eminent And Awesome?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And how do we overcome that awe to demand justice?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78619,"alt":"","title":"hab1-hineni","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni.jpg","width":800,"height":590,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni-300x221.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":221,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni-768x566.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":566,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":590,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":590,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":590,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":590,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-hineni-569x420.jpg","home_baner-width":569,"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":"Habakkuk","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"543","date":"20270928","wall_id":"543"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"78624","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"Who's The Enemy? ","post_title":"Who's The Enemy?","slug":"whos-the-enemy","old_id":"78624","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":73524,"post_title":"Yaakov Beasley","slug":"yaakov-beasley","old_id":"73524","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Beasley ","description":"Yaakov Beasley is the Tanakh Coordinator at Yeshivat Hesder Lev haTorah, the host of the TanachTalks podcast, and the author of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: Lights in the Valley (Maggid Press, 2020). ","short_description":"Yaakov Beasley is the Tanakh Coordinator at Yeshivat Hesder Lev haTorah, podcast host and author. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":73525,"alt":"","title":"yaakov beasley","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","width":409,"height":484,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","medium_large-width":409,"medium_large-height":484,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","large-width":409,"large-height":484,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","1536x1536-width":409,"1536x1536-height":484,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","2048x2048-width":409,"2048x2048-height":484,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","post_full_size-width":409,"post_full_size-height":484,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-355x420.jpg","home_baner-width":355,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"543","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And are they past, present or future?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Habakkuk begins by plunging immediately into his central complaint - the apparent triumph of evil in the world. The entire book consists of Habakkuk's direct and unforgiving questioning of God\u2019s ways, and the formulation of two answers that respond to his challenges.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

How long shall I cry, God, and You will not listen? I cry out unto You of violence, and You will not save ... Therefore Torah has become impotent, and justice does not go out forever, for wicked surround the righteous; therefore, justice emerges perverted. (v. 2\u20134)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

His complaint begins with two questions \u2013 for how long, and why? In the culmination of his complaint, verse 4, Habakkuk decries the success of the \u201cwicked,\u201d but to whom is he actually referring? Answering this question will not only help us understand his complaint, but also provides a valuable clue as to the dating of his prophecy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Three possibilities present themselves. One suggestion is that they are the Jewish kings of this period, whose corrupt rule over the people led to untold suffering and resignation. As such, dating Habakkuk\u2019s prophecy to either Manasseh\u2019s reign (696\u2013641) or to Jehoiakim\u2019s reign (608\u2013597) makes sense (but not Josiah (639\u2013608), one of Judah\u2019s great kings (II Kings 23:25)). The divine response that the Babylonians are serving as the instrument of God in order to deliver divine punishment (v. 5\u201311) means that God is using outsiders to punish his people, on account of their evil rulers. If so, Habakkuk is echoing Isaiah\u2019s message to Judah a century before, that the Assyrian invaders of that time were in fact \u201c<\/span>shevet appi<\/span><\/i>\u201d \u2013 the rod of God\u2019s wrath. (Isaiah 10:5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The second approach suggests that the \u201cwicked\u201d mentioned at the beginning of the prophecy are foreigners, and refers to Judah\u2019s Assyrian overloads. For centuries, their empire seemed invincible, but it would disappear at the hands of the Babylonians within decades, a shockingly speedy timeframe by the standards of ancient history. This approach would also date the prophecy to Manasseh\u2019s reign.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The third and final approach also posits that the \u201cwicked\u201d are foreigners, but not about any existing injustice, but rather about a future injustice. As such, the entire book deals with one question only \u2013 why will the wicked Babylonians succeed? Rashi is the first one to suggest this understanding, and it is based primarily on the beginning of verse 3, \u201cWhy do You show me iniquity\u201d positing that the word \u201cshow\u201d is referring to the visions of the future, when Babylonia would oppress Judah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Further support for this explanation can be found in verse 13, where Habakkuk contrasts the successes of the wicked Babylonians with the impending doom of the (relatively) righteous people of Judah. The first two approaches, which claim that Habakkuk is complaining about existing injustices, understand the word \u201cshow\u201d in verse 3 to be referring to Habakkuk\u2019s reaction to seeing the violence that surrounds him.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78625,"alt":"","title":"hab1-enemy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-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":"Who's The Enemy?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And are they past, present or future?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78625,"alt":"","title":"hab1-enemy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab1-enemy-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":"Habakkuk","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"543","date":"20270928","wall_id":"543"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"78685","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"We Were As Dreamers!? ","post_title":"We Were As Dreamers!?","slug":"we-were-as-dreamers","old_id":"78685","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36277,"post_title":"Yedidya Sinclair","slug":"yedidya-sinclair","old_id":"36277","first_name":"Yedidya","last_name":"Sinclair","description":"Rabbi Yedidya Sinclair serves as Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon, the leading US Jewish environmental organization. From 2011-16 he was Vice President for Research and Senior Economist at Energiya Global, a Jerusalem-based solar energy company focused on the developing world and he continues to consult on renewable energy and climate change preparedness. In 2014 he published together with Hazon, a translation of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's great work on shmitta, the Sabbatical year, \"Introduction to Shabbat Ha'aretz.\" Yedidya holds a BA from Oxford University, an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and lives with his family in Jerusalem.","short_description":"Yedidya Sinclair is a Jerusalem-based rabbi and economist, and is Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36278,"alt":"","title":"yedidya sinclair","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","width":200,"height":200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":200,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":200,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":200}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"544","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Habakkuk and Honi share a sense of horror and disorientation at the Babylonian exile, before and after the event\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our chapter begins with Habakkuk dramatically declaring \u201cI will stand on my watch. Take up my station at the post and wait to see what He will say to me.\u201d (Hab. 2:1) Habakkuk declares that he will not move from where he stands until God answers his question of why the wicked Chaldeans are flourishing and poised to swoop down and destroy the weak.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi raises the stakes of the prophet\u2019s appeal still higher, adding that Habakkuk drew a circle, stood in it, and refused to leave until God answered.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is reminiscent of one of the most famous Talmudic stories. Honi the Circle Drawer did just this when he implored God for rain in a drought. The Talmud\u2019s telling of the episode specifically invokes Habakkuk as Honi\u2019s role model. <\/span>(Ta\u2019anit 23a)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

There is a further fascinating similarity between Honi and Habakkuk: their preoccupation with exile. God answers Habakkuk, saying \u201cwrite the prophecy down, for there is yet a prophecy for a set term.\u201d Rashi and others explain that while God does not answer the question of why the wicked will succeed in exiling Israel, at least Habakkuk is offered the consolation of knowing that the exile will have a fixed duration and endpoint \u2013 70 years. It is the uncertain timespan of exile that makes its prospect terrifying; removing that renders it bearable.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Conversely, Honi standing on the other side of the Babylonian exile marvels at the strangeness of that period of 70 years, as Rabbi Yochanan said \u201cAll his days, the saintly Honi was bothered by the verse, \"A Song of Ascents: when God brought back the exiles of Zion, we were like dreamers.\" (Psalms 126:1) How could people sleep away seventy years in a dream? Honi, wondered. How could we have been as dreamers, sleeping away the period of the Babylonian exile?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In dreams much can happen in a short span of real time. For seventy years, the Jews lived a slave existence in Babylon, cut off from their land removed from self-government, no longer the authors of history. They were wrenched away from their land and its rhythms. Yet without their active participation, political processes unfolded that led them to return to Israel to find, no doubt that while they had been away, life had moved on in their absence. Cities had grown or, more likely, decayed, children had been born, jackals had overrun deserted towns. Uprooted from their land, the people had been away from all this. The gemara is suggesting that the disorientation felt on being away from history and then rejoining it, so to speak, is comparable to Honi's confusion on awakening from a sleep of seventy years.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Honi and Habakkuk share a sense of horror and disorientation at the Babylonian exile, before and after the event. And, relatedly, they are pioneers of an uncompromising kind of prayer, that refuses to accept \u201cit\u2019s God\u2019s plan; don\u2019t ask,\u201d and demands relief and salvation for God\u2019s people now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78689,"alt":"","title":"hab2-dream","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream.png","width":1920,"height":1224,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-300x191.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":191,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-768x490.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":490,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-1024x653.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":653,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":979,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1224,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-1200x765.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":765,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-659x420.png","home_baner-width":659,"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":"Habakkuk and Honi - I","tile_main_caption":"We Were As Dreamers!?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Habakkuk and Honi share a sense of horror and disorientation at the Babylonian exile, before and after the event","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78689,"alt":"","title":"hab2-dream","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream.png","width":1920,"height":1224,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-300x191.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":191,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-768x490.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":490,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-1024x653.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":653,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":979,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1224,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-1200x765.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":765,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-dream-659x420.png","home_baner-width":659,"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":"Habakkuk","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"544","date":"20270929","wall_id":"544"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"78681","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Habakkuk and Honi: Stand Up for Your Beliefs ","post_title":"Habakkuk and Honi: Stand Up for Your Beliefs","slug":"habakkuk-and-honi-stand-up-for-your-beliefs","old_id":"78681","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":73524,"post_title":"Yaakov Beasley","slug":"yaakov-beasley","old_id":"73524","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Beasley ","description":"Yaakov Beasley is the Tanakh Coordinator at Yeshivat Hesder Lev haTorah, the host of the TanachTalks podcast, and the author of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: Lights in the Valley (Maggid Press, 2020). ","short_description":"Yaakov Beasley is the Tanakh Coordinator at Yeshivat Hesder Lev haTorah, podcast host and author. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":73525,"alt":"","title":"yaakov beasley","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","width":409,"height":484,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","medium_large-width":409,"medium_large-height":484,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","large-width":409,"large-height":484,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","1536x1536-width":409,"1536x1536-height":484,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","2048x2048-width":409,"2048x2048-height":484,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","post_full_size-width":409,"post_full_size-height":484,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-355x420.jpg","home_baner-width":355,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"544","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The logic of persistence is anything but circular\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Habakkuk\u2019s second chapter appears to begin a new section, and the readers expect to hear how God will respond to Habakkuk\u2019s new charges against the injustice of Babylonia's success. Instead, we find Habakkuk declaring emphatically that he will wait, in sentences marked by first person pronouns (v. 1 - on my watch, I will stand, and I will set myself \u2026and I will look out\u2026speak to me, and what I will reply when I am rebuked).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He begins with an announcement, declaring that he will assume the role of a watchman. In the Bible, the watchman served two roles: to look for approaching messengers (see II Sam. 18:24\u201328; Is. 21:6\u20138; 52:7\u201310), or to warn of approaching dangers (see I Sam. 14:16\u201317; II Kings 9:17\u201320, Ezek. 33:2\u20136). By using this metaphor, Habakkuk is hinting that he is searching for communication from God. Unlike other prophets who assumed the role of watchman in order to convey divine instructions downwards to the people (Jer. 6:17; Ezek. 3:16\u201321; 33:7\u20139; Hos. 9:8), Habakkuk waits for answers to the challenges that he hurled upwards to God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Habakkuk describes the specific physical posture that he will assume while waiting for God\u2019s response. Such a description is rare among the prophets, and emphasizes the depth of Habakkuk\u2019s resolve and determination to wait until God responds. Sensing an almost impudent tone in Habakkuk\u2019s words, Rashi provides more background for this rare emphasis on the prophet\u2019s posture (comm. to 2:1):<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Habakkuk dug a circular hole, stood within it, and said, \u201cI will not budge from here until I hear what He will say to me concerning this, my question why He looks and sees the prosperity of a wicked man.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The source of Rashi\u2019s explanation is the rabbinic legend about Honi the Circle-Maker:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Once it happened that the greater part of the month of Adar had gone and yet no rain had fallen. The people sent a message to Honi the Circle-Maker, \u201cPray that rain may fall.\u201d He prayed and no rain fell. He thereupon drew a circle and stood within it in the same way as the prophet Habakkuk had done, as it is said, \u201cOn my watch I will stand, and I will set myself upon a fortress.\u201d He exclaimed [before God], Master of the Universe, Your children have turned to me because [they believe] me to be a member of Your house. I swear by Your great name that I will not move from here until You have mercy upon Your children! (Ta\u2019anit 23a)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Talmud concludes by acknowledging that Honi\u2019s behavior was unconventional, if not impudent:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Simeon ben Shetach sent him word, saying: \u2018If you were not Honi, I would order that you be excommunicated. But what shall I do with you, since though you are impudent towards God, He forgives you and indulges you like a spoiled child? To you the verse may be applied, \u201cLet your father and your mother rejoice, and let she that has born thee be glad\u2019\u201d (Prov. 23:25).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78683,"alt":"","title":"hab2-circle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Habakkuk and Honi - II","tile_main_caption":"Habakkuk and Honi: Stand Up for Your Beliefs","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The logic of persistence is anything but circular","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78683,"alt":"","title":"hab2-circle","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-circle-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Habakkuk","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"544","date":"20270929","wall_id":"544"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"78693","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Ah! (Ironically, Of Course) ","post_title":"Ah! (Ironically, Of Course)","slug":"ah-ironically-of-course","old_id":"78693","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38047,"post_title":"Shoshana Michael Zucker","slug":"shoshana-michael-zucker","old_id":"38047","first_name":"Shoshana Michael ","last_name":"Zucker ","description":"Shoshana Michael Zucker is a translator and editor by profession, but would much rather be learning and teaching Torah. A graduate of Barnard College, she made aliyah in 1983 and now lives in Kfar Saba where she is an active member of the Masorti Congregation Hod veHadar. ","short_description":"Shoshana Michael Zucker is a translator and editor and lives in Kfar Saba \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38048,"alt":"","title":"Shoshana Michael Zucker","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","width":231,"height":310,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker-224x300.jpg","medium-width":224,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","medium_large-width":231,"medium_large-height":310,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","large-width":231,"large-height":310,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","1536x1536-width":231,"1536x1536-height":310,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","2048x2048-width":231,"2048x2048-height":310,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","post_full_size-width":231,"post_full_size-height":310,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","home_baner-width":231,"home_baner-height":310}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"544","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Leading to contemporary issues such as construction site dangers, and date rape drugs\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Habakkuk chapter 2 includes a series of five declarations, described in verse 6 as \u201cpointed epigrams.\u201d Each one begins with the Hebrew interjection <\/span>\u05d4\u05d5\u05d9<\/span>, hoy<\/em>, which is often translated \u201cwoe to,\u201d but \u201cah\u201d in the New JPS translation. \u201cAh\u201d might be understood as a neutral declaration of surprise while \u201cwoe to\u201d is threatening and seems appropriate for the nature of these prophecies. However, Prof. Yitzhak Avishur, in the Hebrew commentary <\/span>Olam Hatanakh<\/span><\/em> says the word should be understood ironically; writing in Hebrew, he does not translate it. Might God, through Habakkuk, be saying, \u201cHa, you think you can get away with X, but I\u2019ll catch up with you, and you\u2019ll learn what it feels like?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The way in which the \u201cjust rewards\u201d in each epigram fit the crime lends credence to this reading.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who are these doomed characters? Paraphrasing, they are people who:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. Amass what is not rightfully theirs (v.6).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Violently acquire the means to elevate their own home in an attempt to escape disaster (v.9).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Countenance bloodshed (NJPS, \u201ccrime\u201d) when building a town (v.12).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Prevail upon other people to drink to excess (v.15).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. Call upon physical objects as if they were slumbering gods (v.19).<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    The first two instances, in which greedy people disregard the rights and needs of others, and the fifth, idolatry, are common themes throughout the prophetic books. The third and fourth are more specific, and uncannily modern.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Construction work is perilous, it involves sharp tools, heavy building materials and balancing at a great height above the ground. Modern safety technology makes it safer (if used!) than it would have been in biblical times, but hazards remain. When owners, contractors, or supervisors pressure workers to take on additional risks in order to complete jobs more quickly or less expensively, they are also accepting a different risk, that of completing their project at the cost of human death or injury. It\u2019s not murder, not even manslaughter, but death caused by negligence is still death. Habakkuk reminds us that God sees these deaths and takes workers\u2019 lives seriously.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Verse 15 does not specify how offenders \u201cmake others drink to intoxication\u2026 in order to gaze upon their nakedness.\u201d Assuming that they aren\u2019t physically forcing the beverage down someone\u2019s throat, other possibilities include deceptively serving an intoxicating beverage as if it were something weaker (did Habakkuk know about date rape drugs?) or \u201csweet talking\u201d them until they let down their defenses and \u201cchoose\u201d to drink more than they really want. Habakkuk\u2019s words could be directed at the advertising industry that skillfully convinces us to want what we do not need.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Is there nothing new under the sun?\u00a0 <\/span>\u200e<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78694,"alt":"","title":"hab2-construction","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction.jpg","width":1920,"height":1200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-300x188.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":188,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-768x480.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-1024x640.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":640,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":960,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-1200x750.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":750,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-672x420.jpg","home_baner-width":672,"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":"Ah! (Ironically, Of Course)","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Leading to contemporary issues such as construction site dangers, and date rape drugs","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78694,"alt":"","title":"hab2-construction","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction.jpg","width":1920,"height":1200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-300x188.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":188,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-768x480.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-1024x640.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":640,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":960,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-1200x750.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":750,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-construction-672x420.jpg","home_baner-width":672,"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":"Habakkuk","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"544","date":"20270929","wall_id":"544"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"78699","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Did Habakkuk Demand A Divine Defense? ","post_title":"Did Habakkuk Demand A Divine Defense?","slug":"did-habakkuk-demand-a-divine-defense","old_id":"78699","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"544","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The answer: Though it may tarry, await it...\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    Habakkuk chapter 1 opened with a remarkable display of chutzpah as the prophet takes God to task. Habakkuk admonishes God for not only not punishing the wicked Babylonians but allowing them to prosper from their evil ways, and even goes so far as to blame God for the Israelite\u2019s failings. \u201cThat is why the Torah is weakened\u2026since the wicked surround the righteous, therefore justice emerges distorted\u201d, says Habakkuk (1:4).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The apparent chutzpah goes further in Chapter 2, when Habakkuk continues (2:1) by, according to Rashi\u2019s interpretation of the language, drawing a circle, standing inside it and declaring that \u201che would not leave it until God explained why the wicked often succeed and the righteous often suffer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Did Habakkuk really blame God and demand He explain Himself?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The Oxford English Dictionaries defines chutzpah, not as simply the impertinent gall and nerve that it\u2019s understood to be colloquially, but as \u201cbrash self-confidence.\u201d\u00a0 Was Habakkuk so confident that God was wrong that he was willing to go an a chutzpadik rant? On the contrary. Habakkuk was a prophet, chosen by God, and what he was confident about above all else was that God was right, even if he couldn\u2019t understand it. Habakkuk was looking for an answer from God that he could in turn convey to the people who would criticize God\u2019s justice (Rashi) or perhaps was seeking a response to those who continuously questioned when they would see an end to this exile (Mahari Kara.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Evidently God understood Habakkuk\u2019s sincerity and didn\u2019t take his words as an affront, because He responded with a very pragmatic instruction. \u201cWrite the vision and clarify it on tablets, so that a reader may read it swiftly.\u201d The vision spoken of here is that the Babylonians will get their due in good time; the Israelites will get their reward; and \u201cthough it may tarry, await it (2:3).\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    We have encountered instances of prophets being instructed to write their prophecies in scrolls, but in this case the medium for the message was to be tablets. Malbim explains that whereas scrolls were intended to be stored away for future individuals to study, tablets were intended to provide immediate information to the masses. And that\u2019s precisely what Habakkuk was asking for \u2013 an immediate response for a people in extreme distress. God heard Habakkuk\u2019s plea as the expression of confident faith that it was and gave Habakkuk a strategy for funneling his own confidence to the rest of the nation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Image: Habakkuk, the Biblical prophet, watercolor circa 1896\u20131902 by James Tissot \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78700,"alt":"","title":"hab2-tissot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot.jpeg","width":590,"height":1224,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-145x300.jpeg","medium-width":145,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-494x1024.jpeg","medium_large-width":494,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-494x1024.jpeg","large-width":494,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot.jpeg","1536x1536-width":590,"1536x1536-height":1224,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot.jpeg","2048x2048-width":590,"2048x2048-height":1224,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-578x1200.jpeg","post_full_size-width":578,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-202x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":202,"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":"Did Habakkuk Demand A Divine Defense?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The answer: Though it may tarry, await it...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78700,"alt":"","title":"hab2-tissot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot.jpeg","width":590,"height":1224,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-145x300.jpeg","medium-width":145,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-494x1024.jpeg","medium_large-width":494,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-494x1024.jpeg","large-width":494,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot.jpeg","1536x1536-width":590,"1536x1536-height":1224,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot.jpeg","2048x2048-width":590,"2048x2048-height":1224,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-578x1200.jpeg","post_full_size-width":578,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab2-tissot-202x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":202,"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":"Habakkuk","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"544","date":"20270929","wall_id":"544"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"78718","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"A Psalm Of Past, Present And Future ","post_title":"A Psalm Of Past, Present And Future","slug":"a-psalm-of-past-present-and-future","old_id":"78718","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":"545","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Exiles, and the end of Exile\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    Our chapter opens with: \u201cA prayer of the prophet Habakkuk in the mode of Shigionoth\u201d (1). Targum Yonatan translated the final word into Aramaic as <\/span>shaluta<\/span><\/em>, inadvertence, indicating that he understood it to be related to <\/span>shogeg<\/span><\/em>. Rashi and Kara expanded on that, referring it to Habakkuk\u2019s complaint (in Chapter 2). Eliezer of Beaugency explained:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    A person ought not to be punished... until he repeats his sin and even augments it. If You [God] are silent [in response] to intentional sinners and traitors in order to obliterate them at the proper time, You should not ignore the inadvertent sinners until their sins and punishment increase and You have to destroy them. Rather, You should inform them of their inadvertence immediately so they repent.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Ibn Ezra, however (and Radak, following), matched <\/span>shigyonot<\/span><\/em> with the word <\/span>shigayon<\/span><\/em> at the opening of Psalm 7 and identified it as a technical term indicating a musical notation. As for the prayer itself, Ibn Ezra states that it was recited on account of the famine alluded to in the close of the chapter (17: \u201cthe fig tree does not bud and no yield is on the vine,: etc.), while Radak casts it into the eschatological future and the war of Gog and Magog.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Malbim, displaying his customary literary and linguistic sensitivity (specifically, his recognition of <\/span>selah<\/span><\/i> as a word that appears only here and in Psalms), went yet further:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    This prayer is divisible into three parts. Part One (1-3) is a prayer for the time of exile, that God should not hide His countenance from his people. it concludes with <\/span>selah<\/span><\/em>. Part Two (4-13) is a prayer for God\u2019s guidance during the exile, and His revelation at the time of redemption, when He will come forth to save His people. it [too] concludes with <\/span>selah<\/span><\/em>. Part Three (14-end) is a prayer for the time that Israel will be devastated, and [in] the throes of the Messianic [Age], giving notice that the troubles will be a portent of the redemption.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    NB<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The selection of this chapter to be the haftarah of the second day of Shavuot seems to have been influenced by the reference in v. 3 to Teiman and Har Paran, reminiscent of Dt. 33:2 and Judges 5:4, which are associated, midrashically, with the revelation at Sinai.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Image: Nietzsche, \"The Future influences the Present as much as the Past,\" a pavement plaque in the village of Corstorphine, photographed by Raymond Bell \/ CC by SA - 2.0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78719,"alt":"","title":"hab3-ppf","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf.jpg","width":1024,"height":576,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":576,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":576,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":576,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"A Psalm Of Past, Present And Future","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Exiles, and the end of Exile","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78719,"alt":"","title":"hab3-ppf","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf.jpg","width":1024,"height":576,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":576,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":576,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":576,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-ppf-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"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":"Habakkuk","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"545","date":"20270930","wall_id":"545"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":9,"id":"78725","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Psalm of Understanding ","post_title":"Psalm of Understanding","slug":"psalm-of-understanding","old_id":"78725","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":73524,"post_title":"Yaakov Beasley","slug":"yaakov-beasley","old_id":"73524","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Beasley ","description":"Yaakov Beasley is the Tanakh Coordinator at Yeshivat Hesder Lev haTorah, the host of the TanachTalks podcast, and the author of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: Lights in the Valley (Maggid Press, 2020). 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":73525,"alt":"","title":"yaakov beasley","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","width":409,"height":484,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","medium_large-width":409,"medium_large-height":484,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","large-width":409,"large-height":484,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","1536x1536-width":409,"1536x1536-height":484,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","2048x2048-width":409,"2048x2048-height":484,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","post_full_size-width":409,"post_full_size-height":484,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-355x420.jpg","home_baner-width":355,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"545","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The culmination of God\u2019s answers to Habakkuk\u2019s questions\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    Chapter 3 begins an entirely new section of Habakkuk\u2019s prophecy, as evidenced by its superscription, \u201cA prayer of Habakkuk the prophet concerning [or \u201cin the mode of\u201d] the <\/span>shigyonot<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i>\u201d This is the only time in the Bible that the words prophet and prayer appear together in the same verse. Instead of the questioning and dialogue, followed by chapter 2's suggestion that justice will ultimately prevail, Habakkuk appears to break into spontaneous prayer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    However, chapter 3 is actually closely linked to the rest of the book in terms of both its themes and its vocabulary, and represents the culmination and completion of God\u2019s answer to Habakkuk\u2019s questions. The chapter begins and ends with Habakkuk speaking in the first person \u2013 the first time a prayer, the second time an expression of trust, with a dramatic description of how God has intervened in the past to save the Jewish people comprising the bulk of the middle of the chapter. If chapter 2 suggests that the triumph of justice is a natural phenomenon, chapter 3 presents a second source for Habakkuk's confidence in the future: God will ultimately intervene to save His people from injustice, because God has already done so many times in the past.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Several stylistic and linguistic elements connect this chapter with the book of Psalms, as noted by Radak. The construction of the first sentence, \u201cA prayer of Habakkuk the prophet concerning the <\/span>shigyonot<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i>\u201d matches the construction of the opening sentences of many psalms, while a form of the word \u201c<\/span>shigyonot<\/span><\/em>\u201d itself appears in only one other place, in the singular \u201c<\/span>shigayon<\/span><\/em>,\u201d in Psalms 7:1. Additionally, the last two words of our chapter are apparently a musical direction - \u201cTo the Conductor (l<\/em><\/span>amenazeiach<\/span><\/em>) [to play] with my melodies (<\/span>neginotai<\/span><\/em>)!\u201d \u2013 words which appear frequently in psalms ( \u201cto the conductor\u201d appear 55 times in Psalms). Another link is the word \u201c<\/span>sela<\/span><\/em>\u201d - this word appears twice in this chapter (v. 3, 13) \u2013 the only time it appears in the Bible outside of Psalms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Finally, the word \u201cprayer,\u201d used in the superscription, also appears frequently in Psalms (see Ps. 17, 86, 90, 102, 142, as well as 72:20). Radak advances the idea that Habakkuk wrote this prayer as a psalm, to express his prophet\u2019s praise to God for His protection throughout history while the Jewish people undergo the tribulations of exile.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    As mentioned above, the word <\/span>shigyonot<\/span><\/em> appears in one other place, in Psalms ch. 7. \u201c<\/span>shigayon.<\/span><\/em>\u201d There, Rashi offers four interpretations of the meaning of the word <\/span>shigayon<\/span><\/em>. His first suggestion, quoting the philologist Menachem ben Saruq, is that it is a type of musical instrument. However, Rashi here interprets the word <\/span>shigyonot<\/em> <\/span>as referring to an error or lapse in judgement for questioning God so harshly: \u201cHabakkuk is begging for mercy for himself because he spoke rebelliously: (1:4) \u201cTherefore Torah is slackened,\u201d and (1:14) \u201cYou have made man like the fish of the sea.\u201d He criticized the divine attribute of justice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78726,"alt":"","title":"hab3-question-marks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks.jpg","width":1920,"height":960,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-300x150.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-768x384.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-1024x512.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":512,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":960,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-1200x600.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-840x420.jpg","home_baner-width":840,"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":"Psalm of Understanding","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The culmination of God\u2019s answers to Habakkuk\u2019s questions","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78726,"alt":"","title":"hab3-question-marks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks.jpg","width":1920,"height":960,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-300x150.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-768x384.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-1024x512.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":512,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":960,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-1200x600.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-question-marks-840x420.jpg","home_baner-width":840,"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":"Habakkuk","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"545","date":"20270930","wall_id":"545"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"78728","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Habakkuk\u2019s Concluding Prayer ","post_title":"Habakkuk\u2019s Concluding Prayer","slug":"habakkuks-concluding-prayer","old_id":"78728","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":"545","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Wherein he atones for inadvertently challenging God. Maybe.\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    The three chapters of the Book of Habakkuk exhibit a clear tripartite structure. Chapter One is devoted entirely to the Prophet\u2019s complaint of how the Lord will not listen to his protest at God\u2019s allowing pervasive violence and injustice. In chapter 2, God finally replies, telling Habakkuk to write down his oracles on tablets for all to read. Our chapter concludes the Book of Habakkuk with the Prophet\u2019s prayer, in which he extensively praises God for having saved Israel in the past (Habakkuk 3:1-17) and finally looks forward to God\u2019s renewed salvation and strength (verses 18-19).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Chapter 3 begins with the superscription: \u201cA prayer of the prophet Habakkuk. In the mode of Shigionot\u201d. This plural word appears only here and in the singular in Psalms 7:1: \u201cShiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord\u201d. The exact meaning of <\/span>Shiggaion\/Shigionot<\/span><\/em> is not clear. But on the basis of apparent cognates in other Semitic languages, early translations and general context, most ancient and modern Biblical scholars understand this to be some kind of musical term, i.e. the mode or melody to which such textual unit were to be performed. However, note that the closest Hebrew root to <\/span>Shigionot<\/span><\/em> is <\/span>sh-g-h<\/span><\/em> indicating \u201cinadvertent error\u201d. This association stimulated the midrashic imagination to see Habakkuk\u2019s concluding prayer as suggesting that the Prophet is here attempting to admit and repent the overly confrontational tone of the first chapter of his prophecies.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Midrash Tehillim to Psalms 7:1 (section 17) employs key verses from all three chapters of Habakkuk. \u201cI will stand on my watch, take up my station at the post, and wait to see what He will say to me (2:1) -- \u201cAt the station \u2013 <\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/i>al matzor<\/span><\/em>) suggests that Habakkuk \u201cmade a form \u2013 <\/span>tzar tzura<\/span><\/em>\u201d, <\/span><\/i>stood within it and proclaimed: I will not move from here until You answer me. God replied: I will give you an answer as I do \u201cfor everyone who has broken his ax for me\u201d (i.e. has given up hope).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But still Habakkuk cried out: \u201cHow long, O Lord, shall I cry out and You not listen. Why do You make me see iniquity? [Why] do You look upon wrong? ... Strife continues and contention goes on\u201d (1:2-3). God then replied to Habakkuk: You are not an illiterate ignoramus, but rather a son of Torah. So, \u201cWrite the prophecy down. Inscribe it clearly on tablets, so that it can be read easily\u201d (2:2). As I redeemed Israel in the past so too, when the time comes, I will redeem them in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    When Habakkuk heard this, he fell on his face pleading: Do not judge me as having intentionally confronted you, but rather unintentionally, as it says: \u201cA prayer of the prophet Habakkuk. In the mode of Shigionot\u201d (3:1). This midrash connects <\/span>Shigionot<\/em> <\/span>to the root <\/span>sh-g-h<\/span><\/em>, suggesting Habakkuk\u2019s final admission and repentance of what he now claims was the \u201cinadvertent error\u201d of confronting God.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":78729,"alt":"","title":"hab3-challenge","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","width":520,"height":416,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge-300x240.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":240,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","medium_large-width":520,"medium_large-height":416,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","large-width":520,"large-height":416,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","1536x1536-width":520,"1536x1536-height":416,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","2048x2048-width":520,"2048x2048-height":416,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","post_full_size-width":520,"post_full_size-height":416,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","home_baner-width":520,"home_baner-height":416}},"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":"Habakkuk\u2019s Concluding Prayer","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Wherein he atones for inadvertently challenging God. Maybe.","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":78729,"alt":"","title":"hab3-challenge","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","width":520,"height":416,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge-300x240.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":240,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","medium_large-width":520,"medium_large-height":416,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","large-width":520,"large-height":416,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","1536x1536-width":520,"1536x1536-height":416,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","2048x2048-width":520,"2048x2048-height":416,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","post_full_size-width":520,"post_full_size-height":416,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hab3-challenge.jpg","home_baner-width":520,"home_baner-height":416}},"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":"Habakkuk","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"545","date":"20270930","wall_id":"545"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/78534"}],"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=78534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}